Chapter 1728: Ten Forty-Five Tomorrow Morning

After confirming Xia Qing had returned to the lab, the blue-faced little monkey carefully poked out of the tent, stepped on the snow, slipped into the wild grass, and observed cautiously for a long time. Just as it was about to sprint at full speed to retrieve the insulated bag below, it suddenly saw an animal rushing over and darted back in fright.

The plucked weasel was also startled. It quickly burrowed into the ruins of the collapsed courtyard wall and hid for a while, then retreated with prey in its mouth, took a detour over the wall back to the sheep pen, and placed the prey beside Bai Mao, who was eating an egg.

The white and yellow weasels sniffed each other. Bai Mao walked to the sheep pen door and stared at the ruins of the house to the south. After the plucked weasel quickly licked the egg liquid clean, it skillfully plucked the prey.

In the warm, bright room, Xia Qing finished eating, washed the dishes with Does Daigua, cleaned the living room once more, then put on her protective suit and went out for a run.

When the door opened, the indoor light illuminated the evolved rat placed on the grass mat at the door—only two hind legs and a tail remaining.

Leaving her such plump hind legs—could it be because she had given Bai Mao an egg?

Xia Qing bent down, picked up the prey, walked to the sheep pen door, turned on the light, and asked, "Plucked one, you're back from hunting?"

After a few rustling sounds, a little fellow with round ears and a round head poked out of the haystack, looking down at Xia Qing at the door.

"You caught an evolved rat today? Just from the tail you can tell this one was no small fellow. Plucked one, you're really getting more and more impressive. Bai Mao is really lucky to have such a great mate…"

After warmly praising the plucked weasel, Xia Qing pointed at the ruins of the house to the south and got to the point. "The ruins over there—that's where Lao Si used to live. A blue-faced little monkey has moved in. It only eats leaves, fruit, and vegetables, and won't pose a threat to you and Bai Mao. You and Bai Mao must not be afraid, and absolutely must not go drive it away."

There is no predator-prey relationship between golden snub-nosed monkeys and weasels, so they can coexist peacefully. But Bai Mao has entered late pregnancy, so Xia Qing needed to be extra cautious.

After giving instructions to the plucked weasel—which seemed to listen attentively but actually understood very little human language—Xia Qing called out to its brain-evolved mate. "Bai Mao, are you asleep?"

After a few rustling sounds, a snow-white little head poked out of the haystack, looking at Xia Qing together with the plucked weasel.

Xia Qing instructed this little fellow with its clever-looking face. "Bai Mao, tell Plucked one—you two must not clash with the blue-faced one."

After instructing her two companions, Xia Qing added some fodder for the little yellow ox, then walked under the wild-grass ruins, picked up the insulated bag still sitting in its original spot, walked up onto the ruins, and stopped outside the tent. "Blue-face, are you in there?"

Rustling sounds came from inside the tent. The blue-faced little monkey, whose night vision was very poor, fumbled its way to the tent opening and took a long time before poking its little head out to look at Xia Qing.

"There's a light in this tent—the switch is right here." Xia Qing slowed her movements, reached into the tent, and turned on the light.

After confirming the blue-faced little monkey wasn't frightened by the light, Xia Qing handed over its little backpack. "These are your supplies. Inside is the medicine I traded to you—it's time to take your medicine."

The blue-faced little monkey obediently opened the backpack, rummaged out the medicine pouch, took out one tablet, popped it into its mouth, tilted its little head back, and swallowed it down—its movements very practiced.

"Very good, Blue-face, you're amazing!" Xia Qing praised the little monkey, then handed the insulated bag of food inside. "This is your food and water. If you're not hungry tonight, eat it tomorrow."

After the blue-faced little monkey took the food, Xia Qing slowed her speech and warned it with a stern expression. "Blue-face, you can live here, and you can also come inside the house to live with Does Daigua and the others. But you must not go to the sheep pen over there. Besides the little yellow ox, the sheep pen also houses two very important companions of mine. They won't hurt you. But if you enter the sheep pen, they will definitely attack you—their combat power is very high. Do you understand?"

If they clashed, the little monkey's speed would certainly let it escape, but the stench in Xia Qing's home would probably linger for a month. She had no desire to spend a stinky New Year.

The blue-faced little monkey, clutching its bag of food, nodded vigorously.

After confirming it understood, Xia Qing's expression relaxed and her tone softened. "I'm going to train. If you need me, you can come find me directly outside the village—I'll be over there. Or you can go back to the house and find Does Daigua, and have it call me. Do you know how to turn off the light?"

The blue-faced little monkey extended its golden little paw and skillfully pressed the light switch. The inside of the tent was plunged into darkness.

"Very good, Blue-face is very clever. Get some rest early." Xia Qing put on her protective mask and, following her daily training plan, ran through her territory—slow, then fast, then slow again. The only difference between today and the day before yesterday was that Wolf Lao Er didn't train with her.

Yesterday? Yesterday her idol was in a coma, and Xia Qing was in the monitoring room protecting him—she hadn't done her evening training.

"Xia Qing, you there?"

Hearing her idol's feeble voice come through the walkie-talkie, Xia Qing immediately stopped, pressed the talk button, and said, "I'm here, Third Brother. Go ahead."

Not only Xia Qing—the lords of the Northern District One were all listening intently.

Zhang San's tone was a little impatient. "What time tomorrow morning are you free? The investigation team wants to ask you a few questions."

Xia Qing answered immediately, "Ten forty-five."

Giving a precise, non-round number would let the investigation team know she was very busy, so they'd ask fewer questions. After they finished, Xia Qing could still go to the Number Seven Territory cafeteria to grab a meal and bring it home to eat with the boss, the two temporary workers, and one refugee monkey.

"Good. Come straight to the tent then."

After waiting a while and hearing nothing more from Zhang San, Tang Huai immediately asked, "Third Brother, are you feeling any better now? Is there anything you'd like to eat?"

After half a minute of silence, confirming Zhang San was ignoring Tang Huai, Hearing Zhu Li came online. "Third Brother, I found rat tracks in the buffer forest in my territory. Could you send Princess over to patrol once?"

Zhang San came online lazily. "Princess will be there in fifteen minutes."

Hearing Zhu Li answered cheerfully, "Thank you, Third Brother. May I pay Princess's mission fee with one two-jin green-lamp spring-water fish?"

Zhang San, in a decent mood, agreed. "Sure. One fish can hire Princess three times."

Shi Zhong, who had rheumatoid arthritis, came online right after. "Third Brother, my medicine is almost gone. Can I trade with you for some more?"

Zhang San replied, "Starting now, fast. After twelve hours on an empty stomach, go to the Number Nine Center medical office for a recheck, and give the results to Zhang Jingwu."

"Got it, sorry to trouble you, Third Brother." Shi Zhong agreed, immediately contacted Yuehai Camp, and applied for entry clearance to Number Nine Center for the next morning.

Shi Zhong had always gone to Number Seven Territory for his recheck, but Number Seven Territory was currently in an extraordinary period, so Zhang San had him go to the Number Nine Center medical office instead.

After everyone cursed out Guo Qingbin in the phone chat group, Tang Huai came online and called Xia Qing. "Sister Qing, out for a run?"

Xia Qing ignored him. Tang Huai, as cheerful as ever, pressed on. "Sister Qing, what are you doing tomorrow around eight or nine? Can you take me along?"

Doing what? Going to be a translator for the broken-waist wolf!

Xia Qing stopped, steadied her breathing, pressed the walkie-talkie button, and said, "Going to the Number Forty-Nine Mountain training ground to make up for last night's training volume."

Hearing that Xia Qing didn't object to him tagging along, Tang Huai was about to call Hu Zifeng when Hu Zifeng came online.

"Number Forty-Nine Mountain training ground has an important training event tomorrow. Apart from Sister Qing, non-Qinglong Squad members are forbidden entry."

Then, the lords' walkie-talkie channel turned into a Tang Huai-versus-Hu Zifeng roasting channel. The allies all listened cheerfully, and Xia Qing, who was running, also curved up the corners of her mouth.