Chapter 1745: A human on crutches in the third zone of Mountain No. 49

At 10:00 PM, the territory in the first zone of northern Hui III was pitch black, yet bustling with activity—the temperature had risen rapidly after the thaw, and the snow fleas had disappeared, but a massive number of insects were crawling out from warm ground fissures or piles of dead leaves, launching one life-and-death battle after another.

Insects are creatures that farmers avoid at all costs.

Those in the territory who hadn't yet rested were either staying indoors with windows tightly shut and blackout curtains drawn, or inside light-proof greenhouses with rain tarps lowered; the people from the Ninth Center working outdoors were all wearing night-vision equipment.

No one wanted to lure insects into their territory to lay eggs, hatching endless farm work and crises.

Xia Qing lay in her tent under the large Chinese toon tree in Territory No. 3, listening to the chirping of insects nearby, the snoring, and the construction sounds of steel bars being moved and tree roots being chopped in the distance, and let out a huge yawn.

The natural disasters had lowered human trust in their own kind; now, this way of living—separated by over a thousand meters, having independent living spaces while still being able to cooperate and coexist—made Xia Qing feel very secure. She pulled up her sleeping bag, closed her eyes, and quickly entered a state of sleep.

Sensing that Xia Qing's breathing had weakened, Yang Yang Laoda, who was snoring while wearing night-vision goggles, opened its eyes, kicked its legs, and after confirming that its little brother was right beside it, closed its eyes again and lay down to snore.

"Sleep..." Xia Qing muttered, scooted to the side, and continued to sleep.

The two melons and one monkey, squeezed by Xia Qing, also shifted, found their comfortable spots again, and closed their eyes.

Xiao Xiao Feimao, feeling increasingly hot, crawled out of Xia Qing's pocket, rustled around for a while, and slept in Xia Qing's hair.

More than half an hour later, the sound of electric patrol vehicle tires crushing gravel and mud came from the northern isolation belt, and the three monkeys squeezed toward Xia Qing at the same time.

Xia Qing reached her arm out of the sleeping bag, touched the three monkeys beside her, quietly listened to the patrol vehicle turn from the northern isolation belt into the western isolation belt with as little noise as possible, then took Yang Yang Laoda's hoof off her body, stuffed Xiao Xiao Feimao into Does Daigua's fur, and continued to sleep.

After the vehicle drove far away, the plucked weasel in the western buffer forest of Territory No. 3 carried a piece of prey, ran into the northern buffer forest, circled the tent, and placed the prey in the spot closest to Xia Qing's head.

"The plucked one?" Xia Qing asked in a low voice, "Are you out hunting, or do you have something to find me for?"

The plucked weasel stood up tall, looked at the tent, its whiskers trembling slightly, then turned and returned to the riverbank, continuing to squat and wait for the food that Bai Mao liked—frogs.

Hearing the plucked weasel leave, Xia Qing closed her eyes and continued to sleep.

The five-centimeter-long scorpion outside the tent, which had its tail tip and legs plucked, was soon discovered by an ant out looking for food. Half a minute later, when a group of ants was dragging the scorpion toward their nest, they were intercepted by a ground beetle.

The ground beetle hadn't dragged the large scorpion far before it was robbed by a palm-sized giant crab spider. Before the giant crab spider could drag the scorpion under the tree bark, it was pinned under the claws of a fox that jumped down from the air.

After the red fox ate the giant crab spider and the scorpion, it cautiously walked toward the tent not far away.

Xia Qing, squeezed by the three melons and one mouse, judged the identity of the visitor outside the tent based on the sound, yawned, and asked, "Red Da Mao?"

"Ying~"

"Out hunting? Wander around more and clear out the mice."

"Ying~"

Xia Qing, who had been kicked by Yang Yang Laoda two more times, simply reached out and flipped Yang Yang Laoda over, tucked her head into the sleeping bag, and seized the time to sleep.

She had to get up at 5:00 AM tomorrow to go to the third peak of Mountain No. 49 to act as a translator for the broken-waisted wolf; if she was late, she would be fined points.

That pit-digging broken-waisted one, don't even think about digging a single point out of her pocket!

"Sha, sha..."

Hearing the sound of human footsteps approaching, Xia Qing, who was in a deep sleep, immediately opened her eyes and subconsciously raised her hand to press her pistol.

"Sha, sha..."

This sound... it's a person on crutches! Xia Qing immediately crawled out of the sleeping bag and put on her protective mask.

In the dirt den in the third zone of Mountain No. 49, the honey badger sleeping spread-eagled heard the movement, sniffed, immediately flipped over and crawled out of the den, baring its little teeth and shaking its head as it charged toward the tiny human who dared to intrude on its territory.

There were twenty-five minutes left before Xia Qing left Territory No. 3 to go to the third peak of Mountain No. 49 to serve as a special training translator. Yang Jin came over early just to wait for her here; this honey badger came just in time.

Yang Jin leaned against a tree trunk, took a piece of yellow-light bamboo rat jerky out of his pocket, tore off a bit, and threw it over.

Xiao Pingtou ate the jerky in one bite and charged forward again, baring its little teeth.

Yang Jin tore off another bit of jerky and threw it out. After Xiao Pingtou ran over and ate the jerky, it continued to charge forward, baring its little teeth.

When it charged in front of Yang Jin, Yang Jin moved with lightning speed and lifted it up. Xiao Pingtou tried hard to turn its head to bite his head, but couldn't reach it no matter what, and was so angry it just snorted.

Yang Jin weighed the honey badger and sighed, "Xiao Pingtou, with your size and combat power, you definitely can't defeat that male honey badger in the eighth zone and win the mating rights of that female honey badger in the ninth zone. How about I send you to Mountain No. 52? The combat power of the few suitors of that female honey badger on Mountain No. 52 is a bit weaker; you might still have a chance."

Xia Qing, who was preparing to call Yang Jin inside the north gate of Territory No. 3...

"Mie—" Yang Yang Laoda in the tent let out an anxious call.

Following that, Xia Qing's mobile phone emitted a warning sound. Xia Qing turned and charged toward the large Chinese toon tree without hesitation. Upon running close, she discovered that the aluminum boxes on the wooden stakes around the large Chinese toon tree had opened, and the popping-out telescopic covers were expanding rapidly.

"Moo!"

Yang Yang Laoda, wearing night-vision goggles, let out an angry roar and dug its hooves as it charged toward the wooden stakes. Xia Qing immediately stopped it and carried it on her shoulder. The three monkeys in the tent, startled, huddled into a ball.

Xiao Xiao Feimao? Of course, it was in Xia Qing's pocket.

"Moo—"

Yang Yang Laoda howled and struggled angrily, its strength much greater than usual. Xia Qing could only place it on the ground and pin it down with her legs, then connected the call from her idol.

"Xia Qing, has the toon tree sprouted?"

Xia Qing responded, "Yes, it's sprouting, the equipment has started normally, please rest assured."

"Moo—"

Zhang San asked, "Has Yang Yang Laoda inhaled the gas?"

"It should have inhaled some, but the situation is not serious. I'm fine, I'm wearing a protective mask."

Zhang San was relieved, "Good, I'll send someone over immediately. Keep an eye on Yang Yang Laoda, don't let it bump into the protective cover."

Just as Zhang San hung up the phone, Yang Jin's call came through, "Sister Qing, are you in the northern buffer forest? Do you need help? I'm in the third zone of Mountain No. 49?"

Not needed at the large Chinese toon tree, but very much needed at the negotiating table. Xia Qing asked, "Is your leg injured?"

It seems Xia Qing heard the sound of him walking. Yang Jin smiled, "Suffered a small injury, doesn't delay cooking. How about we have spring pancakes for breakfast?"

?? Dear readers:

? Thank you all for your subscriptions, tips, votes, and comments of support this year. Wishing everyone good health and all the best in the Year of the Horse.

? Is there anything you want to do in the New Year? If so, you can set a small goal and take action.

? This year, I completed my small goal of updating two chapters every day on time without interruption. I overcame many difficulties to achieve this goal, so I feel an extra sense of accomplishment.

? I hope that this year, I can still achieve this goal. ===== CHAPTER 1746 =====