Chapter 175: Evolution Sheep, Gone Mad

"Yes." The team member standing at the door immediately relayed Xu Pin's order through the walkie-talkie.

Chang Li, carrying only a small medical kit, was escorted by two Green Dragon members into Territory Three, arriving at the village entrance. When she opened the kit to take out the anesthetic, Xia Qing stopped her. "Come into the village with me, Sister Li. The head wolf isn't here, so it's fine."

Chang Li followed Xia Qing home and noticed an extra sick wolf in the sheep pen. "Did the wolf pack send this one over too?"

"Mm." Xia Qing added medicine to the wolf's water basin as she answered, "It came once the night before last, and last night it came and didn't leave. Can you tell what's wrong with it, Sister Li?"

Chang Li specialized in external injuries, but she wasn't completely ignorant of other illnesses. "Looks like a parasitic infection, and its eyes are inflamed too. I bet an evolved creature has invaded its eyes. I have antiparasitic medicine in my kit, but it might not work. Because animals in the Evolution Forest find their own medicine when they get sick, and this wolf is this sick, which means ordinary herbal dewormers probably won't work on it."

After the Catastrophe, all the medicines humans used were refined from herbs.

"Will there be side effects?" This sick wolf was very important to the head wolf—for its sake, the head wolf had even fallen out with Xia Qing last night. If the medicine caused problems, she'd really be done with the wolf pack.

Chang Li answered, "The side effect is diarrhea, not fatal. Without treatment, it won't last more than a few days in this state."

Xia Qing pushed the water basin in with a stick, letting the brain-evolved wolf drink the medicine. The injured wolves were already very familiar with taking medicine. But this time, the brain-evolved wolf actually let the thin, sick wolf lying beside Sheep Boss drink first.

The sick wolf slowly walked over to the brain-evolved wolf, fumbled to find the water basin and drank some water. Then the brain-evolved wolf licked its balding ears a few times and turned to look at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing actually saw pleading in a wolf's eyes.

Chang Li, who had treated countless humans in the ten years since the Catastrophe, was seeing this kind of helpless, pleading expression on an animal for the first time, and couldn't help being moved.

"Before the Catastrophe, wolves were already animals that cherished family and cared for their companions. After the Catastrophe, they had to rely on groups to survive in the Evolution Forest, so they became even more united—more affectionate, even, than humans during the Catastrophe. In evolved wolf packs, old and weak wolves are cared for by the group."

"This sick, weak wolf should be the elder of this broken-backed wolf. It was the elder's protection and care that let it safely get through its long growing period, so it's grateful, thankful, and dependent on its elder. That's why now, even when it's hurt this badly itself, it's still trying to ask humans to save its elder."

"Xia Qing, save this sick wolf, won't you?"

Territory has its rules. This was Xia Qing's territory, and the wolf pack had come to ask her for help. So even though Chang Li was a doctor and had medicine, whether to save the wolf was Xia Qing's call.

If Xia Qing disagreed but Chang Li still wanted to save the wolf, she'd need Xia Qing's permission to take the wolf back to Territory One for treatment.

Wolves were extremely cautious and ferocious animals. They clearly trusted Xia Qing more, since she had an evolved animal companion, and might not agree to leave Territory Three for Territory One.

Looking at Sheep Boss standing affectionately beside the thin wolf, Xia Qing asked, "How many points?"

Chang Li answered immediately, "Tests plus medicine, only a hundred and fifty points total."

A hundred and fifty points was a lot for others, but Xia Qing could easily afford it. She nodded. "Alright, I'll pay with yellow-light vegetables. How much time do we have left?"

"Less than half an hour." Chang Li prepared quickly. "Once the anesthetic takes effect, you carry it out. I need to draw blood first and take it back for tests."

Ten minutes after the wolf pack drank the anesthetic water, they lost mobility. Xia Qing first carried out the sick wolf, which was so thin it weighed almost nothing.

Chang Li immediately drew blood from the wolf and examined it. "No large parasites on the body surface, but there's a fungal infection, and severe hair loss."

After saying that, Chang Li handed Xia Qing a bag of medicinal powder. "You apply this on it, all over its body. I'll check its eyes."

Watching Xia Qing and another human bustling around the sick wolf, the broken-legged wolf's gaze was fierce, while the brain-evolved wolf's face showed an expression resembling joy.

Xia Qing had just finished applying the powder to the wolf when Beard Feng's voice came through the walkie-talkie. "Xia Qing, how's it going?"

Xia Qing replied, "Already anesthetized."

"Most of the Sufeng Squad's eyes have pulled out. Only two people are left outside your territory. Jingkuan, Eryong, and I are on our way. You and Chang Li go to the west quarantine belt to draw their attention. We'll use this chance to move the wolf pack."

"Copy that. Moving out now."

Xia Qing said to Chang Li, "Sister Li, we need to head to the west quarantine belt right away. Give me the deworming medicine."

Chang Li handed the medicine to Xia Qing. "An evolved grass seed has pierced into the wolf's eye. Surgery to remove it has to be done as soon as possible."

After the Great Biological Evolution, some evolved plants no longer relied on soil to reproduce—animal flesh and blood became their breeding ground. Human and animal corpses eroded to death by grass were everywhere.

"No time. Let's get through this hurdle first." Xia Qing took the pill, pried open the sick wolf's mouth and pushed it in, then poured two mouthfuls of water down its throat, stroking its bony neck to help it swallow the medicine.

Xia Qing stood up and noticed the brain-evolved wolf's eyes following her, so she briefly explained, "There's danger inside my territory. I'll send you to the valley first. Don't worry, I won't go back on a deal I've already agreed to. Once the danger's past, I'll go to the valley to change your bandages. But the trade goods for saving it—you have to hand them over to me."

That green-light python—she hadn't taken it, so it didn't count.

Sheep Boss nudged the thin, sick wolf with its head, looking utterly reluctant to part. Xia Qing quickly pulled out her phone and snapped a few pictures of the sick wolf. Click, click.

When Beard Feng arrived with two speed-evolved team members to pack up the anesthetized wolves, Sheep Boss panicked and pawed the ground, ready to send them flying.

Xia Qing hugged Sheep Boss's neck. "Boss, don't make trouble. If we don't let them go now, something bad really will happen. Once the crisis is past, we'll bring them back."

Sheep Boss trusted Xia Qing, but not Beard Feng and his people. It struggled hard, bleating nonstop, refusing to let them touch the wolves.

Time was tight. Xia Qing had no choice but to hoist Sheep Boss onto her shoulders and carry Chang Li to the quarantine belt outside the west buffer forest. A bleating Sheep Boss was really too eye-catching.

At their parting at the quarantine belt, Xia Qing solemnly thanked Chang Li. "Thank you for the medicine, Doctor Chang. Once Sheep Boss is better, I'll go hunting in the Evolution Forest to pay back your medicine and consultation fees."

Accompanied by Sheep Boss's angry bleating, Xia Qing's words were extremely persuasive.

Chang Li knew which patient Xia Qing meant and earnestly reminded her, "My medicine might not work. If it doesn't, you'll have to ask the Territory Seven Lord for help as soon as you can."

Xia Qing nodded. After watching Chang Li and the others enter the Territory One buffer forest, she carried the furious Sheep Boss back.

Before she'd gone more than ten meters, Xia Qing heard the surveillance personnel lying in ghillie suits at the quarantine belt quietly reporting into their walkie-talkie: "Green Dragon Squad medic Chang Li has already led people back to Territory One. She brought nothing but her medical kit. The evolved sheep in Territory Three was hit in the brain by an ultrasonic attack. It's gone mad."

Xia Qing...