Chapter 1961: Zhang He and Gou Xunsheng's Reports

After coaxing the Broken-Waist Wolf into a good mood, it was time to get down to business.

Xia Qing laid out the compensation options for it. "Broken-Waist, you cut my Qi-Withering Grass, so you should compensate me. But you don't want to give me points, so I'll give you three choices."

Xia Qing raised her first finger. "First, you compensate me with a Yishi stone the size of a walnut."

The Broken-Waist Wolf clamped its mouth shut.

This wealthy wolf, whose family owned a mine, refusing to hand over Yishi stone as compensation was within Xia Qing's expectations. Yishi stone was vital material for protecting the wolf pack through the Qi-Withering Rain period; unless it was a matter of life and safety, the leader of the northern wolf pack would not part with any.

Xia Qing offered the second option. "Among the newly cultivated Qi-Withering Grass in your cave, six leaves belong to me. After they're sold, I won't need to split the earnings with you."

That was acceptable. The Broken-Waist Wolf grinned, revealing the sharp tips of its fangs.

After settling the compensation, Xia Qing also shared with it the income from capturing the invading Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey H5, then brought up the matter of Zhang Shi.

Xia Qing first analyzed the pros, cons, and serious consequences. "Shi-jie is the only doctor at our clinic. If she doesn't rest well, she can't devote herself fully to her work, and mistakes could happen during treatment."

The Broken-Waist Wolf raised a paw and slashed downward. "Aow!"

Xia Qing flew into a rage. "Mistakes mean docking pay? Are you freaking some kind of devil boss?"

The Broken-Waist Wolf stared at Xia Qing, lost in thought.

Xia Qing was speechless. "Devil means a very bad wolf. Shi-jie isn't a wolf, she's a human. She needs long, deep sleep and can't work all the time. Can you switch to reading electronic reports?"

The Broken-Waist Wolf clamped its mouth shut.

Xia Qing glared. "Then give me that pretty points card you just had. I need to buy a printer for our clinic, plus keep buying ink cartridges and printing paper!"

The Broken-Waist Wolf sprang back, putting distance between itself and Xia Qing.

Xia Qing asked again. "Will you read electronic reports?"

The Broken-Waist Wolf nodded its furry big head, reluctantly.

"Broken-Waist, you've made a very correct choice. I'll have a word with Shi-jie and have her submit electronic reports to you from now on."

Director Xia, who managed over seven hundred employees, made her next work arrangement. "When Lao Si has time, the three of us will hold a meeting to clearly draw up the list of electronic records our clinic should keep. Necessary work documentation and accounts must be complete and clear. Other written materials must have a clear word limit—must be concise and to the point. Write less where you can, skip it where you can. There's no need to waste time on these things."

The Broken-Waist Wolf went "aow-woo aow-woo," expressing disagreement.

Xia Qing's face was stern. "Shi-jie's job is doctor. If you want to read reports, hire another employee and have it write reports for you. I think Little Wolf Bro would be perfect—let it do this, okay?"

The Broken-Waist Wolf clamped its mouth shut.

"Little Wolf Bro needs to learn hunting techniques and survival skills, no time for this stuff. Does Shi-jie have time, then? Broken-Waist, when I'm free some other day I'll teach you how to manage human employees. Let's go, the Queen's bamboo rat is roasted."

After the human and wolf returned home, the Broken-Waist Wolf carried the roasted bamboo rat on its back and headed back to the northern wolf pack's territory. Xia Qing began her nighttime training.

It was all that nag Broken-Waist's fault for wasting her time. After finishing today's training, she didn't even have time to write her paper.

When Xia Qing and Sheep Boss, who was wearing night-vision goggles, finished the outdoor portion and returned home to do indoor training in the first-floor living room, she saw Does Ergua had pulled out its little bag again and was counting its pretty mineral stones.

Xia Qing wiped her sweat with a towel and asked cheerfully, "Ergua wanted to sell your mineral stones to Broken-Waist just now, didn't you?"

Does Ergua, with its pitch-black fur, looked at Xia Qing and nodded its little head several times. This gesture of agreement was learned from the Blue-Faced Little Monkey, so it nodded very quickly and frequently.

Xia Qing asked again, "Ergua didn't sell them to Broken-Waist just now because you were scared?"

"Ee-hee…"

Xia Qing took off her sweat-soaked protective suit, tossed it into the laundry basket she'd woven, and, wiping her sweat, explained to this thoughtful little monkey. "Ergua, study hard. When you score your tenth 100, I'll ask Broken-Waist for you and see if it wants to buy your pretty mineral stones. Deal?"

Does Ergua and the Blue-Faced Little Monkey had already begun systematically studying the compulsory courses for the primary stage in the Evolution Forest.

"Ee!" Does Ergua's eyes lit up. It hopped over to Xia Qing and gave her a pretty red stone the size of a human fingernail as thanks.

Every time Xia Qing went out, she brought gifts back for her companions. This time, when Does Ergua returned from the Evolution Forest, it had also brought a gift for Xia Qing, but had been so busy with chores after coming back that it forgot to give it to her.

Xia Qing examined the pretty little stone closely. "This stone is really pretty. I love it. I'm going to tie a string through it and hang it in my bedroom. Thanks so much, Ergua."

Does Ergua was delighted. It put its little bag away in the cabinet and locked it up, then lay at the study desk Xia Qing had prepared for it, gripping a pencil in its little black paw and earnestly doing its homework.

At the same time, the Blue-Faced Little Monkey was also in its shack on the house ruins, lying at a little desk with a small lamp, doing homework.

The two little ones were learning the numbers 1-5 today, writing each number one line. The Blue-Faced Little Monkey earnestly wrote "2" and "3" over and over, filling a whole page with each.

The Melon-Rind Little Pig slept sprawled out beside it.

"Beep."

At half past ten at night, Xia Qing had just finished training and was about to shower and sleep when her phone screen lit up. Her idol had sent her two reports.

One report was signed by Gou Xunsheng of Hui Three Research Institute, the other by Zhang He of Territory Seven Research Institute. The content was highly professional, with many letters mixed into the text. Xia Qing skimmed it and went straight to the conclusion at the end.

The conclusions of both reports were highly consistent:

The abnormal morphology of this wild dog's front paw claws was not the result of natural mutation, nor of postnatal drug injection or radiation induction, but of gene-editing intervention performed during the embryonic stage or very early puppyhood.

In addition, Gou Xunsheng attached a note in his report: the degree of tooth wear and bone calcification in this wild dog indicated its age was approximately 2.5 to 3 years, meaning the gene-editing surgery took place roughly between the second half of Year Nine of the Catastrophe and the first half of Year Ten. This meant the experimental team that released the gene-edited dog into the Evolution Forest had been secretly operating for at least two years.

Xia Qing's face was grave as she dialed her idol. "Third Brother, what should I do?"

In the Territory Seven office, Zhang San wore an equally grave expression. "In ten minutes, I need to chair an online meeting with personnel from relevant departments at our base. Is Little Four still in the eastern wild dog pack's territory?"

Xia Qing gave a clear answer. "Yes."

"Try to contact it and ask whether any humans have invaded the eastern wild dog pack's territory to retrieve the offspring of this gene-edited dog."

Xia Qing responded, "I'll contact it right away."