Chapter 577: The Monkey Horde Advances at Full Speed

"They said no extermination mission can be issued until the reason for the evolved forest beasts' attack is clarified." Tang Huai snorted. "This is clearly a scheme by Su Feng and Lie Huo; now we just wait to see how the various factions play their games."

Xia Qing nodded. "Does the base know the whereabouts of that pack of wolves and leopards they were tracking?"

"They said they lost them. Rumor has it that pack of wolves didn't return to their territory; they are recovering in the evolved forest in the southern safety zone, ready to attack at any moment." Tang Huai finally dug out a frozen pill bug, tossed it aside with disgust. "All the lords within the southern territory have fled back to the safety zone; they definitely won't dare return to their territory until the wolf pack is wiped out."

Hearing no response from Xia Qing, Tang Huai leaned closer and lowered his voice. "I have some great news for you."

Xia Qing, standing on a high stool, stopped her work and looked down at the secretive Tang Huai.

"By March at the latest, Green Dragon will go from this to this." Tang Huai held up two fingers, then folded one back.

Green Dragon dropping from second to first meant Su Feng's strength would be severely damaged this time! Xia Qing's eyes lit up.

Seeing the change in Xia Qing's expression, Tang Huai snorted in triumph and was about to continue when Xia Qing's phone rang.

Hu Zifeng asked, "Xia Qing, our captain has arrived and wants to consult you on something. Is it convenient for us to come over now?"

The chaos in the safety zone hadn't been fully resolved; Yang Jin coming at this time definitely meant something very important. Xia Qing replied calmly, "Yes."

The auditory-evolved Tang Huai heard Hu Zifeng's words clearly. "Yang Jin coming to find you early in the morning must be about the western wolf pack. You are the one in Hui Three Territory who knows the wolf pack best. I'm leaving."

Xia Qing had serious business, so Tang Huai didn't have the face to stay in Territory Three. He returned to the farm cottage, handed the purple sweet potatoes to Xia Qing, then packed his bag and took his leave.

The green-lit yellow mealworms he had brought over, originally intended for lunch, were packed back into his bag. "I worked hard to raise these bugs; I won't let them go cheap to Crazy Hu."

When Xia Qing saw Tang Huai out of the north gate of the territory, Yang Jin and Hu Zifeng had just arrived. The four stood outside the north gate of Territory Three, the atmosphere somewhat awkward.

The awkwardness stemmed from the fact that after Tang Huai and Hu Zifeng glared at each other a few times, while saying goodbye, they kept winking and making faces at Xia Qing: See? This one is way better than Crazy Hu!

Xia Qing glared at him, wishing she could kick him all the way back to Territory Twelve.

Truly unappreciative! Tang Huai rolled his eyes, said hello to Yang Jin, then turned and left.

"Captain Yang, please." Xia Qing unlocked the north gate and invited Yang Jin in.

Hu Zifeng stayed directly at Gao Po to repair the greenhouse, while Yang Jin followed Xia Qing silently into the reception room, yet couldn't help asking, "Exchanging supplies with Tang Huai?"

"Exchanging green-lit purple sweet potatoes. I originally planned to plant them in the valley, but I didn't expect the purple sweet potatoes from Territory Twelve weren't an improved variety." Xia Qing still sounded a bit regretful.

Yang Jin's eyes brightened, and he smiled. With that handsome face of his smiling, he looked like a long-lost brother of Broken-Waist Wolf!

"You exchanged sweet potato seedlings with me because you thought they were an improved variety too?"

"Mm." Xia Qing steadied herself and asked, "Did you know back then that the purple sweet potatoes from Territory Twelve weren't an improved variety?"

Yang Jin's smile deepened. "Tang Zhengpo is a very shrewd merchant. He only mentioned the dangerous mutation rate of the purple sweet potatoes, which implies that the lower mutation rate is their most outstanding selling point."

Xia Qing...

Alright. On the path to becoming a shrewd merchant, she still had much to learn.

Yang Jin asked, "Did you lose out on this exchange with Tang Huai?"

I lost out, but I'll get it back from you tenfold.

Xia Qing shook her head. "No. Captain Hu said you had something to ask me?"

Yang Jin took out a notebook, opened a video for Xia Qing to see. "This was filmed by a scout bird deep in the evolved forest east of Hui Six Base."

As Xia Qing stared at the video on the notebook, Yang Jin's gaze quickly swept over Xia Qing's thick eyelashes and ears before he picked up his teacup.

She could communicate normally, and her complexion was good; Yang Jin's hanging heart finally settled.

After watching the video, Xia Qing's face grew grave. "This group of macaques from Hui Six Base wants to enter our base and occupy the territory in the western evolved forest that originally belonged to the wolf pack?"

Yang Jin nodded and explained the current emergency to Xia Qing. "According to intelligence from Hui Six Base, a highly evolved pathogenic fungus capable of parasitizing animals has evolved within this monkey group's territory and is reproducing in large numbers. Therefore, this monkey group is seeking new territory. Our base's scout birds discovered monkeys appearing at the edge of the western wolf pack's territory yesterday, leading us to speculate the monkey group might migrate eastward."

"This morning, they indeed began migrating. The dozen or so wolves left behind in that area definitely can't fight off over two hundred monkeys; we must find a way quickly to get the wolf pack hidden outside the safety zone to return to their territory."

Yang Jin emphasized the serious consequences of the monkey group's eastward migration to Xia Qing. "If the western evolved forest is occupied by the monkey group, not only the western territory but our entire area will face endless trouble. Moreover, they likely carry highly evolved fungi; once this pathogen spreads, it will severely disrupt the ecological balance of the western evolved forest."

Large predatory beasts like the wolf pack and Xiong Qun were indeed formidable to humans, but in the evolved forest, the monkey group, also primates and omnivores, was even more feared.

Monkeys were already very smart before the Blue Star's evolution; after evolution, they were even more damn crazy. They currently cannot manufacture threatening weapons, but they can raid. Last year, the fruit planting area within the safety zone of Hui Six Base was raided by a group wearing protective masks and holding guns.

If the macaque group occupies the western wolf pack's territory and grows stronger, Hui Three will, like Hui Six, be forced to engage in a long-term struggle with the monkey group.

It seems the main reason the base agreed to cancel the wolf extermination mission is to hope the wolf pack will guard their territory and prevent the monkey group carrying highly evolved fungi from migrating.

The current ecological balance is already extremely fragile; once disrupted, new crises will quickly arise.

Xia Qing asked, "When will this monkey group reach the western wolf pack's territory? Can't our base send an army or a combat team to intercept them?"

Yang Jin explained, "According to the monkey group's advance speed, they will arrive by three o'clock this afternoon at the latest. Our base is already prepared for battle. But after humans repel the advancing monkey group, that territory will still be unguarded by beasts, and the monkey group will attack again."

Xia Qing immediately stood up. "I'll send Wolf Lao Er to bring Broken-Waist Wolf and Handsome Giant Wolf to Mountain Fifty-Two right away. I need to borrow your laptop. Also, I need you and Captain Tan to block the Red One Investigation Team so they don't discover my whereabouts."

The Red One Investigation Team was still within this territory; they definitely had many high-level evolved humans and scout birds, so the sick wolf couldn't bring Broken-Waist Wolf to Territory Three. Mountain Fifty-Two in the north of Mountain Forty-Nine was the best meeting spot between humans and wolves Xia Qing could think of.

Yang Jin smiled. "Captain Tan is already deploying; the investigation team members remaining in this territory are very busy right now."

Xia Qing nodded, opened the back window of the cottage, and shouted, "Lao Da, Lao Er—"

Soon, Sheep Lao Da and the sick wolf walked out from the two greenhouses and rushed toward the cottage by the farmland.

Discovering Yang Jin standing behind Xia Qing, Sheep Lao Da immediately revealed his spiral horns, and the sick wolf bared his fangs at Yang Jin; both believed Yang Jin was threatening Xia Qing's safety.

"Baa!" Sheep Lao Da signaled his little brother, who was still standing foolishly in place, to come quickly to his side.