Chapter 604: Survival of the Fittest

"Alright, if Wolf Lao Er thinks it's suitable, then it's suitable." This was the house Xia Qing built for Sheep Boss. Since it was finished, injured wolves, sick wolves, and injured squirrels had all lived here. Now a pair of weasels with kits were moving in too. Xia Qing was certain this house could be renamed a zoo.

After the weasel couple woke up, they would probably leave her territory soon and return to Peak Three of Mountain Fifty.

Xia Qing peeled open the tinfoil wrapped around the cardboard box, then carefully lifted the lid, and discovered that not only were the weasel parents sleeping, but the five little weasels squeezed between them were also asleep.

Some of the little ones lay on their mother, some on their father, some huddled together with their siblings, sleeping very sweetly. This formed a stark contrast with the three dead kits placed in the corner of the box.

The sick wolf poked its head in to sniff the little weasels, watching intently.

Xia Qing sat on the pile of grass and slowly told the sick wolf what had happened. "Thanks to Plucker coming to find us, otherwise the little weasels might have died in greater numbers, and even Little Bai Mao would have struggled to survive."

The spotlessly white albino weasel lay quietly, possessing an extraordinary, transcendent sense of serene beauty. It was simply too pretty, making Xia Qing unable to resist reaching out to pet it.

Too bad, she couldn't pet it.

"Zhang He said Little Bai Mao was giving birth for the first time, which means it's probably a weasel that was only born last year. So Plucker is an old wolf eating tender grass—with Little Bai Mao being so pretty, how did it end up choosing him? Could it be that Plucker is considered exceptionally capable among weasels?"

Xia Qing confirmed that Plucker was not a kit born last spring, because when it was brought to Territory Three by the lead wolf to have its fur plucked in late July last year, it had already passed its growth period and was an adult.

Newborn weasel kits had long, pink, tender bodies that made one's heart feel soft just looking at them. This feeling was completely different from how Xia Qing felt when she saw the newly hatched mealworm larvae.

Mealworms made her think of plump chickens and delicious fish they would grow into; weasel kits made her feel absolutely happy, wanting to watch them grow up little by little.

Even knowing these little weasels probably smelled bad right now, Xia Qing still wanted to pet them.

Too bad, she still couldn't pet them.

Plucker's eyeballs and paws twitched a little; it looked like the anesthetic was about to wear off.

The sick wolf poked its head in again and gently sniffed it, seemingly soothing its emotions. The sick wolf was an evolved wolf very good at caring for its companions.

Xia Qing said softly, "Plucker, you're awake? Your wife gave birth to eight kits, but three of them died. How to handle it is up to you."

After speaking, Xia Qing took two prepared necklaces strung with Yi stones and fastened them around Plucker's and the albino weasel's necks. "You picked a bad time to have kits—the first Plague Rain of the year is only a few days away. These two Yi stones are my friendly sponsorship for you. I hope your whole family can safely get through the Plague Rain period."

The albino weasel had undergone a cesarean section and was still nursing; the newly born little weasels would also be fragile and needed the protection of Yi stones.

Plucker was an important combat force guarding Xia Qing's hidden cave and also needed protection.

Of course, if Xia Qing hadn't just made a windfall, she wouldn't have been willing to put precious Yi stones around two weasels' necks, even if they were just two small pieces cut off.

Plucker tremblingly raised its naturally smiling face, its whiskers trembling, and looked at Xia Qing with tearful eyes, making Xia Qing's heart go soft.

The reason Plucker was tearful was because Xia Qing had given it eye drops. After taking anesthetic, weasels couldn't close their eyes on their own; eyes without drops would lose moisture and develop ulcers and other symptoms.

She reached out and stroked the little one's head, her voice gentle. "It's alright. Luckily you were smart enough to come to me for help. Your wife and five children all survived. It's alright."

Wild animals in the Evolution Forest had no protective masks or medicine; they could only rely on their bodies to tough out various disasters and evolving microorganisms. Those who couldn't adapt would die.

Creatures that could adapt to Blue Star's post-evolution natural environment would reproduce and grow stronger; those who couldn't adapt would be eliminated and perish. This was survival of the fittest, the survival of the superior and the elimination of the inferior.

If Plucker hadn't come to find Xia Qing, it wouldn't just have no offspring this year—it might have lost its mate.

This weasel had evolved to become smarter. Its evolved brain could judge danger levels and consciously choose who to seek help from. So its mate and kits survived. This, too, was the survival of the superior and the elimination of the inferior.

Xia Qing rubbed the clever little head of this weasel once more, then brought a small camera from inside the house and installed it in the sheep shed. A while back, when she was installing cameras on Mountain Fifty, there were a few left over. Zhang San had simply given them to Xia Qing, telling her to play with them.

Now, they had finally come in handy.

After skillfully adjusting the camera, Xia Qing had no time to keep watching the weasel family. There were many things waiting for her to do in the territory.

The first thing Xia Qing did when she returned to the house was check the drains in the kitchen and bathroom. After confirming no small bugs were pouring out of the pipes, she applied another round of insecticide. Only then did she briefly rinse the mud off her protective suit, took out the air toxin detector, and carefully tested the protective suit and gloves. Only after confirming there was no ethanethiol gas residue did she dare remove her protective mask.

Great, this time she hadn't ended up covered in stench.

When Xia Qing went to her bedroom to change clothes, the freeloading red squirrel was already squatting on her windowsill, waiting to be fed.

Xia Qing opened the window and poured it some spring water, but didn't put out any food. "Freeloader, winter is over and you've gotten fat as a ball. It's time to move back to your own territory and rely on your own ability to find food."

The red squirrel didn't understand. After drinking the water, it rubbed its little paws and wagged its big tail, fixing its shiny black little eyes on Xia Qing as it waited for food.

Xia Qing closed the window without hesitation. She had been busy all night and was now tired and hungry; she had no time to waste with a little squirrel.

After confirming Xia Qing wouldn't give it any more food, the red squirrel hopped around in a frenzy for a while, cursing as it left.

Xia Qing went into the kitchen, first steaming the green-light rice, then carried a sprayer on her back and went to spray the wasteland wall with repellent for small reptiles. As temperatures warmed, snakes, rats, centipedes and other animals would also be burrowing out to be active. If she didn't spray, all sorts of reptiles would soon appear in her territory.

After finishing the spraying, Xia Qing trudged along the muddy path to the planting greenhouse, cut some alfalfa to feed the mealworms and rabbits, and cut some perilla to toss to the green-light chickens. Only then did she head home with four eggs and a basket of vegetables.

Seeing the sick wolf still watching the weasels in the sheep shed, Xia Qing didn't disturb her either, and went inside to wash vegetables and cook.

The steamed green-light rice, combined with three green-light eggs and a handful of green-light scallions, was made into fried rice. The snake meat paste was formed into meatballs, and with a handful of green-light spinach added, it became a pot of spinach meatball soup.

The sick wolf's breakfast was a boiled egg plus half a pot of snake meatball soup; Sheep Boss got green-light alfalfa concentrate.

After preparing the meal, Xia Qing opened the back window and called to her companion on Gao Po in a voice neither too loud nor too soft: "Boss, come home for dinner—"