Chapter 65: Mad Blue Star

Xia Qing was a bit baffled by Lao Da's behavior. She flipped the basket lid over and caught the dried bamboo shoots Lao Da had carried over in her mouth. "Lao Er, you want to trade this with Third Brother?"

"Baa."

Lao Da bleated urgently, picked up the basket in her mouth, and headed north.

Xia Qing hurried after her. "Don't just bleat like that, you'll attract wolves. We agreed with them to trade under the road sign on the south side of the territory. If we go the wrong way, it's dangerous over there."

Lao Da headed north with great determination. Xia Qing frowned, her voice low. "Lao Er, what do you want to do?"

Sensing Xia Qing was unhappy, Lao Da turned back and nuzzled her, gesturing with her eyes for Xia Qing to follow.

Looking at the unusually behaving Lao Da, a terrifying guess suddenly popped into Xia Qing's head. "You're bringing food to find the wolves — not to fight, right? What's your relationship with that wolf?"

Lao Da kept walking up the slope. Xia Qing followed behind, her mind stampeding like alpacas:

Besides predator and prey, could a sheep and a wolf possibly have any other kind of relationship?

Could they?

Based on Lao Da's clingy habits, Xia Qing guessed she'd had companions before meeting her. Seeing Lao Da act like this, could it be that she and that wolf were… companions?

If a wolf and a sheep could become companions, all it could mean was that after evolving, Blue Star had gone utterly, utterly mad.

If that alpha wolf and Lao Da were companions, and she was Lao Da's companion too…

Did that mean… she might be able to live peacefully with wolves… even trade supplies with them?

She really wanted to get a few green-light chickens, ducks, and geese, raise them for eggs and meat!

The more Xia Qing thought about it, the more impossible it seemed, but she couldn't help hoping this low-probability event was real. She asked Lao Da in a low voice, "Lao Da, are you friends with the wolves? That's impressive! If it's a gift, do yellow-light bamboo shoots seem insincere? We still have green-light bamboo shoots and bamboo rat meat at home. Should I go back and get some? Wolves should eat meat, right?"

Ignoring Xia Qing, Lao Da kept climbing the slope, heading toward the isolation belt between Territory Three and the Wild Boar Breeding Center.

"Isn't that Lao Da the sheep? How did she get here? What's that in her mouth?"

Hearing Hu Zifeng's voice, Xia Qing quickened her pace and entered the isolation belt. "Captain Hu, Lao Da heard the wild boars screaming and insisted on coming over to check."

Hu Zifeng was very glad he was wearing his protective mask, so Xia Qing couldn't see his mouth drop open in shock. "Lao Da and the wild boars in the valley are… on pretty good terms?"

She couldn't exactly say the sheep might be on good terms with the wolf that had killed the wild boars. Xia Qing mumbled vaguely, "I just found out myself. Sorry for the trouble, Captain Hu."

"No trouble." Hu Zifeng stared at the water-soaked dried bamboo shoots on the basket lid, his face full of question marks.

A sheep visiting a boar, and she even knew to bring a gift…

Do ordinary evolved sheep have this much intelligence? Could it be that Lao Da didn't just evolve in strength, but her brain evolved too?

Are those wild boars brain-evolved animals too?

Watching Lao Da cross the isolation belt and walk up to the fence of the Wild Boar Breeding Center, Xia Qing's heart leapt into her throat.

Lao Da set down the basket and began calling, "Baa — baa —"

Hearing that enthusiastic calling, Xia Qing wished she could knock Lao Da out and drag her back.

The area had already been checked and confirmed free of wolves, so Hu Zifeng wasn't nervous about Lao Da's bleating. Instead, he grew more and more curious about her behavior. It was his first time seeing such an intelligent evolved sheep. "Is she calling the wild boars?"

Xia Qing couldn't bear to watch. "Maybe…"

"The breeding center was attacked by wolves, so all the wild boars have been locked up." Looking at the persistent Lao Da, Hu Zifeng showed rare enthusiasm. "Want me to find someone to deliver it for her? Though I can't guarantee it'll get into the boars' mouths."

Xia Qing solemnly talked nonsense. "Thanks, Captain Hu, but the breeding center must be in chaos right now, so let's not give them more trouble. Lao Da coming over is just a gesture of goodwill. Whether the boars receive it or not, as long as her heart is in the right place, that's enough."

Hu Zifeng paused, then discussed it with Xia Qing. "Since the goodwill has been delivered, Miss Xia, please take her back. Although there are no wolves around here, Lao Da attracting too much attention isn't a good thing either."

Xia Qing didn't want Lao Da to steal the spotlight either. She walked over, laid the dried bamboo shoots from the basket lid on the ground, and earnestly discussed it with Lao Da. "The dried shoots are right here. When your friend comes, they'll get them. Shall we head back?"

Stubborn Lao Da of course wasn't going back. She kept baa-ing and calling for her friend. Xia Qing simply grabbed the basket in one hand and tucked the sheep under her arm, said goodbye to Hu Zifeng, and returned to the territory.

Perhaps the gift had been delivered, or perhaps calling for half a day with no response had taken its toll, Lao Da didn't make a fuss after going down the mountain and ran off to graze. Xia Qing took two jin of green-light vegetables and traded them with the strong man Zhang San had sent over for thirty jin of deodorizing concentrate and a bottle of spray.

Xia Qing wouldn't stop guarding against wolves just because she guessed Lao Da was on good terms with them. Ten years of natural disaster had long taught her to plan for the worst in everything. Even if that alpha wolf and Lao Da really were on good terms, it didn't mean wolves wouldn't hurt her, or that other wolves wouldn't see Lao Da as food.

Xia Qing took out the sprayer and, following the ratio on Zhang San's handwritten instructions, diluted the deodorizing concentrate with water. This concentrate was actually odorless — on that point alone it was better than the deodorizer sold in the Safe Zone.

A product from Zhang San — quality guaranteed.

The instructions stated this deodorizer was harmless to humans and evolved sheep on contact, so after diluting it, Xia Qing started spraying from inside the house. Although Lao Da didn't relieve herself indoors, she did take a bath every now and then. Xia Qing couldn't smell any sheep odor in the house, but she wasn't an olfaction-evolved human. What she couldn't smell didn't mean the wolves couldn't.

Xia Qing sprayed until dark before finishing the entire territory. Back home, she gnawed on a compressed ration, then collapsed onto the bed, too tired to move. But she still kept her promise to Lao Da and made her favorite concentrated feed.

Then Xia Qing was completely lost in the crazy thought that Lao Da's friend might be a wolf. She didn't even listen to the broadcast, and she didn't even turn on the Territory Channel.

Early the next morning, seeing Lao Da carry the basket over to her again, Xia Qing packed it with a small bag of green-light dried bamboo shoots and a small bag of green-light dried bamboo rat meat. She personally delivered her to the fence outside the Wild Boar Breeding Center, asked Hu Zifeng's squad to keep an eye on her, then returned to the territory to patrol and clear out snakes, bugs, rats, and ants.

On this patrol, Xia Qing was pleasantly surprised to discover that the insects swarming the fence around the vegetable garden were less than half of yesterday's number. She hadn't expected Zhang San's deodorizer to have this effect too — she'd have to trade for a few more barrels to keep on hand.

"Holy crap, isn't that Qing-jie's sheep? How did she get out here!" The patrol squad passing by the Wild Boar Breeding Center actually saw Lao Da standing outside the wire fence. Su Ming's mouth opened wide enough to stuff an egg into.

Hearing the humans coming over making a big fuss, Lao Da pulled the basket closer to herself and narrowed her eyes, striking a combat-ready pose.

Su Ming noticed what was in the basket and his mouth opened even wider. "Holy crap, what is Lao Da trying to do? Jiang-ge, what's going on here?"

Dajiang from Hu Zifeng's squad first saluted Tan Junjie, then answered Su Ming. "This sheep came to visit her wild boar friend who's locked up in the breeding center. She'll head back to Territory Three in a bit."

Not to mention the others, even the usually calm Tan Junjie was stunned.

Su Ming stared wide-eyed. "Are you serious?"

Dajiang shrugged. Don't blame you — I don't believe it either. But the facts are right in front of us. This isn't her first time coming.

Tan Junjie asked Dajiang, "Is your Captain Yang back yet?"

"Not yet."

Tan Junjie nodded and led the squad to continue patrolling. Behind him, Su Ming was still in a daze, walking with one foot high and one foot low.