Chapter 659: Wolf Howl

Yang Jin knew Xia Qing had a good relationship with the wolf pack, but he hadn't expected it to be this good. "No rush, you rest first. I'll call you over in three hours."

In three hours it would be Xia Qing's turn to take the night watch, and with a wolf by her side, the safety factor would be much higher.

"Okay."

Xia Qing thought of this too and hurried to rest. From discovering the Qiang Snakes that morning until now, Xia Qing hadn't rested at all. She was already very tired now, and she fell asleep almost the moment she closed her eyes.

Standing outside the tent on night watch, Yang Jin scanned the surrounding few hundred meters of evolved forest through his night-vision goggles. After confirming no large beasts were about, he observed the swift stream flowing down into the small pool nearby, as well as the brook flowing out from the pool into the valley below. After confirming the netted Qiang Snakes couldn't break free, his gaze returned to the tent beside him, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly into a foolish grin.

He had led the Azure Dragon Squad to Hui-Three Base, and when he learned Xia Qing would be going out on missions as an external logistics member in a team, he had been looking forward to this moment.

Every time missions were posted, he had already thought through how he would reply when Xia Qing came to greet him, and what tasks to assign her—tasks that would both ensure her safety and allow her abilities to improve.

But over the past six years, Xia Qing had never once submitted a team-up application to his squad; instead, she had become a regular team member of Brother Luo's squad. However, when he went on missions together with Brother Luo's squad, she wouldn't submit an application.

Although he knew why she did this, and knew her choice was the right one, Yang Jin still couldn't help feeling a sense of loss. He had once thought he'd never have a chance to team up with her in this lifetime.

Now, finally, they were together.

Yang Jin's heart beat faster and faster. He didn't dare look at the tent again, and turned his gaze to a few restless evolved rats in the distance.

At midnight, Xia Qing was woken by her alarm clock. She folded her sleeping bag and stuffed it into her backpack, put on her protective mask, and walked out of the tent.

"Awake?"

Yang Jin, standing on the rock, pointed at the Qiang Snakes caught in the net in the stream. "Caught four Qiang Snakes in total. I'll go collect them."

After saying this, Yang Jin nimbly jumped down the twenty-plus-meter cliff, pulled the Qiang Snakes out and stuffed them into a bag, then grabbed the vines and climbed back up onto the rock. After briefing Xia Qing on several areas to focus on and how to handle danger if it arose, he asked with a smile, "Want to try calling the wolves over now?"

"I'll give it a try." This was Xia Qing's first time keeping night watch deep in the evolved forest. With an evolved wolf by her side, she would indeed feel much more at ease. "Captain Yang, just stand by the tent and try to keep your aura restrained—especially your killing intent. After the wolf comes over and I introduce you to it, just say hello, then go into the tent and rest. Try not to make too much noise."

Otherwise, the wolf she called over might just fixate on Yang Jin.

After also asking Yang Jin for the footage of the underwater pool his detector had captured that afternoon, Xia Qing turned toward Shanfeng several hundred meters to the west, cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone, and let out a wolf howl: "Aooo—ooo—"

This was the howl the Alpha Wolf and the Broken-Waist Wolf made when calling the pack. Xia Qing had heard it many times, and even if her imitation wasn't perfect, the wolves should still understand.

"Aooo—ooo—" One howl wasn't enough; Xia Qing called a second time.

Yang Jin blinked. He had expected Xia Qing to just call out for the Queen or Handsome Wolf Brother Broken-Waist, but he hadn't expected her to imitate a wolf howl. Although her imitation was quite good and actually pleasant to hear, would the wolves understand?

What if the wolves didn't understand, and instead attracted other beasts?

Yang Jin's hand moved toward the dagger in the side pouch on his leg. After preparing for combat, he spotted a pair of glowing green eyes appearing on Shanfeng to the west!

Xia Qing lowered her hands and smiled. "It's the Black Wolf that often stays by the Alpha Wolf's side. My luck isn't bad."

Yang Jin restrained his killing intent and asked in a low voice, "How did you know it was over there?"

"That's the highest point of the nearby peaks, and it's also upwind of us. It gives wolves a sense of security." Having spent a long time in contact with the wolf pack, Xia Qing had a fairly clear understanding of the living habits and activity patterns of evolved wolves.

Soon, the Black Wolf, clad in its snake-skin protective gear, ran over from Shanfeng to the west and stopped over fifty meters from Xia Qing and Yang Jin, fixing Yang Jin with a pair of cold, gleaming wolf eyes.

In terms of build alone, this wolf was even larger than the Broken-Waist Wolf. Judging by its gaze, this was a non-cerebrum-evolved wolf with considerable combat strength and extremely high wariness. Yang Jin was curious how Xia Qing would communicate with such a wolf.

Xia Qing first raised a hand and patted Yang Jin's shoulder, then greeted the Black Wolf warmly. "Big Black, this is my companion Yang Jin. You've seen him before."

Yang Jin, whose heart was racing from Xia Qing's pat, restrained his aura as much as possible, nodded very amicably to express goodwill toward the wolf, then ducked into the tent.

Xia Qing stepped forward a few paces and called out to the Black Wolf, "Big Black…"

The Black Wolf struck the rock with its front paw, bared its fangs, and growled in warning.

This was a normal wolf, immune to flattery; the only way to get close was through food. Xia Qing didn't step forward any further. She pulled a small packet of freeze-dried meat from her pocket, tore it open, and placed it on the rock. "This is jerky I made a few days ago. The texture is even better than roasted meat. The Queen brought a packet back for Wolf Lao Er—did you smell it? This packet was saved specially for you. Give it a try?"

If the Black Wolf was willing to eat the food she offered, it would very likely stay and keep watch with her. If it didn't eat, that would also be normal, because evolved wolves were extremely wary animals.

Why did she carry freeze-dried meat on her?

It wasn't just freeze-dried meat. Xia Qing also carried the feed Ram Boss liked, the jerky the wolf pack liked, the pearls the Broken-Waist Wolf liked, and the nuts the red squirrels liked, just in case.

Xia Qing stepped back, turned her back to the Black Wolf to face the waterfall and the small pool, and began focusing on defense.

A full two minutes passed before she heard the sound of the wolf's footsteps behind her, followed by the sound of food being gulped down. This Black Wolf was very bold and forthright—it swallowed its food whole.

Hearing the sound of the wolf eating, Yang Jin inside the tent relaxed and lay down to rest.

"Big Black, want to stay here and keep watch with me?" After saying this, Xia Qing pulled another piece of roasted meat jerky from her pocket and set it beside her.

Five minutes later, the Black Wolf darted over, snatched up the jerky, leaped several meters away in a flash, and crunched it down in a few bites. Then it didn't retreat any further, watching the tent on Xia Qing's other side with wary eyes.

Xia Qing pointed at the tent and, in a soft, gentle voice, introduced again, "The human inside is called Yang Jin. He's my companion and won't hurt you."

Yang Jin couldn't see what state the Black Wolf was in now, but he could no longer control his heartbeat, and his face turned red again. His name was perfectly ordinary, but when spoken by Xia Qing, it seemed to carry some kind of magic.

"Captain Yang, Big Black is staying to help. You can rest easy." Xia Qing reported the situation to Yang Jin in a low voice.

"Mm." Yang Jin controlled his emotions and replied calmly.

Over ten minutes later, hearing Yang Jin's breathing grow long and steady, and seeing the Black Wolf also lying nearby with its eyes closed to rest, Xia Qing knew there was no danger here. She pulled out her phone to look at the footage captured by the detector.

According to natural law, wherever venomous snakes gather, there must be herbs that cure their venom. Xia Qing had already carefully observed and found no herbs around the small pool that could cure Qiang Snake venom, so she pinned her hopes on what lay beneath the water's surface.