Chapter 701: A Grudge That Grows Deeper and Deeper

Xia Qing slowly closed her gaping mouth.

When the lead wolf brought this wolf with a broken spine to her for treatment last year, it paid her four pieces of Yishi and a bundle of medicinal herbs in one go.

At the time, Xia Qing hadn't realized how important this wolf was to the northern wolf pack, but now she understood it completely.

This wolf, like the lead wolf, was terrifyingly strong.

It might not have understood what humans meant by "ecological balance," but it had seen the video of a honey badger catching a venomous snake.

The number of Qiang snakes in this area had increased, the alliance of pythons and Qiang snakes had grown stronger, and the wolf pack would be at a disadvantage. As the clever wolf of the pack, while the lead wolf was pregnant and raising cubs, it had taken the initiative to find a solution.

A brain-evolved wolf that knew how to pen-raise wild boars, raise a clever sheep, and trade with humans—catching a snake's natural enemy, the honey badger, from another area to reduce the surging number of Qiang snakes in the northern Evolution Forest—was nothing to be shocked about... right?

No wonder a honey badger suddenly appeared near Peak Three of Mountain Fifty, and no wonder this fearless honey badger turned tail and ran at the sight of the black wolf.

After digesting her shock, Xia Qing asked, "Broken-Back, did you only catch this one honey badger? Won't this honey badger die from eating Qiang snakes?"

Broken-Back Wolf didn't answer Xia Qing's question, tucked away its little fang tips, turned its head, and went back to studying the video.

An hour later, Broken-Back Wolf, wearing the snake-skin protective suit Xia Qing had scrubbed clean, carrying a roast duck on its back and a bag of freeze-dried food in its side pouch, walked out the security door, about to pick up the little honey badger under the eaves outside.

To keep out mosquitoes and insects, Xia Qing had installed a screen door outside the entry security door. Because the screen door sat flush against the security door, mosquitoes and bugs still got inside whenever the door was opened or closed, so today Xia Qing had improved the screen door setup.

She built a rectangular wooden frame with wood, the same length and height as the security door, and 1.5 units wide. One side of this frame sat flush against the security door, the outside was the screen door, and the other three sides were also reinforced insect-proof netting. This was essentially a disinfection corridor and mosquito buffer zone outside the security door.

Every time Boss Sheep entered the house, it first went through the screen door corridor, then dipped its hooves in the water basin by the door, then wiped its hooves on the straw mat beside it, and finally pushed open the security door to go inside.

Xia Qing Sect taught this routine once, and Boss Sheep learned it. Because she held up a delicious piece of green-light bamboo shoot while teaching, Boss Sheep learned with extra care.

Broken-Back Wolf?

After watching Boss Sheep go through it once, it taught itself.

Xia Qing snatched up the little honey badger first. "This guy just caught a venomous snake; there might be venom on its fur. You still have cubs to look after back home—I'll deliver Flat-Top to Mountain Forty-Nine, Area Three."

Once the human and wolf left human territory and entered Mountain Forty-Nine, Area Three, Xia Qing set the little honey badger under a large pine tree. Broken-Back Wolf sniffed the little honey badger again, then looked up at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing nodded. "Understood, this little honey badger is your companion; I won't hurt it."

Broken-Back Wolf showed its little fang tips in a smile, then set off with the roast duck and freeze-dried food.

After it ran out of sight, Xia Qing decided to call her idol. "Third Brother, can honey badgers resist Qiang snake venom?"

Although she couldn't tell what made this little honey badger special, the fact that Broken-Back Wolf valued it so highly meant it was no ordinary creature.

Zhang San must have been doing research—his voice was very alert, and he answered patiently. "The nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in honey badgers' nerve endings have mutated, evolving the ability to not bind with neurotoxins. And their blood contains a special enzyme that can break down and neutralize the harmful components in snake venom. So honey badgers have a fairly high resistance to both the neurotoxins and hemotoxins of venomous snakes."

"A research institute in Lancheng applied for a research project on honey badgers' resistance to Qiang snake venom the year before last, but I still haven't seen them publish their findings. Where did you find a honey badger?"

Xia Qing didn't mention that this honey badger had been caught by Broken-Back Wolf, because it was too outrageous. She was afraid anyone other than her idol might overhear and take Broken-Back Wolf away for research. "The day I went to dig bamboo shoots, I found a honey badger at the foot of Peak Three, Mountain Fifty. Today this honey badger ran to Area Three, Mountain Forty-Nine, ate half a pit viper, got poisoned, and passed out."

"These two places where the honey badger appeared are exactly the areas where we discovered Qiang snakes, so I wanted to ask if there's any possibility."

Zhang San was very interested. "Stay there. I'll have Zhang Song head over right away."

"Third Brother." Xia Qing asked very seriously, "Can you not take this honey badger back to Territory Seven? It's a companion of the wolf pack."

Hmm?

Zhang San pushed his glasses up. "Confirm it's a companion, not food?"

Wolves are one of the honey badger's natural enemies.

Xia Qing didn't mention Broken-Back Wolf. "Confirmed. Later, when I went to haul bamboo, I saw the northern wolf pack's black wolf together with this honey badger—that was the day I delivered the herbs to you."

Zhang Song, who had been carried over by Huo Zhun, took off his protective mask, leaned against the large pine tree to catch his breath for a while, then put on his specialized gloves and began examining the honey badger that had been poisoned by the pit viper.

Xia Qing asked, "Song Ge, is this honey badger okay?"

Zhang Song's answer was very professional. "Judging by the teeth, this honey badger should have been born last spring. It's precisely because it's young and inexperienced that it hunted and ate an evolved pit viper whose venom contains both hemotoxic and neurotoxic components, and even swallowed the viper's venom sac. It didn't die from the poison—lucky it was. Based on its vital signs, it should wake up in at most another hour."

After speaking, Zhang Song carefully measured the honey badger's body data, drew blood samples, and took samples of its saliva, fur, and even dander, and finally packed the half pit viper into the sample case as well. He slowly stood up. "The wild Evolution Forest has all kinds of dangers. Young Lady Xia shouldn't linger here either—please return to the territory as soon as possible."

"Qing-jie, we're heading out." With the task complete, Huo Zhun, who was responsible for protecting Zhang Song, reached out and lifted him up, preparing to return to the territory.

It was nighttime now. Zhang Song, being carried by Huo Zhun, didn't ask to walk back on his own, but very meekly negotiated with Huo Zhun. "Huo Ge, we're not in a huge rush—can you not travel back by leaping?"

"Sure." Huo Zhun was very easy to talk to. He agreed to Zhang Song's request, abandoned the faster and more energy-efficient leaping method, and ran while carrying him.

After they left, Xia Qing checked the needle marks on the little honey badger. After confirming there was no redness or swelling at the puncture sites, she sprayed it with some insect-repellent spray, and finally stroked its head while making a wish. "Flat-Top, you've got to step up—the Qiang snakes in this area are counting on you to wipe them out."

If honey badgers could wipe out Qiang snakes, humans would no longer have to spend manpower, resources, and money on this matter, and could focus their energy on production and farming, letting more people eat their fill and survive.

Half an hour after Xia Qing left, the toxicity in the little honey badger's body eased and it woke up. It stretched, rolled around in the dirt for a while, and then felt hungry.

Hungry—it had to eat.

The little honey badger tumbled to its feet and spun in a circle, only to find that the meat strip it hadn't finished before falling asleep was GONE!!!

The little honey badger was so angry it was panting heavily. It carefully sniffed around, quickly locked onto the enemy that had stolen its prey, and tracked the scent to take revenge—only to be stopped outside the north gate of the iron-mesh wall of Human Northern Territory One.

Watching through the camera as the little honey badger went crazy throwing a fit outside the north gate, Xia Qing muttered to Boss Sheep, "It doesn't think I stole its prey, does it?"

This grudge just keeps getting deeper and deeper.