Chapter 717: Flat-Top vs. Little Fifth

Territory is the ground animals obtain food from. Most animals—from squirrels as small as a fist to wolves, bears, and eagles—have territorial instincts; they protect their territory through vocalizations, chemical signals, physical markings, and other behaviors.

The territories of different species can overlap. Take Area Three of Mountain Forty-Nine: to humans, it belongs to the Azure Dragon Squad; to squirrels, it is divided into a dozen or so parcels belonging to different squirrels; to wolves, it belongs to the northern wolf pack… Territory Three is the same way—it belongs both to Boss Sheep and to Xia Qing.

The territories of non-pack animals of the same species have clear dividing lines that members of that species can accurately identify; if a trespasser is caught by the territory holder while foraging, a fight breaks out.

If animals of the same or different species with similar diets set their sights on the same territory, ownership comes down to fighting strength. For example, if wolves, leopards, foxes, and lynx all want the same territory, they settle it by force.

If food runs short within the core territory, animals will move into the lightly marked or unmarked peripheral zones to forage; these zones are called common hunting grounds.

Mountain Fifty-One is a common hunting ground for large predatory animals. No large predators live or raise young here, so anyone can come to take prey. But if some animal tries to seize this area and bar others from hunting, it is trying to turn the common hunting ground into its own core territory.

Can it pull that off?

If it's strong enough, yes.

If it's not strong enough, no.

When large numbers of people enter the Mountain Fifty-One zone—blasting trees, digging up trees, and burning trees—herbivores and small carnivores have opinions but no strength, so they can only flee; large predators will jump out and contest ownership of the territory with the humans.

After the conflict between the humans of Base Hui-Three and the western wolf pack, the highest governing body of Hua Nation issued a nationwide notice, once again stressing the important value and significance of humans living in harmony with the evolved forest creatures, demanding that every base strictly observe the relevant regulations and absolutely not provoke, hunt, or cruelly kill large beasts, so as to avoid unnecessary conflict and casualties.

Therefore, when humans want to carry out a major operation on Mountain Fifty-One, they need to find out who the "boss" of that mountain zone is.

"Mountain Fifty-One has leopards, but the dominant force is the northern wolf pack."

Last year, when Xia Qing led a team to Mountain Fifty-One to collect soil and cut thornwood, they only operated in the part of the mountain zone close to human territory, which was unowned. But over the past few days, she and Seeing Xin Yu went deep into Mountain Fifty-One to blast trees, and learned who the owner of this mountain zone is. Because while they were blasting trees, only the broken-legged wolf came over to check on the situation.

After giving her answer, Xia Qing gave her assurance: "Don't worry, Captain Tan, no evolved wolves will come stop the humans from clearing the wild paulownia."

After Xia Qing returned to the territory, Su Ming muttered quietly to Cao Xianyun, "Sister Qing can command the northern wolf pack—our area is getting safer and safer. Once the case on Territory Nine is finished and the territory opens up, we have to find a way to get our hands on that piece of land!"

Command the northern wolf pack? Xia Qing shook her head—she had no such ability.

After patrolling the territory, Xia Qing returned home and found that the little hen with pneumonia she had been raising in a cardboard box had already died. No wonder her idol last year insisted on keeping the chicks for a full month before handing them over—raising a brood of chicks in a year of natural disasters really is no easy thing.

After burning the chick's body and carefully disinfecting the chick coop, Xia Qing took the chance to disinfect the whole courtyard. As she carried the sprayer along the east wall, she was delighted to discover that the Green Lantern jujube pits she had planted nearly a month ago had finally sprouted.

Although only 6 little sprouts had come up out of 39 jujube pits, Xia Qing was still very happy.

Once these saplings grow up, her courtyard will have another row of trees that eat insects, and her courtyard will become cleaner and more livable.

After Liangzi from Beard Feng's squad arrived, Xia Qing told him to watch out for raptors circling high overhead, and not let the winged predators tear open the chicken coop's insect netting and prey on her precious chickens. Then Xia Qing left the territory to go discuss matters with the northern wolf pack.

She had barely entered Area Three of Mountain Forty-Nine when Xia Qing saw the little honey badger charging toward her with a swagger that acknowledged no kin, baring a mouthful of tiny teeth—the whole attitude looked like it was asking for a beating.

Now, Area Three of Mountain Forty-Nine has gained another territory holder—Flat-Top the honey badger.

Xia Qing very much welcomes Flat-Top moving in, because this fellow's diet is snakes, rats, and other small animals; although Boss Sheep charges out to scrap with Flat-Top every day, it actually doesn't have much of an objection either, otherwise Flat-Top would have been beaten to death long ago; red squirrels and snakes and the like have strong objections to Flat-Top, but they are the honey badger's prey and can only hide and endure.

The wild boar in the valley? Flat-Top ran into the valley and got into one fight with a wild boar, and almost got beaten to death. After Xia Qing rescued it, the little fellow never went down into the valley again.

From this incident, Xia Qing judged that Flat-Top's intelligence is not low, because it can remember which animals it mustn't provoke and which areas it mustn't enter. Because it knows that Xia Qing and Boss Sheep won't do anything to it, it keeps provoking them over and over.

As the little fellow charged up to her, Xia Qing, who had long been ready, leapt over its head and sprinted off at full speed.

Its prey had run—the little honey badger flew into a rage and wheeled around to give chase.

"What is Sister Qing off to do?" Chen Cheng in the monitoring room set down his dumbbell and stared at the screen at Xia Qing sprinting; the tabby cat Little Fifth, who had been napping on top of the filing cabinet, also opened its eyes.

Xia Qing was very fast—in the space of a second or two she had passed through this camera's monitoring zone and appeared on the next screen. Little Fifth's head swiveled to follow Xia Qing's figure, and only after she vanished did it let out a great big yawn and go back to sleep.

A few minutes later, Chen Cheng made another discovery: "Isn't that the little honey badger Sister Qing keeps? Is it chasing Sister Qing?"

Peng Jian complained, "I got chased by it once yesterday in Area Three of Mountain Forty-Nine. The thing isn't fast but its sense of smell is crazy sharp—I had to loop around several times before I shook it off."

While the two were talking, a dark shadow flashed past their faces. Chen Cheng immediately gave chase: "Fifth, where are you going?"

"Where else—it's definitely going to scrap with the little honey badger, and it's no match for a honey badger." Peng Jian picked up the phone: "Boss, Little Fifth has gone off to fight Sister Qing's little honey badger."

Beard Feng, who was in the farmland of Territory One, immediately started running outside: "Where exactly? Keep your eyes on it—I'm on my way!"

Xia Qing hadn't noticed Little Fifth sallying out. In one breath she ran from Mountain Forty-Nine all the way to a peak of Mountain Fifty-Two, cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone, and let out a wolf howl.

"Awoo—ooo—"

"Awoo—ooo—ooo—"