Chapter 945: Alpha Wolf's Emergency Summons

Xia Qing demonstrated twice, and Daigua the monkey understood. It grabbed the basket and burrowed into the cotton field, which was over a meter tall. Zhang Song immediately lay down at the field's edge, using his camera to record every move of this white-faced saki monkey with advanced brain evolution that Xia Qing called Daigua.

All of this was precious material for analyzing the species.

After confirming Daigua was doing fine, Xia Qing moved to the other side to snap off the wild branches and pinch the tops of the cotton plants. The cotton bolls that had fallen to the ground were divided into two types: one kind, the black bolls, had cotton fluff inside, and once sun-dried, the fluff could be picked out and sold; the other kind was bad bolls with no cotton fluff inside. These bad bolls were useless, but if not picked up they would rot and breed bacteria.

Although she knew Daigua was very smart, Xia Qing didn't have it sort the bolls, because sorting was something she could do with her own hands as she went.

At this season, there weren't many fallen cotton bolls on the ground. The small Daigua crawled around the cotton field for quite a while picking them up before it filled a basket and delivered it to Xia Qing's feet.

Xia Qing picked out the black bolls and put them in the basket, put the bad bolls directly into a bag, and handed Daigua two roasted, fragrant mealworms.

Daigua took them, immediately stuffed them in its mouth and ate them, then continued carrying the small basket to pick up bolls. It had learned its lesson now—anything Xia Qing didn't give it, it didn't dare eat, for fear of being driven away by Xia Qing.

Zhang Song stopped recording Daigua's repetitive movements and came over to ask, "Sister Qing, were these mealworms exchanged from Territory Two?"

Tang Huai's worm-raising was known to everyone in Northern Region One's territories.

Xia Qing nodded. "Yes. The chickens, swallows, and monkeys in my territory all love eating these."

"Mealworms are rich in crude protein, amino acids, unsaturated fatty acids, multiple vitamins, and minerals—they're a high-quality food." Zhang Song asked, "Can I take photos of the mealworms?"

The mealworms raised with pollution-free spring water in Territory Three were just slightly higher quality than those from other territories, but the nutritional content was the same. Xia Qing handed him a small packet and told him to photograph as he liked, then asked in passing, "Song Ge, what does Hui Six Number Eight refer to?"

"It's a brain-evolved macaque."

Xia Qing continued asking, "The reason it was named Number Eight—is it because it's the eighth brain-evolved macaque Hui Six caught?"

While recording data, Zhang Song answered, "The deterioration of Hui Six's relationship with the macaque troop can't be blamed solely on the macaques snatching human food. Hui Six caught many macaques and conducted extremely cruel live experiments, so the escaped macaques are full of hatred toward humans."

Xia Qing didn't pursue that question and asked about the situation on Mountain Sixty-Two instead. "Song Ge, you've installed a lot of cameras on Mountain Sixty-Two?"

Zhang Song nodded. "At first I installed over thirty, but now only four remain in hidden locations; the rest were all destroyed by animals. Today's animals are smarter than before, and their territorial awareness is very strong—they actively destroy things that don't belong to the mountain forest."

Xia Qing asked curiously, "What destroyed them? Saki monkeys, bears?"

"Mainly bears, and also birds." After finishing his photos, Zhang Song returned the mealworms to Xia Qing and introduced her to the white-faced saki monkey's living habits. "The white-faced saki monkey is the smallest species in the saki monkey family. They're naturally timid, mainly live in the treetops, and their activity range is relatively small—they rarely come down to the ground. The fact that Daigua crawls through the cotton field carrying a basket at your request, instead of grabbing the cotton branches and leaping, doesn't match the white-faced saki monkey's living habits at all."

Xia Qing explained, "It used to want to jump, but after I disciplined it a few times it stopped jumping."

Zhang Song was very interested. "How did you discipline it?"

"Just grabbed it by the neck and warned it."

Zhang Song eagerly recorded this. "This shows Daigua has excellent comprehension, good environmental adaptability, and has demonstrated complex social behavior abilities—worthy of an advanced brain-evolved individual."

Xia Qing... well, whatever you say.

"Baa—"

The Ram Boss in the northern buffer forest, seeing its little brother had crawled into the shed and hadn't come out for a long time, called out unhappily.

Xia Qing immediately put down the work in her hands. "Song Ge, stay here and observe the monkey. I'm going up the slope to check."

But no sooner did Xia Qing head out than Daigua the monkey couldn't sit still either. It grabbed the small basket and, at its fastest speed, chased after Xia Qing, not wanting to stay with Zhang Song.

Zhang Song naturally wouldn't stop Daigua the monkey, but he continued recording from a distance with his camera. Following Xia Qing's instructions, Zhang Song didn't follow into the Ram Boss's territory in the northern buffer forest. He just sat on a rock beside Shed Number Six, using video, photos, and notes to record the saki monkey's behavioral characteristics.

This kind of close-range, mobile observation method was far more efficient than his staying in Territory Seven and observing through the few remaining cameras.

"Moo!"

The Ram Boss's voice on the high slope turned angry, and it pawed the ground and charged down. Xia Qing looked back and saw Zhang Song sitting right on the rock where the Boss usually lay.

This couldn't be blamed on Zhang Song—Xia Qing had never said that rock couldn't be sat on before.

She grabbed the charging Ram Boss that was about to discipline Zhang Song. "Boss, that human is my friend. He's here to study Daigua..."

Seeing the Ram Boss was charging at him, Zhang Song, although he didn't know the reason, decisively dodged back into the shed and continued observing the interactions between Daigua, the evolved ram, and Xia Qing through the insect-proof netting.

While Xia Qing was soothing the Ram Boss, Er Yong, stationed at Mountain Forty-Nine, called.

"Sister Qing, the Alpha Wolf has entered Area Six of Mountain Forty-Nine with two giant wolves. They're moving very fast!"

Xia Qing immediately replied, "The Alpha Wolf must have an emergency. Please help guard the territory for me, and escort researcher Zhang Song from Territory Seven safely out of the territory."

"Copy that. We'll be there within ten minutes."

"Boss, the Queen has arrived. Do you need my help? Shall we head home?"

Xia Qing carried the Ram Boss down the slope and told Zhang Song in Shed Number Six, "Song Ge, I have an emergency and need to go out. Soon the members of Beard Feng's squad will come over to guard the territory in my place and escort you out. Stay in the shed for now."

"Okay." Although Zhang Song very much wanted to stay in Territory Three, Xia Qing was the lord, and he had to listen to Xia Qing.

After Xia Qing ran off carrying the several-hundred-jin evolved ram, Zhang Song watched Daigua the monkey, which had just climbed up the slope and was now climbing back down, and deeply realized that his observation subject actually had it pretty rough in Territory Three.

Xia Qing rushed home at top speed, changed into her special protective suit, packed her backpack and weapons, and the Alpha Wolf appeared right in front of her. It lowered its head and placed a walnut-sized yi-stone it had been holding in its mouth on the ground, signaling Xia Qing to follow it immediately.

"Okay! Let's go! Boss, Wolf Lao Er, you two protect the territory. I'm heading out."

Xia Qing stuffed the yi-stone into her backpack and ran out with the Alpha Wolf. The fact that the fastest Alpha Wolf had personally brought the yi-stone meant the matter was extremely urgent. Xia Qing didn't hesitate for a second—she turned and ran.

Zhang Song, hiding in the cotton shed, watched Xia Qing and the Alpha Wolf from the northern wolf pack—the one with a chunk missing from its ear—dash past outside the shed, and deeply felt that he could no longer keep up with the crazy evolution speed of Blue Star animals.