Chapter 951: Big and Little Black Wolves

Xia Qing hadn't been sitting long before her idol called her over to assign work.

"This is the second-phase experimental project about to launch on Mountain Fifty, still overseen by Zhang He, with you assisting."

"Understood." Xia Qing took the printed documents from her idol, and seeing that the four-month experimental budget was 500,000 points, once again felt firsthand just how many points research burned through.

The first phase—reducing the heavily polluted high-danger zones to medium-danger zones—took half a year and cost 400,000 points.

The second phase aimed to reduce medium-danger zones to low-danger zones, and to conduct in-depth research on the surviving creatures within them; the budget for every experimental step was listed in meticulous detail.

No need to ask—after the second phase there would surely be a third: finding a way to reduce the much larger low-danger zones to normal zones.

Damn it, Liehu only needed less than five minutes to lob a few poison-gas bombs, and the pollution they caused would take a huge group of people over a million points and a year or more of work.

Only fining Liehu 2,000,000 points to restore the ecology of the polluted areas is far too lenient on them!

Zhang San leaned back in his chair and gave a brief rundown. "This phase builds on the results and experience of the first, continuing to absorb the harmful substances in the soil of the medium-danger zones. You take people first to mark out the experimental area, set up the prefab cabins according to the marked positions, and then Zhang He will lead the team over."

The medium-danger zone was very large; Xiong Dong couldn't meet the experimental staff's needs for storing supplies and resting, so prefab cabins had to be built. In turn, this would also reduce the risk of the hidden valley being discovered by the experimental personnel.

"Understood." Xia Qing agreed, then asked her idol, "Third Brother, the Red-Leaf Bamboo I discovered on Mountain Fifty grows fast during the Harmful Rain Period and isn't very dangerous. Can we expand its planting in the low-risk area of Mountain Fifty? After the Harmful Rain Period ends, we can use the bamboo we harvest ourselves, or sell it."

"Handle it however you see fit, just don't trigger any uncontrollable disasters." Zhang San didn't bother with such trivialities and asked, "Was today's giant eagle takedown recorded on video?"

Xia Qing shook her head. "No."

She had brought recording equipment, but hadn't recorded the battle between the wolf pack and the giant eagle. Because the alpha wolf would certainly not allow her to record, and Xia Qing also didn't want more humans to see the ferocity of the advanced brain-domain evolvers in the northern wolf pack, lest it attract more beast-hunting teams to capture the alpha wolf for breeding and taming beasts.

Zhang San read Xia Qing's expression and understood, so he didn't press further. "I tested that giant eagle meat you sent over. Although it's advanced-evolution yellow-light meat, it contains moderate amounts of heavy metals and harmful substances, and has to be processed before it can be eaten. How do you plan to handle it?"

Animals at the top of the food chain will, due to biological magnification, accumulate certain amounts of harmful chemicals in their bodies—this is normal. The meat of the advanced green-light python the wolf pack caught last year didn't have high levels and could be cooked and eaten directly.

This giant eagle fed on the brains of humans, monkeys, and other large animals, so naturally it would accumulate even more harmful substances in its body.

Yellow-light meat like this needs to be processed before it can be eaten, and after processing the nutritional content drops sharply. This is also why the meat of advanced-evolution green-light pythons, which can be eaten directly, is so valuable.

"If you think it's useful, keep it; if not, I'll turn it in at the Safe Zone mission hall to exchange for points."

In fact, even if this giant eagle's meat were advanced-evolution green-light meat that could be cooked and eaten directly, Xia Qing wouldn't plan to eat it. Because this giant eagle had eaten large amounts of human and monkey brains and organs, Xia Qing instinctively felt that eating its meat was dangerous.

Zhang San answered lazily, "Then keep it. I'll extract the active compounds and use them in medicine."

"Understood." After finishing the official business, Xia Qing planned to angle for some benefits for the injured Broken-Waist Wolf. "Third Brother, the medicated baths you prepared are really amazing. After just a few soaks, Broken-Waist Wolf jumped down from over sixty meters and only got a minor fracture in one leg. If—"

Zhang San raised a hand and pointed at the door. "You can leave now."

Xia Qing immediately shut up. "Okay, Third Brother, I'm leaving. Get some rest early."

Dinner was only an hour away; her idol had been busy all day, and she couldn't delay his mealtime.

Xia Qing waited outside the operating room for a while, and then the little black wolf was wheeled out.

The surgery was predictably a success. Although Xia Qing had plenty of nursing experience, Zhang Song still went over the post-operative care instructions in great detail, then asked anxiously, "Sister Qing, can I still go to Territory Three to see the monkeys?"

Territory Three now had two extra wolves that needed half a month to recover from their injuries, and the cute, clever little monkey should also be healed and returned to the Evolution Forest in half a month. Zhang Song was very anxious now.

Xia Qing explained, "Third Brother assigned the construction task on Mountain Fifty, and I need to take people to arrange the work. While I'm away, the little monkey will stay at home. Wait until I finish in three days, then go over?"

"Okay, Sister Qing, you go ahead and be busy. I'll go over once you're done." Zhang Song beamed, handed the little black wolf to Xia Qing, and diligently reminded her, "Its body is very strong—as long as nutrition and care keep up, it should recover quickly. But Sister Qing needs to carefully watch its mood and eating. If it shows serious symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, bring it back for a follow-up as soon as possible."

"Okay." Xia Qing carefully placed the four-eyed little black wolf into a box and carried it, following Zheng Chen northward.

She hadn't driven over because this was the time She Xing and Fu Xiaodan were waiting to enter Territory Seven to visit patients, and Xia Qing didn't want the little wolf seen by more people.

Zheng Chen, who was seeing her off, noticed that Xia Qing had no intention of chatting at all, so he tactfully shut his mouth.

Xia Qing passed the inspection of the Territory Seven guards smoothly, carried the box westward along the northern isolation belt for seven kilometers, reached the northern isolation belt of her own territory, and, just as expected, heard the little buzz-cut's indignant snorting.

Walking to the north gate, Xia Qing instructed the little honey badger waiting outside the wire mesh wall, "Little Buzz-Cut, the boss has things to do today and won't come out to fight you."

"Clang!" The little buzz-cut angrily smacked the wire mesh wall with its claws, loudly challenging Xia Qing to come out and fight.

"I'm busy too. If you want a fight, go find the big wild boar in the valley."

Xia Qing stopped paying attention to this stubborn little thing, scanned her face to re-enter her own territory, petted the three foxes by the reservoir, then carried the box home and found the black wolf already squatting under the eaves waiting.

"Brother Black Wolf, why did you come alone? Where's Broken-Leg Sister?" Xia Qing opened the box and showed it the little black wolf. "Little Four-Eyes' surgery was a success, but it'll need some time to recover."

The little black wolf was only a few months old and had been through such a big shock; it needed its parents' company.

The black wolf lowered its head to sniff the motionless cub in the cardboard box, nudged it with its nose, then picked it up in its mouth and started to walk away.

Xia Qing hurriedly stopped it. "Brother Black Wolf, Little Four-Eyes needs medicine!"

The black wolf went around Xia Qing and carried its cub away.