Chapter 1045: The Bamboo Cutters of Territory One

Chopping Hardness-Evolved Bamboo is where strength-based evolvers truly shine.

That afternoon, Xia Qing—the top sniper who’d just fought a tiger in the Evolved Forest—stood on a stone slab, holding down rebar-like roots and swinging her machete hard at the bamboo.

On the other side, Guan Tong, a fifth-rank strength evolver, and Chen Zheng, with scent evolution, were both swinging their machetes, lost in the work.

“Boss,” Xia Qing called out after taking down the first bamboo with a few solid swings. She quickly made a slipknot, looped it around the bamboo stalk, and handed it off to her teammate.

“Baa!”

Old Goat, wearing his night vision goggles, gripped the slipknot with his teeth. Shooting a glance at Chen Cheng, who was waiting for bamboo, he set off down the gravel path, dragging the long bamboo toward the bottom of the hill.

Chen Cheng wasn’t about to argue with a sheep, but the way that stubborn goat moved really got on his nerves. Still, he had to put up with it—after all, neither Guan Tong nor his own brother matched Xia Qing’s brute strength, and he was nowhere near as strong-willed as that stubborn sheep.

When they finished cutting the Red-leaved Bamboo and started fertilizing the bamboo grove, Xia Qing heard Huo Lei call Jiang Ying over the Lords’ channel.

“Yingzi, you around?”

Jiang Ying replied quickly, “I’m here, Uncle Huo. I just ran a test. The Fire-Forged Chopper works, but after it’s heated red, you can cut through one stalk up to 1.5 centimeters thick. Anything thicker than that takes two extra cuts.”

Shizhong came online too. “So fresh Red-leaved Bamboo right after Devastation Rain’s harder to cut than when it’s dried.”

Huo Lei answered, “Makes sense. There’s a lot of moisture in the bamboo now, and the air’s humid too.”

Tang Huai, feeling curious, chimed in, “So how does this fire chopper work for cutting bamboo, Jiang Ying? Did you make a few? I’d love to try.”

Jiang Ying replied, “We only have five right now. One person heats the chopper on charcoal, the other cuts. With two people, you can cut Hardness-Evolved Bamboo at twice the speed of two ordinary folks just chopping away.”

Yue Haiying commented, “Speed’s good, but saving effort is the real win.”

Kuang Qingwei, Minister of Commerce, jumped in: “During dozens of hours of Devastation Rain, saving stamina is boosting territory safety.”

Hearing there were only five, Tang Huai gave up on asking for one now. “Sister Ying, after the rain, I want ten.”

Wen Nengjie chimed in right away. “Sister Ying, how much for each one?”

Jiang Ying answered, “Still haven’t set a price. To make them tougher and harder, I mixed in new material ore. If I sell them cheap, I’d lose money.”

Once he heard about the new material, Wen Nengjie grew cautious. “Set a price first, then post in the group. If it’s not too expensive I’ll buy a few too.”

Everyone in Territory Seventeen is an ordinary person. Sure, the X Nutrient Shake now helps them recover their energy, but the less manpower they pour into chopping Red-leaved Bamboo, the more they have for other things.

Wen Nengjie wants to add ten more greenhouses without hiring anyone else. He and his brothers are all regular guys. If they want a good life, they’ll have to manage the territory well, plant more crops, and raise more bugs.

Zhao Ze also came online. “Jiang Ying, keep those data recorded. After the rain we’ll tally up the time saved.”

“Got it,” Jiang Ying replied with a clear, bright voice. After more than six months in the territory, she’s found her groove—earning credits on her own strengths and getting more and more confident.

Territories Three, Five, Ten, and Eleven—those with strength evolvers—didn’t have much need for the Fire-Forged Chopper. None of them placed any orders.

After stacking the cut Red-leaved Bamboo onto the rack, Xia Qing gave her machete a good shake to knock off the mud. Just as she was going to suggest a break, Tang Huai’s voice came through the Lords’ channel, calling for her. “Xia Qing, you done with the bamboo? How many did you cut?”

Everyone went quiet when Tang Huai called out—it was Xia Qing they all looked up to. Since the Devastation Rain started, they hadn’t heard her voice. Without her, none of them really felt at ease.

Xia Qing hit the talk button on her walkie-talkie. “Twenty-five.”

All the greenhouse racks in Section Three are now made from Red-leaved Bamboo boards. This batch was for the chicken yard and for support frames, so Xia Qing hadn’t transplanted that many bamboo roots.

Hearing Xia Qing’s voice put everyone at ease. Tang Huai, sweaty and still gripping his machete, asked, “Twenty-five in one go, huh?”

Xia Qing… well, not exactly.

Then Zhang San chimed in, sounding lazy. “Xia Qing, swing by the Northern Gate.”

“Alright, thanks, Third Brother.”

Xia Qing jogged over to the gate and didn’t have to wait long. Zheng Chen showed up carrying a big foam cooler. The moment she saw that sealed box, she could almost smell the roast lamb inside—her mouth watered uncontrollably, though she kept her face calm as she thanked him and took the box. She headed back to the meeting room by the fields, where Xiao Jiang and Chen Cheng were eyeing the box hungrily.

“The lamb’s done roasting. Once Er Yong finishes the stir-fry we can dig in.”

“Nice!” Xiao Jiang replied with a happy shout. “Liangzi’s watching the monitors. The two of us will check the territory and be back in time for meat!”

By the time Xia Qing opened the foam cooler, Chen Cheng—the scent evolver—was already out the door and literally drooling at the smell.

It smelled incredible…

Xia Qing quickly grabbed five lamb chops, wrapped them in foil, loaded up her heated lunch box, and then drove the off-roader out the Southern Gate, bringing some roast meat to her good friends.

Night had completely fallen. Devastation Grass was now taller than a person along the territory road. After unlocking the Southern Gate, she drove in and immediately felt that something was wrong.

It’s normal for Devastation Grass to grow thick in the corridor during the rainy period. But it was growing so neatly this time—with not a single tire track from the Inspection Team’s vehicles—that just felt off.

Cautious by nature, Xia Qing threw the car in reverse and retreated back into the territory. Once she locked the gate she hit her walkie-talkie. “Captain Tan, are you there?”

“Here,” Tan Junjie answered, voice cool and serious.

“Just now, I…”

She only got three words out before a sharp pain hit her right between the eyes. Every hair on her body stood up.

After a couple of seconds she steadied herself. “Opened the South Gate and saw zero tire tracks on the corridor between territories. Wanted to confirm—how long since the Inspection Team last checked the North Passage?”

There are three east-west corridors in Section One of the North, named North, Center, and South Passage from north to south.

Tan Junjie thought so too. “We checked it just twenty minutes ago.”

Before Xia Qing could say another word, Yue Haiying jumped in. “Chief Xia, Ninth Center Magnetic Sense Team reporting—a large patch of highly aggressive Devastation-Evolved Grass just appeared on Ninth Center’s North Passage. The magnetic field is intense and spreading toward the center.”

Xia Qing now felt the magnetic field on the corridor growing stronger. But her voice stayed calm. “Initiate Emergency Plan One. I’ll be there in five minutes.”

“Got it,” Yue Haiying replied.

Xia Qing reached out to the Idol. “Third Brother, are you there?”

Zhang San already knew why she was calling. “I’ve got someone collecting grass samples from the corridor now. We’ll confirm the exact species as soon as possible.”

“Alright, thanks for the help, Third Brother.” Xia Qing continued, “Zhao, are you here?”

Zhao Ze replied immediately, “Here, Sis—just say the word.”