Chapter 1048: Defending the Lines

Thanks to the four-and-a-half-meter-high iron mesh wall surrounding Section One of the North, it’s considered the safest among Hui Three’s territories. Last time the Safe Zone reinforced the territories with extra Inspection Team members, Section One received the smallest allocation.

But after the reinforcements arrived, Section Three of the North—which lies beyond a stretch of ruined town and is only half the size of Section One—now has just as many Inspection Team members as Section One.

Of course, Section One’s Inspection Team has better weapons and gear than Section Three. That’s one of the terms Yang Jin negotiated with the Base Director last year when he handed over those high Evolution Element spinach seeds.

Still, Section Three of the North being in crisis is their own problem. Xia Qing is the disaster response commander for Section One. When she’s barely got enough people to cover her own turf, there’s no way she’ll send any Inspection Team members over to help Section Three.

Anyone who’s survived eleven years of disasters isn’t a fool. Xia Qing refused without even asking for details—making it clear there was nothing to discuss, so Luan Jun hung up and immediately reported the danger to the Base Director’s Office, asking for reinforcements or a Combat Team.

After Xia Qing ended the call, she made her way from the North Gate to the South Gate of the Ninth Planting Center, ignoring a pounding headache as she checked the barrier trench in the Center Passage and the Scourge Grass coverage.

Between the Ninth Center and Territory Twelve to the south runs a two-thousand-meter corridor, now tightly covered with rainproof tarps. The barrier trench is already more than halfway done. Over to the east, the corridor between Territories Ten and Thirteen—also two thousand meters—has its tarps in place as well. Tang Heng sent employees to help out at Territory Ten, where they’re working hard with Shi Du and the Mother and Cub to dig the southern barrier trench. Over on the other side, people from Territory Thirteen are stationed every few meters, working just as hard.

Farther east, the corridor between Territories Fourteen and Sixteen still has stretches of Scourge Grass uncovered. The sight is hard to miss. Xia Qing pressed her walkie-talkie, picked up her pace, and called out, “Zeng Quan, why hasn’t the Scourge Grass been covered yet in the corridor between Territories Fourteen and Sixteen?”

Zeng Quan, captain of the Fourth Squad responsible for the Inspection Teams in Territories Eleven through Eighteen, immediately reported back, “Those two territories don’t have enough rain tarps in reserve. We’ve already requested to borrow some from the Ninth Center and Territory Twelve. They’ll be delivered within five minutes.”

Each rain tarp is 165 meters long and 7 meters wide, covering a stretch five meters wide. To cover the 2,000-meter-long corridor, they’ll need twelve tarps. Because of the delay, however, the Scourge Grass has already spread into the territory, now covering more than ten meters in width—so they’ll need at least twenty-four tarps to seal off the whole area, borrowing from reserves in other territories.

“Copy that.”

With that, Xia Qing raced ahead and caught up with four Ninth Center employees hauling two huge bundles of rain tarps. She grabbed them both, one in each hand, and dashed toward the exposed patch of Scourge Grass. “Full speed ahead!”

The four employees blinked in surprise, but after a moment followed the director’s lead, sprinting full-out toward the danger zone.

After the ten tarps were delivered, Xia Qing and the nearby Inspection Team members, along with helpers from the Ninth Center and Territory Seventeen, tore open the bundles and spread the tarps over the patches of Scourge Grass, where clusters of purple-black flowers had already bloomed in the drizzle.

Through her high-definition low-light night vision goggles, Xia Qing could see all kinds of insects—drawn by the flowers’ scent—fighting beneath the Scourge Grass. Her heart sank. “Third Brother, the Scourge Grass in the eastern part of the Center Passage is flowering. The blossoms are purple-black. There are lots of insects gathering underneath. Please get some scent-blockers ready that can be used during Devastation Rain.”

Zhang San replied, “Mixing them now. Send the Inspection Team over in ten minutes to collect the medicine. As soon as the red-grade Devastation Rain ends, spray it immediately.”

“Roger. Thanks, Third Brother.” Once the rain stops, those scents will quickly spread, so they’ll need to spray right away.

“Sister Qing, the other areas are all covered,” Wen Nengjie said, rushing over for a bit of recognition after helping with the tarps.

Xia Qing nodded. “All covered. Jie, is the barrier trench in your territory finished?”

“Finished. We had plenty of hands on deck.” Then Wen Nengjie dropped his voice, nodding toward the wild grass wall in Territory Fourteen. “Yan’s up north, Feng’s down south. Both showed up right after you gave the order.”

Wen Nengjie had been around the Lords’ group for Territories One through Ten long enough to pick up on the bad blood between Xia Qing and Territory Fourteen. He never got involved with Fourteen, so he only came to help because Territory Sixteen asked.

Xia Qing nodded. “If you’re free, Jie, bring some people with me into Territory Fourteen.”

“No problem!” Wen Nengjie gave a sharp whistle, gathered his seven men, and followed Xia Qing as she stormed into Territory Fourteen.

Inside Territory Fourteen, Zeng Quan led six Inspection Team members and more than a dozen helpers, digging trenches and stuffing them with rain tarps as fast as they could.

Feng Wen, one hand at her waist and the other holding a shovel, tried to look busy at the edge. When she spotted Xia Qing, she quickly grabbed the shovel with both hands and began digging in earnest.

Xia Qing pointed ahead. “Jie, you and your men go over there and dig with everything you’ve got. Once the disaster’s over, Territory Fourteen will pay your wages.”

“You got it!” Wen Nengjie, who’d thought they were here to throw down with Yan Meng and Feng Wen, didn’t hesitate—he led his men over, shovels in hand, to join in the digging.

After checking with Territory Sixteen about their progress on the trench, Xia Qing grabbed a shovel and got to work herself.

Seeing Xia Qing—the disaster commander herself—digging right alongside everyone else, Feng Wen hesitated, then hurried over. But, even with her belly sticking out, she couldn’t keep up with Xia Qing’s pace.

Ten minutes later, the barrier trench in Territory Fourteen was finished, stuffed with battered tarps. Xia Qing handed off her shovel, gave Zeng Quan a few last instructions, and turned to leave.

“Xia Qing.” Feng Wen finally caught up and called after her. As Xia Qing turned her protective mask toward her, Feng quickly pointed to the open area between the trench and the tarps. “What should we do about the Scourge Grass in this uncovered area? Pull it out if it looks aggressive?”

“Zeng Quan, make another announcement,” Xia Qing said, then took off at a run.

“Yes, ma’am!”

Zeng Quan turned to Feng Wen, answering sharply. “I’ve already posted this twice in the Lords’ channel for Territories Eleven through Eighteen. Scourge Evolution Grass spreads fast via its roots—unless you pull them out completely, what’s left will regrow during Devastation Rain. In extreme cases, it could evolve further. The upcoming red-level Devastation Rain absolutely counts as extreme. Lord Yan Meng from Territory Fourteen responded ‘Received’ in the channel—didn’t he tell you?”

Feng Wen’s expression soured. She’d just wanted a quick chat to ease tensions with Xia Qing, but had walked right into trouble. “There’s only one walkie-talkie in Territory Fourteen. Yan Meng has it out doing rounds. I rushed over as soon as I heard the loudspeaker.”

Zeng Quan glanced at her very pregnant belly, but said no more. “I’ll leave two Inspection Team members here to monitor the grass. You should go back to the Safe Zone. If anything gets out of hand, report it immediately.”

“Xia Qing.” Xin Yu’s clear voice came through the Lords’ channel for Territories One through Ten.

Already running back to the Ninth Center, Xia Qing pressed her walkie-talkie. “I’m here.”

“The beast tide from the Western Evolved Forest is growing. It’s reached Hill Forty-Four and still moving east. Looks like there are more than 300 medium and large animals now.”

Xia Qing pressed the button: “Copy. Keep monitoring. Captain Hu?”

In Section Three, Hu Zifeng answered, “Here.”

“Prep the explosives and get the helicopter ready for takeoff. If the beast tide keeps heading east after reaching Hill Forty-Eight, we’ll use explosives to take out the large, rampaging animals.”

Even if the electric current’s flowing, the iron mesh wall around Section One of the North can’t hold back a charging beast tide. Blasting the large animals won’t stop the herd, but it’ll lessen the impact on the wall.

During red-grade Devastation Rain, using machine guns to clear out large animals from the beast tide is too risky. Gunfire might trigger Devastation Explosion and destroy everything.

Explosives will definitely cause Devastation Explosion, but as long as the helicopter stays high and fast enough, the blast won’t reach it.