Chapter 1053: The Scent of Survival

Seeing Xia Qing return after days of running nonstop without a break, Xiao Jiang looked guilty. “Sister Qing, I’m really sorry. Six aggressive wild tung trees suddenly sprouted in the territory. We had to clear them out first and couldn’t protect all the greenhouses.”

“Saving fourteen greenhouses already surpassed my expectations. You all worked hard.” Under the assault of the bird flock and the red Devastation Rain, Hu Zifeng’s Squad managed to clear wild tung trees, shoot at attacking birds, and still protect that many greenhouses. Xia Qing couldn’t be more satisfied.

Da Jiang explained, “We enlisted help from the Azure Dragon Squad, Territory Two, and the Inspection Team to snipe the birds above the passage. The Ninth Planting Center even sent thirty-five people to spray pesticides. Don’t worry, Sister Qing. They’ve all stayed within 200 meters of the southern section and never near the core area.”

The core area means Section Three, where Xia Qing lives in the abandoned village and the newly reclaimed fields.

Xia Qing was commanding Section One’s disaster relief up north and had left her territory entirely in Hu Zifeng’s Squad’s hands. She certainly wasn’t about to criticize their actions afterward. “As long as everyone’s safe, it’s good. Once this wave is over, let’s barbecue some meat.”

“You got it!” Da Jiang grinned from ear to ear. “Sister Qing, you should check on Old Goat first.”

When all the animals in the territory started rioting, everyone saw Old Goat square off against the wolf on the surveillance cameras. It was wild.

But honestly, why was it the herbivorous goat driven crazy by the scent, not the carnivorous wolf?

Xia Qing worried about her two companions at home, but there were two other troublemakers in even more danger. “Did anyone spot the Red Squirrels?”

Xiao Jiang replied with a smile, “Yeah, we did. They dashed off to eat Devastation Grass and got trapped by the guys guarding the passage with a net. They’re in the meeting room now, bouncing all over the place.”

Xia Qing greeted the busy crew, then went into the meeting room. As soon as she saw the two Red Squirrels with their round bellies bouncing around in the cage, she knew they were fine.

Seated in front of eight surveillance screens and wearing a protective mask, Chen Zheng asked, “Sister Qing, any idea when this stench is going to clear out?”

The entire territory reeked, which was especially tough on those with Scent Evolution.

When the stinky bird flock finally moved on, Xia Qing spotted Feng Wen from Territory Four puking by her window. At first, she thought it was just pregnancy nausea, but turns out it was the smell getting to her. “Is it really that bad?”

Chen Zheng replied, “Not terrible. About as strong as the day with the Devastation Snow last year, when Sister Qing got carried back by Yan Lian.”

Xia Qing let out half a sigh of relief. “I’ll take the Red Squirrels home, change into a fresh protective suit, and come back afterward.”

Chen Zheng smiled. “No need, we’ve all made it this far over the years. This smell is nothing.”

Compared to the stench of thousands of carcasses left to rot after previous disasters, this was nothing. Xia Qing nodded, picked up the cage, and left the meeting room.

Stuffed full from freeloading, the Red Squirrel mom and her kid sniffed out Xia Qing’s scent through the stink. Their fear dropped instantly and they stopped bouncing so wildly.

Following the passage now swallowed by Devastation Grass, Xia Qing first checked the quiet Chicken House, glanced at six swallows dead beneath the eaves, then stepped inside, swapped her muddy protective boots for slippers at the screen door, and finally pushed open the security door to go in.

Side by side on the tatami, a sheep and a wolf both rolled their eyes to look at her.

“Old Goat, Number Four, I’m back.”

The wolf and the goat both simultaneously held their breath and pointedly looked away, ignoring Xia Qing.

Xia Qing peeled off her protective gloves, opened the suit’s pocket, pulled out Little Fei Mao, and checked its claws.

Back by the passage shooting at the birds, Little Fei Mao had freaked out from the Devastation Grass smell and went crazy trying to claw out of her pocket. Xia Qing thought its claws must’ve split or peeled off since it wasn’t wearing a protective mask and got hit full-on by the stench. But after checking, she saw only a little blood beside its nail bed and finally relaxed. “Having brains really does help. Go rest in your nest.”

Little Fei Mao went first to the rodent litter box, did its business, then scampered back to its own nest, dug out some snacks, and chomped away. The Red Squirrel mom and Qiang Zai started rustling and squeaking up a storm in their cage again.

Xia Qing went upstairs to the bathroom for a quick rinse, carefully washed her protective suit and mask with deodorizer, then held her breath, peeled off the mask, and took a cautious sniff.

It was still smelly but not to the point of making her gag—totally bearable. With so much still left to do, Xia Qing didn’t have time for a proper shower. She just washed her face and hurried back downstairs.

She first cleaned and disinfected Little Fei Mao’s injured paw, then went to check on her two immobilized companions.

Old Goat was still in a protective suit, later wrapped in a rain cover, so it hadn’t been hit by the Devastation Rain at all. Number Four, who wasn’t wearing protection, got drenched.

Why didn’t Number Four get a suit? Not for lack of trying—Elder Wolf just wouldn’t wear one.

That’s why, when Alpha came to Section Three to recruit Xia Qing for a mission in the Western Evolved Forest, she put the spare Protective Dog Suit on him. After that, the king of the Northern Wolf Pack decided the suit was rightfully his and wore it home.

Ignoring Old Goat’s sulky glare, Xia Qing flipped it over and flicked its forehead. “Come on, how desperate do you have to be for meat that you go berserk over the smell? Don’t tell me you grew up eating meat with the wolves.”

Old Goat’s protective mask had two holes cut for its horns, so it didn’t filter scents as well. Meaning it could still catch a bit of the smell.

She’d seen Old Goat eat jerky before, but it liked grass way more. Put that together and grass that smelled meaty was bound to lure it in.

Leaving Old Goat in Elder Wolf’s care really had been the right choice.

Xia Qing scooped up the now-wary hero and carried it to the first-floor bathroom. She washed the rain off, towel-dried it, applied some de-wormer and antiseptic, and brought it back to the tatami.

Then she took the freeloading Red Squirrel mom and her kid to the bathroom, gave them a rinse, dabbed on medicine, and stuck them back in the cage. She gestured seriously at Elder Wolf. “Number Four, your body needs over two more hours to recover. Stay inside for now. I’ll go tidy up your den.”

Once outside, Xia Qing cleaned up the swallows’ bodies that ants were already picking at. Then she checked on the gradually recovering chickens in the Chicken House, climbed to the South Side’s grassy ruins, quickly rebuilt Number Four’s den, wiped down the damp Royal Platform, laid fresh straw, and brought the freeze-dried meat back inside. Without Elder Wolf guarding or the rain cover in place, that freeze-dried meat would vanish to some small animal in no time.

Or maybe not. All the snakes and bugs in her territory had been lured away by the Devastation Grass in the passage. Either they’re stuffed full like the Red Squirrels or they’ve become another animal’s meal.

After the chores, Xia Qing checked the Chicken House and found the White-Feathered Hen and Black-Feathered Rooster struggling to lift their heads. She quickly tidied the coop, refilled the water basins and feeders, and gradually most of the chickens managed to sit up again—except for eight that remained motionless in their cages.

Those eight chickens were already dead.