Chapter 1093: A Tide of Change in the Agricultural Department

Director of Agriculture, Yang Benming, an ordinary man, only rose to his position this past spring after Deputy Base Director Tang Zhengrong fell from grace and Base Director Qi Zhongye appointed him. A hands-on leader, he always focused on practical results.

Since taking charge, he abandoned many empty formalities in the department. Greeting the leadership with all staff forced to stand and applaud had already been scrapped. So when he heard the applause today, he immediately knew something was up.

Glancing at Zhao Baolin, who stood at the front nervously wiping sweat from his brow as he led the applause, Yang Benming invited the Base Director to take a seat. Once all attendees had arrived, he gave a nod to the deputy director to begin the meeting.

After the deputy director introduced everyone in attendance, the meeting officially started with the first topic.

As staff reported the damages and casualties suffered by each department during this round of Devastation Rain, the deputy director highlighted, “At 7 p.m. on August 26, in Section One of the North, three passages were hit by a deliberate, malicious release of medium-risk, aggressive Devastation Evolution plant seeds. They sprouted, spread rapidly and in the end covered 3,240 mu. Under the command of Director Xia Qing from the Ninth Center, both the military and civilians of Section One joined forces to fight this disaster. Within two hours, the threat was under control.”

“Now, let’s invite Director Xia Qing of the Ninth Center to present a summary of Section One’s rescue and disaster response.”

As scattered applause rang out, Xia Qing stood up, gold ID badge glinting at her chest, nodded politely to the leaders across from her and her colleagues around, then sat and began, “Respected Base Director, Director Yang, colleagues, good morning. I’m Xia Qing from the Ninth Center. On behalf of Section One of the North, I’d like to share how we responded to the crisis on August 26…”

The speech, written by Yan Yue, former head of the Military District Comprehensive Support Department and now Chief Office Director of the Ninth Center, and edited by Qinglong Squad Leader Yang Jin, was precise, logical and to the point. Paired with a clear, well-made PowerPoint, Xia Qing used just ten minutes to give a clear picture of the sudden disaster that struck Section One during the third Devastation Rain.

In her presentation, Xia Qing downplayed her own role. She emphasized instead the critical contributions of all the lords in Section One, including Idol, the Inspection Team members and all staff of the Ninth Center.

Drone images showed three long passages—thirty meters wide and packed with towering Devastation Grass—making everyone gasp in awe. Waves of birds lured by the grass and countless beast corpses outside the iron mesh walls, fried on the fences, made people hold their breath. But when the blood-red pesticide dissolved the man-high Devastation Grass in minutes, leaving a river of congealed blood, it was downright shocking.

Then, just seven days later, an old patrol truck stopped on a newly cleared passage in Section One. The car door swung open, and children hopped out, backpacks bouncing as they entered clean, bright classrooms. Watching the video left everyone feeling warmth in their hearts.

By the time Xia Qing finished, the room erupted in applause.

Both the Base Director and Department Director applauded her enthusiastically. Even though Qi Zhongye already knew the details, seeing Xia Qing risk lightning strikes while standing on top of the signal tower, firing arrows into the flock of birds, filled him with excitement.

After decades commanding troops, he knew all too well—a commander like Xia Qing, willing to lead from the front with skill and courage when danger struck, was exactly the leader needed in any disaster.

Someone like her naturally inspired respect. The tougher the crisis, the more her value shone through.

Just by taking a stand on the front lines, she could convince her subordinates that together they’d survive even the worst times and seize victory. When she raised her arm and gave the signal, her team charged ahead without a second thought, willing to risk it all.

No wonder Zhang San, Luo Pei and Yan Long were eager to mentor and protect her. Keeping someone like Xia Qing on farm duty inside the territory was a real waste of talent.

Zhao Baolin, sharp as ever, noticed the Base Director’s gaze locked on Xia Qing. It made his skin crawl and filled him with foreboding.

Busy jotting quick notes, Xia Qing keenly sensed Qi Zhongye’s eyes on her from across the round table. She met his upright gaze head-on—the kind of look Lame Wolf gave meat or Old Goat eyed fresh bamboo shoots. Xia Qing nodded calmly, then lowered her head to keep writing.

But Xia Qing wasn’t keeping minutes for the meeting.

Yan Yue, seated behind her, would handle the official record. After the meeting, the main points would be distributed to every department in written form. Xia Qing, though, focused on listening carefully to each speaker, jotting down anything that affected the Ninth Center or her own territory—and any thoughts that flashed in her mind.

She knew if she didn’t capture these thoughts right away, they’d be gone by the time the meeting ended.

Once the Safe Zone Planting Center, Breeding Center and Territory Management Department had each summarized their disaster response, it was time for the main event—the deployment of post-disaster reconstruction work.

Director Yang Benming again praised everyone’s efforts, then laid out the first new action plan. “Since year eleven of the disasters, when the first group of lords moved into their territories, our Base has managed 200 territories across five zones. There have been 387 disasters requiring help from the Inspection Team. Deaths inside the territories reached 1,420, including 55 lords, with 45 territories abandoned and reallocated, eight of which changed hands three times. The death and injury rate in the territories is far higher than inside the Safe Zone…”

It’s true that living in a territory let lords enjoy real, natural food that couldn’t be found or afforded in the Safe Zone. But managing farmland in the territories was much riskier than working in the Safe Zone. Except for the well-developed Section One of the North, all other territories in Hui Three struggled to find enough labor.

As the director said, it was time to adjust policies—otherwise, more lords would give up their lands and return to the Safe Zone.

Xia Qing set down her pen and listened carefully.

“During this disaster, Section One’s ‘private territory plus public planting center’ model proved far more resilient in disaster response and recovery.”

At these words, everyone looked up. With Qi Zhongye keeping a level, unreadable expression, it was clear to all—territory policy in Hui Three was about to undergo major change.

“After consulting the Base Director, I propose using Northern Section Three as a pilot, gradually building out planting centers across all four major territories—Northern Section Three, Section One of the North, the Eastern and Southern Zones.”

Yang Benming paused. When the PowerPoint showed the map of Section Three, already marked with two abandoned territories, he continued, “Section Three’s planting center will be named the Second Planting Center, staffed and supplied according to the Ninth Planting Center’s model, with funding and materials allocated as well. All remaining territories must have centers up and running before the next Devastation Rain. By next August, each center’s cultivated farmland must cover at least 150 mu.”

At that, every attendee’s mind and pen raced, plotting how to win the biggest advantage for themselves or their department in the coming reforms.

Xia Qing, meanwhile, admired the leaders’ vision. While she looked after her own little corner, they’d already seen the strengths of combining planting centers with territories outside the Safe Zone, responded in just seven days and marked out concrete timelines.

With every new center built to the Ninth Center’s scale, four new centers outside the Safe Zone would need at least 1,200 people. Xia Qing felt an urgent pressure—she had to secure Territory Fourteen today, and then grab the best recruits before the other centers launched mass hiring.