Chapter 15: Thunder on the Eve: Preparations Before the Rain

Xia Qing finished tending her wound, dressed, then pulled on her protective suit and fresh mask. Grabbing the rainproof tarp, she headed off to cover the frame building on the east side.

Her own small building had a solid roof made of acid-resistant synthetic tiles, windows tightly sealed. No rain tarp needed there.

Once she’d covered the frame building, Xia Qing moved on to the sheep pen.

Even though the sheep pen’s roof was built from tiles she’d scavenged, the pen itself was just a mud-straw wall that hadn’t fully dried. It wouldn’t last through a heavy downpour.

The sheep pen, of course, was for Boss Sheep.

Xia Qing might’ve been busy cleaning up the village these past two days, but she never forgot to gather purple-leaf grass and feed toon shoots to Boss Sheep. Just this morning, she’d even taken it to watch the army’s brutal clearing of the Evolver Forest—hoping to scare it straight and stop it from recklessly charging out to butt at people.

Maybe the scare worked. Boss Sheep strutted down from the mountain, took a stroll around the village, and looked ready to give up its old haunt for a safer place to hide from the Xiang rain.

Out of all the territory here, could anywhere beat her place as a hideout?

On the last day before the rain, Xia Qing first hauled two giant tanks of dirty water from the reservoir, then fetched spring water.

Even now, she could feel the air growing damp—storms would probably arrive tonight. She had to get all the supplies together before the downpour started.

Once the buckets were stashed in the cave, Xia Qing grabbed her newly woven large basket and called to Boss Sheep, “I’m off to harvest purple-leaf grass. Coming with me? …No? Suit yourself, I’m going.”

Xia Qing walked alone through the Buffer Forest, into the Barrier, and eyed the strong wire fence of the breeding center with envy before pulling on her protective mask and stepping into her new territory.

The area had already been swept by the Hazard Inspection Team, so the risk was lower now. Still, with fresh wounds on her face, Xia Qing wasn’t about to take chances.

She’d just started swinging her sickle at a dense patch of purple-leaf grass when she caught sounds of people. In no time at all, Su Ming’s voice echoed over.

“Xia Qing!” Su Ming jogged over, six team members with him. Even with their masks on, only eyes visible, Xia Qing could tell Captain Tan wasn’t with them. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

“Out gathering perilla today, huh Xia Qing?” Su Ming kept trying to make small talk.

Perilla? Xia Qing paused, her hand full of grass, and finally replied, “Mm, thanks for all your hard work lately.”

“It’s nothing, really.” Su Ming hurried over. “Picking so much—how are you going to eat it all?”

Well…

The leaves did look pretty strange. Xia Qing had been busy and hadn’t even figured out how to eat them yet. For now, she was just cutting it for the sheep.

Cao Xianyun, seeing Xia Qing clearly didn’t recognize the grass, stepped in front of his clueless teammate and explained, “It may not look familiar, but that’s actually a type of evolved perilla. Heat it up or blanch it and it turns bright green. Super nutritious—it’s the main ingredient in our base’s No. 3 nutrient solution.”

Ever since natural disasters forced biological evolution, it was either choking down disgusting compressed rations or nutrient solution for most humans.

“Right—if you blanch it and toss it cold, it tastes amazing.” Su Ming poked his head out from behind Cao Xianyun.

Catching the longing in Su Ming’s voice, Xia Qing snapped off a big bundle of evolved perilla from her basket, tied it with a vine, and handed it over. “Take this back and add it to your dinner. It’s not a gift—I’d like to trade for any spare supplies you’ve got.”

Su Ming was about to refuse, but Cao Xianyun accepted without hesitation. “Deal. If you ever need anything, just give us a shout.”

Wait, what?!

Su Ming’s eyes went wide. He was about to protest when Huzi and Cao Xianyun dragged him off.

“I’m telling you, Old Cao—”

“Quiet!”

They walked a fair distance, thinking Xia Qing was out of earshot, before Su Ming finally yanked off his mask and blurted, “Old Cao, you didn’t even ask what Qing wants in return! What if we don’t have it?”

Cao Xianyun shot him a look. “You want to eat it, don’t you?”

“Of course!”

Another teammate, Huzi, piped up, “If Xia Qing passed over those pitch-dark toon shoots under the detector to come cut perilla instead, what’s that say about the quality of this stuff?”

Su Ming slammed Huzi on the arm. “Has to be even better than the toon shoots! Hey, you’re finally using your head!”

“Outta here!” Huzi, the power-evolved warrior, grabbed Su Ming’s arm and promptly tossed him aside.

Trailing at the back, Cao Xianyun heard the ruckus and turned. He saw Xia Qing lugging a huge basket and several bundles of evolved perilla out of the woods, then whispered, “Ever think she’s just cutting grass for sheep?”

Huzi…

The others…

Su Ming muttered, “Wonder if Xia Qing needs another sheep—I volunteer.”

“Count me in.”

“Me too…”

Pretending not to hear a thing, Xia Qing left the Barrier, returned to the cave, and reached out to pat her sheep’s head. The stubborn thing just sprang up, lowered its horns, and tried to square off.

Xia Qing snorted in annoyance. “Keep misbehaving and I’ll kick you out. Plenty who’d love to take your place, you know!”

Boss Sheep, seeing she wasn’t picking a fight, finally ambled over and started munching grass.

She dropped the empty water buckets inside, screwed the lids tight on the filled ones, packed them up, and headed back for more perilla.

Three days of sheep feed, three days for herself—they both needed enough stockpiled before the rain.

After returning once more and swapping out three water buckets, Xia Qing soon found herself hauling both a backpack and several bundles home.

The evolved sheep glanced her way, then just kept nibbling perilla. As soon as Xia Qing came back, she sealed the cave entrance with a full water bucket and, grabbing the last four bundles of grass, got moving again.

Boss Sheep, busy snacking, threw a fit and tried to butt her. Xia Qing dodged nimbly without looking back and herded him along all the way home.

She left a bundle of grass on the bamboo rack in the sheep pen. “Rain’s coming soon. Stay put or you’ll get soaked.”

With that, Xia Qing ignored whether Boss Sheep actually went inside, slung the water bucket on her back, and headed for her building.

Boss Sheep stood half-dozing in the yard for a long while but ultimately gave in to temptation and ducked into the pen.

Standing in the first-floor living room, Xia Qing smiled in triumph. She snipped off a piece of tarp, then headed to the west yard to rig a mini-greenhouse over the ginger and garlic she was growing.

The hillside where she’d dug up those plants technically belonged to her now—but who could say if there was any edible ginger or garlic left there? Even if there was, who knew if the Xiang rain would mutate them next time?

So Xia Qing had to protect these dozen or so seedlings she’d managed to transplant.

If the next storm was loaded with Xiang element, everything on Blue Star would face a tough trial. If the seedlings died, so be it—she’d done all she could.

Not long after she finished tidying up her garden and returned to the living room, she heard the low rumble of thunder in the distance.

That sound instantly set her on edge.