Chapter 180: An Unexpected Intruder in the Territory

All the crops in her territory were covered with insect-proof nets sprayed with repellent and deodorizing agents. Xia Qing had just checked everything—the nets were still intact and there was nothing left that would tempt the Evolved Squirrel.

The sight of the Evolved Squirrel instantly reminded Xia Qing of chestnuts.

Once the Sufeng Squad finally left, she planned to gather a team and search for chestnut trees. If she waited until the nuts split open on their own, there’d be nothing left for humans to gather.

With people from the Sufeng Squad lurking outside, it would be too obvious if Xia Qing just picked toon leaves. Instead, she filled her basket with grass from the highland and then ‘happened’ to grab a handful of toon leaves before heading back.

She crossed the old barrier, entered the low slope planting area, moved aside the big stone blocking the entrance to the spring water cave, and pulled out a bucket filled with spring water. After screwing the lid tight, she stashed it in her basket and hid it under grass. As she passed through the vegetable terraces she picked two cucumbers and a tomato, then exited from the greenhouse at the far end of the low slope planting area.

On her way across the stone bridge, Xia Qing snapped off a piece of cucumber and popped it into Boss Sheep’s mouth as he pedaled the waterwheel, quietly praising him. “You’ve worked hard, Boss. Take a bite of cucumber for now. I’ll make you something delicious when I get home. Once it’s ready I’ll call you in for dinner.”

Boss Sheep crunched happily on the cucumber as he pedaled away on the waterwheel, clearly content.

Xia Qing tossed the bugs she caught into two of the fish ponds, then blocked off the waterways leading to two water-filled greenhouses, redirecting the flow to the other greenhouses instead.

Once she finished with the water channels, Xia Qing straightened up and spotted a flock of birds flying in from the southwest. Birds crossing the sky above the territory was nothing unusual, but after that recent attack by Evolved Birds she found herself keeping a wary eye on every flock.

And this time, her caution paid off—she noticed something odd.

One black bird, about the size of a magpie, lowered its flight to around thirty meters above her territory. Sunlight reflected by the water in the channel glinted off a peanut-sized gadget on the bird’s belly, sending a quick flash that Xia Qing caught immediately.

It was a scout bird equipped with a camera—one trained by humans for aerial surveillance.

She’d let her guard down, never expecting the Sufeng Squad would switch from ground surveillance to spying from the skies after pulling out their spotters.

In another hundred and fifty meters, that bird’s camera would have Boss Sheep—pedaling on his water pedal-bike—completely in view. Xia Qing drew her handgun, aimed, and squeezed the trigger fast.

“Bang!”

Hitting a scout bird at thirty meters wasn’t hard at all for Xia Qing, not after firing over a thousand rounds over the last three months to hone her aim. As soon as she hit her mark, she darted back and pulled Boss Sheep off the waterwheel to hide.

Last time, when Luo Pei shot down a scout bird, it exploded midair, which meant these things came rigged with more than just cameras.

But this time, to her surprise, the bird hit the ground and didn’t blow up. Once he realized everything was fine, Boss Sheep squirmed, wanting Xia Qing to let him go.

She soothed Boss Sheep with some toon leaves from her basket, then packed the scout bird’s body and all its gear into a vacuum bag. She grabbed her walkie-talkie: “Captain Tan, are you there?”

Tan Junjie quickly replied, “I’m here.”

“Territory Three here—I shot down a black bird carrying some type of unknown device. I suspect someone’s been watching my territory from the air. Request immediate intervention from the Hazard Inspection Team.”

Tan Junjie answered firmly, “Received. Lord of Territory Three, please authorize the Inspection Team to enter for an on-site investigation.”

“This is Xia Qing, Lord of Territory Three. Permission granted for the Inspection Team to enter.”

Kuang Qingwei, ever the gossip, couldn’t help asking, “Xia Qing, how’d you spot something was off about the bird?”

Xia Qing replied, “I was watering crops. Sunlight bouncing off the water caught a reflection on the bird—a single bright flash. That’s how I spotted it, then bagged it in a vacuum seal.”

Shi Du chimed in right away, “Good call, Qing-jie. Vacuum sealing will keep any fingerprints and scent on the monitoring device. Captain Tan should be able to use that to track down who sent the bird.”

Over to the east, Zhao Ze, lord of Territory Four, griped enviously, “All I heard was a gunshot—and Xia Qing, you’re amazing.”

Xia Qing had never bragged in the Lord’s Channel about all the evolved raptors she’d taken down, so folks only knew she owned a gun and had decent aim—they had no clue just how good she was.

On Territory Two, the Sufeng Squad member in charge of surveillance wasted no time forwarding the news of Xia Qing shooting down and sealing the scout bird to Xu Pin, who was out searching for the pangolin. He explained, “There’s only a Grade Four Strength Evolver in Territory Three, so we used a standard scouting device.”

Standard surveillance devices don’t come with self-destruct mechanisms.

“Useless!” Xu Pin snapped, then ordered, “Since it took off from Territory Two, let Tang Huai handle the mess.”

Damn it…

Tang Heng grabbed his furious brother, whispering, “Bro, we need to get ahead of the Inspection Team!”

Tang Huai frowned, “Beat them to what? Sneak into Territory Three to steal the bird?”

Tang Heng grinned, “Not that. We get to the Hazard Inspection Team before they reach our territory and confess—try to settle peacefully.”

Just as Tan Junjie’s squad stepped into Territory Three, Tang Huai’s voice sounded in the Lord’s Channel. “Captain Tan, Xia Qing—that scout bird was ours. We found pangolin scales on the north side of Mountain 49, but since it’s a swamp and tough to search, that’s why we released the bird.”

Hu Zifeng jumped on him immediately. “You on Plot Two—do you think we’re idiots? If you needed the scout bird for the swamp, why didn’t you release it once you got there?”

Tang Huai shot back, “And who are you to boss me around about where I fly my birds?”

Hu Zifeng sneered, “Oh, I’m plenty qualified. Flying a scout bird from Territory Two means it crosses Territory Three before hitting Mountain 49, and Mountain 49 is Qinglong’s turf. Be grateful Xia Qing shot it down—if our Boss found it, you’d be in real trouble.”

Tang Huai feigned innocence. “So, we’re not allowed to fly scout birds over the practical training base outside the Safe Zone either? I’ve never heard anyone mention that to me.”

Xia Qing spoke up. “According to the Lord’s Act, all airspace within three thousand meters over a territory is the lord’s domain. Any person, device, or trained animal entering without permission is breaking the law.”

Hu Zifeng immediately piled on. “You hear that, Plot Two? You’ve been in the territories for half a year and you still haven’t read the Lord’s Act?”

Tang Huai doubled down on his clueless act. “Guess I haven’t. Sorry, Xia Qing.”

Xia Qing stayed silent, but Tan Junjie’s voice was all business. “The Inspection Team’s initial analysis shows the scout bird’s control range maxes out at three kilometers. The straight-line distance from Territory Two to the northside swamps of Mountain 49 exceeds that range—your excuse doesn’t fly.”

Tang Huai stuck to his story. “No way. The bird we released had a control range of fifteen kilometers. Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake, Captain Tan?”

Tan Junjie didn’t bother arguing. “Territory Two has violated the Lord’s Act. Tang Huai, as acting representative, bring the remote control for the downed scout bird to the signpost at the north end of Territory Two within fifteen minutes for investigation.”