Chapter 183: Improvised Defenses and Subtle Schemes

Human research has continued to deepen, but Evolved Insects keep developing new drug resistance. The improved Dewormer from the Base in June isn’t working as well as before.

She couldn’t let flies carrying disease keep swarming around the Sick Wolf. Xia Qing went inside to grab her bug net, trapped the giant mutated flies one by one, and tossed them all into the fire. Then she picked up some window mesh from the Tool Room and quickly installed a magnetic, retractable insect-proof mesh door on the Sheep Shed.

While adjusting the door screws, Xia Qing heard Kuang Qingwei on the lord’s walkie-talkie asking her about food storage.

“Xia Qing, are you there? What do you think about digging a cellar for potatoes?”

After all the lords returned their seed potatoes to the Safe Zone, none of them actually sold their potatoes at the Safe Zone’s set price. Instead, they all scrambled to hide them away.

Xia Qing didn’t mention she’d already dug two cellars of her own. She pressed the button on her walkie-talkie. “If you can keep bugs, mice, and dampness out, I think it’s worth a try.”

Shi Chong jumped in with another question. “Xia Qing, how would you handle ventilation if we do dig a cellar?”

Qi Fu was still nursing his injuries, so he wasn’t online much. When it came to building matters, Xia Qing was the go-to—she was a vice-captain for the Construction Crew back in the Safe Zone and knew the ropes. But she wasn’t around all the time, so the moment she signed in, everyone bombarded her with questions.

Xia Qing had already thought this through. She replied, “You can install an exhaust fan, or just add a vent and use a blower to circulate air in from outside now and then.”

Kuang Qingwei didn’t buy it. “Exhaust fans and blowers cost a ton of Points, and both need electricity. Our solar panels all got busted by hail! Where are we supposed to get the power for an exhaust fan?”

Kuang Qingwei was always a stretch-the-truth kind of guy; you could only trust a third of what he said. If his solar panels were really all smashed, how was he even charging his walkie-talkie?

Xia Qing replied anyway. “If it’s just a small cellar, you can use a little exhaust fan as a ventilator. I remember the Safe Zone had some battery-powered ones.”

In the cellar at the ruined village southwest of Territory Three, Xia Qing had already installed one of those battery fans as a test. It definitely improved ventilation, but made the temperature and humidity harder to control.

So, running an exhaust fan for short, timed bursts every day or every other day actually works.

Keeping it secret, Xia Qing didn’t go through the usual trade channels with Zhong Tao. Instead, she just told Hu Zifeng and swapped Yellowlight Vegetables from her greenhouse with Plot One. Plot One had more people to feed, so most of her Yellowlight Vegetables from the farmland greenhouse ended up there, with just a little leftover for Zhong Tao and Zheng Kui.

Tan Junjie hadn’t tried to trade vegetables with Xia Qing in the past two months, and from all the signs, she suspected he was probably the lord of Territory Fifteen.

Shi Chong chimed in again. “Xia Qing, what about those wind-powered ventilators on top of the Safe Zone’s underground buildings? Don’t they run without electricity?”

Xia Qing had considered that but had to give it up. “They don’t need electricity, but you have to install them in a breezy, open spot.”

“That won’t work,” Kuang Qingwei objected. “Those things are way too big and attract too much attention.”

The more hidden your food storage, the better.

Zhao Ze, who used to work on landscaping projects before the disaster, joined in. “You could try the old rural cellar ventilation method—either leave the cellar or cave mouth a little open or run a pipe to the outside. Sure, it’s not as good for preservation, but we don’t have much food anyway, and it doesn’t need to last that long.”

Everyone agreed. But honestly, there wasn’t much surplus food on any of the plots nearby—maybe only Plot Four had some to store.

“Xia Qing, do you have a cellar or a cave on your territory?” Zhao Ze asked.

Xia Qing answered calmly, “I’ve got a lot of hillsides, so I’m planning to dig a cave. Zhao, do you know what kind of spot is best for a cave?”

“Somewhere hard and dry, of course. It rains a lot here, so keeping water out is tough.” Zhao Ze said. “When’s Third Brother coming back? I want to ask if he’s got any food-preservation tricks.”

If anyone knew how to save food, it’d be Zhang San—he was obsessed with eating, though who knows how cost-effective his methods really were. He’d been gone ten days now, and everyone kept mentioning his name as if it might bring him back. With him away, people couldn’t shake a sense of unease.

Just as Xia Qing was wondering what could have kept Zhang San away for so long—even Greenlight meat hadn’t drawn him home—her phone suddenly started vibrating in her pocket.

Yang Jin was the caller. If he phoned her, it was always important. Xia Qing picked up at once.

“Just now, the Sufeng Squad contacted Xu Juan from the Dongyang Squad and Zhang Yong from the Construction Crew, asking them to install solar panels for you.”

While Xia Qing had always kept a low profile in the Safe Zone, she did have ties to a few people. Xu Juan and Zhang Yong were the ones she’d worked with most often, and they were still there.

Zhang Yong was the only regular person among the four captains of the Hui San Base’s Construction Crew. He managed four teams, each with a vice-captain—Xia Qing being one of them.

Before the disaster, Zhang Yong had worked in construction in the area. He pulled some old strings and relied on his own skill, and after things went bad, he secured the cushy post of Construction Crew captain.

Xia Qing’s dad had once saved Zhang Yong’s life during a beast tide, so when Xia Qing applied to join the Construction Crew, Zhang Yong took her into his team out of gratitude.

It was only after joining that Xia Qing learned there was an unwritten rule: if she left Zhang Yong’s crew, the other teams wouldn’t accept her either.

The real reason Xia Qing didn’t want to work under Zhang Yong was his lecherous side.

He’d never force himself on anyone, but after the disaster, clothing and food were scarce and plenty of women cozied up to him for supplies. His wife quarreled with him constantly.

Her first month with the Construction Crew, Zhang Yong’s wife stormed the job site. After trying to explain, Xia Qing just picked her up and tossed her into the sand pile—only then did the woman back down.

Grateful for Xia Qing’s father’s deed, Zhang Yong didn’t hold it against her, but terrified his wife might make a scene again, he stopped doing her any favors.

To avoid complications, Xia Qing kept only the bare minimum of work contact with Zhang Yong. Later, she made vice-captain not because of his help, but thanks to her own strength as a Strength Evolver.

Xia Qing hadn’t expected the Sufeng Squad to go to so much trouble for her. “Xu Juan’s got hearing powers, but Zhang Yong’s just a regular guy. Even if they snoop around, they won’t find anything. Does Captain Yang know Sufeng Squad’s plan?”

“They’ll probably bug those two, or maybe coat them with something that drives evolved animals wild.” Yang Jin paused before going on, “The second method’s easier to detect, so odds are high they go for the first. They’ll have Guan Yong or Xu Juan ask you about the pangolin, then use a Brain-Evolved to analyze your face and voice for lies.”

Xia Qing had heard Brain-Evolveds were freaky, but it hadn’t sunk in how deep that went until now. “Captain Yang, are they really that good at telling what’s true?”