Chapter 19: Echoes of Danger: The Evolver’s Resolve

The noise from the phone died down, a sure sign Zhong Tao had stepped away from the chaos. Xia Qing could hear his heavy footsteps, dragging across the floor—far louder than usual. She quickly judged he was exhausted.

Sure enough, his voice came through hoarse and rough. “Qing, can you hear me?”

“I can, Tao. Go ahead,” Xia Qing replied.

Zhong Tao pressed on, “How’s it on your end? Any dangerous mutant creatures you can’t handle? Don’t push yourself. If there’s any trouble, just tell me. I can’t come over, but I can send someone.”

Xia Qing knew exactly who he’d ask—Captain Tan, stationed at the old regiment headquarters. She also understood why Zhong Tao was calling. She kept her tone even. “Nothing dangerous so far. If anything comes up, I’ll let you know right away.”

Relieved to hear she was safe and glad to check in, Zhong Tao couldn’t help but complain, “You have no idea—everything in the Safe Zone’s gone to hell. Over six thousand dead already…”

Xia Qing listened in silence before ending the call. Her mind wandered to the person who’d texted her earlier. Since they could get inside information, she figured they must be doing alright in the Safe Zone—unlikely they’d be in trouble.

Putting her phone away, Xia Qing got back to work—yanking weeds and squashing bugs. Snakes zipped by lightning fast, spiders the size of her palm, fat scorpions as long as a finger, and moths with wings the size of a face…

Most people would lose their minds stuck in a field of man-high grass, dangers lurking with every step. Xia Qing, however, felt oddly happy. Compared to true disasters, these little threats barely felt like a drizzle.

After clearing the last few meters of weeds, she left the village and walked to the edge of the farmland. Suddenly the view opened up. The farm soil, completely cleared and burned, had way fewer weed seeds compared to the village, so the grass here was barely half as thick. Ash from burnt plants helped keep Xiang-mutated creatures down. Even the mutant weeds here barely reached her height, making them much easier to clear.

Xia Qing’s sight stretched farther now, all the way to the Buffer Forest, where the foliage was clearly much denser. Who could tell how many dangerous mutant plants were growing in that tangled mess? And how many mutated animals might be lurking inside?

Right now, that forest was several times more dangerous than before the rain.

Her gaze locked onto a particular tree, and her brow furrowed. Without her enhanced eyes and habit of watching everything in her territory, she might never have noticed—a massive tree in the western Buffer Forest, already fully grown, had started rapidly expanding again in the Xiang Rain.

Normally, it’s young plants—seeds and saplings—that mutate fastest during Xiang Rain, since they’re defenseless against attacks from the air, water and soil. Mature plants have stable life functions and can usually resist the Xiang Element; old, dying plants just age and die faster in it.

Animals are much the same. That’s why most Evolvers today are under thirty-five. When Blue Star’s Great Evolution hit, adults over twenty-five were past their prime—bodies stable, with little chance of dramatic mutation. Young people under twenty-five, their bodies still growing, had the highest odds.

Any human who can still undergo massive evolution as an adult must have some outstanding physical trait. That huge mature tree evolving again is the same story—and this kind of mutation is especially dangerous.

Six years into the disasters, Xia Qing had gone hunting with the Liangqing Squad in the Evolver Forest when a sudden Xiang Rain hit. One mature tree mutated again—the scent it released induced intense hallucinations, spreading out for four full kilometers. Every animal caught in its field started killing each other.

Worse still, that scent seeped right through protective masks, straight into the brain. Human tech at the time couldn’t stop it.

In that catastrophe, twenty-six people died—including Liangqing Squad’s captain and vice-captain. Liangqing Squad was all but ruined. Their third-in-command, Chen Dongyang, gathered the best Evolvers and formed Dongyang Squad, which is now ranked tenth in the base, while Liangqing slipped down to a nobody team outside the top thirty.

During that disaster, Xia Qing—then a Strength Evolver hauling supplies at the rear—never entered the tree’s danger zone. Risking her life, she managed to pull Xu Juan out with a rope after Xu got lost to the illusions. For a long time after, Xia Qing never dared venture deep into the Evolver Forest again.

Now, she just stood far back, fully aware that tree in the Buffer Forest was way beyond what she could handle alone. She was so afraid of crossing into its danger zone she didn’t even dare take another step forward.

She slashed a charging toad in half and stuffed it into her canvas pouch, then hurried home the way she came. Racing to the attic, she checked—sure enough, the mutant tree was still there. It wasn’t just her imagination. She grabbed her phone without hesitation.

Before she could call Zhong Tao, Captain Tan’s name popped up on her screen. Still strict and concise, he asked, “Xia Qing, anything strange at Plot Three?”

“Yes,” Xia Qing answered at once. “A fully grown tree on the western side of Plot Three’s Buffer Forest has mutated again—it’s grown at least five meters taller, and its canopy has doubled in size.”

Captain Tan was quick to follow up. “Where are you? Are you safe?”

Xia Qing replied, “I’m fine. Saw it from the village entrance with binoculars.”

“Good,” Captain Tan said, voice graver than ever. He spoke in a commanding tone, “Stay where you are. I’m bringing a team to take care of it. You are not allowed to volunteer.”

He shot down her offer before she even had a chance. Xia Qing had barely processed that when she heard a thunderous crash downstairs—her whole building rattled.

She slammed the windows shut and raced down the stairs, only to find Boss Sheep had knocked her double security door clean off its hinges and onto the floor.

And that wasn’t all. That crazy sheep—who belonged in a stew pot by now—had one hoof planted squarely on her fallen door!

To make it worse, it half-closed its eyes, glaring at Xia Qing like she’d betrayed it in some unspeakable way.

You’ve got to be kidding me…

Fuming, Xia Qing took a deep breath to keep her anger in check. She cautiously sounded Boss Sheep out, worried the excess Xiang Element in its system had triggered another mutation—or maybe the tree had gotten control of it. “Boss Sheep?”

“Moo!” Boss Sheep bellowed, scraping up the once-stylish door handle with its hoof. There was a sharp metallic crack, and another piece broke off.

Xia Qing snapped, her patience gone. She dug out a piece of compressed ration. “You want this or not?”

Boss Sheep’s eyes popped open. “Baa.”

Hearing Boss Sheep’s half-hearted protest, Xia Qing lost it. She chucked the ration at the floor and stormed over.

“Alright, that’s it! If I don’t beat you senseless today, my name’s not Xia!”