Chapter 204: The Race for the Last Antidote

It took the Azure Dragon Unit more than four months scouring the whole country to gather the medicinal herbs listed on Zhang San’s antidote recipe. Now, they only needed two more herbs to complete the set.

One of these herbs grew within the Hui City Base’s territory. The Azure Dragon Unit had narrowed down the general area, but it was a dangerous stretch full of swamps, amber, and venomous insects and snakes. The other herb grew in the Evolver Forest near White City Base in northern Hua Nation. That forest was claimed by evolved tigers, and harvest season would arrive in October.

Yang Jin led the team out to collect herbs, bracing not only for poisonous snakes and insects, but also for competition from rival squads after the same medicine.

No squad lucky enough to get their hands on the rare herbs would easily give them up or trade. If the Azure Dragon Unit failed to collect the herbs now, they’d likely have to wait another full year to try again.

If Luo Pei’s condition dragged on for another year, he’d never return to his peak. This time, the Azure Dragon Unit had to succeed. Failure wasn’t an option.

Wei Chengdong, assigned to guard duty, knocked lightly on the door. “Boss, Luo, Teacher Tan is here.”

Tan Junjie stepped in carrying a basket of vegetables. Yang Jin’s grin broadened, “These from your territory, Teacher Tan?”

“Mm, ‘Greenlight’ lettuce. Tastes pretty good.” Luo Pei passed the basket to Yang Jin, his concern obvious as he looked over his old comrade’s weakened frame. “How do you feel right now?”

“I’m okay,” Luo Pei answered.

“Okay” really just meant “not good.”

After all, with Luo Pei’s peak skills, there was no way an Evolved Monkey Eagle would escape right under his nose. Tan Junjie turned to Yang Jin, “Which herbs are you still missing? I’ll ask the commander for help. At times like this, every connection counts.”

By “commander,” Tan Junjie meant Qi Zhongye, current chief of Hui San Base. If they hadn’t exhausted all other options, they wouldn’t have asked the commander personally.

“Just two left. I already checked with the commander—not a single research institute in Hui City has those two herbs. But we’ve basically locked in where they grow.” Since they were among friends, Yang Jin didn’t hide anything from Tan Junjie. “One’s in the area between Mountain 62 and Mountain 65. I’ll lead a team tomorrow. These next few days, Teacher Tan, I’ll have to trouble you to check in on Luo when you can.”

Mountains 62 to 65 were deep inside the Evolver Forest—incredibly dangerous during the Xiang Rain season. “Is the intel reliable?” Tan Junjie inquired.

Yang Jin showed him the photos. “We’ve ruled out all other regions. That’s the only spot left.”

Spotting that the herb grew in the water, Tan Junjie asked, “How many of you are going?”

“Six. I’m leading.”

“Six isn’t enough.” Tan Junjie glanced at Luo Pei. “Ask Yan Long. Nobody’s better at underwater combat.”

“Yan Long is out on military duty,” Luo Pei shook his head.

Tan Junjie explained, “Yan Long said to Qi that she gets four days off per month, and it accumulates. She’s planning to use them for a winter trip with Qi.”

If Yan Long could go with Yang Jin’s team, even if they didn’t get the herb, at least they’d survive no matter what. Luo Pei immediately called Yan Long.

Tan Junjie lowered his voice, “You bringing any tamed beasts?”

“We have an evolved Snake-Eagle,” Yang Jin nodded.

Heading into a land swarming with venomous snakes and bugs, a Snake-Eagle was perfect. Tan Junjie said nothing more, but something about the question piqued Yang Jin’s curiosity. “Teacher Tan, do any territories nearby have tamed beasts?”

Tan Junjie kept a serious face. “I haven’t asked the other party yet so I can’t say.”

Tan Junjie didn’t answer, but Yang Jin had a good guess: Xin Yu, the Lord of Plot Eight, had raised a very successful evolved beast.

If taming wasn’t a success, you couldn’t even control the beast yourself, let alone let someone else command it.

Right now, in Territory Three, Xia Qing—who still wasn’t on good terms with her so-called ‘tamed beast’—was pinning the little troublemaker to the ground, trying to attach a tracker. “Stop squirming! Once this is on, you’re free, okay? Hold still!”

After fitting the tracker, Xia Qing sprayed the Evolved Squirrel with a scent tracking solution. She hauled the squirrel inside, up to her bedroom on the second floor.

She opened the window, tied the little guy’s trusty tin can of spring water outside on the sill, and placed a chunk of cucumber, a few mung beans and a bundle of Redlight tobacco fiber next to it. She spoke gently, “See? I’ve got spring water, food, and your favorite tobacco all right here. If you’re hungry or thirsty just come over, take what you want—even the tobacco. I won’t catch you, I promise. But don’t go stealing from other territories. If they get you, you’re doomed.”

Xia Qing doubted the little creature could understand, but she still pressed its tiny head down to give it a drink, shoved some cucumber in its mouth and stuffed the bundle of tobacco into its tiny paws. Then she let go.

The moment she did, the Evolved Squirrel shot straight for the roof and vanished.

Xia Qing immediately checked her phone app, watching the tracker’s red dot streak west for a few hundred meters, then curve north. Only when the straight-line distance between her phone’s green blip and the squirrel’s red dot reached 3,500 meters did it finally stop.

Judging by the distance, the little guy had holed up at Plot Forty-Nine, Area Three. Smiling, Xia Qing pocketed her phone, thrilled by the result.

With tracker and scent solution in hand, the safest way would have been to keep the red squirrel caged and only release it when she left with her squad.

But Xia Qing chose to set it free right away. It was a gamble, but she figured trapping the squirrel nonstop might make it bolt for good the moment it broke out, ditching its territory for good.

Even if she caught the red squirrel again, she’d have no way to track where it actually found those edible chestnuts.

By letting it go now, the squirrel might be a bit rattled, but it stayed in its own territory, within Xia Qing’s tracking range—an ideal outcome.

And if the critter actually came back for water, food or tobacco, it would be even better.

Cheerful, Xia Qing headed downstairs, back to weeding the fields. During a break, she pulled out her phone to check the app. To her surprise, the red squirrel had moved into West Buffer Forest in Territory Three, now only 1,200 meters from her.

Only a handful of Redlight chinaberry trees grew there. What was it doing—going to eat chinaberries? That little guy had quite an appetite.

Xia Qing returned to the vegetable shed, ducking behind the plants and peering out, hoping to spot her troublesome tenant.

With her Level 9 Vision Evolver skills, she soon spotted the red squirrel in the crown of a towering chinaberry. The little thing was crouched on a branch—not munching chinaberries, but gnawing at a snake’s shed skin. Not just any snake either, but one of the highly poisonous evolved snakes from her own territory.

This little rascal was actually eating snake skin!

Looking closer, Xia Qing realized the red squirrel was rubbing the shredded snake skin onto its thick, bushy tail—now dusted in flakes that looked a lot like dandruff.

The sight made Xia Qing’s scalp tingle, but suddenly she understood the squirrel’s plan.

It was arming itself with the poison of the snake shed, covering itself in the snake’s scent. Or maybe it was hoping that smell would mask the scent tracking solution Xia Qing had sprayed on it.

Pretty clever for such a little rascal.