Chapter 215: Before the Xiang Rain: Preparations and Promises

Xia Qing lugged the rainproof tarp back into the little farm shed by the fields.

With more and more supplies piling up, Xia Qing decided to build another room beside the shed, using salvaged bricks and stones. The outer space now served as both a living room and a storage area, while the inner part was a resting space. She kept half the room for storage and the other half fitted with three wooden beds where Hu Zifeng’s team could sleep during their night shifts.

Inside the shed, she cut the rainproof tarps into suitable sizes and distributed them among the greenhouses. Then she started inspecting the greenhouse bamboo strips, poles and iron frames, swapping out anything cracked and tightening loose bindings. She made sure to stash a bundle of replacement materials in each greenhouse, so if some aggressive, Xiang-evolved plant tore through the rainproof shelter during a Xiang Rain, she could have it patched up in under three minutes.

After making her rounds, Xia Qing cleared the drains around the greenhouses again, double-checking that even if a downpour hit, the water would never flood the greenhouses or bring Xiang Rain in to mutate the crops.

By the time she finished these chores, it was already three in the afternoon—thirteen hours until the Xiang Rain.

She still had three tasks left: deliver a Yi Stone to the injured wolf, install the Yi Stones in the greenhouses and pull out the sunflowers.

Once the Xiang Rain started, there’d be no way she could deliver medicine to the wounded wolf on time. Weather had thrown a wrench in her plans, so she needed to visit her VIP guest in the cave in advance and give him a heads-up.

With a sprayer on her back, Xia Qing hurried to the abandoned cave, only to find the Black Wolf and the Wolf with the Broken Leg were both gone. Only the Brain-Evolved Wolf was inside.

Those two really trust me, huh?

Once the injured wolf finished the medicine, Xia Qing asked, “Still no sign of Her Majesty with the back injury? The third Xiang Rain hits tonight—what’s your plan, the three of you?”

The Brain-Evolved Wolf watched Xia Qing quietly, lost in its own thoughts.

Why hasn’t Blue Star ever given humans a way to talk to animals? Xia Qing sighed. “I’ll spray some medicine around the cave to keep out bugs and the smell. During the Xiang Rain, try to stay inside. Don’t go wandering.”

Back when the Brain-Evolved Wolf was laid up in the sheep shed, Xia Qing cleaned it daily, so the wolf was used to this routine. Now it crouched by the cave entrance, keeping an eye on her as she worked.

This time, going deeper inside, Xia Qing found a straight, round hole leading upward from the back of the cave. It must have been drilled as a vent when the Wild Boar Breeding Center was built—the Alpha Wolf had always used it to come and go.

No wonder wolves like this can jump so well—must be all that evolution.

When the humans left, nobody bothered to seal up the vent. If it rained, water would flood straight into the cave and pollute it with Xiang Rain.

Once she finished spraying, Xia Qing climbed to the top of the cave and blocked the vent with a few big stones. Then she called the Brain-Evolved Wolf inside, making sure to avoid the cameras, and took out a pouch just like Boss Sheep’s. She spoke in a low voice, “Wear this. Don’t take it off when it rains and don’t give it back until the storm passes.”

Boss Sheep wore a pouch like this all the time, and the Alpha Wolf had one too, so the injured wolf recognized it. Docile as ever, it lay down and stretched out its head so Xia Qing could fix the pouch in place.

Xia Qing stayed careful around this clever wolf. It might still be injured, but smart animals were always unpredictable. She couldn’t drop her guard.

If it wasn’t sharp, would it have thought to lie down and cooperate?

If this wolf stood or even crouched, those sharp teeth and claws could be a serious threat to her. Like this, lying flat, all she had to worry about was getting bitten.

Any wolf clever enough to think like that was smarter than average. Honestly, Xia Qing suspected it might be even more cunning than the Alpha.

If this guy teamed up with Yang Jin, they’d wipe the floor with everyone else on Blue Star.

Moving quickly, Xia Qing put the pouch on the wolf, then took a small piece of Yi Stone from her pocket and showed it to him. She whispered, “You traded this kind of stone with me before, so you know what it’s for. I’m putting it in the pouch. Hold on, okay? Make it through this Xiang Rain safely. If it gets ugly, go to the territory and look for me or Boss Sheep.”

After tucking the Yi Stone into the secret pocket, she reminded him again just in case. “Don’t take the pouch off and never let another human find the Yi Stone. You could get in trouble.”

With that done, Xia Qing left the cave and headed back to her own territory.

Honestly, giving the Brain-Evolved Wolf a Yi Stone made her wince—those things weren’t cheap. But there was no choice; that injury hadn’t healed and the wolf wouldn’t stand a chance against the Xiang Rain. If it went berserk during the red wave, all those points she’d spent would go right down the drain.

So for the sake of this one wolf, she had to fork over a Yi Stone.

Leaving the abandoned cave and heading back, she looked at the thick white clouds gathering over the western sky. Even though the Xiang Rain hadn’t arrived yet, she still felt the pressure building.

She entered the greenhouse and tucked a trimmed piece of Yi Stone into a little hole in the support at the center of the highland Greenlight terraced plot.

The Yi Stone used in the Greenlight plot was twice as big as the one she gave the Brain-Evolved Wolf. Xia Qing had already calculated that its protective field could shield all six hundred-plus spinach plants in the plot.

With that stone in place, as long as the greenhouse’s rainproof tarp held up and the spinach wasn’t directly hit by Xiang Rain, there’d be no way for those crops to mutate.

After setting up the spinach plot, Xia Qing installed a second piece of Yi Stone in the densest patch of Greenlight sweet potatoes. She was especially fond of sweet potatoes and needed plenty set aside to fill at least three plots next year.

The third Yi Stone she installed was placed on the support frame in the Greenlight rice paddy.

If it’s from Zhang San, it’s guaranteed quality. She’d traded for a hundred rice seedlings with him, and ninety-five were still thriving. These were tough, healthy and brighter than the ones she’d bought from the Safe Zone, set aside for seed. Every last stalk was precious and needed protecting.

Whether the rest of the crops made it through this next Xiang Rain would come down to luck. Even if half of them took damage, as long as some survived, Xia Qing would still have enough to eat.

After fixing up the Yi Stones, Xia Qing made her way to a small shed southeast of the Xiang-evolved cotton plot. The cotton plants here had been stripped bare by the hail and cleared out, and the wild grapes inside had been wiped out too. Now, only four sunflowers were growing there.

It was five o’clock in the afternoon. Two sunflowers in full bloom were facing west, while the two that had finished flowering no longer tracked the sun but instead pointed in her direction.

She stood in silence, staring at the four Yellowlight sunflowers, her expression serious.

The sick wolf stood beside her, staring at the sunflowers too. Boss Sheep, clearly getting impatient, nudged Xia Qing with its head.

It was getting late—it was time to round up the chickens and cook dinner.

Deep in thought, Xia Qing nearly toppled over from the sheep’s headbutt, but once steady, she kept staring at the sunflowers.

Should she pull them all out or leave one and watch how it behaves in the Xiang Rain?