Chapter 219: Red Alert: The Onset of the Xiang Rain

Before the hailstorm, Xia Qing and Zhong Tao had traded evolved White-hairy Chicken Manure Vine several times—everyone in Territory Three knew about it. Xia Qing pressed the button to reply, “Yes, it’s evolved White-hairy Chicken Manure Vine. Will this herb help treat Uncle Shi’s illness?”

Zhang San replied, “Depends on the evolution grade. Once the Xiang Rain passes, send some of your chicken-vine over.”

“Alright,” Xia Qing agreed. Just as she waited for Li Si to ask for a trade, a flash of lightning split the sky from earth to clouds. Thunder cracked a second later, and then the rain came—all driven by a wild wind.

The third Xiang Rain of Year Ten after the calamity had begun.

Shi Chong’s prediction was spot on. The Xiang Rain started with punishing force, hammering the rainproof tarp so loud that even with protective masks, the noise left everyone unsettled.

Braving the rain, Xia Qing finished inspecting the drainage ditch and hurried back to the farm shed.

Hu Zifeng put away the portable tester, face grim. “It’s at Orange Level. Xiang element density is still rising. The next level, Red Xiang Rain, could hit any moment.”

When the Red Xiang Rain arrives, someone must be stationed inside every greenhouse. The original rotation plan was off the table. All eyes from Hu Zifeng’s squad turned to Xia Qing, lord of Territory Three.

She wasted no time. “Seven greenhouses, one person in each. I’ll take the corn greenhouse. Three on patrol outside, handle any dangerous Xiang-evolved creatures. No need to check the village where I live—Boss Sheep and the three wolves are there. They’re all wearing protective masks and can hear us. If there’s any danger, they’ll raise the alarm.”

“Got it,” Hu Zifeng immediately ordered, “Da Jiang, Chen Zheng, Er Yong, you three patrol outside. I’ll cover the highland greenhouse. Everyone else—take a greenhouse each.”

Highland greenhouse held the spinach Luo Pei needed daily, so Hu Zifeng wouldn’t let anyone else watch over it.

Xia Qing reminded everyone, “Watch those sunflowers. Safety first.”

“Understood.” The group donned their protective masks and dashed into the downpour.

Xia Qing hurried to the corn greenhouse, flipping on all fifteen lights one by one. During the last Xiang Rain patrol at night, she’d had to rely on night vision goggles and her headlamp to check the crops, which was far from ideal.

That’s why she’d traded produce with Zhong Tao for a set of lights—each came with a rechargeable battery, good for ten hours on a single charge. Insects were less active during Xiang Rain, and the tarp wasn’t very transparent, so turning on the lights wouldn’t lure in swarms.

With so many lights, Xia Qing could see every corner of the greenhouse and each stalk of corn without a problem.

“Red level just hit.” Hu Zifeng’s voice came through the earpiece walkie-talkie.

“All territory lords, the Red Xiang Rain stage has begun—stay alert. If you run into any danger you can’t handle, report it to the group immediately.” Tan Junjie’s stern announcement came through the lord’s walkie-talkie.

Tension filled the air. Even Zhao Ze, the most vocal complainer, kept quiet. Each territory lord watched over their crops, silently wishing for the Red Xiang Rain to end soon.

Ten minutes, twenty, thirty minutes passed…

The raging Red-level Xiang Rain, driven by the wind, battered the earth. The concentration of Xiang element in the air and in the rain-soaked soil soared. Though the crops inside the territory were shielded by the rainproof tarp, the surplus of activated Xiang element outside slipped through every crack, flooding the greenhouses until the inside air matched the outside.

In the microscopic world invisible to humans, the battle between plants and the Xiang element had already begun.

The first to report a Xiang evolution was the team member stationed at the vegetable greenhouse. “Two white radishes in the farmland vegetable shed underwent Xiang evolution—they grew rapidly. Cleared.”

“Two Chinese cabbages went Xiang evolution. Cleared as well.”

Hu Zifeng didn’t waste a second. “Er Yong, support the farmland vegetable greenhouse immediately!”

“On it!” The Speed Evolver Er Yong dashed toward the vegetable greenhouse.

Fifty minutes into the Red Xiang Rain, every greenhouse was reporting Xiang-evolved plants.

“Two corn stalks went Xiang evolution. Cleared.”

Inside the corn greenhouse, Xia Qing was busy digging up her twentieth rapidly growing corn when she barely noticed the Xiang Grass sprouting at her feet. She hurried back onto the half-meter-high ridge, scanning left and right—two more corn stalks, one twenty meters east, another forty meters west, shot up sky-high!

She sprinted east, chopped down the Xiang-evolved corn and tossed it onto the high ground, then raced west and uprooted a corn stalk that had already reached two and a half meters tall. Then, running back east, she snapped the still-growing corn in her hand into chunks, stuffed them into a vacuum bag, sealed it tight and tossed it onto the ridge before quickly digging up the next mutated corn’s roots.

Just seconds after she’d chopped down the corn stalk, three new yellow shoots, each the size of her palm, popped up from the roots. Xia Qing yanked up the shoots and roots all at once, stuffed them into a vacuum bag, and raced back to the ridge, only to find three more corn stalks mutating in different directions.

She dashed to the nearest one. “More Xiang-evolved corn showing up in the greenhouse—I need backup!”

Corn, unlike shorter crops, could shoot up a meter and hit the top of the tarp. Once it couldn’t keep growing up, Xiang-evolved corn would spread sideways—risking a chain reaction of mutations in nearby plants.

Chen Zheng replied instantly, “Almost there!”

“Baa!” Boss Sheep and Chen Zheng responded at the same time.

Hu Zifeng’s squad, scattered and fighting on different fronts, paused at the sound of Boss Sheep before getting right back to work.

While working, Xia Qing spoke gently to Boss Sheep, “Boss, we don’t need you out in the fields. Watch the house and keep an eye on Number Two and your friends.”

“Baaa—” Boss Sheep responded. After half a year together, Xia Qing knew it meant, ‘Don’t panic, I’m coming to help.’

Boss Sheep’s name across Territory Three had started as a joke, but the sheep took the role seriously, charging into manageable dangers—dragging Xia Qing away only if things got too risky.

Soon, Da Jiang, patrolling the land, shouted, “Qing-jie, Boss Sheep’s out of the village—heading straight for the corn greenhouse!”

“Copy that.”

While digging up corn roots, Xia Qing called out to Boss Sheep, “Boss, watch your step, don’t slip! Number Two, stay home and don’t follow. If your back’s hurt, keep the wolves inside the sheep shed.”

“Smack!”

Da Jiang, who’d just chopped a half-meter-long evolved centipede in two, slipped and fell, smashing the centipede flat. He blamed Xia Qing’s words for breaking his concentration.

Night vision goggles made up for Boss Sheep’s poor night eyesight, and his practice running had made him faster than ever. He zipped past the fallen Da Jiang, speeding toward the corn greenhouse.

While clearing mutant corn, Chen Zheng asked, “Qing-jie, can Boss Sheep tell which corn is Xiang-evolved?”

“No, but he can drag all the mutated corn out.”

To clear Xiang-evolved crops, you’ve got to get their roots out of the soil immediately or the mutation spreads to others. Corn roots grew deep, clutching huge clumps of earth. Your options: haul the mutant stalks out fast or seal them up to block the Xiang element.

With more Xiang-evolved corn popping up by the minute, neither method beat having Boss Sheep lend a hoof.