Chapter 220: Chaos in the Cornhouse

Boss Sheep pushed open the door and trotted into the corn greenhouse. Xia Qing hurried over, slipped off its protective mask, and tucked two compressed rations into its pouch while whispering gently, “You got here at the perfect time, Boss. Without you, our territory would be doomed. Quick, grab those corn stalks lying on the furrows and toss them out to the entrance. Careful, don’t let the Xiang Rain hit you!”

After she spoke, Xia Qing quickly gathered a few Xiang-evolved corn plants from the furrow, dashed to the greenhouse entrance, and pitched them outside, showing Boss Sheep exactly what to do.

“Baa!”

Boss Sheep caught on right away. It picked up two corn stalks, soil and all, still growing, then bolted to the entrance and flung them out—further than Xia Qing managed.

Xia Qing was still running when she heard the commotion but didn’t even look back. She was already showering Boss Sheep with praise. “You’re amazing, Boss! Way better than me. The pioneer of evolved sheep on Blue Star—it’s all thanks to you!”

With all that praise, Boss Sheep started hurling corn stalks like crazy. Chen Zheng, who’d never seen anything like this, stared in shock for two seconds before he dove in to help.

The red Xiang Rain lasted an hour and a half. Inside the greenhouse, crops transformed; outside, plants and animals either evolved or went berserk. People were so busy they wished they had eight hands just to keep up.

“One hour fifty minutes—red Xiang Rain has ended.” Tan Junjie’s report came through on the Lord’s Channel.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but nobody dared to stop working. The Xiang element in the air wouldn’t drop off quickly just because the rain ended, and the crops inside the greenhouse kept evolving in bursts.

Outside the greenhouse? They couldn’t spare a thought for it!

Xia Qing had lost count of how many Xiang-evolved corn plants she’d cleared. The corn stalks that Boss Sheep hauled outside were still madly growing, blocking the entrance entirely. Boss Sheep got mad, crashed out, rammed, and kicked around until there was space, then kept flinging more out.

An hour and a half after the red Xiang Rain ended, the crops inside the greenhouse finally stabilized, no more sudden evolutions. Nearly all the Xiang Grass inside had been cleared. Outside, blue-grade Xiang Rain was still falling as the sky started to brighten.

Everyone in the territory collapsed where they stood, shaking all over and gasping. Boss Sheep, muddy as a lump of dirt, sprawled next to Xia Qing, shaking its head again and again.

Xia Qing barely caught her breath before sitting up to wipe the mud from Boss Sheep’s face and snout. She started tallying up losses from the first wave of red Xiang Rain. In those one hour fifty minutes, two hundred eighty corn plants in the greenhouse evolved. Listening to damage reports from other sheds made Xia Qing’s heart ache even more.

Thank goodness, the highland spinach plot, sweet potato plot, and the fields of greenlight rice she’d protected with Yi Stone didn’t lose a single plant to the Xiang evolution.

Once all the Xiang-evolved crops were cleared, and after patrolling the territory to get rid of any dangerous evolved creatures, Xia Qing pressed the button and announced, “It’s stable now. Everyone can rest.”

Hu Zifeng replied, “Start following the original plan. Xia Qing, go home and rest. Come back at five this afternoon. If it rains red before then, I’ll call you.”

The third bout of Xiang Rain would go on for seventy hours. They were only five hours in. All eleven of them would have to take three shifts to stay sharp for whatever trouble could crop up.

Covered in mud and grass leaves, Xia Qing led the filthy Boss Sheep through waist-high Xiang Grass and back toward the village.

As for clearing out Xiang Grass? That would just have to wait.

Once home, Xia Qing checked that the air was free of toxins. She took the protective masks off the three wolves, then led Boss Sheep to the shower to wash off all the mud. She took off its protective suit and filled its bath tub with warm water so it could have a proper soak.

Xia Qing headed to the upstairs bathroom for a quick shower herself, changed out of her sweat-soaked clothes, then started cooking, feeding the wolves, the sheep, and the chickens.

Boss Sheep, who’d worked through the night, got a meal of greenlight grass with spinach leaves and a special feed mixed with wheat bran. The sick wolf ate cooked organ meat. The chickens got chopped veggies mixed with wheat bran feed. The fish got insects Xia Qing caught. The big water bucket filled with greenlight and yellowlight fish was set beside the cage, all protected by the Yi Stone, making it safely through the first wave of red Xiang Rain.

What about the snake in the box? Not her problem right now.

Xia Qing had tea soup with savory five-spice greenlight dried meat, plus fifteen milliliters of fresh-pressed spinach juice.

The two wolves in the Sheep Shed still had round bellies, so they didn’t need food. Xia Qing figured those two wouldn’t eat again until the Xiang Rain had finally let up.

Just as Xia Qing was about to rest after her meal, Zhao Ze’s voice came through. “How’s everyone else’s territory? I lost over five hundred corn plants—only three white radishes left.”

“Lost plenty myself. Lucky nearly two hours of that red Xiang Rain hit at the start. If it dumped on us tomorrow or the next day, we’d lose even more.” Unlike Zhao Ze’s complaining, Qi Fu could always see the bright side.

Tang Huai asked, “Zhao Ze, did rain get into your vegetable greenhouse?”

If the rain hadn’t gotten in, the losses would’ve been much smaller.

Zhao Ze sounded frustrated. “The cover sheet on my veggie shed and one corn greenhouse tore up a while ago. My mom said not to replace it…”

Before Zhao Ze could finish, his mom started yelling, “I said reinforce it tight! Did you?! Useless kids! You mess up your work, then try blaming me?”

Honestly, for a Lord, Zhao Ze had pretty poor management and follow-through—he really earned that scolding. After hearing him get chewed out, everyone else felt a little better.

Kuang Qingwei checked in, “You guys all okay? I’ve got two more people out of control and hurt here. It’s impossible. The Safe Zone must be a total mess!”

Most ordinary folks in the Safe Zone had old, broken masks. With an hour and fifty minutes of red-grade Xiang Rain, there had to be at least a thousand people losing control.

Some went wild and attacked anyone nearby, while quite a few others used the chaos for their own gain. Right now, the Safe Zone felt more like hell than home.

Xia Qing couldn’t do anything about the Safe Zone situation, so she just looked after herself and her allies. Once she confirmed Plot Five had no serious injuries, Xia Qing made sure all the masks were secure on Boss Sheep and the wolves before heading upstairs to rest.

On the Lord’s Channel, Shi Du called to Zhang San, “Third Brother, you there? Can I come get medicine now? My dad’s in terrible pain. Would you take green-glow mung beans or greenlight cotton in trade?”

Zhang San wasn’t short on greenlight vegetables these days, but those were the best things Plot Ten could offer.

“Sure. Five pounds of each.” Zhang San answered. “Xia Qing, send over two pounds of that white-hairy chicken manure vine from your territory.”

Xia Qing pressed the button to reply, “Alright, sending it right away.”

Just then, Hu Zifeng called. “You rest at home. I’ll deliver it.”

“Thanks, Captain Hu.” Xia Qing thanked him and clicked off the walkie-talkie before heading upstairs.

A voice came over the Lord’s Channel—Li Si: “Xia Qing, can I trade for some chicken-vine? What supplies do you need?”

But Xia Qing had already turned off her walkie-talkie and couldn’t hear. Hu Zifeng answered for her, “Fourth Sister, Xia Qing spent the night clearing Xiang-evolved corn. I told her to go rest. I’ll let her know when she’s up.”

“Thanks.” Li Si replied coolly.

Tang Huai immediately chimed in with a teasing tone, “Maniac, not bad.”

Hu Zifeng pressed the walkie-talkie button, “Tang, straighten that tongue of yours. You never know—if I’m in a good mood, I might even let you in Plot One to dig for bugs.”

Tang Huai snorted. “Like you’ve got the final say on Plot One.”

Tang Zhengbo spoke up, “Tang Huai, have you finished clearing Plot Two yet?”

“Not yet, I’m still working on it with my team.” Tang Huai replied, suddenly all business.

Tan Junjie’s voice was serious. “Each territory, please report any dangerous cases of Xiang evolution.”