Chapter 226: Wild Tung Crisis

Two and a half hours later, the sky was starting to brighten.

Tan Junjie led his team to Territory Three to check if all the dangerous Xiang-evolved plants had been cleared. What he found was a muddy pit where the wild tung grove had been, with huge piles of branches and roots several meters high. The most eye-catching thing was the crown of a tree tangled with twisted vines.

After asking about the Xiang-evolution process and the plants’ attack abilities, Tan Junjie discussed with Xia Qing. “If we leave these crowns and roots here, they’ll probably sprout again. I’ll call headquarters and have them send a truck to haul the trees away. We’ll need to do the same for the one in Territory Ten, too.”

Xia Qing naturally agreed. “Thank you, Captain Tan.”

After contacting military headquarters, Tan Junjie immediately posted an announcement in the Lord’s Channel: “Both Territory Three and Ten have wild tung trees with medium-risk Xiang evolution. All lords, please check if you have wild tung that keeps regrowing in your territory. If you do, clear them out as soon as possible and report your situation.”

Because wild tung trees grow so quickly, all the lords had started using them as a source of firewood. Soon, lords from Territory One through Nine reported in. Territories Four, Five and Six all had wild tung groves of different sizes.

Compared to herbaceous plants, mature trees resist Xiang Rain much better. But the wild tung groves that kept being cut down looked short on the surface while their roots underneath had become a tangled web, spreading out over a huge area. Because they were cut so often, the roots used all the energy just to force out fresh shoots.

Those roots, suffocating underground, could react unpredictably after two rounds of red-level Xiang Rain.

Xia Qing was annoyed. How could she have missed such a simple risk?

Half an hour later, a military truck rolled into Territory Three and loaded up all the wild tung crowns and roots.

Tang Huai stood under the bus stop sign in Territory Two, umbrella in hand, staring at the thick trunk and the half-shredded vines. Only now did he realize the burst of gunfire from Territory Three last night was aimed at that tree.

If that monster-sized Xiang-evolved tree had grown in Territory Two, Tang Huai would’ve just run for his life and called for backup on the walkie-talkie.

With the wild tung crisis finally over, Xia Qing was dragging herself home when she got a call from Yuan Yan. “Xia Qing, I just steamed a few batches of buns. I’ll have Qi Ge bring them over to you. Don’t bother making breakfast — eat and rest up. There’s still plenty of rain to come.”

Xia Qing didn’t stand on ceremony with her ally. “Thanks, Sis. I’ll come pick them up. Don’t trouble Qi Ge to bring them.”

Xia Qing gave Hu Zifeng a quick heads-up, grabbed a rack of pork ribs from home, and headed for Territory Five. Crossing the Buffer Forest and North Barrier wasn’t safe now, so she switched to the path between the two territories. She was so exhausted she didn’t have it in her to battle evolved insects in the Xiang Grass, so she just fired up the rotary tiller.

Watching from behind the wild grass walls, Tang Huai stood there gaping, sure Xia Qing must’ve gotten knocked silly by those vines.

The path was flooded with Xiang Grass, but the rotary tiller rolled smoothly over the truck tire ruts. When Xia Qing arrived at Territory Five, Yuan Yan and Qi Fu were already waiting with umbrellas by the stop, each holding a steaming, cloth-covered basket. Seeing her drive up, their first feeling wasn’t envy but worry.

It’s just a few steps—why did Xia Qing drive over? She couldn’t be hurt, could she?

Once Xia Qing got out, they saw her protective suit was intact and she moved nimbly. Only then did Qi Fu and Yuan Yan relax and ask how things went in Territory Three.

Xia Qing summed it up simply. “A lot of crops and veggies evolved, but nothing dangerous and nobody got hurt. Clearing out that big tree last night just took loads of effort.”

Yuan Yan couldn’t help but admire Xia Qing. “No one but you would dare handle something like that on their own around here.”

“If it’d been just me, I’d have called for backup too! You really should hurry and clear your wild tung grove out, Sis.” Xia Qing finished, then took out a sealed rack of ribs from the rotary tiller.

Seeing such fresh ribs, Qi Fu and Yuan Yan stared in disbelief.

They’d heard Hu Zifeng mention last night that Xia Qing was cooking wild boar in Territory Three, but they never expected her to deliver a whole rack of fresh ribs.

That’s worth several hundred points easy!

Since Xia Qing had brought it, there was no way she’d take it back. Qi Fu took them right away. “It’s been years since we had ribs. I barely remember what they taste like. I’ve got plenty of people here—if you need help, just let me know.”

Xia Qing agreed, stashed the two baskets inside the rotary tiller, and headed back. The smell of those buns had her stomach growling.

Once the rotary tiller rolled into Territory Three, Tang Huai finally hurried home for a meal with his basket of insects.

Last night, all six who cleared the wild tung grove were totally spent, and the five guarding the greenhouse weren’t much better. Besides clearing evolved plants from inside, they had to get rid of the Xiang Grass too. Still, Er Yong found time to boil a big pot of pork and veggies with the meat Xia Qing brought over, planning to serve it with compressed rations.

When everyone saw the steaming, fragrant white buns Xia Qing carried home, their eyes practically lit up green.

They quickly washed their hands, filled big bowls with potato and bean stew, then ate at lightning speed—meat in one hand, buns in the other.

Xia Qing devoured two buns, a bowl of meat, and chased it all with a bowl of hot tea soup. The temptation to keep Er Yong in her territory grew. It was hard to resist the idea of coming home to hot, tasty food after a long day.

But if she kept Er Yong around, she’d have to reveal the secret of the Spring Water to Hu Zifeng’s squad. The more people who knew, the more likely it’d get out. Honestly, it was easier dealing with the Wolf Pack to get a yellow weasel that could pluck feathers.

Then again, if a yellow weasel runs into danger, it might release a stink bomb—and no one could eat prey that’s been blasted like that.

Better to just learn to cook from Er Yong. With a sigh, Xia Qing drove the rotary tiller home.

She looked at the courtyard thick with Xiang Grass and felt stifled, so she circled around a few times and mowed it down into a proper lawn.

After checking every corner inside and out, feeding the wolves, sheep and chickens, she climbed to the second floor, washed up, and stood before the mirror eyeing her shoulders and arms, barely able to lift them.

Knocking down a big, rock-hard tree hadn’t been nearly as easy as Xia Qing made it look.

Boss Sheep had his tough spiral horns, but she was the opposite—just flesh and bone on the outside.

The first strike, Xia Qing used both arms. The second time, her right arm and left hand. The third, her left arm and right hand. She was lucky she brought the tree down in three hits, and even luckier she had premium nutrient solution—without it, she’d have collapsed long ago.

After rubbing on some anti-inflammatory pain relief, Xia Qing crawled into bed to sleep and recharge. She still had another tough fight ahead.

According to the weather report, the third Xiang Rain wouldn’t end until two in the morning tomorrow. For the next twenty hours, the concentration of Xiang element in the air and soil would stay at extreme levels, peaking in that third wave of red Xiang Rain. Xia Qing could only hope it wouldn’t last too long—otherwise, her greenhouse crops were sure to lose at least half.

As tough as things were here, she couldn’t imagine the risks Yang Jin and the Alpha Wolf faced hunting for medicine deep in the Evolver Forest. The Safe Zone was probably in chaos, too. She could only hope the person who texted her was still okay.

“Ding.”

Lost in a sleepy haze, Xia Qing heard her phone chime. She pulled off her eye mask and glanced at the screen, instantly jolted awake.

Yang Jin had sent her a photo: deep in the soaking Evolver Forest, amidst dazzling, dense grass, a yellow weasel with round ears and bright black eyes was peeking out, using Xiang Grass for cover.