Chapter 233: Wolves, Neighbors, and the Aftermath of Calamity

Luo Pei was still recovering, and Captain Yang Jin absolutely couldn’t afford to get hurt too. Xia Qing quickly informed Luo Pei that the Alpha Wolf had been wounded by a sharp weapon and immediately set about treating its injuries. After all, Yang Jin was the commander of the Azure Dragon Unit.

“Your Majesty, this might sting a little when I disinfect it. Try to bear with me,” Xia Qing said.

She carefully cleaned the Alpha Wolf’s wounds, applied a special hemostatic agent, then had it swallow some anti-inflammatories. Even top-tier Evolvers feel pain when they’re injured—Xia Qing knew that firsthand. The medication would keep infection at bay, speed up healing, and save the Alpha Wolf from more suffering.

To her surprise, the Alpha Wolf cooperated so well that Xia Qing suddenly felt like she’d become the wolf pack’s team medic. Not only that, she wasn’t the slightest bit worried about getting bitten anymore.

Thinking about it, she wasn’t so different from those weasels that pull out their prey’s fur…

No, that wouldn’t do—she needed to raise her status! Xia Qing took advantage of the moment and ran her hands twice through the Alpha Wolf’s thick fur, finally satisfied before heading to the kitchen to boil some water. She whipped up a quick meal, ate, and then went upstairs to rest.

When her alarm yanked her awake two hours later, Xia Qing realized Yang Jin had replied to her an hour ago with a single word:

“Okay.”

If he could respond, then things couldn’t be too bad. Luo Pei had already sent extra people to fetch him; surely Yang Jin would make it out of the Evolver Forest alive.

Still, Xia Qing rubbed her forehead. As a high-level Hearing Evolver, she couldn’t believe she’d slept so deeply that she’d missed a message notification.

But it was all thanks to the Wolf Pack and Boss Sheep guarding downstairs—they made her feel so secure she could finally sleep soundly.

Having companions really was a wonderful feeling. If only the Wolf Pack would stay in her territory forever. Boss Sheep ate grass, she ate whatever, and the wolves ate meat. No conflict at all—perfect harmony.

The first thing Xia Qing did after catching up on sleep was repair the chicken enclosure that her Xiang-evolved wooden stake had wrecked. She let the chickens and geese, locked up for four days, back inside, then went on clearing out more Xiang Grass from the territory.

By now, all the other lords who had slept through the morning were up. As they cleared their lands, they shared stories about their losses.

Every single one reported losing more than half their crops. Xia Qing was no exception. Then came the reports of casualties: Territory Four had lost five people, Plot Five three, Territory Six five, and Plot Ten—Shi’s mother was injured.

Zhao Ze spoke up, his gratitude plain as day. “You’re amazing, Xia Qing. No one from your territory was hurt. If it weren’t for you and Captain Luo helping out, I’d have lost everyone here.”

After the third wave of red-level Xiang Rain, Territories One through Ten successively reported the appearance of highly dangerous Xiang-evolved Yellowwood Trees. Thanks to a coordinated effort led by Xia Qing, Plot One, Territory Seven, and Territory Nine, every single one was dealt with.

By a little after ten at night, emergencies flared up in Territories Eleven through Twenty-Eight, but military rescue teams still hadn’t arrived. Tan Junjie requested backup from Territories One, Seven, and Nine. Not long after, two more gas-emitting Yellowwood Trees cropped up in Buffer Forest, near Territory Four.

While Xia Qing was busy hunting frenzied mutant rats between Territories Three and Four, she rushed over and took care of the two dangerous trees herself.

Watching Xia Qing chop down the toxic Yellowwood Trees sharp and fast, Zhao Ze spotted a swarm of Evolved Water Rats storming into Territories Three and Four. He couldn’t handle rats, but at least he could help drag away the bodies.

In the midst of calamity, it’s only human to look up to the strong and hope for their protection. After the Xiang Rain finally let up, Zhao Ze’s admiration for Xia Qing towered higher than any mountain of rat corpses.

Xia Qing was just too capable. Zhao Ze felt unbelievably secure living next door to her, and silently swore he’d always treat her well—maybe even be neighbors for life.

Pulling up more Xiang Grass, Xia Qing took off her gloves and pressed her talkie button. “I actually got hurt cleaning up those Xiang-evolved wild tung trees the night before last. My shoulders and arms swelled up, but I just kept putting on medicine and powered through.”

Zhao Ze’s admiration for Xia Qing grew ten mountain-heaps higher. “You got hurt and still handled twenty times what I could do—you’re incredible!”

Zhao Ze’s mother squeezed her son aside and got online. “I’ve got half a bottle of medicinal wine left—I’ll bring it right over to you.”

Xia Qing quickly pressed the button again. “Auntie, that’s really not necessary. I’ve been using the medicine I got from Third Brother, and I’m almost healed!”

Zhang San’s medicine was in a class of its own—no way could a bottle of wine compare. Zhao Ze’s mother let the matter drop.

Qi Fu chimed in, “If it weren’t for Third Brother, Fourth Sister, Luo Ge, and Xia Qing last night—we might all be skeletons by now.”

Everyone wholeheartedly agreed with Qi Fu.

The businessman Kuang Qingwei added, “Xia Qing and the others cleared those high-danger Xiang-evolved trees for us. Sure, the Base will reward them, but we recipients need to show some appreciation of our own.”

Qi Fu, Zhao Ze, and Shi Chong voiced their agreement, asking what would be a proper token of gratitude. With four Xiang Rains a year, they’d need help again down the line—if they didn’t pay up, why would anyone lend a hand?

That was a discussion Xia Qing shouldn’t be involved in. As she switched off her walkie-talkie, her phone rang. It was Zhong Tao.

His voice was hoarse, exhaustion plain. “Sis, the lord you’d arranged to trade Greenlight Soybeans with—he’s dead. The Land Management Department’s reclaimed his territory. The trade can’t go through anymore.”

Under the Territory Law, if a lord dies, only their biological children can inherit their territory. Without a legal heir, the territory defaults back to the Base.

“Did the Land Management Department take the Greenlight Soybeans?” Xia Qing asked.

“No,” Zhong Tao said slowly. “His territory was overrun by a swarm of evolved rats. Everything—people and supplies—was chewed to bits.”

Xia Qing fell silent. If she hadn’t been armed and strong, her own territory would have been destroyed by Evolved Water Rats too.

“How are things on your end, sis?” Zhong Tao rasped.

Xia Qing kept it simple. “I got help from Plot One—just barely pulled through.”

“That’s good. The casualties this time were huge. Your Brother Kui… his wife and child are gone. His mother-in-law went berserk in the red Xiang Rain. Now the whole family—only Zheng Kui is left.” Zhong Tao’s voice broke. “They lived in military family housing. With protective suits, they should’ve been safe, but who could have expected…”

She still remembered the day before the Xiang Rain, when Zheng Kui came to trade some spring-water fish with her—he’d been smiling so brightly.

“How’s Brother Kui holding up?”

“This Xiang Rain was brutal. He and I got reassigned to guard the outskirts. When the rain stopped and he came home, he found his family… gone. He’s basically numb now. I’m just sitting here in the house, can barely breathe.” Leaning against the wall, Zhong Tao sniffled. “Let’s leave it there. Just take care of yourself, okay?”

Ever since the Great Evolution on Blue Star, every goodbye could be your last.

Such is calamity. This is the evolved Blue Star.

After hanging up, Xia Qing stood quietly for a few seconds, then put her gloves back on and continued yanking out Xiang Grass that the rotary tiller couldn’t handle.

If she wanted to survive, she had to keep pushing forward.

That night, Xia Qing ate a simple meal—dried meat stir-fried with beans over rice—while listening to the news.

The Xiang Rain was a planet-wide phenomenon on Blue Star, though rainfall intensity and duration varied from region to region.

Through the broadcast, Xia Qing learned Hui San Base hadn’t even seen the worst of it. Southern Guilin and Northern Baicheng had suffered much heavier losses.

Even so, this last Xiang Rain cost Hui San Base more than twenty thousand lives and left over thirty thousand wounded. The base’s population dropped from two million to just over 1.97 million. The toll would only climb; many of the wounded would soon die or be left unable to work.

Losing so many people from a single base—adding up all the losses across Hua Nation, it had to be well over a million. The thought weighed heavily on Xia Qing.