Chapter 24: Trouble at Plot Two

Once the solar panels and walkie-talkies are ready, someone will be assigned to pick them up. Living in the Territory is risky, true, but it’s not without its perks. With a solar panel slung over his shoulder, Huzi headed for Plot One’s barrier.

Xia Qing was just about to head back when she suddenly heard footsteps coming from over two hundred meters away in the direction of Plot Two. Sounded like six people—and Huzi was out there alone.

Xia Qing stopped in her tracks and hid behind a tree.

Moments later, Huzi heard the footsteps too. He set down the big wooden crate carrying the solar panels.

Six Tang Family employees from Plot Two climbed up the hillside, charged into the barrier and called out to Huzi, “You’re here to install the solar panels, right? This way! We’ve cleared a path for you.”

Huzi answered calmly, “Plot Two doesn’t have a buffer forest. That means it doesn’t qualify for installation.”

A slightly chubby guy stomped his feet in anger. “Why not? Are our lives as regular people worth less or something? What’s the Military trying to pull?”

Another man chimed in, pressing their case, “Sure, Plot Two doesn’t have a buffer forest, but we’re right next to Plots One and Three. If any dangerous mutated creatures break through the barrier and buffer forest, it’d take them less than five minutes to get here. The caterpillars at Plot One the other day? If no one had spotted them, they’d have made it to Plot Two in no time.”

Huzi nodded. “I’ll report your concerns. Plot One only ran into trouble because they underestimated the caterpillars’ venom and didn’t bother wearing protective suits. All of you need to follow the outdoor work standards and wear your protective suits at all times.”

Seeing Huzi wasn’t giving in, the group from Plot Two tried to bargain. “If we can’t get solar panels, at least give us a walkie-talkie. If something happens we need to report it right away.”

Huzi’s face darkened. “The Base headquarters gave an order this morning. Since you already know about it, you clearly have instant communication devices. You don’t need a walkie-talkie.”

“Even so…”

The Plot Two folks tried to argue some more, but Huzi was fed up. He hefted the crate and walked off.

The Plot Two crew nearly burst with anger. “Captain, we’re just going to let him walk away like that?”

The Plot Two captain, who’d been silent till now, spoke up sourly. “He’s carrying a weapon. Even if he wasn’t, if we laid a hand on him, Military would have a squad here in an hour, and we’d be riddled with bullets.”

Someone else grumbled, “They’re clearly targeting our Tang Family. There’s nothing here but misery anyway—I can’t stand one more day in this dump!”

“Anyone sick of it is free to get lost!” the leader snapped and marched back, the rest hurrying after him.

That hot-tempered guy piped up again, “Captain, the guys are about to crack. How about we go visit the girls at Plot Three for some fun, eh…?”

Fun, huh? Xia Qing quietly drew her machete and breathed on the sharp, gleaming edge.

“If you want to die, go ahead,” the leader’s voice was even more impatient.

The man scheming about Xia Qing wasn’t deterred. “That chick is just a strength evolver. The guys can handle her.”

The leader snorted. “Even if she doesn’t kill you, she’ll report you to the Base.”

Someone else suggested, “So why not just grab her and bring her back?”

That was the last straw for the leader. “All of you, back to camp and copy the Territory Law, every single one of you! You think you can fool the noses of high-level Military evolver dogs? Use your brains for once! You want to get yourselves killed, don’t drag me down with you. Go pull weeds and dig the field!”

“Sick of this, seriously regretting everything,” someone whined, the group muttering under their breath. Xia Qing could barely make out the words.

“Haven’t you heard how many Tang Family people died this round? If we’d still been in the Safe Zone, we’d all be dead by now. Come on, toss the seeds and let’s go hunting in the Evolver Forest. I haven’t smelled meat in days.”

Xia Qing waited until their voices faded, then stepped out from behind the tree and started downhill. Not long after she left, the team captain from Plot Two stopped, ears twitching.

As Xia Qing checked for mutated caterpillars in the buffer forest, her mind kept drifting back to the crew from Plot Two.

Those few team members weren’t worth worrying about. She’d deal with them openly when the time was right. The captain, though, would be a headache. He actually had brains.

The whole point of launching the territorial system, expanding farmed land, was to protect the safety of landlords who left the Safe Zone.

That’s why the Territory Law didn’t just list rights for landlords on their land—it laid out harsh penalties for any crime that threatened their life or property.

Anyone who dared harm a landlord would trigger an immediate response from the Base—an elite team of evolved humans and high-level Military dogs dispatched on the spot.

There were no more surveillance cameras everywhere these days, but those elite teams made up for it. All it took was a whiff of an unfamiliar scent, and they’d have the perp caught within two hours.

Unless, of course, the culprit was burnt to ashes or flew out of the Base by plane.

So, nobody with a survival instinct would mess with a landlord lightly. Xia Qing wasn’t worried for herself. It was Boss Sheep she was concerned about.

If Plot Two found out about Boss Sheep, they wouldn’t dare storm her Territory to catch him, but they’d definitely scheme to lure him beyond the borders and bag him there.

Boss Sheep was strong and stubborn, but all it would take was a chunk of rations to lure that glutton away.

The surest fix would be fencing in her entire Territory—but with over seventy-five hundred mu and a perimeter of nine kilometers, she neither had the means nor the resources yet. For now, she had to keep Boss Sheep close, never letting him wander outside their land.

If only Boss Sheep were just a little smarter and actually understood what she was saying.

Xia Qing headed home for gear, then set off for the New Territory with Boss Sheep in tow. The New Territory had already been searched, but she wouldn’t drop her guard—she doused both herself and Boss Sheep in extra bug spray and repellent.

The first thing Boss Sheep did once they arrived was make a beeline for the perilla patch.

Xia Qing had already cut a good portion of the evolved perilla. After a Xiang rain, she’d evolved another round, but only half remained now.

She didn’t harvest any more perilla, just walked up toward the upper slope by the terraced fields.

Along the way she cleared away any Xiang-evolved creatures blocking her view. Animals, she killed on the spot; plants, she yanked up and left in the sun to dry for burning on her next visit. Leave them be and they’d take over in no time.

The hilltop was only a few mu in size, once home to five families. North of the hill was the barrier; another fifty meters of gentle slope and then—untamed Evolver Forest, thicker trees, steeper heights.

Standing in the buffer forest, Xia Qing gazed north. She wasn’t worried about any oversized mutated beasts lurking there—just over the ridge was Captain Tan’s squad camp. Technically, this was Evolver Forest, but they would’ve swept the whole area already. No way they’d put the Boar Breeding Center right on the other side of their own hill otherwise.

Xia Qing eyed the Breeding Center’s sturdy wire fencing with envy before finally beginning her search for edible plants and salvageable supplies on the slope.