Chapter 265: The Invasion of the Caterpillars

Xia Qing hoped that Li Si from the Blazing Fire Squad, after inspecting both last time’s spinach and this batch of Chicken Manure Vine, would lose interest in Section Three. Maybe then Xia Qing could finally enjoy some peace and focus on farming.

After watching Assistant Xiao Liu disappear down the path, Xia Qing turned to head back to the territory. Right then, Tang Huai popped out of the Scourge Grass again. “Xia Qing, can you trade me one of your White-Haired Chicken Manure Vines with a green light? My stomach’s been acting up these days. I want the whole plant—roots and all. I’ll pay you three hundred points, same as before. How about it?”

Xia Qing glanced coolly at the wiggling little caterpillar clinging to the top of Tang Huai’s face shield. “I barely have any left. If I dig up another, what are my sheep supposed to eat? No deal.”

What the hell did this stubborn woman mean by that? Was she saying he was fighting a crazy sheep for grass? Tang Huai swallowed his annoyance and upped the offer, gritting his teeth. “Four hundred points!”

Xia Qing held up six fingers. “If you’re really that desperate to trade, the price is double—six hundred.”

Tang Huai exploded, stomping his feet. “You just sold one to Assistant Liu for three hundred! Why the hell do I have to pay six hundred?”

Xia Qing’s face grew stern, her voice turning colder. “I’ve been working on the deal with Territory Nine for a while now. After that, I’ve got almost none left. I don’t want to trade anymore, so the price went up. If you think it’s too high, don’t trade.”

Tang Huai was about to protest. “You think you’ll get your way just by saying no? Think again—I—”

“Boss!”

Zhou Xun, with three tiny caterpillars clinging to his helmet, squeezed out from the wild grass wall. He grabbed Tang Huai and tugged him back. “Boss, hurry up. Director Tang’s calling you home for dinner.”

After half a year of eavesdropping missions, these two had spent so much time squatting in the grass nest, they’d forgotten how to walk out in the open like normal people.

Xia Qing stood under the signpost, quietly watching the overgrown wall of Section Two.

Inside that tangled wall, Tang Huai was still cursing under his breath while Zhou Xun tried to keep him calm. “Boss, keep your voice down. Last time you spent so many points trading for that green-lit spinach, the captain and vice-captain were pretty pissed. Now you’re about to drop a fortune on a single plant—what if you tick them off again and they kick us out?”

“You think I want to do this? If they kick us out, so be it!”

Zhou Xun kept trying. “Boss, you might not care, but don’t forget why we came to this godforsaken place. If they take it out on the Young Miss, that’ll be trouble.”

This time, Tang Huai fell silent.

Xia Qing knew the ‘Young Miss’ Zhou Xun mentioned wasn’t Tang Lu, but Tang Huai’s older sister, Tang Ning.

Before the Cataclysm, Tang Zhengbo had just been a supervisor at one of the Tang Hotel Group’s small restaurants, while the highly capable Tang Ning was the group’s second-in-command—the true Young Miss of the Tang family.

After Blue Star’s great evolution, the Tang family had to reshuffle according to their new powers. The high-speed evolver Tang Zhengbo ended up at the top and his daughter, Tang Lu, took over Tang Ning’s title as the Young Miss.

Clearly, there was more behind Tang Huai leaving the Safe Zone to guard Section Two. Makes sense, though. The Tang family might not be doing great these days, but they never lacked for food or drink. Tang Huai surely had it easier in the Safe Zone—no reason to come out here and suffer unless there was something in it for him.

Once Xia Qing could no longer hear any noise coming from inside Section Two, she shifted her focus to the wild grass wall surrounding her own territory, carefully checking it over.

That’s when she noticed a lot of tiny caterpillars had appeared in her wall at some point—not as bad as Section Two, but still a problem.

Pest control was part of daily life here. The territory management department sent out insecticides regularly. Xia Qing applied them every ten days to keep pests at bay. She last sprayed three days ago. But these little caterpillars were just two or three millimeters long—so weak and small, they must have hatched last night or early this morning.

There were so many of them this time, Xia Qing knew she couldn’t take any chances. She hurried to inspect the fields and even checked the abandoned village. Sure enough, the little worms were crawling everywhere, swarming upwards in thick clusters.

Luckily, the Greenhouse, protected by the insect netting, was much better off—just a few stray caterpillars inside. Xia Qing let out a sigh of relief, grabbed her sprayer, and walked toward the reservoir. Pressing the button on her walkie-talkie, she reported, “A huge batch of caterpillars just hatched in Section Three—both the grass wall and the fields are infested. Everyone should check your own territories ASAP. Captain Tan, we’ve got a real outbreak here—if these turn out to be Evolved Bugs and we don’t wipe them out today, we’re facing a disaster.”

Tan Junjie replied seriously, “Copy that. We’ll start checking immediately. All territory leaders, report your situation as soon as possible.”

Qi Fu jumped in right away. “I didn’t notice anything during my morning patrol, but I’ll go check now.”

“Oh no, the migratory birds are arriving soon! This is the worst time for pests,” Kuang Qingwei cried, rushing out to check his territory’s grass wall. The rest of the territory leaders leapt into action too.

Birds eat bugs, plain and simple. If the migratory birds flying by spot so many caterpillars, they’ll swoop down to feast and rest. Once they gather, they’ll catch the scent of crops growing inside the Greenhouse and start pecking at the mung beans, corn and sunflower seeds. Worse still, the flock attracts carnivorous evolved beasts that eat birds. When the birds get spooked and fly off, the starving predators left behind will start hunting humans.

Autumn is the most dangerous time for carnivores, especially raptors. They desperately need to fatten up for winter, but after Blue Star’s evolution, hunting gets tough.

Spring is the season of new beginnings. Animals come out looking for mates, making it easy for predators to catch prey.

In summer, countless baby animals are born. To feed their young, exhausted mothers have to leave their dens to forage. Soon after, fresh, tender prey starts crawling out of the burrows. That’s why Xia Qing’s Evolved Forest is a paradise for hunters.

In winter, even though prey is scarce compared to spring and summer, the Evolved Forest’s bare trees mean little animals lose their cover, and hunters find them easily.

But autumn? That’s the real headache. Trees and grasses are thick and lush, and young animals have learned how to survive without wandering aimlessly. For hawks soaring overhead, finding prey in such dense, colorful wilderness is nearly impossible. So plenty of raptors end up hunting humans or their livestock to fill up.

It’s not just raptors either. Recently, the local wolf pack has been dragging prey with red signals all the way to Section Three—a sure sign they’re struggling to find food, too.

No hungry predator is about to waste the chance for an easy meal when migratory birds pass through. Wherever the birds land, that’s where the battle begins.

“Not good—caterpillars have already hit my Greenhouse too, not just the grass wall! Where are they even coming from? Huai, any ideas?” Zhao Ze shouted.

Tang Huai, already in a bad mood, snapped back. “If I knew, would I be here on my hands and knees digging for them?”

Tang Zhengbo scolded his son. “Tang Huai, watch your language.”

Tang Huai forced himself to calm down. “I didn’t see anything when I dug yesterday, but this morning there were a lot more. I didn’t think it was such a big deal, so I kept quiet.”

Plant specialist Li Si spoke up. “Once you catch any larvae, bring them over to the signpost on my territory. I’ll ID the caterpillar species right away.”

“Got it. Thanks, Si-jie!”

“Copy that. Thanks for the help, Si-jie.”

All the territory leaders started organizing their teams and shouting out thanks.