Chapter 269: When the Helicopters Come

The radius and ulna are crucial flight bones in birds. If a fracture isn’t precisely aligned and fixed, the ends won’t heal properly, and the eagle will lose its ability to fly for good. Xia Qing didn’t have the skills to reset the eagle’s bones—she could only coat the wound with a special hemostatic medicine to keep it from bleeding out or dying of infection from evolved bacteria.

After finishing up with the Evolved Hawk’s injuries, Xia Qing sat quietly in her chair, letting the roar of helicopter blades wash over her as she replayed the afternoon’s one-of-a-kind hunt in her mind.

That Evolved Rabbit, killed by the weasel, died because it was too curious for its own good. If it hadn’t stopped to watch the weasel’s weird little dance, it might’ve lived to see another day.

The weasel probably never noticed the circling Evolved Hawk high above while it hunted the rabbit. If it had, there’s no way it would’ve carried its hard-earned prey straight across the boundary line. It almost lost the rabbit then and there.

That weasel spent a ton of energy catching the rabbit. If the hawk had swooped in and snatched it, the weasel would’ve had to push through hunger and exhaustion just to hunt again. If a normal weasel can’t catch anything, it gets weaker and weaker—until it’s easy pickings for other animals or even evolved plants.

But this clever weasel is one of Alpha’s followers—a smart one. It spotted Xia Qing hiding behind a tree, quietly watching. In the clutch, it called out for Xia Qing’s help and managed to keep its family’s dinner safe.

As for the hungry Evolved Hawk, all it saw was the weasel and the rabbit. It didn’t even notice Xia Qing. Or maybe it did, but figured a human wouldn’t dare mess with it, so it dived in to snatch the kill. That miscalculation turned it from hunter into Xia Qing’s prey.

If Xia Qing hadn’t been there, the weasel probably wouldn’t have starved even if the hawk stole its rabbit. It could always go find Alpha, nibble on leftover scraps and bones, and scrape by another day.

To survive the fierce competition, the weasel tags along with the wolf pack—pulling chicken feathers for them in exchange for protection and food.

After the great evolution on Blue Star, no creature’s survival smarts should ever be underestimated.

Xia Qing stuffed the Evolved Hawk into a bag and set it back in the tool shed. She headed upstairs and grabbed a chilled bottle of plain water, taking a long drink just as the drone of helicopter rotors grew louder.

There was no way the helicopter spraying pesticides to the south could reach Section Three this quickly. Xia Qing climbed up to the garret and peeled back a corner of the blackout curtain. Sure enough, a second helicopter soared over Hill Forty-Nine and into the airspace above her own territory.

Her sharp eyesight caught the two people inside the cabin. Even with their pilot’s mask on, Xia Qing recognized one of them immediately:

Jiang Ting—a Level Four Vision Evolver, and one of the few pilots at Hui Three Base gifted with special eyesight.

Jiang Ting flew helicopters all the time, spraying pesticide and Scourgebane over wide tracts of land. Her wild red hair made her easy to spot, since she never bothered to tie it up beneath a cap while flying. Her way of wearing the protective mask was stylish and striking—so much so that others tried to copy her.

But that particular look only worked safely in the Safe Zone or inside a cockpit. When it came time to head into the Evolved Forest for missions, no one dared take such risks.

Looks matter, but staying alive matters more.

“Baa—” The helicopters’ roar grew louder. Down in the living room, Old Goat called anxiously for its companions.

Xia Qing let the curtain fall and hurried downstairs. This was Old Goat’s first time hearing helicopters spray pesticide in the Evolved Forest, so it was understandably on edge. The two wolves were silent but clearly just as nervous.

The helicopter thundered overhead, spraying pesticide that rattled against the windows in a sound almost identical to rainfall.

It’s funny—hearing that same sound from the safety of a dorm room for Evolved Humans feels totally different than hearing it in your own territory. Xia Qing idly stroked Old Goat’s soft wool, looking completely relaxed.

Unlike Xia Qing, the two wolves and Old Goat were all visibly tense. Old Goat pressed against Xia Qing’s side, looking for reassurance from her pack.

Crippled Wolf stood guard in front of Er Gou, eyes locked on the window with deadly focus. Even though Xia Qing had drawn the curtain, Crippled Wolf’s whole posture screamed caution—ready to leap to the rescue the moment danger appeared, even though its own back injury hadn’t fully healed.

Er Gou stood behind Crippled Wolf, all four paws braced wide, tail drooping, eyes glaring at the window, body coiled and ready to pounce.

Xia Qing didn’t dare risk startling the Evolved Wolves at a moment like this. She spoke softly and calmly: “Crippled One, number two, don’t be afraid. That’s just a human flying a helicopter to spray pesticide, killing pests in our territory—no one’s here to hurt us.”

But the two wolves stayed on full alert despite her soothing words. Clearly, they only trusted Xia Qing—not any other humans. Xia Qing didn’t push it. For evolved beasts, keeping a wary eye on humans is just common sense.

Soon Xia Qing heard the roar of a third helicopter approaching. After that, half an hour passed with no more on the way.

A faint frown creased Xia Qing’s face.

A helicopter can spray about 1,500 mu per hour. With three helicopters, that’s 4,500 mu every hour. Sounds like a lot, right? But from Section One to Section Twenty-Eight, there’s over 70,000 mu to cover. Relying on only three helicopters, it would take sixteen hours to spray the whole area just once.

Sixteen hours is all it takes for moth caterpillars to grow from two millimeters to a whole centimeter, chewing through who knows how many plants along the way.

Qi Fu’s voice came through: “Captain Tan, will there be more helicopters coming?”

Tan Junjie replied, “Our base doesn’t have many helicopters to spare. From Section One to Section Twenty-Eight, we could only send three. They’ll spray all cultivated land and its surroundings first, then any fields waiting to be plowed, and finally the buffer forests.”

Zhao Ze, who had buffer forest in his territory, grew anxious. “Captain Tan, by the time you get to the buffer forests, there might not be any leaves left!”

Tan Junjie hadn’t answered yet before Tang Huai snapped back, “Our helicopter squad at the base only has thirty choppers total. Getting three sent out here is already really generous. The territory’s huge—of course homes and farmlands come first. Haven’t you always complained the buffer forest is a nuisance? Let the bugs eat it and get it out of your way!”

Zhao Ze replied, clearly lacking confidence, “If the caterpillars eat the buffer forest down to nothing, they’ll head straight for my greenhouse next. My greenhouse is right by the river, just under the buffer forest. Xia Qing, Brother Qi, Brother Kuang—you’ve got the same setup, right?”

The river running along the base of Hill Forty-Nine waters all the nearby farmland. That’s why in Sections Three, Four, Five, Six, and Seven—all with buffer forests—the fields are close to the river and by extension, close to the buffer forest too.

If not for that, the base never would’ve included such large swathes of buffer forest into those territories in the first place.

Qi Fu answered, “My fields were already sprayed once by helicopter. I noticed there aren’t as many caterpillars in the buffer forest as there are on open ground. It makes sense to hit the open land first.”

Kuang Qingwei agreed. “Yeah.”

Xia Qing pressed her button: “Agreed.”

Zhao Ze…”