Chapter 276: A Day for Pest Control

Returning from her morning patrol around the territory, Xia Qing noticed the Evolved Ice Grass in the pot looked wilted under the sun. But she was no rookie farmer anymore, and didn’t worry at all.

This Evolved Ice Grass was tough as nails. Xia Qing had planted it in premium soil and watered it with pure spring water—no doubt it would thrive until the seeds matured.

Today, Xia Qing wouldn’t be leaving her territory. Her mission was simple: pest control.

After two days of wild growth the first batch of Evolved Stingers that survived the pesticide had crawled out and were nearly two centimeters long. Another day gnawing on leaves and they’d burrow into the soil to form cocoons.

The stingers that survived developed a resistance to pesticides. If they succeeded in transforming into Stinging Moths, next year’s pest disaster would be twice as bad.

Xia Qing’s territory was huge, and she couldn’t do it all herself. Hu Zifeng’s squad arrived early, and later, once they’d finished catching bugs in their own zones, helpers from Territory Five and Four came as well. Xia Qing paid both area leaders three points per person as compensation for the extra hands.

Hiring regular farm workers for territory jobs cost four points a day. Since Zhao Ze and Qi Fu sent people to help, Xia Qing absolutely refused to let them pay the wages out of their own pocket.

Four points didn’t sound like much, but when Xia Qing was the deputy leader of a construction team in the Safe Zone, a day’s hard work barely earned her five points. Most jobs ordinary people could do barely paid one or two points daily.

A single point bought one compressed ration. By disaster years’ standards, that’s enough, because dissolving one in hot water to make porridge could feed a grown adult for a whole day.

That’s why, even though farming inside the territories was riskier than most Safe Zone jobs, people were still willing to take the risk for higher wages.

As dusk settled, Xia Qing saw the two area leaders off at the territory’s edge. Tang Huai called out cheerfully from beneath the Section Two signpost, “Xia Qing, finished with bug catching? More hands sure make things fly.”

“Yeah.”

Ever since she traded a Protective Suit for the Yi Stone, Xia Qing had been in a great mood, and even looking at Tang Huai—the one who supplied the suit—didn’t rub her the wrong way anymore.

Not expecting Xia Qing to answer, Tang Huai hurried over, voice full of excitement. “How about I help you catch bugs tomorrow? I can work from dawn till dusk, won’t charge a single point, and don’t even need to be fed. You know I’m the most qualified in our territories when it comes to pest control.”

“No need.” Xia Qing turned on her heel and headed inside.

“That ugly woman, one day I’ll see her dead!” Zhou Xun walked over, muttering under his breath, then asked, “Boss, it’s almost dark, should we head home?”

“Go home, my ass! Who told you fading light means knocking off work? Did you even figure out why Territory One was so busy today? Get back out and keep an eye on things!”

After blowing off steam at Zhou Xun, Tang Huai gazed longingly toward Section Three.

The Wild Grass Wall around Section Three had been chewed ragged by Evolved Bugs and barely blocked the view anymore. Tang Huai peered through the patchy gaps, spying inside.

Even if he couldn’t spot a wolf, catching a glimpse of a mad sheep—or even a chicken—would do. He was dying of curiosity about Section Three.

If Xia Qing would hire him to work there, he’d leave the Sufeng Squad in a heartbeat and join Section Three. He’d even work for free, as long as he got to walk the Evolved Wolves.

Just a splash of water and that wild grass wall would grow back in no time. Xia Qing ignored Tang Huai’s pestering and headed to the Buffer Forest to fetch a bucket of pure spring water, ready to discuss urgent matters with Er Gou and Crippled Wolf.

Mixing Advanced Evolution Black Gardenia into the pesticide had managed to wipe out 95% of the Stinging Caterpillar Larva, but with a population this big, the remaining five percent was still a serious problem.

Up in the forty-ninth and fiftieth hill regions, the bugs made for a feast for birds, snakes, frogs, and lizards. But precious few of these pest eaters would wander into human territories to help out, so eliminating the bugs there still depended on those inside the territory.

Since Xia Qing and her animal companions were busy all season, the snakes, frogs, and lizards in the territory had been nearly picked clean.

Birds? Ever since Xia Qing swiped bird eggs and those two egrets moved out, there hadn’t been any permanent birds left across her thousands of acres. She had long stopped counting on them.

Nothing to be done about the wild ones, so Xia Qing made use of domesticated animals instead.

She had Old Goat lead the bug-loving chickens around the village for pest control duty. After some lessons learned the hard way, even the Black-Feathered Rooster didn’t dare challenge Old Goat anymore—wherever Old Goat said to go, it went.

Today, while Xia Qing spent the day outside battling bugs herself, Old Goat herded the chickens and combed the whole village for pests.

There’s always a bigger fish. Even the nastiest Evolved Stinger, over two centimeters long, was still just food in an Evolved Chicken’s eyes. Some of the quick ones even scratched up bugs already burrowing down to cocoon—they went down just the same.

But that was only inside the village. Xia Qing’s territory sprawled over seven thousand acres, with plenty of bugs that had slipped past human eyes and still gorged themselves around the clock.

One less bug now meant one less moth next year. And every mother moth could lay at least five hundred eggs. So the more bugs destroyed, the better.

Humans couldn’t work through the night, but after a restful day at home, the wolves could.

Er Gou obeyed every order. After slurping up the meat porridge Xia Qing served, and watching her hands-on demonstration, it understood exactly how to kill bugs, slipped into its Protective Suit, and set out. Crippled Wolf, on the other hand, lay sprawled on the tatami, unmoving.

Old Goat only needed a compliment to work, Er Gou just wanted food in exchange. But this Brain-Evolved Wolf… it wasn’t so easy to motivate.

Xia Qing’s eyes glinted. She went upstairs and brought down a few shiny pearl necklaces, each strung together and gleaming. “Look, Crippled—these are pearl necklaces. Aren’t they pretty?”

Crippled Wolf couldn’t talk, but wherever Xia Qing waved her hand holding the necklace, its eyes tracked intently.

It didn’t take long for Xia Qing to figure out which necklace was its favorite. She dangled it before Crippled Wolf, trying to strike a deal. “Go take out some bugs, and tomorrow morning this necklace is all yours.”

Crippled Wolf stared at the necklace without budging. Xia Qing got the message, so she just put it around its neck and said, “Fine, I’ll pay you in advance. Now go get those bugs.”

Only then did Crippled Wolf get up, stretch, and trot outside, leaving Xia Qing rolling her eyes with a sigh.

Animals on Blue Star only get stranger over time. Who could have guessed that a Brain-Evolved male wolf would be so vain, obsessed with pearl necklaces—especially ones in pink and white?

Did she need to dress it in a Protective Suit?

Nope! The thing demanded she put it on this morning as soon as she got up, and had been admiring itself all day.

Xia Qing looped a necklace with a single black pearl around her own neck. Out of all her pearls, she liked the black one best.

There weren’t many black pearls in the pouch Yang Jin had given her, not enough for a full strand. She’d tried trading with Chang Li from Territory One, but no one had pearls that matched hers in size. So in the end, Xia Qing settled for a necklace with just one black pearl.

It felt good to wear, looked great, but it was only meant for indoors. On missions in the Evolved Forest, anything without real use just weighed her down.

After giving Old Goat a good brush for all its hard work, Xia Qing put on her night vision goggles and climbed to the attic, quickly spotting the two wolves out on patrol, hunting bugs.

Ever since clearing out its parasites, Er Gou’s health had roared back—now it looked full of energy, expertly pouncing on bugs with its padded, booted paws.

Crippled Wolf took its time, methodically searching for the two types of bugs Xia Qing had shown it, then swiftly slapping them dead—its moves even had a little flair.

Knowing her territory was guarded by two Evolved Wolves at night, Xia Qing relaxed at last, let out a yawn, and closed the curtains.