Chapter 288: A Stormy Night on Hill Forty-Nine

This downpour couldn’t have come at a worse time. Tonight was going to be busy for her.

There was no time for dinner. Xia Qing gulped down her ration gruel in one go, wiped her mouth and quickly put on her protective suit. She slipped the night vision goggles onto Old Goat. “Old Goat, the rain’s about to hit. I need to cover our solar panels, then I’ll secure the greenhouses. Stay home and wait for me.”

As soon as Xia Qing ran off, Old Goat stopped munching his own feed. He trotted over to Xia Qing’s table, sniffed around, then put his front hooves on her chair. In no time, he’d polished off every last pine nut corn from her plate.

Unaware that her dinner had been devoured by her companion, Xia Qing was hurrying out of the village to close the greenhouses. On the way, she heard Tan Junjie announcing the changing weather on the lord channel and requesting a response from each territory.

Xia Qing called out as she ran, “Section Three reporting in.”

Not long after Xia Qing replied, Hu Zifeng called her. “Xia Qing, do you need a hand?”

“No need, I’ve got it covered,” Xia Qing replied, not wanting to make the Hu Zifeng Squad make a special trip.

It was autumn, and from her years of experience, odds were tonight’s wind would blow in from the west. Her territory had mountains to the north and west for shelter. Territory One, though, only had cover to the north, so the western wind posed a bigger threat there. Besides, her territory had just over six acres of farmland, while Territory One had thousands, plus a vermicompost production zone under construction. That place needed manpower a lot more.

Hu Zifeng reminded her, “Watch out for Blind Jiang. He’s not just eyeing Hill Forty-Nine. I’ll keep you updated on their movements.”

“Thanks,” Xia Qing answered gratefully.

Last time Xu Juan and Zhang Yong visited Section Three with their cameras, Er Gou made an appearance. Since the Jiang Xiong Squad was close with the Sufeng Squad, they definitely knew there was a wolf in her territory. Others might not care about a dying old wolf, but Jiang Xiong Squad certainly would.

That afternoon, when the Jiang Xiong Squad’s dogs barked like mad, Xia Qing caught the greed in Blind Jiang’s lone eye. She knew full well she’d have to stay up tonight to guard her territory.

This torrential rain would wash away any trace of Crippled Wolf and his pack returning to the Evolved Forest. It would also focus Jiang Xiong Squad’s attention on Hill Forty-Nine and Section Three.

But Xia Qing had already set a trap, just waiting for them to make a move. Still, her first priority was to safeguard her fields.

The greenhouses on the hilltops and slopes—corn, mung beans, cotton, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, even the White-Haired Chicken Manure Vine and Old Goat’s pasture… Luckily, she’d updated the rain covers to a hand-pulled style like in Territory Ten. Otherwise, she could never have covered everything in fifty minutes.

By the time she reached the last greenhouse, the wind had really picked up, howling from the northwest. Xia Qing breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the wind direction held steady, this sudden thunderstorm wouldn’t do much harm to her land.

She just hoped the storm wouldn’t mix in too much lethal element and turn into a deadly rain. It had happened before.

Back then, Xia Qing hadn’t started farming yet, so she hadn’t felt the full impact. Now, as someone who lived off the land, she truly understood what it meant to ‘depend on the sky for a living.’

To really improve her resistance to bad weather, she’d need to build proper standardized greenhouses in her territory. For now, though, Xia Qing wasn’t planning on it.

For one, those greenhouses needed tons of steel and specialty glass, plus ventilation, air filters, irrigation… the costs were sky-high.

And if she did build one in Section Three, she’d instantly stand out like a tall tree inviting the wind—the risks outweighed the benefits.

With only one person, one goat, and a handful of chickens in Section Three, food wasn’t a big concern. Xia Qing could easily handle her current fields.

As the wind howled louder, Old Goat—white as moonlight at night—came running out from the village to meet up with her.

“What are you doing out here? You’re just making yourself an easy target!” Xia Qing ruffled his wind-blown wool, about to take him back for his protective suit, when a bolt of lightning flared in the southwest, followed by thunder loud enough to shake the ground.

That sound was way too close. Xia Qing scooped up Old Goat and dashed for the little hut by the fields, terrified they’d get struck if they didn’t move fast enough.

On the lord channel, Zhao Ze’s voice trembled. “Everyone okay?”

Qi Fu replied, “All good here. That lightning looked like it hit somewhere in the southwest territory. Hope everyone’s alright. Everyone’s got a lightning rod, right? If not, stay off the walkie-talkie, or you might get struck.”

Xia Qing checked in, “I’m fine too.”

Tang Huai cursed, “Damn it! This is so annoying! Might as well let the lightning finish me off!”

“Crack!”

Xia Qing saw a bolt slice straight down into Territory Two. Her world exploded in white light. The rain hammered down, deafening as a waterfall.

Everyone panicked. Kuang Qingwei yelled, “Huai! Are you alright?”

No response from Tang Huai. Tang Zhengbo was frantic. “Huai?”

Tan Junjie checked in. “Report, Territory Two.”

Lightning interference was messing up the walkie-talkies, making the voices even more jumpy. The tense mood only deepened as Xia Qing frowned at the flashes outside, finally understanding why this was called a ‘thunderstorm.’

There was way too much lightning. Xia Qing pulled out her lethal element detector, ready to test the rainwater, when her phone vibrated in her pocket.

She glanced at the screen, then immediately told Old Goat, “Someone’s broken into our territory. Stay here, I’ll handle it.”

When Old Goat moved to follow her, Xia Qing popped a small piece of compressed ration in his mouth and locked him inside the hut. With a stern warning, she said, “It’s night. Your white fur stands out too much. Wait here for me.”

With that, Xia Qing turned on the outer light, messaged Tan Junjie, and rushed out the door.

“Crack!” Lightning and thunder exploded together, lighting up the whole territory as Xia Qing darted into the wild grass wall between Section Three and Section Four.

Wearing her full outdoor Grade Three protective suit, she wasn’t worried about electrocution or the rain. She crouched quietly inside the wild grass wall.

Two people in protective suits crept along the creek separating Section Three and Section Four. These two were cunning—they knew the best path to avoid leaving footprints or scent.

But if they wanted to ‘steal a wolf,’ they’d eventually have to come ashore. The pair used the stone bridge to cross the reservoir, avoiding the rain-covered greenhouses and the lit-up hut, heading straight for the abandoned village where Xia Qing lived.

Just as they passed by her hiding spot, a flash of lightning revealed their faces behind the protective masks. Xia Qing could see clearly—these were the Jiang Xiong Squad members who’d been with Blind Jiang that afternoon.