Chapter 306: A Morning in the Evolved Forest

At nine in the morning the sun was up and the air in the Evolved Forest was already starting to dry. Xia Qing linked up with the crew from Territory Seven to head out together.

Territory Seven sent two people: Ji Li and Dr. Zhang He. Zhang He had assisted Zhang San in surgery for the Crippled Wolf and was also the lead surgeon for Er Gou’s eye operation.

A bunch of the Territory Seven research techs had the surname Zhang, so Xia Qing called Zhang He ‘Sister He’ to tell them apart.

Anyone with real skills, no matter their age, was called ‘brother’ or ‘sister’ around here.

Seeing Zhang He dressed in the highest-grade airtight protective suit, Xia Qing figured she wasn’t a combat evolver, so she slowed their pace. After an hour, the three-person team reached the top of the slope near the Chinese Torreya Tree where the Green Lantern (that evolved fish) hung around.

Ji Li went down first, gripping the climbing rope to clear the path. Xia Qing had already checked it yesterday—there was only one real danger.

Standing at the top, guarding Zhang He, Xia Qing reminded Ji Li, “Ji, two meters to your left, there’s a vine with pale purple leaves. That’s an aggressive plant. Don’t touch it or it’ll grab you and drag you down.”

“Got it.” Ji Li replied and slid quickly down the rope.

As Zhang He got the pesticide and containers ready to catch evolved ants, she looked up. “Miss Xia, can I collect a sample of the purple-leaved vine?”

Xia Qing nodded. “Sure, but no idea where its root is or how long the vine might be. Best wait until you’re done collecting the evolved ants before you try to dig it up.”

After Ji Li checked the way, Zhang He shouldered the gear to trap evolved ants and followed Ji Li down the slope. Xia Qing handled rope safety and kept an eye out for aerial threats.

Xia Qing had just wiped out a flock of birds yesterday, so today the three of them didn’t get swarmed. A few squirrels stood on distant branches watching them instead.

She looked carefully but didn’t spot Red Squirrel.

“Xia Qing, keep an eye on the birds. We’re about to use the lure to draw evolved ants out,” Ji Li reported through the earpiece walkie-talkie.

“Copy. If you see Red Squirrel, don’t hurt him,” Xia Qing replied as she loaded her gun, eyes scanning the sky.

Xia Qing wasn’t a Scent Evolution user and wore a standard protective mask, so she couldn’t smell the lure. But she could see birds taking off from all directions in the Evolved Forest toward the camphor tree, and trees all along the slope trembling. Even smaller animals in the forest rushed toward the camphor tree—the scent must have been strong, drawing all the wildlife.

“Bang!”

The first shot was a warning, just to scatter the birds. About a third slowed or veered off after hearing it. The rest charged onward.

Xia Qing picked them off one by one—over thirty birds fell midair. Gunshots echoed from the valley slope too; Ji Li was handling other threats in the woods.

Ten minutes later, Zhang He’s voice came through the earpiece. “All done—deodorizer sprayed.”

A few minutes after deploying the deodorizer, the birds and beasts started to clear out. Once Ji Li and Zhang He had climbed back up the slope with the rope, Ji Li headed back down to dig up the purple-leaved vine.

A single vine with binding ability was no match for Ji Li, but a dense patch of those vines would be another matter.

But as a Level Seven Speed Evolution user, Ji Li cleared the attacking vines with sharp precision, quickly found the roots, dug up a specimen, and returned to the top. He moved fast and sure even on the wet, steep slope, never needing the rope, every move crisp and efficient.

Xia Qing had only seen moves like that from Luo Pei.

With the collection done, the three prepared to head back.

On the way in Xia Qing led the way while Ji Li brought up the rear. Heading home, Ji Li took point, Xia Qing covered the back, and non-combatant Zhang He stayed safely in the middle.

This area wasn’t especially dangerous, so Xia Qing chatted quietly with Zhang He. “Sister He, will the lure you used leave a smell on me? I’ve got a sheep and a few chickens at home. Wouldn’t want them getting spooked.”

Xia Qing also had a wolf and a bunch of swallows, but there was no need to mention that.

Zhang He explained, “That lure is to attract carnivores. Sheep are herbivores, so it won’t affect them.”

Xia Qing lowered her voice, “Would it work on a wolf?”

“Wolves are big carnivorous predators with a much higher level of evolution and intelligence, so they’re more resistant to this kind of bait than small animals.” Zhang He considered Xia Qing’s relationship with evolved wolves and added, “The type needed to lure big predators is much harder to make. Most people have no access to the raw materials.”

Most people can’t get it, but some might. Xia Qing asked softly, “Suppose, just hypothetically, a beast wore a full-cover protective mask isolating outside scents. Then the lure wouldn’t have any effect, right?”

Zhang He nodded. “Right. In this year’s third Downpour, a group of monkeys attacked the Huai Six Base’s fruit plantation with protective masks and firearms.”

Wait—what?

Xia Qing was shocked. The monkeys at Huai Six Base were famous even before the disaster. Now they’d practically become monsters. Luckily, there weren’t many monkeys near their territory.

Walking in the middle, Zhang He sighed, worry in her voice. “Monkeys and apes have adapted to post-evolution Blue Star even faster than humans. Their numbers are rising quickly.”

Meanwhile, the human population kept shrinking disaster after disaster. And there was less and less low-toxin food humans could even eat in the Evolved Forest. Without enough food, the numbers would keep falling, so the nation pushed the territory system hard.

Xia Qing wiped thick mud off her shoes against a rock. “Even if monkeys evolve, their average intelligence is still way below ours. You all focus on your research, we’ll keep farming. As long as we’ve got food and medicine, humanity’s not going extinct.”

Zhang He up ahead scraped heavy mud off her own shoe and agreed, “Right. If people stopped fighting and stuck to their jobs, we wouldn’t be on the path to extinction.”

That made sense, but Ji Li thought Xia Qing had the potential for much more. “Xia Qing, you’re improving fast. With proper training, you could be a top-tier sniper.”

Xia Qing knew her place. “Ji, I’ve only gotten this far because I trained with Luo and Hu Zifeng. Luo is our base’s best sniper. I started off pretty raw, so yeah, I got better quick. I don’t see myself as some elite. As long as I can pick off animals sneaking into the territory to steal food, I’m happy.”

Zhang He laughed and Ji Li dropped the subject. When they split up at the Northern Barrier, Ji Li and Xia Qing settled the mission compensation, then Ji Li escorted Zhang He back to Territory Seven.

This time, Xia Qing wasn’t just the guide; she also handled the aerial threats during the evolved ant hunt. The bullets she used ought to be covered by Territory Seven too. Plus, the collection site was in Xia Qing’s own rented area of the Evolved Forest. With all that stacked up, the reward for Xia Qing was pretty solid:

One small oil press.