Chapter 321: Opposing the Bird Horde: The Battle for Harvest

“Third Brother, Territory Five needs one. Thanks,” Qi Fu spoke up right away.

“Territory Ten’s in too!” Shizhong jumped in hot on his heels.

“Territory Six needs one as well,” Kuang Qingwei added, followed by representatives from Territory Four, Territory Two, and even Territory Nine—all scrambling to get their names on the list.

Only a fool would pass up a free Corn Guardian.

All except Xia Qing, of course. The cats didn’t like her, so she was out.

Lazily, Zhang San replied, “I’ve got just two cats, so I’ll assign them to Territory Five and Ten. I’ll have someone deliver them for their mission. They’ll stay until your corn’s fully dried.”

Qi Fu and Shizhong immediately agreed, while the others could only curse their slow reflexes for missing out on these free, evolved cats that catch birds.

Tang Huai called out to Hu Zifeng, “Hey, Madman, you’ve got cats too, right? Let me borrow one. I’ll make sure it’s fed and pampered!”

He couldn’t care less whether it caught birds—he just wanted the chance to cuddle a cat.

Hu Zifeng replied, “My cat doesn’t catch birds.”

“Then what does it like to catch? Fish, mice, bugs?” Tang Huai pressed.

“It just likes sunbathing.”

Tang Huai exploded, “Are you messing with me right now?”

With a cold snort, Hu Zifeng shot back, “I’ve got a cat. I don’t have time to joke with you.”

Tang Huai was fuming, cursing under his breath.

Zhang San turned to Hu Zifeng, “What does Little Five usually eat?”

Hu Zifeng responded instantly, “Little Five loves fish, small birds, and bird eggs—especially from the Green Lantern. But it never catches them itself. I catch and clean everything before feeding it.”

Everyone else just stared speechless.

Zhang San’s tone softened, “You take good care of your cat. Bring Little Five over to play if you have time.”

Pride shining in his words, Hu Zifeng agreed, “Sure thing, Third Brother. Little Five is clever, beautiful, and adorable. Feeding it prey I caught myself is my honor.”

No one knew how to respond to that.

Ten years into the apocalypse, and Hu Zifeng was still raising a cat that couldn’t even hunt. Did he have meat piling up with nowhere to put it?

But only Xia Qing, who’d seen Little Five’s impossibly cute face, truly envied him. She wanted to catch fish and feed a cat too.

Most expected the conversation to end here, the usual argument between Territory One and Two up next. Instead, to everyone’s surprise, Xin Yu of Territory Eight suddenly came online.

“Territory Eight has an Evolved Sea Eagle that can drive off and catch birds gathering around your territories. Same conditions as Territory Seven’s offer. Who needs it?”

The usually absent Territory Eight lord came in swinging—a bombshell to all the others.

Everyone had heard that Territory Eight was sheltering an injured Evolved Sea Eagle, but nobody expected its wound had healed so well. Not only could it fly and hunt, it could now help earn birds for the group.

Was that the same injured Evolved Hawk that Xin Yu traded with Xia Qing before the insect disaster? Would it be ready to work soon too?

“Xin Yu, will your sea eagle attack anyone?” Qi Fu asked.

Xin Yu answered, “No. It’s a properly trained and certified animal. As long as you don’t attack it, it won’t fight back. I’ll put a tracker on it and monitor its position in real time, so it won’t cross any boundaries.”

Tang Huai was curious, “Xin Yu, why are you setting your eagle loose? You don’t even need the credits from feeding it.”

“Tang Huai!” Tang Zhengbo stopped his son sharply before he dug himself any deeper.

Was he implying Zhang San only sent out his cats for feeding credits? Pretty gutsy.

If Zhang San took offense, he could bleed Tang Huai a little extra or force some nasty medicine down his throat next time. That’d serve him right for not knowing when to shut up.

Reining in his son, Tang Zhengbo brought focus back, “Third Brother and Xin Yu are sending out their valuable trained animals not just to help everyone, but also to train them. I’m old and slow, so I missed out on Zhang San’s cats. This time, I’m first in line—Territory Twelve would like the Evolved Sea Eagle, please, Xin Yu.”

“Territory Two needs it as well,” Tang Huai—eager to redeem himself—jumped in immediately.

Zhao Ze and Kuang Qingwei also put their names in, just before another long-lost voice broke through.

“Territory One needs one too. Thanks for your trouble.”

Xia Qing lit up with joy. Luo!

His voice still sounded weak, but the fact that Luo Pei could come online meant the medicine Yang Jin brought had worked, and Luo Pei was back on his feet.

“Luo, it’s been ages since we heard from you. What’ve you been up to lately?” Zhao Ze asked, eager to reconnect.

Xia Qing couldn’t help but think, Zhao Ze, just stop already. Let your mom take over.

“I wasn’t feeling well, so I’ve been recovering. I’m much better now,” Luo answered gently.

Hearing about Luo’s illness, everyone chimed in with their well wishes.

Then Tang Huai suddenly turned to Xia Qing, “Don’t you need Xin Yu’s sea eagle to drive away birds? Or do you have birds that hate your place too?”

“Tang Huai,” Tang Zhengbo called out, his voice as warm as ever, but with a clear warning, “Come back and eat.”

“Okay, Dad. I’ve just been busy. I’ll come back in a couple days,” Tang Huai instantly backtracked.

Looks like Tang Huai hadn’t told his dad about his injury. Xia Qing answered the dumb question herself, “I’ve got chickens here. I’m worried they’d get scared and stop laying if the birds spooked them, so I didn’t compete for the eagle. My sheep can help scare birds anyway.”

You’ve got cats and birds. I’ve got sheep, a wolf, and even squirrels—I can keep birds away just fine.

Xia Qing turned to Old Goat and Er Gou, who were husking corn, and said, “Old Goat, Er, did you hear that? Territory Seven’s cats can chase off birds. Territory Nine’s eagle too. We can’t be outdone. All the corn in our territory depends on you!”

“I’ll husk the corn. You two go chase away birds. As long as they don’t ruin the greenhouse or steal the corn, Old Goat gets a ration bar and Er can feast on stew-bird!”

Er Gou wagged his tail and ran off to patrol the greenhouse, chasing away birds. He didn’t manage to drive them completely away, but none dared peck at the insect net or rain cover anymore.

Old Goat wasn’t interested in chasing birds—he just kept battling the corn beneath his hooves, clearly determined not to stop until every kernel was clean.

That sheep had some real bite. Xia Qing worried he’d stomp all the corn flat, so she coaxed him gently until he finally left the corn and went to deal with birds.

Both Er Gou and Old Goat were land animals, so they weren’t great at chasing off birds. The wolf handled his emotions well, but impatient Old Goat started ramming trees and rocks to scare birds instead.

Xia Qing drew her gun and shot the birds teasing Old Goat out of spite, sending a clear message to the rest before going back to husking corn.

Once all the corn was bagged, Xia Qing and Old Goat used their Strength-Based Evolution to haul everything home in two trips. They laid the corn out on the rooftop drying rack and covered it with the same screen they’d used for cotton.

Birds didn’t care much for cotton, but they swarmed to corn. Flocks squatted on the sheep shed, chicken house, and the sharp rooftops of the main house.

If any of those birds had Brain Evolution, they could organize and attack together, rip off the cover, and feast on the corn. So just letting Old Goat and Er Gou defend wasn’t enough—they needed to strike back too.

Standing on the roof, Xia Qing focused her vision and hearing, scanning the flock to see if any Brain-Evolved birds were hiding among them.