Chapter 391: Building the Foundation

If Crippled Wolf ignores or can’t understand Xia Qing’s warning, steps out of her own territory, and gets caught by Yan Meng, then the feud between the Wolf Pack and the Storm Squad is theirs to settle.

Any issues between Xia Qing and Yan Meng—they’re hers alone to deal with.

Of course, all that can wait until she finishes her main task. For a farmer like her, that job is digging up yellow clay to build a greenhouse.

Early the next morning at five, Xia Qing finished her breakfast, made a round to inspect the territory, then opened the garage and started up the rotary tiller. After much coaxing and offering Old Goat two compressed rations, she finally persuaded him down from his usual spot, then handed Er Gou a fistful of roasted jerky. After telling the two to watch the house, Xia Qing drove the tiller out of the territory to meet Hu Zifeng and the other two waiting by the south gate.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to send a few people to go with you?” Hu Zifeng asked again, casting a glance at the wild grass wall of Territory Two to hint someone was inside.

Xia Qing nodded lightly to show she understood. “No need. Let Er Yong and the others keep up their training. I’ve got enough hands for this. Captain Hu, just send two men to help watch the gate and keep an eye on the soil unloading, that’s all I need—sixteen loads in total.”

The sun hadn’t risen yet but the sky was already light. Driving east, Xia Qing steered the tiller past Territory Two’s wild grass wall, its leaves chewed to scraps by bugs. Through the gaps, she spotted six people crouched where Tang Huai used to dig for bugs, all staring at her with greedy, unsettling eyes.

She knew those looks all too well. Calm as ever, Xia Qing eased the tiller under the signpost for Territory Four and called out to Zhao Ze, who was about to climb onto the back cart. “Zhao, come sit up front next to me.”

The tiller’s rain shield offered some protection, and Zhao Ze, being just a regular guy with no combat experience, was headed for the Evolved Forest. It was too risky to let him ride in the open cart.

“Hey!”

With his machete slung over his back and a briefcase in hand, Zhao Ze called out loudly, then took the seat beside Xia Qing and blew out a long breath.

Ever since Zhao Ze and his mom fled to Hui Three Safe Zone, he hadn’t gone near the Evolved Forest again. Even living right next to it, he’d never dared enter to try his luck.

That’s because the ‘fortune’ in there isn’t for just anyone. The Evolved Forest has vicious beasts, poisonous bugs, attacking plants that can latch onto people—even the tiniest insect could be fatal.

Now he was heading in to scout the terrain, and he’d probably be spending most of the next few days in the forest. Zhao Ze’s nerves were shot.

If he wasn’t so scared of Xia Qing giving him a beating, he honestly would’ve stuck to her side as closely as possible.

Xia Qing reassured the nervous ‘project manager’ for this mission. “Don’t worry, Zhao, once we’re on Hill Fifty, as long as you stay inside the boundary I mark out, I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

“No worries, sis. I’ll stay right where you tell me. I’m not going anywhere.”

With her promise, Zhao Ze finally relaxed and hurried to win her favor. “Once the soil’s moved, we won’t need this many people on Hill Fifty. The day after tomorrow, Qi will bring the crew over to start building the greenhouse walls on your lot first.”

“Sounds good,” Xia Qing said, feeling no guilt at all.

She’d found both the thornwood grove and the yellow clay. Three of the five hauler trucks were her doing, and when they got to the Evolved Forest, she’d be in charge of security. Naturally, the clay would be shipped to her territory first, and her greenhouse would get built ahead of the others.

If she tried to go it alone, even with her strength, it’d take half a month to finish two sets of walls. But working with allies, they’d have it up in ten days, and then—once the secondhand steel pipes she ordered from Yang Jin showed up—she could install them, throw up plastic film, fertilize, plow, and plant rapeseed right away.

The tiller stopped beneath the signpost for Section Five. Xia Qing handed the controls to Zhao Ze, had Qi Fu sit beside him, and jumped into the back cart loaded with a dozer blade and digging shovel for a better vantage point. From here, she scoped out Territory Fourteen to the south.

Yan Meng—the man who wanted to kill Xia Qing to avenge his sister—was inside Territory Fourteen. Qi Fu glanced over his shoulder but Xia Qing looked as calm as ever. You’d never guess what she was feeling.

People who can really kill with one move aren’t the loudmouths—they’re the silent types with blank expressions. After ten years of surviving disasters, everyone knew to steer clear of quiet killers like her.

Qi Fu had to admit, Xia Qing was giving off some serious killer vibes right now.

Standing in the back cart, Xia Qing’s five feet ten frame already put her above the wild grass walls, letting her see right into Territory Fourteen.

Inside, the place was a wild mess of grass and shrubs. A narrow, twisting path, less than two feet wide, ran from the south signpost straight to two large greenhouses at the center. Near the greenhouses stood a makeshift house fashioned from an old shipping container.

At the sound of the tiller, a tall, thin man in a protective suit hunched his shoulders and shuffled out of the container to peer their way.

A light mist hung over the ground. It was over a thousand feet from the road to the shipping container, but Xia Qing recognized the man immediately.

Yan Meng.

This was the same guy who’d tried to strangle her last summer in the Evolved Forest, eyes wide and crazed, like he was crushing a mutant bug.

At this distance, Yan Meng—who hadn’t evolved his vision—shouldn’t be able to recognize her. Even if he did, Xia Qing didn’t care.

Once she’d confirmed who he was and the state he was in, Xia Qing turned her gaze east, toward Territory Fifteen.

Four shipping containers, a dozen neatly lined greenhouses, and the rest all cleared and tidy—now this was how a real territory should look.

The road next to Fifteen’s northern signpost had only been cleared last night. It was four meters wide and ran straight to an open patch by the greenhouses.

Yue Haiying led over a man who stood nearly six feet tall, rough and in his thirties, with a scarred left face and a missing left eye. After stepping through the wild grass wall, Yue greeted everyone and introduced him. “This is Yu Shou from our territory. He’s a level four Strength-Based Evolution.”

Xia Qing offered her hand. “Yu, want to join me up here in the cart?”

“Sure.” Yu Shou passed Xia Qing his shovel, pickaxe, and machete, then grabbed the cart’s edge and hopped in to stand by her side, all in one swift motion.

It was only then that Xia Qing noticed his left hand was missing half its fingers. Luckily, he’d only lost his ring and little fingers, so it barely impacted his life, and farm work wouldn’t be an issue.

He’d retired from duty because of the eye injury.

Last night, Yue Haiying had said that Yu Shou used to be a heavy machinery driver. Losing an eye meant he couldn’t judge distance accurately, so he could no longer operate vehicles.

After passing Territory Fifteen, the group crossed an intersection and a divider, officially entering Hill Fifty.

“Yu, you take the rear.”

With that, Xia Qing vaulted onto the tiller’s rain shield. She braced herself using two mounting points she’d welded on last night, feet and body steady—gun pointed straight ahead.

Watching how Xia Qing handled her weapon, Yu Shou immediately understood why she’d become the top dog among the northern territories.

It had nothing to do with Hu Zifeng of the Azure Dragon Squad—she was just that strong.