Chapter 484: The Rapeseed’s Deadly Evolution

What kind of offensive power could a weak, helpless little rapeseed seedling gain after undergoing Devastation Evolution?

Would it start dancing in unison like a swarm of potato vines, whipping people with its stalks?

Or would it pelt seeds like a sunflower, turning itself into a living machine gun?

With ten years of surviving natural disasters under her belt, Xia Qing figured it was far more likely the rapeseed would develop some sort of chemical attack than anything purely physical.

She slowly raised her arm to check the Air Toxin Detector strapped to her wrist. The dial glowed green—no toxins, or barely any, nothing that could harm humans.

Xia Qing stood there waiting quietly.

Half an hour passed. The rapeseed didn’t suddenly shoot up, send out flower stalks, or burst open to release some toxic cloud. Instead, rows of sharp spikes—exactly the same color as the leaves—began sprouting along the leaf veins. If Xia Qing’s evolved vision hadn’t recovered somewhat, she probably wouldn’t have even noticed the change.

Watching those spines slowly lengthen and darken was downright creepy. It looked less like a pure rapeseed than some weird hybrid between rapeseed and devil’s needle.

As the spikes grew longer and their color sharpened, Xia Qing’s sense of danger ratcheted up. She called out to Xiao Jiang, who was closest. “Xiao Jiang, get over here fast! There’s an abnormal Devastation-Evolved plant here. Use your shovel and move it aside.”

Given her current condition, Xia Qing would probably end up injuring the healthy rapeseed seedlings on either side if she tried to dig it up herself.

“On it!” Xiao Jiang rushed over, clutching his shovel. After scanning the rows, he squinted. “Sis, which one?”

Xia Qing pointed it out. “That one. Be careful, I think those spines are poisonous.”

“They’re definitely poisonous,” Xiao Jiang replied, showing the experience of someone who worked in the Evolved Forest a lot. He scooped up the mutated rapeseed with his shovel, moved it aside, then quickly covered it with a homemade double-layer rain cover, bracing himself for anything.

Five minutes later, something happened that stunned both Xia Qing and Xiao Jiang—the double-layer rain cover was riddled with tiny holes, right where the plant’s spikes touched.

“What the…” Xiao Jiang stammered, nearly tripping over his words. “That’s Devastation Evolution with offensive power. At a minimum, those corrosive spines are mid-level hazard. I bet they could eat through a protective suit too!”

Most likely, Xia Qing nodded. “Send out a hazard alert in the Lords’ channel.”

“Will do.” Xiao Jiang switched his earpiece walkie-talkie to the Lords’ channel and broadcasted, “Attention, all Lords: Section Three’s rapeseed field has produced a mid-dangerous, offensive Devastation-Evolved plant. It won’t shoot upwards but grows long, highly corrosive spines along its leaves—spines over two centimeters long that can punch through double rain covers. Everyone, please stay alert…”

After Xiao Jiang repeated the alert three times, Tan Junjie replied he’d received it. The other territories checked in one by one.

Zhao Ze’s voice came through hoarse: “We’ve already pulled more than half the rapeseed, and now there’s dangerous Devastation Evolution? What are we supposed to do—lose the whole crop?”

Kuang Qingwei sounded oddly upbeat. “At least it’s happening to the rapeseed, not the wheat. That’d be a real mess.”

Rapeseed was provided by the Territory Management Department; each territory could buy half a jin at most, enough to sow half an acre. Wheat, however, came from seeds handpicked by the Lords during the first harvest. Kuang Qingwei had planted twenty acres of wheat, and plenty of other Lords had a lot too.

Shi Du quickly warned, “Qing, take that back, fast. Don’t even mention stuff like that or we’ll jinx it.”

“I take it back!” Kuang Qingwei immediately amended. “Forget I said anything, everyone’s fields are safe, our crops are fine, we’ll have a bumper harvest next year!”

Qi Fu’s voice was hoarse from staying up late, but he chimed in to warn, “I’m seeing the same dangerous Devastation Evolution in my rapeseed fields as Section Three. Everyone, turn on all your spotlights—my eyes are going blurry, and without them, you can’t spot which plants are growing spines. Get rid of those mutated rapeseed seedlings right away, or any nearby leaves that get stabbed will liquefy in no time.”

Through the walkie-talkie, Xiao Jiang contacted Peng Jian, the Level 5 Vision Evolutionary who was shoveling snow outside, and asked him to come scan the rapeseed fields for any spiny plants.

With Peng Jian on patrol, none of the dangerous Devastation-Evolved plants could pull any surprises in the rapeseed field. Xia Qing made a quick round with her team, then headed next door to check on the Green Lantern Wheat greenhouse.

Visibly, the Green Lantern Wheat was faring a lot better than the Yellow Lantern Rapeseed. Not a single patch of stunted growth. Just goes to show—the quality of your seeds decides everything when it comes to crops.

After circling the greenhouse and seeing nothing out of place, Xia Qing finally relaxed. Chen Cheng sidled up, curious, “Sister Qing, what’s it feel like when you get hit by that Evolution Element stim shake?”

“What does it feel like?” Xia Qing was blunt. “It’s like every blood vessel and nerve in your body is about to rupture from the shake. Forget moving—you can barely breathe or speak without hurting. But today’s a lot better than yesterday.”

Chen Cheng thought about that and shuddered, marveling that Xia Qing could power through and join the third team catching fugitives yesterday. “Now I get why no one could wake you up on your way back to the territory yesterday, Sister Qing.”

Before Xia Qing could reply, Chen Cheng burst out laughing and shared a story from yesterday. “Did you know? Er Yong got hauled back home by Huo. He was so dizzy and nauseous after, the guy could barely stand straight.”

Er Yong was a Level 5 Speed Evolver—even faster than Xia Qing, but still nowhere close to keeping pace with the Wolf Pack and Huo Zhun. The Evolution Element stim shake’s effect only lasted so long, and Huo Zhun needed to get back before it wore off. He couldn’t leave Er Yong stranded alone in the snowy Evolved Forest—so he had to drag him along at top speed.

Xia Qing, who’d only gotten dizzy and miserable from being carried on a specialized stretcher by Huo Zhun, couldn’t help but sympathize. “How’s he doing now?”

“He’s fine after a nap. He just swapped shifts before you came by. But…” Chen Cheng grinned mischievously. “Old Goat said he’s just let his powers get rusty all year. He’s got to train another hour and a half every morning and night from now on. And if his speed isn’t up to at least five and a half by the year’s end, he’s getting kicked from the main squad to the reserves.”

With a month left until year’s end, boosting your speed by half a level is nearly impossible. Xia Qing gave Er Yong a silent three-candle salute.

Iron Rooster is tough on outsiders, but he’s just as tough with his own people. Still, that kind of discipline is needed. Once her stamina is back, Xia Qing plans to train just as hard and get her strength up ASAP.

If Er Yong ever did get squeezed out of the Azure Dragon Squad, Xia Qing could always hire him to farm and cook for Section Three. But even then, the credits he’d earn wouldn’t come close to what he makes now.

After checking on the perfectly healthy Green Lantern Wheat field, Xia Qing headed over to the rotary tiller—only to find Er Gou sitting in its usual spot, tail wagging as he beamed at her.

Xia Qing’s heart twinged with sympathy. She hurried over, lifted the rain cover off the rotary tiller and slid into the driver’s seat, ruffling Er Gou’s fur. “What are you still doing out here, Old Two? It’s freezing. I told you to go home and get warm!”

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