Chapter 485: Warmth Among the Snow: Rest and Recovery in the Shelter

Even with snow piling up to thirty centimeters outside and the greenhouse still popping out new Devastation Evolution or dangerous mutated plants here and there, Xia Qing switched off the lord communicator as soon as she got home. She pulled a fresh quilt from a sealed bag in the closet and snuggled under the covers, finally able to sleep in cozy warmth.

Even while Devastation Snow fell outside, her top priority now was getting enough rest and nutrition to throw off the side effects of the Evolution Element stim shake and let her body recover.

That old quilt? It had vanished—probably somewhere in a wolf’s stone den up on Wolf Mountain.

The stench in the room? Still there, of course. That’s why Xia Qing kept her head tucked under the new quilt. It had always stayed sealed and was never contaminated, so curled up inside, the faint, lingering odor was barely noticeable.

But what she couldn’t ignore was the pain. Now that everything was quiet, Xia Qing could feel every ache and protest from her body, each pang reminding her just how harsh the aftereffects of the Evolution Element stim shake were.

This stuff was strictly for emergencies. If she could avoid it going forward, she would. But if her life was on the line and there was no other way, she knew she’d use it again.

With Xia Qing drifting to sleep, the well-fed evolved animals were busy with their own routines.

Old Goat was pedaling away on the generator bike, squinting in satisfaction under the glow of the freshly lit bulb above.

Alpha and Er Gou raced and played in the Devastation Snow covering the abandoned village, darting through the drifts and leaping around like pups.

Crippled Wolf watched Old Goat from the sidelines for a while, then pricked up his ears, crept upstairs, and stared intently at the fridge in the corner—like he was working out something truly vital.

“Clop—clop—clop.”

As Xia Qing slept soundly upstairs, she heard the unmistakable sound of goat hooves on the stairs and, half-awake, wondered why Old Goat had come up.

“Bang.”

Before Xia Qing was fully awake, Old Goat had kicked open the bedroom door. She poked her head out from under the covers and sighed. “Old Goat, this isn’t a security door. If you keep kicking like that, I’ll have to replace it again.”

Seeing Old Goat’s eyes narrow dangerously, Xia Qing immediately lost her bravado. She softened her voice. “Seriously, though, the real reason I need to replace the door is because it’s flimsy, not because of you. I know you’re always careful. If you really used your full strength, the door would’ve ended up smashed with me underneath it. What brings you upstairs? Hungry? Did you finish all the corn stalks under the eaves?”

“Baa.” Old Goat let out a sound—not quite the same as usual.

Xia Qing tugged her clothes under the quilt to warm them, then checked her phone. She was stunned. She’d actually slept until half past nine. “Didn’t realize it was so late—I’ll get up and cook right away. Don’t worry, Old Goat, I’ve just been tired lately. A couple more days of rest and I’ll be back to normal. Thank you for coming up to check on me. You’re the best companion on Blue Star, the guardian of our territory, the king of all generator goats…”

Old Goat raised his head proudly at her praise, then trotted off downstairs with a clatter.

Xia Qing put on her thermal base layer, then pulled on the cotton clothes Madam Shi made for her, topped it with her loungewear, and left the bedroom feeling warm through and through. She tossed a few pieces of Evolved Pine into the fireplace, washed up, put on the Protective Suit and headed downstairs, only to see Old Goat back on the generator bike.

As he pedaled, the bike gave off a steady ‘beep beep’, which meant the battery connected to it was already overcharged.

Continuous overcharging like that would cut the battery’s lifespan short.

“Old Goat, didn’t I just swap out that battery after midnight last night? It’s already full? You’re incredible! You really are the pride of our territory, the pride of evolved sheep, the pride of Blue Star, the pride of the universe!” Xia Qing hurried over, swapped the battery out, and took out a compressed ration to negotiate. “Old Goat, we’re not short on power anymore. How about you take a break and try some ration bar with shredded straw?”

She kept up her praise as she moved quickly to grab the battery. Xia Qing decided she’d trade with Tiger for a controller to install on the generator bike soon—couldn’t risk more overcharging, had to protect her batteries.

Old Goat, delighted by the praise and the mention of tasty food, jumped off the bike and followed Xia Qing with lively hooves.

First, Xia Qing headed to the tool shed and grabbed a small bundle of edible straw, chopped it up and mixed it with the compressed ration, then set it at the kitchen door so Old Goat could dig in. She turned to making breakfast for herself and Er Gou.

Out of hot water? Time for an electric kettle!

Need to make congee? Use the electric rice cooker!

Snake meat frozen solid? Take it out and crush it up with the shredder!

Craving sweet potato chips? Turn on the food dehydrator and bake a batch!

Even though the solar panels barely worked during Devastation Snow, she was lucky to have a friend who loved making power, so there was never a shortage of electricity.

Once the congee was simmering, Xia Qing loaded three fully charged batteries onto the rotary tiller, plowed her way out of the village through the snow, and headed for the fields.

She passed the little house at the edge of the fields where the chimney puffed smoke, stopped by the greenhouse of Yellow Lantern Rapeseed, and carried a fresh battery inside. The greenhouse used battery-powered lights, and after running all night, they needed a recharge.

Liangzi, making his rounds in the greenhouse, spotted Xia Qing and called out cheerfully, “Sister Qing, feeling any better today?”

“Much better,” Xia Qing replied—and this wasn’t just to be polite. The pain had eased since she slept and her strength was nearly back to normal, enough to do some real work. “How’d things go last night?”

“Six thorny mutant plants showed up in the rapeseed field, but the other plots were fine,” Liangzi reported. “Some dude in Territory Five pricked his hand on the rapeseed thorns and had to get sent to Territory One for amputation. In Territory Two, three people lost control and hurt six others, total of nine deaths. Section Fifty is still guarded by the second disaster response team, nothing new there. Third Brother was looking for you on the lords’ channel, but the boss said you were resting, so he didn’t say what it was about.”

Xia Qing nodded and reached for the lord communicator. “Third Brother, are you there?”

After a few seconds with no reply from Zhang San, Tang Huai couldn’t wait. His voice was hoarse. “Xia Qing, you’re finally online—how’s everything going over there?”

“All normal,” Xia Qing assured Tang Huai, then reassured a few other allies who checked in. Soon, Idol appeared online.

Zhang San’s voice sounded rough, like he hadn’t gotten any sleep. “Xia Qing, can you come by before noon? Let me give you a full check-up.”

“Sure, thank you, Third Brother,” Xia Qing replied at once. She hopped on the rotary tiller and set off for the greenhouse, which also relied on batteries for its electric equipment.

The crisp clucking of chickens greeted her as Xia Qing walked over a pair of fresh wolf paw prints outside the breeding greenhouse and pushed open the door. She found Er Gou stretched out by the fish tank, wagging his tail as he fed the fish, while Crippled Wolf lounged near a pile of peanuts, playing with his tiny mirror.