Chapter 493: The Winter Alliance Gathering

Kuang Qingwei trudged out of the territory, snow piling up past his calves. He followed the ruts where patrol cars had pressed tracks into the snow, heading for the Southern Bramble Gate beside the signpost for Territory Five.

Why use the south gate? Because Territory Nine had already been cleared out, so the south gate was much more convenient than taking the north.

“Kuang!”

Just as Kuang Qingwei was about to step inside, someone called his name. He turned to see Shizhong and Yue Haiying waving at him. He quickly returned the greeting. “Brother Yue, Brother Shi, you guys came too!”

Yue Haiying nodded while Shizhong asked, “Kuang, is the snow mostly cleared out?”

“I only cleared around the greenhouse and at home,” Kuang replied as they joined him. The three of them stomped snow off their protective suits and boots as they entered Territory Five. Kuang laughed, “Qi really did a thorough job. Look at this road—it’s clear enough for a big truck!”

Qi Fu walked over with a grin, still busy clearing snow.

“Xia Qing’s here.”

Hearing the rumble of the rotary tiller, Yue Haiying turned and stepped outside the wild grass wall. He spotted Xia Qing driving the rotary tiller up the road, with Zhao Ze riding along.

Catching a ride with Xia Qing, Zhao Ze spotted everyone already here. He frantically waved his arms and shouted hello.

Hiding behind the wild grass wall in Territory Two, Zhou Xun muttered under his breath, “Xia Qing, Zhao Ze, Qi Fu, Kuang Qingwei, Shizhong, Yue Haiying—why are all six of them gathering? Isn’t the wall finished already?”

“Xia Qing, just drive right up to my door!” Qi Fu yelled as Xia Qing rolled the tiller to the signpost at Territory Five. He instructed her to bring it straight in; everyone knew Xia Qing was still recovering and worried she’d get too tired, or worse, attacked by evolved snow-jumping insects lurking in the devastation snow.

Evolved snow-jumping insects are odd creatures. They range from half a centimeter to one and a half centimeters long, blending in with the devastation snow. They leap rapidly through or across the snow, searching for food or a good place to settle.

Even though those insects can’t bite through outdoor protective suits, they have no trouble finding holes or tears. Once inside, they can spread all sorts of bacteria and viruses.

As soon as Xia Qing parked in front of Qi Fu’s house, a hoarse voice crackled through the walkie-talkie. It was Tang Huai. “You all hear the news? Hui One Base and Huai Six Base just got hit by a beast tide.”

Winter’s devastation snow isn’t like the devastation rain from the first three seasons.

After the devastation rain, with enough sunlight, the rainwater seeps into the soil. The surplus devastation element, if not absorbed by roots, evaporates with the water vapor and returns to the atmosphere.

But after the devastation snow falls, the devastation element trapped inside settles onto the soil, lingering on top of the ground. Over time, it affects plants, seeds, and even animals below.

Animals hiding in burrows come out after the snow ends, desperate for water. They have no choice but to gnaw on the snow to survive. With all that devastation element building up inside them, it’s easy for them to lose control.

That’s why December—the month after the devastation snow—always sees more beast tides.

“What?!” Zhao Ze’s nerves snapped at the words ‘beast tide.’ “Is Luo at Huai Six Base right now? Are they okay?”

Xia Qing calmly replied, “Luo’s team has top-notch gear. As long as it isn’t a mega beast tide, they’ll be fine.”

It was already the tenth year of calamity. Humanity had experience with beast tides now. As long as everyone prepared, there wouldn’t be heavy casualties.

Over on the lords’ channel, Tang Huai kept reporting, “It’s not just Hui One and Huai Six. There’s a sizable beast tide forming to our east, in the safe zone near base.”

“Is the beast tide that big? Will it affect us here?” Zhao Ze’s mother asked from within Section Four.

Tang Huai replied, “Depends what plan the safe zone draws up. In principle, we should be fine. Captain Yang, aren’t you heading back to help defend the safe zone?”

With no answer from Yang Jin, Yuan Yan spoke up to check on Xia Qing’s recovery.

“Nothing major anymore,” Xia Qing said. It was her sixth day using the evolution element stim shake; much of the pain had faded and she could almost ignore it.

“That’s good to hear. You scared me half to death, fainting outside the signpost at Section Seven that day.” Yuan Yan still shuddered at the memory.

“Xia Qing fainted? During the beast tide?” Zhao Ze blurted out, shocked.

Xia Qing nodded. “I fainted from exhaustion.”

Yue Haiying walked over, asking, “You took the stim shake, right? How much strength is back now?”

“Sixty percent.”

Six days after taking the stim shake and she’d recovered sixty percent of her strength, able to move freely again. Clearly, Zhang San’s evolution element stim shake was every bit as good as its reputation—though having high-grade evolution element python meat helped. Yue Haiying nodded approvingly. “Make sure to rest these next few days.”

“That stuff is incredible! Sis, word’s out that you punched a grown evolved wild boar to death and took down three more in just two moves. Everyone’s talking about it.” Kuang Qingwei could only admire—and envy—her.

Xia Qing gave a wry smile. “All thanks to the medicine. If I hadn’t been lucky, and had help from the people in Section Seven and the Azure Dragon Squad…”

Just then, Tan Junjie announced, “Fellow Lords, the beast tide triggered by devastation snow on the east side of Hui Three Base has been confirmed. The north side of the safe zone won’t be hit, so everyone can safely keep clearing snow in your territories.”

Relief swept through the group. Qi Fu waved everyone over to sit and chat while Xu Juan came by to pour tea.

Floating in their cups were tiny daisies—wild-growing Yellow Lantern plants Xu Juan had recently found in their territory.

Shizhong asked, “There aren’t many evolved animals left on Hill Forty-Nine, and Hill Fifty was mostly cleared by those poison gas bombs last week. There’s not likely to be a beast tide this winter. Qing, why’d you call everyone together today?”

Once Xu Juan had sat down, Xia Qing explained the reason for the alliance meeting. “We’ve got four main things. First, as Qi has probably told you: our alliance has a new member—Third Brother from Section Seven. He’s swamped with work right now, so he can’t attend the meeting.”

Everyone beamed with delight. None of them had even dreamed they’d one day become allies with Zhang San, the local legend.

“Second: Third Brother has officially applied to designate Hill Fifty as a pollution control experiment zone. No one is allowed to enter unless authorized. Once the controlled burn is complete, I’ll be responsible for overseeing Hill Fifty’s daily management.”

Everyone gaped in shock at that announcement.

Qi Fu, who knew a bit more, immediately asked, “How long does the experiment ban last?”

Xia Qing smiled. “Tentatively five years. If Third Brother wants, it could be indefinite. I’m in charge of assisting him with the experiment, and as payment, I get the rights to collect and allocate resources from within the mountain area.”

Indefinitely? Qi Fu and Yuan Yan’s eyes sparkled, and they grinned with relief.

“Sis, how big is Hill Fifty anyway? From a distance, its peak seems even taller than Hill Forty-Nine,” Zhao Ze asked.