Chapter 624: The Gathering Storm: Preparing for the Devastation Rain

“Sister Qing.”

Zhang Hongda walked over slowly, dressed in a protective suit but without his mask, and greeted Xia Qing.

Xia Qing took off her own mask, smiling as she nodded. “Dazhi, last time wasn’t really the right moment so I didn’t get to say hi. Looks like you’re doing better, huh?”

Zhang Hongda’s voice sounded much steadier than it had a week ago, and his steps were stronger too. Clearly, the hot spring water in the valley had done wonders for his health.

Dazhi forced a grin, his lips pulling back awkwardly. “A lot better. Honestly, I thought you’d be scared out of your wits seeing me like this, Sister Qing.”

He was… pretty disgusting.

After being poisoned with that hard-to-cure synthetic toxin, he suffered from relentless pain. Thick black lines crawled all over his skin, turning it bumpy and warty like a toad’s. Many of the bumps had festered into open sores, even on his scalp—he’d lost all his hair.

When he heard Xia Qing was coming, Dazhi considered putting on a mask, but the skin on his neck was even more corroded than his face. Wearing the mask would only make things worse.

Xia Qing’s expression stayed calm, her eyes steady. “Honestly, you’re doing much better than I expected. Once the toxin’s out and the bumps fade, you’ll be back to normal.”

Relief flickered in Zhang Hongda’s eyes and he relaxed. “Even if the poison never goes away, I’m content just standing guard in this valley.”

Time was precious, so Xia Qing didn’t linger. She pulled out a Yi Stone Protector from her backpack, opening it to reveal a sectioned Yi Stone striped in black and white. “Brother Yue, Dazhi, have you ever used Yi Stones before?”

Yue Haiying shook his head, but Dazhi explained, “We haven’t used them, but we had training. We know how.”

Good enough; Xia Qing didn’t need to explain more. She and Yue Haiying quickly slotted the Yi Stones into holes in the wooden stakes she’d set out in the fields, then handed the last three small pieces to Yue Haiying. “Each piece can ward off Devastation Element in a sphere about two meters wide, centered on the stone. Keep them with you, especially when patrolling high-risk areas—never go without. If you spot any strange changes in the high-risk zone, let me know right away. The people from Territory Seven will come deal with it. Our job is just to patrol—your safety comes first.”

Even after all that, Xia Qing added another reminder. “If you’re moving quickly or if it’s raining, don’t forget the protective masks. The Yi Stone needs a few seconds to clear the area of Devastation Element.”

“Got it,” Yue Haiying said seriously as he took the three Yi Stone pieces.

Xia Qing gave one final warning. “When the Devastation Rain stops, don’t remove the stones right away. Wait till the sun’s started to evaporate the leftover Devastation Element in the water—once the air’s back to normal, then collect the Yi Stones. Otherwise, the seedlings could still be harmed.”

Her instructions finished, Xia Qing took out a packet of dried chrysanthemums and six plump strawberries, handing them to Yue Haiying before heading out of the valley.

After seeing Xia Qing off, Dazhi cradled the Yi Stone, no bigger than a corn kernel, for a long moment before solemnly tucking it into his suit pocket. His eyes glazed over, red-rimmed as he gazed out at the valley’s rice seedlings.

Retracing her steps, Xia Qing saw plenty of small wildlife—foxes, badgers, rabbits, and some evolved species she’d never seen before. She even caught a glimpse of the Red Squirrel leaping through the pine forest in Section Three of Hill Forty-Nine, but Little Five was nowhere to be found.

The little rascal must have gone home already. Xia Qing sighed. Cats just weren’t her thing.

Back in the monitoring room on Hill Forty-Nine, Little Five crouched on the table, licking his snowy-white paws and pink pads—both cleaned to perfection by Hu Zifeng—just as Xia Qing passed by on the screens.

She’d run both ways and made it back to the territory before 11 o’clock.

Catching her breath at home, Xia Qing wasted no time. She started installing Yi Stones for the animals and in the Green Lantern Wheat field.

Everywhere—Green Lantern Chickens, Green Lantern Insects, Green Lantern Fish, and even the rabbit cages where two Yellow Lantern and one Red Lantern rabbit lived—got their own piece of Yi Stone.

The Red Lantern rabbit’s broken leg, once mended by Xia Qing, had completely healed. Living on Green Lantern vegetables and pure spring water, it’d grown fat and strong. But the Devastation Element level inside it stayed the same as the day it was caught—25 per mille.

Once animals reach maturity, the Devastation and Evolution Elements inside them find a balance—and that’s tough to change.

The reason Xia Qing kept that Red Lantern rabbit was because next month, the Cordyceps fungi she’d cultivated with Yang Jin would be ready for harvest. As soon as Zhang San used them to make the Devastation Element Antidote, she was planning to try saving the rabbit. If it didn’t work, well, she could always sell it to Zhong Tao for credits.

She turned her eyes to the next cage—a pair of Yellow Lantern rabbits—full of hope. Spring was breeding season, so the mother rabbit was probably pregnant. With any luck, maybe this litter would include a Green Lantern baby.

Inside the planting greenhouse, Xia Qing only set Yi Stones by the Green Lantern strawberries, mint, and pumpkins. After the Devastation Rain, she’d need to plant a new crop of Green Lantern vegetables in the terraces anyway. Losing a few veggies in the greenhouse wasn’t a problem.

Once the greenhouse was sorted out, Xia Qing went home and threw a rain cover over the solar panel on the roof. Then she stood at the sheep shed door and called out, “Er Gou, is the balding one or White Weasel here?”

Truth was, Xia Qing had already checked the cameras and knew the Balding Weasel was out foraging—not in the cardboard box. Still, she kept up appearances, adding, “The first Devastation Rain of the year’s almost here. It’s expected to last 52 hours straight. Do you need me to bring you guys any food?”

Devastation Rain was a time of extreme danger. Any animal in the Evolved Forest without some way to shield themselves just had to tough it out and hope for the best.

Those who didn’t make it would lose control—or die. Survivors could come back out when it was over.

White Weasel, curled around its babies inside the cardboard box, didn’t poke its head out or make a sound this time. Still, its posture was more relaxed than usual.

Xia Qing kept talking. “I can provide you with food for the next three days, but you’ll have to help me find medicinal herbs.”

Dazhi’s situation was urgent—the sooner they found those herbs, the better.

After repeating her offer, Xia Qing raised her hand and called Er Gou again. “Er Gou, the rain’s about to start. Want to change into a protective suit? Come here, I’ll help you put it on.”

Er Gou wore a Yi Stone necklace, but getting caught in the rain would still make him uncomfortable.

As Er Gou obediently followed her into the living room to get suited up, White Weasel cautiously peeked its head out of the box, scanning the room and sniffing the air. Then, one by one, it picked up its babies—now twice their original size—and carried them to the dry straw piled on the high shelf.

That way, even if it rained, they wouldn’t get flooded.

After she’d suited up Old Goat and Er Gou, Xia Qing double-checked her own protective gear before heading to the kitchen to start lunch.

Today she was determined to eat her fill. She’d need all her strength for the first Devastation Rain of the year.

For now, Xia Qing wasn’t too worried. After gaining the Magnetic Sense Evolution Ability, that notorious natural disaster—Devastation Rain—was a lot less of a threat to her.

What she didn’t expect was that the moment the rain began, it would come crashing in with overwhelming force.