Chapter 627: Storm of Evolution: Crimson Grass in the Danger Zone

Even though Xia Qing couldn’t spot any difference between this shrub and the others nearby, she could feel it—the barberry bush in front of her was about to undergo an aggressive Devastation Evolution.

She drew her long blade, gripping it tight. Before the barberry’s dangerous evolution even started, Zhao Ze’s voice came crackling over the lord communicator: “Two of my rapeseed plants just started growing thorns on their leaves.”

Thorns. That meant the rapeseed had triggered an aggressive Devastation Evolution.

“A couple of my rapeseed spikes too! They’re growing flower buds all at once,” Kuang Qingwei sighed. “There wasn’t much left to begin with…”

With things going like this, even if they manage to trade for bees this year, there’ll hardly be any honey to collect.

“Sister Qing, the rapeseed leaves in the greenhouse are sprouting thorns too.” Chen Zheng reported through the earpiece walkie-talkie.

“Clear them out first, I’ll be over soon.” After replying to Chen Zheng, Xia Qing kept her eyes locked on the bush ahead.

Guan Tong, who was patrolling the territory, noticed Xia Qing standing motionless on the edge of the Northern Buffer Forest and pressed his earpiece. “Sister Qing?”

“A bush is budding fast but I can handle it.” Xia Qing replied, gripping her long blade as she kept her focus on the shrub.

“Copy that.” Times had changed; Xia Qing was now far stronger than him. Relieved, Guan Tong continued his patrol over the Devastation Grass.

Before long, the bare branches of the bush began shooting out small purple-red leaves at a speed you could see with the naked eye. The magnetic field around it kept intensifying.

Xia Qing held her blade and waited, watching for the bush’s attack to show itself.

Boom!

It wasn’t a sound you’d hear, but a jolt that reverberated through her Magnetic Sense.

In Xia Qing’s perception, the barberry’s magnetic field suddenly surged. To put it visually, it was like there had been two needles aimed at her brow—then, all at once, there were ten.

Still, those ten needles didn’t make her feel as threatened as the dangerous, venomous tree that had eaten straight through Kuang Qingwei’s protective suit.

Under Xia Qing’s watchful gaze, new thornless vines slowly pushed out from the barberry’s spiked branches. This was a mutation—its method of attack.

And this vine’s color and leaf shape…

Xia Qing narrowed her eyes. Wasn’t this the same kind of vine in Valley One, Section Three, not far from the Chinese Torreya tree on the slope? The one that squeezed tight the moment you touched it? So those vines had evolved from Purple-leaf Barberry all along!

She took a careful step back, confirming that her magnetic sense let her feel the plant’s changes from up to three meters away. Then, with one swift stroke, she sliced through everything above the barberry’s main root and kept an eye on the cut.

The biocurrent in the root was still unstable, swelling with energy as it tried to push out more buds. But before it could, Xia Qing grabbed the main root and ripped it from the soil.

Pulling up a bush like this was a piece of cake for someone with Strength Evolution—no need for a shovel at all. Xia Qing stuffed the whole root, dirt and all, into a heavy-duty bag and sealed it, sliding it into her basket.

She waited until the plant’s magnetic field faded, then finally let out a breath. Since it hadn’t evolved to pull Devastation Element straight from the air yet, it wasn’t much of a threat.

She pressed the walkie-talkie to broadcast on the lords’ channel: “One low-risk aggressive Devastation Evolution barberry cleared in Territory Three’s Buffer Forest. Attack method: flexible, moving vines. Situation resolved.”

“Roger.” Tan Junjie chimed in, “Stay out of the buffer forest during Devastation Rain.”

Xia Qing responded, “Understood. I only found it while checking the terraces.”

After scouring the buffer forest for another round and finding no other aggressive plants before the first Devastation Rain ended, Xia Qing headed to the planting greenhouse to clear a couple more Devastation-evolved vegetables. She was just about to check the Yellow Lantern Rapeseed House when Yue Haiying called.

“Xia Qing, after the hail melted, a bunch of bright red Devastation Grass popped up in the High-Risk Area. Species unknown, danger level unknown.”

The High-Risk Area’s soil had been polluted by Fire Phoenix’s poison gas bombs. Even after several rounds of disinfection—and a burn for good measure—harmful stuff still lingered. The Devastation Grass seeds scattered by the wind must have mutated after contact with some toxin.

“Got it. Stay in the Bear Cave and don’t come out. I’ll report it right away.” Hanging up on Yue Haiying, Xia Qing immediately contacted Zhang San to report the threat.

Zhang San had also been alerted by Section Seven’s Monitoring Room and was already checking surveillance. He asked her, “Is your personal flight equipment still working?”

During Devastation Rain, the Evolved Forest was a minefield of danger. Flying overhead was the safest option. Xia Qing didn’t hesitate. “It’s good to go.”

“Head over there and collect samples. I’ll get in touch with Tan Junjie. Be careful.”

“Understood!” Xia Qing broke into a run, relaying the news to Guan Tong, Chen Zheng, Old Goat, and Er Gou within the territory, then notified Yue Haiying.

She collected her personal flight gear and fuel from the basement storage. Not wanting to disturb the family of yellow weasels in the sheep shed, Xia Qing ran out of the village before stepping onto the flight device and launching. She soared north, straight over Section Three of Hill Forty-Nine, making a beeline for the Third Peak of Hill Fifty.

“Xia Qing!”

In Territory Two, Tang Huai heard the noise and dashed outside, looking north. He caught a glimpse of Xia Qing’s silhouette, cool and fierce, riding the flight device, and nearly lost his mind with excitement. “Holy crap, that’s awesome!”

At the battered container-house outside Territory Fourteen, Yan Meng raised his head, his cloudy eyes staring straight at Xia Qing cutting through the sky.

Allies from the Alliance heard the commotion and walked out of greenhouses or homes to see what was up. Even those who missed Xia Qing’s flight heard Tang Huai’s howls over the lords’ channel. Everyone’s nerves tightened. Xia Qing was flying north so soon—could something have happened at Hidden Valley?

Tan Junjie announced on the lords’ channel with a stern voice, “Attention, all lords and agents: Section Seven’s lord is sending someone to collect samples from the Experimental Area. Don’t panic—focus on protecting your territory’s fields. Let me stress again: strictly no one is to cross the barrier into the Evolved Forest without permission from the Inspection Team. Ignore this at your own risk.”

Tang Huai’s eyes lingered on Xia Qing’s fading silhouette. Does the Experimental Area really need more errand runners? I’d do it for free, just let me try that flight device.

Even in clear weather, running at full speed, it’d take Xia Qing nearly half an hour to reach her destination; on the flight device, she made it in just five minutes.

The High-Risk Area was where the battle against the Fire Phoenix Trapping Team turned ugly—a poison gas bomb had struck here, leaving two blasted zones. One lay at the foot of Third Peak, the other five hundred meters below the Bear Cave, with a total area of five mu.

After being completely burned, the High-Risk Area should have looked nothing but gray ash. But from the air, it looked as though it had been dyed blood red.

Xia Qing’s right hand tightened on the remote as she guided the flight device lower, landing on the firebreak. She pulled on shoe covers and anti-bacterial gloves before stepping forward. Even five meters out from the danger zone, she felt what seemed like a barrage of steel needles assaulting her brow, forcing her to step back.

Every single Devastation Grass in the High-Risk Area had evolved into an aggressive killer!