Chapter 632: Night Watch Beneath the Devastation Rain

Kuang Qingwei of course wished his wife could become an evolved fighter, but he didn’t want to pressure her. “Don’t rush. Let’s focus on healing your injuries first, and take good care of your body. When it’s time for the evolution ability to show up, it will. Go back inside and start the cooking, I’ll stay here with the others and keep watch over the fields.”

As Xia Qing switched on the lord communicator, she heard Tang Huai shouting, “Hasn’t Xia Qing turned on her communicator yet? Captain Tan, how’s it going over at Territory Nine? Need any help?”

Tan Junjie replied coolly, “No need.”

“Captain Hu, what’s the situation in Territory Nine?” Xia Qing headed back to her own territory and contacted Hu Zifeng using the earpiece walkie-talkie.

To her surprise, Hu Zifeng had already brought Da Jiang and Xiao Jiang into Section Three, taking over from Guan Tong and Chen Zheng to guard the fields for Xia Qing. He waved at Xia Qing from the edge of the Yellow Lantern Rapeseed field near the northern gate and answered over the communicator, “As the red Devastation Rain was ending, a bunch of bats and owls flew into Territory Nine. The Inspection Team went in to check and found a huge patch of lilies sprouting and blooming in the Devastation Rain. Right now, Captain Tan and the people from Territory Seven are inside clearing them out.”

After the great evolution of life on Blue Star, lilies became Devastation Element-sensitive plants. If planted in environments not protected from the Devastation Element, these sensitive plants have about a seventy percent chance of turning aggressively Devastated, and in Devastation Rain, it’s a guaranteed transformation.

As far as Xia Qing knew, Tan Junjie and the people from Territory Seven had already searched Territory Nine top to bottom twice. It’s hard not to suspect that someone deliberately sealed off the scent and Devastation Element from these lily seeds and buried them in the dirt, just waiting for Devastation Rain season to cause trouble.

Xia Qing walked down the hillside and checked the greenhouse first. Seeing that Old Goat and Er Gou weren’t around and everything inside seemed fine, she went to the Yellow Lantern Rapeseed House and found the rapeseed seedlings inside even sparser than before. She couldn’t help but sigh.

This round of Devastation Rain had only been going for a little over four hours. In another fifty hours, how many rapeseed plants would even be left?

Hu Zifeng blocked Xia Qing, who wanted to help pull Devastation Grass, urging her to go home and rest. “We’ve got it covered here. Go check on things back at your place. As soon as the red Devastation Rain stopped, Old Goat went home. Er Gou’s been nowhere to be seen. No need to cook for us. We brought our own food. Just come back at six tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll take the next shift and come by at two in the morning,” Xia Qing decided. After heading home, she greeted her two companions, cleared the Devastation Grass from the yard, took a quick shower, then started making dinner.

“Attention, all Lords: the crisis in Territory Nine has been resolved, but a handful of rats managed to escape. Territories Two, Ten, Four, and Twelve, please stay on alert. If you need the Inspection Team’s help with extermination, just leave a message.”

Evolved rats are among the most hated animals for farmers.

“Received. Territory Ten doesn’t need assistance for now,” Shizhong replied first.

“Got it. Territory Four doesn’t need help at the moment either,” Zhao Ze’s Mother echoed.

“Acknowledged, Territory Twelve is fine too,” Tang Heng chimed in.

“Roger that, no need at the moment,” added Tang Huai, the proxy for Territory Two, sounding curious. “Captain Tan, did a lot of rats appear in Territory Nine? How did they get in? What were they eating before? Even with your guys and Third Brother’s people all in there, you couldn’t wipe them all out?”

Before Tan Junjie could respond, Zhang San cut in, “Tang Huai, don’t spoil my appetite with rat talk during dinner.”

Tang Huai quickly dropped the subject. “Okay. So, Third Brother, what’s on the menu tonight? How about I fry you up some Green Lantern Insects and bring them over?”

Everyone else…

Zhang San drawled lazily, “I don’t do trades with Territory Two.”

Everyone again…

Tang Heng, over in Territory Twelve, jumped in, “Third Brother, do you want Green Lantern Breadworms tonight? I can deliver some for you.”

Zhang San, clearly in a good mood, replied, “I’ll send someone over for them now. If you want to swap, just talk it over.”

Zhang San really was… impossible. Everyone burst out laughing in their own territories. Xia Qing laughed so hard she nearly choked, while Old Goat, who was busy eating, narrowed his eyes dangerously, wanting to give her a punch.

Even Tang Huai couldn’t take it anymore. Grumbling, he demanded, “Tan Junjie, give it to me straight: Last year—the tenth year after the disaster, March fourth—I traded some Yellow Lantern Sheep Meat to Third Brother. Did your people spoil it?!”

Everyone else was curious about this too and perked up their ears to listen.

Tan Junjie’s voice stayed as serious as ever. “I swear on my honor as a soldier: We didn’t do it.”

If Tan Junjie said so, it definitely wasn’t the Inspection Team. If not him, then it had to be someone from either Territory Two or Seven. Most people figured someone in Territory Two was careless and messed it up themselves.

Territory Seven? No way. Third Brother loved food too much to purposely let meat go to waste in his own hands.

Tang Huai cursed, “Damn it, it must’ve been someone from my territory who didn’t seal it properly. I’m so screwed!”

Xia Qing pressed the walkie-talkie button. “Everyone, if you see a yellow weasel in your territory catching rats later, please spare it—it’s one I raised.”

Tang Huai immediately switched topics. “Xia Qing, when did you start raising yellow weasels? How come I never heard about this!”

Everyone started counting down silently: one, two…

Hu Zifeng logged in with a frosty tone. “Rotten meat seller, you don’t know how to package and store food—that’s one thing. But your hearing’s going too? Can’t even eavesdrop on what’s happening in other territories now?”

Listening to Hu Zifeng and Tang Huai bicker while she finished dinner, Xia Qing spoke to Er Gou, “Old Two, do a round of the territory, will you? If you spot a rat sneaking in, just take it out.”

Even though she’d sprayed repellent for small reptiles along the Wild Grass Wall bordering the territory, the repeated downpours of Devastation Rain definitely weakened or washed off the pesticide. There was a real chance some rats could squeeze through the iron mesh and sneak in.

After reminding him, Xia Qing fitted Er Gou with a fully enclosed protective mask and cautioned, “Just smack them with your paw. If it starts raining, come straight home.”

Bellies full, Er Gou wagged his tail and happily set out to patrol the territory.

The plucked one? She didn’t need to talk to him, since he was already gone from the Sheep Shed when Xia Qing got back. He must’ve slipped out as soon as the rain let up to hunt for White Weasel.

Mice, centipedes, locusts, frogs, fish, and small birds were all part of a yellow weasel’s diet, with rodents making up more than half. Only when food was hard to find would it dare hunt bigger prey.

So for farmers, yellow weasels are actually ‘beneficial creatures.’ Even before the catastrophe, in some regions, farmers wouldn’t hunt yellow weasels mostly because they preyed on field mice.

After dinner, Xia Qing didn’t rest right away. She put on her night vision goggles and patrolled the territory, clearing out two aggressively Devastated mutated grasses and one aggressively Devastated sapling. Once the Devastation Rain started up again, she and Er Gou returned home to sleep.

At the door, Xia Qing washed the mud off her and Er Gou’s feet. Just as she was about to change shoes, she noticed Er Gou staring at the security door. Sensing something, Xia Qing opened it and saw half a rat sitting on the straw mat outside.

She stared at the half-eaten rat for two seconds before looking up to thank the pitch-black Sheep Shed.

“Plucked one, thank you! Thanks for leaving me the rat’s meaty front leg and head!”