Chapter 682: Into the Bamboo Grove

After leading the team another three hundred meters, Liangzi reported over the walkie-talkie, “There’s a four-meter wingspan evolved raptor circling above in a tight pattern.”

When an evolved raptor circles in a small area overhead, it means it’s found prey and is preparing to strike.

With a wingspan of four meters, that raptor could snatch Tan Qi away without breaking a sweat.

Xia Qing gave a quick order. “Brother Yue, defend against the raptor. Tan Qi, stay close to him. The team keeps moving forward.”

“Copy that.”

Tan Qi tried to stay calm, responding to the captain’s orders just like everyone else. She quickly closed the gap between her and Uncle Yue. Shi Du did the same with his mother.

After circling twice, the raptor folded its wings and dove, targeting a honey badger three hundred meters west of the group in a clear area with no trees for cover.

The honey badger wasn’t built for speed and by the time it realized it was being hunted, it was too late.

The raptor grabbed it and the badger let out a shriek, twisting and sinking its teeth hard into the bird’s leg.

Just as the raptor—hard to say if it was an eagle or a vulture—clutched the badger and tried to take off, a leopard burst out of the forest, pinned it down, and bit deep into its neck.

The raptor screeched, releasing the honey badger and swiping frantically at the leopard with claws and wings in a desperate attempt to break free.

The honey badger, fresh out of danger, didn’t run. Instead, glowering, it circled the fighting raptor and leopard, then bit down viciously on the same bird leg that had grabbed it.

Once the leopard was sure the raptor couldn’t escape, it dragged its prey into the forest. The furious honey badger, still clamped tight to the bird’s leg, got dragged in too.

Soon, carrion birds started gathering overhead.

Xia Qing noticed the raptor didn’t rise after landing—it had become prey to the leopard. This patch of land was safe for now, so she ordered the team to press forward.

By nine in the morning, the human foraging squad finally reached their target: the bamboo grove.

Half of this broad grove belonged to Hill Forty-Nine, the other half to Hill Fifty-Two. Today’s assignment was the patch owned by Hill Fifty-Two.

Thanks to the Devastation Snake, the Safe Zone had given up on the Northern Evolved Forest, giving the local lords here a shot at digging for bamboo shoots.

Once inside the bamboo grove, birds overhead were no longer a threat. The real dangers came from snakes, rodents, and aggressive plants.

Xia Qing had the squad rest for fifteen minutes in a cleared area. Yue Haiying and Liangzi handled security while she patrolled the bamboo grove, clearing out threats.

The main threats were the Devastation Snake, other venomous snakes, and evolved bamboo rats. After a circuit, Xia Qing caught over thirty venomous snakes but found no sign of Devastation Snakes or evolved bamboo rats.

The drop in bamboo rats likely came from the Azure Dragon Squad penning up all the edible ones and frightening off the rest.

Reaching the northeastern part of the grove, Xia Qing used her Magnetic Sense to detect an aggressive, Devastation-evolved bamboo shoot.

Just last year, when she joined Hu Zifeng’s squad digging shoots here twice, there hadn’t been any aggressive Devastation-evolved plants in this patch.

This Evolved Forest was always changing.

Xia Qing holstered her gun, gripped her machete with both hands, and crept forward, keeping one eye on the air toxin detector strapped to her arm.

She quickly locked onto her target and stopped two meters away. The bamboo shoot was a lighter green—probably new this year—but it already towered over ten meters.

The air toxin detector glowed green. No toxins here.

There were no marks on nearby stalks, which meant this bamboo’s attacks didn’t involve shooting razor-sharp leaves.

No sticky residue or insects on the stalks or leaves, so it hadn’t evolved any adhesive traits or forged symbiosis with edible bugs.

The soil here was loose, like it had just been turned over. Sparse grass, barely a bug around. Based on that, Xia Qing suspected the bamboo’s attacks came from roots underground.

She tossed a small rock at its trunk. The magnetic field barely shifted—just a few small snakes in the branches, nothing she couldn’t handle.

She pressed the walkie-talkie. “Aggressive Devastation-evolved bamboo spotted in the grove’s northeast. Clearing it in one minute. Everyone get your Iron Umbrellas up and watch for attacks from roots and leaves.”

“Copy that.” Vice-captain Yue Haiying immediately began rallying the squad to get ready.

As the minute ticked by, Captain Xia Qing charged the aggressive bamboo with her machete, swinging at sixty percent of her strength.

“Thunk!”

As blade met stalk, Xia Qing realized this was a Hardness-evolved bamboo. But hardened or not, it couldn’t withstand a level-six Strength Evolutioner armed with a sharp blade.

She pulled her machete free, sidestepping slender roots stabbing from the soil, then poured in everything she had and hacked down hard.

“Thunk!”

“Cra-aaack!”

The Hardness and Devastation-evolved bamboo lost everything above ground in two hacks. A mass of fine roots shot from the soil, but no shoots burst from the hacked stump.

What a childish trick, Xia Qing thought. She sheathed her blade, pulled out her mattock, extended the steel handle, dug up the main root, shook off the dirt, and tossed it onto a stalk.

The fibrous roots on the main root exploded out like a steel-spiked serpent. While not withered, its magnetic field steadily weakened and faded.

Xia Qing took samples of the root, soil, and leaves, then used the walkie-talkie to report in before heading off on patrol again.

She reunited with her team just as the rest break ended.

Within the bounds of Hill Fifty-Two, the bamboo grove was split into three zones. The ten-person squad divided into teams for foraging.

Xia Qing, Qi Fu, Yuan Yan, and Tan Qi made one team. Liangzi, Madam Shi, and Shi Du formed another. Yue Haiying, Yu Shou, and Huo Lei rounded out the third.

Over the past year, Shi Du and Yuan Yan had gotten enough wild food within the Territory to boost their evolution abilities. Shi Du went from level four to five in Strength Evolution, Yuan Yan from level two to two and a half.

Madam Shi, possibly due to age, was still at level two and a half with no further progress.

Qi Fu hadn’t improved either, staying at level three. Maybe because his ability resulted from infection by a Super Evolution Fungus, so he couldn’t level up just by eating more nutritious foods.

To avoid drawing attention, the upgraded lords kept a low profile—still farming quietly, quietly building up their power and fortunes beneath Xia Qing’s leadership.

“There’s one still hiding here!” Despite being the lowest-ranked Strength Evolutioner in the team, Qi Fu had a knack for finding shoots. He could spot buried tips by reading the soil and stomping the ground.

“Devastation Element content is 7 per mille. Yellow Lantern.” After checking its quality, Qi Fu beamed. “This shoot weighs at least thirty jin. Honey, come dig this one up!”

“Pfft.”

Yuan Yan hurried over but froze when a noise sounded above her. Glancing up, she watched a snake—just hacked in two by Xia Qing’s blade—fall at her feet. She jumped, startled. “Five-Step Viper?”