Chapter 711: Hidden Dangers in Evolved Forests

Mountain 51 is pure Evolved Forest—no paths, no easy way through. Xia Qing, the more experienced one on this two-person team, led the way, hacking ahead, while Xin Yu used her Magnetic Sense to check for danger all around them.

The mountains here are steep, the forest dense. Even if animals were lurking among the thick branches or behind stone cliffs, the cameras strapped to their tamed birds flying overhead wouldn’t be able to spot them. Bottom line: you can’t rely on those birds’ cameras when moving through woods like these.

They had the eagle-owl carry the raven high in the sky, scanning for signs of roaming animal packs so they could make plans in advance.

“Why not have the tamed birds fly lower?”

Because raptors are highly territorial—if the eagle-owl swooped low through another’s forest, larger birds of prey like hawks and eagles would notice right away and might attack on sight.

Aside from the big raptors, there’s another threat—the peregrine falcon, a natural enemy of eagle-owls. Peregrines are faster with harder beaks and talons, masters of lurking in thick foliage and ambushing any low-flying bird, even the eagle-owl.

“Sixty meters ahead and to the left inside the rock wall, a large animal is hiding. Feels like a big predator—and it’s on the hunt,” Xin Yu reported to Xia Qing over her earpiece walkie-talkie, sharing what her Magnetic Sense picked up.

There’s a waterfall here, and with all the noise, Xia Qing couldn’t hear anything subtle. Luckily, Xin Yu’s Magnetic Sense picked up the large animal’s magnetic field, unaffected by the roar.

Xia Qing whipped around to scan the rock wall about sixty meters off. She quickly spotted the hidden animal, aimed her gun, and growled, “It’s a leopard. It’s watching us. I’ll see if I can scare it off.”

The leopard, almost invisible as it crouched among the rocks, stared right back at Xia Qing.

Xin Yu, with her back to Xia Qing, tracked its mood. “Its hostility is fading.”

Sure enough, a few seconds later, the leopard slowly backed away. Xia Qing didn’t lower her gun until it was out of sight, then they pressed on along the animal trail. Guided by Magnetic Sense, they avoided one savage Devastation-Evolved plant after another, finally reaching the top of a massive boulder.

The two set about their next task, working in tandem.

Xin Yu lowered the tamed birds to scout the nearby Evolved Forest, searching for Wild Tung Trees. Xia Qing watched over them with a sniper rifle, ready to take out anything that might swoop in for an attack.

Unlike normal Wild Tung Trees, aggressive Devastation-Evolved ones are easy to spot—their branches curl and twist like snakes.

After Xia Qing had shot down two peregrines and a golden eagle, Xin Yu finally snapped her notebook shut and ordered the raven and eagle-owl higher. “No large aggressive Wild Tung Trees within fifteen hundred meters. Let’s move to the next observation point—I’ll lead this time, okay?”

Before they set out, the two had marked out the areas they’d inspect that day.

Xia Qing nodded. “Alright. Knock back any brush to drive off toxic bugs, then head forward. You take the lead—don’t worry about small animals left or right or behind, I’ll deal with those.”

“Got it.”

Since Xin Yu’s public identity is ‘regular person,’ she’d rarely gone deep into the Evolved Forest, whether before in the Hui Two Safe Zone or now in Section One of the North. But that didn’t mean she was weak—her parents had gotten her professional martial arts training even before the disaster, and she never stopped practicing since.

From how she held and swung the knife to clear a path, Xia Qing could tell she was professionally trained.

Even with training, Xin Yu wasn’t a physical-type Evolved fighter, so she moved slower than Xia Qing when leading. Still, she stayed calm, whacking aside critters while slicing down tangling vines without missing a beat.

Deeper they ventured. The farther from human territory, the rougher the ground, the wilder the animals, the trickier the path.

Half an hour later, Xia Qing said, “We’re past the last observation zone now.”

“Okay.”

Hearing Xin Yu’s breath come heavier, Xia Qing asked, “Want me to take over?”

“I can keep going for fifteen more minutes.” Xin Yu gripped the machete, flipping aside a thick centipede-like crawler as long as her arm, then kept hacking through a clump of vines that wouldn’t let go of the blade.

Xia Qing dealt with a leech-like creature that tried to latch on, then checked the Air Toxin Detector on her arm. She told Xin Yu, “Twenty meters left, there’s a Devastation-Evolved plant—not a gas type. Let’s check it out.”

“Left side is a valley—should be in there,” Xin Yu said, turning to lead the way.

Reaching the top of the valley, they peered down—and finally found today’s first aggressive Devastation-Evolved Wild Tung Tree. Dozens of its drooping vines hung limply, looking harmless. But the pine on its left was yellowed and dying, and over twenty trees on the right and ahead had been snapped in half. The scene was a blatant warning about the tung tree’s power.

Devastation-Evolved Wild Tung Trees are a massive threat to the forest if not cleared out.

Xia Qing judged the tree’s size. “Only fifteen meters tall. Must’ve mutated during this year’s first Devastation Rain.”

In other words: not today’s real target. They still had work to do.

Xia Qing noted the tree’s coordinates and took the lead again toward the next observation point.

Once there, Xin Yu called down both birds and began scanning the zone.

Within a fifteen-hundred-meter radius, there were actually six Wild Tung Trees. But none of them was the day’s real objective. After recording their locations, Xin Yu asked, “Ready to blow them up?”

Xia Qing was team captain—every move today followed her orders.

Xia Qing nodded. “Yeah, keep safe.”

“Understood.” Xin Yu grabbed an explosion-proof case from her backpack. Jasmine—her tamed bird—grabbed a packet of explosives as Xin Yu directed, flying it to the base of the first aggressive Devastation-Evolved Wild Tung Tree. Xia Qing trailed Jasmine with her sniper rifle, protecting the bird from any threat.

Xia Qing knew that aggressive Wild Tung Trees scared off most big animals, but she couldn’t let her guard down—even more so for Jasmine, Xin Yu’s precious companion. Looking after its safety was a priority for Xia Qing today.

“Gua Gua, don’t touch anything—watch the vines! Down and to the left—good, drop the explosives.” Following Xin Yu’s directions, Jasmine weaved through the hanging vines and planted the bomb precisely at the tung tree’s roots. Only Jasmine could do this—her Brain Evolution made her smarter than other tamed birds.

Once all six bombs were placed, the two retreated to a safe distance. Both birds took to the sky, and together, they detonated every charge.

“Boom—”

The blasts rocked the mountains, sending flocks of birds screeching into the air. Six aggressive Wild Tung Trees crashed down, their threat ended.

“Why are there explosions on Mountain 51? Captain Tan, what’s happening over there?”

Back in Territory Two, Tang Huai dropped his weeding tool and slapped the walkie-talkie button, shouting his question.

Xia Qing had already reported her trip to Mountain 51 to Tan Junjie. “There’s a team on assignment there. The explosions won’t affect our territory’s security.”

“Which squad is it—and what kind of mission needs explosives?” Tang Huai scratched his head, still burning with curiosity.