Chapter 75: Dark Rain Over Territory Three

Xia Qing didn’t have time to listen to the dispute between Territory One and Two. She handed night vision goggles to Boss Sheep and herself, loaded her gun, locked the door, sprinkled insect-repellent powder and hurried south with Boss Sheep toward the territory’s edge.

Boss Sheep might not be able to take down Evolved Rats on its own, but with Xia Qing watching over it, she could at least keep Boss Sheep from getting bitten.

Territory Two was right south of Territory Three, so there was no way only four Evolved Rats had crossed over. If they didn’t clear out every last invader before nightfall, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Evolved Rats were dangerous and destructive. They couldn’t just wait for the Hazard Inspection Team to arrive and clean things up. Xia Qing was about to call Hu Zifeng when his number popped up on her phone.

Hu Zifeng went straight to the point. “Olfactory Evolvers Chen Zheng and Chen Cheng are on their way to Territory Three. Is that enough?”

“If they both come over, then who’s guarding Territory One?” Hu Zifeng’s squad only had these two Olfactory Evolvers.

Hu Zifeng sounded nothing like the hothead arguing on the Lord’s channel. His voice was steady and calm. “Our mission is to protect Territory Three.”

Guarding Territory Three was their assignment. Luo Pei was there as well, and, truth be told, the situation inside Territory Three was a lot more critical than Territory One.

After hanging up, Xia Qing felt a little more at ease. She focused her sight and hearing, searching for any sign of Evolved Rodents.

Hu Zifeng’s squad’s two Olfactory Evolvers and Tan Junjie’s squad’s Olfactory Evolver Yuan Rui showed up in quick succession. Using their keen sense of smell, they swept Xia Qing’s territory in just over an hour. Altogether, they tracked sixteen Evolved Rodents that had slipped over from Territory Two into Territory Three. Xia Qing shot four, Evolved Birds inside her territory picked off four, and the remaining eight were taken out by the trio.

As soon as the sweep was done, Yuan Rui from Tan Junjie’s squad hurried to Plot Nine to reinforce the team there.

While they were scouting Territory Three, signs of Evolved Rodents cropped up across the eastern edge at Plot Four, the eastern border of Territory Two near Plot Nine, and southwest over at Plot Eight. Three ordinary people in Plot Nine had already been bitten—things were getting dangerous.

From her own territory, Xia Qing could hear gunshots and furious shouts ringing out from the neighboring eastern and southern plots.

To the south of Territory Two lay Plot Eleven. Xia Qing figured Evolved Rats must have gotten loose there, too. But Plot Eleven wasn’t under Tan Junjie’s squad’s jurisdiction, and its lord wasn’t on the group chat with Lords One through Ten.

By nine that evening, Xiang Rain started drizzling down again, making it even tougher to defend the territory.

With only one not-so-smart sheep as help, Xia Qing didn’t dare push her luck. She called Hu Zifeng again and asked for the Hearing Evolver Da Jiang to help guard Territory Three. By now, the Evolved Rats in Territory One had also been cleared out.

With Da Jiang on site, Xia Qing finally had three human allies: Da Jiang, a Grade Four Hearing Evolver, and Chen Zheng and Chen Cheng, both Grade Five Olfactory Evolvers.

Chen Zheng was twenty-three, Chen Cheng twenty-one—and they were brothers. Both had the same level of Evolving ability, but the older brother was steady while the younger was more lively.

Tonight, Territory Three had to face two threats: attacks and sabotage from Evolved Rats and other mutant creatures, and a potential Xiang Evolution among crops. The four split into two teams. Xia Qing and Chen Zheng patrolled the rainproof shelters while Da Jiang and Chen Cheng circled the rest of the territory.

Of course, Xia Qing had another teammate: Boss Sheep.

The steady drizzle of Xiang Rain lasted all night, its severity shifting between orange and yellow alert levels. In the small hours, Da Jiang and Chen Cheng killed another four Evolved Rodents from Territory Two and cleared wave after wave of Xiang-mutated insects lurking near the rain shelters. Xia Qing and Chen Zheng, meanwhile, cleared one after another Xiang-mutated plant.

Just after four in the morning, another massive wave of Evolved Rats broke out in Territory Two. The sound of gunfire echoed nonstop through Territories One, Two and Three.

It wasn’t until the next morning, when Tan Junjie’s squad forced their way into Territory Two for a full sweep, that the Evolved Rat threat was finally ended.

Hu Zifeng rotated in four new team members to relieve Da Jiang, Chen Zheng and Chen Cheng, telling Xia Qing to go home and get some rest.

Daytime passed more peacefully. The Xiang Rain kept drizzling, but stayed at blue alert level.

A little after four in the afternoon, Da Jiang, Chen Zheng and Chen Cheng returned to Territory Three and swapped shifts with the other four teammates, ready to continue standing watch alongside Xia Qing.

Da Jiang and Chen Cheng stuck to patrolling the territory, while Xia Qing and Chen Zheng headed back to check the rain shelters.

Amid the whisper of light rain, Da Jiang, the Hearing Evolver, chatted as they walked. “Territory Three is way cleaner than ours. So many crops and veggies—Miss Xia really lives up to being a Strength Evolver.”

Chen Cheng snorted. “Guan Tong’s a Grade Five Strength Evolver too. You think he could farm this much all by himself?”

Da Jiang shook his head right away. “No way.”

Chen Cheng shook the rain off his protective suit. “Miss Xia earns it. She works hard and she’s got real skills. If most of these crops make it through the Xiang Rain, she won’t have to worry about food or clothing at all this year.”

In a year of disasters, having enough to eat, enough to wear and a safe home was all most people could dream of. Da Jiang admitted, a little envious, “And not just food and shelter—she’s about to have an Evolved Cat too.”

The two finished their rounds, wiping out a fresh batch of Evolved Insects near the rain shelters and Xia Qing’s house, then headed back to the small farmhouse at the edge of the fields. As luck would have it, Xia Qing and Chen Zheng had just finished their own round and were resting inside.

Chen Cheng peeled off his protective mask and immediately fixed his gaze on Boss Sheep beside Xia Qing, edging closer as he spoke. “Miss Xia, this place is built really well—not a leak anywhere.”

Xia Qing smiled. “If I couldn’t build a dry house after five years in the Construction Crew, there’d be no hope for me. And seriously, no need to be so formal—just call me Xia Qing like always.”

Xia Qing often went on assignments with Luo Pei’s squad, which sometimes partnered with Hu Zifeng’s. So Hu Zifeng’s squad had known Xia Qing for a long time, even if her status had changed since then.

“No way, you’re our savior.” Chen Cheng edged a little closer to Boss Sheep. “But, yeah, calling you Miss Xia does feel too distant. Can we call you Qing-jie instead?”

“Of course you can.” Boss Sheep was getting tense from how close Chen Cheng was getting—it looked like he’d have a tantrum at any moment. Xia Qing poured some tea for Chen Cheng. “Thanks for your help. Have a seat and drink some tea.”

“Thanks, Qing-jie.” Chen Cheng cradled his cup in both hands, still trying to scoot closer to Boss Sheep, but his brother Chen Zheng pulled him back.

“This tea is amazing. Not even a hint of bad smell.” Chen Cheng took a deep sniff.

For Olfactory Evolvers, smells were a double-edged sword—a gift and a torment. Like the odd flavors you can’t quite filter out of even the cleanest water—they could drive an Evolver crazy.

“The tea’s brewed with untainted Spring Water. Of course there’s no weirdness to it,” Xia Qing explained, warming her cup. “I got these tea leaves from the lord of Plot Seven—great stuff.”

She’d made the trade in the Lords’ channel, so most everyone in the nearby plots knew the story.

“Amazing tea like this, and the guy from Plot Seven traded it just for spinach leaves. He must really love spinach,” Chen Cheng sighed. “Qing-jie, didn’t you say his Evolved Cat’s expecting kittens this month? Any idea how many are on the way?”