Chapter 773: Red Rain and Shadows

Yan Long answered calmly, “We used the surveillance equipment in the truck to spot landmines buried under Third Peak, so we got out ahead of time to pinpoint the ambushers. He triggered a grenade and blew himself up—the blast set off a Devastation Explosion. It was my fault, I should’ve stopped him sooner. Right now, Hill Fifty is getting hit by red-level Devastation Rain, but things are under control. The territory’s still safe, right?”

This kind of suicide tactic matched the way one of the invaders nearly captured during the January beast tide died inside this territory.

Xia Qing replied, “No, the territory is still at yellow alert. He brought that on himself—none of this is on you, Sister Yan.”

The blast site was about five kilometers from Section One of the North and out of range of the Devastation Explosion. It was the best outcome in a tough situation.

“Good thing you stayed away! That whole setup was targeting you—your sorry excuse for a truck would’ve been toast thanks to that mine and the explosion combo!”

The moment Xia Qing hung up, Tang Huai burst out, fuming. “This whole crisis on Hill Fifty—planting landmines, posting a suicide ambusher… Even sending wounded to Section Seven to tie up Third Brother. It’s all part of the same plan! No doubt about it, Fire Phoenix wants you dead for taking Territory Nine from them!”

Fire Phoenix was the most obvious suspect, but revenge wasn’t their only goal. Xia Qing nodded and kept widening the path, clearing aggressive plants and animals as she went.

After everything that happened, Tang Huai just couldn’t believe Xia Qing didn’t show the slightest emotional ripple. That same blank look—proof she could handle herself, but also that she didn’t trust him enough to let anything slip.

Tang Huai was a little let down, but deep down he figured this was the only way. Trying to survive disaster years alone—you couldn’t live to see year eleven without staying cool and cautious.

Once he calmed down, Tang Huai remembered a useful bit of intel. “After you got on the truck outside the south gate of Section Seven, I spotted someone peeking out from under the sign at the north end of Territory Fourteen. It was too far to tell who. You think Territory Fourteen might’ve had an inside man in this?”

Xia Qing replied, “It was Liao Chen.”

She’d seen Liao Chen and Tang Huai in her rearview mirror from the truck, and after turning onto the Eastern Quarantine Strip, she’d also spotted Wen Nengjie and six others from Territory Eighteen’s northern edge clearing wild tung tree branches. Tang Huai was ruled out—Liao Chen was more suspicious than Wen Nengjie.

Once she guessed Hill Fifty was a trap to lure her in, Xia Qing figured there had to be a mole. Getting in the truck at the south side of Section Seven was all just an act for the mole to see.

Tang Huai hesitated, but couldn’t hold back. “So what are you going to do about Liao Chen? Has your vision evolved?”

That was basically an open secret. Sniper Xia Qing nodded. “It has. We can’t act against Territory Fourteen just yet. If we do, they’ll just plant more moles elsewhere—we’d never plug all the leaks.”

So Xia Qing actually trusts him a little! Tang Huai grinned wide, feeling one step closer to breaking into the core team of the Northern Territory.

“You’re way too cool headed.” Tang Huai tried harder to prove his worth. “There’s a big rat burrow six meters ahead, probably flooded by now, so let’s head right. Trust me, I know this place better than anyone in Section Seven—that’s the safest path.”

Of course Xia Qing trusted this expert bug hunter. “You keep cutting Devastation Grass on the main path with the rotary tiller, I’ll go catch those snakes up ahead.”

Tang Huai perked up instantly. “What snakes?”

“Vegetable snakes.”

“…What do you want with vegetable snakes?”

“To eat, feed the fish, and trade for credits. The red-level Devastation Rain’s about to hit—we need the patrol route cleared before it starts.”

Tang Huai could only stare.

A dual-system advanced evolutionary like her could rake in tens of thousands of credits with a single outing, yet here she was, risking the rain to grab a few random vegetable snakes—who’d ever believe it?

Xia Qing saw the look of confusion on Tang Huai’s face. She wasn’t really after those snakes—her magnetic sense had picked up Devastation Snakes. The vegetable snake was just a cover.

Xia Qing had no idea what state the Devastation Snakes might be in during the rain, so she was extra cautious.

She moved with swift, precise motions, grabbing a vegetable snake lunging for her and stuffed it into the cloth bag at her waist. Tang Huai just shook his head, turned the steering wheel, and circled back to the main path.

Once Tang Huai was gone, Xia Qing made a beeline for where the Devastation Snake was hiding. She could hear water rushing underground.

That had to be the spot Tang Huai mentioned—the one with the big rat burrow. The Devastation Snake was inside. Was there a secret underground river leading to the Northern Evolved Forest down there?

Thinking of the black python on Hill Fifty-Five, Xia Qing tensed up.

What now?

Dig.

She pulled the shovel from her backpack, extended and locked it into place, and got started.

Led by her magnetic sense, Xia Qing aimed each strike carefully. In just a dozen shovelfuls, she uncovered a two-meter-long Devastation Snake and realized why it was here.

This wasn’t a river. The Devastation Snake was in the rat tunnel because it was halfway through swallowing a rat. Its jaws were stretched wide, with the rat’s hind legs and long tail sticking out.

When the snake spotted a human with a weapon, it tried to vomit up the rat—maybe to fight or flee. That move let Xia Qing know it hadn’t lost control in the rain.

In that case, she really couldn’t let it finish spitting out the rat. Who knew if its power would double in the rain?

Xia Qing used the shovel to scoop up the snake and, rat and all, stuffed them into her bag. She didn’t bother with the other rats in the hole—she just sprinted off through Territory Nine, still tracking more Devastation Snakes with her magnetic sense.

After a sweep of the whole territory, she’d caught three Devastation Snakes, yanked out six wild tung trees and five more aggressive evolutionary plants, then finally ran back to the rotary tiller to meet up with Tang Huai. First thing she said:

“Found Devastation Snakes in Territory Nine.”

Doing his best Xia Qing impression, Tang Huai put on a serious face and quickly assessed the situation. “Devastation Snakes are highly dangerous evolved creatures. Once they’re spotted, we have to report it immediately and set up a disaster response command. All forces in Section One need to be put on the job. Think Third Brother’s available? Who takes charge of this operation?”

Xia Qing answered calmly, “Only the lord of Section Seven, Zhang San, can and must act as disaster response commander for Section One of the North. Keep cutting the grass—I’ll contact Third Brother. And do not open the rain shield.”

“Got it!” At last, Tang Huai was caught up in something huge. He was practically shaking with excitement but forced himself to keep a straight face, looking so stiff it was almost funny.

Xia Qing took a deep breath and called Ji Li. “Ji, is Third Brother still in the operating room?”

Ji Li replied, “Still in there.”

Xia Qing pressed her lips together, then asked, “Could you ask when the surgery will finish? I need to talk to Third Brother as soon as possible—it’s urgent.”

“Sure, give me a second.”

Once Ji Li hung up, he immediately used the walkie-talkie to reach the team inside the operating room. The team members by the wall didn’t dare interrupt Zhang San mid-surgery, so one leaned over to quietly ask the furthest assistant inside—only for Zhang San to notice.

Zhang San never took his eyes off the surgical microscope or paused his work. “Patch Xia Qing through right now.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Xia Qing, what’s the matter?”

The moment she heard her idol’s voice, Xia Qing shut off the rotary tiller and quickly reported in. “Third Brother, someone spread red-level Devastation Grass at Hill Fifty to lure me in and kill me. Yan Long’s already handling things and the situation is under control there. But I just found Devastation Snakes in Territory Nine—looks like someone let them in. I need you to be disaster response commander, hand the authority over to Captain Tan, and don’t let any outsiders set foot in our territory.”

Finding a Devastation Snake meant the emergency response system had to go live immediately. If Zhang San couldn’t take command, Tan Junjie would need to report to the Territory Management Department, and only the heavens knew who’d get put in charge this time.

Xia Qing suspected people were already waiting outside the walls, itching for their chance to make a move in Section One.

That was why the right to command disaster response could never fall into outsider hands.