Chapter 777: A Brave Little Squirrel

Moving forward, Xia Qing locked onto a plant giving off strange magnetic signals—a Green Lantern Soybean sprout that, at first glance, seemed totally normal.

But the sharp, needle-like tingling between her brows warned Xia Qing that this plant wasn’t just preparing for an aggressive Devastation Evolution. It was already in its active attack stage.

What kind of attack did it have?

Xia Qing glanced at the Air Toxin Detector strapped to her arm. It showed a green light—air was clean, no toxins detected. So it wasn’t gas-based.

She grabbed a long stick and nudged the soybean plant. It just shivered a little, didn’t dance, whip out at her, or shoot poisonous needles. No roots burst out of the soil to grab her either. She ruled out physical attacks.

Xia Qing pulled on her antibacterial gloves, snapped off a leaf, and squeezed out some sap. A quick test showed the Devastation Element level was 8.5 per mille, dropping its quality from green to yellow.

“Sister Qing, what’s up?” Peng Jian, who was pulling Devastation-evolving wheat nearby, wandered over and noticed Xia Qing standing still.

Xia Qing pointed at the soybeans in front of her. “Do you think their leaves have changed color?”

Peng Jian’s eyes—upgraded by Vision Evolution—stared for a few seconds. Then he scratched his head, sheepish. “Honestly, I’ve forgotten what color these were before… You think they’ve changed? It’s normal, probably from taking in too much Devastation Element and dropping in quality.”

They’d been in the Devastation Rain period for over eight hours now. Devastation Element in the air was off the charts. When plants absorb too much, it breaks the balance with the Evolution Element inside them, degrading their quality. The pigments in the leaves start shifting too, making colors change.

That’s how the Evolved Forest turned into a riot of colors—so different from the old sea of green before the disasters.

“Yeah, quality dropped. I just checked and it’s at yellow now. Watch these soybeans, okay? If you see any Devastation symptoms, pull them up right away.” Xia Qing gave Peng Jian a reminder, then plucked a few leaves to bring home for a deeper test with the Evolution Element Detector.

The Evolution Element Detector was much more precise, but it’d take at least twenty minutes to get a result.

With time to spare, Xia Qing prepped a batch of nutritious feed for Old Goat and the chicken flock, then made her rounds around the house. Once she was sure everything was in order, she gathered the last handful of breadworms, half a Green Lantern Cucumber, and a bottle of Pure Spring Water to feed her freeloading Red Squirrel neighbors.

She always called the Red Squirrel a moocher, but Xia Qing actually had a soft spot for it.

After all, the Red Squirrel had led her to a whole stash of Green Lantern peanuts and a Green Lantern Chestnut Tree for her pantry. It got free food all winter and a special postnatal care pack in spring—courtesy of Xia Qing. Now the Red Squirrel and its kits were hiding from the Devastation Rain in the Sheep Shed, so Xia Qing made sure to include plenty of nutritious Green Lantern food and fresh spring water for the nursing mother.

When she got to the door of the Sheep Shed, she heard tiny paws scampering and the rustle of animals burrowing through straw. But when she went inside, not a squirrel was in sight—just a half-empty water basin. Xia Qing refilled it and set the breadworms and cucumber next to it.

Squatting down, Xia Qing’s legs ached and felt swollen, so she settled back onto the dry straw, stretched her legs out, and closed her eyes for a quick rest.

This was only the first day of the second Devastation Rain. She still had two and a half days to go—every moment of rest counted.

After finishing his meal, Old Goat realized Xia Qing hadn’t come up for dinner, so he ambled over. Seeing her sprawled out on the straw with her eyes closed, he immediately nudged her with his big, spiral-horned head.

Without opening her eyes, Xia Qing reached up and rubbed the curly tuft of hair on her companion’s head, her voice exhausted. “Don’t worry, Old Goat, I’m fine. Just tired, needed a little break.”

Satisfied, Old Goat settled down beside her and started to ruminate. That calm, familiar sound was incredibly soothing, and with her body relaxed, Xia Qing felt safe enough to drift off.

A few minutes later, muffled scurrying from the straw told her the Red Squirrel family was back. Still, Xia Qing kept her eyes closed and dozed on.

From the straw pile over a meter high by the wall, the Red Squirrel poked out its head—the little ears alert—followed by three even smaller heads. The whole family peered down at the scene below. Judging the distance, the mother squirrel leapt down, grabbed the cucumber in her mouth, and darted back up to the straw stack.

Old Goat’s rectangular pupils slid upward for a second, then settled again as he returned to chewing.

The two-month-old Red Squirrel kits were still nursing but could already nibble some solids. Seeing their mother gnawing cucumber, they bounced over for a taste.

But while the mother squirrel was used to cucumber, the kits’ eyes went wide and their fur spiked when they bit in for the first time. After a split second, all three launched a full-on food grab.

The crunching and munching echoed in Xia Qing’s ears, a tiny smile tugging at her lips as she fell back into sleep.

Once the cucumber was nothing but crumbs, the mother squirrel grabbed a Green Lantern Breadworm and carried it up to feed her little ones.

After feeding, she perched on the straw and began grooming her big fluffy tail. Two of the babies climbed all over her, tumbling and wrestling, while the third one clung to the straw, peering curiously at the ground below with shiny black eyes.

After a minute, that little one finally gathered its courage and started climbing down. The mother gave it a glance, then went back to grooming her tail.

The squirrel kit cautiously made its way down to the feeding spot, polished off the last of the crumbs, then scampered to the far side of the shed. It stopped, stared at the two large animals in the room for a few seconds, then braved a few more steps closer, clinging to the edge of the water basin for a drink.

Next, it ducked behind the basin, ears perked, black eyes wide as it watched the two giants.

Old Goat paid it no mind and just kept chewing. Xia Qing didn’t even open her eyes, completely relaxed.

Finally, after a long bout of nervous staring, the squirrel kit made its move.

With all its fur puffed up to look big and tough, it crept over after a few timid feints, finally inching to Xia Qing’s side where it nibbled a tiny cucumber seed stuck to her glove.

It was about to dash away when it caught a whiff of something and paused. After a few more cautious tests, it gingerly started climbing up Xia Qing’s arm.

The instant the kit touched her, Xia Qing snapped awake. If she wasn’t wearing her Protective Mask, she’d have shooed away this Speed Evolution squirrel in case it scratched her face. But with her mask on, Xia Qing decided to let it be, curiosity winning out.

The fearless kit perched on Xia Qing’s shoulder. Xia Qing opened her eyes, slowly moving them to study the little critter sitting on her right side.

If the little guy hadn’t had that long, fluffy tail, any farmer’s first reaction would probably be to squish it.

But with that tail, well—it made a world of difference.

The kit’s fur was all reddish-brown, with its hidden belly likely white. Unlike its mother, this little one had extra-long tufts on the tips of both ears. They blended with its big tail, creating a look that was actually pretty cute up close.

Did all baby red squirrels have these tufts? What were they for, anyway?

Before Xia Qing could figure it out, a “ding” sounded from the Evolution Element Tester up in the living room—the test on the soybean leaves was complete.

She shifted her shoulder, and the sharp-eared kit quickly scrambled back to the straw. Xia Qing stretched, stood, and let out a long yawn. Old Goat stood up too, shaking his big head.

Xia Qing reached into her pocket, pulled out the Yi Stone Protector, and took out a soybean-sized Yi Stone on a sturdy string. She hung it on the straw pile. It had been meant for the next generation of Black-Feathered Rooster and White-Feathered Hen, but with the chickens all in their cage, the Red Squirrels could use it for now.

That tuft-eared little one was the first youngster in her Territory, besides the chicks, to ever approach Xia Qing on its own.

It had perched right by her shoulder and near the Yi Stone. Whether it did so on purpose or not, Xia Qing was glad to offer it some protection during the Devastation Rain.

Not long after Xia Qing and Old Goat left the shed, that brave little Red Squirrel kit was the first to pop out of the straw. It sniffed around, then settled by the Yi Stone necklace to groom its still-sparse fur.