Chapter 816: Spring Hunt in the Evolved Bamboo Grove

After Blue Star’s evolution, humans were no longer at the top of the food chain.

Last spring, when Xia Qing and Hu Zifeng’s Squad entered Hill Forty-Nine to dig bamboo shoots, they were ambushed by evolved bamboo rats.

After the Azure Dragon Squad took control of Hill Forty-Nine, they caught all the evolved bamboo rats in its bamboo grove, screened them one by one, and selected the edible ones for domestication.

Because of their efforts, the rest of the bamboo rats fled the grove in fear. So this spring, when Xia Qing led a new team to dig shoots, she found only a few traces of bamboo rat activity. With so many people, even after they harvested plenty of edible shoots, the bamboo rats didn’t dare attack.

Now, after the second Devastation Rain, it’s the most active season for animals in the Evolved Forest. The bamboo rats here must have come from somewhere else.

Once the sweet fragrance of Green Lantern bamboo shoots spread through the air, it quickly lured the rats closer.

As the bamboo rats gathered, they grew bolder. All it took was one or two evolved rats to lead the way, and the rest would follow.

Watching two nearly one-meter-long evolved bamboo rats take the lead just twenty meters away, Xia Qing warned her companion, “Er, you’re not wearing a protective suit—fall back! I’ll…”

To Xia Qing, Er—even though he’d recovered—was still a frail wolf. But to Er, Xia Qing seemed slow and clumsy, a companion who needed his protection.

So before Xia Qing could finish, Wolfdog Number Two charged ahead, and Xia Qing quickly followed with her knife. With the price of ammunition rising, if they could settle a fight with blades and steel pellets, there was no point wasting bullets.

Er lunged at the strongest of the two leading bamboo rats, while Xia Qing went for the second.

When the steel pellet Xia Qing flicked from her left hand was dodged nimbly, she realized this rat was a Speed Evolver. Still, she didn’t draw her gun and rushed up to fight it head-on.

Between an evolved wolf giving off a predator’s aura and a human scented with fresh Green Lantern shoots, the bamboo rats made their choice. Hundreds of large rats, each fifty or sixty centimeters long, swarmed toward Xia Qing, snapping at any part of her within reach.

Fighting these things in the dense bamboo wasn’t like taking on a giant crocodile. Xia Qing hacked and kicked at rats pouncing from every direction while also fending off the trick attacks of the speedy evolved rat.

Though their teeth couldn’t tear her protective suit or break through her new backpack, carrying such a heavy load meant Xia Qing couldn’t end the fight quickly.

This is exactly why you always team up when foraging. Hauling a heavy bag hurts your mobility in the Evolved Forest, cutting your combat effectiveness.

“Awooo!”

Seeing his companion surrounded, Wolfdog Number Two gave a furious howl, finished off his target, and charged in to help. His eyes locked onto the lead speed-evolved bamboo rat!

Faced with a natural enemy, the speed-evolved rat turned tail and ran, easing the pressure on Xia Qing’s side immediately.

By the time Er caught up and killed that rat, Xia Qing’s fight was done too.

Er killed both lead rats, Xia Qing took down eight more followers, and the rest fled in panic.

Naturally, these ten prey had to be brought back.

While praising Er, Xia Qing quickly cleaned the battlefield. Finding a Yellow Lantern bamboo rat among the haul thrilled her. “It’s only about twenty pounds, but dried, that’ll feed you for two days at least. Do you like dried meat, Er?”

Er licked the blood from his mouth, tongue out, grinning happily.

“You’re the best, Er. Not picky at all.” White Weasel is picky—no good for a wolf.

Delighted, Xia Qing packed the Yellow Lantern rat separately, stuffed all ten rats into a thick black bag, and set off for home with the bag and a load of bamboo shoots strapped to her back.

Passing some Green Lantern bamboo, Xia Qing heard chewing beneath the thick fallen leaves.

Judging by the lump and the sound, it had to be a small bamboo rat gnawing on the root of a Yellow Lantern bamboo.

She and Er barely glanced at it and kept moving. Such a little rat barely had any meat, and it’s wise not to overhunt—otherwise, there’d be nothing left to catch later.

Reaching the aggressive Devastation Evolution bamboo Xia Qing cut in spring, she noticed that after chopping out the tough bamboo and digging up some roots, eleven new shoots had sprouted during the second Devastation Rain.

Each shoot stood about twenty-five meters tall, their leaves the same color as last time and matching those growing from similar roots back on Hill Fifty.

With how bamboo from this spot and from Section Three and Section Five responded to the second Devastation Rain, it’s clear this aggressive Devastation Evolution bamboo is pretty stable. As long as you don’t overcut it while it’s raining, you shouldn’t get a second wave of Devastation Evolution.

This bamboo could definitely be grown more widely.

But before the third Devastation Rain, 98% of this aggressive bamboo and root system needed to be dug up, just leaving a little wild stock to keep the original variety. Otherwise, the whole grove would be overrun, crowding out the edible bamboo.

When Xia Qing got near the Third Peak of Hill Fifty, she sent Er back through Hill Forty-Nine to the territory while she carried the supplies to the parking lot to meet up with Xin Yu.

While working with Xin Yu, Xia Qing harvested two Green Lantern shoots and Xin Yu got one—no need to redistribute.

The bamboo shoots and rats Xia Qing collected after rescuing a baby red fox, while apart from Xin Yu, belonged to her—no need for sharing. Still, she gave Xin Yu a Red Lantern rat to feed the crippled harrier and ground eagle back in Territory Eight.

Xia Qing then traded that Red Lantern rat at Territory One for credits, gave her Idol two fresh shoots, kept the Yellow Lantern rat to be freeze-dried by Ji Li, and took the remaining thirteen Green Lantern shoots back to her own territory.

Old Goat, who watched over the territory, got a Green Lantern shoot as reward. Er got pumpkin, egg, and Green Lantern baby croc stew as a treat for visiting. As for Xia Qing, her lunch was egg and cucumber fried rice with a skewer of grilled Yellow Lantern baby crocodile.

After lunch, she bathed Er, dealt with pests and germs, then stretched out for a nap on the sofa, with a wolf and a goat curled up in the hammock chair.

With Er there, Xia Qing and Old Goat both slept peacefully, totally at ease.

But that afternoon, grabbing Little Fei Mao for its medicine took even longer and cost more than in the morning.

Her top-predator scent frightened the whole Red Squirrel family. Frustrated, Xia Qing bumped Little Fei Mao’s debt up to credits.

After feeding the fish, Er had no plans to stay the night—he told Xia Qing he was heading off.

Since the freeze-dried Yellow Lantern wasn’t ready yet, Xia Qing gave him all five pounds of freeze-dried meat from storage, reminding him to bring the Queen and Broken Back over soon.

With the second Devastation Rain over, Xia Qing started soaking in medicine again to heal her body.

No matter what happened this time, she wouldn’t quit the full half-year course—her bones, muscles and skin needed a total reset. This was her chance to bump her health and combat power up a notch.

Today’s evolved bamboo rat hunt really highlighted her decline. Luckily, she was working with Er—if it’d been another wolf, she’d definitely be getting complaints.