Chapter 825: Before the Phoenix Arrives

Naturally, Ding Xingye was stopped outside the signpost by fully armed guards from Territory Seven. Feeling the sting to his pride, Ding Xingye didn’t return to Territory Nine. Instead, he wandered outside the East Gate under the pretense of an inspection.

After sending him off, Zhong Tao rushed back to Territory Nine to report, “That jerk’s out there putting on airs, bossing everyone around while they load up the trucks.”

Today, Ding Xingye didn’t just haul over four truckloads of supplies—he also brought along quite a few people. These folks took on the cleanup assignment for Mountain 51 and had already gone up the mountain to start clearing out the aggressive evolved wild tung trees. On the return trip, he needed to fill those four trucks with wild tung trees.

Before the second round of Devastation Rain, Tan Junjie and his crew cleared out most of the aggressive Devastation-Evolved Wild Tung Trees on Mountain 51. Still, roots left behind in the soil sprouted tender shoots after over fifty hours of relentless rain.

Since they couldn’t clear those sprouts in time, the Devastation Rain made them shoot up fast, turning into towering, sprawling trees that quickly flowered and bore fruit.

Once these fruits ripen, birds will peck at them, spreading their seeds and making the disaster of aggressive wild tung trees even worse.

Given Section One’s importance in the north, Hui Three Base mobilized 200 soldiers and 100 combat team members. Their orders: completely eliminate the wild tung trees before their aggressive fruit matures.

Just like last time, the wild tung trees would be airlifted out by helicopter, loaded onto trucks at the eastern quarantine strip in Section One, and sent back to the Safe Zone to be used as pulp or firewood.

After chatting with Zhong Tao for a bit and confirming that everything in Territory Nine was running smoothly, Xia Qing was about to head back to Section Three when she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket.

At the same time, Yue Haiying, who was in charge of the dorm construction team, strode quickly toward Xia Qing.

Xia Qing glanced at her phone—Yang Jin’s name stood out on the screen. She saw Yue Haiying hurrying over and knew something big had happened.

She walked toward Yue Haiying, answering her phone as she went. “Captain Yang.”

Yang Jin got straight to the point. “Fifteen minutes ago, Fire Phoenix left Fire Mountain by helicopter and is headed straight for our base. She’ll probably stop by Section One to see Third Brother and you. Better get ready.”

“Got it. Thanks.” Xia Qing hung up and walked over to meet Yue Haiying.

Yue Haiying lowered his voice. “You got the news?”

Xia Qing nodded. “Captain Yang just told me.”

“How about you take Dazhi and patrol Mountain Fifty for a while, come back around sunset?” Yue Haiying had never meddled in Xia Qing’s affairs, but right now he wished he could stuff her into an off-roader and ship her off to Mountain Fifty for her own safety.

But Xia Qing had no intention of leaving. “You can run from the monk, but you can’t run from the temple.”

“Exactly!” Tang Huai popped out from behind the wild grass wall.

Yue Haiying was speechless…

So was Xia Qing…

“I wasn’t eavesdropping, honest. I just happened to be digging for evolved insects over here.” Tang Huai quickly switched topics. “This is our turf—why should we be scared of her?”

Yue Haiying knew Xia Qing wouldn’t budge, so he didn’t try to convince her further. He just warned, “Stay here when she shows up. We’ve got dozens of people—we’re not just standing around for nothing.”

The Ninth Planting Center already had 86 employees on duty. Some were injured, but their strength couldn’t be underestimated.

“Alright.” Regardless of Fire Phoenix’s attack power, that poison alone was enough reason—Xia Qing definitely didn’t want her entering her own territory.

Tang Huai offered advice. “My dad says Fire Phoenix is deadliest with her words. As long as you keep your purpose in mind and don’t let her lead the conversation, you won’t get tripped up.”

Yue Haiying chimed in, “Director Tang is absolutely right. Fire Phoenix is skilled at twisting people’s words, but as long as you stick to your guns, you’ll be fine.”

Xia Qing nodded. “I’ll head back to my territory first and come by later.”

Fire Mountain was outside the Hui One Safe Zone, around 640 li from Hui Three’s Northern Section One. Even by helicopter, it would take Fire Phoenix a good two hours to get here. She’d probably stop by to see the Idol first too. No way was Xia Qing going to just wait around in Territory Nine—with Little Fei Mao tucked away in her pocket.

Besides Little Fei Mao, she also needed to check in on Old Goat and Er before she left.

After returning to her territory, Xia Qing didn’t put Little Fei Mao in the sheep shed since it was too small to protect itself. She had to leave it in the chicken cage, but the little guy wouldn’t stay put and fussed so much that Xia Qing had to worry the strain might reopen its healing wounds.

Left with no choice, she opened the cage, intending to carefully lift Little Fei Mao out and send it back to Section Three of Hill Forty-Nine.

To her surprise, the little guy darted like lightning and scrambled right back into her pocket.

Xia Qing stared for a second, reaching inside to feel the tiny creature’s half-bald body. “If you’re a Speed Evolver, how’d you get caught by a hawk?”

Of course, Little Fei Mao didn’t answer. It just curled up quietly in her pocket.

Quiet as it was, Xia Qing knew she couldn’t take it with her—she might run into Fire Phoenix this morning, and that was way too dangerous.

Xia Qing told Da Jiang to keep an eye on the territory, settled Old Goat in, then took Wolfdog Number Two out of Section Three, heading into Wolf Valley in Section Three of Hill Forty-Nine. She patted Wolfdog and explained, “Er, someone dangerous might show up soon. Watch over our wild boar here. Once I chase off the enemy, I’ll come back for you.”

Wolfdog Number Two understood and nuzzled Xia Qing’s leg, assuring her he’d keep the wild boar safe.

Just as Xia Qing left Wolf Valley, Flathead came sulking up, intent on a bite. Xia Qing picked it up and tossed it into Wolf Valley before searching for the Red Squirrel family to finally return Little Fei Mao. Only then did she hurry back to Territory Nine.

Once she was in the office, Yue Haiying came in again to caution her, “Don’t touch Fire Phoenix at all, and don’t handle anything she handles. Watch out for poison. Normally she wouldn’t try that, but you’re Third Brother’s stand-in. That makes you a target.”

Even after saying all this, Yue Haiying still wasn’t at ease—he practically wanted to drag Xia Qing off to the Hidden Valley to keep her safe.

Yan Yue had worked alongside Yue Haiying for years, but she’d never seen him this talkative. She could completely understand, though.

Xia Qing was at the very heart of the Alliance. If anything happened to her, the Northern Alliance would fall apart and the Ninth Planting Center would quickly be picked apart and lose its haven for retired soldiers.

Still, Yan Yue wasn’t as anxious as Yue Haiying, since she could tell Xia Qing truly wasn’t worried.

“Bzzzt—”

Xia Qing’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen and picked up right away. “Third Brother.”

Yan Yue straightened instantly when she heard it was the Senior Expert.

Zhang San sounded exhausted. “Where are you?”

Xia Qing replied at once, “I’m in Territory Nine’s office.”

Hearing this, Zhang San realized she wasn’t alone, so he kept it vague. “Stay in Territory Nine. Don’t go wandering off.”

Get yourself together! Don’t you dare go hiding just because Fire Phoenix is coming.

“Yes, Third Brother. Don’t worry, I’m staying right here in Territory Nine.”

With Senior Expert backing her up, Xia Qing wasn’t about to be scared. Not that it mattered—she wouldn’t have run even without his support.

If someone comes looking for her, even if she wanted to keep her head down, she couldn’t just abandon her territory. If she had to hide, she’d only do it with Old Goat and Er by her side.