Chapter 920: A Bag of Samples and a Pricey Pill

“Third Brother, what do you think about this one?”

Xia Qing dug out a medicine box containing a sprig of mistletoe from her bag and handed it to Zhang San.

After Yan Long was reassigned, Ji Li’s Squad stepped up inspections of anyone bringing supplies in and out of Territory Seven. To cover up the fact she was a Magnetic Sense Evolver, Xia Qing brought not just her target plant—the mistletoe—but nine other kinds of mistletoe, along with various plant stems, leaves, fruit samples, rocks, and dirt, all jumbled together and filling more than half her bag.

She’d made a habit of bringing different samples back from every trip to the Evolved Forest, so the guards at Territory Seven didn’t bat an eye seeing her lug a huge sack around.

“Not bad, looks intact.”

Zhang San, with dark circles under his eyes and so thin his bones seemed to poke at his skin, inspected the mistletoe Xia Qing had picked. He looked quite satisfied. “Once these mistletoe seeds sprout, we’ll know whether Yi 3 is from the red bean tree or a synthetic made from mistletoe.”

Xia Qing fished another sample bag out of her backpack. “I thought of that, so I brought back a whole pack of red bean tree seeds. They look ripe—do you think they’ll work?”

Seeing that the red bean pods Xia Qing collected had turned yellow and were splitting open to reveal their bright red seeds, Zhang San nodded. “Were the two adult Evolved Leopards in that mountain area gone?”

“I had Handsome Huge Wolf take me over. The leopards there never showed themselves, so I took the chance to pick a few extra pods.”

Xia Qing smoothly shifted the topic to Handsome Huge Wolf. “Lately, that wolf’s gotten really into soaking in medicinal baths—now even Alpha and Crippled Wolf want to try it out. Third Brother, we can’t let the Pesticide start causing fights within the Wolf Pack, right?”

Zhang San weighed the heavy beans in his hand and looked at Xia Qing across the table.

Idol doesn’t look too good. Is something else going on…?

Xia Qing broke into a smile. “I also brought you five Green Lantern Pure Spring Fish. Fresh fish soup for lunch today.”

Zhang San rolled his eyes at her and grumbled, “You’ve raised these fish for a year and you still haven’t figured it out? Steamed is always best around here.”

Xia Qing let out a relieved sigh. “Alright, I’ll go home and steam one for myself too.”

Zhang San set the red beans and mistletoe on the table and asked, “If the Wolf Pack gets stronger, can you still keep them under control?”

Xia Qing answered honestly. “Third Brother, with your support I’ve managed to work out a trade and alliance with the Wolf Pack. It’s not about me keeping them in check anymore. They’re a shield for us here in the Northern Evolved Forest. The stronger they get, the safer we’ll be. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“I’ve never gone all-out supporting you.”

Right, whatever Idol says is true! Xia Qing instantly corrected herself. “You only helped me a little, which made it possible for me to build that relationship with the Wolf Pack.”

Zhang San was silent for a few seconds. “With this Pesticide, regular wolves don’t see much effect after ten baths. How many packs do you need?”

Xia Qing answered right away. “I’d like five packs for the Huge Wolf and ten for Alpha. Think the mistletoe and red beans are enough for a trade? I can pick more if you need.”

“It’s enough. Roll up your sleeve.” Zhang San pulled a blood collection needle and test tube from his drawer and skillfully drew a vial of Xia Qing’s blood before heading to the lab.

Xia Qing pressed a disinfectant swab against the needle mark and quietly waited.

Half an hour later, Zhang San returned. Besides the wolf Pesticide, he handed Xia Qing a jar of pills. “You seriously overstrained your body those first nine years. You can’t fix that overnight. This is an evolved version of Ba Zhen Pills—the upgraded Eight Treasures. Three out of the eight herbs contain Evolutionary Synthetic Elements. Great for replenishing your energy and blood. Take it exactly sixty minutes after dinner, or your stomach won’t handle it.”

Ashen-faced, Xia Qing stood and cupped the pill jar in both hands. “Yes, thank you, Third Brother!”

“No need. That bottle’s fifty thousand credits.”

Xia Qing was stunned.

F-fifty thousand?

Seeing how pained she looked, Zhang San finally felt some satisfaction. All bones and sunken into a soft chair, he muttered weakly, “Too expensive? Out there this medicine would cost at least two hundred thousand.”

“No, thank you for mixing this just for me. You really…”

“Didn’t make it just for you.”

“Just having you save a jar of it for me is a blessing! Thanks again, Third Brother. With your alliance, I’ll stay happy and healthy and live another fifty years!” Xia Qing decided not to push her luck. “If you need more mistletoe or red beans, just say the word and I’ll fetch them for you.”

Credits aside… can we just forget that part?

Zhang San stopped her from getting carried away. “The plants that produce Yi 3 are already in large-scale cultivation at Red Four Base. These seeds are all I need for research. Don’t over-harvest from that tree—it’s part of the Evolved Forest’s ecological balance. There’s plenty of wildlife in those mountains that directly or indirectly rely on the Evolutionary Synthetic Element to boost their resistance. The Evolved Leopards living there are proof of that.”

Zhang San gave another cautionary tale. “Lan Five Base over-harvested edible fruits and wild greens in the Evolved Forest, wiping out good food sources for the animals. When Devastation Rain hit last time, a surge of out-of-control beasts followed, creating a massive animal stampede.”

Xia Qing nodded. “I read about it. There were a lot of Evolved Bears and Evolved Wolves in that stampede—two huge territories outside Lan Five Base were overrun, and the casualties were horrible.”

“There are even worse consequences.” Zhang San opened his laptop and clicked a few times, then turned his screen toward Xia Qing. “With the ecological balance destroyed, the eastern Evolved Forest at Lan Five has been taken over entirely by Super Evolution Fungus.”

Xia Qing’s pupils shrank as she watched aerial footage of the Evolved Forest hundreds of miles from the Lan Five Safe Zone.

Someone who’s survived eleven years of natural disasters would wish a thousand times for real snow instead of yellow Devastation Snow, but seeing the forest at Lan Five blanketed in that white growth left Xia Qing shaken.

The rivers winding through that ‘white snow’ mirrored the color of the sky, looking like Blue Star’s own tears and sighs.

“This fungus spreads and destroys at a frightening rate. It already covers over 1,500 acres of forest. Without intervention, Lan Five will be a wasteland in two months.”

Zhang San’s voice grew heavy. “To prevent panic, the government locked down info on this. Every domestic P3 and P4 lab authorized for Evolution Fungus research is working on this new Super Evolution Fungus nonstop.”

The video ended with a shot of an Evolved Animal lying in the woods, its body buried beneath snow-white fungus.

Someone unaware might call the scene peaceful at first glance. But those who know the truth feel nothing but suffocating dread.

No wonder Idol looked so tired. No wonder there was no smile seeing the mistletoe—the problem was that serious.

Taking a moment to gather herself, Xia Qing looked at Idol. “Third Brother, is there anything I can help with?”

Zhang San snorted. “Besides farming, what else can you do?”

“Right, I’ll get back to my fields, then.” Xia Qing got up. “You should eat your steamed fish one bite at a time and rest up before anything else. When you’re rested, keep working on solutions. If it comes to it, we burn the forest—Lan Five isn’t far from Lan Jiu, and there’s the country’s biggest oil field nearby.”

After Xia Qing left, Zhang San took off his glasses and rubbed his brow, finally cracking a smile.

Zheng Chen escorted Xia Qing to the edge of the territory at the Northern Buffer Forest, watching as Ji Li herself checked over the extra supplies in Xia Qing’s pack.

Fifteen packs of liquid Pesticide—enough for her Evolved Sheep to take plenty of sterilizing baths. Xia Qing had already traded for this medicine once. Clearly, it worked.

And that pill jar…

Surprise flickered across Zheng Chen’s upstanding features. Wasn’t that the pill Huicheng Base Director commissioned Senior Expert Fu to make?

Expressionless, Ji Li put the pill jar back in Xia Qing’s backpack, while Xia Qing quietly thanked her, slung her bag over her shoulder, and headed back along the Northern Barrier.

Noticing Zheng Chen still staring after Xia Qing, Ji Li leaned over and whispered, “We sent that medicine to Hui One just yesterday.”

Zheng Chen nodded and watched Xia Qing’s retreating figure without saying a word.

So, did Third Brother really make this Evolutionary Ba Zhen Pill for Hui One? Xia Qing pretended not to hear and pulled out her phone to message Yang Jin.

It turns out the Pure Spring Water Yang Jin discovered in Lan City’s Death Sea was located right in the Evolved Forest at Lan Five.

That’s one of their most important resources for growing Cordyceps Fungus. If people notice or damage it during this disaster, they’ll be in big trouble.