Chapter 1063: After the Devastation Rain: Bamboo, Survival, and Secrets

August 29th, 5 pm. After fifty hours of on-and-off rainfall, the third wave of Devastation Rain in year eleven of the catastrophe finally ended.

A brisk west wind swept away the heavy storm clouds, and after three days, the sun finally poured down in golden rays. It lit up the three blood-red corridors in Section One of the North, as well as the writhing, crazed roots of the red-leaved bamboo in Section Three.

Half an hour later, the concentration of Devastation Element in the air started to drop. The frenzied roots of the red-leaved bamboo halted their growth and their wild dance began to slow.

“It’s finally over. I feel like I’m about to drop dead…”

Er Yong let go of his machete, stretched his aching body, and slumped heavily against the rough trunk of an old elm tree at his back.

The trunk vibrated, shaking the leaves. Droplets rolled off, splattering onto the pile of bamboo roots at Er Yong’s side—roots chopped down and stacked over two meters tall.

The severed bamboo roots twitched like battered stingers, spasming over and over, enough to make anyone’s scalp tingle just watching.

Yesterday at two in the afternoon, just after harvesting the third batch of red-leaved bamboo, the bamboo in Section Three evolved again. Suddenly, a swarm of bamboo shoots began pushing up from the earth.

To help the main bamboo trunks grow faster, Xia Qing had decided to snap off the shoots. But the moment she removed the first one, she felt the bamboo roots begin to tremble—like they were about to burst through the soil at any second. Even the magnetic field around the bamboo turned more aggressive.

She immediately stopped, leaving the bamboo shoots to grow untouched.

Because those new shoots were sucking up huge amounts of nutrients from the soil, the main bamboo stalks grew slowly. By the third day of Devastation Rain—today, at six in the morning—they still hadn’t reached minimum height or diameter for harvesting.

Then at eleven o’clock during the red-level rain, the network of red-leaved bamboo roots began expanding outward at a rate you could see with the naked eye. One acre turned into two, then three, covering the ground.

Xia Qing had expected this might happen. She’d left plenty of empty space around the bamboo grove just in case, so the roots’ expansion wouldn’t put anyone in harm’s way.

But none of them foresaw a swarm of rats from Hill Forty-Nine completely losing control during the red-level rain. Some young rats, drawn by the scent of the bamboo shoots, slipped through the iron mesh wall into Section One of the North, then scurried into Section Three. They gnawed straight through the tender new shoots, setting off the bamboo’s aggressive defenses.

The bearded roots swung like massive spiked clubs, lashing out at the surrounding mountainsides and trees with reckless force.

To keep these living clubs from smashing the northwest corner’s iron mesh wall, Xia Qing and Guan Tong—both wielding the power of Strength Evolution—swung their blades, chopping at the madness of the bamboo roots.

The more they hacked, the more frenzied the roots became. But if they stopped, the hardened, evolved roots would quickly reach the wall and start battering it, twisting the mesh out of shape.

So they had to keep chopping.

From eleven in the morning until now—six long hours—Xia Qing and Guan Tong had taken turns, hacking away at the hardened roots nonstop. Later, Xiao Jiang, Chen Zheng, and Peng Jian joined in. Er Yong wasn’t sure how Xia Qing felt, but his own arms and hands were so sore he could barely grip the machete anymore.

Xia Qing had paced herself, never letting herself get too worn down. That made sense—her role wasn’t the same as Er Yong’s. She was the sniper, and had to keep enough energy to hit her mark no matter what.

After she slid her black long blade away, Xia Qing raised her hand and pressed the button on her walkie-talkie. “Red-leaved bamboo in Section Three has stopped growing. How are things over in Section Five?”

Yuan Yan’s voice came over the line. “Same here in Section Five. Growth has slowed, but a stretch of thorn wall got crushed. One of the workers took a hit to his arm, but he didn’t pick up any Evolution Bacteria.”

Hearing no one had died from the bamboo’s latest evolution, Xia Qing breathed a deep sigh of relief.

Zhu Li chimed in. “The fourth batch of bamboo in Section Six just hit thirty meters tall. No new shoots breaking through the ground.”

Zhao Ze joined the call. “Same in Section Four as in Section Six.”

“Same here,” Wen Nengjie’s voice added.

After the latest round of Devastation Evolution in Sections Three and Five, no lord dared cut down their own bamboo now. Throughout this Devastation Rain, every territory that planted red-leaved bamboo roots harvested three batches, then waited for the Devastation Element levels to fall back to normal before daring to chop a fourth.

Staring at the piles of chopped bamboo beside the wild stalks, each still standing thirty meters tall, the lords felt both thrilled and a little shaken.

Tang Heng made a guess. “Sister Qing, did you plant these bamboo roots in the exact same spot as after the second Devastation Rain?”

Xia Qing replied, “Yeah, I did.”

Yuan Yan caught on immediately. “Ours are in the same place too. Maybe that’s why we’ve seen another evolution.”

Xia Qing spoke up. “Everyone grab soil samples from right by the roots in your bamboo groves. If you’re south of the North Passage, send your samples to Territory Nine. If you’re north, turn them in to the Inspection Team and have them brought to me. We need to test the soil for changes, figure out why the red-leaved bamboo evolved again.”

“Just send them all to me,” Zhang San’s lazy voice crackled over the radio. “I’ll see what’s going on.”

The Senior Expert logged in. Everyone cheered, then joked around and asked what he wanted for dinner. Zhang San still sounded sleepy, but you could tell he was in a good mood. “Porridge. Mantou with egg.”

Everyone: Senior Expert’s dinner tonight is way too simple.

Xia Qing: Idol!

“Has everyone heard?” Wen Nengjie came online with an excited new update. “Just now, Vice Base Director Xie Ping and Research Institute Deputy Director Kang Lian from Hui One were taken from their offices, just like when Tang Zhengrong was arrested this spring! Something big’s happening, for real this time!”

Xia Qing raised her brows. So, it wasn’t the eggs she sent over that cheered up her idol; the investigation had finally made real progress.

The true masterminds behind starting a beast tide during the Devastation Rain, scattering aggressive Devastation Grass, and trying to destroy their territory were Xie Ping, who pulled Peng Yuancai out from prison to keep working, and Kang Lian from the Hui One Research Institute.

Were these two really the main culprits, or was Fire Phoenix just the scapegoat this time?

As Xia Qing picked up her phone to ask the idol for details, a message from Yang Jin popped up:

News from Hui One: in this most recent attack on their territory, Fire Phoenix wasn’t too involved, but Xie Ping and Kang Lian were tightly linked to her. There’s more to come.

But Xia Qing wanted more than a promise. With Fire Phoenix busy trying to clear her name, she hoped the Apocalypse Sect would seize their chance.

Yang Jin answered quickly: The leader of the Apocalypse Sect is rallying their team—the attack will come as early as tonight or no later than the day after tomorrow. For now, Xia Qing must keep making regular public appearances in Section One of the North so everyone sees she’s always there handling aftermath and hasn’t left.

She sent back a simple ‘okay’ and put her phone down.

Looks like the plan to earn some goodwill over on Hill Thirty-Seven in the Western Lands would have to wait.