Chapter 732: New Rabbits, New Schemes

Xia Qing hadn’t had time to make lunch yet. She didn’t stand on ceremony with Zhao Ze’s mother, just thanked her and took the steamed buns. “I’ve consulted a specialist. The mother rabbit might have eaten her kits because she was missing some trace elements. When I get a chance, I’ll go back to where I caught the rabbit and gather some edible grass and soil from there. Auntie can plant it in the territory for rabbit feed.”

“That makes sense. Once the baby rabbits’ fur grows in, the adults stop biting them.” Zhao Ze’s mother asked, “You caught the rabbits at Hill Fifty, right?”

Xia Qing nodded.

Zhao Ze’s mother suggested, “Next time you patrol Hill Fifty, have Zhao Ze go with you? He can handle collecting the grass, so you won’t get distracted from your important work.”

The mountain path from the territory to the Third Peak of Hill Fifty crossed through evolved forest, but there was a steady stream of people along the way and it was mostly safe. Xia Qing agreed.

Once she got back to Section Three, Xia Qing settled the two baby rabbits into the newly built rabbit hutch.

The hutch sat just south of the chicken house. It had four walls a little over a meter tall; the roof was half covered, half topped with wire mesh, keeping the baby rabbits from escaping. In case of heavy rain or bad weather, a rain cover from the roof could be pulled down to cover the exposed side.

With the baby rabbits inside, they could dig in the dirt and make burrows to live in.

Xia Qing had taken Zhang Song’s advice and pored over her rabbit-breeding books before building this hutch.

This setup was roomier than a cage, giving the rabbits more space to move and a bit of a natural feel. Once she brought back soil and edible plants to stock inside, the baby rabbits would be able to get whatever trace elements they needed for healthy growth.

Xia Qing wasn’t worried about them tunneling out—even if they tried, there was no way they’d get beyond her territory.

Having grown up with humans, the two baby rabbits weren’t afraid of people. Xia Qing lifted them out of the cage and gave them a friendly rub before tucking them into their new home. After a quick round of bouncing around, they snuggled into the wooden nest she’d made for them.

Seeing the little ones settle in so easily, Xia Qing finally relaxed. She went back inside, planning to make some egg drop soup and slice up a cucumber to have with the buns.

Old Goat, who’d been basking in the sun with half-closed eyes, saw Xia Qing head indoors. He trotted straight over to the rabbit hutch, propped his front legs on the low wall, and peered inside.

Once he realized there wasn’t any food for him in there, Old Goat lost interest, flopped back onto his hammock chair, and returned to sunbathing.

Xia Qing hadn’t finished her egg drop soup before she got a call from Yue Haiying.

“Xia Qing, Feng Wen circled down to the south side of Territory Fourteen. She called out for Liao Chen. After they talked for a few minutes at the bus stop, Feng Wen followed Liao Chen into Territory Fourteen.”

Since there’s no Auditory Evolutionary on Territory Fifteen, Yue Haiying could only observe the two talking at the stop but couldn’t hear what they said.

Xia Qing had already expected Feng Wen to head for Territory Fourteen. “Feng Wen’s brother, Feng Teng, knows Yan Meng from before. She can’t go back to the Safe Zone, and I won’t let her into Section Three, so Territory Fourteen was the obvious first stop for her today.”

Feng Wen knew Xia Qing would never take her in, so after being expelled from Section Three, she’d stood in the passage cursing loudly—not just for her own pride, but to make sure Yan Meng would hear her.

Truthfully, Xia Qing letting Feng Wen speak in the territory was really meant for Yan Meng to see—it was all to show Yan Meng she still cared about Feng Wen.

Yue Haiying replied, “Could be. No one survives till year eleven of the apocalypse in the outer city of the Safe Zone by being stupid. So what’s your next move?”

The pot of water began to boil. Thin slices of tomato tumbled around in the bubbles, soon falling apart and tinting the clear soup a soft red.

Xia Qing turned down the heat and said, “With just Yan Meng and Liao Chen in Territory Fourteen, things are still stable. But once you add Feng Wen, it’s like three monks fighting over a single bucket—no one gets a drink. We don’t need to lift a finger, they’ll be at each other’s throats in no time.”

Yuan Yan’s classic line, “Barefoot people aren’t afraid of those in shoes,” hit the nail right on the head.

With a territory and comrades to look after, Xia Qing couldn’t just kill Yan Meng while he hid inside his own territory. The smartest strategy was to let them tear each other apart from within.

What if they ganged up to deal with Xia Qing instead?

But with those three, not one would accept losing out, and even if they really tried to scheme together, one, maybe even two, would end up plotting in secret to increase their own share. There’s no chance they’d ever truly unite.

“Alright, let’s just watch and see what happens next,” Yue Haiying agreed, once again realizing that Luo Pei had underestimated her. His apprentice’s head wasn’t just full of farming; Xia Qing was sharp.

Xia Qing asked in a low voice, “Brother Yue, did you sign Dazhi up for the Devastation Element Antidote? What’s his current Devastation Element content?”

Yesterday, Xia Qing had checked the published list online, but she hadn’t seen the names of the retired wounded soldiers from Territory Fifteen, so she asked Yue Haiying if he’d enrolled them.

“I signed up several brothers from the territory,” Yue Haiying sighed, “but the ones with the most serious wounds or illnesses didn’t have enough contribution points. None of them made it into the top three hundred.”

The first batch of Devastation Element Antidote from Territory Seven: Yang Jin and Xia Qing took ten doses, Hui One’s helicopter airlifted 330, and the remaining 180 were delivered safely to the Safe Zone by Yang Jin, who handed them over to the base commander.

Out of those 180, the top 150 applicants by ranking either took them as medicine or first aid. The final 30 were kept as emergency stock in the Safe Zone hospital pharmacy.

Applicants who ranked 151–300 would have to wait for the next batch before they could get their doses. The antidote had become a symbol of hope, motivating people to work harder for the base.

Retired and wounded men in Territory Fifteen wouldn’t see a big jump in contribution points unless they cultivated high-Evolution or highly stable crops—otherwise, their odds of getting antidote directly from the base were basically zero. Unless the antidote was distributed widely, they wouldn’t have a chance.

Xia Qing lowered her voice. “Did you register Dazhi? How high is his Devastation Element right now?”

Those waiting in line for the second batch of antidote could get it at the soonest by late August.

That’s because the most crucial ingredient for the antidote, a certain active enzyme, takes at least four months to culture in a batch.

On top of that, the high Evolution Element spinach seeds needed to cultivate Cordyceps fungus were just placed in nutrient solution—again, it’s four months before the sprouts can be harvested.

These spinach seeds came from Yang Jin, who secretly planted that particular high Evolution spinach last winter.

Since spinach seeds are still expensive, after the next Cordyceps crop is sold, Xia Qing’s dividend will come out only after deducting other costs and repaying Yang Jin for the seeds.

There’s another issue: the entire second batch of antidote will go to the authorities, with none left for Xia Qing or Yang Jin.

So Iron Rooster won’t have any leftover profits to pocket. But if Xia Qing wants some, she can get it—after all, her idol and ally is the one making the antidote!

Should anyone in the Alliance need the antidote, she could always try and ask her idol for a few doses from the third or even fourth batch.

Zhang Hongda was the first person she’d picked from the Alliance to receive the antidote.