Chapter 778: Suspicious Soybeans and the Battle for Territory Nine

After a few minutes of rest, Xia Qing perked up, slipped on her indoor shoes and headed upstairs to check the two columns of results displayed on the electronic screen.

The sap from the normal soybean seedling and the one with magnetic sense abnormalities showed similar levels of Devastation and Evolution Elements, but the abnormal seedling also contained an unknown element.

It wasn’t that Xia Qing didn’t understand the element symbols. The screen simply displayed the words “unknown element.”

That unknown element might just be the reason for the seedling’s odd behavior.

Xia Qing immediately messaged Ji Li: “Ji, is Third Brother’s surgery done yet?”

She didn’t want to disturb her idol’s rest, but the Green Lantern soybeans she grew came from a swap with the Blazing Fire Squad. Any abnormality required the utmost attention.

Zhang San called directly, sounding exhausted. “What plant did you test here?”

The Evolution Element Detector could only tell what components and concentrations were present, not the plant species. Identifying specific plants would require DNA tests, spectroanalysis or chemical fingerprinting. So even the senior expert, Zhang San, couldn’t tell what Xia Qing’s test sample was just from the results.

But as a die-hard Xia Qing fan, she still found something to admire in her idol. “Third Brother, you’re amazing. You saw my pictures and immediately knew I was testing a plant sample, not an animal!”

Zhang San was silent…

Hoping to survive, Xia Qing didn’t wait for her idol to get angry and kept going. “These are seedlings grown from the batch of Blazing Fire soybeans you got last year. The one on the right looked sketchy to me, but the Devastation Element was normal. So I took a regular leaf as a control sample. You can see that the right sample tested positive for an unknown element.”

Zhang San asked, “If the Evolution Element Detector can’t identify it, there’s a good chance it’s some composite from Devastation or Evolution Elements themselves. What made you think something was off?”

That meant things on Zhang San’s end were safe and she could talk freely. Xia Qing answered right away, “I judged by instinct that it’s an aggressive Devastation Evolution plant, but I can’t find any physical or chemical attack mechanism. There’s no obvious change in its shape, either. How are your soybeans on your end?”

“No abnormalities reported so far. I’ll have someone check just in case. You mark the suspicious plant and leave it alone for now—keep observing it.”

“Got it.”

“Keep your eyes on Territory Nine for me.”

“Copy that! Don’t worry, Third Brother. I’ll get it done.” Xia Qing didn’t know why her idol sounded a bit heated, but after hanging up, she immediately bribed Old Goat to stay home as guard duty with three dried Green Lantern shoots and two compressed rations. Then she jumped in the off-roader and sped toward Territory Nine.

Tang Huai had already cleared the passageways in Territory Nine. Xia Qing drove around using magnetic sense, sight and hearing to search every corner. She ran into three evolved fighters from Territory Eight and Chen Zheng, all dutifully searching for Devastation Snakes.

After a sweep of the entire territory, clearing out a few low-risk aggressive vines and shrubs, Xia Qing parked beside the ruined house in the middle of Territory Nine.

Her rotary tiller was huddled under the half-collapsed roof to keep dry. Meanwhile, Tang Huai and Chen Cheng stood at the doorway of a mostly intact house, waving her over.

Xia Qing got out and walked in. Besides Chen Cheng and Tang Huai, a thin, tall evolved fighter from Territory Eight was resting inside.

They greeted each other, and then Xia Qing handed the rotary tiller to Chen Cheng, telling him to look for his brother, Chen Zheng, and return to Section Three. The area had been combed through three times—no more Devastation Snakes, so there was no need for so many people to stand guard.

Once the Chen brothers left, Xia Qing turned her attention to Tang Huai and the evolved fighter from Territory Eight.

Before she could speak, Tang Huai said, “Just finished up here. I’ll rest for a bit before heading out. By the way, we’re low on diesel, so I dumped the barrel from the rain shield into the tank.”

“Thanks for all your hard work—the passageway is in great shape.” After praising Tang Huai, Xia Qing turned to the tall, skinny evolved fighter from Territory Eight.

This guy got straight to the point. “Our lord tasked the four of us to help Miss Xia guard Territory Nine and return to Territory Eight after Devastation Rain passes.”

Tang Huai shot him a thumbs up. Xia Qing asked, “Did you bring tents and food? If not, I’ll fetch some.”

During Devastation Rain, Devastation Element levels in the air shoot up. If you don’t want to wear a protective mask all day, your only options are to hide somewhere that blocks the element or shelter inside a tightly sealed house with the doors and windows shut, ideally during lulls when the Devastation Element drops a little.

Rooms like this have lower Devastation Element levels than the outdoors, but it’s still higher than normal. It’s fine for a half hour or so, but any longer and you’d need a protective mask. Too much exposure and you’ll wind up with Devastation Evolution symptoms—or worse, go berserk.

After the people of Territory Nine got dragged off, Blazing Fire sent people to strip valuables—even the doors and windows went. So if you want to eat or rest without wearing a mask, you’ll need to pitch a tent.

“We’ve got it covered, Miss Xia. Supplies are all set.”

Tang Huai was already friendly with the group from Territory Eight. “Xin Yu is a major shareholder at Chonglian—she’s got loads of good stuff. Hey, your tents probably have air filters, right?”

The evolved fighter from Territory Eight, like his lord, wasn’t much of a talker. He just nodded.

He stayed quiet, but Tang Huai didn’t. Acting like they were old friends, Tang Huai sidled up with a grin. “Bro, what kind of air filters did they give you? How many hours can they last?”

That question couldn’t be answered with a nod. The evolved fighter from Territory Eight finally replied, “Basic model. Twenty-four hours.”

“Devastation Rain’s got forty-one hours to go. The filters will hold up,” Tang Huai declared. Then, from his pocket, he fished out a deck of cards and waggled his eyebrows. “We’re all just sitting here. How about we put up a tent and play a few rounds of Fight the Landlord?”

Xia Qing stared at him…

The evolved fighter from Territory Eight looked equally speechless…

“Xia Qing, can you hear me?” Hu Zifeng’s voice crackled through her earpiece walkie-talkie. She immediately pressed the button. “Loud and clear, Zifeng. Go ahead.”

Hold up—why so chummy? Tang Huai suddenly lost all interest in poker.

Hu Zifeng reported a threat in Section Three. “The hard bamboo leaves in Western Buffer Forest are turning red, might be going through a second evolution—and they’re growing faster. Should we clear them out?”

“Hold off for now. I’m on my way back.” Xia Qing shot a quick message to Yuan Yan, telling her to monitor the evolving hard bamboo in Section Five, then explained to Tang Huai and the evolved fighter from Territory Eight, “There’s a situation in Section Three. I’ll check it out and be right back.”

The evolved fighter from Territory Eight was very understanding. “If anything happens in Territory Nine, we’ll report back to you through the lord communicator right away. No need to rush, Miss Xia.”

“Thanks, I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Xia Qing glanced at Tang Huai, and he spoke up immediately. “I’ll hitch a ride with you and check up on Territory Two.”