Chapter 1279: The Weak Giant Hornet

Watching Senior Speed Evolver Yang Jin grab a bee-louse fly bare-handed and shove it into a sampling tube, Xia Qing, net in hand and just finished her fourteenth herbal bath last night, quietly averted her eyes and continued searching for targets.

Comparing people drives you mad—but if the former is someone the latter can control, there's no need to get angry.

Level 9.5 Visual Evolver Leader Xia Qing locked onto her target and called for backup, "Yang Team, five meters to your left-front, there's one on top of the wild dam flower cluster."

"Target locked."

Yang Jin fixed his gaze on the bee-louse fly, nine-tenths resembling a bee, walked slowly closer, then swiftly reached out and seized it, stuffing it into a transparent sampling tube for observation, "Is this a female bee-louse fly?"

Xia Qing replied, scanning visually for the next target, "Male bee-louse flies rarely leave to forage; most caught on flowers are females."

"Sis Qing, no wonder you're at the top of the Blue Star pyramid—you know so much."

Xia Qing… you can shut up now.

Yang Jin took the hint, standing brightly beside Xia Qing, waiting for her to spot the next target.

Twenty minutes later, Xia Qing pressed her radio button, "Three-sector captured three bee-louse flies this morning: two females, one male. Tang Huai, Sister Ying, how's your side?"

Tang Huai immediately came online, "Sis Qing, you already finished? Had breakfast yet?"

One-sector beekeeper Ma Shuying came online, "One-sector captured one female fly."

Yang Jin pressed his radio to reply to Tang Huai, "We're just about to make breakfast. Tang Huai, record your hive losses clearly—measure the dead pupae with a ruler and photograph them."

Yesterday afternoon, Zhang San dispatched specialized researchers, bringing the evolved male bee-louse fly captured by Xia Qing into the three-sector bee greenhouse, releasing it back into the hive for close observation: the evolved male bee-louse fly used its legs to cling to pollen, disguised itself as a nurse bee crawling over the brood comb raising bee larvae, and pierced the larvae's skin with its sharp mouthparts, sucking out their bodily fluids.

Two queen pupae and twenty-five worker pupae inside the three-sector hives had been drained; their bodies weakened, and even if they matured into adults, they'd likely go berserk during the Qiang Snow period and endanger the hive.

Tang Huai exclaimed, "Jin-ge, can we sue Hui Liu for compensation?"

"We can. When I traded with Hui Liu for the Green Light bees, I bought accidental insurance—double compensation."

"Got it!"

Tang Huai cheered, "Jin-ge, you're so reliable! Sis Qing, you've got such great taste! Teaming up with Jin-ge is so easy!"

Yang Jin turned with a radiant smile, "Sis Qing's hives were purchased directly from Hui Liu, same as one-sector's—fourfold compensation applies."

Xia Qing…

If not for the points, she'd shoot this demon dead right now!

Qi Fu came online, "Yang Team, you there?"

Yang Jin pressed his radio button, feeling excellent, "Here, Brother Qi, go ahead."

That "Brother" made Qi Fu nearly stumble into the wheat field, crushing a patch of newly sprouted wheat, "Yang Team, what are the conditions for bee-louse fly evolution? Did you ask?"

Yang Jin replied, "Hui Liu's response: it's related to multiple factors—pollen and nectar quality, quantity of queen pupa fluid consumed, temperature, and atmospheric Qiang element concentration."

Biological evolution is always the result of multiple interacting factors, with clear individual variation; identifying the primary catalysts is extremely difficult.

Tan Qi, walking to school, pressed her radio button, "Jin-ge, is the bee-louse fly a Qiang evolution?"

Yang Jin replied, "No—it shows no significant increase in Qiang elements."

"Tan Qi, hurry up—you're already late for morning reading!" Living next to Center Nine had pros and cons for Tang Huai: the upside was feeling the children's vitality, the downside was interference with his bug-hunting.

Tan Qi replied instantly, "Got it! We're speeding up—we'll reach the classroom in five minutes and start reading!"

"Don't rush, don't run too fast and fall," Tang Huai added, chatting with Yang Jin, "Jin-ge, what's for breakfast for Sis Qing today?"

Yang Jin replied, "Steamed egg custard and leek-meat pies."

Tang Huai grinned, "Only Jin-ge can do it—if you weren't home, Sis Qing would just boil an egg and call it a meal. By next year, when the three-sector's little yellow cow starts giving milk, you'll have meat, eggs, and milk all covered."

Yang Jin genuinely felt Tang Huai was incredibly thoughtful, "I still need to learn a lot from Brother Huai about dairy products."

Tang Huai grinned wider, "No problem, no problem—I don't know much either, let's exchange more."

Zhang San, fresh off a night shift, came online coldly, "Yang Jin, get your ass to command the extermination immediately."

Everyone…

"Received. I'll board a helicopter and arrive at the extermination site in twenty minutes."

Shift change wasn't until 10 a. m., so Zhang San demanding an early handover meant something urgent. Deputy Commander Yang Jin swiftly chopped meat and mixed filling; when Xia Qing entered the kitchen with freshly cut leeks, he took off his apron, "Sis Qing, I'm leaving. Wash the leeks, chop them fine, mix into the meat filling, and knead evenly—the dough's in the bowl."

Xia Qing handed him food she'd brought from home, "Eat on the way."

Yang Jin's face lit up with four Green Light mountain walnuts, three Green Light pickled eggs, and a packet of oil-tea pastry, "Thanks, Sis Qing. After I finish extermination tomorrow, I'll lead a team to Hui One Safe Zone to negotiate setting up a cross-base experimental zone and compensation—minimum three days before I return."

Xia Qing nodded, "The Fire Phoenix has been released. Stay safe."

Yang Jin lowered his voice to ask, "When I get back, shall we go pick mountain walnuts?"

Xia Qing didn't fix a date, "We'll wait for the Waist-Cutter Wolf to decide."

"Understood." Yang Jin left the sector with his nutritious breakfast, boarding the helicopter for the extermination zone.

The helicopter's roar had barely begun when Xia Qing received a call from her idol.

"Xia Qing, the giant hornet's condition is unstable—it may die. I've ordered micro-robots to capture it. Take your sampling tubes and thermal box and rush to the Chestnut Grove—bring it back."

Huh?!!!

"Received, I'm leaving immediately. Third Brother…"

"Shut up."

"Yes."

Xia Qing sprinted home, grabbed her gear, told Wolf Lao Er to watch the gate, then ran through the north gate into Region Three of Mountain Forty-Nine, leaping high over the bald-headed kid charging at her with a mouth full of tiny teeth, dodging the whining Hong Red Da Mao who wanted to rub against her for medicine, and dashed straight to the Chestnut Grove's edge.

After spraying herself with insect repellent, Xia Qing jumped across the now-narrow stream into the Chestnut Grove, walking until she reached the rock crevice where the evolved hornet had built its nest—only then did her magnetic sense detect an extremely faint Yi-evolved biological magnetic field fluctuation.

Hundreds of hornets still buzzed around her with energy—how could the giant evolved golden-ringed Hu Feng, which chased her screaming two months ago, be dying now?!

Seeing Xia Qing arrive, Zhang San immediately ordered Da Ya to maneuver the micro-robot to carefully clamp the precious giant hornet—over fifteen centimeters long—and drag it out of the crevice.

This egg-shaped robot, which cleaned feces and food waste, had lingered in the crevice for a long time; the hornet colony had grown accustomed to its scent and showed no reaction as it dragged the dying giant hornet—they only wanted to kill the large animal intruder!

The squirrel Qiang Zai, crouching by the Chestnut Grove, seized the chance of the hornets attacking Xia Qing, dashed under the tree, snatched a chestnut nearly dragged into a rat's burrow, and fled swiftly.