Chapter 13: Who's the Boss

After returning home, Xia Qing went to check on her precious little wild boar first and found it still huddled in the corner, neither eating nor drinking. She immediately gave it fresh spring water and fresh Chinese toon sprouts—she absolutely couldn't let anything happen to it on her watch.

After showering back in her room and eating a hearty meal of rice mixed with spicy Chinese toon, Xia Qing lay comfortably on her bed. She absolutely adored this free and easy life of living alone.

As she lay down to sleep, the small valley north of Plot Four was brightly lit. Several people in camouflage protective suits were gathered around eleven wild boars—one large male, three large females, and seven piglets—that had been anesthetized, running tests on them.

Su Ming ran up to the two squad leaders and reported the thrilling test results. "Of the three large ones—one male and two females—the blood test on the sow that's currently raising piglets came back green. Of the seven piglets, one showed green and one showed yellow. Adding in the one that was captured, that makes three edible piglets in total!"

The green-light sow and the red-light boar produced two green-light piglets, which shows the sow's yi-element stability is very high and makes her suitable for breeding.

Tan Chunjie was about to give the order to take the pigs back, but Yang Jin beat him to it. "This place has mountains, water, and woods, with plenty of food—it's perfect for penning the wild boars. As far as I know, the wild boar breeding project at the experimental center isn't going very smoothly. If these pigs are sent over, they might not survive more than a few months. Instructor Tan, may I request instructions?"

Su Ming immediately agreed. "Exactly, Captain. This place is so close to our camp that fencing it off to raise pigs wouldn't be any trouble at all."

And it'd make getting pork a lot easier.

Tan Chunjie also thought it was feasible. He called to request instructions and, as expected, received support from his superiors. "Fence off this whole area to raise pigs. The clearing machines will arrive in two hours. Yunzi and Mingzi stay behind to watch the wild boars. The rest of you rest on the spot for half an hour, then come with me to meet up with the machines."

"Yes, sir!" Over twenty officers and soldiers responded with high spirits.

Tan Chunjie asked Yang Jin again, "What are you planning to do?"

Yang Jin flicked off a leech clinging to his protective suit. "I'll follow your arrangements, Captain. Just trying to get myself a long-term meat ticket."

"You little rascal—still short on meat?" Tan Chunjie laughed with knowing implication.

Yang Jin smiled and changed the subject. "Is the order from above to only clear out this valley, or to clear out the entire northern stretch of Plots Three, Four, and Five?"

Yang Jin didn't want to say more, and Tan Chunjie didn't press him. "Clear out all of it. The northern stretch of Plot Three will be incorporated into Plot Three, and this side will become the wild boar breeding stock center. Tonight, the team will work with the machines to first put in the isolation belt. We start clearing dangerous creatures at dawn, and we have to finish before it rains."

Four forest isolation-belt clearing vehicles plus over forty people easily carved out a new, fifty-meter-wide isolation belt in a single night across the rolling slopes north of Plots Three, Four, and Five.

The next morning, when Xia Qing went to the northern slope to fetch water, she spotted smoke rising from the evolved forest to the north.

Was this Captain Tan and his team having already caught the wild boars and starting to clear the evolved forest? Before Xia Qing could go investigate, she received a call from Tan Chunjie saying he was sending people over to catch the pigs.

Xia Qing asked first, "Captain Tan, when can I get the land use rights certificate for that new plot you approved for me?"

Since this was a transaction, of course she had to clarify things in advance.

Tan Chunjie answered readily, "It's already been submitted. Zhong Tao will deliver it to you within two days."

"Thank you, Captain Tan."

Xia Qing hung up the phone, immediately went back to catch the lively little wild boar, and delivered it to the isolation belt on the north side of the buffer forest, handing it over to Su Ming, who was craning his neck waiting.

After pricking the little boar's skin and drawing a few drops of blood for testing, Su Ming grinned from ear to ear. "A green-light pig, sure enough—full of spirit."

What do these two things have to do with each other? Xia Qing asked, "Are you planning to clear out the wild boar's valley too? I saw smoke over there."

Su Ming was all smiles. "The base plans to build a wild boar breeding stock center here. The isolation belt on the north side is already done. Once we've fenced off the northern stretch of Plots Four and Five, we'll go clear the small hillside north of Plot Three."

Building a breeding center meant her territory would be even safer. Xia Qing was very pleased. "If you guys are too busy, I can clear that plot myself."

"We've got enough hands. We'll definitely finish the mission within two days." After saying that, Su Ming asked Xia Qing curiously, "Sister Xia Qing, are you very close with Captain Yang of the Azure Dragon Squad?"

Yang Jin, captain of the Azure Dragon Squad—ranked second in overall combat strength at Hui-Three Base—was a prominent figure at the base. He was a Level Seven speed evolver, and very handsome to boot, so he attracted attention wherever he went. But Xia Qing not only felt nothing for him, she wished she could stay as far away from him as possible.

Because any woman who got close to Yang Jin would be regarded as a thorn in Tang Lu's side.

So when Su Ming suddenly asked her this, Xia Qing immediately grew wary. "I don't know him. We've never had any dealings. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing, just asking casually." Su Ming scratched his head, picked up the little wild boar, and left.

The top two squads at Hui-Three Base were nominally neutral, but their actual affiliations were clear. The Dawn Wind Squad led by Tang Zhengsu naturally answered to Tang Zhengrong, while the Azure Dragon Squad led by Yang Jin was much closer to the military.

Because Yang Jin and most of the people in his squad were military academy students before the catastrophe. Under Yang Jin's leadership, the Azure Dragon Squad's style of doing things was much cleaner than the Dawn Wind Squad's, and they enjoyed high prestige at the base. Everyone liked teaming up with them for missions. Xia Qing had also gone on missions with the Azure Dragon Squad, but she only joined missions led by core members of the squad.

She didn't want to get anywhere near Yang Jin's orbit at all.

So why would Su Ming think she was close with Yang Jin? Xia Qing narrowed her eyes as she watched Su Ming enter the evolved forest, then returned to her own territory.

Before she could figure anything out, she heard the pounding of running footsteps approaching from afar. Xia Qing immediately dropped her back basket and got into a ready stance.

An evolved ram with massive spiral horns burst out of the trees and charged fiercely at Xia Qing. Xia Qing also summoned every ounce of strength she had and met it head-on.

"Boom!"

Xia Qing lost the clash, stumbling back three steps and slamming hard into a tree. If her body hadn't become stronger through evolution, that impact would have definitely injured her.

Xia Qing had just gotten back on her feet when she saw the evolved ram retreat a few steps and charge again. Xia Qing's stubbornness was roused too, and she went at it with this ram.

"Today I'll teach you who's the boss of Plot Three!"

She wasn't as strong as the ram, but she had brains. When the ram charged again, Xia Qing sidestepped, grabbed its horns with both hands, and shouted, "Get out of here!"

The evolved ram was hurled sideways by Xia Qing's strength and slammed into a rock with a bang. It stood there dazed for two seconds, then widened its ram's eyes, let out a "Maa!" and leaped up to pounce on Xia Qing.

It was the first time Xia Qing had ever heard a sheep make such an angry sound, but she didn't soften in the slightest. "Get out of here!"

"Crack!"

The evolved ram, hurled out by Xia Qing once again, slammed into a tree as thick as a thigh and snapped the trunk clean in half.

"Maa!" The evolved ram stood up, shook its head, and charged at Xia Qing again with heavy thuds.

"Get out of here!"

"Boom!"

"Take this!"

"Boom!"

"Out!"

"Boom!"

……