Chapter 1589: Prickly Ash Ripens

A helicopter bound to a giant eagle's claws circled above the big prickly ash tree on Mountain 86. Yang Jin led four human squads to land at the edge of Mountain 86 and push forward from the ground.

Before the ground troops reached the vicinity of the prickly ash tree, the helicopter's copilot, Hu Zifeng, spotted the enemy. "Boss, two o'clock from your position, two kilometers out, there's a speed evolver fleeing fast."

"Copy." Yang Jin signaled An Hua to keep leading the team forward, then turned alone and sprinted toward two o'clock. A speed evolver fleeing—of course a top-tier speed evolver had to go after them.

Watching Yang Jin chase at a speed clearly faster than the fleeing target, Xia Qing, who was lying on the helicopter and observing the ground through the firing port, stopped paying attention to that side. She activated her visual ability to the fullest, watching every stir in the wind and grass around the ground troops. The moment she spotted any unusual movement, she would snipe immediately.

Xia Qing wasn't paying attention to Yang Jin and the fleeing target, but the white-eyed raven circling overhead, cawing to declare its sovereignty, was very attentive. Spotting a human burrowing up from underground to escape, the speed-evolved white-eyed raven let out a cry, flapped its wings, and gave chase.

So before the fleeing target was kicked down by Yang Jin, it was first attacked by bird droppings.

Raven Molly? Cawing over the human troops on the ground, telling them to speed up, hurry over and dig out the enemy hiding under the big tree who had blown up its pink pearl bracelet!

After Yang Jin led the team to capture two more enemies hiding in ground cover, the ground squads finally reached the base of the prickly ash tree. Xia Qing on the helicopter reminded them, "Captain Yang, Captain An, Lord No. 7 requests that when stripping the cables, preserve this large tree with very high research value as much as possible."

This was a large tree containing the No. 9 Yi synthetic element. If its vitality could be preserved, and Xia Qing could cultivate spinach seeds with a Yi element content above 10? this year, Hui-3 Base would have gathered the two main raw materials for producing Yi element stimulant solution, and the Hui-3 Pharmaceutical Factory could begin producing Yi element stimulant solution.

"Copy." After responding to Xia Qing, Yang Jin discussed with An Hua, "Brother An, I'll lead the team to find the underground research lab's location. Can I leave this side to you?"

"Alright, watch out for the enemy going desperate and using bombs." An Hua, captain of Hui-3 Special Ops Team Two, had brought two squads of combat engineers equipped with engineering expertise, weapons knowledge, and combat capability, who could handle this task.

"These damned bastards, this is a Yi-evolved big tree!" The technical reconnaissance soldier, using a hyperspectral scanner, saw the electrified circuit on the instrument lighting up from the trunk all the way to the branch that had been cut by Huo Zhun, and cursed in fury.

An Hua, a brain-domain and visual evolver, glanced at the image and accurately pointed to the ground position. "Team One, dig here and cut the fiber optic cable; Team Two, remove the fiber optics on the trunk. Move faster—that big bird in the air is already getting impatient."

The two combat engineer teams worked fast with their hands, and their mouths weren't idle either. "How does the boss know that big bird is getting impatient?"

Another special forces soldier asked with a grin, "The boss's hearing evolved—became a three-system evolver?"

"My protective boots have hardness-evolved. Want to test them?" An Hua kicked the chatterbox, reminding them, "This is the big tree Lord No. 7 wants preserved. I've already turned on full recording. If any of you make even the slightest technical mistake and damage this tree, I'll skin you alive!"

According to arrangements, the Hui-3 Special Ops Team Three led by Zhang Jingwu would finish its mission protecting Territory No. 7 in June this year and return to the safe zone. To snag the mission of protecting the big shot, both Hui-3 Special Ops Team One and Special Ops Team Two were fighting tooth and nail for it.

If they damaged this tree today, Special Ops Team Two would definitely land on the big shot's blacklist and be stripped of the qualification to enter Northern Zone One to protect the big shot. The team members who all wanted to go to Northern Zone One Territory immediately stopped grinning, focused entirely on the job, determined to prove to the big shot that they could not only fight but also work.

Dodging the thorns on the tree, the technical reconnaissance soldier Gong Yi climbed by rope to the cross-section of the branch cut by Huo Zhun, and reported on the squad's intercom channel, "Boss, metal pipe diameter three centimeters, inside is a large-core-diameter, double-clad fiber optic bundle, already powered off."

An Hua ordered, "Good, don't touch the metal pipe. First peel back the bark and remove the fixtures. Watch your protection."

"Copy."

Gong Yi began carefully peeling back the fake bark from above and pulling out the iron nails. When he had stripped from the branch to the main trunk and had just pulled out an iron nail driven into the trunk, he heard a soft "click."

Amid the roar of the helicopter high above and the cursing of the raven nearby, the sound wasn't loud, but it was still picked up by Gong Yi, a senior hearing evolver who had undergone special training. He immediately stopped his hands and raised his pistol.

"Click, click…"

Then came the second and third sounds. Gong Yi traced the noise and discovered that the ice sealing the prickly ash fruits on this big tree had cracked. He immediately reported the situation over the intercom.

An Hua, a senior visual evolver, looked up and saw, in the seven-colored rainbow cast by the falling shards of ice from the big tree, clusters of purplish-red prickly ash slowly splitting open.

An Hua, with rich combat experience against evolved forests, didn't dare underestimate any evolved tree. He immediately ordered, "Gong Yi, get down. Everyone fall back thirty meters, now! Sister Qing!"

Seeing Special Ops Team Two fully retreating, Xia Qing immediately ordered Raven Molly through the intercom, "Caw, retreat immediately."

"Caw!" As Raven Molly quickly retreated, the flock of ravens circling high above actually let out cheerful cries, flapped their wings downward, and rushed toward the prickly ash tree.

The white-eyed raven, which was chasing the fourth human running out from underground in the air, heard its companions' cheers and immediately turned in midair. The giant eagle circling overhead, with a wingspan exceeding six meters, also let out a clear cry and began to descend.

Dozens of various giant raptors within the raptor territory took off one after another from their respective nests and hurried toward Mountain 86.

Seeing so many raptors gathering, Xia Qing decisively ordered, "Captain Yang, Captain An, immediately withdraw to the landing point. Wait until the raptors disperse before acting."

"Copy." An Hua immediately led the team away from the vicinity of the prickly ash tree. After Yang Jin captured the fourth fleeing target, he also led the team out.

After Xia Qing ordered Eryong to land the helicopter next to the military helicopter, she immediately had Yang Jin carry her up the snow mountain only a thousand meters from the prickly ash tree to observe the grand sight of the prickly ash ripening. She dialed a video call so her idol could watch simultaneously. If any mutation occurred, the idol could immediately give professional advice.

Zhang San looked through the screen at the awe-inspiring scene of ten thousand birds gathering and asked, "Natural ripening or human interference?"

Xia Qing answered, "It ripened when An Hua's squad was removing the fiber optics. We can't confirm yet whether it's natural ripening or human interference."

Zhang San acknowledged and watched intently.

Yang Jin, standing behind Xia Qing, had a lower visual evolution level than Xia Qing and couldn't see the distant situation clearly. He used his peripheral vision to keep an eye on the phone screen, but focused most of his attention on defense, protecting Xia Qing's safety. Raven Molly, perched on Xia Qing's shoulder, also opened its pitch-black eyes wide and watched.

In just a few minutes, most of the ice crystals wrapping the prickly ash clusters on the tree had shattered. The outer fruit skin of the prickly ash split open, revealing pure black prickly ash fruits one by one.

Seeing this scene, Zhang San had just opened his mouth when Yang Jin and Xia Qing spoke at the same time:

"Later, let Yang Jin go collect the seeds."

"Later, I'll go pick up the prickly ash grains."

Zhang San changed his words, "The root soil also needs sampling."

"Understood." Yang Jin quickly glanced at Xia Qing, who was wearing a black single-sided light-transmitting protective mask, and grinned so wide it was unbearable to look at.