Chapter 230: I Survived

Commander Xia Qing immediately called for backup. "Captain Hu, one hundred meters to the front-left, two o'clock direction. A hostile grass is shaking and growing taller inside the wild-grass wall."

"Copy that, clearing it now." Hu Zifeng quickly locked onto the target, shot down the hostile grass that had already shown attack characteristics, stepped forward to swiftly remove the root, then reported back, "Cleared."

Forty-five minutes later, Xia Qing called for backup again. "Jingkuan, sixty meters to the rear-right, five o'clock direction. A sapling is growing rapidly, estimated height two and a half meters."

"Copy that, going to check now." Jingkuan immediately turned around, ran back to inspect, and quickly reported, "It's a yellow-cork-tree sapling, trunk ten centimeters thick, need support."

Xia Qing called for backup once more. "Peng Jian, you're the closest to Jingkuan."

Peng Jian immediately replied, "Copy that, heading over now."

While Peng Jian rushed to provide support, Xia Qing saw three pitch-black, dripping-wet animals swim out of the swift stream flowing from the Y-shaped valley in section three of mountain forty-nine. Their movements alone told her they had gone berserk and lost their minds.

Xia Qing leaned against a tree fork, raised her sniper rifle and shot them dead, then reported, "Evolved water rats appeared in the river, already cleared."

Peng Jian reported up, "Hostile-evolved yellow-cork tree cleared. This tree has already grown flower buds, extremely dangerous."

An attack-type plant that flowers after hostile evolution is very likely to release toxic gas. Fortunately it was cleared before it could bloom, otherwise dealing with it would have been a real headache. Xia Qing had just breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the speed-evolver Er Yong call for support, "The corn shed needs backup."

Xia Qing quickly observed the positions of the three people in the territory and gave orders. "Captain Hu to the corn shed, Peng Jian stays in place and continues checking for yellow-cork-tree saplings, Jingkuan goes to the big yellow-cork tree in the west buffer forest to find and clear saplings."

"Copy that." Hu Zifeng sprinted at full speed to the corn shed to support Er Yong and Yang Laoda.

"Copy that." There weren't many yellow-cork trees in territory three, so Jingkuan and Peng Jian immediately split up to search for yellow-cork-tree saplings, aiming to clear them completely before they could undergo hostile evolution.

The red-level hostile rain lasted for a full hour. Gunshots rang out from every territory, and the inspection teams kept reporting dangerous hostile-evolution incidents.

After the danger-inspection team split into two groups to clear the hazards in territories two and eight, Xia Qing heard dense gunfire from the direction of territory five. Yuan Yan called for rescue, "An attack-type hostile-evolved yellow-cork tree has appeared in territory five, blooming and releasing Class A toxic gas, urgently need support, urgently need support."

Class A toxic gas is extremely potent. Not to mention the ordinary protective masks worn by personnel in the territories, even the air-filter devices on the field-grade-three protective masks of the Green Dragon Squad and Captain Tan Junjie's team might not be able to block Class A toxic gas.

If a human inhales Class A toxic gas, they have a ninety-percent chance of dying, and the one who survives is doomed to be crippled. So when Class A toxic gas appears and equipment is insufficient, the only option is to retreat as fast as possible.

If the humans retreat, all the crops in the greenhouses are finished.

Tan Junjie, who had just entered territory eight, hadn't even had time to reply when Xia Qing's calm questioning voice came over the lord channel. "Sister-in-law, what's the height and thickness of the yellow-cork tree?"

The one who replied to Xia Qing was a member of the Green Dragon Squad hired by territory five. "Currently four meters tall, fifteen centimeters thick. Although the toxic gas is being suppressed within a small range by the hostile rain, we can't get close."

Not to mention that territory five is her ally—if this high-risk yellow-cork tree is allowed to grow, once the hostile rain stops, Xia Qing's territory will be covered by the toxic gas too!

"I'm going to support territory five. You all hold territory three."

Xia Qing jumped down from the Chinese-toon tree, sprinted at full speed along the north buffer forest toward territory five. "My protective mask can block the toxic gas, I'll arrive within ten minutes. Keep shooting bullets at the trunk, prepare the largest sealed bags. Captain Tan, lord of territory three Xia Qing can clear it alone, no support needed."

"Copy that." Tan Junjie knew Xia Qing wasn't the reckless type, but he still followed protocol and reported to headquarters to request support. However, every sector was reporting incidents right now, so headquarters probably couldn't spare anyone to help.

In just eight minutes, Xia Qing had sprinted to territory five, snatched the large sealed bag from Yuan Yan's hands, rushed to the base of the high-risk hostile-evolved yellow-cork tree that was releasing Class A toxic gas, and started hacking at it with her blade.

Just as she expected, same as the hostile-evolved yellow-cork tree in territory three, this tree's hardness wasn't high either, and the parts of the trunk that had been blasted apart by machine-gun fire hadn't recovered. Xia Qing chopped through the trunk in a few strokes, then swiftly cut off the flowering branches and stuffed them all into the large sealed bag and sealed it.

After finishing, Xia Qing pressed the lord walkie-talkie button. "The high-risk hostile-evolved yellow-cork tree in territory five has been cleared."

"Copy that, good work." There was warmth in Tan Junjie's voice.

"Xia Qing, thank you." The usually calm and capable Yuan Yan's voice was on the verge of tears.

"Xia Qing, well done!" Kuang Qingwei panted as he replied. Territory six borders territory five directly—if that tree had been allowed to grow, they would all have had to abandon their territory.

The Class A toxic gas was quickly suppressed by the rain. After the glaring red light on her arm turned green, Xia Qing waved to Qi Fu, who was standing in the distance holding a large axe.

Qi Fu immediately rushed up and took over from Xia Qing to continue clearing the yellow-cork tree's roots.

Xia Qing, who was just about to return to her own territory, heard Kuang Qingwei shout, "Xia Qing, hurry hurry hurry, a flowering yellow-cork tree has also poked up in my territory!!! Please, hurry!"

Territory six? Xia Qing immediately pressed the button to call for help. "Third brother there? Can you send people to clear the yellow-cork tree in territory six?"

Zhang San's voice immediately came over the lord channel. "The yellow-cork tree in territory six will be cleared by territory seven."

"Many thanks, Third brother, sorry for the trouble." Kuang Qingwei immediately thanked him, and his heart instantly settled.

Removing a high-risk hostile-evolved tree was child's play for territory seven. After thanking them, Xia Qing quickly ran back toward her own territory. "Danger in territory five cleared, I'll be back in position in ten minutes."

Hu Zifeng replied, "Risk in the territory is under control, no need to rush, stay safe."

Tan Junjie issued an announcement over the lord channel. "All lords, immediately reassign personnel to inspect the yellow-cork trees in your territories, immediately clear any yellow-cork-tree saplings that poke up, don't give the saplings a chance to flower. If they flower, report immediately."

"The inspection team has reported. Before military support arrives, we earnestly request lords of territory three, territory seven, territory one, and territory nine to provide emergency assistance."

Xia Qing, listed first by Tan Junjie, replied while running. "Copy that."

"Copy that." Zhang San acknowledged, and issued a warning. "The third wave of red hostile rain has ended, the rain is lessening, which means if any more hostile-evolved yellow-cork trees appear, the toxic gas will spread very quickly."

Damn it!

Xia Qing ran for her life through hostile grass taller than a person.

Luo Pei of territory one replied, "Ten speed-evolvers in territory one have switched to airtight protective suits, standing by at any time."

The moment Luo Pei's words fell, Li Si also replied calmly, "Territory nine has five people, can provide support."

Just as their voices faded, Shi Zhong sent out a call for help. "A flowering yellow-cork tree has appeared in territory ten, requesting support."

Li Si, who was closest to territory ten, replied calmly, "Report the exact location."

Immediately after, Zhao Mu of territory four sent out an accurate call for help. "Flowering yellow-cork trees have appeared in the north buffer forest and southwest corner of territory four, please support, Captain Luo."

Luo Pei replied, "Arriving in five minutes, both trees will be cleared by territory one."

"Many thanks, Captain Luo." Zhao Mu immediately replied.

Luo Pei took on the task of clearing territory four. Xia Qing headed straight back to her own territory, and before she could even catch her breath, she spotted over a dozen evolved water rats crawling out of the water onto the bank. She immediately raised her sniper rifle and began clearing the berserk invading animals.

The crisis triggered by the third wave of red hostile rain lasted all the way until one in the morning before it finally let up, giving the exhausted humans a chance to catch their breath.

Tang Huai, lying in the hostile grass, raised a trembling hand, pressed the walkie-talkie, and said in a hoarse voice, "The stars are out. To hell with the hostile rain, to hell with this Blue Star of ours. I'm alive again."

Xia Qing, standing beside the mountain of evolved water rat corpses, stared murderously at the two stars that kept twinkling in the fine drizzle.

Damn it, I'm alive too.