Chapter 265: Plague of Insects

Hopefully Li Si, who came from the Blazing Fire Squad, will lose interest in Territory Three after testing last time's spinach and this time's chicken-dropping vine, letting Xia Qing farm in peace.

After watching Assistant Xiao Liu walk away, Xia Qing was about to return to her territory when she saw Tang Huai crawl out of the weeds again, proposing a trade. "Xia Qing, can you trade me one of your Green-Light White-Feather chicken-dropping vines? My stomach's been hurting these past few days. I want one with roots too, and I'll give you three hundred points the same. How about it?"

Xia Qing cast a calm glance at the little caterpillars wriggling atop Tang Huai's protective mask. "I didn't have much to begin with. If I dig up another one for you, what will my sheep eat? No deal."

What does this stinking woman mean? Saying he's fighting a crazy sheep over grass? Tang Huai held back, then gritted his teeth and raised the price. "I'll pay four hundred points!"

Xia Qing held up a finger and made a six. "If you insist on trading, you'll have to pay double the price. Six hundred."

Tang Huai bristled and stamped his foot. "You just traded one with Assistant Liu for three hundred. Why am I six hundred?!"

Xia Qing's face hardened, her voice turning colder and heavier. "My trade with Territory Nine had been under negotiation for a long time. After it was completed, the chicken-dropping vines became even scarcer. I don't want to trade anymore, so I raised the price. If you think it's too expensive, you don't have to trade."

Tang Huai jumped again. "You want me to give up, so I just give up? I won't—"

"Boss!"

Zhou Xun emerged from the wild-grass wall with three little caterpillars on his head, dragging Tang Huai back into the wall. "Boss, hurry up, Tang Dong is calling you home for dinner."

These two had been running their eavesdropping mission for over half a year, spending most of their time crouching in grass nests every day, and had already forgotten they could walk openly through the proper road.

Xia Qing stood quietly beneath the road sign, staring at the wild-grass wall of Territory Two.

Inside the wild-grass wall, Tang Huai cursed and grumbled while Zhou Xun quietly advised him. "Boss, keep your voice down. Those Green-Light spinach you traded at a high price last time already made the captain and vice-captain very unhappy. If you spend such a high price on a clump of grass this time and happen to anger them, what if they don't let us stay at the territory?"

"You think I want to do this? If they won't let me guard it, then forget it!"

Zhou Xun kept persuading him. "Boss isn't afraid, but have you forgotten why we came to this godforsaken place? What if they take it out on the Young Lady?"

At that, Tang Huai fell silent.

Xia Qing knew the "Young Lady" Zhou Xun mentioned was not Tang Lu, but Tang Huai's older sister, Tang Ning.

Before the Catastrophe, Tang Zhengsu had only been the manager of a small restaurant under the Tang Hotel Group, while the exceptionally capable Tang Ning was the Tang family's second-in-command, the undisputed Young Lady of the Tang family.

After the Blue Planet biological evolution, the Tang family reshuffled according to evolved abilities. The high-level speed evolver Tang Zhengsu rose to the peak of his life, and his daughter Tang Lu replaced Tang Ning as the "Young Lady of the Tang family."

It seemed there was some other deal behind Tang Huai leaving the safe zone to garrison Territory Two. Come to think of it, although the Tang Zhengpo family wasn't doing well now, they still had plenty to eat and drink. Tang Huai was definitely living more comfortably in the safe zone than in the territory, with no need to come out and suffer like this.

After she could no longer hear any sounds from inside Territory Two, Xia Qing pulled her gaze back from Territory Two's wild-grass wall and carefully inspected the wild-grass wall of her own territory.

Only then did she realize that at some unknown time, many little caterpillars had appeared inside the wild-grass wall, though not as exaggerated as those in Territory Two.

Pest control was a routine task in the territory. The Territory Management Department regularly issued insecticide, and Xia Qing sprayed once every ten days to kill various pests in the territory. She had last sprayed three days ago, and this batch of caterpillars was only two or three millimeters long—very weak—clearly hatched only last night or early this morning.

This batch of caterpillars was too numerous and had to be handled with caution. Xia Qing immediately began inspecting the territory and found that little caterpillars had burrowed out in the cultivated fields and the abandoned village, crawling upward in dense swarms.

The situation inside the greenhouses covered by insect nets was still fine, with hardly any caterpillars. Xia Qing breathed a sigh of relief. As she carried the sprayer toward the reservoir, she pressed the walkie-talkie button to report the caterpillar situation in her territory. "A large batch of caterpillars has hatched in the wild-grass wall and cultivated fields of Territory Three. Everyone should check the situation in your own territories as soon as possible. Captain Tan, the number of caterpillars in Territory Three is extremely high. If they're evolved insects, failing to eliminate them today will turn into a plague."

Tan Junjie replied seriously, "Received. We'll check immediately. All lords, please inspect and report the situation in your territories."

Qi Fu responded at once. "I didn't notice when I patrolled this morning. Going now to check."

"Oh my, the migratory birds are coming soon. We absolutely can't have bugs at this time." Kuang Qingwei panicked too and ran out to check his territory's wild-grass wall. The other territories also took action immediately.

Most birds feed on insects. If migratory birds passing by discover large numbers of caterpillars here, they will certainly land to eat and rest. Once the migratory birds gather, they will very likely catch the scent of the crops inside the greenhouses and damage the greenhouses by pecking at mung beans, corn, and sunflower seeds. In addition, the gathered migratory birds will attract carnivorous evolved animals that prey on migratory birds. After the migratory birds are startled and fly away, some hungry carnivorous animals will set their sights on humans as their hunting targets.

For many carnivorous animals, especially raptors, autumn is the season when they most need to build up fat reserves, but also the hardest season for hunting since the Blue Planet biological evolution.

In spring, all things sprout. Animals emerge from their hiding dens to seek mates, making it easy for hunters to catch prey.

In summer, large numbers of small animals are born. To feed their young, weak mother beasts have no choice but to leave their dens to forage. Then, very quickly, sweet, juicy cubs will pop out of the dens one after another. So Xia Qing's evolved forest is a paradise for hunters.

Although winter has fewer prey than spring and summer, because the vegetation in the evolved forest withers, small animals lose nature's protection and are easily spotted by hunters.

Autumn is the most troublesome. Because autumn vegetation is lush, and the grown cubs have also mastered the rules of survival and no longer run about recklessly. Raptors soaring high above find it very difficult to catch prey in the dense and colorful evolved forest. So many raptors, to fill their bellies, will hunt humans or animals raised by humans.

It's not just raptors. The wolf pack, skilled at hunting, has recently brought back prey from Territory Three, and some of it has shown up on the Red Light, indicating they're not having an easy time of it lately either.

Not a single hungry hunter will pass up the chance the migratory bird migration gives them to quickly fatten up for autumn. Wherever the migratory birds land, that is the battlefield.

Zhao Ze exclaimed, "It's not just the wild-grass wall in my territory—little caterpillars have appeared in the greenhouse too! Where did these bugs burrow out from? Huai-ge, do you know?"

Tang Huai, having nowhere to vent his anger, opened his mouth and cursed. "If I fucking knew, would I still be squatting here digging out bugs?"

Tang Zhengpo reprimanded his son. "Tang Huai, speak properly."

Tang Huai reined in his temper. "I didn't notice any when I was digging out bugs yesterday. When I saw more little caterpillars this morning, I figured it wasn't worth making a fuss over, so I didn't mention it."

Planting specialist Li Si spoke up. "Please, all lords, after you catch the larvae, send them to the road sign at my territory. I'll identify the caterpillar species right away."

"Got it, thanks, Fourth Sister."

"Received, thanks for your hard work, Fourth Sister."

The lords gave orders, responded, and expressed their thanks.