Chapter 289: Lightning Strikes Within Territory Three

Shortly after the two men walked past Xia Qing's hiding spot with their weapons, a flash of lightning lit up, and Xia Qing quickly snapped a photo with her phone as evidence.

The two men had entered the territory without permission, violating the Territory Law and constituting the crime of illegal intrusion. With Xia Qing's abilities, she could have drawn her gun and killed them both.

But according to legal procedure, the lord, while ensuring her own safety, should first warn them to leave; only if the illegal intruders refuse to exit the territory and cease their infringing behavior may the lord resort to force.

If Xia Qing skipped the warning step and killed them outright, and it was recorded by the cameras or audio devices on their persons, Jiang Xiong's squad would certainly seize on it and never let go.

So Xia Qing chose not to show herself, and set a trap for them to walk into.

The two men followed the road and soon reached the small courtyard where Xia Qing lived. Seeing that the yard had one more western room than in the video, they froze for a moment before stepping inside and heading straight for the sheep pen.

After confirming no one was around, the two slowly pushed open the half-closed door. Through their night-vision goggles, they saw that one side of the sheep pen held several bundles of dry hay, while the other side had a large cage-shaped object covered with a straw curtain. Though they couldn't see what was inside, on the ground beneath the large cage were two piles of wolf droppings!

The two men from Jiang Xiong's squad got excited, and one of them took out his phone.

"Owwww—"

After the phone emitted a wolf howl call and no sound came from the cage, one of them felt something was off. "Brother Xi, why isn't there any movement at all? Could the wolf really have run off?"

Zhang Xi said quietly, "Didn't you see the wolf droppings? It might have been drugged and can't move. Let's go in and take a look."

"I'm afraid it's a trap."

"What's there to be afraid of? That woman in the territory is in the little hut by the field. Let's go."

When the two entered the sheep pen and carefully approached the cage with their stun batons drawn, Xia Qing slammed the door shut with a bang and locked it.

Once they were trapped inside the building, it was no longer just the crime of illegal intrusion.

The two men in the sheep pen panicked and tried to kick a hole in the back wall to escape, but they hadn't expected the pen to be built so solidly. They weren't strength-type Evolvers either, and after several kicks they still couldn't break through.

"Break the door and get out! That woman must have contacted the Inspection Squad. If we're caught, we're done. Move aside!" Zhang Xi pulled out his gun and, bang bang, shot the lock chain apart—then froze.

In the torrential rain, Tan Junjie, his gun trained on the two men, called out sternly, "Your actions have already violated the law. The Inspection Squad is now placing you under arrest. Anyone who resists will be shot dead on the spot."

Faced with the choice between being shot dead and being captured, Zhang Xi and the other man immediately dropped their weapons and raised their hands, choosing the latter through their actions.

Xia Qing, hidden in the shadows, curled up the corners of her lips. According to the Territory Law, privately breaking into a lord's dwelling to commit sabotage or theft is a serious crime, punishable by over ten years of forced labor.

Given the intensity of forced labor and the current harsh conditions, let alone ten years—few could last even three. This was the true death sentence with reprieve—a slow death.

This way of dying was far more fitting than shooting them with one bullet: it saved ammunition and let them contribute to the base's construction. Two birds with one stone.

After Tan Junjie led the team in escorting the two men out, Su Ming, walking at the rear, said quietly to Xia Qing, "Sister Qing, you don't know what happened in Territory Two yet, do you? Kou Fanming of the Sufeng Squad got struck by lightning!"

Hmm? Heaven really had eyes!

Xia Qing asked quietly, "Did he die?"

"Not yet." Su Ming winked at Xia Qing. "These two criminals were discovered by our Inspection Squad, tracked in, and caught. Sister Qing was guarding by the farmland the whole time and doesn't know anything."

"Understood, thanks." Xia Qing accepted the Inspection Squad's goodwill.

The Inspection Squad's arrangement was not only to prevent Xia Qing from being retaliated against by Jiang Xiong's squad, but also for their own benefit.

Jiang Xiong's squad had over a hundred members and ranked fifth in combat power. They wouldn't dare act against Xia Qing inside her territory, but if Xia Qing entered the safe zone or the Evolution Forest, she could be ambushed. So if Xia Qing pretended to know nothing, Jiang Xiong's squad's fury wouldn't all burn onto her.

On the other hand, if the dangerous Inspection Squad let outsiders break into a territory, the higher-ups investigating would consider it dereliction of duty. Conversely, if they discovered the intruders and tracked them into the territory to arrest them, that was a perfect completion of the mission.

For her own good and for the Inspection Squad's good, the honest farming Level-4 strength-type Evolver Xia Qing naturally knew nothing at all.

After watching Tan Junjie's squad escort the prisoners out of the territory, Xia Qing immediately went to the small hut beside the farmland to meet up with Ram Boss and report the situation. "The intruders have been taken away by Captain Tan and his team. You rest. I'll go patrol and see if the greenhouses are leaking."

After speaking, Xia Qing sent a message to Hu Zifeng saying the two men in Territory Three had already been captured.

Hu Zifeng replied quickly: Jiang Xiong's squad had been putting on a show outside Mountain Forty-Nine, but hadn't entered.

Xia Qing deduced that Jiang Xiazi was certain the tamed wolf was inside Territory Three, so he had split his forces into two routes. One route openly drew the attention of the Azure Dragon Squad, preventing them from sending people to reinforce Territory Three; the other route secretly sent people to infiltrate Territory Three to steal the wolf.

Their plan was good, but they had underestimated the strength of Territory Three's lord.

Xia Qing took a sip of spring water and was about to put on her protective mask and head out, when Ram Boss firmly blocked her way.

Just as Xia Qing was about to coax it, she saw a bolt of lightning strike the open ground beside the planting greenhouse on the northern buffer forest's low slope!

Striking the open ground wasn't the end of it—the lightning, like a fire dragon, raced down the slope into the reservoir and triggered a violent explosion. The splashes thrown up were over six meters high, and the water in the reservoir immediately boiled and churned, surging over the dam.

Xia Qing hugged Ram Boss's head and stared at the scene, dumbfounded.

This was the closest she had been to lightning in the ten years since the catastrophe.

Her ears were ringing. That was freaking terrifying!

She wasn't going out. Until the thunderstorm completely stopped, she would stay inside the house and not go anywhere.

"Territory Three, Xia Qing, you alright? Where did that lightning hit? Why was it so loud?" The nosy Tang Huai immediately asked.

Xia Qing pressed the button. "It hit the reservoir."

Zhao Ze followed up immediately. "I was wondering why the water in the river suddenly looked like it was boiling over. Xia Qing, is your greenhouse by the reservoir okay?"

Xia Qing replied, "It must have been hit by the waves. I'll have to wait until the storm stops to know the exact damage."

Qi Fu, worried something had happened to Xia Qing, said, "Right, don't go now. Everyone's staying inside buildings with lightning rods. Wait until the storm passes. This lightning is too fierce."

Kuang Qingwei prayed, "Hope it doesn't turn into damaging rain, otherwise there really won't be many seedlings left."

Contrary to the others, Tang Huai was excited. "The fish and loaches in the reservoir must have been electrocuted! Xia Qing, after the storm passes, let me come help you gather the fish? You definitely can't handle it alone."

Was Tang Huai this excited because he wanted to gather fish, or because the lightning struck Kou Fanming and he was gloating?

Xia Qing pressed the button and refused outright. "No need."