Chapter 392: Giant Evolved Locust

To haul timber out of the No. 50 Thornwood Forest, the engineering vehicle had already cut a passage over five meters wide from the eastern isolation belt of this territory to the thornwood forest.

The road surface of this passage was in poor condition; the timber-hauling truck could drive on it without issue, but a dirt-hauling truck on a road like this would be jolted so badly that half the dirt would be lost from each load.

Zhao Ze stopped the vehicle and discussed it with Qi Fu. "It's almost six o'clock now, and we only have a little over an hour. There's no time for the digging shovel—let's go straight with the bulldozing blade, shall we? Shall we go get the bulldozing blade and mount it?"

"You find the tools, I'll go carry the bulldozing blade. Once it's mounted, you use the bulldozing blade to push in front, and I'll follow behind the vehicle to level it." Qi Fu pushed open the door and got out to carry the bulldozing blade stored in the truck bed.

When he reached the edge of the truck bed, Yu Shou—a Level 4 Strength Evolver standing on the rear bed in charge of rear defense—took the bulldozing blade straight up and handed it to Qi Fu. "Brother Qi, can you manage it?"

"Of course I can." Qi Fu took it with a smile. "I'm a Strength Evolver too—Level 2."

Qi Fu's Level 3 Strength Evolution had been triggered by an attack from a super evolution fungus. To avoid drawing attention, he told outsiders he was a Level 2 Strength Evolver.

Seeing that Qi Fu really could lift it, Yu Shou let go. "If you get tired, brother, just say the word. You come up to defend, and I'll go clear."

"I can't use a gun, so I can't do the defense job. Our two territories aren't far apart—let's visit often from now on." Qi Fu extended an invitation to Yu Shou.

He held the soldiers who guarded the safe zones in extremely high regard, so he felt great goodwill toward Territory No. 15, whose members were all veterans and whose lord was Tan Junjie's daughter.

Not just him—the other four lords of the Lord Alliance felt the same. So after Xia Qing proposed it, the alliance members unanimously agreed to invite Territory No. 15 to join the alliance.

Yue Haiying used the walkie-talkie to contact the lord's father, Tan Junjie, and after getting his permission, Territory No. 15 officially became the sixth member of the Lord Alliance. From now on, everyone could visit often.

South of Qi Fu's Territory No. 5 was Territory No. 10; east of Territory No. 10 was Territory No. 14; and east again of Territory No. 14 was Territory No. 15, where Yu Shou was.

Judging by geography, the two territories really weren't far apart, but they had never met before.

The main reason, of course, was the shortage of supplies during the disaster years and the scarcity of food. The lords were busy farming and had no time to wander or pay attention to the situation in other territories. On the other hand, it was because they belonged to different hazard-inspection squads and weren't on the same lord channel.

Territories No. 11 through No. 18 fell under the jurisdiction of Hazard Inspection Squad Five. Just like Territories No. 1 through No. 10, the lords of these eight territories also had a common lord communication channel. They talked more with each other, so naturally their relationships were closer.

So, although Territories No. 14 and No. 15 had passages on both their north and south sides, they entered and exited through the south gate, because outside the south gate were the lords they were relatively more familiar with.

This was just like Territory No. 10. Territory No. 10 also had passages on both its north and south sides, so it had north and south road signs. But Shi Chong's family was used to using the north gate.

Because north of Territory No. 10 was Territory No. 6, with Territory No. 5 on its left and Territory No. 7 on its right. They all belonged to the same lord communication channel and usually talked more. Shi Chong's familiarity with and trust in them was far higher than in their never-before-contacted southern neighbor—Territory No. 13.

Unlike Territory No. 10, Territory No. 2 used both its north and south gates. Because Tang Zhengpo's Territory No. 12 was southeast of Territory No. 2, Tang Huai and Tang Heng often went home to eat.

When Qi Fu, carrying the three-hundred-plus-jin bulldozing blade, walked to the front of the microtiller, Zhao Ze was already waiting with the tools, ready to mount it.

"Clack-clack-clack—"

Hearing that terrifying sound unique to the giant evolved locusts flapping their wings, Zhao Ze's brain hadn't yet had time to react when he heard Xia Qing, standing on the roof of the vehicle, say two words: "I'll handle it."

Then, Zhao Ze heard a "puff." An evolved locust as big as one and a half palms had been hit by something unknown; its wings stopped flapping and it crashed to the ground. The bristling spikes visible to the naked eye on the locust's small legs were still twitching, but green bodily fluid began to seep out of its body, staining the dirt an eerie color.

Winter was almost here, yet the giant evolved locusts actually hadn't died—were these a new evolved variety?

If bitten or kicked by a locust like this, the ordinary protective suit Zhao Ze was wearing would end up with several holes punched through it.

Zhao Ze waved the wrench in his hand toward Xia Qing on the vehicle roof. "Sister, great shooting—really accurate."

Thanks to Xia Qing for shooting the evolved locust, and thanks to the inspection squad for regularly clearing the isolation belt so these scary things couldn't fly into the territory.

Qi Fu's courage was a bit greater than Zhao Ze's, so he saw more clearly. "Xia Qing, you didn't use a gun, did you?"

"Steel pellets. That thing isn't worth wasting a bullet on. Brother Qi, Brother Zhao, speed it up." Xia Qing stood on the vehicle roof, a gun in her right hand and an eight-millimeter-diameter steel pellet pinched between the fingers of her left, urging Qi Fu and Zhao Ze to speed up.

The hand-flicked steel pellet attack method was something Xia Qing had only just practiced into shape over the past two months.

Before, she didn't have a gun, so for close-range attacks she used a machete to parry, and for long-range attacks she used a slingshot to counterattack. Now that she had a gun, when dealing with close-range attacks that didn't carry a high danger rating, there simply wasn't time to switch from handgun to slingshot, so Xia Qing began practicing hand-flicking steel pellets.

After soaking in the body-damage repair potion, Xia Qing's finger strength, flexibility, and control had all noticeably improved, and the speed and accuracy of her hand-flicked steel pellets had risen.

At a distance this close, let alone hitting a locust the size of two palms, even a mosquito the size of a fingernail—she could take it out in one strike.

"Got it." The Evolution Forest held danger at every step and risk at every moment; it was no human territory where one could stand around chatting. Zhao Ze and Qi Fu's faces reddened, and they immediately finished mounting the bulldozing blade and began pushing forward.

After Xia Qing showed off that move, Zhao Ze, who had been on edge, felt much steadier, and Qi Fu, following behind the vehicle with a big iron shovel to level the road, had steadier hands too.

Yu Shou glanced at the locust carcass in the roadside grass, already being dismembered by ants, and updated his understanding of Xia Qing's combat power.

He was retired; bullets had to be bought at a high price, and using a gun cost too much. He could also practice the hand-flicked steel pellet attack method.

After the microtiller pushed forward 1,000 meters and reached the edge of the thornwood forest, Xia Qing, standing on the vehicle roof, spotted a large tree that had fallen on the southeast side of the thornwood forest, and through the gaps between the trunks she could see someone chopping trees.

Without turning her head, Xia Qing used the walkie-talkie inside her protective mask to discuss with Yu Shou on the truck bed. "Brother Yu, there are people chopping trees three hundred meters to the southeast—probably from Territory No. 17. Go over and take a look? If there's any situation, call me immediately."

When two different teams met in the Evolution Forest, both vying for resources in the same area, it could easily come to a fight.

Territory No. 17 and Territory No. 15 belonged to the same lord communication channel and knew each other. Sending Yu Shou over to talk first would also help clarify the other side's intentions.

"Copy." Yu Shou jumped off the vehicle and headed southeast of the thornwood forest with his gun.