Chapter 414: Using Poison

Actually, Xia Qing really wanted to ask her idol who else he had called about this question. But her idol was sleepy, so Xia Qing didn't dare disturb him—she wished him goodnight briskly and hung up.

Why wouldn't she dare?

Before, she was afraid of being blocked by her idol. Now, besides fearing being blocked, she also feared that if her idol got upset, he'd send an evolved rat to wander around her territory a couple of times.

If Tang Zhengsu found out that Territory Seven had sent out an evolved rat, he might send a banner of merit to whoever blew up his plane…

Who should Territory Two's banner of merit go to?

Xia Qing munched on her flatbread, used the process of elimination, and was left with only one option: the ruthless, tight-lipped Territory Eight lord, Xin Yu.

Her talking brain-domain evolved raven was perfectly suited for carrying out such covert missions in the dark.

After Xia Qing finished her flatbread, the phone rang again. This time, the caller was Yang Jin.

From the background sounds, Xia Qing figured out that Yang Jin was inside the Evolution Forest. She could hear the howling of fierce wind sweeping through the dense trees, so Yang Jin was probably standing behind a large wind-blocking boulder when he called her.

Yang Jin looking for her at this hour must mean something especially important.

Sure enough, after one polite exchange, Yang Jin got to the point. "An evolved bear on Mountain Fifty was injured by a refugee squad and poisoned by a qiang snake. If we don't detox it, this bear definitely won't survive this year's qiang snow. Once it loses control and goes berserk into our territory and gets killed, it'll enrage Xiong Qun, so we need to detox it."

Yang Jin was a top-tier speed evolver—the best candidate to go to Mountain Fifty to stop the refugee squad from hunting the bear. Xia Qing guessed he'd go, but she hadn't expected Sufeng to be this ruthless, using poison on the bear!

Xia Qing asked directly, "How many leaves do you need?"

Yang Jin was contacting her now to get the detoxifying qiangwu grass.

"Five leaves. Cut them and pack them up, leave them outside the north gate. I'll send Hu Zi Feng to pick them up." Yang Jin told Xia Qing his arrangements. "Territory Two has already sent out a scout bird. Hu Zi Feng will post an extreme weather announcement in the lord channel soon. Drop your rainproof cloth first, then cut the leaves."

Once the rainproof cloth was lowered, people outside and the monitoring equipment on the scout bird wouldn't be able to see what Xia Qing was doing inside the shed.

"Got it." Xia Qing asked, "Still cutting from the first plant, right? At least keeping one plant safe guarantees no problems."

The qiangwu grass belonged to both of them, so they had to discuss it.

"Got it." Yang Jin told Xia Qing who would pay the points for this antidote. "I'll have Liehuo and Sufeng pay triple compensation for our losses. In the six-person refugee squad, two of them are from the Liehuo Squad."

Xia Qing's anger flared. She asked in a low voice, "Whose helicopter was it from Territory Two?"

Hearing Xia Qing ask that, Yang Jin knew the Territory Two helicopter wasn't hers. "My inside man in the Sufeng Squad hadn't even made a move yet when the plane blew up…"

Yang Jin looked at the surveillance footage his subordinate handed him and told Xia Qing, "The scout bird sent to Mountain Sixty-One sent back surveillance footage. Two evolved bears have already come down the mountain and are heading south."

"I'm setting out right now!" After Xia Qing hung up, she told Sick Wolf and Sheep Boss to hold down the fort. She shouldered her rifle and back basket, headed out, and began patrolling her territory.

When she reached the edge of the big shed, Hu Zi Feng posted his announcement:

"Everyone, cold air masses have appeared to the northwest and northeast of our territory. Based on the current wind direction and speed, the cold air masses will very likely meet above our territory and trigger localized low temperatures within the next 4-10 hours. The temperature drop may exceed 10°C. Please take precautions."

During the Year of Disasters, localized sudden extreme weather occurred frequently. Territory One, which possessed meteorological monitoring equipment, often posted well-intentioned reminders in the lord channel, doing its best to prevent everyone's crops from being damaged by hail, heavy rain, gale-force winds, and other extreme weather.

Xia Qing stopped, looked up at the sky, and glanced toward the airspace above Territory Two. Pitch black—she couldn't tell whether there were scout birds up there.

"Goodness, a 10°C drop?" Zhao Ze was the first to cry out in alarm. "Brother Qi, can our wheat seedlings and rapeseed handle that?"

Qi Fu answered, "Just to be safe, everyone should lower their rainproof cloth. With the rainproof cloth blocking the wind, the inside of the shed will be a few degrees warmer than outside."

Territory Fifteen's agent, Yue Haiying, asked for advice. "Brother Qi, we still have a plot here whose shed isn't finished. Can we just lay the rainproof cloth directly on the ground?"

Kuang Qingwei was surprised. "When did Brother Yue get in here?"

Yue Haiying laughed and explained, "I wanted to say hello to everyone this evening, but I never found the right moment. Since none of us in Territory Fifteen really know what we're doing, I shamelessly squeezed in to learn farming techniques from everyone."

Too many things had happened tonight—Yue Haiying had indeed picked an awkward time to join.

"Welcome, Brother Yue." Zhao Ze was the first to offer an enthusiastic welcome.

After Xia Qing, Kuang Qingwei, and Shi Zhong also offered their welcomes, Qi Fu answered Yue Haiying's question. "Rainproof cloth isn't breathable. Laying it directly on the ground might smother the seedlings. Brother Yue, it's best to cover the ground with dry grass and weigh it down with sticks or bricks—just don't let the big wind blow the grass away."

Yue Haiying asked, "Got it. Would grass curtains work? Our grass curtains haven't had the rainproof cloth put over them yet."

Winters at Hui San Base were damp and rainy. The grass curtains covering the greenhouse plastic film needed a layer of rainproof cloth over them for rain and moisture protection.

If they weren't covered, the grass curtains would absorb water, swell, and become heavy—not only inconvenient to roll up and put down every day, but they might also crush the shed.

Qi Fu answered, "That works."

Xia Qing had planted two and a half mu of wheat and one mu of rapeseed—four sheds in total, all built back in summer. After she lowered the rainproof cloth on each shed one by one, she put on a show of asking, "Brother Qi, are fruit trees sensitive to cold?"

Qi Fu answered, "Fruit trees are more cold-resistant than wheat seedlings and rapeseed, but taking some cold-protection measures certainly won't hurt."

"Got it." Xia Qing replied, and began lowering the rainproof cloth on the low-slope shed.

Li Si came online. "Xia Qing, you have fruit trees in your territory?"

Xia Qing rolled her eyes and answered calmly, "Didn't Assistant Liu mention it to you? I traded for flower pepper and passion fruit seedlings at the summer agricultural products fair."

Li Si's voice was cool and clear. "Perhaps it was mentioned. Passion fruit isn't cold-hardy—you need to take thorough protective measures."

Xia Qing seized the chance to ask for advice. "Thank you, Sister Si. Do you know how to protect passion fruit from the cold?"

"You can build an insulated shed and cover it with insulating material…"

To the sound of Li Si's explanation, Xia Qing lowered the rainproof cloth on the low-slope shed, quickly moved the stone blocking the spring cave entrance, cut five qiangwu grass leaves, put them into a test tube, and sealed the cap tight.

Then she continued walking up. After lowering the rainproof cloth on the high-slope shed, she patrolled the high slope and placed the test tube, tucked inside a small black pouch, at the designated spot.

After she got home, Xia Qing received a message from Yang Jin: after the two bears left Mountain Sixty-One, the Head Wolf and the Broken-Waist Wolf, leading more than twenty wolves, had entered the giant python's territory.