Chapter 438: Water Sample

"Okay." Xia Qing hung up the phone and told Xiao Jiang to wait at the north gate. Her stamina was low right now, so if she went to open the north floodgate, the people from Territory Seven would have to wait outside for quite a while.

"Xia Qing, not feeling well?"

Hu Zifeng, who had been resting, got the message, came out of his room, and saw Xia Qing's usually straight back now curled up almost into a ball. He was very worried: Could it be from eating too much snake meat?

Xia Qing, whose every sweat pore ached like needles stabbing her, straightened her back entirely by leaning on the energy from the premium nutrient solution and her willpower. "A little, but I can still hold on."

Since she said she could hold on, Hu Zifeng didn't ask further.

Soon, Yan Long, Ji Li, and a researcher in a snow-white airtight protective suit arrived. The reason they came so fast was that the researcher had been carried on Ji Li's back.

Ji Li set down the person he was carrying and introduced him to Xia Qing and Hu Zifeng. "This is Zhang Song, a researcher from Territory Seven."

Zhang Song, dizzy and nauseous from being jostled, held onto Ji Li's arm for a while before greeting Xia Qing. "Young Lady Xia, Third Brother sent me to examine the two domesticated beasts you captured."

Zhang Song?

So his surname is Song, but he tacked on a Zhang? This fake name is very much in Territory Seven's style—sloppy, just like the fake names Zhang San and Zhang He.

Yan Long also explained her purpose. "Take me to see the breach in the wire-net wall. The lord sent me to track down the source of the domesticated beasts."

Xia Qing had Er Yong take Yan Long, a level-nine olfactory Evolver, to search for the person who broke through the wire-net wall, and had Xiao Jiang bring out the two water rats and the equipment they carried, placing them on the table in the reception room of the small house by the farmland.

"The water rats were found in the reservoir. They weren't swimming fast, didn't look like they were hunting. This is the instrument and black tube carried by one water rat; the ones on the other rat were smashed. Song Ge, please take a look at what these are."

"Okay."

Zhang Song turned on the camera on his protective mask so Zhang San could see the scene.

Zhang Song opened his medical kit, took out a syringe, and injected the still-living water rat with anesthetic. While testing, he reported: "The external features and teeth match those of the water shrew, family Soricidae, order Insectivora. Body lengths are 22.5 cm and 27 cm respectively. Based on size, they can be preliminarily identified as mid-level or above Evolved species. Each water shrew is equipped with an inserted weak-electricity controller; this is the insertion hole."

Xia Qing leaned in for a closer look and only then noticed that the still-living water rat had a small red blood spot on each side of its neck.

A weak-electricity controller is a device that uses electric shocks to direct animals to act according to human commands. Xia Qing had only seen collar-type weak-electricity controllers before; this was her first time seeing an inserted type.

The cruelty of a controller that inserts electrified contacts directly into an animal's body goes without saying.

"Controller current is 0.8A." After completing the current test, Zhang Song began examining the two black tubes. "Water sampling tube, can be remotely operated to take samples."

After Zhang Song finished testing, Zhang San asked weakly, "Xia Qing, are there any large aquatic creatures in the reservoir?"

Xia Qing answered immediately, "No. After the reservoir was cleared out by the lightning strike, I haven't spotted any large aquatic creatures."

Even the evolved leeches that used to leap up and attack her when she drew water—Xia Qing hadn't seen those in a long time.

Zhang San instructed his assistant, "Xiao Song, use the underwater robot to check whether anything has been installed or placed in the reservoir."

"Okay." Zhang Song took the underwater robot out of the backpack Ji Li had carried, hooked a rope clasp onto the ring on top of the robot, and lowered it into the water.

Xia Qing had also never seen this kind of device before. Though it was called a robot, it was really just a rectangular box about half a meter long, wide, and tall, with two sleds on the bottom.

Zhang Song went to the water's edge, lowered the device in, and began testing.

Chen Cheng reported over the walkie-talkie, "Sister Qing, Sister Yan discovered that the one who broke through the wire-net wall was from Territory Nine. This person entered Territory Four from the south thorn wall and has already returned."

"Okay." Xia Qing immediately reported the situation to her idol.

Zhang San responded, clearly watching the underwater robot's monitoring feed in real time through the camera Zhang Song was carrying, and unable to spare attention for anything else.

Xia Qing also endured the pain and squatted nearby, watching intently. Seeing Xia Qing really struggling, Hu Zifeng dragged over a section of wooden stump for her to sit on.

After nearly an hour, the testing was complete. After confirming the two water rats hadn't released anything into the water, Zhang San discussed with Xia Qing: "Based on the black tubes the water rats carried, Territory Nine wanted to obtain water samples from Territory Three's reservoir to test the water quality."

Xia Qing, whose territory had an unpolluted spring, felt a chill of dread. "Third Brother, what do you think we should do about this?"

Zhang San was also cautious. "Last December, I tested the water quality at various points along this river and found no abnormalities. If you agree, I'll have Xiao Song turn on the underwater robot's water-quality sensors right now and test the water again."

Xia Qing didn't hesitate at all. "That's fine. Sorry to trouble you, Song Ge."

After obtaining the Yi-element detector, Xia Qing had tested water samples from different depths and locations in the reservoir—especially near the low-slope planting area—and found no abnormalities.

This meant that after the unpolluted spring water from the northern buffer forest flowed through the underground area of the low-slope planting area, it didn't flow into the reservoir but seeped deeper down.

So, testing the water quality in the reservoir within her territory wouldn't reveal the secret that she had a spring on her land.

The underwater robot stopped at different locations and depths in the reservoir to take samples. The test results were quickly transmitted to the laptop Zhang Song carried, and the data on the screen kept refreshing.

The process was boring and soporific. Xia Qing pinched her own thigh hard several times before she managed to stay awake and not doze off.

Half an hour later, Zhang Song reported to Zhang San, "The pH, turbidity, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and Qiang-Yi two-element content of water samples from various points in Territory Three's river and reservoir show no significant differences from the data measured within Territory Seven."

"That's enough. Retrieve the robot and save the testing video and results." After giving the researcher his orders, Zhang San discussed with Xia Qing: "Shan Ying is very stubborn. Your territory has too few people, so achieving 24-hour monitoring with no blind spots is very difficult. I'll give her the water-quality test report and video from just now to clear her suspicions about your territory, and then she won't send people to watch you every day."

Though it felt a bit stifling, Xia Qing's strength was no match for theirs, so she could only keep a low profile for now. "That's fine. Sorry to trouble you, Third Brother."

Zhang San yawned and went on, "The Blaze Squad is very difficult to deal with. Making a big fuss out of this won't do you much good—the Territory Management Department's punishment is nothing more than a light drizzle to the Blaze Squad. So, the best option is not to alert the investigation team and just have them compensate you for your losses directly. What do you think?"

With insufficient strength, Xia Qing could only swallow her anger and agree with her idol's suggestion. "Third Brother's right. Compensation is the most practical. I'd like one jin of green-light soybeans. Do you think that could work?"

Zhang San snorted. "One jin wouldn't even cover the equipment usage fee. Five jin. Three jin for you, two jin for me, and we'll ask for a few rare herbs on the side."