Chapter 476: Crisis at Mountain Fifty

The fur on the lead wolf's mouth was still stained with red blood—anyone could tell at a glance it had gone out to grab a meal. Before Xia Qing could even greet the lead wolf, the Broken-Waist Wolf trotted up, circled the lead wolf twice, then ran off into the blizzard alongside the Handsome Giant Wolf.

When Xia Qing turned back, she found the lead wolf lying on her cotton blanket—no, on the Handsome Giant Wolf's "cold-weather coat"—grooming its fur.

Standing quietly in the snow for half a minute, Xia Qing suddenly understood. "The Queen left Broken-Waist and Handsome Wolf Bro behind to protect me and Lao Er?"

If the Handsome Giant Wolf had come to protect the lead wolf, it would have gone hunting and eating with the lead wolf just now, instead of lying under the eaves the whole time and only going to find food after the lead wolf came back.

The lead wolf ignored Xia Qing and continued grooming its fur.

In great spirits, Xia Qing slowly went back inside, brought out a bowl of pollution-free spring water for the Queen to drink and rest, then went down to the garage basement and brought up more than ten Yellow Lantern sweet potatoes and a small half-bag of Yellow Lantern chestnuts, which she placed under the micro-tiller's cover, ready to clear the snow.

Xia Qing's micro-tiller runs on diesel, and because the wax in diesel congeals at low temperatures, it has to be preheated before starting. By the time she finished preheating and started the machine, Sheep Boss, who had been eating hay under the eaves, and Sick Wolf Lao Er, who had been resting in the house, immediately rushed to the front of the garage.

These two both love riding on the machine.

Xia Qing drove the micro-tiller into the yard and called out to the lead wolf under the eaves, "My lord, want a ride?"

The lead wolf glanced at the noisy machine and the three passengers on it, then turned its head away to show it wasn't interested.

Xia Qing laughed, skillfully drove the micro-tiller, used the bulldozer blade to push the snow in the yard out past the gate, then pushed the snow out of the village.

Hu Zifeng, who was on patrol, saw Xia Qing had actually come out and immediately hurried over. "How did you get out here? Can your body handle it?"

"Still weak all over, but driving is fine. I brought you sweet potatoes and chestnuts—you can roast them." Xia Qing rather laboriously handed the bags of sweet potatoes and chestnuts to Hu Zifeng.

"We brought food, we've already had breakfast." Hu Zifeng took the two bags, and only then realized just how weak Xia Qing—who had punched a wild boar to death with one blow last night—really was now. Still, the fact that Xia Qing could stand up the day after taking the Yi-element stimulant meant the side effects were already on the mild side.

After reporting on the farmland situation to Xia Qing, Hu Zifeng endured Sheep Boss's glare, Sick Wolf's low growl, and the lead wolf's stare from atop the nearby ruins, stepped forward, lowered his voice and asked, "You didn't turn on the lord's walkie-talkie, did you?"

Xia Qing shook her head. "No. Did something happen last night?"

"A little past three this morning, our captain, Teacher Tan, and Zhang San took down Territory Nine together. The gunfire last night was because someone inside Territory Nine resisted arrest, so they used force."

Xia Qing, in her weakened state, had reduced strength, hearing, and vision, and combined with last night's howling wind, she hadn't heard a thing about Territory Nine—only three territories away—being raided. "Did they get everyone?"

Hu Zifeng nodded. "Only Territory Nine's assistant Xiao Liu and a handful of others are left. Everyone else, including Lord Li Si, was caught, but six people escaped through the wild-grass wall of Territory Two and are being pursued now. Try not to go outside, and be careful—those people might do something desperate."

Before Xia Qing could respond, Zhang San's voice suddenly came through the lord's walkie-talkie on Hu Zifeng's belt. "Tan Junjie, are you there?"

Just hearing her idol's utterly serious tone, Xia Qing knew something major had happened and immediately listened intently.

After inspection team member Cao Xianyun replied that the captain was handling matters, Zhang San announced a shocking piece of news: "Two patches of Qi-evolution grass have sprouted on the southern slope of the third peak of Mountain Fifty. Visual estimate puts the total area at over five mu. The grass is already over 1.5 meters tall, and the colors are mainly deep red, deep purple, and deep brown. Because that area is covered by pine and other trees, it can't be detected from the air. Contact Tan Junjie and the other two inspection team captains for this territory immediately and get them all online."

Qi-evolution grass actually growing during a Qi-snow period with temperatures below minus twenty? Everyone who heard the news was shocked and afraid.

Cao Xianyun immediately replied, "Copy that."

Sure enough, something big had happened. Xia Qing's expression grew grave. "Those two patches should be the core area covered by the poison smoke after the gas bomb exploded last night. It's very likely the combined effect of residual gas and Qi-snow triggered the grass to grow."

"If it were only Qi-evolution grass growing, that would be easier to deal with—I'm just afraid other high-risk creatures will show up." Hu Zifeng frowned too. "Hurry back inside, don't separate from the lead wolf, and report any situation immediately."

Xia Qing knew that in her current state, being out here would only be a burden. "Captain Hu, take the micro-tiller to the fields to clear the snow."

"No need, we have plenty of people. Keep it for getting around yourself." With that, Hu Zifeng took the bags and turned to run toward the farmland.

Xia Qing simply drove the micro-tiller around and headed home.

Qi-evolution grass is the general term for Qi-evolved grasses formed after several generations of reproduction by various herbaceous plants whose internal Qi-element content exceeds the limit and undergoes Qi-evolution. When the Qi-element content in the air, soil, and water is high, Qi-evolution grass rapidly germinates, grows, flowers, and sets seed.

The rapid spread of Qi-evolution grass has three main known hazards:

First, it seizes the growing space and nutrients of ordinary plants, causing ordinary plants to die off in large areas. When ordinary plants die off in large areas, herbivores are forced to eat Qi-evolution grass, raising the risk of herbivores undergoing Qi-evolution and losing control, which in turn causes predators to lose control, triggering beast tides and a human food crisis.

Because at this stage, humans mainly obtain food by hunting and gathering in the Evolution Forests.

Second, Qi-evolution grass has a higher probability than ordinary plants of evolving into aggressive Qi-evolved plant forms, posing a threat to humans and other animals.

Third, in Evolution Forests that have not been cleared by humans, areas of dense Qi-evolution grass growth are also gathering spots for poisonous insects and harmful Qi-evolved microorganisms. Once these poisonous insects and harmful evolved microorganisms begin to spread outward, they will threaten the survival of other organisms.

"Third Brother, the three inspection team captains of Region One, Northern Territory, Hui-Three Base, are in position." Tan Junjie came online quickly. In the background noise, Xia Qing could still hear people wailing and cursing.

In an extremely serious tone, Zhang San briefed everyone on the current situation: "Qi-evolution grass that can grow at -25°C already qualifies as a dangerous evolved species, and the harmful microorganisms associated with its roots are very likely high-risk varieties. According to Article Four of the General Provisions of the 'Hua Nation Emergency Natural Disaster Response Law,' the sudden disaster at Mountain Fifty shall be commanded by Zhang San, head of the P3 Laboratory at Hui-Three Territory Seven—the nearest territory with disaster-clearing command authority. During the disaster-clearing period, I have the authority to mobilize all dispatchable forces at Hui-Three Base to eliminate the disaster as quickly as possible."

"All three captains, copy, please respond."

"Danger Inspection Squad Four Captain Ceng Quan, copy."

"Danger Inspection Squad Five Captain Ding Yongwei, copy."

"Danger Inspection Squad Six Captain Tan Junjie, copy."