Chapter 522: Wanting to Enter Territory Three

The weather forecast was accurate. Xia Qing had just delivered pork to Ji Li at the north gate of the territory when the dark clouds overhead began to drop snowflakes.

Unlike the dirty yellow of the blight snow, this snow was white. Standing inside the territory, Xia Qing took off her protective mask and night-vision goggles and looked up. Snowflakes and the cold wind landed on her face together — bitterly cold, but it thrilled her.

Back home, Xia Qing told Lao Da the sheep, who was lying lazily by the fireplace, "Boss, it's snowing outside. Real snow, white. Want me to take you out to see it?"

White snow — Xia Qing hadn't seen it in three years, and two-year-old Lao Da had never seen it at all.

Lao Da glanced at Xia Qing, whose hands were empty but who was very excited, and kept his eyes half-closed as he lay by the fireplace chewing his cud, savoring the delicious potato skins he'd eaten that evening.

The snow fell unhurriedly all night long. Xia Qing got up every two hours to clear the snow from the greenhouse, the shed, and the roof, and confirmed that the snowfall's depth had exceeded fifteen centimeters.

Early the next morning, the snow had thinned a little but still hadn't stopped. Xia Qing told her two companions and Dajiang and Xiaojiang to watch over the territory together, while she herself trudged through snow that came up over her ankles, hurrying to the gathering point.

Walking on land covered in white snow felt completely different from walking on land covered in dirty yellow blight snow — Xia Qing felt she could even breathe more easily.

"Xia Qing!" Zhao Ze, who had been waiting outside the Thorn Gate for a long time, waved excitedly.

After the two met up, they chatted about the project's progress as they walked, linked up with allies from Territories Five, Six, Ten, and Fifteen, and headed toward the engineering vehicles parked on the eastern quarantine belt, talking and laughing along the way.

When Wen Nengjie from Territory Seventeen saw Xia Qing, he eagerly ran over to greet her, then tactfully stepped back. Just as Yang Jin had said, the people from Territory Seventeen were very obedient and hardworking after joining the mission, not daring to cause any trouble at all. With their addition, the project's progress sped up considerably.

After arriving at the foot of Hill Fifty, the four Strength Evolvers — Xia Qing, Shi Du, Qi Fu, and Yu Tao — got out of the vehicle, took up large iron shovels at least two to three times wider than a normal shovel, and took on the task of clearing snow from the uphill section of the road.

The engineering vehicles followed behind them, climbing the slope at a normal speed.

Everyone else also got out and walked up along the roadside. Hearing Zhu Li stared at Xia Qing's back for a moment, then quietly asked Yuan Yan and Shi Mu, "Auntie, sister-in-law, can you actually use shovels that big?"

Shi Mu, who had just become a Level Two Strength Evolver, shook her head. "I haven't tried. I don't think I could."

"I can use one for a while, but I can't keep it up for long," Yuan Yan replied. Among the Strength Evolvers executing the mission at the front of the vehicle, her husband Qi Fu had the lowest level, so he stood in the energy-saving spot closer to the roadside, shoveling snow. If Yuan Yan took that position, she definitely wouldn't be able to keep up with the others' pace.

The gap between Strength Evolvers of different levels was just too great.

Hearing Zhu Li muttered quietly, "If only I could awaken a Strength Evolution ability too."

For a farmer, Strength Evolution was more useful than any other ability. If she could become a Strength Evolver, the territory could hire fewer people and have fewer mouths to feed.

In the lead shoveling group, Shi Du shoveled snow and stones as he invited Xia Qing to team up. "Sister Qing, after we finish this mission, how about we team up to go hunting? I got a gun too."

Xia Qing didn't refuse. "I won't be free until the end of the month. If Shou-ge, Qi-ge, and sister-in-law are free then, let's all go together."

Xia Qing had promised to take Qi Fu and his wife to the Evolution Forest for a look, but this winter one thing had piled on another, and she had never managed to find the time.

"Great!" Qi Fu had been waiting for this day for a long time, and Yu Shou agreed readily. Hunting in a team in winter — if lucky, they might catch edible animals and improve their meals.

After reaching the work site, the four Strength Evolvers put down their shovels and switched to machetes, beginning to clear the small trees and large stones inside the quarantine belt.

Big trees were left to the excavator; clearing weeds, shrubs, and fallen leaves like pine needles on the ground was handled by ordinary people.

"Is that Territory Three's Lord Xia Qing?" Xia Qing, who was swinging her blade to chop trees, heard someone discussing her in a low voice.

The voices came from the high-danger zone inside the quarantine belt. The only ones who could enter the high-danger zone were the second echelon of the Disaster Elimination team, responsible for monitoring changes in the super-evolution fungi.

This echelon was made up of the Qinglong Squad and the scientific researchers from Territory Nine. Xia Qing had never heard either the man's or the woman's voice before, so they must be researchers from Territory Nine.

Xia Qing could hear their voices, which struck her as a little odd. Don't researchers all wear sealed protective suits and communicate by walkie-talkie? How could their voices carry out?

"Judging by the power she's putting out, she should be above Level Four. Among the young female Evolvers above Level Four who could take part in this mission, she should be the only one."

"The temperamental Teacher Fu actually let her be the manager of this mountain — it's really unbelievable." In truth, the speaker was sour about it.

"What's so unbelievable about that? The spinach grown in her territory suits Teacher Fu's taste."

They called the big shot Zhang San "Teacher" — could it be that they had studied under Zhang San?

Once the construction team's chainsaw buzz and the roar of machinery started up, Xia Qing could no longer hear those two talking. Taking the chance while tossing aside a small tree, she glanced toward the direction the voices had come from.

Two people wearing Level Three protective suits were crouching in the danger zone, taking soil samples from various spots. They wore Level Three rather than airtight protective suits, so they must be Evolvers with a certain level of combat ability.

Not far off stood two members of the Qinglong Squad, also in Level Three protective suits, carrying out guard and protection duties.

The people from Territory Nine were both members of the Disaster Elimination team and criminal suspects, so they needed to be guarded.

The two researchers switched positions and continued sampling, this time a little closer to Xia Qing.

"By the way, has the source of that spinach from Territory Three been figured out?"

This question interested Xia Qing very much too, and she listened carefully while working.

"No edible spinach has been found in any other territory. Sister Qiong speculates the spinach seeds were spread by birds or other animals that eat grass seeds. Her luck is really good." The speaker's voice was sour.

The other person picked up the thread. "The soil in her territory isn't bad. If she lets me into Territory Three, I won't even need a salary — I just want her to give me one-tenth of the vegetables and grain I grow. I'm confident I can raise the crop yield in her territory by at least twenty percent."

The other person's voice rose a little. "I'm willing too. This is way better than going to Red Eleven Base. Her territory has spinach, and I specialize in spinach cultivation. Once we improve the spinach's quality, we can use it to produce premium nutrient solution — that's a business that turns one into ten thousand."

It was only now that the expressionless Xia Qing understood: these two had said all this specifically for her to hear.

Want to get into my territory? And want me to come over and invite you myself? Hah.