Chapter 628: Red Killing Grass and Evolved Pathogens

Xia Qing steadied herself, held her breath, and pressed forward despite the discomfort her magnetic sense brought her. She wanted to see exactly what these little things, barely two centimeters out of the ground, could do!

Crossing the isolation zone to reach the edge of the high-danger zone, Xia Qing picked up a stone and threw it at the bright red little grass. The grass bent under the stone, no anomaly. Either it wasn't in the brewing-and-eruption stage of its killing evolution, or this grass's evolution wasn't a physical attack.

She immediately dug up the nearest little grass together with the soil at its roots, placed it in a sample box, and put it away. Then she flew up five hundred meters to the entrance of Xiong Dong, and without landing, shouted toward Yue Haiying, "Brother Yue, don't approach within two hundred meters of the high-danger zone."

Those killing grasses, once they grow bigger, may evolve chemical attack methods.

Yue Haiying shouted back, "Understood, be careful!"

Xia Qing rode her personal flight unit back to the territory. Seeing Ji Li waving at her on the northern isolation belt, she immediately landed on the northern isolation belt.

After Ji Li's inspection, Xia Qing brought the sample into Territory Three. When handing it to Yan Long beside Zhang San, she gave Zhang San a slight wave of her phone.

Zhang San naturally saw Xia Qing's action. After entering the lab, he opened his phone and took a look, stunned for half a second.

Zhang San moved fast. In less than ten minutes, he came out holding two test reports. "The harm of this bright red killing grass hasn't been detected yet, but the OS-methyl thiophosphonate remaining in that soil, acting together with the killing rain, induced the Salmonella in the soil to evolve and reproduce rapidly."

Zhang San pushed his glasses up with the report, and calmly gave orders: "The high-danger zone needs to be sprayed with bactericide immediately, and rainwater flowing out of the high-danger zone also needs to be disinfected as soon as possible. Xia Qing, how many round trips does your personal flight unit's fuel allow?"

"Not enough for one round trip." A personal flight unit burns 45 liters of fuel per 10 kilometers — it's basically a fuel-guzzling monster.

Zhang San asked Ji Li, "Is there any aviation fuel left in the territory?"

Personal flight units and helicopters use the same fuel.

After Ji Li nodded, Zhang San immediately ordered, "Go fetch enough fuel for two round trips and bring it to Xia Qing."

After Ji Li left, Zhang San asked Xia Qing again, "Do you know how to spray with a drone?"

Xia Qing shook her head. "No."

Zhang San immediately instructed Zhang He, "Send Er Ying out immediately, to rush to the high-danger zone."

After Zhang He nodded and left, Zhang San finally said to Xia Qing, "Take the drone and the chemicals and fly over. First disinfect the pond below the heavy-pollution zone. After Er Ying arrives, operate the drone to disinfect the danger zone. Use the drinking water stored inside Xiong Dong. Stay safe."

"Understood." Stored drinking water, of course, meant the spring water in the hidden valley. Right now the killing rain was falling — open-air water sources couldn't be used directly. Xia Qing quietly negotiated with her idol, "Third Brother, may I trade you for some defensive chemicals or protective mask filters? Yue Haiying and the other two are stationed at Xiong Dong and need more equipment."

Pale and greenish-faced Zhang San shot a look at the foolishly grinning Xia Qing, turned around, and went back into the lab.

Although her idol said nothing, Xia Qing knew the deal was done. When she followed Zhang Song to fetch the chemicals, she listened as he kept muttering about the dangers of the evolved Salmonella. Actually, Xia Qing had already learned all this knowledge many times over with Broken-Waist Wolf and had it memorized, but she didn't interrupt Zhang Song.

"... Ordinary Salmonella entering an animal's body causes abdominal pain, vomiting, arthritis, meningitis; evolved Salmonella entering an organism quickly causes multi-organ failure; infection with super-evolved Salmonella will cause irreversible damage to the body..."

Zhang Song solemnly handed the chemicals to Xia Qing. "Evolved pathogens are reproducing rapidly, polluting soil and water sources, and inducing killing grass. Our territory is downstream of Mountain Fifty. Once sewage containing super-pathogenic bacteria flows into the territory along the river, the consequences would be unthinkable. Young Lady Xia, I'm counting on you."

"Don't worry, Brother Song. The drainage ditches and sewage pits in the heavy-pollution zone were built by me and my people. Even if the killing rain pours for three days and three nights straight, not a single drop of polluted water will leak out." Xia Qing calmly took the chemicals and the large case containing the drone. As she stuffed them into her backpack, Yan Long came over carrying a black bag and handed it to Xia Qing.

"These are defensive supplies from the Lord. Stay safe."

"Don't worry, Sister Yan." Xia Qing stuffed the supplies into her backpack, went outside, stepped onto the fuel-filled personal flight unit, and didn't head straight for Mountain Fifty. Instead, she first made a trip back to Territory Three, then rushed toward Mountain Fifty.

After watching Xia Qing fly off, Yan Long returned to the inner room of the monitoring room and took out her protective mask. Huo Zhun was puzzled. "Why are you putting on a protective mask?"

Yan Long calmly asked, "Didn't you hear just now why the Lord said the high-danger zone on Mountain Fifty mutated?"

The monitoring room could pick up sound. Huo Zhun thought for a moment. "Something about an acid ester acting together with killing elements?"

Yan Long glanced at him. "He used an abbreviation. The full name is O-ethyl-S-(2-diisopropylaminoethyl) methyl thiophosphonate — that's VX nerve agent."

Huo Zhun didn't understand the chemical name, but he certainly knew the famous VX nerve agent, hailed as one of the deadliest chemical weapons. Still, "The VX agent is in the experimental zone on Mountain Fifty. Why are you putting on a protective mask?"

Yan Long was too lazy to explain. She put on the protective mask and walked straight out.

Huo Zhun scratched his head. Could VX agent have a smell? And could that smell drift over from this far? That's insane...

On her way flying toward the Third Peak of Mountain Fifty, Xia Qing saw someone in a protective suit running quickly along the edge of the valley between Mountain Fifty and Mountain Forty-Nine.

No need to ask — this must be the speed evolver Third Brother sent from Territory Seven, Er Ying.

Xia Qing arrived first despite leaving later. When she landed at the entrance of Xiong Dong, the killing rain, which had paused for over half an hour, started pouring down again. Xia Qing shook the water off herself. After entering Xiong Dong, she handed the black bag Yan Long had given her to Yue Haiying. "These are three new protective masks. Brother Yue, you all switch to them. That red killing grass has already developed aggressive killing evolution and may release toxic gas."

Yue Haiying took the protective masks and asked, "The killing rain has started again, and the killing elements are still climbing. Can we still spray with the drone?"

"No." Using a drone to spray during rain not only reduces flight efficiency, causes mechanical failures, and creates visual and communication problems — the sprayed chemicals also get quickly washed away by the rain, failing to kill the evolved pathogens.

"It's about to reach red level!" Yu Shou, standing under an umbrella outside Xiong Dong, collecting rainwater to test the killing element content, shouted.

Xia Qing's and Yue Haiying's brows furrowed at the same time.

In red-level killing rain, both the killing grass that may have developed chemical attack capability and the evolved pathogens will grow and reproduce rapidly!