Chapter 629: Class B Toxic Gas

"In another ten-plus minutes, the Harmful Rain level will rise to red grade, lasting over half an hour." Yue Haiying finished reading the message he received, put away his phone, and after once again confirming his new protective mask was properly worn, his gaze hardened. "Xia Qing, contact Third Brother immediately and ask if we can brave the rain to clear the Harmful Grass now."

Yue Haiying, who frequently carried out high-risk missions in the Evolution Forest, understood better than Xia Qing just how terrifying the consequences would be if the Harmful Grass—which had already developed aggressive Harmful Evolution hazards over a large area—was drenched by red-grade Harmful Rain for half an hour.

He had already prepared himself to let Xia Qing take Dazi and retreat, while he and Yu Shou stayed behind to face the natural disaster.

Xia Qing, who had long been prepared, dialed Zhang San's number while calmly giving orders. "Brother Yue, head into the valley right away and bring out all the spare wooden stakes fitted with Yishi. Brother Yu, open the room on the left and bring out the rain tarps, iron poles, and ropes. Split them into two sets and haul one set up to the high-risk area first."

"Copy that." Yue Haiying and Yu Shou immediately acknowledged and went to move the supplies.

Once the call connected, before Zhang San could speak, Xia Qing began. "Third Brother, red-grade Harmful Rain is about to fall on the high-risk area. Can we install the Yishi you told me to bring over first, so the high-risk area won't be affected by the red Harmful Rain? Apply the pesticide after this round of Harmful Rain passes?"

The Yishi I told you to bring over?

Zhang San was silent for a full five seconds before saying, "Go ahead. You must pay close attention to safety."

"Understood! Don't worry, Third Brother." Xia Qing immediately pulled three walnut-sized pieces of Yishi and one pigeon-egg-sized piece of Yishi from her backpack, split them in half with a knife, and wedged them into the holes at the top of the wooden stakes Yue Haiying had brought out.

Yue Haiying, who had already prepared for the worst, was stunned. So many Yishi—this precious resource—brought out in one go…

Zhang San really is a big shot.

Xia Qing took out two "construction diagrams" of the high-risk area from her backpack and showed them to Yue Haiying and Yu Shou. "I'll throw the Yishi stakes according to the blue dots first. You two follow the red lines on the diagram and pull the ropes to secure the rain tarps. It must be done in ten minutes. Move out!"

Only after studying the work diagram did Yue Haiying understand the purpose of the twenty-plus giant boulders around the high-risk area.

Xia Qing shouldered the rain tarps, ropes, and frames to be hauled to the high-risk area below the Third Peak, hugged the wooden stakes fitted with Yishi, and charged into the Harmful Rain. Xia Qing used a javelin-throwing technique to hurl the pointed wooden stakes, driving them into the blood-red Harmful Grass that had already grown knee-high in the high-risk area.

Then, she handed this section over to Yue Haiying and Yu Shou, and herself charged toward the lower danger zone carrying supplies. Er Ying, who had rushed over from Territory Seven to handle pesticide application by drone, saw Xia Qing busy at work and joined the emergency rescue team without a word.

Four people and seven hands—together they managed to cover the entire high-risk area, nearly five mu in total, with enormous rain tarps just before the red-grade Harmful Rain came down.

The newly split Yishi continuously released Yishi elements outward, reducing the concentration of Harmful elements in the atmosphere within their effective range to nearly zero. Xia Qing could clearly sense the magnetic field of the Harmful Grass weakening. It could be inferred that the evolving pathogens rapidly multiplying and evolving in the soil had also calmed down.

"Sister Qing, there's still a patch of Harmful Grass growing in the northwest corner of the upper zone. It's already put out flower buds and is about to bloom. Should I just pull them out?" The moment Xia Qing breathed a sigh of relief, Yu Shou's voice came through her walkie-talkie.

"Leave it to me. You and Brother Yue retreat to Xiong Dong immediately." Xia Qing ordered, then ran through the rain to the danger zone only five hundred meters from Xiong Dong. She opened the rain tarp, quickly located the Harmful Grass whose buds had begun to open, and threw half a pigeon-egg-sized piece of Yishi at it—at the same moment, she noticed the red light on her arm-mounted air toxin detector had come on.

Harmful Grass was already releasing toxic gas outward!

Xia Qing quickly glanced at the dial of the toxin detector on her arm, pulled two toxic gas adsorption cartridges from her pocket and stuck them onto the rain tarp frame, then sealed the rain tarp shut. Even if the rain tarp couldn't block the toxic gas from spreading outward, it could at least stop the red-grade Harmful Rain from flowing into the high-risk area.

She had done everything she could. If even this couldn't curb the Harmful Grass evolution, they would just have to wait until this round of red-grade Harmful Rain passed before figuring out another way.

After returning to Xiong Dong, Xia Qing first went to the decontamination room to take off her anti-bacterial gloves and shoe covers, then washed the mud off her protective suit. When she came out, she formally greeted the person who had come from Territory Seven. "Brother Ying."

"Sister Qing, just call me Er Ying. We've met before—last July, when Third Brother wasn't at the territory, I came over to pick up the supplies you and Third Brother had traded." Er Ying introduced himself, the smile lines at the corners of his eyes clearly visible.

While working together on the emergency rescue just now, Xia Qing had recognized him the moment Er Ying opened his mouth. Er Ying had not only come to Territory Three to pick up supplies—last July, when the hailstorm hit, Ji Li had escorted Zhang San away from Territory Seven on a mission, and Er Ying had served as the acting proxy of Territory Seven, answering the lords' questions on the lord channel.

At the time, Xia Qing had assumed he was also someone the military had sent to protect Zhang San. But hearing him call Zhang San "Brother" just like Da Ya did, she realized he was one of Zhang San's people.

Once again, Xia Qing felt her idol's thoughtfulness and consideration: although her idol hadn't said a word about it, he must have been wary of military people coming over and discovering the passage leading to the hidden valley behind Xiong Dong, which was why he had sent his own people.

This also showed that Er Ying was someone who could be trusted. Xia Qing smoothly changed how she addressed him. "Brother Er Ying, Brother Yue, Brother Yu, you all rest for a bit. I'll report the situation to Third Brother."

"Alright." Er Ying asked, "Should we install cameras in the danger zone? I brought the equipment and a laptop."

The people from Territory Seven had indeed come fully prepared, but Xia Qing still shook her head. "Harmful Grass in the high-risk area has already begun releasing Class B toxic gas outward. It's not suitable to enter right now. I'll report the situation to Third Brother first and see what he says."

Toxic gas grades are divided into four classes: A, B, C, and D. Classes A and B are already lethal. Er Ying nodded quickly.

Yu Shou felt a chill of fear upon hearing this, because one step later, once the toxic gas spread, they would all have been in danger. Now that the risk in the high-risk area had been brought under control, Yu Shou also needed to return to the hidden valley to carry out the mission of protecting the seedlings and Dazi. "Brother Yue, Brother Er Ying, I didn't sleep last night. I can't hold on anymore. I'm going to lie down for a bit."

After Yu Shou entered the "rest room," Xia Qing called her idol and gave a detailed report on the installation of the rain tarps and Yishi, then added, "Due to an installation mistake on my part, an area of roughly five square meters wasn't covered by Yishi. The Harmful Grass there has already bloomed and begun releasing Class B toxic gas outward. I placed a piece of Yishi at the location of the blooming Harmful Grass and installed two air toxin adsorption cartridges as a remedy."

The frames, ropes, rain tarps, air toxin adsorption cartridges, and so on were all emergency supplies stored inside Xiong Dong in advance to deal with sudden situations.

Xia Qing had already worked out a contingency plan in her head—using Yishi to cut off the Harmful Grass's growth in case of unexpected situations—as soon as she noticed the red Harmful Grass undergoing aggressive Harmful Evolution on a large scale. So after picking up the reagents from Territory Seven, she had deliberately made a trip back to her own territory and grabbed a handful of Yishi.

To others, Yishi was a precious resource hard to come by, but Xia Qing was not short on it—she had over a hundred pieces!

Zhang San didn't ask where the Yishi had come from, only inquired, "The sample you brought back has stopped growing in the lab. What kind of toxic gas is it?"