Chapter 654: Releasing the Snakes

When the python in the northern lake of Mountain 60 burst out of the water, Xia Qing, who was in District 3 of Mountain 49 with her arm around Old Goat, pressed the walkie-talkie button and notified Beard Peak Squad: "Captain Hu, six Slaughter Snakes have surged out of a rock crevice in Valley Two. We need support."

The magnetic sense here is similar to the one at home, but even stronger. Besides the six arm-length little snakes that crawled out, there's magnetic sense emanating from inside the crevice!

Damn it—this mountain didn't just brew polluted spring water, it's also producing Slaughter Snakes!

"Copy that, we're on our way."

At the same time, Li Kai, who was stationed in the hidden valley of Mountain 50, contacted Yue Haiying by phone: "Brother Yue, three fire-red Slaughter Snakes have been found in the hidden valley, each about thirty centimeters long."

Yue Haiying, who was searching for Slaughter Snakes in Territory 15, immediately gave the order: "Capture them alive and keep them safe first. I'll report it right away. Stay safe and put on your protective suits."

"Buzz—buzz—"

Xia Qing, who was stuffing Slaughter Snakes into a bag, felt her phone vibrating in her pocket and could only use voice control: "Idiot, idiot, answer the call."

After the call connected, Xia Qing didn't know who was calling and identified herself first: "This is Xia Qing. Who is this?"

"Xia Qing, it's me. Is it a good time to talk?" Yue Haiying knew at once that Xia Qing must be too busy to look at her phone right now.

Xia Qing glanced at Guan Tong, who was carrying Zhang Song and running toward her, and said, "It's fine, Brother Yue. Go ahead."

Yue Haiying gave a brief report: "Li Kai reported three fire-red Slaughter Snakes, each about thirty centimeters long, found in the valley. I've told him to capture them alive. What's the next step?"

"I'll contact Third Brother right away." After hanging up, Xia Qing retreated with Old Goat, cleared the spot, and let Zhang Song and Beard Peak Squad continue capturing the Slaughter Snakes. She, meanwhile, wrapped her arm around Old Goat's neck and contacted her idol.

Why the arm around him? Because she hadn't run alongside Old Goat, and the boss was furious and wanted to teach her a lesson.

Zhang San, hearing that Slaughter Snakes had been found on Mountain 50 and Mountain 49 at the same time, immediately gave orders: "The Slaughter Snakes from Mountain 50 are to be kept safe for now—wait until Yang Jin and Luo Pei arrive. All Slaughter Snakes found on Mountain 49 are to be captured alive. The area where the Slaughter Snakes were found is to be sampled by Zhang Song, then cordoned off for later extermination."

After hanging up, Zhang San immediately sent a warning to Zhang He, who was clearing high-danger zones on Mountain 50, alerting them to watch out for Slaughter Snake attacks.

After hanging up, Zhang San raised a finger and pressed her throbbing temple. Two neighboring mountains spawning Slaughter Snakes at the same time couldn't possibly be a coincidence.

What was causing the Slaughter Snakes to surge out simultaneously? Could Slaughter Snakes have appeared elsewhere in the Evolution Forest too?

"Territory 8, Seeing Xin Yu, are you there? Are you there? Are you there?" Zhang San contacted Seeing Xin Yu through the walkie-talkie.

Seeing Xin Yu, who was sitting obediently at the table listening to Yu Dongming speak, glanced at her uncle and only pressed the walkie-talkie button after he nodded. "Here."

"Disaster mitigation requires commandeering your tamed beasts. Do you agree?"

"Agreed."

"Very well. Bring your tamed beasts to Territory 7 immediately." After a two-second pause, Zhang San asked, "Is Chairman Yu beside you?"

This time, without waiting for Seeing Xin Yu, Yu Dongming pressed the walkie-talkie button himself and replied politely, "Third Brother, I'm here. Whatever you need help with, just say the word."

Yu Dongming's words were nothing more than polite pleasantries.

Because in principle, Zhang San, as the on-site disaster mitigation commander, should first mobilize the personnel and resources of Hui Three Base. Only after confirming that Hui Three's personnel and capabilities are insufficient to handle the disaster can he negotiate to mobilize personnel and resources from other bases.

For the sake of face, commanders generally don't do this.

But Zhang San is no ordinary person—he doesn't care at all about Hui Three Base's face. "Thank you, Chairman Yu, for your support of the disaster mitigation work in Hui Three's Northern District One. Now please bring your bodyguard team and come with Seeing Xin Yu. Arrive in fifteen minutes."

Yu Dongming...

Seeing Xin Yu calmly pressed the button. "Copy that. We'll arrive at Territory 7 in ten minutes."

Xia Qing's lips curved up slightly.

Third Brother having Yu Dongming come along with the team isn't necessarily because some task requires Chonglian's help—it's because he doesn't want Yu Dongming to take advantage of Seeing Xin Yu leaving Territory 8 to cause trouble at her home.

Truly worthy of being her idol—thinking of everything.

"Xia Qing."

Yang Jin, who had rushed to Mountain 49, flashed into view three meters to Xia Qing's left. Old Goat, who was currently squaring off with Xia Qing, immediately turned its horns toward Yang Jin.

Xia Qing immediately pointed toward Beard Peak and Zhang He's group. "Captain Yang, Slaughter Snakes found."

"Understood." Yang Jin went over to help capture the Slaughter Snakes.

Now that Yang Jin had arrived, Xia Qing didn't need to keep watching this spot. She contacted Beard Peak through the walkie-talkie: "Captain Hu, I'll leave this to you. I'm continuing to search for Slaughter Snakes."

Xia Qing and Old Goat left the area where the Slaughter Snakes had been found. She pulled out her phone, held up a photo of a Slaughter Snake, and asked in a gentle voice, "Boss, where else are these dangerous snakes?"

Although small snakes are carnivores, they prey on small animals like frogs, mice, and birds. So Old Goat, as a large herbivore, while instinctively alert to snakes and avoiding areas where snakes might hide, isn't actually afraid of them. After fish were raised in Territory 3, Old Goat would sometimes kick small snakes to death to feed the fish.

Today was the first time Xia Qing had seen Old Goat show fear toward small snakes—fear so strong it wanted to take her and run.

The last time Old Goat behaved this way was during the second Slaughter Rain of Year Ten of the Catastrophe, when potato plants underwent aggressive Slaughter Evolution.

So Xia Qing concluded that Old Goat must have witnessed the ferocity of these snakes before.

Seeing Old Goat still squinting, Xia Qing stuffed another ration block into its side pouch and cooed gently, "Boss, I know you're doing this for my own good. Boss, you're amazing. I'm so touched. You're the best companion ever, the greatest evolved goat on Blue Star, the pride of all evolved goats..."

After a round of coaxing, she finally got Old Goat to hold its head high. Xia Qing held up the phone image again and asked, "Where else are these snakes? Will you tell me, Boss? I can't find them—I'm counting on you."

Old Goat strutted ahead with its head held high, and Xia Qing, with her magnetic sense fully open, immediately followed.

After following Old Goat around a long loop, Xia Qing only found a dozen or so snakes, none of which were Slaughter Snakes. Just as she was about to communicate with Old Goat again, she saw Yang Jin walking over.

Old Goat immediately stopped looking for snakes, stood together with Xia Qing, and took an aggressive stance toward Yang Jin.

Yang Jin pointed at the stream and explained, "We captured eleven Slaughter Snakes from that rock crevice just now. Third Brother ordered us to release two and observe their movement paths."

Xia Qing then noticed two emerald-green Slaughter Snakes fitted with small tracking rings drifting downstream.

Ahead of this stream lies the valley pond where wild boars often roam. When the pond is full, the water flows down the valley out of the mountain, joining the stream that separates Territories 3 and 4 before flowing into the river channel.

The more Xia Qing thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. These extremely venomous things—surely they wouldn't poison the water?