Chapter 760: Stay

Enduring 52 hours of Blight Rain had already worn the lords to the bone, and with the strong winds and violent thunder and lightning on top of that, it was practically killing them.

Greenhouses were blown over, crops were struck directly by the Blight Rain and mutated across large areas, yields dropped or even failed entirely — it was killing the lords!

Zhao Ze couldn't help a sob creeping into his voice again. "What exactly does Blue Star want? Can't it leave humanity a way to survive…"

Tang Huai rebutted, "Humans have protective suits to shield them; the animals in the Evolution Forest are having an even harder time."

Mother Shi couldn't resist coming online to nag, "Divine Wolf bless us, let the red Blight Rain last a shorter time and leave us more of our crop seedlings."

Xia Qing…

This matter, the Queen truly cannot control.

"Beep."

The phone in her pocket chimed. Xia Qing pulled off her glove, took it out to check, and found it wasn't a message from Xu Juan but a message Qi Fu had posted in the Lords Alliance chat group.

Qi Fu: Kuang, brother, do you have any iron wire or steel wire on your side? I want to trade, to reinforce greenhouses."

To withstand strong winds head-on, greenhouses need not only sturdy frames but also rows of film-pressing lines to pull the plastic sheeting — the rainproof cloth — taut.

To save costs, the film-pressing lines the lords used to build their greenhouses weren't all iron wire; there were also nylon rope, polished tree vines, and bark rope they twisted themselves. This kind of rope could handle ordinary winds, but strong winds were trouble.

Kuang Qingwei replied quickly: I ordered one roll of 16-gauge iron wire and one roll of 18-gauge iron wire, both 3,000 meters total. The 16-gauge is 6 points per meter, the 18-gauge is 5 points, expected to arrive the day after tomorrow. I'm keeping 600 meters of 16-gauge and 300 meters of 18-gauge for myself; the rest can be sold. How much does Brother Qi need?"

Qi Fu replied immediately: I want 16-gauge, 800 meters.

Zhao Ze and Shi Chong jumped in right away, and Xia Qing added a line too: Brother Qing, I want 500 meters of 16-gauge iron wire.

Xia Qing wanted less because there were fewer greenhouses in her territory.

In Territory Four, during a break between classes, Tan Qi glanced at her phone and asked Jiang Ying in a low voice, "Sister Yingzi, what's the difference between 16-gauge and 18-gauge iron wire?"

Jiang Ying explained, "This is the pre-catastrophe terminology. The diameter of 16-gauge iron wire is 1.6 millimeters; 18-gauge is 1.2 millimeters."

Tan Qi still didn't quite get it. "Why is 16-gauge 1.6 millimeters and 18-gauge 1.2 millimeters?"

This…

Big-bright-eyed Jiang Ying scratched her cropped hair and gave an embarrassed little laugh. "I'm not sure either. Sister Li, do you know?"

Zhu Li shook her head too. "Wait till I get back and ask Old Kuang, then I'll message you."

After the morning class ended, Mother Zhao discussed with her three students, "Let's prepare for the Blight Rain first, and resume classes after it's over?"

"Okay—" Tan Qi drew out the syllable obediently and agreed.

Zhu Li took a deep breath and said, as if making a promise, "Teacher Wang, Yingzi, Sister Qiqi, we'll meet here after the Blight Rain."

Mother Zhao instructed her three students, "You must protect yourselves during the Blight Rain. A greenhouse that falls can be propped up again, crops that are lost can be replanted, but if a person is gone, then everything is gone."

"Yes!" Tan Qi straightened her chest and answered loudly.

Seeing Jiang Ying lost in thought, Zhu Li asked, "Yingzi, what are you thinking about?"

Jiang Ying came back to herself, a little embarrassed. "I'm thinking about how to reinforce the greenhouse so it can better withstand the wind."

This really was a big deal. The three of them discussed it as they walked, waiting for the inspection team at the South Thorn Gate of Territory Four.

They waited until Tan Junjie led his patrol over, then followed the inspection team east.

When they reached the Territory Six road sign, Zhu Li took her leave of the group and returned to her territory.

Arriving at the North Gate of Territory Fifteen, Tan Junjie told his daughter to head back first, then said to Jiang Ying, "Yingzi, your mom called me this morning. She wants you to go back to the Safe Zone and return after the Blight Rain. You…"

"Uncle Tan." Jiang Ying was very embarrassed. "I told my mom I'd go back to see her after the Blight Rain. I'll call her again to explain clearly. Sorry for the trouble."

Blight Rain was the most severe disaster at this stage. Every Blight Rain didn't just kill many people; many others took the chance to go mad, steal, and rob. So the Blight Rain period was the most chaotic time in the Safe Zone.

Every time this came around, Yingzi and her mom would stay in a house whose doors and windows were firmly welded shut with iron bars, and wouldn't open the door no matter who knocked.

Yesterday, Mother Jiang called Jiang Ying, urging her to hurry back to the Safe Zone and wait until after the Blight Rain to return to the territory to work. Mother Jiang felt that no matter how chaotic the Safe Zone was, it was still safer than the territory, because houses in the Safe Zone wouldn't have aggressive Blight-mutated plants appearing, nor beast tides.

Jiang Ying wasn't unwilling to go back and stay with her mom, but none of the hired workers in the nearby territories had left, because during the Blight Rain period the territories were most short of people.

If she hid away when her territory was most dangerous and most short-handed, how would she ever have the face to come back? So although Jiang Ying was very afraid, she still decided to stay.

She explained to her mother that after the second Blight Rain she would be planting her own fields, so she had to stay and learn how to deal with Blight Rain — otherwise, when the third Blight Rain came, what would happen to her crops?

She hadn't expected that Mother Jiang wouldn't say anything on the phone, but would turn around and call Captain Tan, making it seem as if Tan Junjie and his daughter were the ones refusing to let Jiang Ying go back. Jiang Ying's face burned hot.

As a father himself, Tan Junjie understood exactly what Mother Jiang was worried about. His voice was gentler than usual as he tried to persuade Jiang Ying to go back. "Your Uncle Yue and the others are looking after things in the territory. Go back and keep your mom company; only then can her heart settle down."

Jiang Ying lowered her head. Her voice was quiet but firm. "There are no retired engineering soldiers in Territory Fifteen. I'm not an Evolver, but I know how to reinforce greenhouses, so I should stay. At the very least… I can help wash vegetables, cook meals…"

Like her brother Jiang Hu, Jiang Ying was smart and studious, good with her hands, and had a sense of responsibility. This girl would do well in the future.

Tan Junjie was quite gratified. "Then use these few days to get the greenhouses reinforced before you go back."

Jiang Ying still insisted, "Uncle Tan, after the Blight Rain I'm going to start putting up greenhouses and farming. So I have to stay and learn how to protect the greenhouses and the crops during Blight Rain. Don't worry, Uncle Tan — I have a Grade-Two outdoor protective suit. I'll follow orders, protect myself, and not cause trouble for everyone."

There were indeed many Evolvers in this territory, but ordinary people still made up the majority. Jiang Ying was indeed afraid of Blight Rain, afraid of aggressive plants and beast tides, but if others could do it, Jiang Ying could too.

Because, compared to the Safe Zone, she preferred life in the territory.

Here no one watched you every day, and you didn't have to be on constant guard against robbery and scheming. So even though the work here was really hard, Jiang Ying still wanted to stay.

At that moment, Tan Junjie seemed to see the shadow of Hu Zi in Jiang Ying. He didn't try to persuade her any further, just patted the young girl's shoulder. "Talk it through properly with your mom."

"Yes!" Jiang Ying's eyes lit up. She straightened her back and answered loudly.

Jiang Ying thought she had made things clear with her mother, but she hadn't expected that the day before the Blight Rain, Mother Jiang would ride in Zhong Tao's delivery patrol vehicle and arrive outside the Nanmen of the Northern Sector One territories.

When the Nanmen guard contacted Yue Haiying, the Territory Fifteen agent, by walkie-talkie to ask whether Mother Jiang was allowed to enter the territory, it gave Jiang Ying, who was working in the greenhouse, quite a scare.

She put down her pliers and ran outside Territory Fifteen. Seeing her mom standing by the road in a tattered protective suit, clutching a big bundle, she was so anxious she was on the verge of tears.

"Mom, the territory is too dangerous. You'll go back with Captain Zhong and the others in a bit!"

Mother Jiang, on the other hand, was very calm. "Didn't you say the house you live in is very sturdy? During the Blight Rain period I'll just hide in the house anyway — it's the same wherever I am."