Chapter 77: The Most Loyal Sheep on Blue Star

"Boss, you're no match for them, retreat now!" Xia Qing, who had been fighting the dancing potato vines, saw Boss Sheep charge back and get whipped, and immediately retreated to block it—bang, bang, bang, three more shots.

"Baa～～" Boss Sheep was in so much pain its voice came out trembling, but it still stubbornly nudged Xia Qing to flee together.

"Boss…"

If Boss Sheep's actions hadn't caused Xia Qing to take two extra lashes, she really would have been deeply moved.

At the critical moment, Chen Zheng, who was closest to Xia Qing, arrived. He carried Boss Sheep in one arm to dodge the attack, while Xia Qing, gun in hand, called Chen Zheng over to help. "Quick, shoot the three dancing potato vines off at the roots."

Right—when Xia Qing was fighting the dancing potato vines, another potato vine had undergone aberrant evolution, so although she had cut one down, there were still three.

If these three weren't cleared in time, once their spreading root systems grabbed the main roots of the normal potato vines, this whole patch of potatoes would start dancing and throw a party.

As the main combatant of the Beard Edge Squad, Chen Zheng's shooting was naturally more accurate than Xia Qing's. After he cut down the three aggressive aberrantly evolved potato vines, Dajiang and Chen Cheng also arrived.

Before the four could even exchange a word, they saw purple-red dancing sprouts visibly drilling out of the roots of the cut-down dancing potato vines.

Xia Qing immediately gave the order. "One vine per person, let's dig out the aberrant roots and roast them with flamethrowers."

Four clumps of aberrant roots were dug up and roasted dry, losing their vitality—only then was this plant aggressive-aberration crisis resolved.

At this moment, the rain shelter was a mess. A large patch of normal potato vines had been whipped apart, six arched support poles of the rain shelter had been snapped, and the rainproof cloth had two tears over three meters long, letting the rain in.

This was still the result of Xia Qing using her body to block most of the attacks; otherwise the losses would have been far greater.

Xia Qing told Boss Sheep to rest on the side. She carried over the rainproof cloth and support poles stored in the shelter, and with Chen Zheng and the other two assisting, quickly repaired the rain shelter. The patch of whipped-apart potato vines and the few potato vines drenched by the red aberrant rain could not be saved.

Dajiang frowned. "These were seeds issued by the Safe Zone—how could a dangerous aggressive aberration possibly appear?"

Chen Cheng looked at the dozen-plus purple-red whip marks on Xia Qing's protective suit and felt her pain for her. "Sister Qing, are you okay?"

Xia Qing was of course in great pain, but it was only pain. After telling the three she was fine, she pressed the button on the lord's walkie-talkie. "Territory Three, potatoes have undergone moderate-danger aggressive aberrant evolution. High-hardness potato vines will jump on their own and attack any object they touch, able to whip apart an arm-thick wooden stick. The clearing method is to shoot or chop the potato vines apart, dig out the potato roots and roast them dry. Repeating: potato vines in Territory Three…"

"Does Territory Three need a sweep team for support?" Even in the small hours of the morning, Tan Junjie's voice remained clear and stern.

Xia Qing pressed the button. "Territory Three has cleared the aggressive potato vines, no support needed."

Within minutes of Xia Qing finishing, Qi Fu's urgent call for help came over the channel. "Captain Tan, Territory Five's potato vines have undergone aggressive aberrant evolution, urgently need support."

"Copy."

Less than ten minutes after Tan Junjie replied, Territories Four and Six also called for support one after another due to the same dangerous situation.

Potato vines in three territories had all undergone aggressive aberrant evolution—this was a seed problem. What were the people at the Safe Zone Planting Center doing, releasing such dangerous seeds without even marking it in the Complete Planting Guide!

Irritation began to rise. Xia Qing took a sip of the nutrient liquid built into her protective mask, forcing herself to stay as calm as possible.

Chen Zheng urged Xia Qing to rest. "Sister Qing, go rest in the cabin, Dajiang and I will keep watch here."

Chen Cheng also urged her. "Yeah sis, go get some rest."

"Alright, thanks for your hard work, contact me immediately if anything happens." Xia Qing, long accustomed to enduring extreme exhaustion and pain, could still hold on—but her heart ached for Boss Sheep, who had taken several lashes.

Xia Qing led Boss Sheep out of the rain shelter, but before she reached the cabin, it headbutted her flying with a spiral horn, sending up a huge splash of mud on landing.

"Moo!!!"

After sending Xia Qing flying, Boss Sheep was still not satisfied and charged at her again.

Xia Qing endured the all-over pain and got up, dodged the horn by twisting aside, grabbed Boss Sheep's neck in a hug, then switched the walkie-talkie earpiece inside her protective mask to the private channel with Boss, and explained in a soft, gentle voice, "Don't be mad, Boss. I know the potato vines are fierce, and I understand you wanted to take me with you when we fled. It's my fault you got whipped several times—I'm sorry."

"Baa!!!"

Boss Sheep kept pawing the ground and shaking its head, determined to teach Xia Qing a lesson.

"This is our territory, potatoes are an important food, and I still want to eat sour-and-spicy shredded potatoes—it's been years." Xia Qing explained while trembling hands fished food out of her protective suit pocket. "Hungry, Boss? Calm down, let's go back and have some compressed rations and dried green-bamboo shoots?"

Boss Sheep wanted to throw a fit but also wanted the tasty food. After a moment of awkwardness, it shook Xia Qing off and limped toward the cabin.

Xia Qing, in agony all over, limped along behind, her gratitude to Boss Sheep surging like a mighty river, endless and unbroken. "When danger appeared, Boss still thought of saving my life, and when it found I hadn't kept up it came back for me—I'm so touched. You truly are the boss of our Territory Three, the most loyal sheep on Blue Star, the sheep standing at the pinnacle of the pyramid, the sheep who opened a new era in the history of evolved sheep…"

After rinsing the mud off her protective suit with water from the bucket by the door, Xia Qing led Boss Sheep back inside the cabin.

After first checking the air quality, Xia Qing removed the protective masks from herself and Boss Sheep, put the food in Boss Sheep's bowl, and said, "Thanks for your hard work, Boss. Eat up."

Boss Sheep began eating. Xia Qing, with hands trembling from pain, ran them over Boss Sheep's entire body, confirmed there were no fractures, then sat leaning against the wooden post by the wall, so sore she didn't even have the strength to lift an arm to wipe her sweat.

She closed her eyes and asked hoarsely, "Dummy Dummy, what time is it?"

The phone in her protective suit pocket answered cheerfully, "The current time is 5:28. Good morning, Master. Get up and drink a cup of warm water—it has many benefits."

5:30—four and a half hours until the second aberrant rain ends. Almost there.

Xia Qing closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, silently digesting the pain in her body. Because painkillers numb the nerves, and the aberrant rain wasn't over yet, she had to stay ready to fight at any moment and couldn't take any.

Once she got through this batch, she would definitely trade a few bags of premium nutrient liquid with the Azure Dragon Squad or Third Brother. Premium nutrient liquid not only rapidly replenished stamina but also sped up the body's repair of damage—perfect for her current situation.

A fifteen-milliliter bag of premium nutrient liquid sold for two thousand credits in the Safe Zone. Xia Qing wouldn't have given it a second glance before, because she couldn't afford it. Now it was different—she had spring water she could trade for premium nutrient liquid. Fourteen liters of spring water could be exchanged for one small bag.

Fourteen liters for fifteen milliliters—Xia Qing didn't feel the slightest heartache, because premium nutrient liquid could save her life at a critical moment.

Supposedly, Yi-element stimulant repaired bodily damage far better than premium nutrient liquid. If she could trade for it, Xia Qing also wanted to get two bottles to keep on hand. Although Yi-element stimulant had side effects, when you needed to use Yi-element stimulant, it was a time when your life was almost gone—at that point, who would care about side effects?

"Baa."

Boss Sheep finished eating, squinted at Xia Qing, wanting her to pour it some water. Finding Xia Qing with closed eyes and no response, Boss Sheep called out unhappily.

Xia Qing poured some spring water for Boss Sheep and rasped a reminder, "After drinking, go out and pee, don't dirty the cabin. Remember to go to the spot where I cleared the aberrant grass—other places might have ticks and leeches, and it'd be trouble if they latched on."

After Boss Sheep had eaten, drunk, and relieved itself, Xia Qing had also gathered a bit of strength, wiped her sweat, drank a few sips of spring water, and gnawed on a compressed ration.

At this moment, the red aberrant rain, which had lasted nearly an hour, finally stopped.

Although the lord's walkie-talkie channel kept reporting aberrations and casualties, Chen Zheng and the others were very quiet—meaning no further aggressive aberrations had appeared in their own territory.

Once she'd rested enough, it was time to work. Just as Xia Qing was about to head out with Boss Sheep, Chen Zheng's hurried voice rang out, "Sister Qing, the spinach seeds are ripe!"