Chapter 772: Qi Explosion

Five minutes later, the eight people from Territory Seven plus Xia Qing boarded a military vehicle that could carry ten, and left the Northern District One territory through the Ximen.

After confirming the military vehicle had left through the Ximen, Liao Chen, who was holding an umbrella beneath the South Road sign of Territory Fourteen, sent a message on his phone, then returned to the territory to continue his patrol.

"Sister Yan, be careful." After handing the yi-stone bag to Yan Long, Xia Qing greeted Zhang Song—who she had brought out, wearing a sealed protective suit—and quickly got off the vehicle, slipping into the dense forest of Mountain Forty-Nine, returning to Territory Three through the North Gate.

After patrolling Sheds Six and Seven, Xia Qing handed the territory over to Beard Feng, then drove the micro-tiller toward Territory Nine to check for dangers within it.

After Li Si was taken away at the end of November last year, Territory Nine had lain abandoned for half a year. The bombed-out houses and sheds were being scoured by Qi rain, the exposed rebar had rusted, and weeds and trees had run rampant throughout the territory, harboring plenty of evolved insects and small animals. Though it was still within the territory's bounds, in substance it had already reverted to evolved-forest state.

That's why Shi Du was always complaining about the snakes, bugs, rats, and ants between Territory Nine and Territory Ten, while Tang Huai, with nothing better to do, would go dig for bugs in Territory Nine.

Fortunately, there was no buffer forest within this territory, and the elevation differences everywhere were small, so she could patrol the whole way by vehicle.

Xia Qing drove the micro-tiller along the tire tracks left by Territory Seven's patrol, and was just about to activate the mowing wheels to widen the path when she saw the weeds and shrubs in the distance to the west begin to sway.

This was the kind of disturbance only a person or other large animal could create. Soon, Tang Huai, carrying a black long saber on his back, emerged from within, and upon seeing who was in the micro-tiller, froze on the spot.

After he came back to his senses, Tang Huai ran over, directly opened the door of the micro-tiller's rain cover, sat down in Sheep Boss's reserved seat, and said, "Xia Qing, I thought it was Crazy Hu driving your micro-tiller over here! Didn't you go to Mountain Fifty?!"

The reserved seat on the left side of the driver's seat, which belonged to Wolf Lao Er, had already been removed, leaving only two seats inside the micro-tiller. So when Tang Huai climbed on, he sat in Sheep Boss's reserved seat.

Xia Qing didn't ask why Tang Huai could still recognize her at a glance even though she was wearing an all-black, single-sided light-blocking protective face shield. She simply switched to her usual protective mask and gave a brief answer: "Designed to lure the snake out of its hole. I need to mow now to widen the patrol path. Are you heading back to Territory Two first?"

"You mow, I'll keep an eye out for wild paulownia. When it comes to the paths in this territory, no one knows them better than me." Tang Huai's ears, injured by the thunderquake, had only just gotten a little better, and listening to the noise of the micro-tiller mowing at such close range would make him uncomfortable. Still, he'd rather endure the discomfort than give up the chance to carry out a mission alongside Xia Qing and chat.

Xia Qing possessed magnetoreception, so she could detect nearby aggressive Qi-evolved plants without anyone's help, but since Tang Huai wanted to stay and help for free, Xia Qing naturally had no objection.

She pressed the button, and the four mowing wheels in front of the micro-tiller spun at high speed, slicing through the grass with a whirring sound. These mowing wheels had been forged for her by Lord Huo Lei after he came to the territory; not to mention Qi-grass, even shrubs and small trees up to the thickness of an arm could be cut down without issue.

Tang Huai, who had instinctively furrowed his brow, froze for a few seconds, then his eyes went wide. "This rain cover looks all beat up, but I didn't expect the soundproofing to be this good. No wonder you… drive this thing around mowing grass every day!"

Damn it—the noise inside this rain cover wasn't even as loud as what he heard back in Territory Two! Tang Huai wanted to curse, but was afraid Xia Qing would kick him off, so he could only hold it in.

Xia Qing, a Level Seven hearing evolver, naturally didn't like noise either, which was why the rain cover she'd welded didn't just keep out the rain—it could also block out most of the noise.

However, there was no need to explain this to Tang Huai, because Xia Qing's hearing evolution, just like her magnetoreception evolution, was a hidden ability.

After moving forward twenty meters, Xia Qing had just used her magnetoreception to detect an aggressive wild paulownia when Tang Huai called out, "Eleven o'clock, front left—looks like there's a Level One form wild paulownia. Stop the vehicle, I'll go down and clear it."

A Level One form, less than 1.5 meters tall aggressive wild paulownia—the difficulty of clearing it wasn't great.

Xia Qing stopped the vehicle and reminded him, "Stay safe."

After getting off, Tang Huai drew his black long saber, cleanly slicing an evolved spider the size of a fist in half, then skillfully and dashily twirled the blade with a flourish before turning back—only to find that Xia Qing, who had driven the micro-tiller forward to continue mowing, hadn't even looked at him.

Tang Huai snorted twice, then cut down two more snakes and several evolved insects before going over to clear the wild paulownia, packing it into a bag, and running back to the micro-tiller. "How about that? I'm improving at godlike speed, right?"

Cut down one spider and two snakes and that counts as improvement? With your flashy flourishes, someone could slash you ten times. Still, Tang Huai's speed was indeed not slow, and his moves were fairly practiced—you could tell he'd put in the work.

Xia Qing nodded. "Godlike speed. Two o'clock, fifteen meters—that yellow small-leaf shrub about two meters tall is shooting up fast, needs clearing. Can you handle it alone?"

"Of course I can! Watch me!"

Tang Huai tossed the sealed wild paulownia to the back, pushed open the door, and charged forward with his saber. Just then he heard two violent explosions from the north; the rain clouds in the sky were shaken, and the Qi rain suddenly grew heavier.

This was… a Qi Explosion!!!

Has the fighting started over at Mountain Fifty?

Xia Qing tightened her grip on the steering wheel, glanced at the dark clouds to the north, then continued mowing to widen the road and patrol Territory Nine. Whatever was happening over there, the best thing she could do right now was handle the task in front of her and wait for Yan Long and Zhang He to contact her.

Affected by the Qi Explosion, red-grade Qi rain might be coming soon. She had to speed up her patrol and return to her own territory as quickly as possible.

That patch of hardness-evolved bamboo—she had to harvest a crop before the red Qi rain arrived.

Fifteen minutes later, Tang Huai, having finished clearing the aggressive shrubby plant, ran back to the micro-tiller, sealed up the thickened packaging bag containing a section of root and part of the trunk, and asked between gasps, "That thing evolved venomous thorns that can corrode protective gloves. I don't know if Third Brother would be interested—hold onto it for now. That was a Qi Explosion just now, right?"

"Mm." Xia Qing acknowledged, then said, "Ten o'clock—that purplish-red vine has coiled around two snakes; it should be an aggressive Qi-evolved one too. You drive the micro-tiller, I'll go clear it."

"No need, I'll go!" Eager to prove his combat prowess wasn't low, Tang Huai once again leapt off the micro-tiller and charged over.

Fifteen minutes later, Xia Qing's phone finally rang. Yan Long reported to her on the situation over at Mountain Fifty, while Tang Huai, who had already returned to the micro-tiller, pricked up his ears to listen.

"The yi-stone has been installed. The three people who entered that area during the suspicious time window are being interrogated by Zhang Song. One is dead, one has fled into the Northern evolved forest."

Zhang Song was a high-level observation evolver, so he wasn't just an expert on animals and microorganisms—he could also "read" a person's psychological changes through their micro-expressions. That was why Yan Long had brought him along.

Xia Qing didn't ask who had escaped, only inquired, "Sister Yan, what was that explosion just now?"