Chapter 773: It Can Only and Must Be Him

Yanlong answered calmly, "We used the reconnaissance equipment on the vehicle and discovered landmines buried under Peak Three, so we got off early and locked down the ambushers. He detonated a grenade to kill himself, and the grenade explosion triggered a Calamity Burst. The responsibility is mine—I failed to stop him in time. Red-grade Calamity Rain has already started falling on Mountain Fifty, the situation is under control, and the territory wasn't affected, right?"

This suicide-style method is identical to the death of the intruder who nearly got captured alive within this territory during the Beast Tide this January.

Xia Qing replied, "No, the territory is still Yellow-grade. He brought it on himself, Yan-jie bears no responsibility at all."

The explosion site is about five kilometers from the Northern Zone One territory, outside the Calamity Burst's blast range—this is the one stroke of luck in all this misfortune.

"Good thing you didn't go! This was clearly aimed at you. Your paper-thin junk car definitely couldn't have withstood the double hit of landmines and a Calamity Burst!"

The moment Xia Qing hung up the phone, Tang Huai burst out angrily, "Creating a crisis on Mountain Fifty, planting mines in advance and arranging suicide ambushers… and very likely sending injured people to Territory Seven to tie up Third Brother—it's all part of the plan! No need to think, it must be Blaze trying to kill you to avenge the loss of Territory Nine!"

Blaze is the prime suspect, but their goal isn't as simple as revenge. Xia Qing nodded and continued cutting grass to widen the road, searching for aggressive plants and animals.

After something this big happened, Tang Huai didn't believe Xia Qing's heart hadn't stirred at all. The fact that she still wore that same expression meant she could handle things—and also meant she didn't trust him, so she wouldn't show any emotion in front of him.

Tang Huai felt a bit deflated, then thought this was exactly how she should be. Surviving alone through the Calamity Years without composure and caution, you simply wouldn't live to Calamity Year Eleven.

After calming down, Tang Huai recalled a piece of valuable information: "After you got on the vehicle outside the south gate of Territory Seven and set off, I saw someone poking their head out to look from under the north signpost of Territory Fourteen. They were too far away for me to recognize who it was. Could Territory Fourteen be the inside man for this operation?"

Xia Qing replied, "It was Liao Chen."

From inside the vehicle, through the rearview mirror she saw not only Liao Chen and Tang Huai, but after turning into the eastern green belt, she also saw Wen Nengjie and six people clearing wild paulownia branches north of Territory Eighteen. Tang Huai could be ruled out; Liao Chen was a slightly bigger suspect than Wen Nengjie.

After guessing that the Mountain Fifty crisis was meant to lure her over, Xia Qing figured there had to be an inside man. Getting on the vehicle south of Territory Seven was a performance for the inside man to see.

Tang Huai held back, but couldn't help asking, "How are you planning to handle Liao Chen? Your vision evolved?"

This was already an open secret. Sniper Xia Qing nodded, "It evolved. Don't touch Territory Fourteen for now, otherwise the other side will definitely find ways to plant inside men in other territories, making it even harder to guard against."

Xia Qing still trusted him a little! Tang Huai grinned happily, feeling the distance between himself and becoming a core member of the Northern Territory team had shortened by a big step.

"You're the one who can keep cool." Tang Huai tried even harder to prove his worth. "There's a big rat hole six meters ahead underground, it's definitely filled with rainwater by now, let's go right. Trust me, I know this territory better than the people of Territory Seven—the right side is the proper road."

Xia Qing of course trusted this professional worm-digger's words. "You drive the micro-tiller down the proper road and keep cutting Calamity grass. I'll go catch those snakes ahead."

Tang Huai was instantly alert. "What snakes?"

"Vegetable snakes."

"…Catch vegetable snakes for what?"

"Eat them, feed the fish, trade for points. Red-grade Calamity Rain is coming soon. We have to clear the patrol route before the Red Calamity Rain hits."

Tang Huai…

A dual-system advanced evolver who could earn over ten thousand points in a single trip, actually braving Calamity Rain to catch a few vegetable snakes of unknown quality—who would believe it if you told them!

Xia Qing of course saw Tang Huai's uncomprehending expression. She didn't get off the vehicle for a few vegetable snakes, but because she had detected Calamity Snakes with her magnetic sense, using the vegetable snakes as an excuse.

Xia Qing didn't know what state Calamity Snakes would be in during Calamity Rain, so she was extremely cautious.

Watching Xia Qing nimbly and crisply grab the head of a vegetable snake lunging at her and quickly stuff it into the cloth bag at her waist, Tang Huai shook his head, turned the steering wheel to detour onto the proper road, and kept moving forward.

After Tang Huai left, Xia Qing headed straight for the Calamity Snake's location, and heard the sound of rushing water underground.

This spot should be the place Tang Huai mentioned with the rat hole. The Calamity Snake she sensed was right inside the rat hole. Could there be an underground river leading to the Northern Evolution Forest here?

Xia Qing thought of the black python on Mountain Fifty-Five and immediately tensed up.

What to do?

Dig!

She pulled out the iron-handled shovel from her backpack, extended and tightened the handle, and got to work.

Guided by her magnetic sense, Xia Qing struck the shovel with precision. After a dozen or so strokes she dug out a Calamity Snake over two meters long, and understood why this snake had appeared here.

This wasn't an underground river. The Calamity Snake was in the rat hole because it was swallowing a rat. Its mouth was stretched wide open, and the rat's two hind legs and long tail hadn't been swallowed yet.

Upon detecting armed humans, the Calamity Snake made a vomiting motion, trying to spit out the rat in its mouth before fighting the humans or fleeing. From this action, Xia Qing judged it hadn't lost control in the Calamity Rain.

Then there was even more reason not to let it spit the rat out—who knew if this thing's attack power doubled in Calamity Rain.

Xia Qing used the shovel to dig the Calamity Snake out of the pit, stuffed snake and rat together into the cloth bag, didn't even bother killing the rats in the hole, and quickly ran through Territory Nine, continuing to track Calamity Snakes with her magnetic sense.

After rapidly searching the entire territory, successively catching three Calamity Snakes and pulling out six wild paulownias and five other varieties of aggressive Calamity-evolved plants, Xia Qing finally ran to the micro-tiller to meet up with Tang Huai. Her first words were:

"Calamity Snakes were discovered in Territory Nine."

Tang Huai tried hard to imitate Xia Qing's manner, solemnly and rapidly analyzing the current situation. "Calamity Snakes are high-danger evolved creatures. Upon discovering Calamity Snakes, an immediate report must be made, then a Disaster Response Command must be established, mobilizing all forces in Northern Zone One for disaster elimination. Does Third Brother have time right now? Who should serve as commander?"

Xia Qing said calmly, "The only one who can be Northern Zone One's Disaster Response Commander, and the one who must be, is Territory Seven's Lord Zhang San. You keep cutting grass. I'll contact Third Brother. Absolutely do not open the rain shield."

"Understood!" Finally participating in something big, Tang Huai's blood was boiling, yet he had to force himself to maintain a calm expression, looking as uncomfortable as someone suffering from constipation.

Xia Qing took a deep breath and called Ji Li. "Ji-ge, is Third Brother still in the operating room?"

Ji Li replied, "Still in."

Xia Qing pressed her lips together and asked again, "Please check when Third Brother's surgery will end. I have an urgent matter and need to contact him as soon as possible."

"Okay, hold on."

After Ji Li hung up, he immediately used the walkie-talkie to contact the team member inside the operating room. The team member standing against the wall didn't dare directly disturb Zhang San, who had opened up the wounded's skull, so he stepped forward to quietly ask the surgical assistant farthest from Zhang San—but Zhang San overheard.

Zhang San's eyes remained fixed on the surgical microscope on the operating table, his hands never pausing. "Connect Xia Qing's call immediately."

"Yes."

"Xia Qing, what is it?"

Hearing her idol's voice, Xia Qing immediately shut off the micro-tiller and reported concisely, "Third Brother, someone on Mountain Fifty deliberately spread Red Calamity grass to lure me over to kill me. Yanlong has already taken a team to handle it; Mountain Fifty's situation is under control. I just discovered Calamity Snakes in Territory Nine, suspect they were released by someone. Now I need you to serve as Disaster Response Commander and hand the disaster-elimination mission authority to Captain Tan, so outsiders can't enter our territory."

Discovering Calamity Snakes requires immediately activating the emergency disaster-elimination procedure. If Zhang San can't serve as commander, Tan Junjie would need to report the situation to the Territory Management Department, and there's no telling whose hands the disaster-elimination authority would fall into.

Xia Qing suspected that right now, people outside the walls were already rubbing their fists, ready to come into Northern Zone One to "show off their skills."

Therefore, the command authority for disaster elimination absolutely could not fall into outsiders' hands.