Chapter 798: Base Commander Hotline

Staring at the bamboo whip that Wen Nengjie had chopped down, still twitching, Zhao Ze was shocked. "Brother Jie evolved his strength too?!"

Wearing a protective mask, Wen Nengjie gave a wry smile. "Where would I get that kind of luck? I've just chopped a lot of things over the years, so I've got a bit of experience and know how to apply force."

Before the Catastrophe, Wen Nengjie ran a slaughterhouse, regularly killing pigs and butchering pork; after the Catastrophe, he led his brothers in collecting and burning corpses, often fighting for their lives and competing for business. Although the bamboo whips inside Territory Three had evolved in hardness, Wen Nengjie felt the things still weren't as hard as human bone. As long as you applied the force correctly, you could chop through them.

Thin ones can be chopped—what about the thick ones?

Feeling a little more confident, Wen Nengjie took a step forward with his blade. When a slightly thicker bamboo whip swung at him, he raised his blade to meet it and chopped it clean through.

Zhao Ze watched this scene, his eyes widening further. Wen Nengjie must be lying—he definitely evolved his strength.

Zhang Hongda, who had been keeping close watch on Wen Nengjie, said to Zhao Ze beside him, "After the great evolution of Blue Star, ordinary people didn't fail to evolve—everyone's physical functions evolved at least twofold. The vast majority of warriors who protect the country, the bases, and the people are ordinary people who've undergone professional retraining. A bamboo whip of this hardness—as long as you train harder, overcome your fear, and have the right tools—any young man or woman in their prime can chop through it."

Zhao Ze gradually closed his mouth and tightened his grip on the blade in his hand.

Was he in his prime? Of course. He was only 39 this year, all four limbs intact!

Did he have the right tool? Of course. What he held was a steel blade forged by Lord Huo Lei himself!

The last item: could he overcome his fear? Zhao Ze's fighting spirit was also roused by Wen Nengjie and Zhang Hongda. Gripping his blade with both hands, he charged forward. Zhang Hongda watched Zhao Ze closely, ready to rescue him at any moment.

After chopping through a bamboo whip in three strokes, Zhao Ze leaned on his blade, gasping for breath. He couldn't hear the whistling of the bamboo whips or the thuds of his allies chopping bamboo—his ears were filled with his own panting, and before his eyes was only the meter-plus bamboo whip he'd chopped down, trembling on the ground.

Watching this section of bamboo whip gradually lose its vitality, the bristly roots standing on it like steel needles softening one by one, an inexpressible emotion rose from deep within him, shooting straight to the crown of his head. Zhao Ze straightened his body, gripped his blade with both hands, let out a great roar, and charged forward again.

"Ah—"

His shout startled Tang Huai beside him, who gave a shudder and immediately cursed, "Are you chopping bamboo with your mouth or with your blade? What the hell are you screaming for? Scared the crap out of me!"

Tang Heng, also an ordinary person, understood why Zhao Ze was so worked up. He'd experienced that same excitement long ago, in the first year of the Catastrophe, when his father had taken him through it.

In terms of stamina and speed, ordinary people aren't necessarily inferior to second- or third-tier evolvers—it all depends on whether you're willing to put in the effort.

Kuang Qingwei, already 45, also glanced toward Zhao Ze, then nervously followed his wife with his blade in hand, terrified she'd get whipped by a bamboo root.

Half an hour later, Xia Qing gave the order: "Alright, fall back and rest for fifteen minutes."

Everyone immediately withdrew from the bamboo field. After half an hour of busywork, apart from Yu Shou, Shi Du, and the Qi couple, no one else had managed to chop down a bamboo plant, but everyone was excited. Everyone, including Hearing Zhu Li and Tan Qi, had chopped through at least one bamboo root.

Kuang Qingwei was excited about chopping down a bamboo root because his wife had chopped down one more than Zhao Ze. What did that prove? It proved his wife's physical fitness had improved—she was now stronger than an ordinary young man!

Xia Qing began giving individual critiques. "Brother Shou still needs to improve his ability to judge distance by sound; Uncle Huo, your front-and-back foot stance is wrong—if danger occurs, you can't quickly retreat…"

After pointing out each of their problems and personally demonstrating, the rest period ended. Everyone charged back in, correcting their faulty movements and continuing to chop.

After a busy half day, it was only when Xia Qing herself took up a blade and stepped in that the final batch of 72 hardness-evolved red-leaf bamboos in Territory Three were finally chopped down and hauled to the foot of the slope.

The aggressive, evolved bamboo roots planted in Territory Three yielded a total harvest of 294 hardness-evolved bamboo stalks.

Seeing the large pile of root bamboo Xia Qing had set up under a canopy made of tarpaulin at the foot of the slope for natural air-drying, the Qi couple—who had harvested over 106 hardness-evolved bamboo stalks themselves—were green with envy, let alone anyone else.

Wen Nengjie discussed with Xia Qing, "Sister Qing, this kind of aggressive evolved bamboo isn't all that dangerous. I'd like to plant a patch in my own territory and harvest a few crops of bamboo to build greenhouses. What do you think?"

Apart from Tang Huai, who was wandering around looking for Boss Yang, everyone else stared at Xia Qing with longing in their eyes. Anyone who truly farmed couldn't help but be tempted by such premium building material for greenhouses.

Xia Qing nodded. "I've planted quite a few bamboo roots at the foot of the second and first peaks of Mountain Fifty. I haven't cut them at all during the second aggressive rain—they're still at the initial evolution stage. Everyone can team up to go cut them, or you can dig up some bamboo roots and bring them back to plant in your own territory. Each territory can cut a maximum of 40 bamboo stalks, at 10 points per stalk. Dig as many bamboo roots as you want—there's no charge."

Just as everyone broke into happy expressions, Xia Qing's tone shifted and grew stern. "But these are still aggressive plants. Any danger that occurs during your harvesting or after planting is your own responsibility. Think it through before you decide. I recommend not planting bamboo roots on a large scale in your territory, to avoid unnecessary danger."

Wen Nengjie immediately burst into grateful tears. "Thank you, Sister Qing! I know you're looking out for us. I'll just cut 40 bamboo stalks and plant a small patch in my territory."

Kuang Qingwei, a step behind, quickly followed up. "Xia Qing's reminder is right. This stuff is good, but it comes with risks. Everyone should think it through before deciding."

Tang Heng, who thought things through more carefully, said, "Should we go inspect the site first and set aside a section for each territory, to avoid disputes?"

"Right, that's the way to do it." Huo Lei looked at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing nodded. "Anyone who wants bamboo, sign up with Brother Qi. Then send three people to survey the site and divide up the areas."

As for which three people to send and when to go—those trivial matters, Xia Qing didn't bother with. She still had plenty to do. Taking advantage of the remaining daylight, Xia Qing hurried to Territory Nine to check on the progress of land reclamation and clearing there.

Yue Haiying's work efficiency was extremely high. In just four days, the Ninth Planting Center had recruited 46 employees, and the center had already officially begun operations.

The Ninth Planting Center was currently divided into four zones: the cultivation zone, the office zone, the dormitory zone, and the warehouse zone. The dormitory and office zones were currently being cleared.

When Xia Qing came by yesterday, the area where the dormitory was to be built was still a stretch of broken walls and rubble. Now, over two mu of land had been cleared. Usable building materials were neatly stacked on one side, unusable construction debris piled on the other. Foundation digging could begin tomorrow.

Even though it was already getting late, everyone was still working with great enthusiasm. From a distance, Xia Qing could feel the vitality and drive radiating from them.

As long as there's hope, people have drive.

Xia Qing didn't go over, but turned and headed for the office.

"Sister Qing."

Seeing Xia Qing arrive, Yan Yue, the office director sitting in a wheelchair, grabbed her crutches with both hands and tried to stand up. Yan Yue had originally been the deputy director of the comprehensive support department of a certain regiment. She lost both legs in an earthquake, and after retiring from the military, she worked as a warehouse keeper at a hospital in the outer city of the Safe Zone. She was the senior management talent Yue Haiying had poached.

Xia Qing hurriedly waved her hand. "Sister Yue, just stay seated. We're not that formal here."

Yan's reaction had been instinctive. Realizing this was no longer the hospital, and that Xia Qing wasn't that petty section chief who threw her weight around, she smiled and reported to Xia Qing: "Director Zhao of the Planting Management Department rejected the material requisition we submitted yesterday for staff dormitories and a cafeteria. His reason was that the supporting facilities for a planting center don't include these two items, and he has no authority to allocate funds for them."

Planting centers inside the Safe Zone indeed don't need them—but do those outside the Safe Zone not need them? Doesn't the Planting Management Department have any idea?

Without dormitories, can the 40-plus people at the Ninth Center keep borrowing space in Territories Two and Six?

Without a cafeteria, what are these people supposed to eat? Soak compressed rations in water every day?

Even if they wanted to soak them, Territory Nine doesn't even have water purification equipment right now. What would they soak them with—unfiltered river water?

Zhao Baolin was simply unhappy because, although the Ninth Planting Center was a subordinate unit of the Planting Management Department, he had no way to meddle in its affairs or plant his own people there—so he refused to release the funds.

Xia Qing instructed calmly, "Since Director Zhao won't approve it, Sister Yan, just call the Base Commander's office directly and ask the Base Commander to resolve it."

This was the authority the Base Commander had granted the Ninth Planting Center: for urgent matters the Planting Management Department couldn't resolve, they could dial the Base Commander Hotline directly!