Chapter 83: Luo Pei's Return

After shouting a few times, Tang Huai turned on the walkie-talkie and demanded, "Territory Three, Territory Three. Xia Qing, what are you doing?"

Wearing a protective mask, Xia Qing pretended not to hear and kept up the rat-a-tat of cutting grass. Only when Tang Huai started yelling did she reply loudly, "Cutting qiang grass."

Tang Huai was so angry his wound hurt even more. "It's only been a day since the rain stopped, the ground isn't dry yet, and you're actually using a machine to weed? Aren't you afraid it'll get stuck in the mud!"

Xia Qing's reply came over the rhythmic rat-a-tat of the micro tiller. "My micro tiller is tracked, so it doesn't mind mud. Besides, even if it does get stuck, it's no big deal — I'm a strength evolver, I can drag it out."

Tang Huai: I f***ing…

Hu Zifeng picked up the thread. "Right, how did I forget the micro tiller is tracked."

Xia Qing called back loudly to Hu Zifeng, "Brother Feng, the weeding wheel on the micro tiller can only cut the qiang grass off. After that, we still need to till the soil and burn the roots. Your territory has more people, so pulling weeds by hand should be more suitable than using a micro tiller. It's just that I'm injured and really can't pull them out anymore."

Hu Zifeng replied loudly, "Got tired of pulling. We'll cut them down first, then till and burn the roots in a couple of days. It's only a matter of one tank of fuel anyway. Do you need any hands over there?"

He was deliberately acting a little closer to Xia Qing, to lure the people from Territory Two onto the wrong track.

Xia Qing replied, "No need for now. Thanks, Brother Feng. In a few days I'll head into the mountains to get some things, and trade you for a barrel of diesel."

Qi Fu also called out loudly, "Xia Qing, how are the qiang-evolved cotton plants in your field doing? You must have transplanted them out and planted them too, right?"

He had actually asked at just the right moment. Xia Qing had planted the cotton in a field not far from the basement where Luo Pei lived. "I'm driving the micro tiller toward the qiang-evolved cotton field right now. I can't see it from here yet."

After saying that, Xia Qing set down the walkie-talkie, opened the throttle, and rat-a-tat-ed her way toward the qiang-evolved cotton planting area.

After cotton undergoes qiang evolution, there's still a ten percent chance it will flower and produce cotton. Of course, qiang-evolved cotton has an excess of qiang elements, so even if it does bloom, the cottonseeds can't be pressed for oil or eaten.

Xia Qing wasn't short on oil — what she wanted was soft, fluffy cotton.

Qiang-evolved plants are all extremely tenacious. The transplanted cotton plants didn't even wilt — they grew lush and verdant into a cotton tree over two meters tall. If one-tenth of all the buds on this tree can grow cotton, then next year Xia Qing won't bother putting up rain shelters for the cotton and will let them all qiang-evolve.

Rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat.

Squeal— squeal— squeal—

Xia Qing went around each cotton tree, using the brush cutter to cut down the various qiang grasses that were almost as tall as the cotton.

The qiang grass fell in patches, and Xia Qing's and Ram Boss's field of vision gradually opened up.

The micro tiller in Territory One also started up. The sound of two micro tillers was no disturbance at all to ordinary people in the other territories, but to Tang Huai, a high-level auditory evolver, it was full-on noise pollution. Irritated and cursing, he went off to the southeast corner of the territory to hunt rats.

"Brother Luo, we're good to go." Wei Chengdong led his men in carrying away the last batch of medical equipment, then lowered his voice to remind Luo Pei.

Luo Pei nodded and instructed Wei Chengdong, "You stay. After dark, deliver the machine to Xia Qing, then take the spring water to Mountain Forty-Nine to rendezvous with the captain, and take the helicopter back to Territory One."

"Understood." Wei Chengdong couldn't help reminding him again, "Brother Luo, be careful."

Luo Pei, his face slightly flushed, gave a small nod and headed back to Territory One with the sniper rifle on his back. That tall, familiar figure made Wei Chengdong's eyes well up despite himself.

Inside Territory One, the micro tiller rat-a-tat-ed as it cleared the qiang grass above the tunnel, while several team members patrolled the territory with weapons, shooting various evolved animals.

Seeing Luo Pei appear at the tunnel exit of the newly built three-story building beneath the buffer forest, Hu Zifeng, who was guarding the exit, reddened around the eyes, while Chen Zheng's tears came streaming down. Thank goodness — Brother Luo really was all right!

Hu Zifeng shot a glare at the snot-covered Chen Zheng, then reported in a very low voice, "There's a raven up high. Suspected brain-domain evolution. It's been circling overhead."

Luo Pei patted Chen Zheng on the shoulder, went up to the top floor, and after looking through the observation slit for a few seconds, aimed the sniper rifle at the circling raven.

"Bang!"

The long-missed smell of gunpowder lifted Luo Pei's spirits. He pulled out his sunglasses and put them on, casually wiping away the physiological tears that had welled up in his eyes, and said quietly, "I broke one of the raven's wings. The rest is up to you."

"Yes, sir." That single shot from Brother Luo had blasted away everyone's worry. Hu Zifeng accepted the order and led people out to retrieve the raven.

"Looking to die!" Inside Territory Two, Xu Pin — who was monitoring Territory One through a camera strapped to the raven — watched the jumbled, shaking image on the screen in front of him, cursed, and pressed the detonation button.

"Bang!"

The raven, plummeting vertically, exploded in midair, scattering into a cloud of blood mist.

"Attention all lords: a bird carrying explosives has appeared over Territory One. Please watch the skies above your own territory. If you spot any birds with suspicious flight paths, contact the investigation team immediately. Attention all lords…"

Over the lord channel came Tan Junjie's calm notification, followed by Hu Zifeng's cursing.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that the bird carrying explosives over Territory One had been sent by Territory Two. Xia Qing pretended she hadn't heard and kept driving the micro tiller, rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat.

She kept at it until sunset, then rat-a-tat-ed her way home. She had just finished cooking when she heard wave after wave of gunfire from the direction of Territory Two and Territory One.

Xia Qing shut the doors and windows tight. After listening to the broadcast of touching stories from the qiang rain at Hui Three Base and the weather forecast, and jotting down today's farming-knowledge broadcast points, she keenly caught the sound of heavy footsteps approaching.

She lifted a corner of the thickened blackout curtain to look outside, confirmed it was Wei Chengdong, then opened the door and helped him carry the tightly wrapped Yi-element detector into the house.

Ram Boss had never seen Wei Chengdong before and lowered his spiral horns, ready to turn him in. Xia Qing just barely managed to talk him out of it. Wei Chengdong still had his mission; after delivering the machine and giving Xia Qing a few instructions, he headed off to the spring to fetch water.

Xia Qing closed the door securely, took out a soft tape measure, and found that the instrument couldn't fit through the door at all — it could only stay in the living room. The first floor was where she and Ram Boss moved about, so placing such a precision instrument in the second-floor living room was safer.

So Xia Qing picked up the hundred-plus-pound detector and carried it upstairs with ease, setting it down in the living room.

Xia Qing had already used putty powder and wall paint to brush the walls of the small building smooth and white, and laid insect-proof wood flooring on the ground. Add a high-end instrument like this, and the room looked even more upscale.

From inside the house, there was no trace of post-catastrophe desolation.

This was her territory, her home.

Xia Qing hummed a little tune happily as she went back down to the first-floor living room. After painting the rooms, there was no longer any need to burn a fire for smoke to drive out dampness and insects. When the warm light came on, every corner radiated warmth and tranquility.

Her chair and Ram Boss's tatami had also been upgraded to match the room. Ram Boss lay on the tatami, chewing cud and listening to the radio, while Xia Qing sat on the straw cushion of the solid wood bench, carefully cleaning her three beloved guns.

That afternoon, Xia Qing had seen the black bird over Territory One get hit and explode. Although Hu Zifeng said over the lord channel that he was the one who shot it down, Xia Qing knew it was Luo Pei.

After studying shooting for a while, Xia Qing already knew how difficult it was, on a windy day, to shoot down a bird flying high in the sky.

Returning to Territory One, Luo Pei used his precise marksmanship to announce his comeback to the people of Territory One.

Luo Pei was indeed a sharpshooter, and under his guidance, Xia Qing had to grow into a sharpshooter too.

Someone was bound to use this trick to spy on her territory in the future, and she would strike back just like Luo Pei. Once she was strong enough, she would take Tang Zhengsu out with a single shot, to avenge her father.