Chapter 859: Request for Support

Xia Qing's heart was bleeding, but her voice over the walkie-talkie was perfectly calm. "Huo-ge, Guan Tong, the three of us will roll up the tarp together. Everyone else, abandon Greenhouse Twelve and go guard Greenhouses Seven, Ten, and Eleven."

The reason she wanted to roll up this tarp was because wire hooks were caught on it; if the wind blew it onto another greenhouse's tarp, things would get messy.

"Copy that."

One Level 5, one Level 6.5, and one Level 7 strength evolvers — though they couldn't fight the gale or hold down the tarp on a hundred-and-fifty-meter greenhouse already ballooning in the wind, rolling the tarp back up was still within their ability.

But before they could do it, walnut-sized hailstones came crashing down with the gale, slamming the tarp straight onto the greenhouse frame!

"Everyone, find cover immediately!" Xia Qing gave the order. No matter how precious the grain was, it wasn't worth a human life.

Crouching under the tarp, Guan Tong asked, "Who's closest to the cabin? Go grab the iron umbrellas."

Guan Tong, who was learning blacksmithing, had forged ten backpack-style iron umbrellas, stored in the cabin inside Territory Three. Though his umbrellas had this flaw and that, they could still hold up against hail.

Xia Qing drove to the cabin, fetched the iron umbrellas, handed them out, and continued inspecting the greenhouses.

The post-Evolution Blue Star, utterly deranged, decided wind and hail weren't enough to test surviving humanity and escalated the disaster once more.

Tan Junjie broadcast calmly on the lord channel: "Attention all lords, attention all lords: the Harmonic Element concentration in the atmosphere is rising rapidly and has reached Blue Harmonic Rain level. Please protect yourselves and wear protective masks."

At this moment, even Tang Huai and Zhao Ze, who loved to complain most, had no time to key the walkie-talkie to gripe or cry. Everyone was fighting the disaster with everything they had.

"Eryong, Xiao Jiang, wind's getting in at the northwest corner of Greenhouse Ten — go seal the breach!" Beard Feng in the monitoring room spotted the danger and immediately broadcast over the walkie-talkie.

"Copy that." Eryong and Xiao Jiang, who were inspecting Greenhouse Nine, immediately sprinted south to Greenhouse Ten. A closer look revealed that one panel of the iron umbrella Xiao Jiang was holding over his head had already been smashed through by hail.

Beard Feng followed up with orders: "Chen Cheng and Guan Tong, guard Greenhouse Seven. Liangzi and Peng Jian, guard Greenhouse Eleven. Everyone else, keep inspecting."

"Copy that."

Ten-odd minutes later, just as the hail began to ease, Tan Junjie used a solemn, calm tone to announce another piece of news that drove the lords to even deeper despair. "Attention all lords: the Harmonic Element level in the atmosphere has climbed to Orange. Please make sure your protective masks are on properly to avoid inhaling too much Harmonic Element and losing control."

Inside Territory Three, Xia Qing asked Yan Yue about Territory Nine's situation while tossing two half-pieces of Use Yishi into the fish pond, then rushed to the breeding greenhouse.

The Use Yishi she'd just brought back from Mountain Fifty-Five hadn't even made it into the treasure chest before it was already being put to use.

Because the wind was too strong and the hail came too fast, she had no time to cover the fish pond — she could only toss Use Yishi to protect the fry hiding at the bottom.

After using Use Yishi to protect the mealworms and the newly planted sweet potato vines in the breeding greenhouse, Xia Qing rushed into the planting greenhouse, used three Yi Stones to protect the newly sprouted rice seedlings, then dashed into Greenhouse Eleven and used two Yi Stones to protect the 600-plus sweet potato vines she'd only planted yesterday.

Standing beside a patch of wilted sweet potato vines, Xia Qing caught her breath and pulled out the Harmonic Element detector. Watching the Harmonic Element concentration in the greenhouse air tick down bit by bit, her taut nerves finally loosened a little.

Thanks to the black loach, thanks to the Head Wolf and the Broken-Waist Wolf, thanks to the eleven cracked Yi Stones she'd brought back from the python cave — they were all still within their effective period.

Though she'd lost one greenhouse, and the Green Lantern Orchard on the slope was surely smashed to pieces, the other greenhouses were saved, and the critical ones were protected with Use Yishi. Thank heavens.

Now the hail had eased, but the rain had grown heavier — and it was Orange-level Harmonic Rain! Damn it, the Harmonic Rain from just a week ago was back for a repeat performance!

Xia Qing asked, "Captain Hu, I'll leave Territory Three to you. Huo-ge, want me to drive you back?"

Watching Huo Zhun pressed the walkie-talkie button. "No need. My dad said the two mu in Territory Eleven don't need me. Want me to come with you to Territory Nine?"

"No need for now. Sorry to trouble you and Captain Hu's team to help me protect the greenhouses in Territory Three." Xia Qing jumped into the off-road vehicle and headed through the rain toward Territory Nine.

Fortunately, the Ninth Planting Center had only built six greenhouses so far, with nine mu of rice seedlings raised. Even if forty people stayed in Territories Two and Six to help, the Planting Center still had over eighty people.

That was enough to protect the center's supplies and greenhouses, but as director of the Ninth Planting Center, Xia Qing still had to go over in person.

"Sister Qing, please, I'm begging you — all four greenhouses in my territory have been blown over by the wind, and four of my brothers have been injured by hail. Please send a few people to help me. The inspection team can't spare anyone — I'll kowtow to you." Wen Nengjie came online wailing.

Zhao Ze immediately followed online: "Sister Qing, I need hands too. I've got injured people here too, and the greenhouses are badly damaged."

Rarely, Tang Heng also came online: "Sister Qing, if it's possible, could you send a few people to support my side? Everyone from Territory Two who could come support has already come. The disaster here is severe."

Right after, Territories Five and Ten also sent out requests.

Faced with a sudden natural disaster, the shortage of manpower in the territories was laid completely bare.

Tan Junjie also sent a request to Xia Qing: "Xia Qing, if the Ninth Planting Center has any free staff, can they come help? The inspection team really doesn't have enough hands."

"Give me two minutes." Xia Qing jumped off the off-road vehicle, stood on the ground covered in hail and Harmonic Rain, switched her earpiece walkie-talkie to the Ninth Planting Center's public channel, and broadcast to the staff standing in the employee dormitory that had managed to install doors and windows in time:

"This is Xia Qing. I'm issuing an emergency call to all Ninth Planting Center staff: Territories Four, Five, Ten, Twelve, and Seventeen in the Northern Zone One have been hit by disaster and urgently need support. If your protective equipment and stamina allow, you may go out to provide support. All mission rewards go to the individual."

Zhong Tao was the first to respond to Xia Qing's call: "Ordinary person Zhong Tao, attire meets requirements, willing to go out and provide support."

A one-armed veteran also stepped forward, walked out of the dormitory into the Harmonic Rain: "Level 3 speed evolver Dai Yan, accepting the mission, going to provide support to the territories."

One voice after another, several dozen people spoke up or raised their hands, willing to provide support.

"Thank you all. Please form six-person teams. Yue-ge leads three teams to Territory Twelve, Zhong Tao leads two teams to Territory Four, Dai Yan leads two teams to Territory Five…"

After dispatching the people, Xia Qing used the lord walkie-talkie to broadcast to the lords. Wen Nengjie and Zhao Ze cried their thanks, and Shi Zhong's voice choked up too.