Chapter 15: Killing Rain

Chapter 15: Killing Rain

After applying medicine to her wound, Xia Qing put on her clothes, layered on a protective suit, donned a new face mask, and carried a piece of waterproof tarp to cover the scaffolding structure to the east.

The roof of the small building where she lived was tightly covered with synthetic resin tiles designed to resist acid rain, and the windows were also thoroughly sealed, so she didn't need the tarp there.

Once she had covered the scaffolding, Xia Qing began covering the sheep pen.

Although the roof of the sheep pen also used the resin tiles Xia Qing had scavenged, the walls were built from a mixture of mud, grass, and soil, which had not yet dried completely and could not withstand the scouring of heavy rain.

The sheep pen was, of course, prepared for Boss Sheep.

Even though Xia Qing had been busy cleaning the village these past two days, she hadn't forgotten to forage purple-leaf grass and feed it tomahawk buds for Boss Sheep. This morning, she had even taken it to witness the brutal scene of the army clearing the Evolved Forest, so that it would understand the terror of humans and not recklessly jump out to play with people.

Perhaps frightened, Boss Sheep had walked down the mountain with its head held high after returning. After circling the village, it seemed to have given up on returning to its old lair, intending to find a place in the village to shelter from the Killing Rain.

In this territory, where could there be a better place than her home?

On the final day before the Killing Rain, Xia Qing first went to the reservoir to fetch two large tanks of wastewater, then went to collect spring water.

At this moment, she could already feel the moisture in the wind steadily increasing; it might rain tonight. She had to prepare all the necessary supplies before the rain arrived.

After placing the water buckets inside the cave, Xia Qing picked up a newly woven large back basket and asked Boss Sheep, "I'm going to forage purple-leaf grass. Are you coming?... No? Then I'm off."

Xia Qing crossed the buffer forest alone and entered the isolation zone. She cast a longing glance at the sturdy barbed wire of the Breeding Center before donning her protective mask and entering her own new territory.

This territory had already been cleared by the Danger Inspection Team, and the danger level had decreased, but Xia Qing had wounds on her face and did not dare to take risks.

Just as she found the area where the purple-leaf grass grew most densely and had harvested a few sicklefuls, she heard the sounds of human activity. Soon, she heard Su Ming's voice.

"Sister Xia Qing!" Su Ming led the way, running toward her, followed by six team members. Although they all wore protective masks and only their eyes were visible, Xia Qing could tell that Captain Tan was not there today, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sister Xia Qing is harvesting perilla!" Su Ming continued, trying to make small talk.

*This is perilla?* Xia Qing's movement of putting the grass into her basket paused for a moment before she responded, "Mm. You guys have worked hard these past few days."

"It's no trouble, it's what we should do." Su Ming walked up quickly. "Sister Xia Qing, you're harvesting so much; how do you plan to eat it?"

Well...

The color of these leaves was truly eerie. Xia Qing had been too busy lately to figure out how to cook them, so for now, she had only been harvesting them to feed the sheep.

Cao Xianyun saw that Xia Qing didn't recognize the plant and stood in front of his dim-witted teammate to explain, "Although it doesn't look like it, this is indeed a type of Evolved Perilla. After being heated or blanched, it turns bright green. It's highly nutritious and is the main ingredient in our base's No. 3 nutritional solution."

After the evolution of disaster-class creatures, food became scarce. Compressed rations that tasted good enough to make one vomit and nutritional solutions became the two primary ways for humans to fill their stomachs.

"Right, blanched and tossed in a salad, it's delicious!" Su Ming poked his head out from behind Cao Xianyun.

Sensing Su Ming's longing, Xia Qing plucked a large handful of Evolved Perilla from her basket, tied it with a vine, and handed it over. "Take this back as a side dish. This isn't a gift; I want to exchange it for supplies you guys can't use up."

Just as Su Ming was about to refuse, Cao Xianyun reached out and took it. "Alright. In the future, if you need anything, Sister Qing, just let us know."

"Eh? Hey!"

Su Ming's eyes widened as he was about to say something, but he was pulled away by Hu Zi and Cao Xianyun.

"I say, Old Cao, you..."

"Shut up!"

They walked quite a distance away, thinking Xia Qing couldn't hear them, before Su Ming aggressively pulled off his protective mask. "Old Cao, you didn't even ask what Sister Qing wanted to exchange for before just taking it? What if we don't have what she wants?"

Cao Xianyun rolled his eyes at the idiot. "Do you want to eat it or not?"

"I do!"

Another teammate, Hu Zi, spoke up. "Xia Qing is ignoring the tomahawk buds that are so green they're almost black, and instead comes here to harvest perilla. What do you guys think the quality of this perilla is?"

Su Ming punched Hu Zi hard. "It must be better than tomahawk buds! Hu Zi, you've finally grown a brain!"

"Get lost!" Hu Zi, a strength-evolved warrior, grabbed Su Ming's arm and tossed him aside.

Walking at the rear, Cao Xianyun heard the commotion in the distance. He turned back to see Xia Qing walking out of the forest, carrying a back basket and two large bundles of Evolved Perilla. He whispered, "Did you guys ever consider that she might just be here to harvest grass to feed her sheep?"

Hu Zi: "..."

The others: "..."

Su Ming: "I wonder if Sister Xia Qing is still looking for a sheep. I'm available."

"I am too."

"Me as well..."

Pretending to hear nothing, Xia Qing crossed the isolation zone and returned to the cave. She reached out to pat her sheep's head, but the fellow, lacking any sense of tact, jumped up with its horns ready to fight.

Xia Qing let out a disdainful "Tch." "If you don't behave, I'll kick you out. There are plenty of others who want to be my sheep."

Boss Sheep narrowed its eyes, seeing that Xia Qing was no longer provoking it, and stepped forward to eat the grass.

Xia Qing placed the empty water buckets from her backpack inside the cave, took out the full drinking water buckets, tightened their lids, and packed them into her backpack. Then, she went back to harvest several more large bundles of perilla.

The sheep needed three days' worth, and she needed three days' worth; she had to harvest it all before the rain started.

By the time Xia Qing returned, she had swapped in three drinking water buckets and began heading home, carrying both the backpack and the buckets.

The evolved sheep gave her a look and continued to lower its head to munch on the perilla. After returning, Xia Qing took out the full water buckets, sealed the cave entrance, and then set off with her backpack and the final four large bundles of grass.

Boss Sheep, who was in the middle of eating, wasn't having it; it jumped up and tried to butt her. Without looking back, Xia Qing dodged with a quick movement and kept walking, effectively leading Boss Sheep home.

Xia Qing placed a bundle of grass on the bamboo rack of the sheep pen. "It's about to rain. If you don't want to get soaked, stay put and don't go out."

Having said that, Xia Qing didn't care whether Boss Sheep entered the pen or not, and she headed back to the building with her water buckets.

Boss Sheep stood in the courtyard with squinted eyes for a long time before finally succumbing to the scent of the grass and walking into the sheep pen.

Standing in the first-floor living room, Xia Qing smiled triumphantly. She cut a piece of waterproof tarp and went to the western courtyard to build a small greenhouse for the ginger and garlic she had planted.

Although the hillside where she had dug up the ginger and garlic already belonged to her, there was no telling if that patch of land still had edible ginger and garlic left. Even if it did, who knew if a single rainstorm would cause them to undergo a "Killing Evolution" into inedible plants?

Therefore, Xia Qing had to protect these dozen or so transplanted seedlings.

If they encountered heavy rain with a high concentration of Killing Elements, it would be a severe challenge for all life on Blue Star. If the seedlings were destroyed, there was nothing she could do, because she had done everything possible.

Not long after Xia Qing finished tidying the vegetable garden and returned to the first-floor living room, she heard the distant rumble of thunder.

That sound made her feel irritable.

(End of Chapter)