Chapter 7: 7. Chapter 7: Triple-Element Evolver

Chapter 7: Triple-Type Evolver

After installing the window, the room was sealed tight, and sleep felt exceptionally sound.

Having slept well, Xia Qing dreamed of a high-level evolved cow wandering into her territory and refusing to leave. Xia Qing harnessed it to a plow, and it managed to till fifty mu of land in a single day.

When she woke up, Xia Qing couldn't help but laugh. If only she really had a cow; cows eat grass and don't need fuel. Nowadays, diesel and gasoline are both very expensive—too expensive for the average person to afford.

After washing up with spring water and eating a piece of ration for breakfast, Xia Qing shouldered three water buckets and headed out to fetch water.

Yesterday, between drinking, cooking, and washing, she had used up one 20-liter bucket of spring water. The two extra buckets were ones she had found yesterday in a half-smashed kitchen cabinet in the village ahead. Their lids were screwed on tight, and after a good scrubbing, they were still usable.

After hacking three venomous snakes to death along the way, Xia Qing arrived at the stone cave and discovered that the rock she had used to block the entrance had been pushed aside.

She gripped her machete, tilted her head to listen intently, and scanned the area with her eyes. Only after confirming that there were no large animals within a fifty-meter radius—aside from herself, a few sparrows, and some snakes—did she feel slightly relieved.

The ability to observe her surroundings within fifty meters was because Xia Qing was actually a triple-type evolver.

In addition to strength, her vision and hearing had also evolved. Although she hadn't gone to a research lab for a formal rating, by comparing herself to similar evolvers, Xia Qing judged that both her hearing and vision evolutions were no lower than Level 4. Furthermore, her strength wasn't the Level 4 she had reported, but Level 6.

Therefore, Xia Qing was not a primary evolver, but a high-level triple-type evolver.

Multi-type evolvers were extremely rare. Among the two million population of the Hui-3 Base, there were only twelve dual-type evolvers, and only two triple-type evolvers. Moreover, those two triple-type evolvers had never made their identities or evolutionary paths public. Xia Qing only knew that one served in the military, and the other had gone to the research institute at the Hui-1 General Base.

After that, there was no more news of those two. Rumors in the safe zone claimed they had been sliced up for research and were long dead.

After Xia Qing evolved into a triple-type, her father, fearing she would be captured for research, had only reported the least conspicuous evolution: strength.

Her triple-type evolutionary ability was the reliance that allowed her to avoid danger time and again, and it was the source of her confidence in venturing out of the safe zone alone to farm.

At the cave entrance where Xia Qing had placed her buckets yesterday, there were clear tracks left by three types of animals: one was a bird, one was a weasel, and the third was a sheep or a deer.

If Xia Qing could find the spring, how could the mountain animals not know about it? After the water in the reservoir at the foot of the mountain became polluted, it was only logical for the clever animals to come here to drink spring water.

The bird could be ignored, and the weasel was a natural predator of rats, so it had to be kept. But the sheep or deer... she was their natural predator. They were hers!

Xia Qing’s eyes gleamed as she scanned the area, and she soon made a new discovery: a few white hairs were snagged on a branch two meters away.

Given the length, the curl, and the texture, combined with the footprints, it was undoubtedly a sheep. Xia Qing wished she could drop everything today and just guard the cave waiting for the sheep.

She hadn't eaten mutton for so many, many years.

Inside the stone cave, the pit Xia Qing had cleared out under the spring didn't hold a drop of water; it all flowed away along the rock crevices. Xia Qing wasn't surprised. If the cave could hold water or if the spring flowed outward, it would have been discovered and cordoned off by search teams long ago.

She placed the buckets into the pit to catch the spring water and then tested the meat of the three venomous snakes. To her surprise, one of the snakes showed a green light.

This delighted Xia Qing, making her even more eager to stake out the sheep that came to drink.

However, this snake was enough for today. While the water was filling, Xia Qing took the time to select and test the wild vegetables she recognized.

By the time all three buckets were full, she had found seven small wild vegetables. Although blanching them would only yield a single mouthful, Xia Qing was already very satisfied with this harvest.

She washed the vegetables with spring water, used a larger rock to block the cave entrance, took her things home, and then grabbed a shovel to prepare the fields.

If she could level four mu of land, she could plant all the seeds issued by the base. Xia Qing chose a plot only a hundred meters from the reservoir's flood control wall; irrigation was convenient there, and with the wall in place, she didn't have to worry about being flooded by the river.

The first step in leveling the land was to turn the soil and clear out large rocks, tree roots, grass roots, and visible pests. Xia Qing adjusted her straw hat and got to work.

She didn't realize it until she started digging, but it was quite a shock.

The land, which had been covered by a thick layer of wood ash, already had quite a few tender shoots poking through. Xia Qing couldn't tell what kind of shoots they were, but after testing them and finding they all showed red lights, she treated them all as weeds.

Without the aid of machinery or draft cattle, relying purely on human labor, the advantage of a strength-type evolver became apparent. Xia Qing broke four old shovels in one morning and cleared two mu of land.

At this rate, she could finish clearing all four mu today. Xia Qing felt a great sense of accomplishment.

"Sister Xia Qing, Sister Xia Qing."

Hearing Zhong Tao’s voice amplified by a megaphone, Xia Qing wiped the sweat from her face with a towel, went home to grab the edible venomous snake, and hurried to the road sign.

Seeing Xia Qing arrive, Zhong Tao jumped off his vehicle and waved at her. He followed the rules and stood outside, not stepping into her territory. "Little sister!"

Xia Qing smiled and walked up. "Brother Tao, are you out on patrol?"

Zhong Tao looked at the clean and refreshed evolver, Xia Qing, and asked with a smile, "That's right. I checked the plots nearby yesterday, and today I'm checking the area down the mountain. How are things? Everything alright?"

"Everything is fine." Xia Qing handed over the woven grass bag containing the snake. "I got lucky; I caught a snake while clearing the hillside this morning. Brother Tao, take it back to add to your meal."

Zhong Tao quickly waved his hand. "That won't do. Snake meat is good stuff; you keep it for yourself."

Xia Qing firmly pushed it forward. "I don't eat snake meat."

Seeing that she wasn't just being polite, Zhong Tao accepted the grass bag and handed it to Zheng Kui, who was chewing on a cigarette. He asked with concern, "I remember this mountain was cleared quite thoroughly. Are there many snakes? Should I report it and have someone come to clear it again?"

"Not many, no need to send anyone." Xia Qing refused directly, then handed a slip of paper with her mobile number to Zhong Tao. "This is my mobile number. What is yours, Brother Tao?"

As the captain of the transport team, Zhong Tao was equipped with a satellite phone. He recited his number and lowered his voice to ask, "Little sister, you have a satellite phone?"

Seeing Xia Qing nod, he immediately grinned. "That makes things much easier. If you need anything, little sister, just give me a call. Also, there are two things I need to make clear: first, pay attention to the base broadcast every night from seven to eight; second, the military will send troops to patrol the mountain's isolation belts and buffer forest areas regularly. They will greet you when they come; only if you agree will they enter your land."

Xia Qing pressed, "Is it the military stationed at the regimental headquarters that patrols?"

"Yes. Eh?" Zhong Tao accidentally let slip a secret he shouldn't have. He looked around guiltily and lowered his voice to ask Xia Qing, "Little sister, how did you know there were still people at the regimental headquarters?"

Xia Qing shook her head with a serious expression. "I guessed. I don't know anything."

Zhong Tao scratched his head and laughed. "It doesn't matter if you know; just don't go spreading it around. How about I give your number to the patrol team? It'll be easier for them to contact you when they come by."

"Sure." In the ten years since the disaster, the military had made huge sacrifices to protect the people and was the most trustworthy of all groups. Xia Qing added, "Don't tell anyone in the safe zone that I have a phone."

"Understood." Zhong Tao was just about to say goodbye when he saw someone sprinting from the east. He immediately raised his gun and blocked Xia Qing behind him. "Stop! One more step and I'll shoot!"

(End of chapter)