Chapter 44: Entering the Evolution Forest to Dig for Bamboo Shoots

Chapter 44: Entering the Evolved Forest to Dig Bamboo Shoots

Over the walkie-talkie, Qi Fu introduced the key points for the upcoming seedling planting to everyone. "You can't water them every day; you have to follow the 'dry-wet cycle.' You also need to spray evolved camphor sap frequently to prevent rodent-like insects. If you see a seedling whose leaves look fine and haven't been bitten, but it's turning yellow and wilting, there's an eighty percent chance the problem is in the soil."

Squatting by the edge of the field, Xia Qing carefully noted Qi Fu's words in her phone's notepad. Zhao Ze asked, "Brother Qi, what kind of problem is it? Can you be more specific?"

"We are pioneers clearing new land, and we've used insecticidal and fungicidal powders, so there shouldn't be many pathogens in the soil. The most likely culprits are still those two bastards: the evolved grubs and the evolved soil silkworms," Qi Fu's voice sounded as if he were gritting his teeth.

The ferocity of these two types of insects had already been witnessed by various Lords in the wheat, cotton, and mung bean fields. Once a seedling was found to have been bitten, even if one dug up the soil to kill the pests with extreme care to avoid damaging the main roots, the seedling would still weaken once the soil was refilled.

The most infuriating part was digging up the soil only to find that the roots had been bitten but the insect had already escaped; a fragile seedling, bitten by an insect and then uprooted by a human, became even weaker.

Every night, Lords would jump up in anger because of this.

Xia Qing was an auditory evolver. Every day, relying on her excellent hearing, she would clear the vegetable garden, farmland, fields, and the surrounding ten-meter radius. Not only did she never get angry about this, but she had also established a friendly neighborly relationship with the four evolved magpies and two evolved egrets within her territory.

The two egrets had moved in a few days ago, nesting in a small grove of dawn redwoods on the north side of the reservoir. Having not eaten eggs for many years, Xia Qing was eagerly waiting for her neighbors to lay eggs so she could go steal them for a snack.

After turning off the walkie-talkie, Xia Qing looked up to confirm that the toona sinensis sprouts had grown to twelve to fifteen centimeters and were ready for harvest. This was the second harvest of the sprouts. Xia Qing cut everything she could, exchanging them with Tan Junjie for thirty-five liters of diesel.

Although she had no other evolved toona trees to compare them to, Xia Qing was quite satisfied with the yield of this large tree. Carrying two oil canisters, Xia Qing briefed Tan Junjie on tomorrow's itinerary: "I'll be out of the territory for half a day tomorrow. I've used supplies to exchange for people from Plot One to help guard my territory."

Many things were being grown in the territory, and the household's important supplies were increasing, so the place could not be left unattended. Thus, Xia Qing activated her own security team for the first time. She informed Tan Junjie in advance to avoid any misunderstandings if he encountered the people from Plot One appearing in or around Plot Three during his patrol tomorrow.

Tan Junjie nodded and left. He didn't ask what Xia Qing had used to trade with Plot One, nor did he ask why she was leaving the territory. Naturally, Xia Qing didn't pry into how Tan Junjie would handle the toona sprouts.

Curiosity kills the cat—this was true before the Cataclysm, and even more so after. Cats don't die from curiosity because most cats become incredibly powerful after evolving, giving them the ability to support their inquisitive nature.

After making arrangements with Hu Zifeng for tomorrow, Xia Qing began discussing the trip with Boss Sheep. "I'm going to dig bamboo shoots tomorrow. Do you want to come? It's that same bamboo forest where we used to cut bamboo; you've been there before."

After the "Chicken Shit Vine" incident, Xia Qing felt that Boss Sheep was smarter than she had thought, so she became more talkative around him, hoping that one day he might truly understand her meaning.

Boss Sheep didn't even lift his eyelids, continuing to lie on the tatami mat, chewing the cud.

The straw mat spread over the tatami was newly woven by Xia Qing to stave off boredom while guarding the seedlings. A comfortable, large straw cushion sat atop the mat; this was specially designed according to her understanding of "ovine ergonomics" as a way to thank Boss Sheep for his concern for her.

Judging by Boss Sheep's expression, he seemed quite satisfied.

Looking at his punchable expression, Xia Qing's desire to eat "Fresh Mutton Eighteen" diminished significantly. She smiled and said, "Goodnight, Boss Sheep."

After Xia Qing went to sleep, Boss Sheep, with his large head and spiral horns resting on the raised side of the meadow, slowly closed his eyes as well.

Early the next morning, after Xia Qing finished her inspection and pest control, she invited Hu Zifeng's team in. Hu Zifeng's team consisted of ten people, all male evolvers. Today, they only left one member to guard Plot One; the rest had arrived. Of these nine, four stayed to guard Xia Qing's territory, while five accompanied her into the Evolved Forest to dig for bamboo shoots.

Xia Qing wasn't worried about the remaining members rummaging through her territory; the team selected by Yang Jin wouldn't risk his own reputation.

Furthermore, this wasn't Xia Qing's first time meeting this team. Because Hu Zifeng's team often cooperated with Luo Pei's team on missions, although Hu Zifeng looked fierce and had a loud voice, he was always the first to charge into danger. Task points within the team were distributed based on contribution, making the team very united; they had never had an incident of backstabbing a comrade, making them trustworthy.

Wearing split-type camouflage protective suits and carrying pistols, Xia Qing walked out of the western buffer forest. She turned back and shouted to Boss Sheep, who hadn't followed: "Boss, I'm going to the Evolved Forest over there to dig shoots. Are you coming?"

Boss Sheep squinted at the group standing within the isolation zone. Hu Zifeng's group also looked at Xia Qing's "boss" with curiosity. A silence fell between the two sides.

Seeing that Boss Sheep remained unmoved, Xia Qing waved to him. "Then I'll go by myself. Boss, stay and guard the house."

"Baaa—"

Just as Xia Qing crossed the isolation zone to enter the Evolved Forest, Boss Sheep suddenly let out a cry. Having become familiar with his calls, Xia Qing heard a warning in that sound. Did Boss Sheep sense danger there and was warning her not to go?

With delicious food right in front of her, it was impossible for Xia Qing to turn back. "I have full gear and a combat team; nothing will happen. Boss, wait for me to bring back something tasty."

Having said that, Xia Qing requested the guarding members not to let Boss Sheep enter other territories. "Even though he's a 'Red Light' animal and can't be eaten, it wouldn't be good to disturb the people in other territories."

Hearing this, Tang Huai, who was eavesdropping from Plot Two, sighed silently. If this sheep weren't a "Red Light" animal, he would have been eating roasted lamb chops by now.

Once Hu Zifeng's team had walked a distance away, the visual evolver, Zhou Xun, lowered his voice to report to Tang Huai, "Boss, Hu Zifeng is taking people to the Evolved Forest with Xia Qing to dig bamboo shoots. Should we follow?"

"Follow my ass!" Tang Huai stood up, crushed a few insects crawling into his protective suit, and went back to guarding the vegetable garden. After listening to Qi Fu and the others drone on about planting for several days, Tang Huai's interest in farming hadn't been piqued, but he had grown to enjoy locating and digging up insects by sound.

Today, the micro-tillers in Plot One and Plot Three had finally stopped buzzing. He wanted to take advantage of this rare opportunity to dig up insects to his heart's content. This was far more interesting than eavesdropping missions.

"Miss Xia is in front of us. Entire team, stay alert and maintain formation," Hu Zifeng said. Although he didn't know the spring water was provided by Xia Qing, he knew Luo Pei had been treated in her territory, so he was exceptionally grateful and respectful toward her, speaking very politely.

Xia Qing thanked him and used the headset intercom built into her protective mask to remind Hu Zifeng, "Now is the best time for bamboo shoots. Everyone must be careful of potentially dangerous animals in the bamboo forest. My sheep has a very keen sense for danger; if he doesn't come, it means there is a danger here he doesn't want to face."

According to Xia Qing's experience, when delicious plants mature, evolved animals that enjoy those plants tend to gather nearby. An evolved animal that likes eating bamboo... could it be an evolved Giant Panda?!

Xia Qing's eyes lit up. She turned her auditory and visual senses to their maximum, attempting to catch a glimpse of a black-and-white figure.

Speaking of which, an evolved Giant Panda should still be black and white, right?