Chapter 133: Application to Search No. 9 Territory

Chapter 133: Chapter 133: Application to Search No. 9 Territory

It was now 11:00 AM. The temperature outside was twenty-eight degrees, while the temperature inside the cave was slowly dropping. It was currently sixteen degrees, which met the requirements.

The humidity inside and outside the cave was about the same. Controlling humidity wasn’t a problem for Xiaqing; it was just a matter of installing a door and using some dehumidifying materials.

However, this was Xiaqing’s first time digging a cave, so she couldn’t tell if it would collapse or leak. She would have to see how the cave held up during the third Harmful Rain before deciding whether to store her food inside.

After finishing the cave, Xiaqing went home, took a shower, and then went to check on her second batch of crops.

Great. Not a single one had sprouted. Xiaqing sighed and turned to look at the cotton plants to rest her eyes and relax.

The cotton plants were now one and a half meters tall. The lower fruiting branches bore cotton bolls, the middle ones had blossoms, and the upper ones had buds. On the ground, quite a few small bolls had fallen.

Each boll was hard-won. Fertilizing, weeding, watering, pinching off leggy side shoots, removing suckers, topping the plants—Xiaqing had done everything according to the *Planting Guide*, the radio broadcasts, and the methods Qi Fu had taught her. If the bolls still fell after all that, there was nothing more she could do.

Xiaqing picked up a small, freshly fallen boll and spun it like a little top in her palm as she walked over to check the pumpkin patch.

Compared to the cotton, the pumpkin vines, which Xiaqing had ruthlessly pruned, were much more "well-behaved."

Her ten Yellow Light Pumpkin vines had surprisingly produced twelve flowers of various sizes. Beneath the withered blossoms, fuzzy little green pumpkins were already forming. The sight of these tiny pumpkins made Xiaqing’s hands itch. She was tempted to take her knife to the vines again to force them to produce more fruit.

’How many pumpkins should one vine have? With so many flowers, will they compete for nutrients, resulting in none of them growing big, just like the cotton bolls falling off?’

Xiaqing turned on her walkie-talkie, intending to ask Qi Fu, but she overheard Kuang Qingwei talking about fertilizer.

"That’s right, it’s earthworm manure. Two points per pound. Anyone who needs it can place an order with Captain Zhong. Captain Zhong’s team can help with transport."

Shi Zhong from territory #10 asked, "Is the transport free? Fertilizer isn’t light."

Kuang Qingwei replied enthusiastically, "I’m not sure about that. But even if there is a transport fee for Captain Zhong’s team, the seller is covering it, so it’s nothing to do with us. So, is anyone buying? There are over two thousand pounds available right now. Captain Zhong said since there are a lot of us in this area, he can make a special delivery run. If you need more earthworm manure in the future, you’ll have to pre-order, and there’s no telling when your delivery slot will be."

’Over two thousand pounds?’ Xiaqing, still toying with the cotton boll, raised an eyebrow. ’Has Sun Zhe expanded his earthworm farming operation, or have other people started making fertilizer too?’

Qi Fu and Xiaqing had already ordered a good amount of earthworm manure from Sun Zhe, but like Shi Zhong and Zhao Ze, they each put in for five hundred pounds. Kuang Qingwei claimed all the rest.

After the earthworm manure was divided up, Kuang Qingwei surprisingly brought up crab shell fertilizer. "This is brought over from Gui City Base. It’s a high-quality fertilizer used by their Planting Center. It’s not just crab shells; it’s mostly marine animal bones, but crab shells make up the biggest proportion. You can definitely use it without worry."

"Because it’s coming from far away, the price is higher than the earthworm manure. Six points per pound, and there’s as much as you want."

Hearing that a phosphate fertilizer was available, both Shi Zhong and Qi Fu were very interested and started asking all sorts of questions. Kuang Qingwei wouldn’t say a word about his source for the crab shell fertilizer, only insisting that it worked well and was absolutely worth the price.

Due to the high price, Qi Fu and Shi Zhong didn’t dare order too much without seeing the product first, so they each bought one hundred pounds. Kuang Qingwei then asked the others, "Xiaqing, Zhao Ze, you two don’t want some? This is good stuff. An opportunity like this won’t come again. If you don’t supplement with phosphate fertilizer, your crops won’t grow well. If they don’t grow well, they won’t survive the Harmful Rain. And if they don’t survive the Harmful Rain, not only will you have no harvest, you could end up with ruined land and injured people."

"I’m out of points," Xiaqing refused flatly. ’I can buy fertilizer from Zhong Tao for four points a pound, so of course I’m not going to spend an extra two points to buy it from Kuang Qingwei.’

Zhao Ze didn’t want to waste money either. "I’ll wait for Brother Qi and Brother Shi to use theirs and see the results first."

After the business talk concluded, Kuang Qingwei started sharing the latest news he’d gathered. "The marine life over at Gui City Base is getting more and more out of control. I heard a huge swath of territory to the southwest of Hui Wu Base was overrun. In the past two months, over two hundred thousand people have fled from Gui San to Hui Wu Base."

Shi Zhong sighed. "Even if they’re from different bases, they’re all citizens of Hua Country. If they really rush over in huge groups to steal food, the military won’t be able to stop them, nor will they kill them all."

Zhao Ze comforted himself, "We’re north of the Safe Zone. Even if people from Gui City come, they’ll hit the Safe Zone first. They won’t make it to us. If they really do come, we’ll just do an emergency harvest and then grab our stuff and run."

Qi Fu showed a ferocious side he had never revealed on the lord’s channel before. "I’m not running. If they dare to rush my territory, I’ll kill them one by one."

"Me too," Xiaqing added. ’No matter how many of them come, I’ll kill every last one. This is my territory, and the food here was grown by my own hands, seed by seed. I’ll kill anyone who comes to steal it.’

Zhao Ze asked in a low voice, "Is Assistant Liu there? I remember Fourth Sister saying she has a poison that can ’silence anything that breathes.’ I’d like to exchange for some, just in case."

The online customer service, Little Liu, replied immediately, "Mr. Zhao, our territory does indeed have several chemical agents with that effect, but they are for experimental use only and not for external sale. We would advise you to consider hiring Evolvers to protect your territory, or purchasing weapons for self-defense."

Hearing that No. 9 Territory had several kinds of poison, the other lords felt their stomachs churn with unease.

Xiaqing put down her little top-like cotton boll and pulled out her phone to look up the *Territory Law*. She remembered that storing highly toxic substances in a territory was a violation.

Before Xiaqing could find the relevant article, Zhang San spoke up. "Is Tan Junjie there?"

"Captain Tan isn’t here. You can tell me if you need something," replied Hu Zi, a member of the Danger Investigation Team.

Zhang San stated calmly, "According to our country’s regulations for the management of hazardous chemicals, including toxic and harmful substances, Level 2 and higher hazardous chemicals must be centrally stored and managed, and cannot be privately removed from base laboratories. No. 9 Territory is not a base laboratory, yet it possesses chemical agents classified as Level 1 hazardous materials. This is illegal. I request that Captain Tan report this immediately and conduct an immediate search and seizure of the hazardous chemicals within No. 9 Territory to ensure the safety of the surrounding territories."

"Exactly!" Zhang San had spoken just as Xiaqing found the section in the *Territory Law*’s explanatory notes regarding the management of toxic and harmful drugs and chemical agents.

’The territories aren’t part of the Safe Zone and have a high-risk factor, so the lords would naturally do everything in their power to prepare methods of self-defense, like my gun, for instance.’

’Li Si of No. 9 Territory is a researcher, so it’s understandable she might keep some toxic chemicals for self-preservation. Even though it’s illegal, who would know if she kept quiet about it?’

’But Li Si had mentioned it once before when she was trying to scare Tang Huai, and now Little Liu was saying they have several types. For No. 9 Territory to say this so openly means they have no regard for the relevant laws and regulations.’

’During this Natural Disaster, the country is busy with relief efforts and lacks sufficient law enforcement personnel, so many people flout the law and act with impunity.’

’For No. 9 Territory to openly admit on the lord’s channel that they have prohibited items—do they think the Danger Investigation Team will turn a blind eye, or do they think they can use this to intimidate the other lords?’

’The other nearby lords indeed wouldn’t dare, or wouldn’t find it worthwhile, to openly confront No. 9 Territory. Just like how I would only report it privately to Tan Junjie.’

’But Zhang San, who has always been petty, isn’t afraid of No. 9 Territory. With an opportunity like this laid out before him, it would be strange if he let them off the hook. The people from No. 9 Territory know Zhang San well; they should have seen this coming. The more I think about it, the more I feel like something is off.’

Hearing Zhang San demand the Danger Investigation Team search No. 9 Territory, Assistant Liu could no longer maintain her gentle, customer-service tone. She explained frantically, "We don’t have any hazardous materials in No. 9 Territory! I was just bluffing earlier to protect myself!"

Having spent two days in close contact with Little Liu from No. 9 Territory, Xiaqing felt her current emotional shift was a bit strange. It was as if this Little Liu wasn’t the same person she had met before.

Tan Junjie’s serious voice came on the channel. "The lord’s report has been received. I am currently requesting instructions from the Territory Management Department. Lord No.9, please grant the Danger Investigation Team permission to enter No. 9 Territory to search for and seize the Level 1 hazardous chemicals."

Assistant Liu from No. 9 Territory went offline, and Li Si came on.

Li Si didn’t answer Tan Junjie’s request. Instead, she aimed her attack directly at Zhang San. "All I have here are some common chemical agents for planting research. Brother San, do you really have to be so ruthless? I don’t believe your territory is clean. If the Danger Investigation Team is going to conduct a search, then they should search Territory Land No. 7 as well!"