Chapter 152: Sniper Xiaqing

Chapter 152: Chapter 152: Sniper Xiaqing

Although the sky was just beginning to brighten, Xiaqing, a Visual Evolver, didn’t need a flashlight to walk within her own territory.

Two of her solar panels were broken, and the diesel generator hadn’t been delivered yet, so she had to conserve electricity whenever possible.

By the time she reached her territory’s Northern Isolation Zone, the person sent from Territory No. 7 had already arrived.

It was a man in camouflage, over 1.9 meters tall. Although he carried no weapons and wasn’t in an attack stance, he gave off an incredibly formidable aura.

Xiaqing stopped, not stepping out of her territory’s Buffer Forest.

This wasn’t the first time Xiaqing had seen this man. A few days ago, he had followed Zhang San to search No. 9 Territory. At the time, he had been standing next to Ji Li, shouldering a light Grenade Launcher.

’Territory No. 7 has a light Grenade Launcher!’

Xiaqing was the first to speak. "Hello. Third Territory, two-five-eight."

"Territory No. 7, three-seven-six. Thank you."

The man’s voice was friendly. Xiaqing breathed a sigh of relief, walked out to hand him the sealed bag, and immediately retreated back into her territory.

When she returned home, Xiaqing found that the Weasel had already left. The two injured wolves were chowing down on their food.

Seeing Xiaqing return, the injured wolf with the broken leg guarded its food, baring its bloody fangs at her. The Brain Domain Evolution Wolf glanced up at Xiaqing before lowering its head to continue eating.

Even domesticated dogs guard their food, let alone wolves. Xiaqing had timed her return, not expecting them to still be eating.

She kept her distance from the two eating wolves and greeted the Head Wolf. "Queen, I’m back. I’m leaving the territory to hunt after daybreak. Two people will be coming over to watch the territory for me. They won’t enter the village."

The Head Wolf seemed very tired today. It had been lying on the ground when Xiaqing left, and it was still lying there now. It didn’t react to Xiaqing’s words.

It was still early, and with nothing else to do, Xiaqing simply turned on the light in the first-floor tool shed and continued digging her cellar.

In three days, Xiaqing had broken through the concrete floor inside the house, dug a cellar one meter in diameter and three meters deep, and even carved out a storage nook at the bottom. After a flurry of activity, going up and down, she finally managed to haul all the excavated dirt out and pile it in the yard.

She was very lucky. After digging more than three meters deep, she hadn’t hit water, and the house hadn’t collapsed. The next steps were to build walls to reinforce the cellar, and then handle pest control, moisture-proofing, and ventilation.

There wasn’t time to do it today. The sky was already bright, and she needed to prepare her gear for the mission.

Although the recent downpour wasn’t Harmful Rain, the creatures in the Evolution Forest, nourished by the rainwater, would definitely become more active and dangerous.

Gun, knife, rope, sealed bags, medicine... Xiaqing carefully inspected every item, only placing them into her sturdy backpack after confirming they were in good condition.

After finishing her meal, Xiaqing put the chickens in their coop, instructed the Sheep Leader to feed the fish, and asked Little Jiang and Guan Tong to help watch her territory. Then, she shouldered her large backpack and hurried to the entrance of Mountain No. 49, northwest of No.1 Territory, to rendezvous with Hu Zifeng’s team.

"Sister Qing!" Shi Du, who had already arrived, waved his arm enthusiastically to greet her.

Once all ten members—the eight from Hu Zifeng’s team plus Shi Du and Xiaqing—had assembled, the squad entered Mountain No. 49.

After more than a month of clearing by the Green Dragon Team, although Mountain No. 49 was still within the Evolution Forest’s range, the dangerous evolutionary creatures at the mountain pass had been wiped out, making the mountain path feel exceptionally safe.

As they walked, Hu Zifeng explained the day’s mission location and objectives. "Our location is a swamp between the northern part of Mountain No. 49 and Mountain 52. The mission is to clear out the Evolved Pythons, small Evolved Poison Snakes, Evolved Poison Spiders, and Evolved Musk Rats there. Be especially careful of attacks from Evolved Leeches and Evolved Worms. Everyone, check your Protective Suits later. Make sure there are no breaches before we go in."

’A swamp?’

Shi Du couldn’t help but shiver and looked toward Xiaqing. When he saw that the eyes behind her Protective Mask were still calm, Shi Du forced himself to calm down as well.

The ten-person squad bypassed the peak of Mountain No. 49 from the west, reaching the mission location on the northern side an hour later.

Hu Zifeng assigned the clearing tasks. "Chen Cheng, Eryong, Da Jiang, Shi Du, and I will be in Group One. Chen Zheng, Jing Kuan, Peng Jian, Liangzi, and Xiaqing will be in Group Two. I will lead Group One and act as the sniper. Group Two will be led by Chen Zheng, with Peng Jian as the sniper and Xiaqing as the secondary sniper."

Shi Du looked at Xiaqing in astonishment.

Xiaqing being appointed as the secondary sniper for Group Two meant that while her accuracy might not match that of Peng Jian, a Level 5 Visual Evolver, it was better than the other three members of their group, including Chen Zheng.

’So, she wasn’t carrying that sniper rifle for someone on Hu Zifeng’s team—she was using it herself?’

’How is that possible!’

As Shi Du watched Xiaqing—carrying the old backpack she had used for years, sniper rifle in hand—take up a position on the opposite flank of Group Two from Peng Jian, he still couldn’t believe his eyes and ears.

"Shi Du."

As Hu Zifeng led Group One forward, he noticed Shi Du was still standing there in a daze and called out to him.

"Here! Coming." Shi Du immediately fell into position and began his task—unofficial logistical support.

Although this was the first time Shi Du had seen it, this was not Xiaqing’s first time on a sniper mission. She expertly divided the sniping zones with Peng Jian, and they stood back-to-back, ready to engage.

BANG!

With a single shot, Xiaqing took down a large spider that leaped from a distant tree, startling several birds into flight. Then, she immediately swiveled her rifle forty-five degrees and aimed at an Evolved Musk Rat poking its head out of the swamp fifty meters away.

To a Level 9 Visual Evolver like Xiaqing, a rat’s head larger than a man’s palm at fifty meters was no challenge at all.

BANG.

Watching Xiaqing’s proficient movements and the Evolutionary Animals being picked off one by one, Shi Du, who was busy bagging the kills, finally believed that Xiaqing was truly a sniper.

An hour later, the team took a break, which was also Shi Du’s busiest time.

He sealed several small poison snakes in bags. As he turned to stuff them into his backpack, he noticed that Xiaqing was still on sniper duty; the other members of Group Two were cleaning and bagging the kills.

Once the kills were processed, the clearing mission continued.

After the second round of fighting, while they were bagging the kills, Hu Zifeng suddenly shouted, "Nine o’clock, two hundred meters! A group of goslings in a grassy nest in the bushes. Xiaqing, Peng Jian, provide cover! Jing Kuan, Eryong, and I are going to catch them. We need them alive!"

"Yes, sir."

The team members grew excited. Two Speed Evolvers followed Hu Zifeng toward the goslings’ hiding place, while Xiaqing and Peng Jian fired intermittently, taking down any Evolutionary Animals that jumped out to attack the capture party.

Soon, Eryong returned with a sack, grinning from ear to ear. "Don’t know where the mother goose went, but we caught fifteen goslings!"

Chen Zheng opened the bag to take a look and remarked quizzically, "These goslings only hatched about half a month ago. Logically, there should be an adult goose protecting them."

’The color of these goslings’ down was definitely the same breed as the one she had just traded to Territory No. 7 this morning. Maybe the parents of this brood were the ones killed by the Wolf Group this morning or yesterday.’ Xiaqing got excited. "The adult goose is probably dead. Let’s not let the goslings suffocate. We should take them back and test their Harmful Element content. We might be able to raise them to lay eggs."

The chances of that were slim, but Hu Zifeng was also hopeful. "Let’s take them back. If they’re edible, Little Five will be in for a treat."

Seeing the smug look Hu Zifeng couldn’t contain, Xiaqing grumbled to herself:

’So what if you have a cat? I’ve got wolves and a sheep. Several wolves, in fact, and the sheep is a Green Light one!’

After packing up the captured poison snakes, Shi Du pointed to a large patch of lush green plants not far away. "Captain Hu, that area over there looks like water caltrops."