Chapter 180: I Don’t Know

Chapter 180: Chapter 180: I Don’t Know

The crops in her territory were all covered by insect-proof nets sprayed with insect repellent and deodorizing medicine. Xiaqing had just checked them; the nets were undamaged, and she wasn’t worried about Red Squirrels stealing anything else.

Seeing the Red Squirrels reminded Xiaqing of Chestnuts.

After the Su Feng Team was gone, she planned to team up with someone to look for chestnut trees. Otherwise, once the Chestnuts ripened and split open, humans wouldn’t get a chance to gather them.

Since people from the Su Feng Team were watching from outside, it would be too conspicuous for Xiaqing to only gather Toona leaves. She cut a basketful of grass on the High Slope and "conveniently" broke off some Toona leaves before heading back.

Passing through the old quarantine belt, Xiaqing entered the low-slope planting area. She moved the large rock blocking the entrance to the Spring Cave, took out the bucket filled with spring water, tightened the lid, and tucked it into her basket, covering it with grass. On her way down through the terraced vegetable fields, she picked two cucumbers and a tomato before exiting from the lower end of the low-slope greenhouse.

Crossing the stone slab bridge, Xiaqing broke off a piece of cucumber and stuffed it into the mouth of Sheep Leader, who was busy pedaling the water wheel. She praised him in a soft, gentle voice, "Good work, Leader. Have some cucumber first. I’ll go back and make you something delicious. I’ll call you home for dinner when it’s ready."

Sheep Leader crunched contentedly on the cucumber as it pedaled the water wheel.

Xiaqing tossed the insects she had caught into the two fish ponds, then blocked the channel leading to the two water-filled greenhouses, diverting the water into the others.

After fixing the channel, Xiaqing stood up and saw a flock of birds flying in from the southwest. It was normal for flocks to fly over her territory, but having just experienced an attack by Evolutionary Birds, she watched them with caution.

And her vigilance paid off—she really did spot a problem:

A black bird, about the size of a Magpie, had dropped its altitude to around thirty meters as it passed over her territory. The sunlight reflecting off the flowing water in the channel glinted off a shiny object the size of a peanut on the bird’s belly. The flash of light, though brief, was caught by Xiaqing.

It was a Reconnaissance bird carrying a camera, a type of tamed beast used by humans for aerial surveillance missions.

’I was careless.’ She hadn’t expected the Su Feng Team to send a Reconnaissance bird for aerial surveillance after withdrawing their ground personnel.

If the bird flew another one hundred and fifty meters north, the person watching through the camera would see Sheep Leader on the water wheel bike. Xiaqing drew her Handgun, aimed, and quickly pulled the trigger.

BANG!

Hitting a Reconnaissance bird at an altitude of thirty meters was no challenge for Xiaqing, who had practiced her marksmanship by firing over a thousand Bullets in the past three months. After the shot, she quickly retreated, grabbing Sheep Leader off the water wheel to take cover.

The last Reconnaissance bird, the one Luo Pei had taken down with a single shot, had exploded in mid-air. This meant these birds carried explosive devices in addition to cameras.

To Xiaqing’s surprise, this bird didn’t explode when it hit the ground. Realizing there was no danger, Sheep Leader struggled for Xiaqing to let it go.

Xiaqing calmed Sheep Leader down with the Toona leaves from her basket. She then took out a sealed bag and placed the Reconnaissance bird’s corpse and its equipment inside, sealing it shut. Then, she contacted the Danger Investigation Team via walkie-talkie. "Is Captain Tan there?"

Tan Junjie responded quickly. "Here."

"Third Territory has shot down a black bird carrying unknown equipment. I suspect someone is monitoring my territory from the air. I request the Danger Investigation Team to handle this immediately."

Tan Junjie replied sternly, "Received. Requesting permission from Lord No.3 for the investigation team to enter the Third Territory to collect evidence on-site."

"Lord No.3, Xiaqing, grants the investigation team permission to enter the territory."

The ever-curious Kuang Qingwei piped up, "Xiaqing, how did you know there was something wrong with that bird?"

Xiaqing replied, "I was watering the fields. The sunlight reflected off the water and onto the bird, and I saw a glint of light. So I shot it down and put it in a sealed bag."

Shi Du immediately chimed in, "Sister Qing did the right thing. Putting it in a sealed bag will preserve any fingerprints and scents on the monitor. Captain Tan will definitely be able to use those clues to catch the Reconnaissance bird’s owner."

Zhao Ze, Lord No. 4 of the territory east of Xiaqing’s, was filled with envy and admiration. "I only heard one gunshot. Xiaqing, you’re amazing."

Xiaqing hadn’t broadcasted the fact that she had killed multiple Evolved Fierce Birds on the lord channel. So, everyone only knew she had a gun and was a decent shot, but they didn’t know just how skilled she really was.

In the Second Territory, the Su Feng team member in charge of surveillance immediately reported the news that Xiaqing had shot down and sealed the Reconnaissance bird to Xu Pin, who was leading a team to search for the Pangolin. The member explained, "Because there’s only one Level 4 Strength Evolved Person in the Third Territory, we used standard reconnaissance equipment."

Standard observation equipment doesn’t have a self-destruct function.

"Useless!" Xu Pin cursed before giving the order. "Since it was released from the Second Territory, have Tang Huai deal with it."

’Son of a bitch...’

Tang Heng grabbed his furious brother and urged in a low voice, "Bro, we have to get ahead of the investigation team!"

Tang Huai frowned. "Get ahead of them for what? To storm the Third Territory and snatch the bird back?"

Tang Heng smiled. "No. To confess and ask for a settlement before the Danger Investigation Team traces it back to our territory."

Just as Tan Junjie’s squad entered the Third Territory, Tang Huai’s voice came over the lord channel with an explanation. "Captain Tan, Xiaqing, we were the ones who launched that Reconnaissance bird. We found Pangolin scale armor on the north side of Mountain No. 49. It’s a swamp and difficult to search, so that’s why we sent out the bird."

Hu Zifeng immediately fired back, "Hey, Second Territory! You think everyone is as stupid as you are? If your Reconnaissance bird was for exploring the swamp, why didn’t you wait until you got there to launch it?"

Tang Huai immediately retorted, "Where I launch it is none of your business!"

Hu Zifeng sneered, "Of course it’s my business. Your Reconnaissance bird, launched from the Second Territory, would have entered the airspace over Mountain No. 49 after crossing the Third Territory. And Mountain No. 49 is Azure Dragon’s turf. You should be glad Xiaqing shot it down. Otherwise, our boss would’ve finished you off."

Tang Huai played dumb. "We can’t fly Reconnaissance birds over the training grounds outside the Safe Zone either? I had no idea, wow. Nobody told me."

Xiaqing spoke up. "According to the Lord Law, the airspace up to three thousand meters above a territory belongs to that lord’s domain. Any person, human-controlled device, tamed beast, or the like entering a lord’s airspace without permission is committing an illegal act."

Hu Zifeng immediately followed up, "Hey, Second Territory, did you hear that? You’ve been in your territory for half a year. Don’t tell me you’ve never even read the Lord Law?"

Tang Huai continued to play dumb. "I actually haven’t. Sorry about that, Xiaqing."

Xiaqing remained silent. Tan Junjie gave a stern reply. "The investigation team has completed a preliminary check. We’ve confirmed the equipment carried by the Reconnaissance bird has a remote control range of only three kilometers. The straight-line distance from the Second Territory to the swamp area north of Mountain No. 49 exceeds this bird’s control range. The reason provided by the Second Territory is invalid."

Tang Huai committed to his act of feigning ignorance. "That’s impossible. The Reconnaissance bird we launched has a fifteen-kilometer control range. Did you get it wrong, Captain Tan?"

Tan Junjie didn’t waste any more words on him. "The actions of the Second Territory have violated the Lord Law. I order Tang Huai, acting representative of the Second Territory, to bring the remote control device for the downed Reconnaissance bird to the northern road sign of the Second Territory within fifteen minutes to be questioned."