Chapter 183: Su Feng Team’s Stratagem

Chapter 183: Chapter 183: Su Feng Team’s Stratagem

Human research was constantly advancing, but the pesticide resistance of Evolutionary Worms was also constantly increasing. The improved insect repellent the base had developed in June was once again becoming less effective at driving away Evolutionary Worms.

She couldn’t just let the germ-spreading flies swarm the Sick Wolf. Xiaqing went back to her house, grabbed an insect net, caught all the large evolutionary flies, and tossed them into the fire. Then, she retrieved some window screening from the tool shed and skillfully installed a retractable, magnetic insect screen door on the sheep pen.

As Xiaqing was adjusting the tension of the door’s screws, she heard Kuang Qingwei ask her about food storage over the Lord’s walkie-talkie.

"Xiaqing, are you there? What do you think about digging a cellar to store potatoes?"

After sending the small potatoes meant for seeding back to the Safe Zone, none of the Lords sold their remaining potatoes at the price set by the Safe Zone. Instead, they were all trying to figure out how to store them.

Xiaqing didn’t mention that she had already dug two cellars. She pressed the button on her walkie-talkie. "If you can properly pest-proof, rat-proof, and moisture-proof it, I think it’s worth a try."

Shi Zhong asked, "Xiaqing, if we dig a cellar, how do we solve the ventilation problem?"

Qi Fu was recovering from an injury, so his online time was erratic. When it came to construction-related questions, Xiaqing, who had been a deputy captain of a construction squad in the Safe Zone, was also very knowledgeable, making her the go-to person for advice. However, Xiaqing wasn’t online for long periods either, so everyone rushed to ask their questions whenever they caught her.

Xiaqing had already considered this. "You can install an exhaust fan, or you can leave a vent and use a blower to periodically circulate air inside," she replied.

Kuang Qingwei thought that was a bad idea. "Never mind how many points an exhaust fan and a blower would cost, both of them need electricity. Our solar panels were all smashed by the hail. Where are we going to get the power for an exhaust fan?"

’Kuang Qingwei was always full of hot air; you could only believe a third of what he said at most. If all his solar panels were really smashed, how was he charging his walkie-talkie?’

Xiaqing continued, "For a small cellar, you could use a small exhaust fan. I remember the Safe Zone has battery-powered ones."

In a cellar within the Deserted Village southwest of the Third Territory, Xiaqing had installed a small, battery-powered exhaust fan as an experiment. The test results showed that while ventilation was of course better than no ventilation, it made humidity and temperature much harder to control.

Therefore, it was feasible to install an exhaust fan and run it for a short while every day or every other day to circulate the air.

To maintain secrecy, Xiaqing hadn’t gone through the normal trading process with Zhong Tao for the fan. Instead, she had spoken with Hu Zifeng and traded Yellow Light Vegetables from her greenhouse for it with No.1 Territory. No.1 Territory had a large population and a high consumption rate of vegetables and grain. Most of the Yellow Light Vegetables Xiaqing grew in her farm’s greenhouse were sold to No.1 Territory, with a smaller portion sold to Zhong Tao and Zheng Kui.

Tan Junjie hadn’t approached Xiaqing for any vegetable trades in the past two months. Based on numerous signs, Xiaqing deduced that he was likely the Lord of Territory No.15.

Shi Zhong spoke up again, "Xiaqing, what about those wind-powered rotating vents on the roofs of underground structures in the Safe Zone? They don’t use electricity, do they?"

Xiaqing had considered those as well but had given up on the idea. "They don’t use electricity, but they have to be installed in an open, well-ventilated area."

Kuang Qingwei disagreed. "That kind won’t work. They’re too big and too conspicuous."

A place for storing food, of course, should be as hidden as possible.

Zhao Ze, who used to do landscape construction before the Natural Disaster, joined the discussion. "We could use the old ventilation methods from rural cellars. Either don’t seal the entrance of the cave or cellar completely, or use a pipe to connect it to the outside. This will make storage less effective, but we don’t have that much food to begin with, and we don’t need to store it for that long anyway."

Everyone chimed in with agreement, but among the nearby territories, the only one that probably didn’t have much food to store was Territory No. 4.

Zhao Ze asked Xiaqing, "Xiaqing, are you digging a cellar or a cave?"

Xiaqing answered calmly, "My territory has a lot of hillsides, so I plan to dig a cave. Brother Zhao, do you know what kind of places are good for digging caves?"

Zhao Ze gave a simple reply, "Of course, someplace hard and dry. It rains a lot around here, so waterproofing a cave is an issue. When is Brother San coming back? I want to ask him if he has any good methods for preserving food."

’Someone as gluttonous as Zhang San must have a way to preserve food, but who knows how cost-effective it is.’ Having been away from the territory for ten days, Zhang San was an important figure everyone mentioned several times a day. Without him, everyone felt a little uneasy.

Just as Xiaqing was wondering what could possibly be keeping Zhang San occupied for so long that he didn’t even have time to come back and enjoy the Green Light meat, the phone in her pocket started vibrating.

The caller was Yang Jin. ’He must be calling me about something urgent,’ Xiaqing thought, and immediately answered.

"Just now, the Su Feng Team approached Xu Juan of the Dongyang Team and Zhang Yong from the construction team. They want them to go install solar panels for you."

When Xiaqing was in the Safe Zone, she had kept a very low profile and her relationships were very simple. Xu Juan and Zhang Yong were the two people still in the Safe Zone with whom she’d had the most contact.

Zhang Yong was the only ordinary person among the four captains of the Hui San Base Construction Team. He managed four squads, each with a deputy captain, and Xiaqing had been one of his four deputy captains.

Before the Natural Disaster, Zhang Yong had been in the construction business in this area and had some connections. After the Natural Disaster, he relied on his old contacts and his own capabilities to firmly secure the "cushy job" of construction team captain.

Xiaqing’s father had saved Zhang Yong’s life during a Beast Tide. Grateful, Zhang Yong had pulled her into his own team to look after her a little when he learned she had applied to join the construction team.

Only after joining the construction team did Xiaqing realize that once she was with Zhang Yong, it was too late to switch teams. There was an unwritten rule in the construction teams: if Xiaqing quit Zhang Yong’s team, no other team would take her.

The reason Xiaqing didn’t want to work under Zhang Yong was because he was a lecher.

Although Zhang Yong wouldn’t force women, after the Natural Disaster, with the scarcity of clothes and food, plenty of people willingly threw themselves at him for food and supplies. Zhang Yong’s wife had caused quite a few scenes with him over it.

During Xiaqing’s first month on the construction team, Zhang Yong’s wife came to the worksite to make a big scene. When reasoning with her failed, Xiaqing simply picked her up and threw her sideways onto a pile of sand. Only then did the woman behave.

Remembering the life-debt he owed to Xiaqing’s father, Zhang Yong didn’t make things difficult for Xiaqing because of the incident. However, afraid his wife would cause more trouble, he also didn’t dare to show Xiaqing much special care.

To avoid suspicion, Xiaqing only maintained necessary work-related contact with Zhang Yong. Her later promotion to deputy captain was entirely due to her formidable abilities as a Strength Evolver.

Xiaqing hadn’t expected the Su Feng Team to go to such great lengths for her. "Xu Juan is an Auditory Evolver and Zhang Yong is an ordinary person. They won’t find anything if they come here. Captain Yang, do you know what the Su Feng Team’s plan is?"

"They’ll probably plant surveillance devices on the two of them, or sprinkle them with a drug that causes a strong reaction in Evolutionary Animals." Yang Jin paused, then continued, "The latter would be easily discovered, so the former is highly likely. They’ll have Zhang Yong or Xu Juan ask you about the Pangolin, then have a Brain Domain Evolver analyze the changes in your facial expression and voice to determine if you’re telling the truth or lying."

Xiaqing knew Brain Domain Evolvers were freakish, but she hadn’t realized they were this freakish. "Captain Yang, can they really tell?"