Chapter 220: The First Wave of Red Harmful Rain Ends

Chapter 220: Chapter 220: The First Wave of Red Harmful Rain Ends

Sheep Leader pushed open the door and entered the corn shed. Xiaqing quickly went over, removed its Protective Mask, and stuffed two blocks of compressed rations into its saddlebag, coaxing it softly, "Leader, you came at the perfect time. Our territory would’ve been done for without you. Quick, grab these downed corn stalks from the ridges, carry them to the entrance, and toss them out. Be careful not to get caught in the Harmful Rain."

With that, Xiaqing gathered a few Qiang Evolved corn stalks from the ridges, ran to the shed entrance, and threw them out to show Sheep Leader what to do.

"BAA!"

Sheep Leader understood. It picked up two still-growing corn stalks, clumps of dirt and all, ran to the entrance, and flung them outside—even farther than Xiaqing had thrown hers.

Hearing the commotion, Xiaqing, who was already running, shouted praises without looking back. "Leader, you’re amazing! So much stronger than me! You’re truly the one to pioneer a new era for the Evolutionary Sheep of Blue Star! We’re counting on you!"

Buoyed by the praise, Sheep Leader began frantically tossing corn stalks outside. Chen Zheng, who had never seen anything like it, was stunned for two seconds before quickly joining the battle.

The red Harmful Rain continued for an hour and a half. Inside the shed, the crops, and outside, the plants and animals, began to either undergo Qiang Evolution or go berserk one after another. The humans were so busy they wished they had eight arms.

"One hour and fifty minutes. The red Harmful Rain has ended." Tan Junjie’s announcement sounded out in the Lord channel.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but they didn’t dare stop the work at hand. The Harmful Element levels in the air wouldn’t drop immediately just because the red Harmful Rain had stopped, and crops inside the shed were still undergoing Qiang Evolution one by one.

As for outside? ’No time to worry about that!!!’

Xiaqing had lost count of how many Qiang Evolved corn stalks she’d cleared. The ones Sheep Leader had tossed outside were still growing like mad, blocking the shed entrance. The annoyed Sheep Leader went out and, with a flurry of headbutts and kicks, cleared a space so it could continue throwing more out.

An hour and a half after the red Harmful Rain stopped, the crops inside the large shed finally stabilized and no longer underwent Qiang Evolution. The Injurious Grass that had sprouted inside was also mostly cleared. Outside, a blue-level Harmful Rain was now falling, and the sky had begun to brighten.

Everyone in the territory collapsed to the ground, exhausted, their limbs trembling and their breathing ragged. Sheep Leader, now a caked ball of mud, lay down beside Xiaqing, shaking its head repeatedly.

Xiaqing caught her breath and then climbed back to her feet. She wiped the mud from Sheep Leader’s face and mouth before starting to take stock of their losses from the first wave of red Harmful Rain. During the one-hour-and-fifty-minute downpour, two hundred and eighty corn stalks in the corn shed had undergone Qiang Evolution. As she listened to the damage reports from the other sheds, Xiaqing’s heart ached with every new number.

’Thank goodness. The spinach and sweet potato terraces on the High Slope, and the Green Rice in the fields I protected with the Yi Stone—none of those plants underwent Qiang Evolution.’

After completely disposing of the cleared Qiang Evolved plants and patrolling the territory to clear out a batch of dangerous Qiang Evolved creatures, Xiaqing pressed a button. "The situation has stabilized. Everyone can rest now."

Hu Zifeng replied, "We’ll proceed with the original plan. Xiaqing, go home and rest. Come back at five in the afternoon. If we get more red Harmful Rain in the meantime, I’ll call you."

The third Harmful Rain was predicted to fall off and on for seventy hours. This was only the fifth hour. The eleven of them needed to rest in three shifts to maintain peak combat readiness and handle any emergencies that might arise.

Xiaqing, covered in mud and grass, led the filthy Sheep Leader back to the village, wading through Injurious Grass that was more than half her height.

Clear the Injurious Grass? ’No time for that now.’

Back home, after confirming the air was non-toxic, Xiaqing first removed the Protective Masks from the three wolves. Then she took Sheep Leader to the bathroom to rinse off the mud, helped it out of its Protective Suit, and filled its personal bathtub with warm water so it could have a comfortable soak.

Xiaqing herself went to the second-floor bathroom for a quick rinse, changed out of her sweat-soaked clothes, and then began to cook and feed the wolves, sheep, and chickens.

Sheep Leader, having worked hard all night, got a special meal of Green Light pasture grass mixed with spinach leaves and wheat bran. The Sick Wolf ate boiled organs, the chickens got a feed of chopped vegetables and wheat bran, and the fish ate insects Xiaqing had caught. The large water bucket containing the Green Light and Yellow Light Fish had been placed next to the chicken coop, all of it protected by the Yi Stone, and had safely weathered the first wave of red Harmful Rain.

The snake in the box? ’No time for it.’

Xiaqing ate a savory tea broth and fragrant five-spice Green Light Dried Meat, supplemented with fifteen milliliters of freshly squeezed spinach juice.

The two wolves in the sheep pen still had full bellies and didn’t need to eat. Xiaqing figured they probably wouldn’t eat at all until the Harmful Rain had completely stopped.

As she finished eating and was about to rest, Xiaqing heard Zhao Ze ask, "How are everyone’s territories holding up? I lost over five hundred corn stalks, and I’ve only got three white radishes left."

"I took some heavy losses too, but lucky for us this nearly two-hour red Harmful Rain came at the beginning. If it had come tomorrow or the day after, our losses would’ve been even greater." Unlike Zhao Ze’s pessimistic complaints, Qi Fu always managed to see the bright side of things.

Tang Huai asked, "Zhao Ze, did your vegetable shed leak?"

If it hadn’t, the losses wouldn’t have been so severe.

Zhao Ze sounded frustrated. "The rainproof cloth on the vegetable shed and one of the corn sheds tore a while ago. My mom said we didn’t need to replace it..."

Before Zhao Ze could finish, Xiaqing heard Mrs. Zhao yelling, "I said to patch it up securely! Did you patch it up securely? You useless bum, can’t even do a simple job right and now you’re blaming me for it?"

As a Lord, Zhao Ze’s leadership and execution were truly terrible; he really did deserve a scolding. Hearing him get chewed out made everyone feel a lot better.

Kuang Qingwei asked, "Is everyone on your end okay? I had two more people lose control and get injured. This is just too hard. The Safe Zone must be in total chaos."

Many of the ordinary people in the Safe Zone had old or broken Protective Masks. After a red-level Harmful Rain lasting an hour and fifty minutes, thousands must have lost control.

Besides those who lost control and attacked their companions indiscriminately, there were also plenty of people looking to fish in troubled waters and cause trouble. The current Safe Zone was no different from Purgatory.

Xiaqing couldn’t worry about the Safe Zone; she could only manage her own affairs and those of her allies. After using her phone to confirm that no one in Territory No.5 was seriously injured, Xiaqing put the Protective Masks back on Sheep Leader and the Wolf Group before heading upstairs to rest.

In the Lord channel, Shi Du was pleading with Zhang San, "Brother San, are you there? Can I come over to get some medicine now? My dad is in a lot of pain. Would you be willing to trade for Green Light Mung Beans or Green Light cotton?"

Zhang San wasn’t short on Green Light vegetables, but the two items Shi Du offered were the best resources the Tenth Territory had.

"Okay. Five pounds of each," Zhang San replied. "Xiaqing, bring over two pounds of the White-haired Chicken Shit Vine from your territory."

Xiaqing pressed the button to reply, "Okay, right away."

Just then, Hu Zifeng’s call came through. "You stay home and rest. I’ll deliver it."

"Thanks, Captain Hu," Xiaqing said gratefully, then turned off the walkie-talkie and went upstairs.

Li Si’s voice came over the Lord channel. "Xiaqing, can I trade for some Chicken Shit Vine? What resources do you need?"

Having already turned off her walkie-talkie, Xiaqing didn’t hear it. Hu Zifeng answered for her, "Fourth Sister, Xiaqing spent all night clearing Qiang Evolved corn. I sent her home to rest. I’ll tell her when she comes back out."

"Thank you," Li Si replied calmly.

Tang Huai immediately came online, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Well, well, Madman. Look at you."

Hu Zifeng keyed his mic. "Big Fool Tang, try speaking plainly for once. Who knows, if I’m in a good mood, I might even let you into No.1 Territory to dig for bugs."

Tang Huai snorted. "As if you’re the one calling the shots in No.1 Territory."

Tang Zhengpo’s voice cut in. "Tang Huai, is the Second Territory cleared yet?"

"Not yet. I’m leading the cleanup crew now," Tang Huai replied meekly.

Tan Junjie spoke up, his voice serious. "All territories, please report on any dangerous Qiang Evolution incidents."