Chapter 233: A Million Casualties

Chapter 233: Chapter 233: A Million Casualties

Luo Pei was still recovering, so Commander Yang Jin couldn’t afford to have an accident. Xiaqing immediately informed Luo Pei that the Head Wolf had been cut by a sharp weapon, then began treating its wounds.

"Queen, this antiseptic will sting a bit. Just hang in there."

Xiaqing first disinfected the Head Wolf’s wounds, then applied a special hemostatic agent and had it drink some anti-inflammatory medicine. Although Top Level Evolvers had powerful bodies, they still felt pain when injured—a fact Xiaqing knew from personal experience. Using medicine could prevent infection, speed up healing, and reduce suffering.

Throughout the entire process, the Head Wolf was exceptionally cooperative. It suddenly occurred to Xiaqing that she had, for some strange reason, taken on the role of the Wolf Group’s team doctor, and she wasn’t the least bit worried about being bitten anymore.

’Thinking about it, there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference between me and that Plucking Weasel...’

’No, I have to raise my status!’ Xiaqing took the opportunity to give the Head Wolf’s thick fur a couple of good ruffles. Only then did she go, satisfied, to the kitchen to boil water. She made a simple meal, ate, and went upstairs to rest.

When her alarm woke her up two hours later, Xiaqing discovered that Yang Jin had replied an hour earlier with a single word:

Okay.

The fact that he could reply meant there probably wasn’t a major issue. Luo Pei had already dispatched more people to retrieve him, so Yang Jin would definitely make it out of the Evolution Forest alive.

However, Xiaqing pressed her forehead. ’As a High Level Hearing Evolver, how did I manage to sleep so soundly that I didn’t even hear my phone’s notification chime?’

It was all because the Wolf Group and the Sheep Leader were standing guard downstairs, giving her a profound sense of security that allowed her to sleep so deeply.

’It feels great to have companions. It would be even better if the Wolf Group could stay in my territory permanently. The Sheep Leader eats grass, I’m an omnivore, and the wolves eat meat. There’s no conflict. It’s perfect.’

After getting enough sleep, the first thing Xiaqing did upon waking was to repair the chicken coop destroyed by an Injury Evolved stick, release the chickens and geese that had been cooped up for four days, and then continue clearing the Injurious Grass within her territory.

The Lords, who had slept through the morning, were all up and about. As they cleared their territories, they discussed their respective losses.

Everyone reported losing more than half their crops, Xiaqing included. Then came the casualty reports: Territory No. 4 had five deaths, Territory No.5 had three, No. 6 Territory had five, and in the Tenth Territory, Mother Shi was injured.

Zhao Ze sincerely thanked Xiaqing. "Xiaqing, you’re still the most capable. You didn’t have any casualties in your territory. Thanks to you and Captain Luo’s help, otherwise everyone here would have been wiped out."

After the third wave of red-level Harmful Rain, high-risk Evolved Huang Nai Trees were successively reported within territories one through ten. They were cleared by a joint effort from Xiaqing, No.1 Territory, Territory Land No. 7, and No. 9 Territory.

Around 10 PM, Territories 11 through 26 sent out distress calls. The army’s rescue teams had yet to arrive. Shortly after Tan Junjie requested that No.1 Territory, Territory Land No. 7, and No. 9 Territory dispatch personnel to help, two more Huang Nai Trees releasing poisonous gas appeared in Territory No. 4’s Buffer Forest.

Xiaqing, who was busy exterminating frenzied rats in the area bordering Territories No. 3 and 4, immediately went to provide support. She cleared both trees all by herself.

After personally witnessing Xiaqing take down the Huang Nai Trees with swift, precise, and ruthless swings of her blade, Zhao Ze also noticed Evolutionary Water Rats charging into Territories No. 3 and 4. He didn’t have the ability to kill the rats, but he could help collect the carcasses.

In the midst of a Natural Disaster, it’s human instinct to admire the strong and hope to stand by their side for protection. After the Harmful Rain stopped, Zhao Ze’s admiration for Xiaqing was ten times taller than the mountain of rat corpses they had piled up.

Xiaqing was just too capable. Being her neighbor made Zhao Ze feel incredibly secure, and he swore that he would always maintain a friendly relationship with her. Ideally, they could be neighbors for life.

Xiaqing, who was in the middle of pulling up Injurious Grass, took off her gloves and pressed the button on her device. "I got injured the night before last while clearing the Evolved Wild Phoenix Tree. Both my shoulders and arms were badly swollen. I just applied some medicine and gritted my teeth to get through it."

Zhao Ze’s admiration for Xiaqing grew by another ten mountains of rats. "You were injured, yet you alone are still worth twenty of me. That’s incredible!"

Mrs. Zhao cut in, pushing her son aside. "I have about half a bottle of medicinal wine here. I’ll bring it right over."

Xiaqing quickly pressed the button. "Ma’am, there’s no need. I’m using medicine I traded for with Brother San. It’s already almost healed."

Zhang San’s medicine was in a different league from medicinal wine, so Mrs. Zhao didn’t insist.

Qi Fu spoke up, "If it weren’t for Brother San, Fourth Sister, Brother Luo, and Xiaqing last night, we might be nothing but skeletons right now."

Everyone agreed with what Qi Fu said.

Kuang Qingwei, the businessman, spoke up. "Xiaqing and the others helped us clear the high-risk Injury Evolution Trees. Although the base will give them a reward, we who received their help must also show our own sincerity."

Qi Fu, Zhao Ze, and Shi Zhong all voiced their agreement, asking how much would be considered a sincere gesture. With four Harmful Rains a year, they would inevitably need to ask for help in the future. If they didn’t offer points, why would anyone help them?

This wasn’t a topic Xiaqing was suited to participate in. She had just turned off her walkie-talkie when she received a call from Zhong Tao.

Zhong Tao’s voice was hoarse; you could tell he was exhausted. "Sis, the Lord who arranged to trade for Green Light Soybeans with you is dead. His territory has been reclaimed by the Territory Management Department, so he can’t complete the transaction with you."

According to the Territory Law, after a Lord dies, their territory can only be inherited by their biological children. For territories without a legal heir, usage rights revert to the base.

Xiaqing asked, "Did the Territory Management Department take the Green Light Soybeans?"

"No," Zhong Tao responded slowly. "His territory was attacked by a swarm of Evolutionary Rats. Everything, from the people to the supplies, was torn to shreds."

Xiaqing fell silent. If she hadn’t had a gun and her strength, her territory would have also been torn to shreds by the Evolutionary Water Rats.

Zhong Tao’s voice was raspy. "Sis, how are things on your end?"

Xiaqing gave a simple reply, "I asked people from No.1 Territory for help and managed to get through it."

"That’s good. The casualties this time were just too high. Your Brother Kui... his wife and child are both gone. His mother-in-law went berserk during the red Harmful Rain. Of the whole family, only Zheng Kui is left." Zhong Tao’s voice choked with emotion. "His family was in the military dependents’ dormitory. They all had Protective Suits, so by all rights, they should have been fine. Who would’ve thought..."

’Before the Harmful Rain, when he came to trade for the Spring Water Fish, was the first time I saw Zheng Kui smile so radiantly...’

"How is Brother Kui now?"

"This Harmful Rain was too intense. We were both dispatched outside the city to guard the territories. He only found out what happened at home after the rain stopped... He’s completely numb now. I can barely breathe just being in the same room." Leaning against a wall, Zhong Tao sniffled. "Sis, I can’t talk anymore. Just... stay safe."

After the great evolution of life on Blue Star, every goodbye could be the last.

This was a Natural Disaster. This was the Blue Star after the evolution.

After hanging up, Xiaqing stood quietly for a few seconds before putting her gloves back on and continuing to pull up the Injurious Grass that the micro-tiller couldn’t handle.

To survive, you had to keep working.

That evening, Xiaqing listened to the news broadcast while eating dried meat stir-fried with green beans over rice.

The Harmful Rain was a uniform climatic phenomenon across the Whole Blue Star, though the amount and duration of rainfall varied by region.

Through the broadcast, Xiaqing learned that the rainfall and duration at Hui San Base were not the most extreme. The disasters in the southern Gui City and the northern Bai City were even more severe.

Even though it wasn’t the most severely affected area, the Harmful Rain still caused over 20,000 deaths and more than 30,000 injuries at Hui San Base. The base’s total population dropped from two million to just over 1.97 million. This number would continue to shrink, as more of the injured would gradually succumb to their wounds or lose their ability to work.

If a single base lost that much of its labor force, the combined losses for all of Hua Country’s bases must be in the millions. Xiaqing’s heart grew heavy at the thought.