Chapter 234: How About Clearing the Woods?

Chapter 234: Chapter 234: How About Clearing the Woods?

The latter half of the broadcast was still about touching stories from during the Harmful Rain. The mutual aid among the territories from No. 1 to No. 26 was also featured, and hearing her own name on the broadcast for the first time, Xiaqing gave a wry smile.

After turning off the radio, Xiaqing turned on her walkie-talkie.

Hearing that the casualties at the base were so severe, everyone felt a mix of unease and relief. Before coming to their territories, they had all been at the bottom of the social ladder at the base. They lived on the outskirts of the Safe Zone, never had enough to eat, and were in far worse physical condition than they were now. If they hadn’t left, they would likely be among the tens of thousands of casualties.

Life in their territories was hard and dangerous, but they had survived.

Kuang Qingwei was the first to speak. "No wonder Captain Tan called for support last night, but no one ever came. The administration probably figured our area was the last place that needed rescuing."

Everyone tacitly agreed with Kuang Qingwei’s assessment. Compared to the Safe Zone, where tens of thousands had died, and the other territories that couldn’t protect themselves, the risk here was indeed manageable, even with the appearance of a high-risk Injury Evolution Tree.

Shi Zhong asked, "I wonder about this Qiang Evolution where Huang Nai Trees release toxic gas—is it only happening in our few territories, or is it widespread?"

The well-informed Tang Huai answered his question. "It’s not just us. More than twenty territories with Huang Nai Trees have been completely wiped out. Here in our area, only one person survived in Territory No. 21."

Kuang Qingwei quickly asked, "Brother Huai, do you know how many territories were wiped out in total this time?"

Tang Huai replied, "I haven’t heard. They’re probably still compiling the data."

Shi Zhong continued, "The Huang Nai Trees were only planted around here a few decades ago because their flowers are pretty. And Wild Phoenix Trees aren’t native to this area either. Do you think their aggressive Qiang Evolution this time could be related to that?"

Xiaqing, who was lifting weights, paused. She had never considered Shi Zhong’s line of thinking, but it did seem to make some sense.

The Huang Nai Trees within the territory had been planted by people who lived here before the Natural Disaster; they didn’t exist in the undeveloped mountain forests. That was why no high-risk Qiang Evolved Huang Nai Trees had appeared on Mountain No. 49. Otherwise, their area would have been wiped out too.

Wild Phoenix Trees were an evolved species that appeared after the Natural Disaster, spreading their seeds far and wide through bird droppings. They were definitely not a native species.

Only an expert could answer Shi Zhong’s question. Zhang San rarely responded to technical questions, so Kuang Qingwei turned to Li Si for advice. "Fourth Sister, are you there? Would you say what Old Shi said makes sense?"

Li Si gave a calm reply. "Currently, the most convincing research conclusion from this angle is that native plants, which haven’t changed much since the Blue Star Great Evolution, do indeed have a superior ability to resist the Harmful Element compared to other species. However, as far as I know, there isn’t enough data to prove the hypothesis that introduced tree species have a higher probability of dangerous Qiang Evolution."

"The concentrations of the Harmful Element and Yi Element are constantly changing, the radiation problem remains unsolved, and the life on Blue Star is still continuously evolving." Li Si paused for a few seconds before continuing, "Humanity does not hold a significant advantage in the Great Evolution. To survive, we must set aside our prejudices and work together."

Li Si’s words were likely directed at Zhang San, and none of the other Lords dared to respond.

After a long silence, it was Tang Huai who couldn’t hold back any longer. "Xin Yu, are you there? Your territory was the first to have a medium-risk Qiang Evolved Plant. Can you tell us what kind of plant it was?"

Just when everyone thought Xin Yu wouldn’t reply, she spoke. It was just one word:

"Rose."

Everyone was speechless.

Tang Huai pressed on, "Was it something that was already in your territory, or did you plant it?"

Xin Yu said no more.

Roses are perennial woody plants. When Xiaqing had come out with the combat team last year to clear this group of territories, there had been no roses in the area of No. 8 Territory.

So, the roses in No. 8 Territory must have been planted by Xin Yu later. ’What kind of person would still be in the mood to plant roses in the tenth year of the Natural Disaster?’

The military trucks hadn’t hauled any Qiang Evolved Plants out of No. 8 Territory. ’This must mean the medium-risk Qiang Evolved rose in No. 8 Territory wasn’t very large, and could be moved by just a few people.’

’Roses are flowering plants, so the likelihood of them releasing toxic gas after a Qiang Evolution is very high. That’s probably why Xin Yu classified it as medium-risk.’

’If that was the case, then as long as one had an airtight Protective Suit, it wouldn’t be too difficult to promptly discover and clear out a medium-risk Qiang Evolved rose. No wonder Xin Yu, who lived alone, hadn’t called for backup.’

Zhao Ze asked, "What do you guys think? How about we clear out all the trees in our territories?"

Kuang Qingwei replied, "Each of our territories has forests spanning hundreds of acres. It won’t be easy to clear all that. Fourth Sister, do you think that’s a viable solution?"

Li Si gave an objective reply. "Mature, fully-grown trees have a relatively low probability of undergoing a dangerous Qiang Evolution, so there’s no need to clear them completely. Besides, a total clearing of all woody plants in the territory isn’t realistic, as many species rely on wind and animals to spread their seeds."

Xiaqing agreed. ’The Life Force of many trees is incredibly tenacious. Take the Wild Phoenix Trees, for instance. You could clear them all out today, but as long as the temperature and humidity are right, they’ll just sprout again. They require regular clearing, and the more open the area, the faster they grow.’

’The large trees in the Buffer Forests to the west and north of my territory are deep-rooted,’ Xiaqing thought. ’They block the sunlight, so even if Wild Phoenix Tree seeds beneath them manage to sprout, they’d have a hard time growing strong.’

The group discussed for a long time but couldn’t come up with any good solutions. The safest approach was still to do their best to clear the Injurious Grass and Red Light saplings from their territories and plant more crops that had been cultivated and optimized by researchers. The more high-safety-rated Green Light crops planted in a territory, the lower the chance of a dangerous Qiang Evolution occurring during a Harmful Rain.

However, large-scale planting wasn’t realistic either. Unless you had the immense resources of someone like Zhang San, who could build greenhouses capable of blocking the Harmful Element, large-scale planting required a massive labor force.

’Forget a massive labor force; I don’t even want to add a single person,’ Xiaqing thought. She chose to take a technological route instead, focusing on improving her territory’s defenses during the Harmful Rain.

’I have Yi Stones, and I have weapons. But chainsaws can’t be used in a Harmful Rain, so dangerous Qiang Evolved trees have to be cleared by hand. If only I had an exoskeleton that could both leverage my advantages as a Strength Evolver and protect me from the recoil.’

’I wonder what special functions Yang Jin’s new Protective Suit has. If its functions are suitable and the price in points isn’t outrageous, I have to get one. But for now, the most important task is clearing the Injurious Grass.’

「The next day.」

Hu Zifeng’s team came over to help Xiaqing clear the Injurious Grass, and their progress sped up dramatically.

「On the third day.」

Qi Fu also brought ten people over. Just in time, before the Injurious Grass seeds could mature, they managed to give the entire territory a thorough clearing.

Her ally, Qi Fu, was very discreet. He had his people work in the Southern part of the Third Territory, which was a good several hundred meters away from Xiaqing’s greenhouses. From that distance, the workers could only vaguely see that Xiaqing had seven greenhouses, but they couldn’t make out what she was growing or how the crops were faring.

But even if they could have seen clearly, these workers wouldn’t have dared to get any funny ideas.

During the third Harmful Rain, they had personally witnessed Lord No.3 charge into Territory No.5 like the wind and take down a four-meter-tall Injury Evolution Tree in just a few swings. They had heard with their own ears from the people of Territory No. 4 how Xiaqing had used both blade and gun to kill hundreds of massive evolved water rats. And after the Harmful Rain ended, they had all clearly seen the black smoke rising from Third Territory as it burned the rat carcasses.

Lord No.3 was just that powerful. Only a fool would dare to cross her.