Chapter 245: Picking Chestnuts

Chapter 245: Chapter 245: Picking Chestnuts

After Xiaqing turned off her walkie-talkie, she contacted the second Strength Evolver. "Brother Qi, are you free tomorrow? I found some edible Chestnuts. Want to come with me on a trip?"

Hearing this, Qi Fu was so excited he nearly jumped. But then he worried that he wouldn’t be of any help and would only cause trouble for Xiaqing. "I’m free, yes, but I’m not even Level 4 and have no experience. I won’t just get in your way, will I?"

Xiaqing reassured him. "You won’t. There’ll be a lot of us tomorrow. You’ll just be in charge of cutting, gathering, and carrying the Chestnuts. All we need is your strength. Tomorrow, wear that Protective Suit you had on during the third Harmful Rain. Bring pole pruners, large bags, and a six-meter rope."

During the third Harmful Rain, when Xiaqing went to Territory No. 5 to clear out the Huang Nai Trees, she had noticed Qi Fu and his wife were wearing Level 2 protective clothing. It was a grade higher than what could be bought in the Safe Zone, which meant it was more than adequate for the Evolution Forest.

After getting ahold of Qi Fu, Xiaqing immediately contacted Territory No. 7. She had clearly called Ji Li’s number, but surprisingly, it was Zhang San who answered.

Zhang San asked listlessly, "Want to trade for more of that potion from yesterday?"

Xiaqing grinned. "Yes. Brother San, trade me another fifteen bottles of potion. Including the one from last time, I’ll give you thirty-two pounds of Green Light Chestnuts."

Thirty-two pounds was no small amount. That seemed to put some life back into Zhang San. "You really have Green Light Chestnut trees? What variety are they? How do they taste?"

Xiaqing, who had already tested the Chestnuts’ Yi Element content and confirmed it was at a normal level, gave a savvy reply. "I can’t tell the variety, and I haven’t tasted them yet, so I don’t know. How about I send some over for you to test the quality?"

Zhang San was very pleased with her answer. "Alright. I’ll have Ji Li come pick them up and bring the potions to you."

"Thanks, Brother San." Xiaqing hung up and immediately packed a few Green Light Chestnuts into a sealed bag, along with five pounds of Yellow Light Chestnuts, and gave them to Ji Li, who was waiting in the Northern Isolation Zone.

When Ji Li saw that Xiaqing’s Protective Suit was so tattered it almost resembled a Ghillie Suit, he knew gathering these Chestnuts hadn’t been easy. But since Xiaqing didn’t mention the process, Ji Li didn’t ask.

「The next morning at six.」

The gathering team assembled on time in the Northern Isolation Zone of the Third Territory. Besides Xiaqing, there were five other members: Guan Tong, a Level 5 Strength Evolver; Shi Du, a Level 4 Strength Evolver; Qi Fu, a Level 3 Strength Evolver; and Hu Zifeng and Peng Jian, both Level 5 Visual Evolvers.

After Xiaqing explained the mission, everyone except Hu Zifeng, who was already in the know, stared with wide eyes and open mouths, unable to believe their ears.

Xiaqing, dressed in her Ghillie Suit, continued, "I’ve already scouted the route in and out. We just need to watch out for Evolved Insects jumping out along the path. The pay starts at three pounds of Yellow Light Chestnuts per person, with bonuses for a higher workload. The sap from the chestnut trees is very sticky, but it isn’t corrosive. If it gets on your Protective Suit, it’ll wash right off once it’s dry."

Food had been scarce since the Natural Disasters, and nuts were especially hard to come by. In the Safe Zone, Yellow Light Chestnuts traded for 80 points a pound, while Green Light Chestnuts went for a staggering 250 points a pound. Even at such high prices, you had to be lucky to find any for sale.

In other words, Xiaqing was offering a base pay of 240 points per person. For a low-risk gathering mission, a reward like that would have people lining up for a chance to be picked if it were posted on the Safe Zone’s mission hall bulletin board. Everyone was ecstatic.

’Getting some leaf fragments and dirt on their Protective Suits? Getting them dirty wouldn’t affect their quality. For people facing food shortages after the Natural Disasters, it was a complete non-issue!’

Hu Zifeng suggested to Xiaqing, "Since you’ve already been there once, why don’t you lead the team and give the orders this time?"

Xiaqing quickly arranged their formation, and they began heading up the slope toward the chestnut forest. Qi Fu, on his first trip into the Evolution Forest, was positioned behind Xiaqing and in front of Peng Jian.

Xiaqing instructed him, "Brother Qi, stick right behind me. Follow my exact path and don’t leave the group. If you stray from the route, you’ll run into aggressive plants. Peng Jian and I will take care of any Evolutionary Animals that jump out of the grass."

Falling out of formation in the Evolution Forest was a life-threatening risk. Qi Fu nodded quickly. "Understood."

The path was already cleared, and the distance was nearly three kilometers, so the team made good time, reaching the edge of the chestnut forest in forty minutes.

At the sight of such a vast chestnut forest, even the worldly members of Hu Zifeng’s team were so excited their breathing grew heavy.

Shi Du couldn’t contain his excitement and whispered, "Sister Qing, you’ve hit the jackpot!"

Shi Du knew that Xiaqing had leased a section of the Evolution Forest from the Green Dragon Team, he just didn’t know how large the area was. However, the fact that Xiaqing was organizing the team today meant this grove of chestnut trees was within her leased territory.

’If this wasn’t hitting the jackpot, what was?’

Xiaqing smiled and said, "Whether we’ve hit the jackpot or not depends on if we can get these Chestnuts back safely. When I was here yesterday, not nearly this many burs had split open."

Qi Fu spoke quietly to Xiaqing through the headset comm in his Protective Mask. "Once this outer spiny husk splits, the Chestnuts fall out fast. It’s a good thing you discovered this place when you did."

"Sister Qing, your Red Squirrel is hiding in that fir tree ten meters south of the chestnut trees," Peng Jian warned. Just as he spoke, he saw a palm-sized Evolutionary Worm get stuck to one of the tree’s leaves and begin to struggle violently.

The worm’s thrashing shook the branch, jostling the split-open burs. Two Chestnuts dislodged and fell to the ground.

Several squirrels darted out at once, snatching the Chestnuts off the ground before quickly retreating. The Red Squirrel, having snagged one, didn’t return to its nest. Instead, it stuffed the large Chestnut into its mouth, crouched on the fir branch like a sprinter at the starting blocks, its round eyes glued to the chestnut forest, already preparing for its next heist.

’Even a little squirrel could look so cool when it was fully focused.’

"We’re splitting into three teams. Captain Hu and Shi Du, you’re one. Peng Jian and Guan Tong, you’re another. Brother Qi and I will be the third. One person in each team will be on watch to take out any High Level Evolved Bees, while the other climbs to cut the Chestnuts. The leaves and spiny husks are sticky, so do your best to avoid them. Let’s gather the Green Light ones first." Xiaqing handed a bottle of potion to each person. "One spray is half a bottle, and it’s effective for three hours. We must harvest all the Chestnuts and pull out within six hours."

As Xiaqing sprayed the potion on Qi Fu, she gave him clear instructions. "After you’re sprayed, Brother Qi, you climb the tree and cut the Chestnuts. I’ll handle the High Level Evolved Bees."

"Okay, I’m good at harvesting." This was Qi Fu’s first time in the Evolution Forest, and he was about to come face-to-face with Evolved Bees longer than his own finger. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t afraid, but he didn’t let it show. He quickly sprayed Xiaqing with the potion and followed her toward the trees.

"BZZZZ—"

The six-person team was still five meters from the chestnut forest when the Evolved Bees came swarming toward them, buzzing furiously. A vanguard of more than twenty led the charge.

Staring at the bees, each one bigger than his palm, Qi Fu knew these were the High Level Evolved Bees Xiaqing had mentioned. His heart leaped into his throat.

But in the span of a single breath, the High Level Evolved Bees were taken down by Xiaqing, Hu Zifeng, and Peng Jian. Seeing how capable they were, Qi Fu’s heart settled back into his chest.

The gathering team, now swarmed by bees, charged into the chestnut forest. They first located the four Green Light Chestnut trees and got to work. Of course, they had to harvest the best of the crop first.

Seeing the humans snip the burs from the branches, the poised Red Squirrel immediately dashed forward. It took advantage of the chaos to snatch two Chestnuts and run for it.

Xiaqing saw the Red Squirrel with the locator on its back, but she didn’t mind it taking advantage of the chaos. After all, the little guy was the one who had led her to this place to begin with.

Qi Fu noticed that Xiaqing, who was splitting her attention, could snip Chestnuts with one hand just as fast as he could with two. He started to feel anxious and pulled his pole pruners back, quickly trying to strip away the rotten leaves stuck to the shaft and blades.

But in his haste, he fumbled, bending the pruner’s extension lever. He quickly tried to bend it back, but misjudged his own strength and snapped it clean in two.