Chapter 288: Territory Intruder

Chapter 288: Chapter 288: Territory Intruder

This storm couldn’t have come at a worse time. She was in for a busy night.

There was no time to eat. Xiaqing downed her ration porridge, wiped her mouth, and stood up to quickly pull on her protective suit. She then swiftly fitted Sheep Leader with its night-vision goggles. "Leader, it’s about to rain. I’m going to cover our solar panels first, then close up the greenhouses with the rainproof cloth. You wait for me here."

After Xiaqing ran off, Sheep Leader, who had been munching on the fodder in its own bowl, trotted over to Xiaqing’s table and sniffed. It propped its front hooves on her chair and polished off the pine nut corn on her plate until it was spotless.

Still unaware that her meal had been devoured by her companion, Xiaqing heard Tan Junjie announce the weather change on the Lord channel as she ran out of the village to secure her greenhouses. He was asking each territory to report in.

Xiaqing replied while running, "Third Territory, received."

Not long after Xiaqing responded, Hu Zifeng called. "Xiaqing, do you need help?"

"No need, I can handle it alone." Xiaqing didn’t want Hu Zifeng’s team making the trip.

It was autumn, and based on her accumulated experience over the years, the wind tonight would most likely be a westerly. Her territory was surrounded by mountains on the north and west sides, while No.1 Territory only had mountains to its north, making the westerly wind a greater threat to them. Besides, her territory only had a little over six acres of farmland, whereas No.1 Territory had over a thousand, plus a worm casting production area under construction. They needed the manpower more.

Hu Zifeng reminded her, "Be careful of Blind Jiang. He’s not just after Mountain No. 49. I’ll keep you updated on their movements."

"Thanks," Xiaqing said.

The Sick Wolf had made an appearance when Xu Juan and Zhang Yong came to the Third Territory with a camera. The Jiang Bear Squad, whose affairs were closely intertwined with the Su Feng Team’s, surely knew she had a wolf on her territory. Others might not be interested in an old wolf on the verge of death, but the Jiang Bear Squad definitely was.

That afternoon, when the Jiang Bear Squad’s dogs had been barking madly, Xiaqing had seen the greed in Blind Jiang’s single eye as clear as day. She had already prepared to stay up all night to protect her territory.

This downpour would wash away the Broken Waist Wolf’s trail back to the Evolution Forest, and it would also force the Jiang Bear Squad to focus their attention on Mountain No. 49 and the Third Territory.

Xiaqing had already laid a trap, waiting for them to come. But before that, she had to protect her farmland.

The greenhouses on the high slope and low slope, the corn greenhouse, the mung bean greenhouse, the cotton greenhouse, the pumpkin and sweet potato greenhouse, the White-haired Chicken Shit Vine, Sheep Leader’s pasture... Luckily, she had modified the greenhouse rain covers to a pulley system, following the method from the Tenth Territory. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to cover everything in fifty minutes.

By the time she closed up the last greenhouse, the wind on her territory had grown stronger, blowing from the northwest. Xiaqing breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the wind direction held, this sudden, violent thunderstorm wouldn’t have much of an impact on her territory.

She just hoped the rain wouldn’t absorb an excess of Harmful Elements due to the lightning and turn into Harmful Rain. It wasn’t something that hadn’t happened before.

Back then, however, Xiaqing hadn’t started farming yet and didn’t have a profound understanding of such a change. Now that she was a farmer, she truly grasped the deep meaning behind the words "relying on heaven for food."

To improve her ability to withstand harsh weather, she would have to build standardized greenhouses in her territory. But at this stage, Xiaqing had no plans to do so.

First, standardized greenhouses required large amounts of steel and new-material glass, as well as supporting facilities like ventilation, air filtration, and irrigation systems. The cost was anything but low.

Second, once standardized greenhouses were built in the Third Territory, she would become like a tall tree catching the wind or the bird that sticks its head out. The disadvantages would far outweigh the benefits.

There was only one person, one goat, and a few chickens in the Third Territory. Their food demand wasn’t large, so it was enough for Xiaqing to take care of her current few acres.

As the wind grew stronger and began to howl, Sheep Leader, its coat glowing white in the night, ran out from the village to join its companion.

"Running out here now, aren’t you just making yourself a living target?" Xiaqing ruffled its wool, which was being tossed about by the wind. Just as she was about to take it back to put on a protective suit, a bolt of lightning flashed in the southwest, followed immediately by a deafening crack of thunder.

That sounded too close! Xiaqing scooped up Sheep Leader and dashed into the small cabin at the edge of the farmland, terrified of being struck by lightning if she was too slow.

On the Lord channel, Zhao Ze asked, his voice trembling with fear, "Is everyone okay?"

Qi Fu responded, "I’m fine over here. That last strike seemed to land in one of the southwestern territories. Hope the person’s alright. Does everyone have lightning rods on their roofs? If not, don’t use your transceivers, you might get struck."

Xiaqing replied, "I’m fine too."

Tang Huai cursed, "Fuck, this is so annoying! The lightning might as well just strike me dead and get it over with!"

CRACK!

Xiaqing watched as a bolt of lightning split the sky and struck the Second Territory. Her vision went white, and then the heavy rain came crashing down, the sound deafening.

Everyone was terrified. Kuang Qingwei shouted, "Brother Huai, are you okay?"

Hearing no response from Tang Huai, even Tang Zhengpo grew anxious. "Ah Huai?"

Tan Junjie asked, "Second Territory, please report your status."

The lightning was causing communication interference, making the voices over the transceiver sound distorted and adding to the tense atmosphere. Frowning, Xiaqing watched the endless flashes of lightning outside the window. She finally understood why this was called a *thunder*storm.

"That’s way too much damn lightning," Xiaqing muttered. She took out her Harmful Element Detector and was about to collect a rainwater sample to test its content when her phone buzzed in her pocket.

She opened her phone and glanced at it, then immediately instructed Sheep Leader, "Leader, humans have intruded on our territory. You wait here, I’ll go take care of it."

Seeing Sheep Leader about to follow her, Xiaqing quickly shoved a small piece of a compressed ration into its mouth, shut it inside the inner room, and warned sternly, "It’s night, and your coat is too conspicuous. Wait here for me to come back."

With that, Xiaqing turned on the light in the outer room, sent a message to Tan Junjie, and rushed out.

CRACK! Thunder and lightning struck almost simultaneously. As the flash illuminated the territory, Xiaqing was already diving into the Wild Grass Wall between the Third and Fourth Territories.

She was wearing a full Level 3 field protective suit, unafraid of electrocution or the drenching rain. She crouched silently within the Wild Grass Wall, waiting.

Two people in protective suits were moving along the creek between the Third and Fourth territories to enter her land. These two were cunning; they knew where to walk to avoid leaving footprints or scents.

But if they wanted to "steal the wolf," they had to come ashore. The pair used a stone slab bridge to quickly cross the reservoir, avoiding the rain-covered greenhouses and the lit cabin as they accurately navigated toward the deserted village where Xiaqing lived.

Just as they passed by Xiaqing, a flash of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a clap of thunder. The two instinctively looked up. Through their protective masks, Xiaqing saw half of their faces and confirmed they were the same members of the Jiang Bear Squad who had been with Blind Jiang that afternoon.