Chapter 300: Brain Domain Evolution Crow and Fir Tree

Chapter 300: Chapter 300: Brain Domain Evolution Crow and Fir Tree

Most of the chestnut tree’s leaves had fallen, revealing dozens of large chestnut burrs on its branches, but these were just bait the Evolved Bees used to catch birds. Xiaqing had no intention of harvesting them; she didn’t want the swarm, with its enhanced attack power, fighting her to the death.

Having confirmed the chestnut forest hadn’t been destroyed by migratory birds or lightning, Xiaqing planned to retreat and hunt the animal that had left hoof prints on the Beast Path. She had just taken two steps back when she heard a sound from the trees. It was a sound Xiaqing was very familiar with—the scurrying of a squirrel.

Every morning, Xiaqing would hear this sound before a little fellow appeared on her windowsill to drink water and eat the food she left out.

Xiaqing turned her head and, sure enough, saw her adorable guide squirrel squatting on a nearby branch, flicking its big tail and rubbing its little paws as it stared at her with eager eyes.

’One look at that posture told her everything. It’s looking for a handout.’ The target of its freeloading was also clear: it wanted her to go pick chestnuts for it.

Xiaqing chuckled, amused. "Your cute act isn’t quite convincing enough. If you grew white fur and nine tails, then maybe I’d be bewitched into doing something stupid for you."

With that, Xiaqing ignored the freeloader and resumed tracking the footprints on the Beast Path. The Red Squirrel was so angry it leaped up and down in the tree, even plucking a few leaves to throw at Xiaqing.

The leaves drifted down onto the Beast Path. Xiaqing couldn’t be bothered with it and continued following the tracks. After five hundred meters, Xiaqing was forced to stop.

Any further and she would no longer be in Zone Three of Mountain 49, but in the Green Dragon Team’s training grounds. Xiaqing listened intently. There were no sounds of large animals moving within three hundred meters ahead. ’This cloven-hoofed animal is lucky. It gets to live another day.’

After giving up on her prey, Xiaqing decided to walk back along the mountain slope, searching for edible plants in the valley below as she went.

From south to north, Mountain No. 49 increased in elevation, and the drop from the slope to the valley floor grew larger. From Xiaqing’s position, the valley floor was about three hundred meters down a terribly steep slope. Looking down from the mountainside, the winding creek at the bottom looked like a giant, evolved centipede slithering through the vegetation.

There had been a thunderstorm last night, leaving the slope wet and slippery. Xiaqing had no plans to enter the valley for a carpet search; instead, she used her outstanding Visual Evolution ability to observe from above.

After walking for more than fifty meters, Xiaqing stopped. On her side of the slope was a tree over four meters tall. The leaves on the visible part of its canopy were linear, arranged in two rows on either side of the small branches. At the tips of these branches hung many oval-shaped green fruits.

A Fir Tree!

The fruit of the Fir Tree takes three years to grow: the first year it produces catkins, the second year it flowers and bears fruit, and the third year it matures. It was precisely because the same tree bore one-year, two-year, and three-year fruits simultaneously that the Fir Tree was also known as the "Grandchild Tree" by the locals.

When the Fragrant Nut Fruit matures in its third year, its outer skin splits open, and then it can be picked. The Fragrant Pine Nut Core is a type of nut with its own unique aroma. It’s not only nutritious but also has an excellent texture. Because there were few edible Fir Trees within Hui San Base, the price of Fragrant Nut Fruit was even higher than pine nuts!

If a team on a gathering mission could find just one tree, they’d be happy for days.

Xiaqing had already discovered eight Fir Trees in Zone Three of Mountain 49, but only one was edible, and it was a Yellow Light. Moreover, the largest fruits on that Yellow Light Fir Tree were only two-year fruits, meaning they couldn’t be harvested until next year. The fruits on this Fir Tree she had just discovered in Valley No. 1 actually had many split-open ones. If it was edible, Xiaqing felt that if she wasn’t happy for a full two weeks, she’d be letting down this four-meter-tall Fir Tree.

Xiaqing first picked up a rock and threw it at the Fir Tree and various other trees along the way. When she saw that the trees didn’t attack and no animals leaped out or flew up, she concluded the danger level was low. She decided to go down and test the tree’s Harmful Element content.

After raising her arm to confirm her Air Poison Detection Instrument showed a Green Light, and then confirming there were no large animals within two hundred meters, she quickly sprayed Insect Repellent on the trunk of a large tree at the top of the slope before tying her rope to it. Although the climbing rope was sturdy, it couldn’t withstand the gnawing of evolved rodents. Spraying it with Insect Repellent was a necessary precaution.

Then she applied some more Insect Repellent to herself. It was a must; the slope was wet, steep, and covered in dense vegetation. Xiaqing needed to focus on her footing and didn’t want to be distracted by various Evolved Insects.

After checking that her equipment was in order, Xiaqing grabbed the rope and began descending the slope, heading for the Fir Tree more than twenty meters below.

Although her footing was slippery and the vegetation was dense, this wasn’t Xiaqing’s first time working in such conditions. With the help of her climbing rope, she quickly descended fifteen meters. Another five meters, and she would reach the Fir Tree.

A Red Squirrel, which had been following Xiaqing from a safe distance, leaped up and down excitedly on a branch, as if cheering her on.

’Why excitement and not anger? Because when this little guy is angry, its tail hairs stand on end, straight up. When it’s excited, its big tail is fluffy and wags back and forth.’

Seeing it act like this, Xiaqing stopped in her tracks.

’The fruit is right there, but the Red Squirrel isn’t picking it itself. Instead, it’s going crazy over here. Of course, that means it doesn’t dare to pick it.’

’That Fir Tree must have taught the Red Squirrel a lesson, or the squirrel has seen other animals suffer because of it.’

’What method does this Fir Tree use to protect itself?’

When Xiaqing was in the Safe Zone, she had encountered edible Fir Trees during gathering missions. After the Fir Trees evolved, their fruit pulp contained toxins and was no longer edible.

The venom in the Fragrant Nut Fruit’s pulp could be absorbed through an animal’s skin, blocking nerve conduction. It took effect very quickly, and the duration of the block varied depending on the venom’s concentration.

To put it bluntly, the pulp of the evolved Fragrant Nut Fruit had the effect of a topical anesthetic. It was also one of the sources for medical topical anesthetics after the Natural Disaster.

It was said that the lower a Fir Tree’s Harmful Element content, the higher the venom’s concentration, and the stronger the anesthetic effect. The Red Squirrel’s refusal to pick the fruit itself meant the tree’s venom concentration was likely high, making it highly probable that it was a valuable, low-Harmful Element plant.

But after descending another two meters, just as she could see the Fir Tree through the dense surrounding bushes, Xiaqing slashed through a lunging snake with her knife and stopped again.

Because she heard at least two eagles and more than thirty crows landing one after another not far from her. Looking more closely, Xiaqing could also see several small squirrels hiding in the leaves or bushes. She could even see the small heads of rats or snakes peeking out from little holes on the slope.

All the animals were waiting quietly. ’What are they waiting for?’

’For me, of course.’

’Damn it. She hadn’t even made a move, and a clear food chain had already formed: once she touched the Fragrant Nut Fruit, fell unconscious, and rolled to the bottom of the valley, the snakes, rats, and small squirrels would pounce on her. The moment the small animals stirred, the eagles and crows would swoop down to fight over the hedgehogs, rats, and small squirrels. The beaks and talons of those two eagles were extremely sharp, and their gazes were fixed on her, brimming with killing intent. This meant they didn’t just eat rats and snakes—Xiaqing herself was also a target.’

’The crows, squatting beside the eagles to feed on the carrion, would wait for the eagles to finish their meal, then peck every last scrap of flesh from her body. In a few hours, nothing would be left of her but a skeleton.’

’Perhaps not even a skeleton would be left, because some evolved rodents could even gnaw through bone.’

’In other words, in the eyes of these animals, she—the human, Xiaqing—was the main course of this grand feast.’