Chapter 45: Evolutionary Bamboo’s Bamboo Leaf Dart

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Evolutionary Bamboo’s Bamboo Leaf Dart

Because patrol teams regularly sprayed Insect Repellent near the quarantine zone, the first fifty meters into the Evolution Forest were free of dangerous evolved creatures. But after fifty meters, the number of insects increased noticeably, and the team’s pace slowed.

Even with the well-equipped Hu Zifeng’s team, it took two hours to safely reach their destination—twice as long as it had taken Xiaqing to go into the mountains and cut bamboo before the Harmful Rain.

Seeing that many bamboo shoots were indeed poking through the ground in the bamboo forest, Xiaqing was fired up and waited for Hu Zifeng to give the order.

Hu Zifeng cautiously scouted the area before giving the order. "When digging for shoots, first make a light cut on the tip to check it. Be careful of evolved bamboo weevils or evolved moth larvae jumping out to attack. Also, watch out for bamboo leaf darts from above."

Some dangerous Evolutionary Bamboos would fire bamboo leaf darts to attack approaching creatures, riddling them like a pincushion. Xiaqing hadn’t found any dangerous Evolutionary Bamboo on the three occasions she had come to cut bamboo, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any here. Because she had come in late winter and early spring, before the Harmful Rain, the Evolution Forest was in a relatively safe "dormant period." After being awakened by three days of Harmful Rain, anything could happen in the Evolution Forest.

After confirming that his team members and Xiaqing were fully prepared, Hu Zifeng led them into the bamboo forest and began searching for edible bamboo shoots.

For every shoot they encountered, Xiaqing would carefully slice off a small piece. Only after confirming no evolved creatures attacked would she squeeze out its juice to test it. After getting twelve Red Lights in a row, Xiaqing finally found a Yellow Light.

She didn’t start digging immediately. Instead, she first listened and observed carefully, confirming there were no dangers lurking in the soil or the surroundings. Only then did she use an entrenching tool to quickly dig away the earth, jab the bamboo rhizome to ensure the bamboo wouldn’t fire any bamboo leaf darts, and then sever the shoot’s root in one motion. She quickly peeled the shoot and stuffed it into a bag.

After risking such a long journey, she was determined to take as much as she could, immediately chopping off any inedible parts.

This bamboo shoot still weighed over six pounds after being peeled. A smile appeared on Xiaqing’s face as she continued to search and dig.

Hu Zifeng, who had been watching Xiaqing, nodded to himself. ’As expected of a Strength Evolver. That speed, that strength... she’s perfect for digging and other manual labor.’

After the group had slowly pushed forward for another two hours, Xiaqing had already harvested seven Yellow Light Bamboo Shoots, filling one bag. She slung the bag over her back just as she heard a team member exclaim softly over the radio, "Green Light!"

Finding one Green Light Bamboo Shoot meant there was a high probability of finding more by following the rhizome. The team immediately and slowly converged on that member’s position. After confirming there was no danger in the soil, they started digging.

Three shovelfuls in, and they still hadn’t reached the root. After another five, the shoot was already as long as an arm, and they still hadn’t hit the bottom. Xiaqing, who had never seen such a large shoot, had eyes that were practically glowing. She was itching to pull the team member out and jump in to dig herself.

When they finally reached the root and confirmed the bamboo shoot was longer than an adult’s leg, everyone was beaming. Even if this was the only shoot they harvested today, the trip would have been worth it.

After carefully observing the nearby bamboo, Hu Zifeng gave a decisive order. "Guan Tong, open the Iron Umbrella! Everyone get under it and use your Iron Shields for protection. Da Jiang, watch the ground beneath you."

A team member pulled a folded Iron Umbrella from his backpack. It didn’t look large, but its canopy was surprisingly over two meters in diameter when opened. It could shelter all six of them. Xiaqing and Da Jiang were in the center, with the others positioned around them.

Hu Zifeng continued, "Miss Xia, cut the shoot. Do it in a single strike. Try not to sever the rhizome, so we don’t overstimulate the bamboo."

"Alright." Xiaqing swung her machete at the connection point between the shoot and the rhizome, finishing the job in one blow. For a Strength Evolver, it was a piece of cake.

That single strike triggered the bamboo’s defense mechanism. Seeing the rhizome tremble, Hu Zifeng immediately ordered, "Everyone down! Iron Shields up!"

The sound of whistling air filled their ears as countless bamboo leaf darts pelted the umbrella canopy and the surrounding Protective Shields, making a rapid-fire PANG PANG PANG sound.

Firing bamboo leaf darts was this Evolutionary Bamboo’s stress response. Fortunately, its Evolution Level wasn’t high, and it was unable to lock onto targets. It stopped firing after one indiscriminate volley.

In those few seconds, Xiaqing had already peeled the Green Light Bamboo Shoot, removed its base, and stuffed it into a bag. She excitedly shared her joy with the team, "It’s at least forty pounds after peeling! We’re in for a real treat."

"Stir-fried bamboo shoots with meat tonight," the fierce-looking Hu Zifeng said, clearly pleased. "Miss Xia, do you need any canned meat?"

Canned meat was very expensive, so of course Xiaqing didn’t have any. "Can I trade you for it?"

"Of course. One 340-gram can of pork in exchange for one kilogram of Evolved Perilla?"

"Deal!" It was a fair trade, and Xiaqing agreed without hesitation.

Hu Zifeng’s smile widened. He’d been craving some Evolved Perilla after hearing Zhang San and Tang Huai drone on about it.

After the Iron Umbrella was put away, Xiaqing looked at the dark green bamboo leaves embedded in the bamboo stalks and the ground, and felt a wave of retrospective fear. Thank goodness the one she’d come to cut before the Harmful Rain wasn’t this particular Evolutionary Bamboo, otherwise she would’ve certainly been injured.

Xiaqing was curious how Hu Zifeng had identified the bamboo with the large shoot as an aggressive Evolutionary Bamboo. But since she didn’t know him well and he didn’t bring it up, she felt it would be rude to ask.

After confirming the Evolutionary Bamboo was a Green Light plant, the six of them followed its rhizome and found another thirteen Green Light Bamboo Shoots, although none were as large as the first.

After they finished digging up the thirteen Green Light Bamboo Shoots, Xiaqing looked up and noticed the mature Evolutionary Bamboo had nearly shot all its leaves off, leaving it almost bare...

But they hadn’t damaged the bamboo’s root system. In just a few days or after a rainfall, its combat power would be maxed out again. Anything that dared touch its shoots or roots would be attacked by darts.

’This is probably why no animals were chewing on the bamboo shoots,’ she thought.

The team, having gathered a bountiful harvest of shoots, was preparing to leave when Xiaqing heard rustling sounds all around them. ’Animals are coming, and a lot of them! From the sound of it, they aren’t giant pandas.’

She had just straightened up when she heard Hu Zifeng give an order, "Hostiles inbound! Formation!"

Xiaqing paused for a moment. ’Could Hu Zifeng be a Dual System Evolver, with both Auditory and Visual abilities?’

The four team members quickly faced outward, joining Hu Zifeng to protect Xiaqing in the center. With a machete in one hand and a gun in the other, Xiaqing didn’t try to be a hero, standing in the middle and staring straight ahead.

Soon, the dangerous creatures making the noise appeared in Xiaqing’s line of sight: a pack of bamboo rats! It seemed they had coveted the Green Light Bamboo Shoots for some time but hadn’t dared to make a move, fearing the Evolutionary Bamboo’s attacks. When they saw Xiaqing’s group digging up all the shoots to take away, the creatures grew desperate.

Despite their round bodies and short legs, these Evolutionary Rats were incredibly fast. With her current marksmanship, it would be impossible for Xiaqing to hit them. She immediately put her gun away and gripped her machete with both hands.

The Level 5 Visual Evolver, Hu Zifeng, had already completed his reconnaissance. "Pack of Evolved Bamboo Rats spotted, two hundred meters out, twelve o’clock. Thirty are rodent-type evolutions, at least ten of which are Speed evolutions. Miss Xia, stay put and protect the bamboo shoots. Da Jiang, watch the ground. I’ll handle the Speed-evolved ones; the rest of you, eliminate the rodent-types."

With the satisfying click of the safety being disengaged, Hu Zifeng’s sniper rifle fired the first bullet. Xiaqing saw a Speed-evolved Bamboo Rat, which had been leaping rapidly between bamboo stalks fifty meters away, get hit and drop to the ground.

The team members also opened fire. The bamboo rats were fast, but they were hit one after another, unable to get close. Xiaqing relaxed and, along with Da Jiang, focused her attention on the ground beneath their feet.

Bamboo rats could burrow, so they might attack from underground.

Discerning a specific sound’s direction amidst the chaos was difficult, but it was a life-saving skill Xiaqing had painstakingly practiced. When she heard an animal digging through the earth ten meters to the northwest, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Da Jiang, the Auditory Evolver, hadn’t reacted. ’It seems his Auditory Evolution Level is lower than mine.’ She tightened her grip on her machete and said nothing, waiting for the Evolutionary Rat to enter Da Jiang’s range of hearing.

When the bamboo rat had tunneled to within four meters, Da Jiang finally spoke. "Eleven o’clock, four meters, twenty centimeters underground."

A team member quickly lowered his gun. With a loud BANG, the digging sound beneath the soil ceased.