Chapter 86: The New Lord of Plot 9, Li Si

Chapter 86: Chapter 86: The New Lord of Plot 9, Li Si

’Turn off the micro-tiller? I’m using farm equipment on my own territory. Is that any of your business?’

Xiaqing kept at it until noon, then went to the terraced planting area on the hillside. She picked some of the Green Light Alfalfa she had traded for with Zhao Ze, some Yellow Light tiger ginger leaves, and the Green Light and Yellow Light chives she had gotten from Kuang Qingwei and Qi Fu.

When she got home, Xiaqing froze. On the glass of her second-floor balcony, where she dried her things, were several splatters of bird shit...

’Dammit, which one of you bastards did this?! Don’t let me catch you, or I’ll steal your damn eggs!’

Muttering and cursing, Xiaqing washed the bird shit off with water before turning on the Yi Element Detector to test the Yi Element content of the plants. As she expected, Zhao Ze’s Green Light Alfalfa had the highest Yi Element content, reaching three-ten-thousandths.

When Zhang San traded with the other Lords, he only accepted food, and he preferred food with high Yi Element content.

Zhao Ze could harvest six jin of Green Light Alfalfa from his territory at a time, so he must have a pretty large patch.

’Does Territory No. 4 have a spring, too? The Buffer Forest on the hillside within Territory No. 4 is also at the foot of Mountain No. 49. It’s not impossible that there’s a spring, but it’s not very likely either.’

’Would damaging the mountain structure in the Buffer Forest at the foot of Mountain No. 49 affect the spring in her territory?’ Xiaqing couldn’t help but wonder, so she sent Luo Pei a message to ask.

Luo Pei replied quickly, "Based on past surveying experience, you would only risk damaging the mountain’s structure if you go deeper than thirty meters. The Green Dragon Team has already included Territories Four, Five, Six, and Seven in our cooperative scope. We will be contacting the four Lords shortly."

’So they already thought of that, and it only just occurred to me. How embarrassing.’ Xiaqing put down her phone, feeling much more at ease.

It took Xiaqing six days to clear the Injurious Grass from her farmland and the three villages.

Xiaqing had asked Hu Zifeng for a picture of the "ground bubble" plant. It looked incredibly ordinary; if she hadn’t had the picture, Xiaqing would have cut it down as Injurious Grass. For the past few days, Xiaqing had been searching for these "ground bubbles" while clearing out the Injurious Grass.

After a few days, she actually managed to find six edible ones among the vast number of Red Light plants—three Yellow Light and three Green Light. Zhang San had already traded for "ground bubbles" with Qi Fu, so it was impossible to trade these six for chicks anymore, but she could keep them to eat herself.

Xiaqing built a small insect-proof net canopy for them, giving them special protection.

After clearing the farmland, it was time to clear the hillside. When Xiaqing reached the Fir Forest, she was attacked by the White Egret and the Night Egrets.

These four birds were full of hostility toward Xiaqing. They probably knew they couldn’t beat her, so they’d wait until she wasn’t home to smear bird shit on her windows. Xiaqing, who had taken three of their eggs but only gotten to eat one, had already been cleaning up bird shit for four days.

She could tolerate the bird shit graffiti, but she couldn’t tolerate the four Evolutionary Birds stopping her from clearing the Fir Forest. After using her slingshot and some mud pellets to teach the four birds a lesson about who was the true master of the Third Territory, Xiaqing cleared the Injurious Grass from the Fir Forest and continued to push upward.

It was also a Lord’s duty to clear the Harmful Evolutionary Creatures from the Buffer Forest. If they weren’t dealt with in time and ended up affecting neighboring territories, the Lord would have to compensate for the losses.

Xiaqing had already received two solar panels as compensation from the Second Territory, and the other territories had also received their respective compensations. As for Xiaqing’s demand that the Second Territory compensate her for her Bullets and points, it was not supported by the Territory Management Department.

Tang Huai had compensated Xiaqing with an extra solar panel to get on her good side and facilitate future trades for Green Light food. Xiaqing accepted the solar panel without fuss; she’d decide whether to trade or not later.

The territory hit hardest by the rat infestation from the Second Territory was its eastern neighbor, No. 9 Territory. All their crops were destroyed, and three of the four people there died. According to Su Ming, the survivor was scared out of their wits and had decided to abandon the territory and return to the Safe Zone after collecting the compensation.

During the second Harmful Rain, most territories suffered heavy losses. But unless their crops were utterly destroyed or they suffered major casualties, who would be willing to give up the mung beans that were a month from harvest, or the wheat that would be ready in two?

This was all food, after all.

’I wonder if anyone will claim No. 9 Territory after it’s abandoned. Does the Green Dragon Team have any plans for it?’

Besides No. 9 Territory, she had no idea what the situation was in the nearby eighth and Tenth Territories.

Just as Xiaqing was clearing Injurious Grass and letting her mind wander, she suddenly heard the roar of a helicopter approaching. She walked out of the woods into an open area and saw a small helicopter flying in from the west and landing in No.1 Territory.

Luo Pei, the Lord of No.1 Territory, was "back."

Xiaqing turned on her walkie-talkie and heard Tang Huai shouting, "Hu Zifeng! Hu Zifeng! What are you guys up to?"

Of course, Hu Zifeng wasn’t on the channel.

Kuang Qingwei guessed, "Didn’t the Green Dragon Team buy Mountain No. 49 to use as a training base? Are they dropping off team members for training in the mountains?"

Tang Huai scoffed, "Bullshit! The Green Dragon Team is just a second-rate team, how could they have a helicopter? Don’t tell me Luo Pei is back?"

Kuang Qingwei wasn’t Hu Zifeng, so he didn’t dare argue with Tang Huai. He just replied placatingly, "I wonder if Captain Luo’s eye injury has gotten any better. We haven’t heard from him in a long time."

The channel fell silent.

An hour later, Luo Pei’s gentle and steady voice came over the channel. "Hello everyone. This is Luo Pei from No.1 Territory. I’m back."

The channel immediately erupted with a chorus of greetings, interspersed with Tang Huai’s probing questions, making it incredibly lively. It didn’t quiet down until Zhang San spoke up.

No one dared to provoke Zhang San. First, because he had a lot of supplies, and second, because he was petty.

Luo Pei replied gently, "Thank you for your concern, Brother San and everyone. My injury is almost completely healed."

’No way!’ Tang Huai continued to probe, "Captain Luo, are you back to keep farming this time?"

Luo Pei answered calmly, "Since I have the territory, of course I’m going to farm it. Besides farming, I’ll also be leading my people to establish the training base on Mountain No. 49 as soon as possible. It might get a bit noisy and disturb everyone, so I’d like to apologize in advance."

Zhang San said lazily, "Just a verbal apology?"

Luo Pei replied, "The Green Dragon Team will compensate the five Lords of Territories Three, Four, Five, Six, and Seven with two jin of Yellow Light Corn seeds each."

June. It was time to plant corn.

Zhao Ze immediately spoke up. "Logically, my territory is separated from Mountain No. 49 by the Wild Boar Breeding Center, so Brother Luo’s construction of the training base won’t affect me. But since Brother Luo made the offer, it wouldn’t be right for me to refuse his gesture. I’ll accept the corn. Tomorrow, I’ll bring you some fruits and melons from my territory. It’s not much, but it’s a token of my appreciation. I hope you won’t mind, Brother Luo."

Kuang Qingwei and Qi Fu, also quick on the uptake, offered to send some vegetables over. Xiaqing chimed in, "Brother Luo, this is Xiaqing from the Third Territory. My cucumbers are ready to eat. I’ll bring some over for you tomorrow. When the Green Dragon Team is clearing Mountain No. 49, can I apply to participate? I want to look for Green Light food to trade with Brother San for chicks."

Luo Pei chuckled gently. "Thank you, everyone. Xiaqing, I’ll have someone notify you when we clear the Evolution Forest on the mountain."

Zhang San also chimed in, "Luo Pei, if you find any Green Light food in the mountains and want to trade, just give a shout on the channel."

"Alright."

After Luo Pei agreed, Tang Huai immediately followed up, "Captain Luo, can I team up with you to go into the mountains?"

To Tang Huai’s request, Luo Pei responded calmly, "The Evolution Forest is incredibly dangerous after the Harmful Rain. Ordinary people can’t go in. Even if you have Evolved People in your territory, the answer is still no, because I don’t trust the Tang Family."

Luo Pei had shut down not only Tang Huai but also the three ordinary Lords from Territories Four, Five, and Six who had wanted to go up the mountain.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar female voice sounded on the channel. "Hello everyone, I’m the new Lord of No. 9 Territory, Li Si."