When she got home, Xiaqing first went to check on her precious little wild boar. Finding it still huddled in a corner, refusing to eat or drink, she immediately replaced its water with fresh spring water and gave it new Asparagus Chrysanthemum. Whatever happened, she couldn’t let it die on her watch.
Back in her house, she took a shower and ate a hearty meal of rice mixed with spicy Asparagus Chrysanthemum. Afterward, Xiaqing stretched out blissfully on her bed. She was absolutely in love with her current free and solitary life.
As she lay down to sleep, a small valley north of Territory No. 4 was brightly lit. Several people in camouflage Protective Suits were gathered around eleven anesthetized wild boars—three large and eight small—running tests on them.
Su Ming ran up to the two captains to report the exciting results. "Of the three large boars—one male, two females—the nursing sow’s blood tested as Green Light. Out of the seven piglets, one is Green Light and one is Yellow Light. Add the one that was taken, and that makes a total of three edible piglets!"
A Green Light sow and a Red Light boar producing two Green Light piglets meant the sow’s Yi Element stability was very high, making her suitable for breeding.
Tan Junjie was about to order the pigs taken back to the base, but Yang Jin spoke up first. "This place has mountains, water, and forest—plenty of food. It’s perfect for raising wild boars in an enclosure. As far as I know, the breeding project at the research center isn’t going smoothly. These boars might not last a few months if we send them over. Mr. Tan, maybe you should ask for instructions?"
Su Ming immediately agreed. "He’s right, Captain. This place is so close to our camp, it would be no trouble at all to fence it in and raise them here."
’And it would be much more convenient for getting pork.’
Tan Junjie agreed it was a viable plan. He made a call to request instructions and, as expected, received his superior’s support. "We’ll fence this entire area in to raise the boars. The clearing machines will be here in two hours. Yunzi and Mingzi, you stay and watch the animals. The rest of you, take a thirty-minute break, then come with me to rendezvous with the machinery."
"Yes, sir!" The twenty-some soldiers cheered.
Tan Junjie then turned to Yang Jin. "What are your plans?"
Yang Jin flicked a leech off his Protective Suit. "We’ll follow your lead. Just looking to score some long-term meat rations."
"You, of all people, are short on meat?" Tan Junjie chuckled, his smile holding a deeper meaning.
Yang Jin just smiled and changed the subject. "Are the orders from up top just to clear this valley, or the entire area north of Territories No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5?"
Since Yang Jin didn’t want to elaborate, Tan Junjie dropped it. "We’re clearing it all. The area north of Territory No. 3 will be incorporated into it, and this spot will become a selective breeding center for the wild boars. Tonight, men and machines will work together to establish an isolation zone. At dawn, we’ll begin clearing out dangerous creatures. The job has to be done before the rain starts."
With four forest clearing vehicles and over forty people, they easily carved out a new, fifty-meter-wide isolation zone across the rolling hills north of Territories No. 3, 4, and 5 in a single night.
The next morning, when Xiaqing went to the North Hillside to fetch water, she saw smoke rising from the Evolution Forest to the north.
’Have Captain Tan and his team already caught the boars and started clearing the Evolution Forest?’ Before Xiaqing could go investigate, she got a call from Tan Junjie. He told her he was sending someone to pick up the piglet.
Xiaqing asked first, "Captain Tan, when can I get the land-use certificate for the new plot of land you approved for me?"
’Since this is a trade, the terms need to be clear upfront.’
Tan Junjie’s reply was straightforward. "It’s already been submitted. Zhong Tao will deliver it to you within two days."
"Thank you, Captain Tan."
After hanging up, Xiaqing immediately went back to catch the lively little wild boar. She carried it to the isolation zone north of the Buffer Forest and handed it to Su Ming, who was craning his neck in anticipation.
Su Ming pricked the piglet’s skin, drew a few drops of blood for testing, and then grinned from ear to ear. "No wonder it’s a Green Light Pig. It’s so energetic."
’Is there a connection?’ Xiaqing wondered. She asked, "Are you clearing out the boars’ valley too? I saw smoke over there."
Su Ming chuckled. "The base is planning to build a selective breeding center for wild boars here. The northern isolation zone is already finished. Once we fence off the area north of Territory No. 4 and Territory No. 5, we’ll head over to clear the hillside north of Territory No. 3."
’A breeding center means my territory will be even safer.’ Xiaqing was delighted. "If you all get too busy, I can clear that plot of land myself."
"We have enough people. We’ll definitely get it done in two days." Su Ming then asked her curiously, "Xiaqing, are you close with Captain Yang of the Green Dragon Team?"
Yang Jin, captain of the Green Dragon Team—ranked second in overall combat power at Hui San Base—was a prominent figure. He was a Level 7 Speed Evolver, young, and easy on the eyes. Any Evolver like him, regardless of gender, became a target of pursuit.
This was because pairing with a High Level Evolver and having an offspring with detected Evolutionary potential meant you could move into the Inner City of the Safe Zone. You would also be assigned a relaxed, respectable job, allowing you to live an enviable life on the base’s benefits and salary.
Xiaqing had never considered taking this path, so she wanted to stay as far away from Yang Jin as possible. He was the man Tang Lu was pursuing, and Tang Lu treated any woman who got close to him as a thorn in her side.
Although Tang Lu was Tang Zhengsu’s daughter and lived in the Inner City, it didn’t change the fact that she was an ordinary person. Naturally, she wanted to marry a High Level Evolver and have a child with an Evolutionary Ability. That was the only way to guarantee security for the rest of her life.
So, when Su Ming suddenly asked about him, Xiaqing immediately became guarded. "I don’t know him. We’ve never interacted. Why do you ask?"
"No reason, just asking." Su Ming scratched his head, picked up the little wild boar, and left.
The top two teams in Hui San Base, while neutral in name, had clear allegiances in practice. The Su Feng Team, led by Tang Zhengsu, naturally answered to Deputy Base Commander Tang Zhengrong. Meanwhile, the Green Dragon Team, led by Yang Jin, was closer to the military leader—Base Commander Qi Zhongye.
This was because Yang Jin and most of his teammates had been military cadets before the Natural Disasters. Under his leadership, the Green Dragon Team operated much more cleanly than the Su Feng Team, earning them a great reputation within the base. Everyone preferred to team up with them for missions. Xiaqing had gone on missions with the Green Dragon Team before, but she only joined those led by its core members.
As for missions led by Yang Jin himself, she wouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot pole.
’Why would Su Ming think I’m close to Yang Jin?’ Xiaqing narrowed her eyes as she watched him disappear into the Evolution Forest, only then returning to her territory.
Before she could even begin to sort out her thoughts, she heard the THUMP, THUMP, THUMP of something running toward her, growing closer and closer. Xiaqing instantly dropped her basket and took a defensive stance.
An Evolutionary Sheep with massive, spiraling horns leaped out from the trees and charged straight at her. Xiaqing braced herself, meeting it with one hundred and twenty percent of her strength.
BAM!
Xiaqing lost the exchange, stumbling back three steps before slamming hard against a tree. If not for her evolution-strengthened body, the impact would have surely injured her.
Xiaqing had just pushed herself upright when she saw the Evolutionary Sheep back up a few steps and charge again. A stubborn streak flared in Xiaqing, and she decided to go all out against this sheep.
"Today, you’re going to learn who’s the boss of Territory No. 3!"
She wasn’t as strong as the sheep, but she was smarter. As it charged again, Xiaqing sidestepped, grabbed its horns with both hands, and roared, "Get lost!"
With a great heave, Xiaqing flung the Evolutionary Sheep sideways. It crashed against a rock with a loud THUD, stunned for two seconds before its eyes flew open. It let out an enraged MOO and leaped back toward her.
It was the first time Xiaqing had ever heard a sheep make such a furious sound, but she didn’t go easy on it. "Get lost!"
CRACK!
Flung by Xiaqing once more, the Evolutionary Sheep slammed into a thigh-thick tree, snapping the trunk in half.
MOO! The Evolutionary Sheep got to its feet, shook its head, and charged at Xiaqing again with a THUMP-THUMP-THUMP.
"Get lost!"
BAM!
"And stay out!"
BAM!
"Go!"
BAM!
...