"Someone will come to claim them once the solar panels and walkie-talkies are ready. It’s dangerous in the territories, but the benefits aren’t bad either." Hu Zi shouldered the solar panels and headed toward the Territory No. 1 isolation belt.
Just as Xiaqing was about to head back, she suddenly heard footsteps from the direction of Territory No. 2, about two hundred meters away. From the sound of it, there were six people. Hu Zi was alone.
Xiaqing stopped and hid behind a tree.
Soon, Hu Zi also heard the footsteps and set down the large wooden crate containing the solar panels.
Six Tang Family employees who lived in Territory No. 2 climbed the hill, rushed into the isolation belt, and called out loudly to Hu Zi, "You here to install the solar panels? This way, we’ve cleared a path."
Hu Zi replied calmly, "Territory No. 2 has no Buffer Forest. It doesn’t meet the installation requirements."
A slightly chubby guy was hopping mad. "On what grounds? Are the lives of us normal people worthless? What is the military trying to pull?"
Another man spoke up, arguing his case. "Territory No. 2 doesn’t have a Buffer Forest, but we’re right next to Territories No. 1 and No. 3. If a dangerous evolved creature were to cross their isolation belts and Buffer Forests to attack, it would be in our territory in less than five minutes. Take the caterpillars in Territory No. 1 a few days ago. If they hadn’t been discovered, they would have crawled into Territory No. 2 in no time."
Hu Zi nodded. "I’ll report the situation you’ve described. The incident in Territory No. 1 happened because they underestimated the caterpillars’ toxicity and didn’t wear Protective Suits. All of you must follow the standards for outdoor work and wear your Protective Suits."
Seeing that Hu Zi was unbudging, the men from Territory No. 2 lowered their demand. "Even if you can’t install the solar panels, you can at least give us a walkie-talkie, right? That way we can report danger immediately."
Hu Zi’s face hardened. "The base headquarters issued a new order just this morning, which you already know about. That means you have instant communication devices and don’t need walkie-talkies."
"Even so..."
The men from Territory No. 2 were about to keep pestering him, but Hu Zi lost his patience, hoisted the crate onto his shoulder, and walked off.
The men from Territory No. 2 were about to explode with anger. "Captain, are you just going to let him walk away?"
The captain from Territory No. 2, who had been silent until now, spoke in a harsh tone, "He’s armed. And even if he weren’t, if we laid a hand on him, the military would be here within an hour to pin us to the ground and riddle us with holes."
Another man complained, "They’re deliberately targeting our Tang Family. This damn place has nothing. I really don’t want to stay here for another day!"
"If you don’t want to stay, then get the hell out!" the leader cursed, turning to walk back. The rest of the men immediately followed.
The voice of the angry man from before piped up again. "Captain, the guys are all pent-up. Think we can go find that little chick in Territory No. 3 to... blow off some steam? Heh..."
’Blow off some steam? Great.’ Xiaqing drew her machete and lightly blew on the sharp, reflective blade.
"Go ahead if you want to die," the leader said, his voice even more impatient.
The man who had his eyes on Xiaqing wasn’t intimidated. "That chick is just a Strength Evolution Person. The guys and I can handle her."
The leader snorted. "Even if she can’t kill you, she’ll report you to the base afterward."
Another man spoke up. "Then why don’t we just grab her and bring her back?"
The leader grew even angrier. "Get back there and copy the Territory Law, every single one of you! You think you can fool the nose of a High Level Evolution Military Dog? A bunch of brainless morons! If you want to die, don’t drag me down with you! Get back to pulling weeds and tilling the land!"
"This is so annoying. I regret this so much." The leader had blown his top, and the men’s voices grew much quieter. Xiaqing could just barely make out what they were saying.
"Didn’t you hear how many people from the Tang Family died this time? If we guys were still in the Safe Zone, we’d all be goners for sure. Come on. We’ll toss the seeds in the ground and then go hunt in the Evolution Forest. I haven’t smelled meat in days."
Only after hearing them walk away did Xiaqing emerge from behind the tree and head back down the mountain the way she came. After Xiaqing left, the Tang Family’s team captain, still within Territory No. 2, stopped and twitched his ears.
As Xiaqing checked the Buffer Forest for any evolved caterpillars, her thoughts turned to the group from Territory No. 2.
’The team members aren’t a big concern; I can find a legitimate opportunity to deal with them. But that captain is a bit more troublesome. He’s smart.’
The Lord system, introduced to expand the area for food cultivation, first and foremost had to protect the safety of the Lords who left the Safe Zone.
Therefore, the Territory Law not only stipulated the various rights a Lord enjoyed within their territory but also mandated severe punishment for any crime that violated a Lord’s personal and property safety.
If anyone harmed a Lord, the base would immediately dispatch a law enforcement team composed of High Level Evolved People and High Level Evolutionary dogs.
Although the ubiquitous surveillance cameras were gone now, the high-level law enforcement team was far more formidable than any cold, unfeeling camera. As long as they caught the scent of a stranger within a territory, they could capture the perpetrator within two hours.
Unless the perpetrator was turned to ash or fled the base on a plane.
So, anyone who didn’t want to die wouldn’t dare provoke a Lord. Xiaqing wasn’t worried for her own safety; she was worried about the Sheep Leader.
If the men from Territory No. 2 found out about the Sheep Leader, they wouldn’t dare barge into her territory to catch it, but they would definitely find a way to lure the Sheep Leader outside the territory to capture it.
The Sheep Leader was strong and stubborn, but all her opponents would need to do is pull out a ration bar, and they could definitely entice the glutton away.
The most thorough solution was to fence in her own territory. But her seven-thousand-five-hundred-acre territory had a perimeter of over nine kilometers; she didn’t have the ability or financial resources for that right now. So, the best method for the time being was to have the Sheep Leader stick with her as much as possible and not leave the territory.
’If only the Sheep Leader were a little smarter and could understand what I’m saying.’
Xiaqing returned home to grab her tools and headed to the new territory with the Sheep Leader. Although the new land had already been inspected, Xiaqing didn’t dare underestimate the potential dangers. She sprayed both the Sheep Leader and herself several times with insecticide and Insect Repellent.
After arriving at the new territory, the Sheep Leader’s first stop was the Perilla.
Xiaqing had already harvested a good amount of the Evolved Perilla. After the Harmful Rain, another batch had undergone Qiang Evolution, and now only half of it remained.
Xiaqing didn’t harvest any Perilla and continued walking toward the High Slope above the terraced fields.
Along the way, she constantly cleared away the Qiang-evolved organisms that blocked her view. She killed the animals and uprooted the plants to let them dry in the sun. She would burn them on her next trip; otherwise, they would multiply and become a disaster.
The top of the slope was only a few acres in size. Five families used to live there. Farther north was the isolation belt, and beyond that fifty-meter-wide gentle slope was the uncleared Evolution Forest. In the Evolution Forest, the incline grew steeper, and the mountains were high and densely wooded.
Standing inside the Buffer Forest, Xiaqing gazed north. She wasn’t worried about any large evolved creatures in this section of the Evolution Forest that could threaten her. This was because in the mountain pass behind this range was Captain Tan and his team’s encampment. So, although this area was nominally an Evolution Forest, they had surely swept it for threats. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have dared to place the Wild Boar Breeding Center to the east of her hillside.
Xiaqing eyed the sturdy wire fence of the breeding center covetously for another moment before she began searching the hillside again for edible plants and any useful supplies.