“Once the solar panels and walkie-talkies are set up, someone will come to collect them. Although it’s dangerous in the territories, there are plenty of benefits too.” Huzi carried the solar panels as he walked toward the isolation belt of Territory No. 1.
Just as Xia Qing was about to head back, she suddenly heard footsteps coming from the direction of Territory No. 2, about two hundred meters away. Judging by the sound, there were six people, while Huzi was all by himself.
Xia Qing stopped and hid behind a tree.
Soon, Huzi heard the footsteps too. He set the large wooden crate containing the solar panels onto the ground.
Six of the Tang family’s employees living in Territory No. 2 climbed up the hillside and rushed into the isolation belt, calling out loudly to Huzi, “You’re here to install the solar panels, right? Come this way, we’ve cleared a path.”
Huzi replied calmly, “Territory No. 2 doesn’t have a buffer forest. It doesn’t meet the installation requirements.”
A slightly chubby fellow jumped up and down in anger. “On what grounds? Are the lives of us ordinary people not lives? What does the military mean by this?”
Another person spoke up, trying to reason with him. “Territory No. 2 might not have a buffer forest, but we are right next to Territory No. 1 and Territory No. 3. If a dangerous evolved creature crosses the isolation belt and the buffer forest to attack, it won’t even take five minutes to reach Territory No. 2. Those caterpillars in Territory No. 1 the other day—if they hadn’t been discovered, they would have crawled over to Territory No. 2 in no time.”
Huzi nodded. “I will report the situation you’ve described to my superiors. What happened in Territory No. 1 was because they underestimated the toxicity of the caterpillars and didn’t wear protective suits. Everyone must wear their protective suits according to the outdoor work standards.”
Seeing that Huzi was unmoved by either soft words or tough talk, the people from Territory No. 2 tried for the next best thing. “Even if we can’t get solar panels, can’t you at least give us a walkie-talkie? That way, we can report immediately if we run into danger.”
Huzi’s face darkened. “You already know about the order the base headquarters issued just this morning. That proves you have real-time communication devices of your own. You don’t need a walkie-talkie.”
“Even so…”
The people from Territory No. 2 tried to keep badgering him, but Huzi lost his patience. He hoisted the crate back onto his shoulder and walked away.
The men from Territory No. 2 were nearly bursting with rage. “Captain, we’re just going to let him leave like that?”
The captain of Territory No. 2, who had remained silent until now, spoke in an equally displeased tone. “He’s armed. Even if he weren’t, if we laid a hand on him, the military would have us pinned to the ground and shot full of holes within an hour.”
Another complained, “They’re just targeting our Tang family on purpose. This godforsaken place has absolutely nothing. I seriously don’t want to stay here for another day!”
“Anyone who doesn’t want to stay can get the hell out!” the leading man cursed, turning to walk back. The rest immediately followed.
The angry voice from earlier spoke up again. “Captain, the guys have been cooped up for too long. Can we go find that little chick in Territory No. 3 to have some fun? Heh…”
Have some fun? Sure. Xia Qing drew her machete and gently blew on the sharp, gleaming blade.
“Go ahead if you want to die,” the leader’s voice sounded even more impatient.
The man who had designs on Xia Qing wasn’t deterred. “That girl is just a strength evolver. The few of us can easily handle her.”
The leader snorted coldly. “Even if she doesn’t kill you, she’ll report it to the base.”
Another person chimed in, “Then what if we just kidnap her?”
This made the leader even more furious. “Go back and copy the *Territory Law* once, every single one of you! Do you think you can hide from the noses of high-level evolved military dogs? A bunch of brainless fools. If you want to die, don’t drag me down with you! Get back and weed the fields!”
“So annoying. I regret this so much.” Having been scolded, their voices grew much quieter, but Xia Qing could still barely make them out.
“Haven’t you heard how many people the Tang family lost this time? If we were still in the safe zone, we’d definitely be dead by now. Let’s go. Once we throw the seeds into the ground, we’ll head into the evolution forest to hunt. I haven’t smelled meat in days.”
Listening to them fade into the distance, Xia Qing finally stepped out from behind the tree and headed down the mountain the way she had come. After she left, the Tang family’s team captain in Territory No. 2 stopped and twitched his ears.
As Xia Qing checked the buffer forest for evolved caterpillars, she pondered the group from Territory No. 2.
Those few crew members were nothing to worry about; she could easily find an opportunity to deal with them legitimately. But the captain was a bit troublesome—he actually had a brain.
The lord system, introduced to expand the cultivated land area for grain, prioritized protecting the safety of the lords who left the safe zone.
Therefore, the *Territory Law* not only defined the various rights lords enjoyed within their territories, but also stipulated severe punishments for any criminal acts that violated a lord’s personal safety or property.
If anyone harmed a lord, the base would immediately dispatch a law enforcement squad consisting of high-level evolvers and high-level evolved dogs.
Although there were no longer surveillance cameras everywhere, the high-level law enforcement squad was far more formidable than cold, lifeless cameras. As long as they caught the scent of a stranger within the territory, they could apprehend the culprit within two hours.
Unless the culprit turned to ash or escaped the base by plane.
Thus, anyone who valued their life would not easily provoke a lord. Xia Qing wasn’t worried about her own safety; she was worried about Boss Sheep.
If the people of Territory No. 2 found out about Boss Sheep’s existence, they wouldn’t dare trespass into her territory to capture him, but they would certainly try everything they could to lure Boss Sheep out of the territory to catch him.
Although Boss Sheep was strong and stubborn, the enemy would only need to pull out a piece of ration to easily lure this foodie away.
The most thorough solution was to fence off her territory. However, the perimeter of her 7,500-mu territory exceeded nine kilometers, and she currently lacked the capability and financial resources to do so. Thus, the best approach for now was to keep Boss Sheep with her as much as possible and ensure he didn’t leave the territory.
If only Boss Sheep were a bit smarter and could understand what she said.
Xia Qing returned home to gather her tools, then rushed toward her new territory with Boss Sheep. Although the new territory had already been swept, Xia Qing still didn’t dare underestimate potential dangers, spraying herself and Boss Sheep with insecticide and insect repellent several times.
Upon arriving at the new territory, Boss Sheep’s first stop was the perilla.
Xia Qing had already harvested quite a bit of the evolved perilla, and another batch had undergone Qiang evolution after the Qiang Rain, leaving only half of it.
Xia Qing didn’t harvest the perilla this time, continuing up toward the high slope above the terraced fields.
Along the way, she continuously cleared out Qiang-evolved organisms that blocked her line of sight. She killed the animals and pulled up the plants to dry in the sun, planning to burn them next time she came; otherwise, they would run rampant.
The top of the slope was only a few mu in size, where five households used to live. Further north was the isolation belt. Beyond the fifty-meter gentle slope of the isolation belt lay the uncleared evolution forest, where the incline steepened, and the mountains grew high and the forests dense.
Xia Qing stood inside the buffer forest, looking northward. She wasn’t worried about any large evolved creatures in this stretch of the evolution forest that could threaten her, because the valley over this mountain was where Captain Tan and his team were stationed. So, although it was technically called an evolution forest, they must have swept it thoroughly. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have dared to place the wild boar breeding center to the east of her hillside.
Xia Qing eyed the sturdy wire mesh fence of the breeding center with envy for a while longer before starting to search the hillside again for edible plants and salvageable supplies.
Banxia Novel, so much joy.