The noise on the phone lessened, clearly indicating that Zhong Tao had left the scene of the crying, because Xia Qing could hear his heavy footsteps. These footsteps were noticeably louder than usual, and he was dragging his legs; Xia Qing judged that Zhong Tao was extremely tired.
Sure enough, his voice was hoarse. "Qing-mei, can you hear me?"
"Yes, Brother Tao, please speak," Xia Qing replied.
Zhong Tao continued, "How's the situation on your end? Are there any dangerous evolved creatures you can't handle? Don't try to be a hero. If you can't handle it, tell me. Although I can't go there myself, I can send someone over."
Xia Qing knew the person Zhong Tao was looking for was Captain Tan, stationed at the old regimental headquarters, and she also knew why he was making this call. So she calmly replied, "No danger has been detected yet. I'll inform Brother Tao immediately if anything happens."
Confirming Xia Qing was still alive, and having also bought a good phone, Zhong Tao quickly agreed, then couldn't help but complain to Xia Qing, "You have no idea, the safe zone is in complete chaos, over six thousand people have already died..."
Xia Qing listened quietly until he finished speaking before hanging up, then thought of the person who had texted her. Since that person had access to inside information, they must be doing quite well in the safe zone; they should be safe.
Putting away her phone, Xia Qing pulled weeds and killed insects at the same time: incredibly fast snakes, palm-sized spiders, finger-long scorpions, face-sized fluttering moths...
Being in this vast, head-high grassland, where danger lurked, sounds like something that could easily drive someone mad, but Xia Qing felt happy. Because this kind of danger was nothing compared to the natural disasters.
After pulling the last few meters of weeds, she walked out of the village and onto the edge of her farmland, where a bright light suddenly appeared before her eyes. The farmland, thoroughly cleared and burned, contained far fewer grass seeds than in the village, resulting in less than half the sparse grass. Furthermore, because wood ash has a suppressive effect on evolutionary organisms, these evolutionary grasses were shorter than Xia Qing's, making them easier to clear.
Xia Qing's gaze expanded outwards, looking towards the significantly denser buffer forest. She wondered how many of the newly sprouted plants in the buffer forest were dangerous evolutionary plants, and how many dangerous evolutionary animals lurked within them.
The buffer forest was now several times more dangerous than before the rain.
Xia Qing's scrutinizing gaze settled on a tree, her brow furrowing. If it weren't for her evolved vision, and her frequent observation of the trees within her territory, she might not have noticed that a large tree in the western buffer forest, already at maturity, had experienced a rapid resurgence after the rainstorm.
Generally speaking, plants in their seed and juvenile stages have the highest probability of undergoing rapid evolution after being exposed to harmful rain, because seeds or seedlings at this stage cannot shield themselves from all-around harmful elements in the air, water, and soil. Conversely, mature plants have stabilized their vital signs and most can resist harmful element attacks. Plants in their overall aging stage will age and die faster after being exposed to harmful rain.
Animal species exhibit similar characteristics, which explains why the vast majority of modern humans are under 35 years old. During the great evolution of life on Earth, adults over 25 had already passed their developmental stage, their bodily functions were stable, and the probability of undergoing multiple evolutions was far lower than that of teenagers under 25.
Humans who can undergo multiple evolutions in adulthood must possess exceptionally outstanding physical abilities in some aspect; the same applies to the large tree in the distance that underwent further evolution in its mature stage. This kind of evolution is particularly dangerous.
In the sixth year of the natural disaster, Xia Qing, while hunting in the Evolution Forest with the Bright Azure Team, was caught in a sudden rainstorm. A mature tree underwent another evolution, emitting a highly hallucinogenic scent that covered an area with a diameter of four kilometers. Animals that entered its territory were affected by hallucinations and killed each other.
Even more terrifying, the scent could penetrate the filters of the protective masks used by humans at the time, affecting their brains.
In that crisis, twenty-six members of the Bright Azure Team, including the captain and vice-captain, died, rendering the team virtually defunct. Chen Dongyang, the team's third-in-command, recruited outstanding evolved humans from the Bright Azure Team to establish the Dongyang Team, now ranked tenth in the base, while the Bright Azure Team was relegated to a small team unable to crack the top thirty.
During that crisis, Xia Qing, the power evolved human responsible for transporting supplies, was at the back of the team and did not enter the tree's territory. She risked her life to rescue Xu Juan, who was trapped in hallucinations, using a rope. For a long time afterward, Xia Qing dared not venture deep into the Evolution Forest again.
Now, even standing far away, Xia Qing was acutely aware that the large tree in the buffer zone was beyond her capabilities alone. She was even too afraid to step further, fearing to enter the tree's domain.
She swung her knife, cleaving a toad that was lunging at her with its tongue lolling out in two, stuffed it into her bag, and retreated home the way she came. She quickly climbed to the attic, and finding the tree still there—not a hallucination—she decisively pulled out her phone.
Before she could call Zhong Tao, Captain Tan's call came in. He spoke with his usual serious and concise tone, "Xia Qing, is there anything unusual at Plot 3?"
Xia Qing immediately replied, "Yes, a mature tree in the forest west of Plot 3 has evolved again, growing at least five meters taller, and its canopy has at least doubled in size."
Team Leader Tan immediately pressed, "Where are you? Are you alright?"
Xia Qing replied, "I'm fine. I saw it through binoculars from the village entrance."
"That's good." Team Leader Tan's voice became even more serious, speaking in a commanding tone, "Stand by. I'll take men to clear it immediately. You're not allowed to apply to participate."
Before she could even finish her sentence, Xia Qing hung up the phone and hadn't even recovered when she heard a loud "bang" downstairs, followed by a jolt from her building.
Xia Qing immediately closed the windows and ran downstairs, only to find that the sheep had actually knocked her double-door security door to the ground.
And that wasn't all; that crazy sheep, who should have been chopped up and thrown into the pot, was actually stepping on her door! Even worse, it was staring at Xia Qing with narrowed eyes, as if Xia Qing had committed some heinous act of betrayal!
I'm so angry…
Xia Qing took a deep breath to suppress his rage, testing the sheep's current state, fearing that the excessive amount of harmful elements within it had caused a harmful evolution, or that it had been controlled by that suddenly evolved tree. "Sheep Boss?"
"Moo!" The sheep howled angrily, its hooves shoving fiercely, smashing one of the tall door handles on the front door with a "bang."
Xia Qing's anger surged, and he gritted his teeth, pulling a piece of compressed rations from his pocket. "Want some?"
The sheep's eyes immediately opened. "Baa."
Hearing the sheep's bleating, Xia Qing immediately exploded, throwing the rations on the ground and charging forward with a roar.
"Damn it! If I don't beat you to a pulp today, I'm not Xia!"