Chapter 1090: Mealtime Negotiations and Tasty Dilemmas

With a basket of fresh-picked veggies in hand, Xia Qing headed into the kitchen. The scent of sizzling roasted meat hit her as she walked in, and she couldn’t help but watch Yang Jin’s skillful hands as he worked. Just the sight of that juicy cut of meat in the oven made her anticipation skyrocket.

Half an hour later, Xia Qing sat in the meeting room and took a bite of the tender, juicy beef. She gave Yang Jin a big thumbs up.

Flashing his straight white teeth, Yang Jin reached for a piece of meat from his side, the back a little charred, and dropped it into his own bowl. He started explaining how he made the dish: “First, you seal the beef in honeycomb wax with a floral scent for a full week. After that, remove the wax, smother the beef in honeycomb honey and rice koji, then let it marinate for another week. Two weeks later, scrape off the honey and pan-sear the meat until it has a caramelized crust, then toss it in the oven. Add some wine and honey to the pan, put it below the meat in the oven, and that steam infuses extra flavor into the beef.”

Xia Qing scooped a second bowl of rice, then grabbed another fragrant piece of steak. “That sounds way too complicated.”

Just thinking about it—a single piece of meat getting smeared and wrapped in honey and wax for two whole weeks, then roasted with wine and rice koji—no wonder it tasted so good.

Xia Qing knew she didn’t have that kind of patience. If she’d gotten her hands on Green Lantern beef, she’d just chop it up, throw it in a pot with two little chili peppers and some salt, and call it a meal.

After a year in the Territory, Xia Qing had learned a simple rule about cooking: If a dish doesn’t taste right, just add some chili peppers or a splash of vinegar—guaranteed to make the food go down easy.

The cucumber stir-fried with chili and vinegar sitting on the table was one of her own inventions. Took just two or three minutes to whip up and was perfect with rice.

“Cooking feels relaxing and gives you a real sense of accomplishment. This sour and spicy cucumber you made, Sister Qing, is delicious.” For Yang Jin, making food for Xia Qing wasn’t a hassle at all. His sense of pride grew seeing her start on her third bowl of rice—the happiness was off the charts.

Xia Qing nodded in agreement. She really outdid herself today with those cucumbers. Then again, maybe it was the juicy beef alongside that made the stir-fry even more appetizing.

The two advanced evolutionaries polished off three pounds of beef, a huge plate of vegetables, a pot of soup, and half a pot of rice until not a crumb was left. When they finished, Xia Qing told Yang Jin to rest while she took care of washing the pot and dishes and tidying up the kitchen.

But Yang Jin stood up with her. “Let’s do it together. Once we’re done, we can divvy up the supplies you and Xie Yu recovered the day before yesterday.”

The mere mention of splitting supplies snapped Xia Qing awake. “Captain Yang, you pack up the table and brew some tea. I’ll have these bowls washed in no time.”

Ten minutes later, the two of them sat back down in the meat-scented meeting room and started watching the surveillance footage on the wall-mounted monitor—a recording of Xie Yu’s team clearing out supplies during an operation in the gorge next to Mount Twenty-Six, in Hui Three’s southwest.

When Xia Qing saw Xie Yu’s squad pull a skinny, blue-skinned child out of the rock wall, she asked, “Is this the Magnetic Sense Evolver from the Scavenger Squad?”

Yang Jin nodded. “Her name’s Xiao Jing—a girl, C-Class Magnetic Sense Evolver. We don’t know anything about her parents, surname, age, or place of birth.”

During the Calamity Years, many children lost their families for all sorts of reasons. If they were lucky enough to be discovered, the authorities sent them to welfare homes—at least there they’d have food, books, and somewhere to sleep. If not, some ended up as bargaining chips for food or credits, or worse, as someone’s meal.

Xia Qing didn’t press further, watching as Xie Yu’s squad finished the capture and the Strength Evolver in their group pried open the Scavengers’ iron cave gate to start searching for supplies inside.

Protective suits, boots, masks, backpacks, shoulder bags, comforters—all these needed careful inspection. Then they checked the beds, doors, shelves, walls, even the floor…

After an exhaustive, almost scorched-earth search, the video ended. Yang Jin handed Xia Qing a handwritten list of the supplies they’d tallied up.

Fourteen walnut-sized high-grade Yi Stones, two pigeon egg-sized high-grade Yi Stones, thirty-two walnut-sized mid-grade Yi Stones, two high-grade Yi Stone granules, a points card with 32,000 credits, two homemade pistols, six craft guns, four giant lizards, and a bunch of medicine and herbs…

After scanning the list, Xia Qing had a clear sense of what they’d gotten. She took a sip of tea, looked across the table at Yang Jin with an unreadable face, and said, “Captain Yang, you want the Scavenger Squad’s C-Class Magnetic Sense Evolver?”

Yang Jin didn’t hesitate to nod. “A C-Class Magnetic Sense Evolver is extremely valuable. This kid is still young—her personality and values aren’t set yet. She could be developed as a key asset.”

Sure, personality and values can be shaped, but a kid that age already remembers things—she’d also remember grudges. Keeping her was definitely risky.

But that was Azure Dragon Squad’s business—Xia Qing wouldn’t interfere with Yang Jin’s decision. She only cared about dividing the loot. “Fine. Then the Magnetic Sense Evolver counts as ten percent of the total supplies.”

Huh?!!

Before he could speak, Xia Qing laid out her reasoning. “The deal I made with you back then was for Captain Xie to capture any Magnetic Sense Evolver and potential scavengers outside the cave. The loot on those people would go to your team, but everything left inside the cave would be split 80–20, with you taking twenty percent and me getting eighty.”

Yang Jin nodded, realizing where the issue lay.

Seeing him willing to admit it, Xia Qing kept going. “This Magnetic Sense Evolver was captured inside the Scavengers’ stone cave, which makes her part of the remaining supplies inside. That means she’s included in our split.”

Looking back, Xia Qing still got chills. She and the Wolf Pack had charged into the cave, and not one of them noticed that a hidden side cave contained another person.

The Scavengers really knew how to hide.

Yang Jin shot Xia Qing a thumbs up. “You’re right, Sister Qing. How about five percent?”

Now the real negotiation was underway. Xia Qing’s face didn’t change. “Ten percent. If you don’t agree, we can just hand her in for the bounty instead.”

Yang Jin leaned forward, his smile dazzling. “Let’s meet in the middle—six and a half percent?”

No beauty trick was working on her, not with Yi Stones on the table! Xia Qing stayed stone-faced. “Seven and a half. That’s my bottom line.”

“Deal.”

Yang Jin agreed readily, pulling a calculator from his pocket and clacking away, converting loot to credits. “Aside from the Magnetic Sense Evolver, the most valuable item in this haul is the high-grade Yi Stone. According to Shengyu Auction House estimates, a walnut-sized one goes for 520,000 credits, and pigeon egg-sized for 300,000…”

He finished his calculations in a flash, pulled out the Yi Stones and points card from his backpack, and split them in two—more for Xia Qing, less for himself. Everything else would be sold off and the credits transferred to Xia Qing according to her share.

Just as Xia Qing was about to pack up her share, Yang Jin grinned at her.

“Sister Qing, I noticed your phone screen is shattered. Want to trade for a new one?”

Xia Qing remained silent.

“Red One Base’s Research Institute just unveiled a brand-new type of protective boot. Put these on and your running speed jumps at least eight percent. Want a pair, Sister Qing?”

Xia Qing…”