Chapter 298: Shifting Alliances and Unspoken Threats

Tang Huai nodded. “There’s something off about the wolf howls recorded on the loudspeakers the local lords here bought. The wolves in Section Three panicked and fled. Xu Pin, do you know who made the recordings for those speakers? Is that wolf still alive?”

“That’s none of your concern.” Xu Pin, seeing Tang Huai was telling the truth, pressed on. “Has Luo Pei not shown up even once these past two weeks?”

Tang Huai cursed inwardly before answering. “No sign of him. Folks in Territory One never mention Luo Pei at all, guess they’ve been ordered to keep quiet. But Wei Chengdong and Hu Zifeng are still there. If they’re in the territory, so is Luo Pei.”

Wei Chengdong and Hu Zifeng were both Luo Pei’s loyal lapdogs. If they were present, so was Luo Pei. Looks like Luo Pei’s run out of steam and is hiding out, waiting for Yang Jin to bring him medicine. Too bad for him—he won’t last that long.

Xu Pin’s mouth curled into a smile. “Keep watching Territory One. Stir things up between Territory One, Territory Seven, and Territory Nine. Make sure we stay on good terms with them. And break up Hu Zifeng and Xia Qing—make Xia Qing our ally if you can.”

“Damn it…” Tang Huai was about to swear but swallowed it back as soon as Xu Pin glanced up at him. “…Yes, sir.”

Xu Pin waved Tang Huai off before lowering his head to send off some message to who knows whom.

Inside Section Three, Xia Qing wiped his face, steadying his emotions, only to find his hand covered in a dozen strands of goat hair. He grumbled, “Old Goat, you’re really shedding a lot lately.”

Old Goat narrowed his eyes dangerously, pawing at the stones with his hooves.

Xia Qing quickly patted its head. “Come on, let’s go clear the blocked riverbed. When that’s done, we’ll have corn for lunch.”

Old Goat’s eyes popped open at once. He trotted behind Xia Qing, even more eager than him to get moving.

By the signpost on the north side of Territory Twelve, Tang Zhengbo held up a water bag containing live Green Lantern crayfish for Ji Li to inspect. “Only two jin have grown large enough so far. If Third Brother likes something sweet and sour, we can make tomato crayfish—the sauce masks any lingering ‘Qiang’ element flavor.”

Green Lantern food doesn’t lack Qiang elements; it just has much less of them. After confirming the crayfish were lively, Ji Li asked, “Director Tang, what do you want in exchange?”

Tang Zhengbo asked, “Can we trade for soil pesticide?”

“Sure, I’ll have ten jin of soil pesticide sent to you in a bit.” The open barter rate in Territory Seven was five jin of soil pesticide per jin of live Green Lantern animals—but if they were dead, it dropped to four.

Once the crayfish were in Ji Li’s hands, Tang Zhengbo introduced Tang Zhengsu. “This is Tang Zhengsu, captain of the Sufeng Squad out of Hui Three Base.”

Tang Zhengbo only mentioned Tang Zhengsu’s position as captain, not their personal connection—making it clear he wanted to keep Territory Twelve and the Sufeng Squad separate. Tang Zhengsu wasn’t happy about it, but couldn’t speak up in front of Ji Li.

He stepped forward, trying to sound friendly but coming off a little too eager. “Captain Ji, long time no see! I went with my brother—the deputy base leader of Hui Three Base—to HQ at Hui One. Do you still remember that?”

Who did Tang Zhengbo think he was, anyway? His brother Tang Zhengrong was Hui Three’s deputy base leader, and he himself was the strongest squad captain in the base. No one dared underestimate the two of them.

Ji Li answered coolly, “Did you need something, Captain Tang?”

Tang Zhengsu’s smile turned stiff. He got straight to the point. “One of our squad members was struck by lightning last night—major burns on his back, lost all feeling from the waist down. The medic said it’s a super high-voltage nerve injury. Even if we got him to the Safe Zone hospital, there’s nothing they can do. Only Lord Zhang has the skill to pull off a miracle. Captain Ji, could you ask Lord Zhang to help? As long as he saves my brother, I’ll agree to any terms.”

Ji Li nodded. “I’ll report back to the Lord.”

“Thank you, thank you!” Tang Zhengsu said, bowing gratefully.

Ji Li nodded slightly to Tang Zhengbo, then turned and walked away.

When Ji Li was out of sight, Tang Zhengsu crushed a stone into the dirt with his heel, offering up a laugh that was half mockery, half warning. “Looks like big brother’s doing pretty well for himself around here. Never mind that skill matters more than anything now in these disaster years.”

Tang Zhengbo was all calm composure. “Hard times in the disaster years make you value food even more. I’m grateful for good policy and your help too—without both, I wouldn’t have gotten land big enough to feed my family. No matter how we’re getting by, at least we don’t have to go hungry.”

Tang Zhengsu had gotten a tongue-lashing from his brother several times for chasing Tang Zhengbo out of the Safe Zone while his brother was away. And now Tang Zhengbo had the nerve to jab back at him—it was enough to make Tang Zhengsu want to explode.

Ji Li soon returned, handing a bag of soil pesticide to Tang Zhengbo before turning to Tang Zhengsu. “Our lord is very busy and doesn’t have time right now.”

Busy, my ass! Tang Zhengsu was frustrated and anxious, glancing at Tang Zhengbo—just like the old days at Tang Group, when he always looked to him when things got tough.

Nothing for it. Zhang San hated Xu Pin, and no one else measured up, so only Tang Zhengsu could try. But he still couldn’t figure out how to deal with the people from Territory Seven, so Tang Zhengbo had to step in for him.

Tang Zhengbo had guessed Zhang San wouldn’t treat Kou Fanming. He politely asked, “Ji, does Territory Seven have medicine for burns or electric injuries?”

This was ordinary medicine, so Ji Li had the authority to make the deal. “We do.”

Tang Zhengbo suggested to Tang Zhengsu, “Since Zhang San’s busy, why not swap for some medicine to treat Fanming’s wounds now?”

Right! Treat what you can, when you can—eventually Zhang San will have time, and nobody turns down more points. Tang Zhengsu nodded eagerly. “Let’s do it! Ji, how should we exchange for external wound medicine?”

Ji Li replied, “Six hundred points per gram, or Green Lantern food of equivalent value.”

Hearing such a sky-high price, Tang Zhengsu’s veins almost popped in his forehead. He glanced at Tang Zhengbo, hoping he’d haggle down the cost, or even just pay outright to secure the medicine.

But Tang Zhengbo had already gone off to tell Tang Heng it was time for lunch—not paying the least bit of attention to their negotiations.

Tang Zhengsu could only grit his teeth and force a smile. “I’ll buy ten grams for now. Let’s see how it works.”

While Ji Li swiped his points and went to fetch the medicine, Tang Zhengsu stormed into Territory Twelve, wishing he could kick Tang Zhengbo like the slippery old eel he was.

Xia Qing hid high in a pine tree on Hill Forty-Nine, Section Three, watching Tang Zhengsu leave Twelve with six bodyguards, heading back to Territory Two.

Twenty minutes later, Tang Zhengsu and Kou Fanming boarded a helicopter and flew back to the Safe Zone.

All throughout, Tang Zhengsu was protected so tightly, there was no opening for an ambush. Shooting him from afar was impossible, and getting close enough to stab him wasn’t an option either, with Xu Pin—the human-shaped danger detector—shadowing him like a bodyguard.

No rush. Patience. One way or another, he’s as good as dead.

When the helicopter finally disappeared, Xia Qing climbed down and headed toward Valley One.