Chapter 37: Deals and Upgrades

Even in the years of disaster, the Hua Nation strictly forbade civilians from possessing firearms illegally.

Of course, walk around outside the Safe Zone with a rocket launcher and nobody cares, but the moment you step into the Safe Zone, there’s a thorough inspection waiting. That’s why Xia Qing always used a machete and a slingshot as her weapons.

After the great evolution of life on Blue Star, registered squads in the Safe Zone were allowed weapons to deal with deadly evolutionary threats. Still, they had to follow strict rules—break them, and not only would their weapons be confiscated, they’d face heavy punishment.

Xia Qing could carry weapons for farming outside the Safe Zone, but she had neither the points nor a way to buy them. That’s why she came up with the idea of trading her pollution-free spring water to the Azure Dragon Unit.

Her goal had been to swap for a sniper rifle and two hundred rounds of ammo. What she didn’t expect was for Yang Jin’s offer to completely exceed her hopes.

Xia Qing steadied her pounding heart, met Yang Jin’s gaze through the firelight and asked, “How many liters of spring water do you want in exchange for all this gear and weaponry?”

Her caution made Yang Jin smile. “How about this—if you can raise the total amount of spring water from fifteen thousand liters to seventeen thousand five hundred, we’ll call it even. The extra twenty-five hundred liters would be for Luo Pei during his treatment.”

There’s no hard experimental data proving pollution-free spring water boosts human constitution—not because it can’t, but simply because there’s never been enough to test with. The debate isn’t whether it helps but how much it does.

A year of ten Azure Dragon Unit Evolvers as security, three sets of top-tier protective equipment, three guns with nine hundred rounds, plus personal marksmanship training from Luo Pei in exchange for seventeen thousand five hundred liters of spring water in four months—Xia Qing had to admit, it was a solid deal.

Yang Jin was notorious for never getting the short end of the stick, a true penny-pincher. This time, Xia Qing could feel just how much value her spring water held.

Dealing with someone so shrewd meant Xia Qing wanted to say yes with every fiber of her being, but she kept a straight face, nodded coolly and said, “Deal.”

After tossing two more logs on the fire, Yang Jin brought up another trade. “There’s one more thing I’d like to discuss. Maybe you’ll be interested.”

A whole list of desperately needed supplies flashed through Xia Qing’s mind. Maintaining her poker face, she replied, “Let’s hear it.”

Yang Jin explained, “If Luo Pei stays on Plot One for detox treatment, the spring water in your territory will eventually be exposed, disrupting your life. My proposal is let Luo Pei recover in your territory. He’ll bring four people, stay in this house or wherever you specify. Other than collecting what he needs and fetching water, they won’t set foot outside your designated area. Once Luo Pei is mobile, he’ll start teaching you to shoot. After four months, they promise to leave. If you still haven’t mastered it, Luo Pei will remain in Plot One until you’re trained.”

Seeing Xia Qing’s brow still furrowed, Yang Jin sweetened the deal with an offer she couldn’t refuse. “For this, we’ll give you two hundred liters of diesel and a small tracked multipurpose tiller that can plow, dig trenches, ridge, backfill, weed, and spray. Plus, two each of edible apple, strawberry, jujube, and grape saplings.”

A tiller, diesel, saplings—everything hit Xia Qing’s wish list dead on. What was there to hesitate about?

She couldn’t even bother acting aloof anymore and nodded eagerly. “Deal. This village is Luo Pei’s for the next four months.”

“For safety’s sake, can Luo Pei and his people come over now?”

“Of course.”

“To keep supply runs and medicine delivery from Plot One to Plot Three secret, could we dig a tunnel from their quarters to Plot One? As soon as Luo Pei leaves, we’ll seal it up.”

“…That’s fine.”

Yang Jin grinned. “Excellent. If anything else comes up, just work it out directly with Luo Pei.”

Yang Jin’s smile was so dashing that Xia Qing nearly invited him to stay for a midnight snack. Thankfully, reason prevailed and she saw him out before dawn broke.

The Azure Dragon Unit worked with stunning efficiency. Half an hour later, Luo Pei was quietly brought into Plot Three. Just after sunrise, a small helicopter landed in Plot One for twenty minutes before taking off again.

Two hours later, Tang Huai called Xu Pin, vice-captain of the Sufeng Squad. “…Yes, confirmed. Luo Pei was picked up by Yang Jin in the helicopter. Plot One’s defenses are down—the folks inside have started clearing weeds and tilling the soil… Yes, our people already checked it out. Luo Pei is definitely not inside… Right, the helicopter went west. Only one of them took off.”

After hanging up, Tang Huai called out to his younger brother, Tang Heng. “Come on, let’s go hunting—grilled meat and wine tonight!”

On the fourth day of Luo Pei’s stay, six saplings and two strawberry plants were quietly delivered by the Azure Dragon Unit. Xia Qing planted them all in the freshly tilled ground and watered them well with mountain spring water.

To save up enough spring water for planting, Xia Qing had been rationing her use so strictly these last few days she even hesitated to make porridge.

The saplings were all a year old and stood one to two meters tall, while the strawberry plants only had five leaves each. Xia Qing couldn’t bear to pluck a leaf or snap a branch for testing, so she had no way of knowing if they were safe or not.

Worried that Boss Sheep might nibble the new plants, Xia Qing risked a trip to the Evolver Forest to cut branches from an evolved sour jujube tree, covered in hand-long thorns, and built a fence around them.

With the fencing finished, Xia Qing felt wonderfully content, called Luo Pei’s new number and carried a basket of vegetables over to visit.

Luo Pei and his team stuck faithfully to the village for all four days just like Yang Jin had promised, even fetching water only at night so as not to disturb Xia Qing’s life.

Plot Three had three abandoned villages arranged in a triangle. Xia Qing lived in the northern one; Luo Pei stayed in the southwest, while the southeast was still empty. When she had time, she planned to clean it up and maybe raise chickens, ducks, or geese—if she could catch or trade for some.

Luo Pei was staying in the same courtyard where Xia Qing and Yang Jin had negotiated. When she entered, she saw the place looked perfectly normal from outside, but somehow they’d excavated a few underground rooms below. The entrance was hidden right in the house.

When had they dug those? Where did all the dirt go?

The underground rooms had not only been made damp- and sound-proof, but also wired with lights and all sorts of high-end medical gear that seemed almost out of place in the post-disaster world.

When had they installed it? How did they even get it in here?

Seeing Xia Qing’s bewildered expression, Wei Chengdong grinned from ear to ear. Meanwhile, Luo Pei, eyes still covered, called out, “Xia Qing, come have a seat.”

After just five days of spring water treatment, Luo Pei could now sit up straight. Xia Qing handed her basket of veggies to Wei Chengdong, her voice warm with laughter. “Looks like your treatment’s working wonders, Luo Pei.”

“It’s all thanks to you,” Luo Pei replied with a genuine smile. “The farming machine is pretty big, so we’ll have to wait for the right moment to bring it over openly. The guns and ammo are already here. Since you’re a strength evolver, I picked a compact submachine pistol, an automatic rifle, and a bolt-action sniper rifle for you.”

Wei Chengdong opened a long wooden case to reveal three brand-new guns glistening with the scent of gun oil. Xia Qing might not know much about weapons, but she immediately recognized the sniper rifle—exactly like the one Luo Pei used on missions!

Now, that was definitely top-tier gear.

Luo Pei continued, “To keep things quiet, all three guns come with attachments to reduce the noise, flash, and smoke. They’re in the box. Today, Wei Chengdong will teach you how to use the handgun so you can carry it for protection. I’ll teach you the other two once my eyes are better.”

“Thanks a lot, Luo Pei. And sorry to trouble you, Wei Chengdong.” Xia Qing didn’t mention she had used a rifle once with the Dongyang Squad—after all, that old homemade gun was nothing compared to these three.