Chapter 387: Alliance at the Crossroads

Even if she could afford it, Xia Qing wouldn’t bother. After all, the Mung Bean Growing Manual she had was already bought from Territory Nine. It was somewhat useful, but the requirements for cultivation were so strict that it barely helped increase yield.

So during the Lords’ Alliance meeting, everyone agreed: unless the price dropped below 100 credits, they wouldn’t buy Territory Nine’s ‘Manual’ again.

The lords of the Alliance weren’t buying, but those lords who weren’t short on credits would still get themselves a copy.

Tang Zhengbo logged in. Xia Qing noticed his voice sounded a bit stronger than before. “Assistant Liu, Territory Twelve would like to buy a copy.”

Hu Zifeng also joined the channel. “Assistant Liu, Territory One will take a copy as well.”

Assistant Xiao Liu sounded thrilled. “Alright, I’ll have someone deliver it to the signpost in twenty minutes—please be ready to receive it, Lords.”

Zhou Zhaoping, assistant from Territory Eight, logged in too. “Assistant Liu, Territory Eight needs one copy.”

Assistant Xiao Liu immediately replied, “Of course, you’ll get it at the signpost in twenty minutes. Assistant Zhou, by the way, will your territory’s compost starter be delivered on time?”

Zhou Zhaoping answered, calm and unhurried, “In four days, at 10 a.m. on November 15, our delivery truck will start making rounds.”

Xia Qing paused, a bit surprised that Territory Eight had a dedicated delivery truck now. She wondered if it ran on fuel or electricity.

“Ah—ah!”

Suddenly, a wild, beast-like howl rang out from Territory Two. Xia Qing immediately stood up, and so did Er Gou, who’d been digging a hole with his paw, and Old Goat, who’d been lying down and chewing cud. All three stared south.

“What’s happening in Territory Two?” Tan Junjie asked over the walkie-talkie.

Tang Huai sounded flustered. “Someone inside lost control and went berserk—we’re administering some soothing agent now.”

The soothing agent worked fast. Two minutes later, the howling stopped.

Tan Junjie kept at it. “Anyone hurt in Territory Two?”

“Only one person lost control—no one’s injured.”

“Copy that. Report if anything else comes up.”

Hu Zifeng couldn’t help but tease, “Territory Two, don’t overdo it. If things really go south, just let the refugees go—give them a chance to survive.”

The refugees had been in the territory for over ten days now, and although there’d been no recent Devastation Rain nor a major spike in atmospheric Devastation Element, someone still lost control and went berserk. That could only mean Territory Two’s refugees had been under extreme stress all this time, leaving their bodies weak and the Devastation Element inside them soaring.

Tang Huai, for once, didn’t argue with Hu Zifeng. “You’re right. If I can’t secure enough food, I’ll apply to reduce the number of refugees we employ in Territory Two.”

With Tang Huai not fighting back or cursing, everyone felt a bit thrown off. Hu Zifeng, especially, didn’t know how to pick up the conversation.

Xia Qing quietly listened to the bursts of crying and shouting coming from Territory Two, her brow creasing ever so slightly.

The Su Feng Squad had Tang Huai take in over a hundred refugees without providing them food—what was their game? Did they expect Tang Zhengbo to feed the refugees himself?

Tang Huai asked in the Lords’ channel, “Captain Tan, can I lead a group of evolved refugee laborers into the Evolved Forest to forage for food?”

Tan Junjie issued a serious warning. “You must explain to the refugees: once they step outside Territory Two, the Lords’ Law won’t shield them anymore. Before leaving, the Inspection Team needs to confirm in person that they’re going voluntarily—not being forced.”

“Understood,” Tang Huai replied.

The refugees in Territory Two were about to leave the safety of the territory.

Xia Qing immediately called Qi Fu and told him to notify everyone—there would be an emergency lords’ meeting at 6 PM in Territory Five.

Lately, the Alliance’s hired construction trucks had been digging Thornwood from Hill Fifty and delivering it load by load into the territories. The southern walls for Territories Four, Five and Six, and the west wall of Territory Ten were now built. With the Inspection Team patrolling diligently, the unease brought by the new refugees had eased a lot among the lords.

Zhao Ze didn’t trust his mother to cross the Northern Barrier alone. He waited for Xia Qing to show up and then had his mother go with her.

In Zhao Ze’s family’s eyes, Xia Qing was practically a legend. Seeing that she wasn’t the slightest bit nervous put Zhao Ze’s mother at ease too. The two of them chatted about farming and building greenhouses as they made their way to Territory Five.

Once the meeting started, Xia Qing, as the convener, opened, “I brought everyone together today for three things: one, to see how long it’ll take to finish collecting Thornwood; two, to discuss how we’ll handle the refugee crisis; and three, about getting soil from outside the territory for building greenhouses—we need a group decision.”

She turned to Shizhong. “Uncle Shi, how many more days until you finish hauling Thornwood?”

Territories Four, Five and Six only needed fences on the north and south sides, but Territory Ten needed four walls, so it required a ton of wood.

That’s why most of the Thornwood taken from Hill Fifty lately had been sent to Territory Ten, and the one watching over the Evolved Forest at Hill Fifty these past couple days was Shi Du.

Shizhong answered, “If we don’t add extra trucks and just rely on the ones we have, it’ll take five more days to finish digging up the Thornwood at Hill Fifty. This afternoon, people from Territory Seventeen went looking for lumber there too—and they’ve set their sights on the same forest. Looks like they’ll start tomorrow. Xiao Du said those guys looked downright vicious—not the type you want to mess with.”

Turns out, they weren’t the only territories to think of using Thornwood for their walls. The Evolved Forest wasn’t claimed by anyone—anyone could go logging there.

Qi Fu turned to the well-connected Kuang Qingwei. “Who’s the lord of Territory Seventeen?”

Kuang Qingwei actually knew, “The first lord of Territory Seventeen died in the second Devastation Rain. The current lord is Wen Nengjie. He’s just an ordinary guy—I did business with him when I had a shop in the Safe Zone.”

“Before the cataclysm, Wen Nengjie raised pigs and ran a slaughterhouse. After the disaster, he escaped with his workers into the Safe Zone and won the contract for corpse collection and cremation in the outer West Side of Town. Anyone who tried to compete with him ended up dead. That’s why the people in the Western Lands all call him Wen the Undertaker—he’s a real hard case. But as long as you don’t cross him, he’s not unreasonable. He used to come to my shop a lot.”

Before Xia Qing could respond, Qi Fu’s phone rang. He glanced at the screen in surprise—it was Tan Junjie calling. Qi Fu picked up right away. “Captain Tan?”

Tan Junjie asked, “Qi Fu, is the lord of Territory Ten in your territory?”

Qi Fu nodded quickly. “Yes, Shi’s here with me. Are you looking for him?”

Tan Junjie paused a couple seconds, then asked, “Are you discussing the thorn wall? I want the agent from Territory Fifteen to come over and join you, if that’s alright.”

Qi Fu signaled for everyone to quiet down, switched his phone to speaker, and confirmed, “Captain Tan, you mean you want someone from Territory Fifteen to come over and join the thorn wall discussion?”

“Yes,” Tan Junjie explained. “The lord of Territory Fifteen is my daughter Tan Qi. The territory’s being managed by my retired comrade Yue Haiying for now.”