Chapter 407: The Warning Shot

The moment Xia Qing raised her gun behind the iron mesh wall, four out of ten members on the western quarantine line instantly lifted their weapons and took aim at her.

Their guns might not be as good as Xia Qing’s, and they knew they weren’t in the right, but none of them looked nervous. They waited for Xia Qing to deliver her ‘warning’ with grins and swagger, completely unafraid.

After all, they were certain Xia Qing wouldn’t actually shoot. She was just trying to scare them, or so they thought.

The only one who wasn’t so sure was the guy with the strength evolution, who Xia Qing was pointing her gun at. He was clearly jumpy—after all, Xia Qing’s aim was steady, and her eyes behind the protective mask were cold enough to make anyone flinch.

Three seconds passed. Xia Qing neither spoke nor fired. The strength-evolver wielding a machete grew bolder, grinning as he opened his mouth to mock Xia Qing for being mute. That’s when her finger moved.

“Bang!”

“Clang!”

“Aah—”

The gunshot and the clang of the bullet striking the machete came nearly at the same time. Xia Qing had shot the machete and the man’s finger clean off, drawing a scream from him. The rest of the squad—who’d been waiting to watch the show—froze mid-laugh, eyes wide with shock.

Didn’t the inspection team just say to warn people first? Why did this woman open fire without a word?

Xia Qing swung her barrel from the howling strength evolver to the refugee in front, who still had his gun trained on her. Her voice was like ice. “Warning’s over. I’m moving to effective measures now.”

……

……

……

So her warning wasn’t words—it was action?! And after a warning like that, there was no guessing how far she’d go to protect her territory.

The squad leader, gun in hand, threw both hands up and started backing away fast. “Don’t get the wrong idea! We’re not trying to invade Section Three! We’re just passing through, just passing through—”

Once he realized Xia Qing wasn’t going to shoot again, the leader spun and roared, “Xu Erpeng, shut your damn mouth and get back to Territory Two to patch up. The rest of you, keep moving and stop screwing around!”

Watching his teammates walk off and leave him behind, Xu Erpeng’s eyes flashed with panic, then hate. He glared at Xia Qing, scooped up his machete and severed finger with his left hand, and shuffled off.

Xia Qing didn’t spare him a glance, keeping her attention locked on the refugees still hurrying away.

Suddenly a hawk perched on a nearby tree beat its wings and swooped down, snatching up the severed finger before Xu Erpeng could grab it.

Staring at the hawk flying toward Hill Forty-Nine, Xu Erpeng’s lips quivered. Regret and fear filled his eyes. He’d just lost his right thumb—he could never use a knife again, and no one would want him in an evolver squad. How was he supposed to survive now?

Farm the land?

If he could do it all over again, he’d never have been stupid enough to knock on Section Three’s wall and provoke the crazy woman inside.

Under Xia Qing’s cold gaze, the refugee squad all but ran from the northern border of Section Three. Xia Qing lowered her gun, headed back down the slope, and returned to the greenhouse to keep installing the metal frames.

A few minutes later, more and more refugee hunting squads poured out of Territory Two, cutting across the buffer between Section Three and Hill Forty-Nine on their way to Hill Fifty. Every single one moved in total silence—no one dared touch the iron mesh wall again.

After the squads left, Hu Zifeng’s Squad returned to Section Three to help Xia Qing assemble the frames. Hu Zifeng watched her calm face, opened his mouth a few times, but finally said nothing.

There was nothing wrong with Xia Qing opening fire. After all, the other side had picked the fight.

But by doing this, she’d completely slapped the faces of Territory Two, Sufeng Squad, and Tang Zhengsu. And with Tang Zhengsu’s vengeful streak, there was no way he’d let this slide.

Xia Qing, alone, against Sufeng Squad… hmm…

Didn’t seem like a big deal, actually.

Chen Cheng sniffed the air and suddenly shouted, “Sister Qing, I think I smell roasted sweet potatoes!”

Xia Qing pointed at the pile of embers beside the greenhouse with her welding torch. “I buried a few sweet potatoes under the fire there. Keep an eye on them—don’t let them burn.”

“Relax, leave it to me!” Chen Cheng beamed.

Seeing Xia Qing still had the mind to roast sweet potatoes, the rest of Hu Zifeng’s Squad eased up too. The laughter and chatter came back.

“Bang!”

Inside neighboring Territory Two, Tang Zhengsu kicked Xu Erpeng into the wall, face dark with rage. “What the hell did I tell you?”

Xu Erpeng crashed to the floor, shaking with terror, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He couldn’t get a word out. Over on a bench in the corner, Tang Huai barely held back a laugh, running through every miserable memory he had so he wouldn’t lose it.

The buffer zone is fifty meters wide—was that not enough for you? You just had to go and provoke Xia Qing? Serves you right!

Xu Pin waved for someone to drag Xu Erpeng out, and then Tang Zhengsu barked, “Find out who that woman in Section Three has left in the Safe Zone. I don’t care if they’re in the inner city or outskirts—no matter their background, break every finger. Leave not a single one intact.”

Tang Huai rolled his eyes.

Xu Pin replied, “Xia Qing from Section Three has no family left in the Safe Zone. They’re all gone.”

“Then go after anyone she cares about!” Tang Zhengsu roared.

Tang Huai remembered Xia Qing actually did have a good friend in the Safe Zone and quickly spoke up, “Her closest person is her boyfriend, Hu Zifeng from the Azure Dragon Squad. He’s in Territory One right now.”

Go ahead and try—if you have the guts, don’t pick on the weak. Try taking out Hu Zifeng.

Tang Zhengsu turned to glare at Tang Huai. Tang Huai’s smirk hadn’t even faded before Tang Zhengsu grabbed him by the throat and slammed him hard into the wall, making his face flush dark red.

“Big Brother!” Tang Heng rushed over to plead, “Uncle, stop!”

Tang Zhengsu kicked Tang Heng aside and pressed his arm straight out, pinning Tang Huai against the wall. Tang Huai dangled by the neck, turning purple, clawing at Tang Zhengsu with both hands. The pristine white bandage on his thigh was quickly soaked with blood. Before long, Tang Huai went limp from lack of air, eyes bulging.

Xu Pin looked on silently, saying nothing.

“Hmph!”

Tang Zhengsu threw Tang Huai onto Tang Heng, wiped his hands with a disinfectant wipe, and barked, “Go call Tang Zhengbo. I want him standing here in person to tell me where the wheat seed in Territory Twelve came from.”

“Is Third Brother there?” Before Xu Pin could react, a calm voice sounded in the Lords’ channel—Tang Zhengbo: “The Green Lantern purple sweet potatoes in my territory are ready. Devastation Element content: 2.5 per mille, sugar content: 9%. I just baked some molten purple sweet potato cakes—pretty tasty. Want to try some?”

A tired voice chimed in on the Lords’ channel. It was Zhang San: “What do you want in exchange?”

Tang Zhengbo replied, “My son’s thigh artery was cut by a knife. I’d like to exchange for your special hemostatic and blood replenishing medicine.”

Zhang San asked, “Which son?”

“Tang Huai. Sorry to trouble you, Third Brother.”

Zhang San yawned. “Twenty jin of Green Lantern purple sweet potato. Bring him over. I haven’t done sutures in a while anyway—good chance for me to get my hands back in practice.”