Chapter 504: Secrets of the Pure Spring

Pure spring water is a rare and precious resource. Before, everyone quietly understood this fact—today, with Xia Qing taking the initiative to tell him, it felt like a whole new story.

This was her way of showing the utmost sincerity in wanting to work together. Zhang San smiled, “You must know there are a few more pure springs at Hui Three Base, right?”

Xia Qing replied, “I know. There used to be four, but two were destroyed. Only two are left now.”

Zhang San nodded. “One of my conditions for joining Hui Three Base was a steady supply of spring water for my research, so I don’t need to take any from your territory. Just send me the hot spring water from Hill Fifty—it’s safer that way. Other than the Jiāng Yí II element, the water there is basically the same quality as the springs in your territory. It’s all top-grade water.”

The word “safer” struck a chord with Xia Qing. Seizing her idol’s good mood, she humbly asked, “Third Brother, how exactly do you judge the quality of a spring?”

Zhang San was indeed in a good mood and patiently answered her basic question. “Spring water flows out from inside a mountain, so its minerals mostly come from rocks or volcanic gases. Different regions mean different mineral makeup. The way to judge a spring’s quality is based on whether those minerals are good or bad for the human body.”

He waved the test report in his hand and let Xia Qing look at the listed elements. “These two springs fall under the top tier of the four major spring types—carbonate springs. When a spring contains calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, and sodium carbonate, and the pH is mildly alkaline, it’s considered top-tier. Such water is often called ‘the water of life.'”

Wow, wow, wow!

Xia Qing’s eyes lit up. No wonder Doctor Wang was so excited back when she first brought the water to Territory One for testing. Turns out, her pure spring water is top of the top.

The king of kings!

“Calcium, magnesium, and sodium are all crucial for the body. You can look up the details if you’re curious, but basically, this type of spring is really good for your cardiovascular, nervous, and endocrine systems. It has high medical and therapeutic value. You take medicinal baths with spring water, right?”

Xia Qing nodded right away.

“Keep using it. Even when you’re not soaking in a medicinal bath, take more soaks if you can. This water softens calluses, hydrates, and whitens the skin. Back before the disasters, a natural hot spring like the one at Hill Fifty was called ‘beauty soup.’”

Hearing those three benefits from her idol, Xia Qing’s first thought wasn’t to bathe more, but to bathe less. She wanted the hydration and whitening, but, “Third Brother, if the calluses are softened, won’t my skin get hurt more easily?”

Zhang San shot her a look. “In theory, yes. But do you think I’d give you medicine just for fun?”

Of course not—no way!

The devoted fan in Xia Qing spoke up, “After using your formula for two months, my joints and bones feel like they’ve been bathed in oil—smooth all over. I haven’t used anyone else’s medicine, but I know yours is the best. Because you’re one of the top scientists on Blue Star!”

“Standing at the top is a tight squeeze. With my current skills, I haven’t made it up there yet.”

Zhang San looked satisfied as he gave her a modest reply, then reminded Xia Qing, “These are disaster years. The environment’s harsh, keeping some calluses on your palms and soles really is useful.”

“Got it. Thanks, Third Brother.” Xia Qing finally voiced her main concern. “Do you think, back in the day, the Hill Fifty hot spring was also a pure source?”

Zhang San glanced down at the lab results. “It’s possible—but not likely. There hasn’t been a case in the country where two neighboring mountains both had pure springs.”

Xia Qing explained her thinking. “The people living in the valley moved into Bear Cave by the crack in the second disastrous winter. They dug a tunnel from the cave to the mountain’s fracture, widened the valley, and filled in soil for farming.”

“The rocks there are extremely hard. The tunnel from Bear Cave to the valley is over eight meters long, and the opening is more than three hundred meters from the spring. The valley’s about twenty meters wide. Based on phone videos, there were over twenty people, but only eight strong workers. Between opening up the valley, the Devastation Rain, and dangers from the Evolved Forest, the casualty rate was high. It would’ve taken them at least half a year to dig from the cave to the hot spring.”

“During those six months, they definitely diverted some spring water for daily use. That should’ve boosted their resistance and triggered faster evolution.” Xia Qing handed her idol the second-to-last video and kept going.

“In the first two disaster years, the national evolution rate was just three per thousand. But these three in the video survived to the third and even fourth year with no protective suits or medicine. Third Brother, does that mean they were all evolved humans?”

Zhang San pushed his glasses up, suddenly serious. “The odds are good, especially for the elderly man. For people over fifty, the evolution rate is less than one in fifty thousand, so having an older evolved survivor is extremely rare. The pure spring was probably critical. Is this the last video record?”

Getting her idol’s approval made Xia Qing beam. She opened the next video and told Zhang San, “The person who shot the last video is this one—the final resident of the valley, who survived through the third Devastation Rain in the seventh disaster year.”

After watching the video, Zhang San grew serious. He asked, “Other than you, who else saw this video?”

Xia Qing immediately tensed up. “Besides you, no one. I haven’t shown it or mentioned it to anyone else.”

Zhang San kept asking, “Who else has entered that valley besides you?”

Xia Qing answered, “Yang Jin. I had him fetch peanuts for me and he set up the disaster command room in Bear Cave. After that, I’m not sure if he ever went in again. But he promised to keep quiet about it, so except for him, absolutely no one else has been in.”

Zhang San let out a breath. “You’ve heard of the underground experiment at Hui One Base’s Research Institute, haven’t you?”

Xia Qing nodded. “Yeah. Is Shi Jiayi involved in those experiments?”

Zhang San leaned listlessly against the chair, his face showing just how reluctant he was to talk about it. “Shi Jiayi’s sister, Shi Jiaran, was one of the victims of those underground tests. She’s an evolved with heightened recovery.”

Xia Qing gasped. “Like Fire Phoenix?”

Zhang San nodded slowly. “Her evolution level is even higher than Fire Phoenix’s, which made her a valuable test subject and spared her some of the suffering. She was rescued not long ago—but then disappeared.”

Xia Qing’s mood turned heavy. “Who took her?”

Zhang San shot her a glance. “I let her go. Only three people know about this—me, Shi Jiaran, and now you.”

Xia Qing immediately straightened up, ready to swear she’d never breathe a word of this, when Zhang San cut her off.

“All kinds of groups have been hunting for her these past years. Leave your phone with me. Go to the valley right now and erase any trace that might reveal Shi Jiaran’s family identity. Destroy everything. Call me once you reach Bear Cave—I’ll have Yang Jin meet you there. The fewer people who know about this, the better.”

“Understood.” Xia Qing got up, opened the door, and stepped into the hallway—only to find Yan Long already standing there.