Chapter 541: Training Day: The Sniper and Her Challenge List

Today’s training session was all about team combat. Xia Qing joined the fray as a sniper. Jing Kuan, assigned to her squad, couldn’t hide how pleased he was. Er Yong, on the opposing team, just looked miserable and shot Xia Qing a desperate prayer behind everyone’s back.

A sniper is both the guardian angel of her squad and the grim reaper for her enemies. With her aim sharper than ever, Xia Qing was now known across Hill Forty-Nine as its resident Death God.

But even a Death God shows mercy for friends.

Honoring Er Yong’s request, Xia Qing let him survive until the very end. Out of the eight members on the opposing team, two ‘fell’ to Xia Qing’s shots and five were taken out by her teammates.

Limping down the mountain, Er Yong pulled a grim face and made one last request. “Sister Qing, next time can you just—please—take me out with a sniper shot?”

Er Yong, a Level 5 Speed Evolver and the last man standing on the opposition, was eliminated by Xia Qing, a Level 6 Strength Evolver.

Though Xia Qing had picked up plenty of fighting moves from training videos and sparring with Yan Long, real improvement came only from facing stronger opponents on the mat.

That’s why she paid out of pocket to join the Azure Dragon Squad’s advanced camp, honing her skills at rapid-fire long-range marksmanship. She handed Yang Jin another fee and dove headfirst into the squad’s hand-to-hand combat training too.

Today, Er Yong wasn’t just someone for Xia Qing to hunt down—he was her sparring partner.

So even though Er Yong survived to the end and dodged extra practice, he didn’t look relieved. Sparring with Xia Qing was like being hammered into the ground with a sledgehammer.

“No problem,” Xia Qing agreed right away to Er Yong’s request.

Er Yong’’s indecisiveness vanished the second she agreed so quickly—though somehow, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Still limping, Er Yong hurried up to her with a pitiful face. “Sister Qing, look, I’m wasting away! My belly’s nearly caved in. All the fat I managed to hoard—just gone…”

Before the disaster, everyone worshipped skinny figures, but these days, when food is scarce, everyone wants to put on a little weight. Having more fat was the only way to survive unexpected shortages—stay alive long enough to get rescued or find food.

Xia Qing looked at him and couldn’t help but feel a little sorry, so she decided to share. “Help guard the territory for me tomorrow and I’ll give you half a Yellow Lantern Rabbit.”

Er Yong’s eyes lit up. “No, no, that’s too much. Just tell me what flavor you want, and I’ll cook the whole thing—let you have your fill. I’ll just take a bite or two to try the taste. Are you heading out to Hill Fifty again tomorrow?”

Xia Qing nodded. “Tomorrow I’ll team up with other lords to dig for herbs beneath the Fourth Peak of Hill Fifty.”

After dinner and completing her training, Xia Qing heated the spring water she brought back and soaked herself in the bath.

Like the other members of the Lords’ Alliance, Xia Qing regularly visited the Hidden Valley beneath Hill Fifty for spring water, some of which she delivered to Territory Seven and some she stored in her own tank.

Since Territory Three’s supply of pure spring water had hit a dry spell, every drop had to be stretched. Now Xia Qing used hot spring water for baths instead. She didn’t bother filtering it with mid-grade cartridges; she had a better way—using a Yi Stone to purify the Devastation Element, just like those evolved bears did.

Before leading her allies to the Hidden Valley, Xia Qing fished out the still-active Yi Stone from her old bathing pool and brought it back to her territory.

Yi Stones were rare, highly efficient for purging Devastation Element, and Xia Qing would take them all—plenty was never enough, even the ones bears had already used.

Of course, her current bath stone wasn’t the one the evolved bear used; that one was much bigger and saved for something more important.

Defeating Er Yong—a level 5 Speed Evolver—at today’s advanced training session may have looked easy, but it was anything but. Even with a snakeskin jacket and strength-evolver gear, Xia Qing went home with deep bruises across her back, thighs and calves.

It hurt, but Xia Qing showed no signs of pain. If she had, Hu Zifeng’s Squad would start holding back next time, and that would kill the point of real training.

It wasn’t like she broke bones or tore anything—a little pain was nothing. With all the healing potions she’d taken after more serious injuries, this sort of bruise would heal up in three or four days.

So, when Xia Qing promised Er Yong she wouldn’t fight him again, it wasn’t out of fear. She’d already surpassed him—now it was time to chase the tougher names on her list.

While training with Yan Long, Xia Qing heard that Yan Long had only joined the mission to protect Zhang San because Hui One Base had sent such powerful people to guard him.

Taking them down was Yan Long’s personal goal on top of the official mission.

Heat racing, Xia Qing made her own challenge list right then and there. Not just all of Hu Zifeng’s Squad—Tang Zhou, Wei Chengdong, Luo Pei, and even Yang Jin, the top fighter in the Azure Dragon Squad—every last one was a target.

Today, she got to cross another Level 5 Speed Evolver off that list.

Soaking in her bath barrel, covered in bruises, Xia Qing leaned back and let a small smile creep onto her lips.

The next morning, completely refreshed, Xia Qing carried the used bathwater to the planting greenhouse, planning to use it for watering her vegetables.

This water was way better than anything from the reservoir. Any true farmer would never let such good stuff go to waste.

And Xia Qing wasn’t the only one with that idea today.

Now that the Territory Management Department had finished its inspections, everyone in the alliance could finally water their greenhouses with the best quality water, worry-free.

Today’s expedition team was big—four people came from Territory Fifteen, and with Xia Qing, Shi Du and his mother, Mr. and Mrs. Qi Fu, Zhao Ze, and Zhu Li, the total was eleven.

Xia Qing led the way, while Zhu Li, Zhao Ze, the Qi Fus, and Madam Shi walked in the center. The Territory Fifteen team took flank and rear positions.

Qi Fu urged a reminder. “Xia Qing, enter from the opening up ahead. Watch yourself—there’s a Devastation Evolution Tree along the route. If you snap a branch, it’ll ooze poison that can eat right through protective suits. Old Kuang just got hurt there yesterday.”

That’s when Xia Qing realized why Zhu Li, not Kuang Qingwei, showed up from Territory Six today. “Sister-in-law, is Qing okay? Was it bad?”

Right behind Xia Qing, Zhu Li answered immediately. “Not serious. It’s just a scratch. A few days and he’ll be fine.”

Yesterday, after discovering some herbs below the Fourth Peak, Kuang Qingwei was over the moon, calculating their worth all the way home. No one noticed when a branch caught on him.

They hadn’t even made it back yet when the poison ate through both his protective and cold weather suits—and his arm. The pain was blinding. If Yue Haiying hadn’t acted fast, telling Shi Du to carve away the rotten flesh and slap on the miracle medicine they got from Territory Seven, Kuang Qingwei might have lost his whole right arm.

Around here, injuries like that weren’t even considered serious. In the disaster years, anything short of losing a limb was just a minor scrape. Nobody thought to bother Xia Qing, the alliance leader, to report such a small incident.