Chapter 545: Green Lantern Feast and Small Victories

“Thank you so much, Third Brother!” Xia Qing’s eyes sparkled almost as brightly as the liquid in the vial she held.

Zhang San pointed tiredly at another reddish-brown bottle. “Give this one to that sick wolf in your territory. It’ll help heal its internal injuries. Pay for both with medicinal herbs—I’ll send you a video later on what to collect.”

As a long-time diehard fan, Xia Qing accepted the wolf’s medicine with stars in her eyes, ready to shower her idol with endless admiration. But Zhang San cut her off, waving her away impatiently. “Go on, get out of here. You’re in the way.”

“Of course, Third Brother. If you need anything, just call me.” Xia Qing carefully tucked the vials into her backpack and left Zhang San’s office in high spirits. She walked down the hallway, stopped in front of Yan Long, and handed her a small bag of Green Lantern kudzu bug pupae. “Sister Yan, I found these Green Lantern kudzu bugs today. Want to try some?”

Yan Long took the bag without hesitation and handed Xia Qing a USB drive. “This is the Advanced Strength-Based Evolution training video.”

Xia Qing accepted it with both hands. She wanted to gush her idol worship all over Yan Long after being shut down by Zhang San, but Yan Long’s powerful aura kept her in check.

“Thank you, Sister Yan, for going out of your way to get this for me. I won’t get all sappy. If you ever have some free time, come to my territory and try my pork and chive dumplings, okay? I can’t do much, but I’m pretty good at making dumplings.”

After Xia Qing left, Yan Long headed back to the surveillance room. Huo Zhun, drooling at the tiny bag in her hands, teased, “Yan Long, can I have two of those?”

Yan Long jostled the bag with a sly grin. “Beat me in a match, and I’ll give you three.”

Huo Zhun was left speechless.

Humming a cheerful tune, Xia Qing returned to her territory and handed Er Yong, her stand-in guard, twenty Yellow Lantern insect pupae.

Er Yong immediately took them, grinning as he pointed at the little jar of spice on the table. “My dad scored some Green Lantern Five-Spice powder—a rare shipment from Lan City. Got it just for you, Sister Qing.”

A jar of Green Lantern Five-Spice powder was worth a lot more than just twenty Yellow Lantern pupae. Xia Qing pulled out another fifteen Green Lantern kudzu bug pupae from her backpack. “Here, these are Green Lantern bugs.”

Except for what Xia Qing delivered to Territory Seven, she kept the rest of this round’s Green Lantern kudzu bug haul for herself. She also snagged a few Yellow Lantern kudzu bugs as her reward for joining this mission.

She didn’t take any Yellow Lantern wild boar. With no shortage of Yellow Lantern meat, all the wild boar brought in today was divided up among the other territories.

Whether she took more or less than her share would be settled once today’s haul was either priced out or sold. Any extra would go back; if she fell short, she’d pay the difference.

“Thanks, Sister Qing. Go take a break. Once the rabbit meat’s roasted, we’ll all dig in.” As one of Qinglong’s main combat team members, Er Yong often joined gathering and hunting missions. Sometimes, with luck, he even got his hands on Green Lantern supplies. But scoring delicious Green Lantern kudzu bugs always made his day.

Xia Qing went to the greenhouse, fed a few Yellow Lantern insects to the fish in the tank and the chickens in the yard, then headed home with Old Goat and the sick wolf. She dropped off a couple of Yellow Lantern insects for the swallows nesting under the eaves—whichever of the twenty-odd chicks caught one was up to their own skill.

Back inside, Xia Qing opened the fireplace, toasted the last few Green Lantern insect pupae over the flames, freshened up, and came back downstairs. She cracked them open and laid a few fragrant roasted kudzu bugs in Er Gou’s food bowl. “Er Gou, give these a try—this is meat picked from Green Lantern pupae. You’ve probably had it before, but roasted, it’s even tastier.”

Er Gou sniffed the golden roasted bug, then curled his tongue around it and gulped it down.

As for Old Goat?

He was happily munching the Green Lantern kudzu leaves Xia Qing brought home. Judging by the look on his face, he was thoroughly enjoying them.

That night, Xia Qing, Er Yong, and Xiao Jiang all had dinner together. Er Yong’s cooking far surpassed Xia Qing’s, and she ate heartily, finding him more and more likable.

Tonight, the smell of mouthwatering meat drifted across every territory in the Lords’ Alliance.

In Territory Four, Zhao Ze and his mother feasted on steaming pork and wild veggie buns. As he ate, Zhao Ze spat crumbs everywhere, regaling his mom with stories of his bravery.

In Territory Five, Qi Fu and his wife, both exhausted from a long day’s work, didn’t bother with fancy food—just stewed meat for dinner.

In Territory Six, Kuang Qingwei, his arm in a sling, used chopsticks to feed dumplings to his wife. Zhu Li’s hands were blistered from hauling over a hundred pounds of supplies for more than an hour—the pain in her shoulders and legs leaving her unable to move.

In Territory Ten, the Shi family were already done with their meal. Madam Shi and Shi Du had gone to bed, drained from the day, while Shizhong sat by the fireplace pondering how to turn the kudzu root they’d dug up into kudzu flour, using only makeshift tools from their territory.

Selling processed kudzu flour brought a far better price than selling raw roots, so after discussion the Lords’ Alliance decided to grind it all to flour first. Qi Fu would then find a buyer for the finished product.

In the mess hall of Territory Fifteen, thirty-two retired soldiers enjoyed hot pot, their raucous laughter and chatter carrying all the way to the Inspection Team’s dorm just north of the territory.

Tan Junjie took a pork and chive dumpling his daughter had made, smiling as brightly as she did. “The lord of Territory Four, Zhao Ze’s mother, used to teach high school before the disaster struck. Starting tomorrow, you’ll study math and language with her from nine to eleven every morning. There are no evolutionaries in Territory Four, so you’ll be safe.”

Tan Qi nodded obediently. “Dad, is Grandma Zhao teaching just me?”

Tan Junjie nodded. “For now, you’re her only student. Focus hard—while you won’t be going back to the Safe Zone for classes, you’ll still have to take exams at the end of every term to get your diploma. Grandma Zhao will handle math and language. I’ll teach you physical training and Evolved Forest biology.”

“Okay.” Tan Qi gave her father a dumpling and asked seriously, “Dad, can I go to the Evolved Forest with Sister Qing and the others? Uncle Zhao and Sister Li still get to go, and they’re ordinary people.”

Tan Junjie was already thinking about it. “I’m getting weapons ready for you. Once you have a gun and a knife and pass my assessment, you can ask Xia Qing to join the team. If she says no, just keep working on your combat skills.”

“Yes!” Tan Qi jumped up and saluted her father, exclaiming, “You’re really getting me a gun?”

Tan Junjie nodded sternly. “It’s more dangerous here than in the Safe Zone, and I can’t always be with you. You’ll need weapons for protection. But remember, guns aren’t…”

“Yay!” Tan Qi leaped up, hugging her dad. “Dad, you’re the best! I love you! Don’t worry—I’ll train hard, join the team fast, and earn credits to buy you lots of delicious food!”

Tan Junjie couldn’t even finish his warning, left grinning goofily at his daughter’s excitement.