Chapter 622: Shifting Tides: New Alliances and Hidden Moves

With Tang Rui and Tang Zheng captured, any hope for Tang Zhengrong’s family to make a comeback was completely shattered.

The blow was too much for Tang Zhengrong’s mother, whose health was already frail. She passed away in the hospital.

The only one of her descendants who hadn’t been detained, Tang Lu, ran to Tang Zhengbo’s house crying, begging him to handle the funeral. She then used the opportunity—thick-skinned as ever—to drag her luggage over and squeeze herself under Tang Zhengbo’s roof, hoping to ride out the trouble.

Tang Zhengsu’s luxury home had been trashed to an empty shell, and Tang Zhengrong’s too had been sealed up. As a regular person with no way to protect herself, where else could Tang Lu go if not shamelessly to Tang Zhengbo’s place?

Xu Juan called Xia Qing and couldn’t hide her glee as she talked about Tang Lu’s situation. “She doesn’t even dare set foot outside now. Between her dad, herself, and her brother, they’ve all offended way too many people—everyone’s lining up for payback and compensation. Even those who didn’t have a grudge are hoping to wring out the last bit of money from the Tang family.”

Xu Juan sat in her newly rented little house, taking a satisfied sip of the thick porridge made from ration bars as she kept chatting with Xia Qing. “How much money do you think Tang Lu still has left to squeeze out?”

Xia Qing sat by her table, finishing dinner—Green Lantern Rice topped with delicious scrambled eggs and toon sprouts. “The Red One Investigation Team and the base have been digging for a long time, but they still haven’t caught Tang Lu. That tells me no matter how arrogant she acted over the years, she never actually broke any laws. Someone that sharp probably has a decent stash tucked away. Who knows—maybe taking over Territory Two years back was a backup plan for herself.”

Anyone who’s survived eleven years of cataclysms can’t be a fool.

Xu Juan took another sip of porridge and kept at the gossip. “Shame her tactics weren’t quite enough. If she’d managed to snag Yang Jin or Zheng Chen, she’d still be living the good life, even if Su Feng and the Tang family fell. Well, unless the territory really takes off and the lord turns into a hot commodity. Anyway, no way the man she picked could top the one I found for myself.”

After eating the advanced Green Lantern python meat swapped from Xia Qing, Xu Juan’s evolved hearing ability jumped from level four and a half to five and a half.

The gap between levels five and six is where most stand apart—it’s a dividing line between ordinary evolvers and advanced ones, not something you cross easily. For hearing, a level five evolver has five times the hearing of a normal person, while a level six’s is eight times better.

So after half a month of eating dozens of pounds of Green Lantern python meat, being able to boost her hearing to five and a half left Xu Juan absolutely thrilled.

It was thanks to this upgraded hearing that Xu Juan was able to keep tabs on Chen Dongyang and Yang Shan, dodge the traps they’d laid, and smoothly pull herself out of the Dongyang Squad’s mess.

Now she was seizing the opportunity of a big management shake-up at the base, trying to land a formal post in the Safe Zone’s inner city with good benefits. Once she secured the job, she planned on marrying a suitable level-six evolver, pooling their money to buy inner city residency at a massive discount, and finally living like a normal person again.

Just thinking about all that made Xu Juan break out into another happy laugh. “Xia Qing, when Zhong Tao’s patrol car makes its next run, can you have him bring me some Green Lantern vegetables from your territory? Anything’s fine—any variety, any amount, as long as it’s Green Lantern.”

Xia Qing agreed without hesitation and then asked, “Tang Lu’s been staying at Tang Zhengbo’s this whole time?”

“Looks like it. Tang Zhengbo’s home is in the most secure residential area in the inner city, though, so it’s hard to get specific news,” Xu Juan replied. Then her gossip instinct flared again. “By the way—you probably haven’t heard, right? The one who ran off with Tang Rui that time, Feng Wen, got caught too. Yang Jin brought her back, and no telling when she’ll be released.”

Xia Qing didn’t care about Feng Wen’s fate. She only wondered if Tang Lu would get fed up with playing guest and, in a fit of anger, bolt for Territory Two.

Xu Juan didn’t know much about all that, but Xia Qing was sure Tang Huai would be in the loop.

“Xia Qing! Xia Qing—”

The next morning, as Xia Qing went on her morning run and patrolled the territory, she heard Tang Huai’s excited shout coming from Territory Two.

Tang Huai was clearly in great spirits to see Xia Qing out for a run, but Er Gou and Old Goat, who usually ran with her, weren’t so pleased—they bared their teeth or shook their heads in annoyance.

Xia Qing told the two of them to keep jogging and made her way through the Wild Grass Wall over to the South Gate.

Tang Huai—dressed in his protective suit—ran up from under Territory Two’s signpost to the outer edge of Section Three’s South Gate. He peeked over Xia Qing’s shoulder, clearly disappointed not to spot Old Goat or Er, and greeted her: “Xia Qing! Long time no see!”

It really had been several days since Xia Qing last saw Tang Huai. She nodded calmly. “What’s up?”

“Plenty!” Tang Huai grinned until his eyes were slits. He announced the big news to Xia Qing: “Tang Lu has sublet Territory Two to my family. From now on, I’ll be the full manager there. Looks like we’ll be neighbors again.”

Huh? Xia Qing raised an eyebrow. “Full manager?”

“Yep! Tang Lu won’t be handling anything anymore—I’ve got complete control of the territory now.”

Who else but Tang Huai could be so happy about ditching his family’s own thousands of acres of wasted land just for a chance to be someone else’s manager?

Xia Qing congratulated him and wasted no time fishing for info. “I thought Su Feng’s team would hang on to Territory Two.”

Xia Qing’s rare show of interest in the news made usually prickly Tang Huai eager to share. “Oh, they wanted to! You know Kou Changzhi, right?”

Xia Qing nodded.

Kou Changzhi’s father, Kou Fanming, was one of Su Feng’s core fighters—he was paralyzed after getting struck by lightning inside Territory Two. Just like his dad, Kou Changzhi also fought wearing a brutal steel armor protective suit, and his methods were every bit as bloody.

“He came to our house to court Tang Lu,” Tang Huai whispered. “Tang Lu went out with him once and came back begging my dad to take control of Territory Two—all she asked for was protection.”

Kou Changzhi was downright ugly and only a level-three Evolved Elasticity user. Tang Lu, who always had her sights on Yang Jin and Zheng Chen, would never settle for him.

Xia Qing figured Kou Changzhi’s intentions weren’t simple either. He must’ve scared Tang Lu into putting up her most valuable asset—the territory—in exchange for Tang Zhengbo’s protection.

Xia Qing pressed on, “Tang Lu’s living at your place?”

Tang Huai snorted. “No way! Having her at home would only make my grandma, my mom, and my sister miserable. You have no idea the kind of stuff she’s pulled against us all these years… Oh, have you heard? Lots of people are fighting over Territory Eleven. The Territory Management Department doesn’t want to offend anyone so they’re doing a public lottery to pick the new owner. Whoever gets it, at least it’s better than splitting it into dozens of tiny patches and letting a horde of people take over…”

As soon as she finished listening, Xia Qing fired off a message to Huo Lei, urging him to act fast. The lottery method was perfect for someone like Zhou Qianpeng to pull strings behind the scenes. Who knows, maybe the Hou family really could end up with Territory Eleven.