Chapter 667: Rumors, Proposals, and an Unwanted Suitor

Xia Qing didn’t ask anyone to see her off. She didn’t take a detour or slip out the South Gate to avoid people from Chonglian. Instead, she headed straight down the steps and into the Buffer Forest, making her way toward the Northern Barrier.

The iron mesh wall marking the barrier north and east of Territory Seven was still under Lu Yuhui’s team’s care. The support frames were up now, and the team was hauling sections of iron mesh while Lu Yuhui accompanied the leadership, explaining the progress.

Standing only about 1.7 meters tall, Yu Dongming, chairman of the Chonglian Group, was surrounded by well-armed bodyguards as he listened intently to Lu Yuhui’s report.

When Yu Dongming spotted Xia Qing coming, he immediately turned his gaze her way.

Catching a clear look at Yu Dongming’s face beneath his brand-new protective mask—the face that looked nothing like his age—Xia Qing forced down her surprise, keeping a calm expression.

When she’d reviewed his file, Xia Qing assumed the man in the photo was Yu Dongming before the apocalypse hit, not what he looked like today.

Yu Dongming was fifty-eight years old and not an evolved fighter, yet his face was pale and unlined, not a single wrinkle to be found. The disconnect between his unnaturally youthful features and the unmistakable signs of age in his movements left Xia Qing unsettled. The guy was just plain odd.

And Xia Qing wasn’t the only one who thought so. Even Lu Yuhui, standing nearby, kept her distance, forcing a polite smile as she introduced, “Chairman, this is Section Three’s Lord Xia, Miss Xia Qing. Miss Xia, this is Chairman Yu of the Chonglian Group.”

Xia Qing maintained her calm, giving a small nod. “Chairman Yu.”

Yu Dongming took on a grandfatherly air and greeted her warmly. “Miss Xia, I’m glad we finally meet. I should’ve managed my employees better—they’ve caused you trouble. Little Yu has already given me an earful about it, and it’s the first time she’s taken someone so seriously. Not just her cousins, even I—as her uncle—am getting a little jealous.”

The man managed to say enough in three sentences to fill a truck—no wonder his shrewdness didn’t come close to Tang Zhengbo’s.

Facing Xin Yu’s ‘good uncle,’ Xia Qing, as Xin Yu’s friend, couldn’t just play it cold. She answered politely in kind:

“You’re too polite. With tens of thousands of employees, no chairman can keep track of every single one. Your job is to look at the big picture.”

Yu Dongming was clearly pleased by Xia Qing’s tact. “Miss Xia, you have such a fine sense of propriety and principle. No wonder Lord Zhang picked you to run the Hill Fifty test district.”

Xia Qing kept up the formalities. “Third Brother just put me on the job because I’m the strongest around here. Nobody hauls gear like I do.”

Yu Dongming checked in again, “I heard the first Devastation Snake showed up in your territory. Is everything alright over there?”

Xia Qing answered honestly, “Lost a whole crate of edible veggie snakes I’d raised for over a year.”

Yu Dongming kept his reaction in check, but several people around him couldn’t help showing their thoughts:

A crate of snakes? You really think that’s worth mentioning in front of Chairman Yu?

Yu Dongming, having shown plenty of concern for his niece’s friend, didn’t linger any longer.

Twentysomething meters down the path, Xia Qing overhead a stranger ask the Territory Seven guard, “Is Lord Zhang available? Our chairman brought some specialties from Hui Two, hoping to invite Lord Zhang to dinner.”

The guard kept a straight face, radioed Ji Li, then replied, “The lord is in the lab. No one’s allowed to disturb her.”

Next, Xia Qing heard Yu Dongming pipe up, “I wouldn’t dare interrupt Lord Zhang’s research. Would you please pass a message to Miss Deng for me? I’d like to have a meal with her.”

Miss Deng?

Nearly everyone in Territory Seven was surnamed Zhang. As for a woman named Deng, there was probably only Yan Long. Xia Qing frowned, but didn’t slow her pace, and after a while she heard the guard reply, “Team Leader Yan’s on security duty.”

Back in Section Three, Xia Qing started her patrol, mulling over what possible connection Chonglian could have with Yan Long. That’s when her ally called, wanting to come over for dinner that evening.

Xin Yu arrived first, lingering under the eaves for ages just watching the swallow’s nest, before coming inside with Xia Qing and sitting on a little kitchen stool to prep chives. She was careful and focused, picking each stalk one by one and setting them gently in the wash basin.

Xia Qing flipped through her recipe book while prepping ingredients. With her good friend coming, she’d decided to make something special—sweet and sour pork. The main ingredient, sugar, was a ‘peace offering’ Yu Dongming had brought from Hui Two Base just for Xia Qing.

Along with the pork, there was also scrambled eggs with chives and a cold celtuce salad. Paired with Green Lantern rice, the two ate till they were stuffed, then nestled into the second-floor living room to chat.

All the furniture upstairs was Xia Qing’s handiwork—a long wooden table, benches, and even the cushions on the chairs. Xin Yu sprawled out, letting out a contented sigh.

She’d come here to hide out and get some peace. After a year of living freely in the territory, the thought of dealing with anyone from the Yu family had her itching to chuck explosives at them.

Xia Qing boiled a pot of spring water filtered from Hill Fifty, tossed in some tea leaves and handed Xin Yu a cup. “This afternoon, Yu Dongming came to Section Three and asked if Miss Deng was around. He knows Yan Long?”

Xin Yu nodded. “Nine years into the disaster, Yan Long led a team through the Evolved Forest to Hui Two Base for a mission. Two of her squad were badly hurt, and it was my grandpa who sent Chonglian’s medical team to save them. Yu Dongming and his wife took a liking to Yan Long and wanted her to marry Yu Wenchuang, so she’d bear the Yu family an advanced evolutionary heir.”

Xia Qing was speechless.

……

……

“What does your grandpa think of it all?”

Xin Yu’s face was unreadable. “Yan Long has a military background, she’s exceptionally capable, and she’s an advanced evolutionary. Marrying someone like her would be a massive boon to both the Yu family and Chonglian. My grandpa just pretends he knows nothing and says nothing at all.”

So he’s basically agreeing by staying silent. Xia Qing frowned. “What about Yu Wenchuang?”

Xin Yu let out a cold laugh. “When Yan Long came to the Yu house doors with her wounded teammates, Yu Wenchuang couldn’t even look them in the eye—he turned them away. When he heard what his parents wanted, Yu Wenchuang rallied a bunch of people to warn Yan Long not to get any funny ideas. Guess what happened next?”

Xia Qing shook her head. “Sister Yan probably couldn’t care less about him.”

Xin Yu gazed at the curling steam from her tea and went on quietly, “Yan Long didn’t even have to make a move. One look from her scared Yu Wenchuang out of his wits. But after that, the Yu family wanted her even more.”

Xia Qing thought to herself… So even the Yu family knows Yu Wenchuang is hopeless and wants someone to keep him in check?

Before Xia Qing could ask more, Xin Yu continued, “The winter before last, Chonglian reached out to Hui One Base for a partnership. Not long after that, Yan Long left the army. I only found out she was in Territory Seven after I came here.”

Blowing on her tea, Xin Yu glanced at Xia Qing. “She’s thirty-two, in her prime, a top-tier evolved fighter, the Frogman Special Ops’ waterborne dragon. Do you think that river in Territory Seven is even three meters deep?”