Chapter 668: Allies, Hidden Ties, and the Price of Power

Xia Qing took a sip of tea. “Yan Long and Ji Li probably aren’t really retired. They’re both team captains the Hui One Base sent to protect Third Brother.”

As for why Yan Long was here, Xia Qing was sure it had everything to do with Zhang San’s formidable skills.

Zhang San was both a leading scientist and a top-tier doctor. Sticking close to him meant you could cure injuries and get your hands on the best medicine.

Xin Yu didn’t agree with Xia Qing’s take. “Ji Li never retired—no question there. But Yan Long’s situation is trickier; her mindset and behavior are totally different from Ji Li and the other guards in Territory Seven.”

Xia Qing remembered something Third Brother once told her: it was fine for Yan Long to know Xia Qing was an Advanced Three-Path Evolutionary, but if Ji Li found out, the Hui One Military would know too. Now, with Xin Yu’s magnetic sense thrown in, maybe Yan Long really did retire. “If Sister Yan is actually retired, she could be our ally.”

Xin Yu shook her head. “Her sense evolution may just be olfactory, but out of all the high-level female evolutionaries I’ve met, she’s the toughest and most impressive. Our territory is just too small, though. She’s like a flood dragon—meant for a base near the coast or a major river, not here. She’d become the top combat force there.”

Evolving your senses—sight, smell, hearing, taste, touch—doesn’t make you strong if you’re lacking in basic combat or marksmanship. Even if you become a top-tier evolutionary, you won’t have much fighting power. So, sensory-type evolutionaries with weak fundamentals end up as support, not the main force.

But if you’re a high-level touch-type evolutionary with great fundamentals—like Luo Pei, the top vision evolutionary and sharpshooter, or Deng Yan, the level-nine olfactory flood dragon—then you’re squad leader material.

You can’t make it to Luo Pei and Yan Long’s level on hard work alone. You need someone to teach you, and you have to spend a fortune in credits.

Back when Xia Qing was still in the Safe Zone, she did everything she could to improve herself, but her combat skills stayed weak. Later, she traded Pure Spring Water to get a sniper rifle and a chance to learn marksmanship from Luo Pei. That’s how she became a sniper.

Her fighting skills also improved bit by bit, first by training with Luo Pei and Yan Long, then by paying to join the Azure Dragon Squad’s bootcamp.

Now, it was time to learn water combat from Yan Long!

Xin Yu picked up on Xia Qing’s upbeat mood and asked, “Thinking of something happy?”

Xia Qing didn’t hide it. “They found a giant python on Hill Fifty-Five, and Sister Yan wants to train Tan Qi in water combat. I managed to score a spot to train with them.”

Xin Yu paused. “Is it going to be like last winter’s intensive training?”

There was no way bird-watchers would miss Xia Qing and Tan Qi going out with Yan Long. Xia Qing nodded. “No doubt about it.”

Noticing Xin Yu’s hesitation, Xia Qing guessed she wanted in. “If Tan Qi’s going to settle here, Sister Yan hopes she gets to work with all of us—helps build trust and teamwork. If you ask to join and pay enough training credits, Sister Yan will probably let you in.”

“Alright, I’ll give it a shot.” Xin Yu unconsciously pressed her fingers to her forehead.

Unlike Xia Qing, who kept calm and collected, Yan Long was sharp as a blade. Spending extended time with her up close was a real challenge for Xin Yu.

Speaking of magnetic fields, Xin Yu suddenly remembered something. “Yesterday when I went to Territory Seven with Yu Dongming, I noticed one of their guards looked stone-faced when he saw Yu Dongming, but his magnetic field spiked with joy. Odds are, he’s Yu Dongming’s plant. As for telling Third Brother, I’ll leave it to you.”

Xia Qing asked for a description and quickly identified the target. “I saw him on duty today when I left Section Three. I’ll tell Third Brother tomorrow that I noticed something off about him.”

Xin Yu sank into the armchair. “Does Third Brother know about your vision evolution? Your sniper skills have improved so fast, everyone’s got their suspicions. You really need to keep a lid on your abilities. Two-path is one thing, but once they realize you’re three-path, you’ll be under the spotlight. If Yu Dongming finds out, he might ditch Yan Long and try all sorts of tricks to rope you into the Yu family as a daughter-in-law.”

As a Four-type Evolved Fighter, Xia Qing clutched her secret tightly. “What’s up with Yu Dongming’s face anyway?”

“There’s a research lab at Chonglian Hospital focused on slowing human aging. Nobody in the Yu family—including my grandpa and Yu Wenchuang’s siblings—are evolutionaries, and that eats at them. Last fall, all the bases started extracting evolved fighters’ blood and stem cells to see if they could trigger evolution in non-evolved relatives, because one base had a breakthrough.”

Perched on the sofa, tea cup in hand, Xin Yu glanced at Xia Qing. “Two months ago, Yu Wenfei miscarried at seven months pregnant—‘accidentally.’”

Such a shocking revelation, yet Xin Yu couldn’t detect a single ripple from Xia Qing’s magnetic field. All she heard was Xia Qing’s almost-relieved tone:

“Lucky you kept things under wraps and left Hui Two early, or next time it could’ve been you.”

Xin Yu smiled. That’s exactly why she liked being around Xia Qing.

“News this earth-shattering, and you barely react. Of everyone I’ve met, your negative emotions are the lowest. How do you manage it?”

Xia Qing answered honestly. “I heard about triggering evolution through a relative’s blood ages ago. Not much shocks me now.”

“Beep.”

The phone on the table chimed. Xin Yu glanced at it, her face clouded—she looked about ready to toss a stick of dynamite.

“Yu Dongming is leaving Territory One. I’ve got to go.”

After seeing Xin Yu off, Xia Qing didn’t spot Yu Dongming exiting from the Northern Gate. He must’ve used the west gate—it’s closer to Territory Eight anyway.

Wonder if after closing the deal with Iron Rooster, Yu Dongming’s smooth face will finally crease up a bit.

Once she’d finished patrolling the southern barrier, Xia Qing hurried to the Breeding Greenhouse to meet up with her partner, Old Goat.

Old Goat didn’t like anyone except Xia Qing. So before Xin Yu set foot in Section Three, Xia Qing mixed a special feed for him and left it in the greenhouse to keep him settled.

And not just for Old Goat—Xia Qing had locked up the Sheep Shed too. The whole Yellow Weasel family gets jumpy if anyone approaches, and if they get too spooked, things could go south fast. Xia Qing would never risk that.

Old Goat, already growing impatient, started pawing at the ground when he saw Xia Qing come in, looking spoiling for a fight.

Xia Qing was about to calm him down when her phone rang.

“Sister Qing, Crippled Wolf just led three wolves into Section Six on Hill Forty-Nine. Looks like they’re headed for your territory. Do you want us to intercept or try to talk to the pack?”

“No need—let them come.” Xia Qing hung up and said to Old Goat, “Your friends are here, boss. Let’s go home for some medicine.”