Chapter 679: A Night of Glory for Hui Three Base

Tonight belongs to Hui Three Base—a moment of true glory.

The national news broadcast, a full half-hour program, dedicated a five-minute segment to celebrate Hui Three’s success in cultivating and spreading High-Evolution Spinach. The government even pledged a hefty one billion Credits to support the expansion of High-Evolution Spinach Seeds and related industries at Hui Three.

The wider adoption of High-Evolution Spinach completely turned the tables for this little base. Not long ago, Hui Three was the nation’s prime example of what not to do after back-to-back poison gas bomb incidents and a man-made beast tide. Now, in a complete 180, everyone’s holding it up as the model base.

What a comeback—absolutely stunning.

Looking back now, everyone finally understands how it happened.

On the Lords’ channel, Zhao Ze shared his thoughts. “The beast tide in January and all the commotions in the Safe Zone definitely happened because someone got wind of our base’s work on cultivating X-1 early. They wanted to sabotage our new hope.”

Thanks to Tang Huai’s publicity, all the lords believe the ‘X’ in High-Evolution Spinach stands for their new hope.

Zhu Li from Territory Six added, “There were also some who tried to take advantage of the chaos.”

Take the Su Feng Squad, for example—they wanted to use the mess to kill her and Old Kuang and steal Territory Six. And those advanced evolutionaries who stormed Section Three? Every one of them was after Xia Qing’s life. If Xia Qing hadn’t been capable, and if the Lords’ Alliance hadn’t pitched in at every turn, neither she nor Old Kuang would still be here.

Wen Nengjie from Territory Seventeen fumed, “Those scum from Dongyang Squad who slaughtered wolf pups got off too easy—they should’ve been sliced to pieces and had their skins used as lanterns!”

If they hadn’t set off the beast tide, Section One of the North wouldn’t have fallen to opportunistic attacks and the greenhouses in Territory Seventeen would still be standing.

Tang Huai shot back, “How do you skin someone after they’ve already been cut to pieces?”

Wen Nengjie quickly corrected himself. “You’re right, Brother Huai. My bad. Let’s say half sliced up and half skinned for lanterns.”

Everyone else just stared for a moment…

Speaking of Dongyang Squad, Huo Lei, who just arrived from the Safe Zone, had some new gossip. “Their captain, Chen Dongyang, has started selling off their supplies. The talk in the Safe Zone is he’s planning to leave Hui Three for another base.”

Qi Fu was puzzled. “Chen Dongyang was already released—so why’s he leaving?”

It’s a long story. With his fields all planted, Huo Lei was in good spirits as he chatted with the lords about old times. “Remember the Liangqing Squad?”

“Of course!” Shi Du chimed in. “Liangqing Squad used to be one of our top five teams. Chen Dongyang was their third-in-command. The year the disaster struck, Liangqing went into the Evolved Forest for a mission—twenty-six members died. Their leader Lu Shiwei and vice-captain Wang Cheng couldn’t make it back.”

Wen Nengjie continued, “That’s right. Twenty-six people. I led the team to burn their bodies. They died horribly.”

In the living room, Xia Qing, practicing her breath control, nodded along. The Liangqing members turned on each other from poisoning—their deaths were indeed gruesome. Lu Shiwei and Wang Cheng fought each other; one lost his head, the other an arm. Xia Qing had carried both bodies back to the base herself.

Huo Lei went on, “After something that awful, you’d think Chen Dongyang would’ve stepped up as captain to guide them through the crisis. Instead, he ditched Liangqing and formed Dongyang Squad, taking some evolutionaries with him.”

Tang Huai, who had already pulled up his phone for details, added, “Liangqing’s captain now is Chen Deng, a level-five auditory evolutionary. Squad’s ranked thirty-eighth.”

Huo Lei carried on, “They don’t have many strong advanced evolutionaries, and they’re supporting all the fallen members’ families. Just surviving is an achievement. But just half a month ago, six new names showed up on their squad roster—kids of those who died in that disaster year. The standout is Lu Shiwei’s son, Lu Fangchun.”

Tang Huai scrolled through the info. “Lu Fangchun? He’s thirteen—a dual-type evolutionary with speed and endurance. That’s real talent!”

Usually quiet, Zhou Zhaoping asked, “If he’s so skilled, how come no one’s heard his name before? Liangqing must’ve kept his real strength a secret, right?”

Still at the territory, Luo Pei chimed in too. “You’re spot on. To keep his son safe, Lu Shiwei always told outsiders he was just an endurance evolutionary. In the past two years, Lu Fangchun’s gone out on more than thirty missions with the squad and excelled in every way. If he and those other five kids grow up, it’ll take less than five years for Liangqing to break back into the top ten squads.”

If the powerhouse Luo Pei says ‘not bad,’ you know Lu Fangchun’s truly exceptional.

Madam Shi asked, “Captain Luo, these aren’t peaceful times. Isn’t Liangqing afraid that pushing a thirteen-year-old out front will get him killed by some villain?”

Luo Pei answered gently, “Of course he’s worried. That’s why, last month, he hired two coaches from our squad to train and protect those kids.”

Shifting her stance, Xia Qing was curious about how much Liangqing was paying for Azure Dragon Squad members as coaches. Even Xu Juan couldn’t dig up that information.

Middleman Kuang Qingwei put it together. “Liangqing must know what they’re doing—it’s all leverage. They’re trying to force Dongyang Squad to hand over resources and territory.”

Wen Nengjie remembered something else. “I remember Lu Fangchun! When we cremated the bodies, he was just a little kid, bawling his eyes out.”

Territory Fifteen joined in. Cheng Ping, a level-three endurance evolutionary, said, “Dual-type speed and endurance—if he advances past level five, he’ll be a real force. If Chen Dongyang did something worse to Liangqing than we know, leaving now is the only smart move.”

Because Hui Three’s first squad—Azure Dragon Squad—would shield Liangqing’s new talents, Chen Dongyang doesn’t stand a chance against them.

Huo Lei continued, “Rumor has it, the deaths of Liangqing’s two leaders back then are somehow linked to Chen Dongyang.”

“Whoa, this just keeps getting juicier!” Tang Huai suddenly called to Xia Qing, “Xia Qing, I remember you’re close with Dongyang Squad’s Xu Juan. Ever heard anything about this?”

“Boss, can you press the walkie-talkie for me? Yeah, that one.” While training, Xia Qing motioned for Old Goat, who lay nearby chewing his cud, to press the walkie-talkie button for her before she answered:

“Nope.”

Hearing Xia Qing actually reply, Tang Huai perked up. “Has Xu Juan ever mentioned Lu Fangchun to you?”

When it comes to Dongyang Squad’s recent affairs, no one here knows more than Xia Qing—except maybe Luo Pei. Still, she switched topics. “Any evolutionaries free tomorrow? I need to put a team of six together to collect bamboo shoots in the Evolved Forest. As long as you wear the required protective gear and follow orders, I guarantee your safety—and you get to keep half the bamboo shoots you dig up.”

Tang Huai was about to speak up when Xia Qing added, “If you’ve worked missions as a strength evolutionary before, you get priority.”

Damn, strength evolutionaries again! Tang Huai couldn’t help but grumble.

Qi Fu jumped right in. “Xia Qing, count me and my wife in.”

Shi Du followed. “Sister Qing, my mom and I will join too.”

Yu Shou signed up as well. “Sister Qing, I’m in.”

Huo Lei said, “Xia Qing, I haven’t done missions in two years but I’ve been on them in the past. If you’re short a person, can you take me? I promise to follow orders.”

Tang Huai was still cursing. Why are there so many strength evolutionaries in this territory?

“Alright. The six of you—suit up in Level 3 Wilderness Protective Suits, put in new Filter Cartridges in your Protective Masks, bring your Strength Evolutionary Backpacks, binding straps, and digging tools. Meet at the north gate of Territory Fifteen at seven tomorrow morning.”