Chapter 690: Steel and Secrets Beneath the Peaks

Before heading to Hill Fifty, Xia Qing doubled back to her own territory and grabbed 10 liters of pure spring water before hitting the road again.

Her real reason for going out today was to deliver antidotes and water to Zhang Hongda in the Hidden Valley and, while she was out there, bring back that piece of Hardness Evolution bamboo from Hill Fifty-Two to reinforce the greenhouse.

She planned a stop at Territory Seven first, just so people would think the medicine and water she brought out came from her Idol’s place.

The pure spring water was her biggest secret. The fewer people who knew about it, the safer the spring in her territory would be.

With over a hundred pounds of supplies on her back, Xia Qing had no choice but to walk—personal flight equipment wasn’t an option as she made her way to the Third Peak on Hill Fifty.

Just as she was about to leave the Northern Barrier and step into the mountain pass between Hill Forty-Nine and Hill Fifty, she ran into the Inspection Team’s patrol truck.

When Su Ming heard she was headed to Hill Fifty, he didn’t hesitate—he flung the car door open, insisting on giving her a ride.

Of course Xia Qing wouldn’t turn down a lift. She set her backpack in the truck bed and hopped into the back seat next to Su Ming, greeting Yuan Rui up front and Tan Junjie in the passenger seat.

Tan Junjie, Yuan Rui and Xia Qing weren’t exactly chatty types. Once they’d said hello, the three of them lapsed into silence.

Even so, things stayed lively inside the truck. Su Ming made small talk for a while then shifted the topic to the knife at Xia Qing’s waist. “Sister Qing, is that set of black blades from Lord Zhao Huisheng over on Territory Eleven?”

After Huo Lei joined the Lords’ channel, Xia Qing made their connection public, which explained Su Ming’s curiosity.

Xia Qing nodded and handed the black blade to Su Ming.

“This knife is heavy—and sharp!” No wonder Tiger kept going on and on about Xia Qing’s knife after spotting it. Thinking of Tiger, Su Ming felt the knife get even heavier in his hand.

He shook off the mood and asked with a cheerful grin, “Sister Qing, what kind of steel is this made from?”

Xia Qing replied, “Maraging stainless steel.”

Huh? Su Ming was baffled. Since when did steel have last names?

Tan Junjie shot an unimpressed look at his teammate in the rearview mirror, and Su Ming immediately handed the knife to the captain, still grinning.

Tan Junjie weighed it and commented, “Main ingredient is maraging stainless steel—high hardness, high toughness, corrosion resistant. The color’s so deep and doesn’t reflect light, so I’m guessing there’s some chromium in it too?”

Now that’s someone who knows his stuff. Xia Qing nodded. “Besides chromium, there’s also a trace of cobalt, molybdenum and nitrogen. That amps up the blade’s strength and hardness but keeps it nicely tough.”

“Sister Qing, you really did learn blacksmithing!” Su Ming blurted out, astonished.

Tan Junjie handed the knife back. “This is an excellent blade. I’ve already asked Lord Zhao Huisheng to forge two for Qi Qi as well, tailored just for her.”

Trained by Yan Long, Tan Qi’s weapon of choice was also twin sabers. Her moves were crisp and fierce, and with her speed evolution advantage, she was already a force to be reckoned with despite being just ten years old. If the goal were to kill, she could take out two or three professionally trained adults by herself—guaranteed.

Give her a few years to grow stronger and taller, and her combat power would soar to a whole new level.

Xia Qing pitched in a little business for Uncle Huo. “This type of steel gets even harder after quenching, but it needs repeated folding and hammering at high temps. The combination of strength and toughness changes depending on the tempering process. Uncle Huo’s an expert—if you want a good blade, you picked the right guy.”

The patrol truck bumped and rattled its way to the foot of the Third Peak on Hill Fifty. Su Ming jumped into the truck bed and handed Xia Qing her massive backpack.

On the way back, Su Ming couldn’t shake a dull ache. Ever since Tiger was gone, he hadn’t carried such a heavy pack—not even once.

Thinking about Tiger made Su Ming remember the call the captain took this morning. “Hey, boss, what did Tiger’s mom say when she called you today?”

Tan Junjie stroked the lucky Braided Bracelet his daughter had made for him, and answered, “She wants Jiang Ying to come work here with us.”

“Somebody took her spot at the food factory?” Su Ming’s eyes went wide.

Tiger had died in the line of duty, so his family was just his mom and his younger sister, Jiang Ying. Tan Junjie had reported their situation to Base and, after a lot of effort, finally got Jiang Ying a job in the Safe Zone food plant. The work was decent, pay was good. With her salary and Tiger’s compensation, the two of them could get by just fine.

Su Ming remembered—Jiang Ying had only started last month. It hadn’t even been a month yet! Who the hell had the guts to do this?

Driving, Yuan Rui glanced over at the captain. “Do they think our territory’s safer than the food plant?”

“Huh?” Su Ming was even more confused. “Even with iron mesh walls all around, our place is way less safe than the Safe Zone. Tiger’s sister’s just a regular girl—what work could she even do in the Inspection Team? And if something happened to her again, what would her mom do…”

Up ahead, an evolved animal came into view. Tan Junjie gave an order: “Su Ming, get out and catch that snake up there.”

“On it.”

As soon as Su Ming stepped out, Yuan Rui asked, “Boss, Tiger’s mom wants Jiang Ying to come here to the territory?”

There weren’t any suitable jobs on the Inspection Team. Bringing her in meant finding a place for her inside the territory.

A few days ago, Tiger’s mom had shown up and asked Tan Junjie if he could put in a good word for her. She hoped to get Jiang Ying a formal job in the Safe Zone’s Inner City and move there with her daughter.

But Tiger’s years and military service didn’t meet the requirements for Inner City accommodations. Official channels were blocked, and even with all the squad’s effort and connections, there was no way they could get the two of them inside.

After the captain gave a quick yes, Yuan Rui focused on Su Ming wrangling that three-meter evolved viper in front of the truck. He frowned. “So what went wrong at Jiang Ying’s food plant job?”

All thirty-some disabled veterans in Territory Fifteen were single men—everyone could see that putting a nineteen-year-old girl in with them wasn’t right.

So Yuan Rui guessed something must’ve happened at the food plant for Jiang Ying.

Tan Junjie answered, “Apparently a lot of people have been going after her, and even the factory isn’t safe anymore. So she wants me to ask Xia Qing if Jiang Ying could transfer to Section Three and work there.”

Yuan Rui fell silent for a while, then sighed. “Xia Qing does look easygoing when she isn’t giving people the cold shoulder.”

Last time Tiger’s mom visited, she bumped into Xia Qing right as she came back from Territory Seven. Yuan Rui had introduced them, and the two exchanged a few polite words.

Tiger’s mom knew how to pick her spots, but Xia Qing would never agree. Yuan Rui asked, “Boss, what if I took some time off and tried to help them out?”

After dropping off supplies for Zhang He, who was growing red Devastation Grass in the Danger Zone near the Third Peak, Xia Qing climbed up the southeast side—and stopped short. A honey badger was sprawled right across the animal trail, munching on a venomous snake, blocking her way.

The badger had zero intention of moving, so Xia Qing raised her hands to show she meant no harm and backed up a few steps to find another route.

Honey badgers—bad temper, tough meat, and one of the snake’s greatest nemeses. Xia Qing had no interest in killing it.

But when she made it to the stream at the Hidden Valley’s slope, she ran into the same honey badger head-on.

This time, there was no way around it.