Chapter 709: A New Home in Territory Fifteen

Two days after the freshly poured floors and support beams were left to set in Territory Fifteen’s new houses, Xia Qing, Zhao Ze and Tang Huai went over to check the progress.

Why bring along Tang Huai, who doesn’t know the first thing about construction? Simple—he just joined the Alliance and he’s still riding that wave of excitement, wanting in on everything.

Once Xia Qing confirmed that the work so far met the quality standard and there was no sign of warping, she had everyone mix concrete and keep pouring—first the walls, then the roof of the first floor, then the walls and roof of the second.

Building a house is a huge undertaking, but with plenty of materials and manpower, it actually went fast. Just fifteen days later, the main structures of two houses stood finished, complete with doors and windows welded from steel Huo Lei scavenged with help from Tan Junjie, and glass panes fitted in place.

Tan Qi and Jiang Ying couldn’t wait for the walls to completely dry and get painted, so they just moved right into the bare new houses.

No one laughed at the two girls. After eleven years of natural disasters and never feeling safe, anyone would long for their own sturdy, secure space.

So what if it’s just bare concrete?

No stink of corpses, no cracks for snakes or bugs to crawl in through, and no threat of mutant germs waiting to kill or make you sick. That alone makes these houses a dream come true.

Honestly, even Xia Qing felt tempted—maybe it’s time she built a new place too.

She gave each girl a strong, solid double bed made from hardwood as a little housewarming gift. Xia Qing didn’t have time for fancy woodworking but the beds were sturdy and spacious—the two girls couldn’t stop smiling, grinning as they circled Xia Qing in excitement.

Other allies brought farm tools, cookware and Green Lantern vegetable seedlings, all useful gifts they truly needed.

But the Tang brothers’ gifts really stood out: Ten Green Lantern Breadworms for each girl.

Tang Huai, who came to deliver the worms, was downright generous. “If you manage to breed them successfully and end up with too many, I can buy the extra back at the market rate.”

His bold offer left everyone stunned for a moment. Then they swarmed in, eager to trade. Tang Huai chuckled, “Green Lantern Insects go for 40 credits each. Swap as many as you like. Just know they’re not that stable—as generations go by, unless you maintain plenty of Green Lantern feed, a space protected from Devastation Element, and the right temperature and humidity, the offspring will degrade. By the second generation, they’re just Yellow Lanterns, and by the third, they’re downgraded again to Red Lanterns.”

As Tan Qi and Jiang Ying listened, holding the container of worms, worry crept onto their faces. The others, though, just got more excited.

Green Lantern plants? There’s plenty in the Greenhouse!

Proper temperature and humidity? The Hidden Valley has that covered!

Protection from Devastation Element? During Devastation Rain they could just rent a Yi Stone!

So really, they could raise the insects right in the territory, just moving them to the Hidden Valley whenever the Devastation Rain hit.

After trading away more than two hundred breadworms, everyone headed home for the day.

Huo Zhun went back to Territory Eleven via the southern gate of Territory Fifteen, while the rest took the northern gate.

“I need money~~~I really need money~~~” Tang Huai sang as he walked, humming a carefree tune, looking as happy as could be.

Zhu Li, having caught the lyrics, shot him a curious look. “Huai, are you strapped for cash?”

That can’t be right—his family’s business is huge, and they just reclaimed a fortune that Tang Zhengsu and his brother stole from them. There’s no way he should be short on money.

Tang Huai just grinned, “I am, seriously. This year Territory Two has to turn a profit or they’re gonna strip me of my representative role.”

Zhao Ze’s eyes went round. “Tang Lu told you that? Aren’t you the acting chief for Territory Two? She can fire you?!”

Back before Tang Zhengrong and Su Feng were ousted, Tang Lu basically ran wild in the Safe Zone and bullied a lot of people. Her reputation took a nosedive; no one likes her.

Tang Huai rolled his eyes at Zhao Ze. “She’s my sister.”

Everyone went silent…

Xia Qing only shrugged—none of this surprised her. Tang Zhengbo was already giving the next generation control. The Tang family’s eldest daughter, Tang Ning, managed the big picture, while Tang Huai and Tang Heng each oversaw their own territory.

Even if Tang Huai acts like Tang Zhengbo’s foundling from a trash can, with his bug-catching and breeding skills, turning a loss into profit in Territory Two shouldn’t be a problem.

With the houses finished in Territory Fifteen, Zhang Hongda cured, the pharmaceutical plant being rapidly built, two new strong allies joining the Alliance and the crops growing well with no surprise storms or beast raids…

“Boss, it’s turning into a great start for us—every part of the plan is moving along. Before the second round of Devastation Rain hits…” Xia Qing pointed at her to-do list, finger pausing on one item. “We need to make a trip to the Evolved Forest!”

Another team-up was on the horizon, though this time her party would be completely different. Xia Qing called Xin Yu and invited her over for lunch.

Really, Xia Qing could go eat at Xin Yu’s place, but last time Zhou Zhaoping visited, he asked Xia Qing to invite Xin Yu out to socialize more.

If Xia Qing didn’t, Xin Yu might not leave Territory Eight all year, barely speaking to anyone but Zhou Zhaoping.

People are social creatures. You can enjoy solitude, but too much isolation warps you sooner or later.

Half an hour after the invite, Xin Yu showed up at the north gate of Section Three with a glossy black bird perched on her shoulder. She picked the north gate for one simple reason: going through the southern gate meant running into Tang Huai, who she found endlessly annoying.

The two best friends hadn’t even had time to say hello before the Brain-Evolved Raven on Xin Yu’s shoulder stretched out its right wing and greeted them. “Hey, Shrimp.”

Xia Qing laughed. “Hey, Gua Gua.”

It was only after hanging out with Xin Yu that Xia Qing learned her raven had a little nickname.

The first time she heard, Xia Qing nearly dropped her bowl from shock. Just how smart does a bird have to be to know it has both a formal name and a nickname?

The raven gave Xia Qing its greeting, flapped its wings and took off, gliding into Xia Qing’s territory.

Xin Yu watched nervously until Jasmine landed safely in the buffer forest of Section Three. Only then did she let out a breath.

After studying Xia Qing’s way of dealing with evolved animals, Xin Yu gave it a lot of thought and finally decided to give her tamed birds more freedom, letting them roam as they pleased when there was no danger.

Every time they flew off, though, Xin Yu couldn’t help but get anxious.

She worried her birds would run into hunters and get hurt or killed—or worse, fly away and never come back.

Watching the raven fly off, Xia Qing asked, “Why is Gua Gua missing a tail feather?”

Xin Yu explained, “Five days ago, it got into a fight with another raven on Hill Fifty-Two and lost a feather in the scuffle.”

That sparked Xia Qing’s curiosity. “Was that other raven an evolved one too?”

Xin Yu nodded. “It had Speed Evolution. Tried to kill Jasmine, so I blew it up.”

That sounded just like Xin Yu. “Did you go along or did Jasmine have explosives on her?”

“Jasmine had both explosives and a camera.”

Xia Qing nodded. “Good thing she was geared up.”

That raven was the smartest of all Xin Yu’s tamed beasts, and if anything happened to her, Xin Yu would be devastated.

As they strolled along, Xin Yu kept searching for Jasmine. “After that fight, Jasmine’s too spooked to go near Hill Fifty-Two. She only dares roam between Forty-Ninth and Fiftieth Hill now.”

Makes sense…

Xia Qing hesitated. If Jasmine’s still jittery after losing those feathers, is she really ready for another mission?