Chapter 775: Cracks in the Alliance

After hearing the other side’s request, Tan Junjie’s voice remained as serious as ever. “Hold on. Section One of the North is currently in emergency disaster containment. I need to consult with the commander.”

The person on the other end was clearly displeased. “And who’s the commander? There’s no time to waste when it comes to disaster relief! You’re the Inspection Team leader for Section One—how can you not make this call yourself?!”

Tan Junjie hung up without hesitation and contacted the commander. “Commander Zhang, the assistant researcher Chai Shuling and her team from the Territory Management Department are requesting emergency disaster relief access to Section One of the North. Should we let them in?”

Zhang San, who was in the middle of removing a cerebral arterial cyst from an injured victim, answered coldly. “Section One already has enough personnel and resources for disaster containment. No outside aid allowed. From now until the crisis is over, no one goes in or out of Section One. Any unauthorized entry will be treated as a safety threat to the Territory and eliminated on sight.”

“Understood.”

After being turned down, Chai Shuling, already seated in the car and ready to leave, let out a sigh of relief. She quickly messaged her superior: ‘The new disaster commander from Territory Seven has refused everyone access to Section One. Anyone trying to force their way in will be treated as an intruder and killed.’

Deputy Captain Dan Ying from Blazing Fire Squad read the message, eyebrows furrowing hard. “In Fu Tianfeng’s eyes, Xia Qing matters more than even Wang Xin’s life!”

Fire Phoenix, legs up and looking lazy, glanced indifferently at Dan Ying’s murderous scowl. “If Fu Tianfeng could be stopped by a minor surgery, he wouldn’t be who he is. You wasted a contact worth a hundred times more than Dan Xiang, and still couldn’t get rid of Xia Qing. No need to antagonize Fu Tianfeng any further.”

Frustrated as she was, Dan Ying had no choice but to reply, “Mission cancelled.”

After sending the word ‘Received,’ Chai Shuling leaned back into the car seat, still in her airtight protective suit, and stared absentmindedly at the hazy sky outside the window, feeling a bittersweet sort of envy for Li Si—at least he was finally free from suffering.

Li Chang noticed Chai Shuling wasn’t moving and spoke up. “Sister Ling, what do we do now?”

Chai Shuling pulled herself together. “Section One doesn’t need help, so let’s stick to the original assignment.”

Hui One Base, Fire Mountain.

Deputy Captain Liao Wendong, who managed Blazing Fire Squad’s business affairs, poured two cups of hot tea and slid them toward Fire Phoenix and Dan Ying while analyzing the current situation.

“The X-2 was probably cultivated from the top-quality spinach discovered in Xia Qing’s territory. Fu Tianfeng and the Azure Dragon Squad noticed how good the spinach was after trading supplies with Section Three, then worked out a deal with Xia Qing. Azure Dragon Squad and Fu Tianfeng succeeded in growing spinach seeds, and then they traded those to Hui Three Base’s director, Qi Zhongye, for wider distribution.”

“That trade gave Qi Zhongye plenty of favor with his superiors, allowing him to seize control of Hui Three Base. Azure Dragon Squad took down Su Feng and became the top fighting force at Hui Three. Judging by Fu Tianfeng’s recent behavior, he seems to have gained more freedom for independent research as well. As for Xia Qing, she earned protection from Fu Tianfeng and Azure Dragon Squad, and got the chance to learn sniping from Luo Pei.”

When the analysis wrapped up, Liao Wendong summed it up. “Because of her identity and abilities, Xia Qing couldn’t maximize the value of the top-quality spinach in Section Three. Still, she made the right call. She’s someone who knows what she wants and how to make tough choices.”

Dan Ying snorted, unconvinced, while Fire Phoenix took the cup of tea in her fiery-red hand, blew over her bright lips, but said nothing. Liao Wendong could tell they were both listening closely and kept talking:

“She’s a dual-attribute advanced evolutionary, but instead of joining a squad, she’d rather haul bricks and bags of cement in the Safe Zone. The moment the territory policy changed, she left the Safe Zone and claimed a territory at the absolute edge, the farthest one out. That alone shows she’s always wanted to rely on herself and live in seclusion.”

“She must have suffered serious harm from others during the natural disasters, which made her lose faith in people. She’d rather rely on a cranky evolved sheep to help out than let any person live in her territory. Her so-called ‘boyfriend’ Hu Zifeng is most likely a bodyguard from Azure Dragon Squad, paid for with spinach seeds. She got help from Zhang San, likely at great cost, and managed to save a dying Er Gou. She’s even hoping to tame Er Gou into a proper companion.”

Having finished analyzing Xia Qing, Liao Wendong turned to the conflict between her and the Blazing Fire Squad. “So when Captain Dan tried to offer twenty thousand credits for Er Gou, Xia Qing flat-out refused and pushed back hard. Sure, Dan Xiang was killed by Xia Qing, but it happened because Captain Dan gave the order to hunt without proper investigation.”

Dan Ying’s eyebrows tightened at once as she glared at Liao Wendong, seething.

As a fellow deputy captain of Blazing Fire Squad, Liao Wendong wasn’t the least bit cowed by Dan Ying and went on. “Your bad call and orders killed ten people from the Trapping Team, cost us Territory Nine, and landed us a compensation bill for two and a half million credits. You lost your brother and want revenge. The captain isn’t stopping you, but you’ve gone through three contacts and still failed. It’s time to let it go.”

Fire Phoenix nodded along. “All Xia Qing wants is to defend her territory and survive. She’s not our competitor. We’ve got more important things to deal with, so let’s stop wasting energy on her. If you’re dead set on revenge, do it yourself with your own resources—the squad won’t back you up any more.”

Liao Wendong tried to reason with her. “Dan, even a gentleman knows revenge can wait a decade. Once Fu Tianfeng leaves Hui Three, if you still want Xia Qing dead, a few packs of medicine will be all you need. No reason to start a life-or-death feud right now.”

After eleven years surviving disasters at the top of the mountain, Dan Ying had never suffered a setback this humiliating. She just couldn’t swallow it. “Putting aside personal grudges, Xia Qing ruined our most profitable business. If we don’t make an example out of her, we’ll lose even more deals. Without enough funding, how are our experiments supposed to continue?”

Seeing Fire Phoenix waver, Dan Ying pressed on. “Don’t forget about one other thing—the nine territories near Hill Forty-Nine in the north of Hui Three have all tested positive for High Evolution Element Soil, which means there’s probably a Pure Spring Water source out there, maybe even inside Section Three. Even if we don’t kill Xia Qing, we need to bomb Section Three to ruins so there’s no threat left behind.”

Liao Wendong frowned and tried to steer her back. “Chai Shuling’s team already took the proper equipment to do a full survey of Section Three. There are less than two mu of High Evolution Element Soil and no Pure Spring Water to be found.”

He finished and stood up, staring hard at Dan Ying, who put all her brainpower into research and little else. “Let’s say, worst case, Section Three really does have a Pure Spring Water source—so what? Does it harm the quality of our spring water? Does it stop you from running experiments? If we keep going after Xia Qing with no limits, we’ll just make Fu Tianfeng mad. You know better than anyone how petty he can be, don’t you?”

Dan Ying shot up to her feet as well. “Why wouldn’t it matter? It matters a lot!”

A sweet, simple piano ringtone echoed. Fire Phoenix glanced at her phone, put down her crossed legs, and stood up. Dan Ying and Liao Wendong immediately fell silent.

After picking up, Fire Phoenix beamed and her tone turned gentle. “Third Brother.”

“Deng Yufeng, about that new skin-repair medicine you’re launching next month—what’s the retail price?” asked Zhang San, lazily, still wearing bloodied surgical scrubs.