Chapter 797: A New Life in the Center: Shelter, Survival, and Second Chances

With a raspy voice, Zhong Tao explained why he wanted a job here for his wife. “My dad passed away. My wife got hurt and became infected with the Evolution Bacteria. She survived, but her lower right leg had to be amputated. She lost her job too. Now she’s living with our son, Ping’an, in the Safe Zone. I just can’t relax knowing that, so I want to bring them both here to work in the territory.”

When you need help, you can’t be afraid of looking desperate. Zhong Tao continued, “My wife and son are both in the hospital right now, sharing one bed. I can’t let my son go home on his own—I’m afraid someone might snatch him and eat him. I don’t dare send them to Territory Forty-Eight either. Zhong He—he’s my cousin. His wife’s pregnant.”

Xia Qing understood exactly why Zhong Tao was so worried. Both he and his wife were regular folks, but their son Zhong Ping’an was only ten and had already been officially recognized by the testing center as a level-two Speed Evolver.

Zhong Tao didn’t dare send him to Territory Forty-Eight for fear that if Zhong He’s child turned out ordinary, then, in his cousin’s eyes, his own son Ping’an would end up just like Tan Qi in the eyes of the Tan family.

Rather than spend every day and night worrying that someone would cut up his son for his flesh or blood, it was better to distance themselves from Territory Forty-Eight from the start. This way, both families could still visit each other safely.

Xia Qing reminded Zhong Tao, “The Ninth Planting Center is run almost like the military. The pay and benefits won’t match what you had in the service. If you’re okay with that, talk to Brother Yue and give him your wife’s name—see what kind of position you can get arranged.”

Choking up, Zhong Tao said, “Thank you, Sis! Don’t worry, the moment we join the Ninth Planting Center, we’ll follow all the rules and never cause you a bit of trouble.”

After hanging up, Zhong Tao immediately called Yue Haiying, then covered his face and sat in silence for a long time.

Zheng Kui patted his shoulder and handed him a cigarette, lighting it for him.

With bloodshot eyes and trembling hands, Zhong Tao gripped the cigarette, took a deep drag, and bit his lip, unable to say a single word for a long time.

Was it really fate’s cruelty that took his dad’s life and his wife’s leg with just a single Devastation Rain?

Zheng Kui’s mother-in-law, his wife, and their newborn all died in the rain too!

“Old Zheng, you should retire with me. The two of us could stick together, grow grain, and chat. If we don’t seize this chance now, it might be impossible to get in later.”

Landing a job at the Ninth Planting Center was no walk in the park. Everyone wanted in.

“My body’s still holding up, so I’ll keep running for a few more years. Someone’s got to do the job.” Zheng Kui blew out a smoke ring, watching it drift upward and fade away. For a second, he thought he saw his wife cradling their newborn and smiling at him.

Driving supply vehicles really was dangerous. But what was wrong with danger?

As long as he was alive, he could do his part for the base. If he died on the job, at least he’d get to see his family a little sooner.

In Territory Fifteen, Jiang Ying’s mother was discussing with her daughter the idea of transferring to work at the Ninth Planting Center. “The pay there’s about the same, but over there it’s a formal government post.”

“Mom,” Jiang Ying corrected her. “Only positions that require skills or a degree are proper full-time jobs there. If I went, I’d just be working in the greenhouse. It’s more comfortable here—we have a better place to live. Plus, if I transferred, I’d have to work every day and couldn’t keep attending classes in Section Four.”

That’s right—how could she have forgotten that? Jiang Ying’s mother nodded. “Better to stay here then. School’s more important than earning credits. Once you get your junior high certificate you’ll be able to land a real job soon enough.”

Jiang Ying tried to persuade her, “Mom, you should stay too. The food and living conditions here are so much better than what you’ve got at the Food Factory.”

But her mother was thinking of more than just food and shelter. “The Food Factory isn’t bad. As long as I’m in the Safe Zone, we’ll always have another way out if things go bad.”

Natural disasters could happen anytime, anywhere. The more backup plans you have, the better your odds of survival.

So, the next day, Jiang Ying’s mother caught the patrol truck back to the Safe Zone and returned to work at the Food Factory. Riding with her was Mrs. Tan, who pretended she was just visiting her eldest son and granddaughter—but she was actually there to ask for a job for her younger son.

The very first government-run planting center outside the Safe Zone opened up in Section One of the North under the protection of the Divine Wolf. News of it caused a huge stir. Tons of people wanted jobs there.

But when most learned they were mainly hiring retired soldiers, they gave up. Not Tan Junchao, though. He wasn’t a retired soldier, but he was a military family member.

The director of HR at the Ninth Center was his older brother’s close friend, Yue Haiying. As long as his brother put in a word, he could easily leave the Food Factory and switch to a job at the Ninth Planting Center—lighter work, more money, more respect.

As expected, Mrs. Tan’s request was immediately rejected by Tan Junjie. On her way back to the territory with Jiang Ying’s mother, she grumbled for a while about how rough things were in the Safe Zone before starting to gossip about Section One of the North. “Xia Qing is just a Strength Evolver, right? No diploma, zero management experience. What makes her qualified to be acting director of the planting center? What’s her real connection to the head of the place?”

Zheng Kui just pretended not to hear any of it, calmly keeping his eyes on the road.

Jiang Ying’s mother explained, “It’s not what you think, Sister-in-law. Xia Qing’s got real skills. Everyone here trusts her.”

Before this round of Devastation Rain, even Jiang Ying’s mother thought Xia Qing could only keep her footing because she had the support of Territory Seven and Hu Zifeng.

But through the entire 53 hours of rain, Jiang Ying’s mother was online most of the time. She listened as Xia Qing managed both Section Three and Section Nine, and still went out to help other territories clear dangerous plants. People followed her commands eagerly—even Renjie had to cozy up to her.

Curious, Mrs. Tan pried for more details. “So, what’s she got going for her besides being a little stronger than most?”

“Her strength isn’t just a little above average…”

“Bang!”

In a flash, Xia Qing whipped out her homemade pistol and shot through a bamboo whip before it could hit Yu Shou. “Fall back!”

“Yes!” Yu Shou sprang back immediately. With one eye gone, he couldn’t judge the attacking bamboo roots’ distance, so he’d made a mistake.

Only then did Xia Qing draw her blade, hacking through one bamboo root after another—each bristling with needle-like tendrils. She advanced, slashing clean through a towering stalk nearly 25 meters high, then dragged it to the edge of the bamboo grove. She turned to the others clustered nearby and instructed, “Don’t just charge forward. Tackle them one by one—cut down every attacking bamboo whip before you go for the stalk.”

The others quickly nodded, picked up their blades, took up positions, and started copying Xia Qing’s technique.

When word spread that Xia Qing and Qi Fu had managed to cultivate hundreds of Hardness Evolution Bamboo from aggressive Devastation Evolution bamboo roots in a single heavy rain, every member of the Alliance was interested. They wanted to dig up bamboo roots from Hill Fifty-Two and plant them in their own territories, hoping that during the next Devastation Rain, they could harvest this top-notch building material and upgrade all their greenhouse frames.

When everyone heard that Qi Fu and his wife had come today to learn how to properly cut bamboo roots from Xia Qing, they all dropped what they were doing to come watch and join the lesson.

Besides all the Strength Evolver allies within the Alliance, the group included Speed Evolver Tan Qi, Auditory Evolvers Tang Huai and Zhu Li, Three-Element Evolver Zhang Hongda, and even regular folks like Kuang Qingwei, Zhao Ze, Tang Heng, and Wen Nengjie.

The other Evolvers went after the wildly thrashing bamboo roots, while Zhu Li grabbed the machete Huo Lei had given her and boldly stepped forward. Kuang Qingwei, worried for her, followed with his own blade.

Wen Nengjie and Zhao Ze exchanged a glance and rushed up as well. Tang Heng stuck close to his older brother, inching forward cautiously.

Just like that, the ferocious Devastation Evolution red-leaved bamboo was transformed into live training grounds for the Alliance.

Xia Qing stayed a few steps back, pistol ready, keeping watch and prepared to cover any of her less-experienced allies.

“Clang!”

At the perfect moment, Zhao Ze swung his blade at a bamboo whip coming his way. The whip wasn’t cut through, but the impact sent his steel blade flying. Startled, he instinctively ducked and crouched down with his hands over his head.

Three-Element Evolver Zhang Hongda stepped up quickly, catching the blade, and reminded Zhao Ze, “Zhao, your gloves aren’t nearly as sturdy as a helmet, you know.”

A steel blade bouncing off a helmet wouldn’t do real harm, but if it hit helmet-protected fingers, you could lose your fingers in an instant.

“Bang!”

Wen Nengjie, also an ordinary person, actually managed to sever a bamboo whip as thick as an arm in a single strike.

Watching this, Zhao Ze was still spooked from before. His jaw dropped, but he couldn’t make a sound.