Chapter 873: Alliance Trade and Team Formations

“Attention all lords, please listen up: The supply patrol truck will enter Section One of the North through the South Gate in half an hour. Lords who reserved seeds and rice seedlings, prepare your grain in advance.”

The voice of an Inspection Team staffer echoed across Section One of the North, broadcast through a massive loudspeaker.

Ever since Tang Zhengrong stepped down, Hui Three Base dropped a lot of the showy policies and pointless bureaucracy. For instance, this year they didn’t recall every lord for an in-person crop trade fair at the Safe Zone, unlike last year. But all the promised deals for the lords remained as generous as ever.

This summer season, lords could not only use the patrol truck to trade supplies with one another, they could also exchange grain for high-quality crop seeds from the Safe Zone Planting Center. These included SY-2 Green Lantern and Yellow Lantern corn seeds, h-12 Yellow Lantern rice seedlings, J-2 Yellow Lantern rice seedlings, as well as yellow lantern seeds of everyday veggies like sunflowers, radishes, cabbage, celery, and lettuce.

The SY-2 Green Lantern seeds, freshly bred by the Hui Three Research Center, were the most sought-after grain this year. With only a limited supply, each territory could only buy up to two pounds—either for points or by trading eight pounds of Yellow Lantern Wheat.

“That’s right. J-2 rice seedlings are a brand-new variety, even better than h-12. Their Devastation Evolution rate is much lower, so they’re pricier to exchange.” On the south side of Section Four, Zheng Kui answered Zhao Ze’s Mother’s question earnestly.

Zhao Ze’s Mother nodded and began counting, “I want five hundred J-2 seedlings, five hundred h-2 seedlings, two pounds of SY-2 Green Lantern, and forty pounds of Yellow Lantern SY-2.”

Zhao Ze and a couple of his workers handed over the sacks of grain they carried to Zhao Kui and began weighing and swapping.

“Section Four always exchanges at the max quota. That’s definitely Teacher Wang’s decision—Zhao Ze doesn’t have that kind of pull.” Chatting idly with Xia Qing while they listened to the deal going down a thousand meters away, Tang Huai asked, “By the way, how many greenhouses has Territory Nine finished building?”

Xia Qing glanced at him. Frankly, Tang Huai knew more about Territory Nine’s progress than she did. Why even ask?

Tang Huai’s aim was really to lighten the mood, get Xia Qing to crack a smile, and then steer the conversation to his real point. But since she didn’t bite, he just went for it: “Once you’re done here, how about we team up for a hunting run? You, me, Huo, Dazhi, Zhu Li, Shi Du, and Tan Qi—seven of us with perfect skill synergy. If we squad up more often, our teamwork will only get better.”

Tang Huai had a good eye for people. If he swapped himself for Yuan Yan, Qi Fu, or Yu Shou—one or two of them—he’d have picked Xia Qing’s ideal squad. “You and Zhu Li have the same power, so only one of you is needed.”

Tang Huai immediately pulled a little red notebook, fist-sized, from his pocket and waved it in front of Xia Qing’s protective mask. “My power’s not the same as Zhu Li’s! I’m an Auditory-Evolved Sniper now—check this out!”

Snipers are ranked by precision, range, endurance, agility, and judgment, divided into basic, intermediate, advanced, and elite. The certificate in Tang Huai’s hand was an intermediate sniper badge, issued by the Hui Three Squad Alliance.

Xia Qing was genuinely surprised. She’d often heard gunshots in Territory Two these past few months, but never suspected Tang Huai had been training. The guy had never breathed a word about it in the lords’ channel or the Alliance chat.

Seeing real shock on Xia Qing’s usually blank face made Tang Huai grin from ear to ear. After learning Zhu Li also had auditory evolution, he immediately felt the pressure and started training on the sly—just for this moment.

“You’re a Strength-Evolved Sniper, and I’m an Auditory-Evolved Sniper. So—should we squad up or what?”

Xia Qing nodded. “Sure.”

Tang Huai was so happy he literally jumped for joy. “You, me, and Huo all have Black Blades. If only Xin Yu could come too—shame she isn’t an evolved fighter…”

Tang Huai kept rambling on right up until the supply truck started up, only then reluctantly stopping to go grab his grain for the seed exchange.

When the patrol truck finally parked in the passage between Section Three and Section Four’s signposts, Xia Qing stepped up, handing Zheng Kui eight pounds of Yellow Lantern Wheat in exchange for Green Lantern corn seeds, and six pounds for the new variety of cabbage seeds. She already had the other seeds, so she didn’t bother trading.

After swapping goods, Zheng Kui took the seeds his teammate handed him and passed them to Xia Qing. “This one’s SY-2, exchanged by Sister Qing. These three are your reward for assisting the Inspection Team during the second Devastation Rain. And here—these are the corn seeds.”

Once Xia Qing had her items, Zheng Kui fished a small pouch of seeds from his pocket. “Green Lantern lettuce seeds—these can be grown year-round.”

He handed the seeds over before Xia Qing could ask what he wanted in return. Zheng Kui just smiled and said, “I really love lettuce. As long as you manage to grow them, Sister Qing promised to let me eat some for free.”

“Deal,” Xia Qing replied, handing over two packs of vegetables—one for Zheng Kui, one for Xu Juan.

Xu Juan was out of the hospital and working now, living in the Safe Zone Inner City Hospital’s staff dorms. As soon as her leg healed, she started her job.

After saving Chief Physician Wang Xin, the hospital treated Xu Juan with special kindness, giving her a six-square-meter single dorm equipped with water, electricity, and her own bathroom. She could cook in her room or eat at the cafeteria.

Even Xia Qing felt a twinge of envy at those accommodations.

Although the Inner City was far safer, there was still a risk of getting mugged. So Xu Juan decided to stay in until she fully recovered, just cooking in her dorm.

She turned the sunniest corner of her dorm into a little two-square-meter vegetable patch, growing X-2 and all the grains and produce she needed. She traded points for them with Xia Qing, then had Zheng Kui deliver right to her door—safe, nutritious, and hassle-free.

When Xia Qing entered Section Three, one of the junior soldiers inside the truck eyed her back, then shot a glance at Tang Huai standing guard. Sensing the scrutiny, he wisely kept his mouth shut.

As Xia Qing rounded the Wild Grass Wall, she lifted her gaze to watch the white clouds drifting atop Hill Forty-Nine. Just a moment ago, when Zheng Kui said he loved lettuce, Xia Qing caught a flicker in his expression—she realized it wasn’t for himself but for a loved one who’d passed away.

After the death of his wife and newborn daughter, Zheng Kui lost all motivation to live. It had been better when he still had Zhong Tao around, but now it felt like he’d made his peace with death, ready to reunite with his family at any moment. That’s why he didn’t need to trade for anything else.

Xia Qing dropped her gaze back into her territory, where hope thrived. Once home, she fished Little Fei Mao out of her pocket and set him down on the eight pounds of SY-2 Green Lantern corn seeds she’d spread out on the second-floor balcony.

Buried in an ocean of food, Little Fei Mao sniffed around, quickly picked a seed, then tucked it into the protective suit pocket Xia Qing had left nearby.

After making lunch, Xia Qing came back upstairs to find Little Fei Mao already finished, sitting on her suit, grooming its patchy fur.

The moment she opened the fridge, Little Fei Mao zipped over, scrambled up her leg, and perched on her shoulder, staring longingly at the food inside.

Xia Qing grabbed a pouch of high Evolution Element spinach seeds, picked one out, and handed it to Little Fei Mao. The little guy snatched it up, crunching away contentedly.

Xia Qing moved to the balcony, took out the hundred-plus corn seeds Little Fei Mao had selected, and placed them in a small bowl to soak in pure spring water.

After days of observation, Xia Qing realized Little Fei Mao was incredibly sensitive to Evolution Element. He could pick out seeds with the highest Yi Element content from a whole pile, then carry them back to his nest.

In technical terms, Little Fei Mao could sort out the best cultivatable seeds from a messy heap without damaging them—quite the pro.