Chapter 90: Schemes in the Safe Zone

“Boss, help me hold down the walkie-talkie button.” Xia Qing, arms full with heavy weights, wasn’t about to stop training just to chat with Tang Huai.

Boss Sheep, sprawled beside Xia Qing, stuck out a front hoof and pressed the walkie-talkie with perfect accuracy. It had seen Xia Qing do this so many times it could do it in its sleep.

“Here.” Xia Qing said just one word, then fell silent. Boss Sheep let go and squinted its sheepy eyes at her.

Xia Qing quickly added, “Boss, you’re a genius. The top sheep on all of Blue Star’s food chain, the trailblazer of evolved sheep everywhere! I’ll make you something delicious tomorrow morning.”

Thinking it had a tasty reward coming tomorrow, Boss Sheep chewed its cud contentedly.

Tang Huai burst out, “What have you been running around the territory doing all day, dragging that sheep everywhere with a constant thump thump thump?”

Her plan with Luo Pei could finally enter phase one. Xia Qing squinted. “Boss, press the walkie-talkie button.”

Boss Sheep obliged, hoof pressing down. Xia Qing shouted into the device, “Captain Tan, are you there? Plot Two’s been snooping around my territory. Captain, I need you to set things straight!”

Tang Huai was speechless…

Everyone else was too…

Tan Junjie replied seriously, “Received. I’ll take care of it at once.”

The others stayed silent…

Tang Huai cursed, “Xia Qing, you’re out of line! All I did was ask a question. Why are you so jumpy? Or are you up to something shady yourself? Feeling guilty?”

“That’s garbage!” Xia Qing couldn’t be bothered to argue with Tang Huai, but Hu Zifeng, who loved a spat, instantly joined in. “You spent the whole day eavesdropping, and now you’re flipping it around, accusing her of being sneaky? Feels like the guilty one here is you!”

Tang Huai choked. “I didn’t eavesdrop all day.”

Hu Zifeng sneered, “What, can’t own up to your own words? Everyone here’s got ears, Captain Tan heard it too.”

Tang Huai started to panic. “Captain Tan, let me explain. I just exaggerated a bit; I wasn’t eavesdropping.”

Tan Junjie replied in a stern voice, “Ten minutes from now. Meet me at the sign for Road Two.”

Tang Huai was at a loss…

Li Si from Plot Nine cut in, cold as ice, “If anyone from Plot Two dares eavesdrop at the edge of Plot Nine, I’ll dump poison that’ll make every last one of you shut up for good.”

Tang Huai froze again…

“Sister Si, this is Xu Pin, vice-captain of Sufeng Squad. I’m sorry for the trouble caused by someone from Plot Two. I’ll deal with it strictly. Please don’t worry.”

No surprise—it was Xu Pin. Always full of official talk, even his tone was unbearable. Xia Qing frowned.

Li Si, sounding every bit the researcher, replied, “Sufeng Squad? Never heard of you. They’re your people. Do as you wish. It’s nothing to do with me. I’ll act based on the situation alone.”

Balancing a rock in hand, Xia Qing nodded. Even if her idol wasn’t a fan, she actually found Li Si’s style pretty refreshing.

Inside Territory Two, with his pride stomped on in public, Xu Pin’s face was stormy. “You caused this mess, so handle it yourself.”

Tang Huai stepped outside, waving a spray around to drive off evolved insects drawn by the light of his protective mask. He cursed all the way to the bus stop. “Xia Qing, you just wait. One of these days, I’ll put you in the ground.”

Afterward, Tang Huai realized he couldn’t hear his brother Tang Heng trying to calm him down—mostly because his brother was busy inside, sucking up to Xu Pin. Tang Huai’s rage was suddenly replaced by a complicated mix of feelings he couldn’t even name.

When he reached the sign, Tang Huai spoke up before Tan Junjie could ask anything. “Captain, I didn’t deliberately try to listen in on Plot Three. I was digging for insects and rats on this side of Plot Two, near the north. There was a lot of noise in Plot Three, so I overheard. If you don’t believe me, I can show you—there’re insect-pits all over that patch.”

Behind his protective mask, Tan Junjie asked, “From where you say you were, it’s at least five hundred meters to the main activity area for Plot Three’s lord. So why could you clearly hear sounds coming from inside their territory?”

Not wanting to be pegged as a trespasser, Tang Huai had no choice but to defend himself. “I’m a level-five Hearing Evolver. Xia Qing’s as noisy as they come, so of course I heard it.”

Tan Junjie nodded. “Then why did you report yourself as an ordinary person when we conducted the abilities survey?”

Annoyed by a swarm of evolved bugs buzzing around him, Tang Huai fanned his arms to chase them off. “Of course I hid my ability to protect myself, Captain. That’s not illegal, is it?”

“Not illegal. But the patrol squad has spotted you dozens of times in the past three months near Plot One, Plot Three, and Plot Seven. That gives us reason to doubt your motives for hiding your skill. Please come with us and cooperate with our investigation.” Tan Junjie signaled for team members to escort Tang Huai back to Inspection Team housing.

Tang Huai wasn’t released until noon the next day. He staggered back to Territory Two, only to be grilled by Xu Pin until he was at his breaking point.

“What, still not satisfied?” Xu Pin’s voice was dark. “I think you’ve dug up so many insects it’s rotted your brains! Xia Qing from Plot Three used to be on Luo Pei’s team in the Safe Zone—now she’s with Hu Zifeng. You announced your own crimes on the lord channel. If she didn’t take this chance to get you and win favor with Hu Zifeng, I’d be shocked.”

“From now on, daily operations in Territory Two go to Tang Heng. The walkie-talkie goes to him, too. You and Zhou Xun will monitor Plot One around the clock. If you two can’t even manage that, you can pack up and go back to the Safe Zone to stand guard at the gates!” Xu Pin waved him out, too fed up to waste more time.

Tang Heng chased after Tang Huai as he left, quietly reassuring him. “Left lunch in the kitchen. Eat, then take a break. Zhou Xun can keep watch for now.”

Tan Junjie had grilled him for over ten hours, but at least they fed him. Tang Huai went straight to the wild grass separating Territory Two from Plot One, flopped down, and stared at the sky, lost in thought.

Zhou Xun, seeing the boss had a rough day, muttered under his breath, “It’s all that jerk’s fault. Sooner or later, we’ll deal with her.”

“Shut it. If you get into trouble, I won’t cover for you.” With that, Tang Huai closed his eyes and started snoring.

After Da Jiang, the Hearing Evolver, came back to the building to give his report, Hu Zifeng grinned. “Xu Pin must have really torn into Tang Huai.”

Luo Pei called Xie Yu. “Xu Pin put evolved rats into Territory Two, making Tang Huai lose two regular team members. That’s got him even more ticked at Xu Pin. Plus, Tang Huai’s gotten so obsessed with digging and farming that he’s slacking on Sufeng Squad’s surveillance assignment. I think we can use this—get Tang Zhengbo out of the Safe Zone and into the territory, let him build up strength here and tear the Tang Family apart from within.”

On the other end of the line, Xie Yu—the Azure Dragon Unit’s second-in-command—laughed. “Luo, that’s a smart play. When you get a chance, let the squad medic check your head—I think whatever poisoned you sparked some brain evolution.”

“Cut it out!” Luo Pei laughed. “Wasn’t my idea. Came from a friend.”

“Xia Qing? She gets more interesting by the day.” Xie Yu, a Brain-Evolved, quickly laid out the timeline: “I’ll handle it. Xu Pin will return to the Safe Zone within three days. Tang Zhengbo will head out to farm in five. That’ll let Tang Huai dig in peace.”

Tang Zhengbo is the father of Tang Huai and Tang Heng. From his name, you could guess—he’s a cousin to Tang Zhengrong, deputy director at Hui Three Base, and Tang Sufeng, captain of Sufeng Squad. Before the disaster, Tang Zhengbo was a successful entrepreneur—doing even better than Tang Sufeng.

After the disaster, he and his younger son never became Evolvers and stayed ordinary. The eldest, Tang Huai, did evolve but ended up with a mostly useless hearing ability. Their whole branch slowly slid into decline, losing out to Tang Sufeng. Even getting in with Sufeng Squad, Tang Huai never broke into the top ranks.

“Tang Zhengbo still has real power in the Tang Family. Is five days too rushed?” Luo Pei asked.

On the other side, Xie Yu laughed sly as a fox. “Tang Zhengrong took Tang Zheng to Hui One Base to explain about the evolved potato seeds. They’ll be back in five days.”

Luo Pei laughed too. “Then we’d better move. Territory Two belongs to Tang Lu. Even if Tang Zhengbo arrives, she’ll suppress him. But Territory Twelve is wide open. Making him the lord there would be much better.”

Tang Sufeng and Tang Zhengbo never got along, so he always held Zhengbo back, never letting him rise again. This time, sending brothers Tang Huai and Tang Heng off to run errands in Territory Two was clearly Tang Sufeng’s idea.

If that’s the case, haul Tang Zhengbo over too, let their branch stand up and fight Sufeng from inside. The Tang Family’s old thorn by the command post and Azure Dragon Unit would become the knife that splits the family wide open.

Luo Pei couldn’t help but admit—the idea was so cunning, it was hard to believe a soil-obsessed Xia Qing dreamed it up.