Chapter 938: Laughter After Disaster

Xia Qing handed over a young rooster, weighing just over four pounds, and a bag of soybeans to Ji. “Ji, I’m counting on you.”

Ji accepted them with a serious expression. “What do you want in exchange?”

“Did you bring the latest insect repellent? The spray type,” Xia Qing replied.

Ji nodded, dug into his own bag, and handed Xia Qing eight bottles of insect repellent. Then he turned east, heading off to barter supplies with Territory Eleven and Territory One. Territory Eleven wanted sweet chili peppers; Territory One was getting a Green Lantern Bamboo Rat.

Once Ji was out of sight, Xia Qing returned home, placed the Devastationweed safely into the medicine box, and sent a message to her idol, letting him know she hadn’t included the leaves of the Devastationweed.

Any sign of abnormality might be hiding unpredictable dangers.

After surviving eleven years of natural disasters, Xia Qing trusted her instincts and always stayed ready for anything.

Ten minutes later, Zhang San finally replied: Come by on your own this afternoon when you get a chance.

After deleting the message, Xia Qing tucked her phone away and strode toward her off-roader, face unreadable.

Does Ji have a problem? She couldn’t say. Even her idol probably wasn’t sure right now. But a little caution never hurt.

Xia Qing called out a quick farewell to her teammates and set out for the Ninth Center.

After passing through the Wild Grass Wall around the Ninth Center, Xia Qing caught the steady rhythm of footsteps behind her. She turned and spotted the off-duty members of the security team jogging laps on the training field, working on their stamina.

Four Magnetic Sense Evolutionaries trailed at the back. Only Wang Jun barely managed to keep pace; the others had already lost form, hair drenched like they’d just been pulled from a river. Especially Geng Min, who was running at the very end—her eyes had gone vacant, pushing forward on sheer will alone.

Liu Ke was among them too. He just joined today at noon—he’s the husband of Wu Xinlian, another Magnetic Sense Evolutionary. Liu Ke had keen hearing, a fully healthy Auditory Evolutionary. He’d gone on plenty of missions as part of the Liangqing Squad, so now he’d been assigned to the security team.

Xia Qing didn’t interrupt their training. She parked in the lot and hurried to the central office.

The air outside was stifling, but inside, with the air conditioning running, the office felt crisp and pleasant. Of the four people present, everyone who could stand rose to greet Xia Qing.

She made her way to her own desk and settled in to tackle work. The six air conditioners she’d requisitioned from the Construction Bureau were now installed: one here in the office, three in school classrooms, one in the monitoring room, and the last one in the infirmary.

Yan Yue’s proposed AC usage plan had one set aside for Xia Qing’s office, but Xia Qing moved that unit to the infirmary instead. She spent little time in her office, so dedicating a whole unit felt wasteful. Wanting a bit of comfort, she simply moved her desk into the outer office near Yan Yue, turning the inner room into a records archive.

After seeing all this, everyone at the Ninth Center was reminded yet again—when it came to leadership, their director didn’t care about appearances or hierarchy, just getting things done.

And precisely because Xia Qing led by example, the entire Ninth Center had developed a strict, fair, and highly efficient work culture. The staff and their families finally felt the sense of security they’d been missing for over a decade. Everyone here followed the rules to the letter, worried they might get expelled otherwise.

With this kind of work atmosphere, the Ninth Center ran like clockwork. Xia Qing had been away just three days, yet the Construction Department had already finished two more solar greenhouses. At their present pace, the greenhouses originally scheduled to be done by October 10 would be completed well ahead of schedule—by mid-August.

Once the Construction Bureau transferred the materials for building the new perimeter wall in September, the entire Construction Department would focus on the wall’s construction, and it would definitely be up before the first frost.

Pleased with the progress, Xia Qing left the office and headed to the greenhouses to check on how the corn and rice were growing. As she walked out of the greenhouse, she heard the steady clang of a sledgehammer striking metal—dong, dong dong, dong dong. Soon after, kids’ laughter rang out.

It was noon at Section One Basic Education School, located inside the Ninth Center; the students were finishing up their classes.

Xia Qing stood quiet in the greenhouse doorway, just listening. It had been eleven years since she last heard so many people laughing and shouting together without a care in the world.

With school out, it was almost time for the workday to end at the Ninth Center too. Employees trickled out of offices, greenhouses, construction sites, and the training grounds, gathering in neat lines for the march to the cafeteria.

Anyone with kids didn’t have to line up—they would pick up their children first, then head to eat.

Three-year-old Geng An’an let go of her grandmother’s hand and dashed over to Geng Min, who looked so tired she was practically dragging her legs. The child was like a happy little sparrow.

With her backpack bouncing, Liu Anqi emerged from the school and gave an excited shriek, hopping in place before calling, “Mom! Dad!” She dashed over to Liu Ke, who was steadying his exhausted wife.

Wang Jun, wiping sweat from his brow, hurried to the school gates. When he saw Zhong Tao’s ten-year-old son, Zhong Ping’an, leading seven-year-old Wang Shunkang out, Wang Jun’s shoulders eased—he was clearly relieved.

Xia Qing looked quietly at Wang Shunkang, who barely reached Zhong He’s shoulder. This boy had attended only a week of first grade classes back in the Safe Zone, but after passing the entrance test here, he’d been placed in the intermediate class. It just went to show how much effort Wang Jun put into his son’s education.

“Sister Qing!”

Tan Qi, sporting a squad leader’s red armband, spotted Xia Qing standing by the greenhouse door as soon as she left the school. In a flash, she ran over, cheeks rosy and damp with sweat, a bright smile on her face.

Xia Qing smiled too. “I thought you’d be the first one out the door.”

“School rules say we can’t use our abilities except during PE,” Tan Qi explained, lowering her voice with excitement. “Sister Qing, did you hear? The Azure Dragon Squad’s got a legendary new sniper—Night Heron!”

Xia Qing nodded, keeping her answer level. “Yeah, I heard.”

“Now Uncle Luo can finally take a load off and rest in the territory for a bit.”

But Xia Qing had absolutely no desire to inherit the role of top sniper, so she changed the subject. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride home.”

“No, no, it’s fine! The walk between the school and the territory is part of my daily training,” Tan Qi said, waving her hand and jogging toward the Ninth Center’s north gate.

As Xia Qing headed to the parking lot, she saw Wang Jun and Wang Shunkang glancing her way, so she changed direction and walked over to them.

Wang Jun’s eyes lit up. He hurried to meet her, tugging his son along. “Director, you’re off work too? Want to join us at the cafeteria?”

“Not this time, I’ve got something else to take care of.” Xia Qing crouched down, her tone gentle. “Shunkang, are you keeping up in school?”

Wang Jun squeezed his son’s hand, encouraging him to speak up.

Wang Shunkang, still looking a bit dazed, nodded slowly. Wang Jun quickly filled Xia Qing in. “This school’s great. There’s AC in the classrooms. The teachers are dedicated. Shunkang sits with Zhong Tao’s kid, Ping’an, and the other students don’t pick on him for being quiet. Yesterday he even got top marks in math.”

“That just proves he’s plenty smart.” Xia Qing ruffled Shunkang’s head, her voice warm. “If you don’t feel like talking, that’s fine. Go have lunch with your dad. There’s meat on the menu today.”

Xia Qing, touching Shunkang’s head in front of everyone, was like putting a protective “Director Xia” talisman on him. Wang Jun’s eyes brimmed with tears; his chapped lips trembled. He didn’t even know how to thank her.