Chapter 956: A Fair Trade of Trust and Blood

A little after two in the afternoon, Xia Qing returned to the territory with Zhao Ze and the others, heading straight to Territory Seven with her collection of samples from Hill Fifty to report in to Zhang San.

Before she began her report, Xia Qing handed over the blood samples of Zhang Shi and Zhang Shiyi, which she’d mixed among thirty-six test tubes, directly to her idol.

The moment Xia Qing explained what was inside those tubes, she saw genuine, overjoyed excitement light up her idol’s usually world-weary face for the first time.

Even a top-tier expert would get this worked up holding the blood of a Recovery Evolver—so it wasn’t hard to imagine how the other researchers would react. No wonder Fire Phoenix had turned herself into a living toxin repository while Zhang Shi hid out in the Evolved Forest with her daughter.

Aside from mentioning Zhang Shi and her daughter’s C-Class Magnetic Sense Evolution, Xia Qing relayed everything else Zhang Shi had said to her idol.

After listening for a good while, Zhang San finally let out a sigh. “Once a human has someone to care about, they have a weakness.”

Zhang Shi had no desire to rejoin human society, but now, with a daughter to think of, she’d drawn her own blood in hopes of giving her child a shot at a normal life.

Xia Qing asked, “Third Brother, the anti-allergic medicine made with the Recovery Factor—are there any side effects?”

She knew her idol had been taking anti-allergy medicine with harsh side effects for years. There wasn’t much choice—without it, his body couldn’t hold on.

Zhang San replied, “The Recovery Factor is the sixth Evolutionary Synthetic Element discovered by humans—abbreviated as Yi 6. Medicines made with it are designed to treat Devastation Element allergies and they’re nearly free of side effects.”

That was a relief—no side effects meant her idol could finally put some weight back on and look a little less like the walking dead.

Xia Qing pressed further, “If you extract Recovery Factor from Zhang Shi’s blood, can it actually cure your Devastation Element allergy?”

Zhang San shook his head. “The Recovery Factor lets us compound long-acting desensitization treatments for Devastation Element allergies. If Zhang Shi’s recovery level matches her peak before she ran, the medicine from these ten milliliters of blood should last through a four-month desensitization period.”

The idol only had records of Zhang Shi’s old ability levels—since finding her again, he’d never used her blood for experiments or to produce new desensitization drugs.

If Xia Qing put herself in his shoes, she knew she could never measure up to that level of restraint.

She deliberately chose words she knew her idol wanted to hear. “If Zhang Shi’s blood works for four months, then even a minimal amount from Little Shiyi—the five milliliters—should help for at least half a month. That means you won’t have to suffer from allergies for the rest of the year. You can eat whatever you want!”

Xia Qing understood just how precious the blood of a Recovery Evolutionary was, yet she’d handed the mother and daughter’s samples to her idol the moment she got them. Her loyalty touched Zhang San.

So he let her in on a secret. “Actually, every year, I get a supply of Yi 6 desensitization medicine from Red One Base that totals three months’ worth. They let me inject it monthly; without it, I’d be dead and dust by now.”

To Xia Qing, this was only natural. “You’re one of the top experts in the country. You’ve made huge contributions to disaster relief—the nation’s medicine should go to talents like you first, of course!”

Zhang San shot her a look and dropped the subject. “It was no surprise that Zhang Shi approached you for a deal. But why do you think she trusts Ye Yang?”

Xia Qing was prepared for exactly this question. She kept her expression neutral as she analyzed, “Zhang Shi and a few wounded from Territory Fifteen spent four months living together in that valley. My guess is that somewhere during all that time, she decided Ye Yang was safe to cooperate with. Plus, Little Shiyi really seems to like him.”

Zhang San shook his head. “Zhang Shi is too cautious—no way would she entrust her daughter to a man she’s only known for four months. But if Zhang Shi won’t share, don’t press it.”

“Whatever Ye Yang does isn’t my business, but you must not let Zhang Shi’s trust go to waste. The mother and daughter are incredibly important from every perspective—both to humanity at large and us personally.”

Xia Qing squared her shoulders. “Even if it’s not for humanity, I’d never betray Zhang Shi’s trust—not as long as it matters to you!”

Zhang San fell silent…

“What do you want for these two blood samples?”

Xia Qing broke into a dazzling smile. “Anything you think is fair, I’m not picky.”

Zhang San gave her a look. “Credits?”

Xia Qing’s grin only got wider. “Third Brother, you must be in a rare good mood today—cracking jokes and all.”

With a snort, Zhang San grabbed the cooler with the test tubes and beeped open the lab door. “What are you waiting for?”

“Thanks, Third Brother!”

Xia Qing quickly suited up in a lab coat and mask, trailing right behind her idol into the core laboratory.

Over an hour later, Xia Qing emerged with a few packs of medicine, Little Zhang Song in tow, and headed back to her own territory.

After dropping Zhang Song off at Greenhouse Three closest to the reservoir, Xia Qing drove home, only to walk in on a scene that was both utterly ridiculous and infuriating.

The AC was blasting. Old Goat was pedaling away at the generator bike. Crippled Wolf lounged in front of the TV, gnawing on a cucumber. All perfectly normal—except for Monkey, who was squatting right next to Crippled Wolf, using its tiny black paws to groom that freeloading wolf!

As soon as Xia Qing finally walked in the door, Monkey abandoned the wolf and scampered over to her.

“Baa!”

Old Goat gave a dissatisfied bleat, hopped off the bike, and rushed over to his little brother—only to have said brother shove delicious food in his mouth, cutting off his tantrum before it started.

With Monkey settled and Old Goat pacified, Xia Qing stormed over to that shameless wolf who’d been acting like some fat landlord while she was working herself to death. “Crippled Wolf, since my cabin now has AC…”

She pointed at the AC on the wall, at the TV, at the temp worker Monkey, at her loyal companion Old Goat. “TV, check. Staff to take care of you, check. Old Goat pedals for your electricity! So your convalescence fees are tripled. And since Four-Eyed Black Wolf is crashing here too, you owe me a walnut-sized Yi Stone for medical costs!”

Crippled Wolf gulped down his cucumber and regarded Xia Qing with a thoughtful look.

Thoughtful, my foot—you trying to skip out? No way!

Xia Qing spelled it out with a serious gesture. “The Queen sent me hunting for Giant Raptors yesterday and gave me a Yi Stone as payment for using the sniper rifle. Last night, she gave me that Green Lantern wild boar, which went straight into your big fridge. That’s your food supply. So you still owe me another Yi Stone for medical expenses—for both you and Four-Eyes!”

“Now look—here’s the medicine I just got for your bath to toughen up your paws. Special stuff for advanced Speed Evolvers, courtesy of the Queen. This one’s for your pups—Little Wolf and his sister—swapped for today. It’ll boost their immunity if they take it. All that’s worth a walnut-sized Yi Stone, isn’t it?”

The thoughtful look faded and Crippled Wolf bared his sharp little white fangs at Xia Qing in a cute grin.

Was that a yes?

Xia Qing immediately lit up. “Great! Don’t forget to remind the Queen to send the Yi Stone over as soon as possible.”

Hoisting Monkey, who’d wrapped itself around her leg, Xia Qing held up a bag of pink medicine. “Monkey, this one’s yours—should help you recover faster.”

She pulled out a pack of grass seeds and waved it at Old Goat, who was busy munching on straw. “You’re plenty healthy, but these are Green Lantern wild grass seeds I got in trade. Soon, there’ll be even more food choices for you!”

Of course, Xia Qing and Little Fei Mao got their share too.

Her idol was in such a good mood today—he gave her everything she asked for, then told her all those supplies weren’t worth even a quarter of the two blood samples’ value.

Where else could you find an idol like this!