Chapter 963: An Unexpected Guest in Territory Two

Xia Qing wasn’t surprised that Tang Lu got into college. When life leaves you with just one path, people find a strength they didn’t know they had.

For Tang Lu, transferring to another base and getting into a safe university was her only way out, short of getting married.

So why didn’t Tang Lu choose marriage? Because she wanted to marry a young, handsome advanced evolutionary. But after losing her father’s protection, that route was closed to her.

After eleven years of disasters, very few people have the means or mindset for education. That’s why, even though there were only eighty-six universities left in Huaguo and admissions were limited, the pool of applicants shrank even more, making it not so hard to get in.

Xia Qing had already settled all her issues with the Tang family, so she really didn’t care which university Tang Lu went to. But that didn’t stop the gossip.

Soon enough Tang Huai messaged Xia Qing again: Tang Lu had gone to his sister today and asked her to help sell her place in the Safe Zone Inner City for over nine hundred thousand credits. That’d easily cover her tuition at White One.

Tang Lu’s reason for going to university was to avoid troublemakers and those out for revenge. White One was far enough from Hui Three to make it a great choice.

Xia Qing figured that was the end of Tang Lu’s story. But the next evening, when Tang Huai returned from a mission and hunting trip to Hill Fifty, he announced in the Lords’ channel that Tang Lu had shown up with a whole cart of luggage and moved into Territory Two.

Zhu Li, also back from a mission, couldn’t wrap her head around it. “She left her comfy place in the Safe Zone Inner City to rough it here in the territory? Why?”

Xia Qing answered for Tang Huai: “She sold her place in the Safe Zone, so she had nowhere else to go.”

Over on Tang Huai’s end, noises from packing filled the air. “She said she wants to learn the basics of farming.”

Everyone went silent…

Zhao Ze piped up, “Did she pick an agriculture major or something?”

“Medicine!”

Everyone went silent again…

At that moment, Lord Wen Nengjie of Territory Seventeen, who’d just completed a mission with his crew, suddenly connected the dots. “Brother Huai, don’t tell me she’s here to freeload, now that your Green Lantern Insects are almost ready to harvest?”

Everyone fell silent, yet again…

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Tang Huai was stuffing his toiletries into a bag when his eyes widened in realization.

Zhang San finally logged on, sounding as lazy as ever. “So, which university did she get into?”

Tang Huai replied right away, “White One University—rumor has it it’s pretty good. Third Brother, do you know much about it?”

With a full belly and well-rested for once, Zhang San was actually in the mood to share some wisdom. “White One’s medical school has eight majors. She’s probably aiming for pharmacy, evolutionary biomedicine, or public health. All three require Evolutionary Biology and Evolved Forest Ecology as mandatory courses.”

Wen Nengjie chimed in immediately, “Is that so! Good thing we have you, Third Brother. Otherwise, no one would’ve known!”

Xia Qing stayed silent…

Zhu Li commented, “Didn’t expect her to be so motivated.”

Motivated? Please! She’s here inspecting the crops in Territory Two, worried that the family would cheat her out of her rightful share!

Back in Territory Two, Tang Huai grumbled while packing, “Third Brother, the second she arrived she started asking about Zheng Chen over in Territory Seven, whether he goes out much.”

Zhu Li: “I take back what I just said.”

Shi Du asked, “So, Brother Huai, where is she staying?”

Tang Huai sounded fed up. “Do I care? I’m moving back to Territory Twelve. If you need me, that’s where to find me.”

Yuan Yan asked, “Didn’t Tang Lu give you management rights over the territory? Isn’t she breaking the contract by living there?”

“She got my dad’s approval,” Tang Huai snorted, hauling his things out of his Territory Two dorm and heading for Territory Twelve.

Tang Lu stood at the window of the next room, dressed in a protective suit and mask, watching Tang Huai’s back with a triumphant smile on her soft fair face.

Xia Qing spoke up, “How many people did Tang Lu bring with her?”

Tang Huai answered instantly, “Two—my dad assigned bodyguards to her.”

Hearing that, Xia Qing felt relieved and shifted the conversation. “The Red-leaved Bamboo on my territory has finished drying, and there’s enough bamboo poles left to build ten greenhouses. Do any of you need some? You can take what you need.”

Red-leaved Bamboo makes top-quality greenhouse frames. Before the second Devastation Rain, only Xia Qing and Qi Fu had planted Red-leaved Bamboo in their territories. Plus, Xia Qing started a patch of it on Hill Fifty.

After the second Devastation Rain, Xia Qing harvested 294 stalks of Red-leaved Bamboo; Qi Fu got 120.

The Red-leaved Bamboo near the First Peak of Hill Fifty was sold by Xia Qing to various territories at ten credits per stalk.

Although every territory managed to buy forty stalks, with all the new fields being cleared, it still wasn’t enough. When Xia Qing offered up her surplus Hardness-Evolved Bamboo poles, they all wanted some—but the question was how to split them.

Kuang Qingwei, the Alliance’s Minister of Commerce, broke the silence. “Thanks, Sis Qing, for putting these materials up for grabs. That’s what’ll let us protect those crucial crops when the third Devastation Rain comes. Third Brother, Xin Yu, do either of you want any Hardness-Evolved Bamboo poles?”

Zhang San replied lazily, “Nope.”

Xin Yu answered coolly, “No thanks.”

Perfect. With the heavy hitters out, that left the rest of them. Kuang Qingwei went on, “Alright. Anyone else want to pass?”

After waiting a few seconds in chat, he announced the allocation plan. “Seven and Eight pass. The remaining nine of us each get enough materials for one greenhouse, and whatever’s left we’ll draw lots for. Sound good?”

It was the fairest approach. Everyone agreed.

In the end, after drawing lots in the group chat, Zhao Ze, who lived next door to Xia Qing, won enough bamboo to build two greenhouses!

Tang Huai couldn’t help but joke, “Zhao, did you evolve a luck-boosting skill or what?”

Zhao Ze chuckled, “Not lucky—just good feng shui. My territory is right next to Sis Qing’s.”

“Hey, so is mine!” snapped Tang Huai, standing by the bathroom door in Territory Twelve.

“Hey, don’t laugh. That might actually be the reason!” Madam Shi, a devoted fan of the Wolf God, chimed in. “Isn’t Tang Lu the lord of Territory Two?”

Wen Nengjie caught on too. “Funny how that works! Her whole family and even Su Feng collapsed, but Tang Lu stayed fine and even got into college!”

Xia Qing wasn’t about to let that weird rumor stick. “Tang Lu survived and got into college thanks to Director Tang’s generosity. He put aside old grudges to give her real help.”

Having just made a close call in the Safe Zone, almost getting exposed for her Magnetic Sense Evolution, Yuan Yan understood exactly what Xia Qing was worried about and quickly changed the topic. “She’s right. Without Director Tang’s protection, Tang Lu would’ve been torn apart by enemies and jealous rivals long ago. So, what’s everyone having for dinner tonight?”

Xia Qing, hauling bathwater with Old Goat, waited for her allies to share their menus, then finalized the dinner plan. “Old Goat, how about noodles tonight? I’ll knead the dough with spinach juice—we’ll have rib noodles for me and cold veggie noodles for you.”

“Baa~~” Old Goat answered right away—cold noodles were its favorite.

Much to Xia Qing’s surprise, right after she set Old Goat’s dinner on the table, Crippled Wolf hobbled into the kitchen, picked up Er’s food bowl, and set it on the table too, making it very clear he wanted in on dinner.