Chapter 981: Power Play on Fire Mountain

A 2,100-meter effective range—already matching or even surpassing Luo Pei—meant Xia Qing’s visual evolution was at least level nine, probably even nine and a half or top-tier.

Inside the lavish conference room atop Fire Mountain, Vice Captain Qu Fangzhou, who was in charge of intelligence gathering and analysis, shared the latest noteworthy news from the Huicheng bases with Fire Phoenix’s upper ranks, including Xia Qing’s new rescue mission achievement from five days ago.

Vice Captain Zhou Jin, who handled combat training for Fire Phoenix, wasn’t convinced Xia Qing had matched Luo Pei’s best mark. “Xia Qing fired from above—shooting downward is way easier than at a flat angle.”

“Good point, Zhou,” Qu Fangzhou agreed. “The difficulty of shooting downward really is lower. After Luo Pei recovered from poisoning, both his flat and upward shots stayed within 2,000 meters. On the 10th this month, an elite sniper named Night Heron from the Azure Dragon Squad killed a high-level speed-evolved giant raptor in Hui Three’s southern Section Seven with a 2,050-meter upward shot. Based on intel, Night Heron from Azure Dragon is Xia Qing.”

Zhou Jin, a Hui One military veteran, didn’t care for Luo Pei, but hearing his old peer was now outpaced by a newcomer left his feelings complicated. With a stiff nod he said, “Stronger than Luo Pei now, but not at Luo Pei’s prime.”

“You’re not wrong.” Qu Fangzhou smiled, nodding. He went on to update about Section One of Hui Three’s northern perimeter. “Xia Qing leads a force up there—what I call the Xia Qing Team. It’s become a force you can’t ignore.”

Qu Fangzhou clicked his remote, and a branching organizational chart made up of team members’ photos spread across the wall screen. He highlighted the top photo with his laser pointer. “Dual-system, top-tier sniper Xia Qing is the core of the team.”

“Zhang Hongda from Territory Fifteen, an ex-soldier evolved in vision, elasticity, and speed. Huo Zhun from Territory Eleven, another veteran with elasticity and weight dual evolution. Shi Du from Territory Ten, a level five-and-a-half strength evolver. Tang Huai from Territory Twelve, a fifth-level hearing evolver. These four joined Xia Qing on the recent rescue. Everyone except Tang Huai played a major role.”

Qu Fangzhou moved the laser to the next row. “Here’s the non-combat crew: Qi Fu and Yuan Yan from Territory Five, both third-level strength evolvers. Not high-level, but Xia Qing trusts them deeply. Zhao Ze from Territory Four, an ordinary engineer, has managed Five’s construction multiple times. Huo Lei from Territory Ten, a level-four strength evolver—he’s a blacksmith who forges top-tier farm tools. Xin Yu from Territory Eight, an ordinary person, can mobilize senior manager Zhou Zhaoping and resources from the Chonglian Group. Kuang Qingwei from Territory Six, a merchant lord, handles all supplies in Section One of the north.”

With that, the screen’s red dot dropped to another level. “Here’s the Xia Qing Team’s future talent: Lu Fangchun, thirteen, a double evolver in stamina and speed at level five; Wang Bo, fourteen, evolved in vision to level five. Both are being treated at Fu Tianfeng’s territory. Tan Qi, ten years old, a level-four speed evolver, is still in school.”

Zhou Jin, himself a fourth-level stamina and sixth-level speed evolver, sighed with regret. “If only we’d moved faster, we could’ve brought Lu Fangchun over to our side.”

Lu Fangchun was Zhou Jin’s top prospect, which was why Chen Dongyang managed to buy synthetic toxin so easily. Fire Phoenix’s plan was to wait until She Xing, after breaking with the Liangqing Squad, had nowhere left to turn. Then, the Fire Phoenix medical team would sweep in like saviors and take both mother and child back to Fire Mountain. But She Xing went right to Fu Tianfeng’s lab instead.

Qu Fangzhou, focused on intelligence, didn’t judge squad mistakes. He pushed on. “Aside from this, over 300 ex-soldiers live in Territory Nine and Territory Fifteen. Roughly 90% are just regular soldiers, and most bear some disability, but they’ve already developed a sense of belonging and mission toward Section One of the north. If disaster hits, these veterans would, on Yue Haiying’s orders, unleash real combat power. Yue Haiying’s relationship with Xia Qing is especially close.”

Finally, Qu Fangzhou angled his laser up to a photo just to the left of Xia Qing—the image of a thin, curly-haired, bespectacled man. “Fu Tianfeng is now a vital part of Xia Qing’s team, serving as the team’s doctor.”

Silence settled over the conference room. Everyone knew just how much the persnickety Fu Tianfeng hated treating patients. How did Xia Qing ever convince him to get involved?

Dan Ying, in her white coat, frowned. “Could Xia Qing be a recovery evolver?”

Deng Yufeng, seated at the head, lifted her eyelids to glance at Xia Qing’s photo.

Qu Fangzhou dismissed Dan Ying’s theory right away. “When Xia Qing was at the Hui Three Safe Zone, she got injured plenty of times. The Hui Three Outer City Hospital has her case records. She still has visible scars—nothing out of the ordinary for her recovery compared to other evolvers.”

Zhou Jin only saw bigger problems in Xia Qing. “Captain, we can’t let this one stick around.”

Dan Ying nodded in agreement.

Deputy team leader Liao Wendong, who ran Fire Phoenix’s business operations, explained for the benefit of Zhou Jin, who hadn’t attended meetings for two months, why Xia Qing couldn’t be touched. “Fu Tianfeng openly protects Xia Qing. If you go after her, you’ll have to take out Fu Tianfeng first. Otherwise, he’ll swallow up our entire medicinal product market.”

That shut Zhou Jin up. For all his bluster, he’d never dare go after Fu Tianfeng—and neither would the Huicheng Base Director. Like or hate him, everyone had to admit: Fu Tianfeng was one of Huaguo’s key scientific brains in the fight against natural disasters.

Fire Phoenix, relaxing in the main seat, lifted a finger at Qu Fangzhou, signaling him to flip to the next data page.

Qu Fangzhou paged down, sharing his analysis of the Xia Qing Team:

“From the combined intel, two points stand out. First, the Xia Qing Team is growing stronger but they’re loosely united by their goal of survival through farming, not by desire to compete. They won’t fight us for missions, so Azure Dragon Squad remains our main rival in Hui Three. Second, Fu Tianfeng’s close work with Xia Qing will let him reclaim more independent research rights from the Hui One authorities.”

Finally, Qu Fangzhou made his strategic recommendations. “Right now, Hui Three is competing for a stake in Fu Tianfeng’s lab, which has pushed Hui One and Hui Three’s tensions even higher. That’s in our favor—makes for good timing to pursue multiple plans. Once Fu Tianfeng gets his research rights back, he’ll probably roll out several affordable new medicines that could shake up the entire market. To keep up, we need to adjust our R&D and business strategies ASAP.”

Fire Phoenix tapped her fiery red fingers on the table. “Wendong, do a fast market survey and set new business directions soon.”

“Understood,” replied Deputy team leader Liao Wendong, who handled business ops.

“Dan Ying, gather all project leads for a meeting this afternoon. I want a status update on every experiment.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Dan Ying, the deputy in charge of R&D, gave a quick nod.

“Zhou Jin, keep a close eye on Lu Fangchun and She Xing. Bring them in if you get the chance.”

“On it,” Zhou Jin declared, dead set on the task.

“Fangzhou, bump Xia Qing to top surveillance status. Full investigation. While you’re at it, give me a detailed profile on that merchant lord you mentioned.”

“Got it.”

Qu Fangzhou pulled up Kuang Qingwei’s detailed file. “Kuang Qingwei, male, forty-five, ordinary civilian. Before the disasters struck, he ran a fruit store. Afterwards, he opened a general shop in Hui Three Safe Zone…”

In the Fire Mountain conference room, after Qu Fangzhou finished his briefing on Kuang Qingwei, Fire Phoenix tapped her finger. “Move fast with Kuang Qingwei. Do we have info on the kid Xia Qing brought back from Lan Five?”