Chapter 998: Shifting Currents in the Safe Zone

Xia Qing was busy all day and barely had time to check the latest updates online, but the moment Zhu Li mentioned it, she knew Xin Yu had made her move.

Yuan Yan from Territory Five came online. “I saw it. Those people are monsters—completely heartless. With birth rates this low, if they keep ruining things like this, humanity will be extinct within fifty years.”

Madam Shi knew both Yuan Yan and Zhu Li were hoping to have children, so she logged in to reassure them. “Not everything on the internet is true, you know.”

Zhu Li wasn’t convinced. “Auntie, good news online is always iffy, but when it comes to bad news—it’s almost always true.”

Tang Huai immediately chimed in. “Sister Li’s right. I saw the news too. They say it’s the work of Chonglian Hospital. Xin Yu, did you catch this?”

True to form, the rarely outspoken Xin Yu didn’t bother responding to Tang Huai.

In Territory Fifteen, little Shiyi was reviewing her Chinese textbook in Tan Qi’s living room. She felt huge swings in the magnetic fields around her two sisters. They were scared, and Tan Qi seemed even more afraid than Jiang Ying.

Jiang Ying might not sense the magnetic fluctuations, but she didn’t want the two little sisters listening in on adult conversations. “Qi Qi, let’s turn off the walkie-talkie, okay?”

Tan Qi shook her head, firm. “We can’t turn it off. We need to know what’s happening outside. Just because things are safe in here doesn’t mean the outside’s fine. We have to stay alert.”

Little Shiyi looked up at Tan Qi, who looked calm on the outside but was clearly scared inside. She tried to comfort her. “Sister Qi Qi, you run so fast—the bad guys could never catch you.”

She was a level-four Speed Evolver, but even with her current speed and stamina, she wasn’t near Aunt Yan’s passing line. Still, Tan Qi always remembered what her teacher and dad taught her—never show off her abilities in front of non-evolved people.

Imitating Sister Qing, she patted little Shiyi’s head with a calm face. “When we’re not strong enough, running fast can be our key to survival. It’s not just me and Sister Ying—even you need to work on getting quicker. Once school starts, your teachers will show you how to breathe and use your strength so you can run. All our PE teachers are retired fighters with tons of combat experience—they’re amazing.”

Little Shiyi gazed up, full of excitement. “Sister Qi Qi, what do we do in PE class at school?”

She’d once lain on the mountain top with her mom, watching the students outside running and laughing. Her mom explained they were in the middle of PE class.

“Besides running and games, PE class covers what you see me and Sister Ying practicing every day—body coordination skills and ways to dodge danger…”

Tan Qi and Jiang Ying got along well now. After school, Tan Qi would pass along the training methods and knowledge she learned to Jiang Ying, so they could practice together.

Meanwhile, over in Territory Three, Xia Qing was chatting with a close friend while doing dumbbell raises.

“Do you still remember Lu Yuhui?”

“The captain of Chonglian Construction Team Six—the level-four evolutionary who led the crew that rebuilt my territory’s walls last year.” The moment Xin Yu mentioned Lu Yuhui, Xia Qing sensed she was in trouble. “She’s pregnant too?”

“Yeah. Just over four months along.” A parrot’s melodic chirping echoed through the phone, making Xin Yu’s voice sound especially heavy. “She vanished yesterday—no leave, no warning, no strange behavior beforehand.”

Xia Qing asked, “What about the baby’s father?”

“He’s a Chonglian employee too. He’s acting fairly calm for now. There was never much feeling between him and Lu Yuhui. After all, Chonglian’s rolled out a bunch of pro-birth policies and benefits. One of their rules is that, under equal conditions, priority promotions go to married employees with children.”

During the Calamity Years, pregnant women and children were always a protected class. Plenty of people had kids just to secure extra survival resources and benefits.

Xia Qing set down her dumbbells and gently pried Monkey’s little black paw from her hair. “The stuff happening at Chonglian Hospital is already out in the open. The authorities from Huicheng and Hui Two are bound to investigate. If Lu Yuhui really was taken, she should be released soon.”

As for whether her child would still be there, that was another matter entirely.

“Mm.” Xin Yu leaned back in her chair, staring quietly at the peony-faced parrot grooming its feathers on a branch. “After the third Devastation Rain, Yu Wenchuang will probably use visiting me as an excuse to court you. If Hu Zifeng’s busy, sweeten the deal for Tang Huai and send him to chase Yu off.”

Xin Yu knew Xia Qing disliked inconveniencing others, so she nudged her not to be shy. “If the Tang Family hadn’t begged you to take on that task, people wouldn’t even know about your advanced visual or sniping abilities. The Tang Family’s probably racking their brains trying to repay you anyway. If you ask, Tang Huai would jump at the chance. Someone like Yu Wenchuang isn’t worth your time.”

But Xia Qing had already decided to handle the matter herself. “Relax. He won’t get a second of my time.”

When the call ended, Xia Qing spun Monkey around and lectured him. “Quit messing with my hair—I wash it every day. There are no parasites.”

She stared at the little monkey for a few seconds, then just scooped him onto her lap and started grooming his fur while chatting idly. “Monkey, now that I’m an advanced dual-type evolver, do you think it’s time I broke up with Hu Zifeng?”

Ever since her advanced dual-type evolution was revealed, plenty of ‘leaders’ had called Xia Qing—always starting with business, then circling around to her private life and trying to fix her up with suitors they thought more suitable.

After the accident in Territory Nine, most of the accident investigators and safety inspectors sent from the Safe Zone to help had been single male evolvers—a few of them were pretty popular back in the Safe Zone too.

None of these guys paid any attention to Hu Zifeng, the Azure Dragon Squad’s five-star Visual Evolution specialist.

So keeping Hu Zifeng as her boyfriend didn’t make sense anymore. Besides, he wasn’t getting any younger—he deserved to think about his future. Hogging his time wasn’t fair.

With her current strength, Xia Qing could break up with Hu Zifeng and openly hire any of them to help protect her territory.

Making sure Monkey was parasite-free, Xia Qing set him aside. “Tomorrow I’ll talk to Hu Zifeng and end things! Monkey, how old are you, anyway? Got a wife and kids?”

Monkey had been running around all day—he could barely keep his eyes open. Of course, he didn’t bother answering.

Xia Qing scooped him up and set him on the tree branch in the corner, then called a quick hello to Old Goat as he pedaled away on his bike, getting ready for her nightly run and a territory patrol.

“Smack.”

Xia Qing hadn’t even made it out the door when she heard Elder Wolf tapping on the window. It was mosquito season, so she always drew the blackout curtains when the lights were on. Plus, with the AC, she didn’t need to open the windows to keep the place cool.

Elder Wolf never liked coming inside, so if he was at her window, it had to be important.

Xia Qing grabbed her homemade pistols and sniper rifle from the rack, tossed a couple grenades over her shoulder, and finally stepped outside. “What’s up, Number Four?”

Elder Wolf turned without a word and led Xia Qing away.

Once outside the village, Elder Wolf paused, clearly displeased with Xia Qing’s heavy footfalls. He stopped and glanced down at her feet. Xia Qing caught on and immediately made her steps lighter, tiptoeing along behind.