Chapter 50: Xia Qing's Ability Enhancement

Chapter 50: Xia Qing's Ability Enhancement

When the appointed time arrived the next day, two members of Hu Zifeng's squad entered Territory No. 3 to watch over Xia Qing's home. Xia Qing put on her protective suit and, carrying her backpack, slingshot, and machete, headed to the western isolation zone to rendezvous with Hu Zifeng's squad.

Xia Qing did not bring a gun this time, not just because her marksmanship wasn't accurate enough—the slingshot was actually more useful in her hands—but also because Hu Zifeng's squad was well-equipped, ensuring the risks of entering the mountains to dig for bamboo shoots remained within a controllable range.

Why didn't Hu Zifeng simply bring his two squad members into the Evolution Forest?

Naturally, it was because when risks are controllable, a high-level strength evolver plays a much greater role than two combat-oriented members. Through their previous mission, Hu Zifeng had confirmed that Xia Qing's load-bearing capacity was no inferior to that of the Level 5 evolver, Guan Tong. If it were any higher than Level 5, she would be Level 6—a definitive high-level strength evolver.

The jump from Level 5 to Level 6 was a chasm separating ordinary evolvers from high-level ones. The width of this chasm was three times larger than the gap between Level 4 and Level 5. In other words, a Level 6 evolver's load-bearing capacity was equivalent to that of eight ordinary people.

When squad numbers are limited but risks are manageable, bringing one extra high-level strength evolver member allows for more supplies to be transported out of the Evolution Forest than bringing several combat-type members.

When Xia Qing arrived at the assembly point, she discovered that in addition to Hu Zifeng's squad, there was another eight-person team within the isolation zone. Although they were all wearing protective masks, Xia Qing recognized them at a glance—the Dongyang Squad.

Furthermore, the leader of the squad today was actually the captain of the Dongyang Squad—Chen Dongyang, a Level 5 speed evolver. Standing on either side of Chen Dongyang were Xue Jinchang, a Level 5 endurance evolver, and Xu Juan, a Level 3 auditory evolver; the others were also core members of the Dongyang Squad.

Just to dig bamboo shoots for Zhang San, the Dongyang Squad, ranked eleventh in the Hui San Base, had actually deployed its entire elite force!

Just what kind of ability did Zhang San possess, or what kind of scarce resources did he hold, that could make the domineering Tang Huai of the Tang family and Hu Zifeng of the Qinglong Squad treat him with such politeness, and even command Chen Dongyang to come dig shoots for him?

Seeing everyone looking her way, Xia Qing gracefully removed her protective mask and greeted Xu Juan, "Sister Juan."

Xu Juan immediately pulled off her mask and ran toward Xia Qing, exclaiming in wonder, "I thought it was you just now, but I didn't dare be sure. We haven't seen each other for just over a month, and you look like a completely different person!"

Xia Qing, whose complexion was a dark reddish hue, smiled. "I changed my protective suit."

Her previous protective suit had several obvious patches and exuded an air of poverty. The suit she was wearing now was brand new, and its color and style were similar to everyone else's, so she was no longer as conspicuous as before.

Xu Juan laughed. "You're still as honest as ever."

The captain of the Dongyang Squad, Chen Dongyang, stood quietly behind them, watching Xu Juan and Xia Qing.

Chen Dongyang was Xu Juan's boyfriend, but Xu Juan wasn't his only female companion. He had no obvious scars on his face, was quite handsome, and possessed high emotional intelligence, making him quite popular in the Safe Zone.

During the years of the Great Catastrophe, humans worshipped and followed the strong. Powerful male and female evolvers were often surrounded by many pursuers; many strong individuals changed bed partners faster than they changed equipment.

Xu Juan had once mentioned in casual conversation with Xia Qing that Chen Dongyang was the highest-level evolver she could interact with whose character was decent, which was why she was with him.

After Hu Zifeng and Chen Dongyang discussed their division of labor, Hu Zifeng's squad took the lead into the Evolution Forest, while Xu Juan and Xia Qing returned to their respective teams.

Once Xu Juan returned to her team, Chen Dongyang signaled her with his eyes.

Since both teams had auditory evolvers, verbal communication was inconvenient. Xu Juan shook her head, indicating she didn't know why Xia Qing was with Hu Zifeng. She and Xia Qing used to run into each other occasionally in the Safe Zone and chat, but since Xia Qing had come out to farm, their contact had been severed.

Because they were on familiar paths, both teams reached the bamboo forest quickly. The ninety acres of unharvested bamboo forest were divided into two sections. After the two squads drew lots to decide their respective positions, they began inspecting and digging for shoots.

Hu Zifeng divided his eight-person squad into two groups. In four hours, they had combed through over forty acres of bamboo forest and discovered two Green-Light Bamboo plants. Although they were hit by bamboo-leaf darts over forty times, the harvest was very gratifying.

The Dongyang Squad was having bad luck today; not only did they fail to find any Green-Light Bamboo, but they also stumbled into an evolutionary venomous snake nest, harvesting only three bags of Yellow-Light shoots, which was nowhere near enough to fulfill the mission for Zhang San.

Therefore, upon exiting the Evolution Forest, Chen Dongyang proposed an exchange to Hu Zifeng at a rate nearly double the points for Green-Light plants, wishing to trade for thirty jin of Green-Light shoots.

After obtaining consent from his teammates and Xia Qing, Hu Zifeng completed the transaction with Chen Dongyang. Once the two teams separated, Hu Zifeng suggested dividing the supplies on the spot, and Xia Qing, having a vacuum sealer, naturally agreed.

This time, Xia Qing played a role as vital as Guan Tong's. Without Xia Qing, who could carry seven hundred jin while traveling at full speed, it would have been impossible for Hu Zifeng's squad to successfully carry a large harvest out of the perilous Evolution Forest.

Thus, Xia Qing's share of the supplies was equal to Guan Tong's.

In addition to the two hundred jin of Yellow-Light shoots she dug herself, Xia Qing also received thirty jin of Green-Light shoots, two Yellow-Light bamboo rats, and three hundred steel balls with a diameter of eight millimeters. The steel balls were part of the supplies Chen Dongyang had traded for the Green-Light shoots, and Xia Qing took them all because the high-powered slingshot was her preferred weapon.

Setting aside Tang Huai, who was secretly eavesdropping from behind a grass wall, let's look at the Dongyang Squad carrying their supplies to Territory No. 7 to deliver the mission.

Chen Dongyang took off his protective mask, his expression sour. "No one in Hu Zifeng's squad uses a slingshot, yet he still agreed to trade steel balls for Green-Light shoots. It shows that Xia Qing carries significant weight with him."

Before Xu Juan could speak, Xue Jinchang beat her to it. "Xia Qing's load-bearing capacity today was the same as the Level 5 strength evolver in Hu Zifeng's squad, and she didn't slow down at all. Her ability has improved. Xia Qing isn't bad-looking; she's just too thin and was poisoned. If she detoxified her skin and ate a bit more, she'd be quite a beauty."

Chen Dongyang didn't respond, but Xu Juan, who had followed him for years, noticed that he had taken Xue Jinchang's words to heart. Xu Juan frowned and warned them not to mess around. "Xia Qing is currently protected by the 'Lord Law.' Unless she wants it herself, no one can touch her."

Chen Dongyang thought Xu Juan was jealous and smiled without saying a word. Xue Jinchang chuckled. "Then wouldn't it be enough to make her want it? Doesn't Sister Juan have a good relationship with Xia Qing? She used to go on missions with you often, right? You should have her number?"

Xu Juan had never given Xue Jinchang a good look. "There's no signal in the territory; you can't use a phone."

Xue Jinchang clicked his tongue. "I forgot about that."

Another teammate teased Xue Jinchang, "Isn't that simple? If Brother Chang gives her a satellite phone, wouldn't they be able to contact each other?"

"One satellite phone is enough for me to sleep with a woman even prettier than her in the Safe Zone for a year." Xue Jinchang stopped mentioning Xia Qing and asked about the exchange. "Brother Yang, is thirty jin of shoots enough to trade for two vials of Yi Liquid?"

"Combined with the exchange supplies we brought out, it's enough for one bottle. I wonder if he wants these six hundred-plus jin of Yellow-Light shoots?"

Zhang San, of course, did not want them. He showed no goodwill toward the Dongyang Squad, who had spent an entire day struggling to produce only thirty jin of Green-Light shoots, and shooed them away like flies. "Go, go, go! Don't you dare accept any missions I post in the future!"

The usually prideful Chen Dongyang bowed and scraped before Zhang San. "Please give us another chance. We won't let you down next time."