Chapter 1007: Unknown Number

Yang Jin concealed his first meeting with Xia Qing and answered truthfully, "In the seventh month of the sixth year of the Calamity, when you joined Captain Luo's squad for a mission, I discovered you were a dual-system Evolver with Strength and Vision, and wanted to recruit you into the squad to train as a sniper."

Every type of Evolver has certain habitual movements when using their abilities. For example, Vision Evolvers tend to look into the distance for longer periods, and Hearing Evolvers unconsciously adjust their angle to point their ears toward the source of faint sounds.

Xia Qing nodded. Yang Jin, also a Vision Evolver, could catch the changes in her expression and eyes when she used her Vision ability.

A dual-system Evolver with Vision and Strength was prime material for a sniper. After she had gone on several missions with Captain Luo's squad, Wei Chengdong had indeed asked her if she wanted to join the Azure Dragon Squad. She had assumed he was just asking casually, never expecting it was Yang Jin's idea.

"After discovering you had no intention of joining the squad, and instead continued your work with the Construction Team while keeping your distance from everyone, I guessed you had an even bigger secret. Then, I found out you were a triple-system Evolver, and that you had a grudge with Tang Zhengsu."

It was also during this process that Yang Jin's feelings for Xia Qing changed from that initial shock at first sight, to admiration, affection, and devotion, and he began watching over her from afar, silently.

"You have a resilient character, extremely high mental fortitude and ability to handle pressure, and you share a common enemy with Azure Dragon. The most crucial point is that you were willing to take the initiative back then to offer uncontaminated spring water to save Captain Luo, which shows you trust the Azure Dragon Squad and are willing to cooperate with us. So I bet that once you grew stronger, you could become a powerful combat asset for Azure Dragon to take down Sufeng. Facts proved I bet right."

Yang Jin paused, then continued with a smile, "The first time I entered Territory Three to discuss cooperation with you, I wanted to suggest pretending to be your boyfriend. But you were like a porcupine back then, extremely guarded against me, so I changed my mind and had Hu Zifeng pretend to be your boyfriend instead."

After answering Xia Qing's question, Yang Jin brought up the deal again. "Sister Qing, our current strength and status are about equal, our interests align, and this cooperation is mutually beneficial."

After saying this, Yang Jin leaned back in his chair, looking like victory was in the bag.

His clever brain reminded him that he should pick up his teacup and take a few sips to ease his overly tense emotions, but he wasn't that rational.

Based on his understanding of Xia Qing, Yang Jin knew he had a good chance of winning, so rationally he shouldn't be this flustered, but his hands were trembling slightly and sweating. He leaned back in the chair because he was afraid Xia Qing's keen Hearing Evolver ability would pick up his wildly pounding heartbeat.

After receiving Hu Zifeng's call, he had rushed right over. Though he had come in a hurry, he had long prepared thoroughly for this day. The right pocket of his protective suit held a stack of points cards, denominations ranging from tens of thousands to tens of millions, and his backpack was full of Yishi stones—all his personal assets, unrelated to the squad. If a discount couldn't move Xia Qing, he would raise the price, and keep raising it until she was moved.

Yang Jin took a slow, deep breath, reached out to press the ice pack in his left breast pocket, and physically cooled himself down.

It was nighttime now, and the windows on both the north and south sides of the conference room were open, a draft flowing through. The Xia Qing across from him wasn't sweating a single drop; if he were drenched in sweat, he'd be exposed.

Xia Qing lowered her eyes, staring at the honeysuckle in her teacup that had absorbed water and slowly unfurled into a complete flower shape, her mind racing.

Half a minute later, Xia Qing looked up at the confident Yang Jin across from her. "Xie Yu has someone she likes. Don't you?"

Yang Jin pressed the ice pack tighter and answered calmly, "The world is too chaotic right now. I want to settle down first and have enough strength before considering personal matters. Of course, if during our cooperation Sister Qing has someone you like and want to go public with, we can immediately terminate the agreement to pretend to be boyfriend and girlfriend."

On this point, Yang Jin's consideration happened to match her own.

Xia Qing raised her final request. "My area of activity is mainly in Northern Zone One's territory. I'm not responsible for shielding you from the romantic entanglements you have inside the Safe Zone."

Firecrackers went off and fireworks burst in Yang Jin's mind. "On that point Sister Qing can rest assured, there's no one in my life at all. If someone uses romantic entanglements as an excuse to come to the territory to cause you trouble, Sister Qing can just call me directly and I'll handle it. However..."

Hearing the Iron Rooster's tone shift, Xia Qing knew the crucial moment had arrived, and she straightened her back, waiting for him to state his conditions.

"... If I have an emergency mission on my end and Captain Luo can't get away, I hope Sister Qing can lend a hand. Don't quote too high a price. I have to support over six hundred members of the Azure Dragon Squad, I really can't scrape together too many points."

Yang Jin had already sold her weapons and bullets at half price; it really wouldn't be appropriate for her to quote a high price. Xia Qing nodded. "Normal price is fine."

She was now a top-tier sniper; a discount was out of the question.

Yang Jin, whose back was already soaked with sweat, had stars sparkling in his eyes and a face full of smiles. "Alright, during our cooperation, Sister Qing will join Azure Dragon Squad missions at normal price, and I'll sell you weapons and bullets at half price. We'll play the role of a couple well, becoming each other's shield. How should we calculate the points for this part of the mission?"

Worthy of the Iron Rooster, his calculations were really precise. Xia Qing answered calmly, "If the other party doesn't need to appear, no payment is required; if the other party needs to appear, we'll discuss the details when the time comes."

Yang Jin nodded. "Alright, then our cooperation is officially concluded. When Sister Qing contacts me in the future, just use my personal phone number. You know the number."

Xia Qing nearly rolled her eyes. Your personal phone number—how the hell would I know it?

Yang Jin picked up the tea on the table and drained it in one gulp, then refilled Xia Qing's cup as well, his smile radiant. "On the morning of Lunar New Year's Day, the first day of the second month of the tenth year of the Calamity, I used that number to send messages to both your phone numbers, telling you which plots of land outside the Safe Zone had a higher safety rating. Thanks to Sister Qing having her own judgment, you didn't miss out on Territory Three."

Xia Qing's face, which had been expressionless, showed a visibly stunned look. She took out her phone and directly dialed the string of numbers that had long been engraved in her heart.

Seeing Yang Jin hold up his lit screen to show her, Xia Qing finally confirmed that the unfamiliar number that had sent her messages was really Yang Jin's!

In that instant, Xia Qing's feelings were extremely complicated. "Later, when I sent you messages, why didn't you reply?"

Yang Jin gave a genuinely bitter smile. "When I sent you the message revealing the territory information back then, I planned to do you a personal favor, so that once you grew stronger, I could use it to discuss cooperation with you. I didn't expect uncontaminated spring water to be discovered in your territory. I didn't reply to the message because I was afraid you'd think I had ulterior motives and wanted to annex your territory, so I concealed this matter, and later never found the chance to explain it clearly."

Xia Qing pressed further. "How would you know this number of mine that I haven't used for many years?"