Chapter 1092: I'm a Sniper—I Don't Like Beating Around the Bush

Early the next morning, Xia Qing and Yan Yue, carrying everyone's expectations, boarded Xia Qing's helicopter along with Yang Jin and Tan Junjie and flew to Hui-3 Safe Zone to attend the conference hosted by the Hui-3 Agricultural Department, whose full name was "Agricultural Department's Third Calamity Rain Disaster Response Work Summary and Post-Disaster Reconstruction Deployment Meeting."

The main attendees were the heads of the Safe Zone's Planting Department, Breeding Department, and Research Department, as well as the inspection team leaders from the five territories outside the Safe Zone. Tan Junjie, who was in charge of dangerous-inspection work in North Area One, also had to attend.

When passing over North Area Three, they picked up Luan Jun, the captain of the Area Three Territory Dangerous Inspection Squad. The hitch-a-ride price was 60 points.

Don't be fooled by how, during the Calamity Rain, Luan Jun dared to shout at the Ninth Center's staff over the walkie-talkie, threatening to force them to send magnetic-sense evolvers to patrol. Standing in front of Xia Qing, he was very well-behaved.

In the age of natural disasters, strength comes first.

Already feeling guilty, Luan Jun faced Xia Qing's expressionless face and felt enormous pressure. Spotting Green Dragon Captain Yang Jin sitting beside her, Luan Jun quietly let out a sigh of relief. After greeting the two of them, he immediately scooted over to sit next to Tan Junjie and quietly chatted with him about the losses in their respective territories during the Third Calamity Rain.

Xia Qing, head lowered over her notes, heard that North Area Three had been attacked by poisonous insects and several dozen mid-risk aggressive plants, resulting in 34 deaths including two lords, and one territory becoming a lordless territory.

Luan Jun sighed. "The territory that's opened up probably won't recruit a suitable lord anytime soon. Your side is still better."

Tan Junjie's North Area One territory had walls and the highest safety rating, making it the best-developed of Hui-3's five territories. He smiled and said nothing.

Luan Jun lowered his voice again and asked, "Has Lord Fourteen woken up?"

Tan Junjie replied, "He's in the Safe Zone outer-city hospital now. I don't know the specifics either."

Luan Jun said, half-joking and half-serious, "I'm not planning to stay in the inspection squad anymore. I'm retiring to become a lord at your place, brother—you've got to help me out."

Tan Junjie laughed. "That's not something our inspection squad can decide."

Listening to the two of them murmuring, Yang Jin turned to look at Xia Qing beside him, who was seriously going over the notes and PPT with Yan Yue.

The soon-to-be-lordless Territory Fourteen was a piece of fat everyone wanted a bite of. But they could only watch enviously. Zhang San had laid the groundwork early, and Xia Qing was fully prepared—the chances of this territory falling to someone else were very slim.

Sensing Yang Jin's gaze, Xia Qing turned and met his dark eyes with a hint of light in them—they actually looked a bit like Wolf Lao Er's…

Seeing he didn't seem to have anything serious, Xia Qing lowered her head and continued going over the notes with Yan Yue.

Having just been warned by Xia Qing not to overact, Yang Jin smiled silently, closed his eyes, and trained his hearing ability.

Luan Jun, who had been watching Xia Qing the whole time, saw her exchanging glances with Yang Jin. He nudged Tan Junjie beside him with his shoulder and tilted his chin.

Tan Junjie pretended not to understand what he meant and said nothing.

When the helicopter landed at the Safe Zone outer city, there was still an hour before the meeting started. After Luan Jun dragged Tan Junjie away from the Green Dragon squad's base, he immediately pressed, "Old Tan, are Xia Qing and Yang Jin together?"

Yang Jin had made a high-profile appearance on the lord channel and today was again conspicuously flying Xia Qing back in a helicopter—he clearly had no intention of hiding it. Tan Junjie nodded.

"Isn't Xia Qing with the Green Dragon squad's Hu Zifeng? When did they break up? How did she end up with Yang Jin?"

"Not sure."

Luan Jun thought it over for a moment, then suddenly raised his voice. "I get it now! Xia Qing has been with Yang Jin all along. Hu Zifeng was someone Yang Jin sent to protect Xia Qing. Now that Xia Qing's strength has improved, the two of them don't need to keep it under wraps anymore, right?!"

Tan Junjie figured that was the case too, because back when Xia Qing first entered Territory Three, Yang Jin had already spoken to him and asked him to look after Xia Qing. However, he wasn't about to admit it and instead reminded Luan Jun, "That's against the rules."

According to regulations, the inspection squad couldn't publicly expose a lord's private information, and this was a public street. Xia Qing and Yang Jin were both hot figures in Hui-3 right now, and Luan Jun's outburst just now had already drawn a lot of attention.

Half an hour later, Xia Qing and Yan Yue rode in a Green Dragon squad vehicle to the meeting venue in the inner city. When Yang Jin saw Xia Qing off, he asked quietly, "Have lunch together?"

He had helped her hold things down back in the territory, and now that they were in the Safe Zone, it was only right to go have a meal with him and make a public appearance. Xia Qing nodded.

Yang Jin smiled. "I'll pick the place. I'll come get you and Sister Yue when it's time."

"Okay." Xia Qing closed the car door.

Yan Yue glanced at Yang Jin, who was grinning like a peacock fanning its tail, and said nothing. The driver Feng Jun and the front passenger Wang Liang saw the captain looking like this and exchanged a look.

Who would've thought the boss, when dating, could smile this dreamily—it's really making my hands itch…

Arriving outside the Agricultural Department, Xia Qing and Yan Yue pulled their respective ID badges from their pockets and pinned them to their left chests.

Wang Liang, wearing a green badge, got out and opened the rear door. Xia Qing, with her gold ID badge, extended her long legs and stepped steadily onto the ground, instinctively scanning her surroundings.

The people on the road who had been watching curiously all instinctively lowered their heads when Xia Qing looked their way. The pressure a high-level evolver exudes is no joke.

Once Yan Yue walked over to her side, Xia Qing led her to the main door, took out her ID card and work badge, and asked the guard to verify them before passing through the security gate.

Since the Ninth Center was established, Xia Qing and Yan Yue had come to the Agricultural Department plenty of times for meetings and business. The guard naturally recognized them, quickly registered them, and opened the door to let them through.

When Yan Yue came to the Agricultural Department alone, people would instinctively notice her prosthetic limb and whisper among themselves about what department she belonged to.

Today, walking beside Xia Qing, who was half a head taller than her, the treatment was completely different. Everyone who saw Xia Qing either politely called out "Director Xia" or gave her a long, respectful look, and their gazes were full of deference.

Yan Yue knew this deference came, first, from Xia Qing being a top-tier sniper, and second, from her outstanding performance during the Third Calamity Rain, for which she had been named and commended by the Base Commander—making her the most prominent mid-level leader across all of Hui-3's departments.

Xia Qing didn't put on airs either. She greeted those she knew and nodded to those she didn't, leading Yan Yue into the conference room.

Today was an internal round-table meeting at the Agricultural Department, and her nameplate had been placed directly opposite the Base Commander and the Department Director. Under the gaze of the more than twenty people already in the room, Xia Qing's expression remained calm as she sat down steadily.

As Xia Qing's assistant, Yan Yue placed her briefcase on the seat behind Xia Qing, then took the USB drive to find the meeting staff, transfer the prepared PPT onto the conference room computer, and check whether the PPT could play properly.

Among those already present, the sharp-eyed ones noticed that the Ninth Center's PPT had more images than text, which piqued their interest.

Zhao Baolin, head of the Planting Management Department, entered the conference room and noticed Xia Qing was already there. After sitting down in the seat next to her, he lowered his voice and asked, "Xia, I heard Lord Fourteen lost control and ended up in the hospital because of you?"

Zhao Baolin pretended to speak very quietly, but the conference room was so quiet, and after the Great Evolution even ordinary humans' hearing was sharper than before—everyone heard him clearly. They all stopped what they were doing and looked at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing had come today to compete for Territory Fourteen. Whatever Zhao Baolin's purpose was in targeting her the moment he walked in, she couldn't back down.

She let her full aura loose, stared expressionlessly at the balding, paunchy man in front of her, and asked calmly, "Minister Zhao, if you have something to say, just say it. I'm a sniper—I prefer being direct and straight to the point. I hate beating around the bush."

Zhao Baolin hadn't expected Xia Qing to show him so little respect. He didn't dare meet her eyes, immediately stood up, and clapped vigorously.

Seeing Agricultural Department Director Yang Benming appear at the conference room door, turning sideways and raising his hand to invite the Base Commander in, Xia Qing also stood up and joined the applause.

The others, who had just been intimidated by Xia Qing's aura, also breathed a sigh of relief and clapped vigorously.