Chapter 1343: No Way

After everyone dispersed, Xin Yu followed Xia Qing back to the courtyard and saw Daigua and Ergua still obediently huddled in their cage. Feeling sorry for the two little ones, she said, "Daigua is fine, but Ergua got quite a scare. It would be better if we kept them in the greenhouse."

If they were kept in the greenhouse, Little Shiyi would no longer have a legitimate reason to come over and reunite with her mother.

Xin Yu is a Class C magnetic-sense evolver who can perceive animals' magnetic field states. When she said Ergua was badly frightened, she meant it truly, so it deserved a reward and some comfort. Xia Qing opened the cage and handed the key to the refrigerator lock to Daigua. "Daigua and Ergua performed excellently just now and deserve a reward. Daigua, go open the lock on the fridge and take two small bags of honey to share with Ergua."

"Oh!"

The silly, dumb Daigua was instantly activated by the treat. Happily clutching the key, he carried Ergua on his back and ran off to get the honey.

The contrast between his before and after was so huge that it kept Xin Yu laughing.

Xia Qing first let Xin Yu into the house, then took compressed rations and dried meat to reward Sheep Boss and Wolf Lao Er, who had worked hard protecting the territory and the wild boars. She also fed the chickens, mealworms, and little yellow cow in the territory, and inspected the beekeeping greenhouse...

By the time she finished her chores and returned home with the eggs, Xin Yu had already roasted a plate of chestnuts over the fireplace. The two melon-monkeys were squatting in the tree nest in the corner of the living room, licking honey with great relish.

Xia Qing took off her protective suit, washed her hands, sat down at the small table on the grass mat in front of the fireplace, took the chestnut Xin Yu had peeled for her, popped it into her mouth, and asked, "Shall we have stir-fried pork with chili for lunch today?"

"Sure." Xin Yu, who loved spicy food, peeled chestnuts as she told Xia Qing about the people who had entered Territory No. 3 today.

"When Wen Nengjie from Territory No. 17 saw your newly built laboratory, he showed obvious negative emotions that quickly vanished. Later, when you mentioned Sheep Boss and the little yellow cow, and when I mentioned your front door is worth five thousand points, his magnetic field fluctuated noticeably again. Combined with his facial expression, I judged it as jealousy. The degree isn't severe and shouldn't trigger destructive behavior."

Xia Qing nodded. She had also been observing Wen Nengjie this morning and had reached the same conclusion as Xin Yu.

"When Wu Lianmin first arrived, he must have caught Wolf Lao Er's scent. His magnetic field fluctuated violently, which I identified as excitement. He only calmed down after Wang Man warned him with a look."

After talking about Wu Lianmin, Xin Yu paused for two seconds before bringing up the last person with abnormal magnetic field fluctuations. "Ye Yang's niece Ye Shiyi has very strong goodwill toward you—possibly because you rescued her from Lan-5? But she doesn't show obvious goodwill toward Huo Zhun, Shi Du, and Tang Huai, who also took part in that rescue mission."

Xin Yu didn't know Little Shiyi's true identity, nor did she know that Zhang Shi was moving into Territory No. 3, which was why she felt puzzled by Little Shiyi's magnetic field fluctuations.

Xia Qing couldn't tell Xin Yu the true identity of Zhang Shi and her daughter, but she also didn't want to lie to her good friend.

Handing over the peeled roasted chestnuts, Xia Qing explained, "There are other reasons for her high goodwill toward me. I'll tell you about it later."

Everyone has their own secrets, or the duty to keep secrets for others. Xin Yu certainly wouldn't press her friend on things she didn't want to say. After agreeing, she chatted with Xia Qing about the invaders from Northern District Three. "Those three invaders had a very clear target—they broke straight into Territory No. 178, which was storing nearly three thousand jin of rice. Although the lord of Territory No. 178 is an ordinary person, he has a gun, and the hired workers in his territory are very alert. They immediately raised the alarm when they spotted the invaders, which is why those people didn't succeed."

These were famine years with food shortages. Without sufficient strength, storing grain within one's territory was extremely dangerous. After the harvests in Northern District One, every territory either sold the grain immediately or stored it in the food warehouse of Territory No. 1. No one dared to stockpile grain in their own territory.

Xia Qing asked, "Does Territory No. 178 have the conditions for storing grain?"

To store grain long-term, one needed a food warehouse that could isolate the Qiang element.

"They probably thought the official grain purchase price was too low and wanted to find another way to sell their grain."

Then Xin Yu raised the suspicious point of the matter. "The patrol team from Northern District Three isn't very strong, and chasing three evolved invaders into the Evolution Forest carries a high risk. Logically, once they spotted the invaders fleeing, they should have requested reinforcements from Northern District One, but they didn't. Even after two hours of pursuit without finding the invaders, they still didn't send a request for aid. Since Territory No. 178 didn't suffer actual losses this time, I suspect this invasion incident will be quietly dropped."

Xia Qing understood what her friend meant. "You suspect the patrol team from Northern District Three is in on it themselves?"

Xin Yu nodded. "That possibility can't be ruled out."

The two sat quietly for a while. Then Xia Qing brought up Zhang Shi's move into her territory. "Sange Sect is sending someone to stay in my territory temporarily, to be in charge of Lao Si's tooth regeneration treatment. Once I finish building the basement, she'll move in."

Xin Yu was Xia Qing's good friend and often came to Territory No. 3. Even if Zhang Shi and Ye Yiyi hid underground, she could detect them with her magnetic sense, so Xia Qing told her about it first.

Xin Yu smiled. "I thought Sange would let you handle this. The person moving in is Zhang Song?"

Xia Qing nodded. "Not him. It's Zhang Shi, who used to live in the valley. Just keep this to yourself. Another reason she's moving in with me is for the child—Yiyi needs a quiet environment to treat her psychological condition."

Zhang Shi from the valley and her child?

Xin Yu leaned close to Xia Qing and whispered, "I suspected before that Zhang Shi was Shi Jiaran, because her age fits, and she has a child with her. You know, right? When Shi Jiaran escaped from Hui-1, she was already several months pregnant."

Xia Qing... Is everyone this perceptive?

Sensing the change in her friend's magnetic field, Xin Yu's eyes instantly went wide. "No way... it's really her?!"

She had already guessed. How could Xia Qing keep hiding it? She simply nodded.

"I can't believe it..."

Xin Yu leaned back against the pretty cotton cushion she had made and murmured to herself, "I can't believe she really followed Sange, and followed him all the way here... She really has guts... Sange is truly amazing... The fact that she's willing to move into your territory shows she trusts you a great deal... Looks like the recovery factor isn't all-powerful either—at least it can't cure psychological illness..."

If she kept chatting with her Class C magnetic-sense evolver friend, not only Zhang Shi would be exposed—Little Shiyi would be exposed too.

Xia Qing changed the subject. "Once they move into my territory, when I'm out on missions, I'll still need you to help me cover things up."

"Understood." Xin Yu reminded Xia Qing, "The fewer people who know about this, the better. The fewer people who come to your place from now on, the better—especially olfactory evolvers and brain-domain evolvers who are good at observation. What about Chang Li?"

Chang Li didn't know about the hidden valley, nor did she know about the female researcher with a child inside. If she came to Xia Qing's home, she might detect something unusual with her sense of smell.

Xia Qing replied, "She's about to go out on a mission soon, so she won't have much time in the territory after that."

One potential danger eliminated, Xin Yu asked, "What about Yang Jin? Are you going to keep it from him? Luo Pei has also been to the hidden valley, so he probably guessed too. Luo Pei may have already told Yang Jin and Xie Yu!"

Seeing her friend getting tense again, Xia Qing couldn't help but laugh. When Xin Yu had revealed her ability to Xia Qing, and when she had proposed an alliance, she hadn't shown such strong emotional swings.

Xin Yu complained, "The abnormal one isn't me—it's you. That's the recovery-factor evolver who's been searched for by countless people for six years!"