Chapter 1369: Taking Couple Photos

Eight hours before the heavy snow of Disaster Year Eleven, dark clouds hung over every corner of Blue Star, and biting winds howled across the northern Sector One territory.

In Territory Three, a sheep and a cow wearing Use Yishi beads around their necks lay in a shed sheltered from wind and insects, leisurely chewing their cud; in the small building's living room, two white-faced, monk-faced little monkeys sat by the warm fireplace, eating cabbage leaves while watching a video; in the basement, Zhang Shi was gently touching the unfamiliar face in the mirror before him, while little Ye Yiyi, her whole face still wrapped in gauze, was slowly feeling with her small hands the wool-felt little sheep she had just received.

Another fierce gust of cold wind swept across this quiet territory. The wolf-dog wearing Use Yishi beads raised its wolf eyes glowing green, stared for a while at the warm yellow light shining through the window of the small house ahead, then continued patrolling the territory.

Seeing its figure appear on a display screen on the small house's interior wall, Xia Qing stood up, pushed open the window, and called out, "Lao Er."

The wolf-dog immediately darted to the window where warm air was billowing out, glared fiercely at Yang Jin inside, then fixed its clear rust-colored eyes attentively on Xia Qing.

Xia Qing handed it a few slices of raw beef. "This is Green Lantern meat. Lao Er, try it—it's delicious."

Lao Er swallowed the meat and grinned happily at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing also smiled brightly. "This is Green Lantern meat Yang Jin just helped us trade for. It'll last us a long time. When Lao Er is tired, come home and rest—you don't need to patrol the territory. I'm here watching the monitors."

Lao Er ate the meat but did not go home, continuing to patrol the territory.

Xia Qing didn't know whether it hadn't understood or was worried about the territory's safety, but if Lao Er wanted to patrol, then patrol it would. Xia Qing didn't stop it. She closed the window, sat back at the table, and continued eating hotpot.

In the small iron pot over the charcoal stove, red broth bubbled and rolled, the aroma of chili and Sichuan peppercorns wrapped in steam rising in a hazy swirl. Xia Qing saw Yang Jin across from her, his whole face flushed red from the spice, still eating meat with loud hissing breaths—he looked just like a greedy cat.

She poured Yang Jin a cup of honey water to cut the spice, then began introducing her idol's plan. "Third Brother wants to use his research project and the hot springs on Mountain Fifty to divert outsiders' attention from Territory Three."

Yang Jin downed the honey water in one gulp. "What should I do?"

Talking to a smart person really saved effort. Xia Qing answered, "Third Brother hopes that after a month of setup, the people paying attention to Territory Three will realize that the high-quality crops I'm cultivating here are a smokescreen he released to cover up his experimental project and the spring water in the valley. First of all, the researchers from Territory Seven stealing the high-quality crops I cultivated made me furious."

"The crops I cultivate here aren't precious to Third Brother, but they're very important to me, someone who loves farming. So I was extremely angry, and I also became a bit displeased with Third Brother."

Xia Qing paused, then offered an explanation. "Third Brother says my combat strength and position have risen, so I'm getting more attention. Add to that having a boyfriend like you, theoretically I should be getting a big head, so I'd be displeased because of this incident."

"That's why I got food and seeds from Red Eleven to coax you." Yang Jin could tell Xia Qing had no displeasure whatsoever toward Zhang San, because Zhang San valued Xia Qing greatly and basically gave her everything she asked for.

In Disaster Year Eleven, this eccentric big shot had never been this nice to anyone. Outsiders found it unreasonable, so they guessed Xia Qing had precious supplies Zhang San needed, and Xia Qing thereby received even more attention.

Now Zhang San wanted to add a logical premise: to cover his experimental project and reduce outsiders' attention on Territory Seven, he deliberately treated Xia Qing well, letting her draw the fire.

This logic also held up.

Xia Qing continued, "Because I've gotten a bit stronger now, and Third Brother finds me useful to have around, he doesn't want to sour our cooperative relationship, so he confided his important research project to me to cement the partnership, but in the process he accidentally leaked information. You mediate between us, hoping to stabilize our cooperative relationship with Third Brother. This process is relatively long—it'll take a month and a half."

After speaking, Xia Qing fished out a fragrant chicken wing and started gnawing on it.

"No problem. A month and a half of setup is very reasonable. By then the spring here will be in its dry period, so no matter who comes to investigate, we won't be afraid."

Brain-domain evolver Yang Jin understood what Xia Qing wanted him to do to cooperate with this plan, and put forward one request. "Sister Qing, let me take a few photos of us eating hotpot. Then I'll post them to my Moments, to prove that you're not refusing people from entering the territory, but refusing untrustworthy people from entering the territory. At the same time, it's also a subtle way of expressing displeasure toward Third Brother."

After speaking, Yang Jin added the benefit of having couple photos. "There are a few photos of us together on my phone—only then does it look like a real couple. In the future, when opportunities to fleece wool like this come up again, with my phone's wallpaper being a photo of us together, I can fleece back twenty percent more!"

Xia Qing, who was gnawing a chicken wing, looked up. Your cooperation speed is way too fast, isn't it?

The request for cooperation was something she herself had proposed, and now that the other party was actively cooperating, she couldn't very well object. Xia Qing nodded and put forward one requirement. "Don't shoot our full faces—it's not safe."

"Understood! When the reporters from Hui City TV Station came to take photos today, Sister Qing made the same request, right?"

Yang Jin smiled and raised his phone, photographing the red-hot hotpot, the fresh ingredients, the beef rolls, the window covered in condensation.

After shooting the scenes, Yang Jin began taking close-ups: an overhead shot of him using a strainer to scoop up the cooked food, with Xia Qing holding a small dish to receive it—their hands overlapping; the two of them holding honey water, clinking glasses.

Then Yang Jin very naturally walked around the table, sat beside Xia Qing, and took a few photos of the two of them shoulder to shoulder. Finally, he found an angle where the hotpot's steam blurred their faces, and took photos of their profiles as they leaned close together...

After finishing the photos, Yang Jin picked a few and sent them to Xia Qing.

Xia Qing opened them to look, and didn't expect this guy's photography skills to be quite excellent. Even the few strands of Xia Qing's hair that had been pressed askew by her protective mask carried a warm, soft atmosphere.

Yang Jin put away his phone and began introducing his plan. "Recently I'll also gradually leak word to the outside that there's an unpolluted spring on the Sea of Death side, so people will think the unpolluted water Brother Luo used to detox last year was sourced from there."

Xia Qing, who was gnawing a chicken wing, looked up, silently asking why they needed to publicly reveal the spring there.

The main reason for exposing Lan Wu's spring definitely wasn't to protect the spring inside Territory Three, because miserly Yang Jin wouldn't make such a losing deal.

Yang Jin, who was eating spicy food in a disheveled yet thoroughly satisfied manner, wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and drank another cup of honey water before answering Xia Qing's question. "I've already reached a cooperation agreement with Lan Wu's Quicksand Battle Squad to share the usage rights of the Evolution Forest in the area where the spring is located, build standardized greenhouses, and raise livestock on a large scale. The daughter of Quicksand Captain Wu Cangsong needs recovery factors to stay alive—he wants to use the spring to lure the Fire Phoenix over."