Chapter 1454: The Blood of the Fire Phoenix

On Hui Mountain Range 350, ice and snow, the wind howled in fury.

Yang Jin stood with Xia Qing on his back in the wind and snow, waiting for her reply. He had long wanted to say this to Xia Qing, but had never found the right moment.

Eleven years of natural and man-made disasters had seared a deep shadow into everyone's heart, completely altering humanity's patterns of thought and concepts of survival.

After her parents passed away, Xia Qing hid her abilities and survived alone — a rational decision born of having witnessed and experienced countless narrow escapes from death.

Over the years, she had long grown accustomed to this way of surviving. Even knowing the medicinal bath might cause her to lose consciousness, she had never considered relying on others. Instead, she prepared soft wood and a breathing mask in advance, set an alarm, and had a monkey drain the medicinal liquid from the tub and cover her with an insulated blanket.

She had made thorough preparations for the medicinal bath. Even the iron rim around the edge of the tub, which she had gripped until it warped, had just been installed.

Facts proved her plan was a success. She had warped the iron rim of the tub without breaking it, and no medicinal liquid had leaked; her breathing mask had done its job and kept her from drowning; the little monkey who loved eating honey had perfectly carried out her assigned task and covered her with the blanket; after she lost consciousness, the Head Wolf and the Broken-Waist Wolf had suppressed the stubborn-tempered Sheep Boss and the rest of the wolf pack, preventing them from howling in pain and disturbing the surrounding territory, and they hadn't torn down the house either.

But she hadn't expected the Head Wolf to worry upon seeing her unconscious, to run out of the abandoned village, to summon him over, and to lift her out of the tub. "I know that next time you do a medicinal bath, you'll definitely make even more thorough preparations, and you'll warn the wolf pack that even if you pass out in the tub, they're not to come out and find someone to help — you'll wake up on your own after recovering in the tub. But what if some other unexpected situation occurs?"

Recalling Xia Qing unconscious with blood on her lips, Yang Jin's heart ached terribly. He knew Xia Qing's trust in him was not as high as her trust in the wolf pack and that monkey, so he didn't stand guard outside the bathroom — he only stayed within the territory, just in case.

During the years of natural disasters, all manner of calamities could strike at any moment.

"I won't need to do this kind of medicinal bath again in the future." After answering, Xia Qing clearly felt Yang Jin's tense body relax. She patted Yang Jin's shoulder, signaling for him to keep moving.

"... Alright." Every preset response option in Yang Jin's clever brain was scattered by Xia Qing's pat. He gave an acknowledgment and began to run.

Sitting for the first time in the idol-exclusive seat she had commissioned Lord Huo Lei to craft, Xia Qing confirmed it wasn't that Lord Huo Lei's craftsmanship had declined — it was that the idol had wasted away to skin and bones, which was why such an exclusive seat felt uncomfortable.

After confirming the two leopards in the distance had no intention of charging over, Xia Qing explained to Yang Jin the matter of her passing out during the medicinal bath.

"The potion that night was mixed for me by Third Brother. At the time I promised Third Brother I wouldn't tell anyone. You're the first person to discover I do medicinal baths. The previous few times I managed to endure to the end, but this last time the pain was three times that of before, and I couldn't hold out for the last five minutes." After watching the video, Xia Qing still rather admired herself. Although she hadn't beaten the Head Wolf, she was far stronger than the Broken-Waist Wolf and the Handsome Giant Wolf.

The pain from the potion must have been especially intense, which was why Sheep Boss had wailed. The Head Wolf should have been the first to notice Xia Qing had lost consciousness and immediately come out to seek help. When Yang Jin arrived, there were still two minutes left of the hour — meaning Xia Qing had gritted her teeth on the wood and endured for over fifty minutes.

Yang Jin very much wanted to praise Xia Qing a few times, but their relationship hadn't reached that level yet, so Yang Jin skipped that part and continued. "Previously, combat teams contacted Third Brother to inquire about the physical enhancement of those two special forces teams, and Third Brother hung up on all of them. I suspect it's because Third Brother was still under the control of Huiyi Base at the time, so he signed a restrictive agreement with them."

After the Yanlong and Jili special forces teams left Territory Seven, their physical fitness had recovered to peak condition — this couldn't be hidden, and Huiyi Base hadn't intended to conceal it either.

What did this indicate?

It indicated that Zhang San had developed a potion capable of restoring physical fitness, and the formula and patent for this potion were already in the official hands of Huiyi Base. They could use this potion to enhance the military's combat capability.

The manner and attitude with which Huiyi Base treated a national-treasure-level researcher like Zhang San fully exposed the problems of Huiyi Base's management — and even of Hui City Management. Until these problems were thoroughly resolved, the various bases of Hui City could not possibly develop in coordination.

The fact that Zhang San still gave this potion to Xia Qing despite having signed an agreement showed that he already regarded Xia Qing as a trustworthy partner.

Xia Qing corrected him. "What Third Brother gave me wasn't that potion — it was an upgraded version." So her idol hadn't violated the agreement with Huiyi.

The upgraded version was more effective, and the pain was also more intense.

With such a good potion available, Green Dragon Captain Yang Jin couldn't possibly not be tempted. "Sister Qing, I want to find an appropriate opportunity to propose an exchange for this potion with Third Brother. Can you tell me the price range for this potion? This wouldn't violate the trade agreement between you and Third Brother, would it?"

Xia Qing answered truthfully. "It would, so I can't answer. I can only give you one piece of information: this potion is configured based on the individual's muscle and bone damage condition — the more severe the damage, the higher the price."

After Xia Qing said this, Yang Jin grew even more interested. "That's enough, thank you, Sister Qing."

Xia Qing didn't continue this topic and asked, "Aren't you tired? I can run the rest of the way back on my own."

Tired? How could that be!

"Not tired. Hold on tight, Sister Qing — I'm speeding up." Yang Jin raised his speed to that of a Level Seven Evolver, ran back to the parking lot, and steadily set Xia Qing down on the snow. He took off his protective mask and flashed Xia Qing a brilliant smile.

The sweat on his head formed a mist in the cold air, and Xia Qing felt cold just looking at him. After quickly giving him a thumbs-up, Xia Qing opened the car door and told the smug fellow to get inside quickly.

In the Territory Seven monitoring room, Zheng Chen saw this scene through the camera and immediately decided to switch his strategy target — indirectly building goodwill with Xia Qing.

Yang Jin wiped the sweat from his head, took out his water bottle and drank half a bottle, then told Xia Qing an important piece of news. "Fire Phoenix just spoke up in the meeting, directly calling out the General Alliance, telling them to clean the rice crumbs from their mouths before they talk. Those two cowards from the General Alliance didn't dare make a peep."

Xia Qing raised an eyebrow. "Rice crumbs — are you referring to the sixteen tons of Green Lantern grain that was on the helicopter Bai Qi lost on July 5th of this year?"

Yang Jin nodded. "Right. After the wanderers hijacked the plane, several base merchant guilds in Hui City and Red City participated in fencing the goods — now it's a complete mess. A few days ago I received word that someone up top proposed putting this mess on Liehuo's head, which is why Fire Phoenix publicly made her move."

Xia Qing pressed the gas pedal, driving over the ruts to climb a slope, and said, "Fire Phoenix dares to say this — she must have evidence that the General Alliance's people accepted the stolen goods."

Yang Jin guessed one step further. "Most likely those supplies were sent over by Fire Phoenix through a roundabout route. She knows that group too well. She dares to publicly challenge them because the cooperation agreement between Liehuo and Wild Sand has already progressed to the substantive stage."

Xia Qing asked, "How much blood is Fire Phoenix putting up?"

"Both sides are still haggling. I estimate it'll settle at 10 milliliters." Sitting in Sheep Boss's exclusive seat, Yang Jin gazed at the sky tinted faintly red by the setting sun and sighed. "If Fire Phoenix hadn't been blinded back then by power and revenge, she wouldn't have fallen to this point."

Xia Qing only cared about one thing. "Tell the Wild Sand people: once Wild Sand gets Fire Phoenix's blood, don't send it to Third Brother. Third Brother is very busy and has no time to extract recovery factors for them — no amount of credits will make him do it."

Yang Jin nodded. "Understood. Third Brother and the safety of our territory are far more important than credits."