Chapter 1500: Dispatch Special Ops Squad to Protect Xia Qing

Hearing that the recovery-type evolver Little Eleven was bleeding, Xia Qing immediately judged this to be a false impression, so her mood and magnetic field remained very calm.

If Little Eleven really had been bleeding, Ye Yang wouldn't have been so calm when Xia Qing went to the administrative hall, and Little Eleven wouldn't have failed to send her a distress signal. So there was only one possibility: this "accidental bleeding" had definitely been staged in advance, and what Eleven "bled" wasn't her own blood, but Ye Yiyi's.

At the same time, Xia Qing also realized that her and He Hui's conversation about this matter in the car was a crucial part of whether Little Eleven's disguise could be kept airtight.

Her facial expression and magnetic field wouldn't reveal any information. He Hui looked very calm, but Xia Qing could tell she was a bit nervous.

In August this year, before Little Eleven took the enrollment physical, Xia Qing found He Hui and, on the grounds that Eleven's body needed three months of medication to be regulated, had her substitute Eleven's blood sample. That's why He Hui got nervous when she heard Eleven was bleeding. With the explosion incident and the security zone on lockdown, it was normal for He Hui to show tension when someone mentioned injuries, and it wouldn't arouse suspicion.

Xia Qing wasn't worried that He Hui would slip up and reveal that she had asked her to swap the blood sample. If He Hui didn't have at least this much mental fortitude and ability, she couldn't have survived to the eleventh year of the Calamity, and Xia Qing wouldn't have chosen her as a key cultivated employee of the Ninth Center to bring out and see the world.

A child getting frightened and having a nosebleed wasn't a big deal. Xia Qing didn't pay it any more attention and continued asking about the other allies. "How did Uncle Huo and Wen Nengjie get injured?"

Seeing Xia Qing's expression was so calm, He Hui knew Ye Eleven's bleeding wouldn't trigger danger, and she calmly continued her report. "Uncle Huo didn't mention it. Wen Nengjie said someone took advantage of the chaos to rob him, but didn't say who. Neither of them sent you an assistance request."

Lord Twenty-Three Xu Cunchao had applied for official base protection, so his disappearance would naturally be handled by officials sending people to search. Xia Qing nodded and began assigning work. "Has the material allocation request we submitted been approved?"

He Hui immediately checked the office system and replied, "Not yet."

Xia Qing ordered, "Call to urge them. We'll take this batch of materials back with us on the return trip this afternoon, so they won't need to deliver it."

"Yes." He Hui immediately contacted the Agricultural Department staff. Now that the Agricultural Department's disaster-mitigation procedures were in the wrap-up phase, staff from various departments had already returned to their posts and resumed normal work.

Xia Qing assigned work tasks one by one, and He Hui quickly recorded them. The special-ops team members in the armored vehicle stayed silent. After she finished, several of them envied He Hui for working under her.

Because Xia Qing's current presence was very similar to that big shot from Territory Seven who served as commander during the last cross-base disaster mitigation: not a word of nonsense, all clear and definite work directives. Following a leader like this, you just had to seriously do what she asked.

The armored vehicle drove directly to the comprehensive office building. Xia Qing, carrying her sniper rifle, entered the building under the protection of the special-ops team members and went into the conference room.

The large screen in the conference room showed live footage of disaster mitigation in various parts of the security zone. A circle of staff sat around the conference table, the clatter of keyboards, the sounds of receiving information and issuing commands rising one after another. The atmosphere was solemn, tense, yet orderly.

After seeing Xia Qing come in, the sounds in the conference room paused for a moment, then resumed.

Qi Zhongye, who was facing the large screen, turned his head and said in a gentle voice, "Xia's here. Come sit down."

"Okay." Xia Qing gestured for He Hui to find an empty seat and start working, then carried her sniper rifle over to Qi Zhongye's side and stood still.

"Sit down."

"Okay."

Xia Qing sat down and looked at the large screen. A group of people in the Agricultural Department were disinfecting, smoke was still rising from the research institute, and the chaos in the outer city had been brought under control. They were clearing corpses from the streets and treating the wounded.

Seeing Xia Qing staring at that small section of the screen showing the West Outer City, Qi Zhongye asked, "See someone you know?"

Xia Qing didn't know what kind of evolver the Base Commander was, but his eyesight was certainly not poor. "In the top-left corner of the West Outer City surveillance footage, the person pushing corpses with a wheelbarrow is Lord Seventeen Wen Nengjie. He came over from the territory with me this morning."

Qi Zhongye nodded gently, and the assistant standing behind him immediately reported, "Wen Nengjie, ordinary person, male, 45 years old, former head of the West Outer City corpse-collection team. In May of the tenth year of the Calamity, he applied for and became Lord of Territory Seventeen. In late October this year, he joined the Northern Zone One Territory Alliance as a second-level member. His territory has a total of 24 employees, mostly former corpse-collection team members. As of October this year, Territory Seventeen has reclaimed 55 mu of cultivated land. The current head of the West Outer City corpse-collection team was originally Wen Nengjie's assistant. It should be that the sudden riot left the corpse-collection team short-handed, so Wen Nengjie is helping out."

Xia Qing... no need to ask. This assistant standing behind the Base Commander was definitely a brain-domain evolver, but his information still wasn't comprehensive enough. "Wen Nengjie had his evolution ability tested a while back. His strength evolution is already close to level two. He's helping collect corpses to let people see his ability growth."

Qi Zhongye nodded. "This is a beneficiary of the territory policy. If we had more people like him with courage and ability, the implementation of our territory policy would go much more smoothly."

The biggest beneficiary of the policy—Lord Three Xia Qing—nodded and didn't offer her own opinion.

Qi Zhongye asked gently, "Is there anything else you'd like to see?"

There really was. Xia Qing asked, "Can I see the photos of Liao Wen's corpse?"

Qi Zhongye nodded, and the assistant immediately pulled up the photos of Liao Wen's corpse and projected them onto the large screen, beginning his briefing. "Director Xia, this is the man who called you claiming to be Liao Wen. Beside it is the simulated human-skin mask he wore. The man impersonated a sanitation worker and, taking advantage of the chaos created by the explosion, entered the research institute to deploy a poison gas bomb, causing three deaths, twenty-five injuries, and poisoning. While injured and hiding in a storage room, he made the call to you. Twenty seconds after you hung up, he detonated the bomb on his body."

So that was why the protective suit on the corpse on the large screen was severely damaged and covered in blood. Compared to the gruesome state of the body, what drew even more attention was the ferocious smile on his face.

Xia Qing asked, "His identity hasn't been confirmed yet?"

The assistant replied, "DNA comparison is underway."

After bringing Xia Qing into the office, Qi Zhongye asked, "Has Xia had any dealings with Liao Wen before?"

Xia Qing shook her head. "No. Today was the first time I spoke with him. He warned me not to take out the potion to save Director Pan, or I would be hunted down by Blaze."

"You've already been listed as their retaliation target. The main purpose of Liao Wen calling you was to lure you to the research institute, to create an opportunity for the gunner hidden in Building C-9 to make a move. After the disaster mitigation is over, I'll send two helicopters to take you back to your territory. Before Deng Yufeng and Qu Fangzhou are captured, try not to leave your territory..."

Xia Qing was the successor Qi Zhongye had his eye on, the hope for Hui San Base's growth and strength. In Qi Zhongye's view, her safety was as important as Professor Fu Tianfeng's. After a few words of advice, Qi Zhongye still wasn't at ease. "I'll assign Zhu Zhenming's squad to you, to protect you for a while?"