Chapter 1505: A Hug

While watching the video just now, Yang Jin noticed Xia Qing's emotional fluctuations three times: the first was when the explosion happened at the entrance of the Agriculture Department, the second was when she showed the wolves photos of the casualties, and the third was when she was ambushed by a gunner and jumped off a building to dodge.

This showed that Xia Qing was also feeling the fear after the fact. Yang Jin really wanted to take her hand again, and even more wanted to hold her. If neither was possible, Yang Jin still wanted to sit quietly with her on the sofa for a while, chat about everyday things or even haggle over prices, ease the unease in her heart, and then get a good night's sleep.

But Yang Jin could also tell that Xia Qing was tired and had no interest in idle chatter, so he got straight to business. "Sister Qing, how did our base confirm Liao Wendong's identity?"

Xia Qing, who had spent half the day in the base commander's office, replied, "Fingerprint and DNA testing. The comparison samples were officially provided by Hui-1. Besides Liao Wendong, two members of the Blaze Squad were captured alive and four were killed. No formal notification was issued because instructions from the higher-ups hadn't come down yet."

According to regulations, core members of squads ranked in the top twenty of each base's squad leaderboard must register detailed personal information at the designated window in the administrative hall.

Since Liao Wendong's comparison samples were officially provided by Hui-1, the deceased can be formally identified as Blaze's vice-captain, Liao Wendong.

Yang Jin took the lint roller Xia Qing was holding, cleaning wolf hair off the sofa and hammock cushions as he analyzed, "Liao Wendong is a shrewd businessman, even more decisive than I expected. After foreseeing that Blaze had fallen into an irreversible decline, he quickly laid out his plans and orchestrated this revenge operation spanning four bases. Judging by the results, most of his objectives have already been achieved."

Seeing that Yang Jin was doing a proper job of it, Xia Qing let him be and picked up a broom to start sweeping the floor herself. "The reason Liao Wendong had an argument with Fire Phoenix at the Blaze base before he disappeared—should be related to this bombing attack, right?"

"It should be related. This attack required mobilizing a large number of people; without Captain Fire Phoenix's approval, Liao Wendong couldn't have called on that many." Yang Jin analyzed the reason for their argument. "After coming out of the underground lab, Fire Phoenix returned to the Blaze Squad for self-preservation plus revenge. Liao Wendong joined Blaze purely for revenge. Over the years, he has led and killed dozens of revenge targets."

"Different goals led these two to make different choices. After Blaze fell into decline, even though Fire Phoenix was unwilling, she chose to draw blood and exchange it for spring water to survive. Liao Wendong chose to go down together in flames. Because he knew that if he didn't act now, he'd have even less chance to act later."

Xia Qing gave an acknowledging sound, agreeing with Yang Jin's assessment.

Yang Jin continued his analysis. "The people still in Blaze can be divided into three categories: the first are those who haven't found a better place to go, making up about 60%; the second are squad members like Liao Wendong, who live only for revenge, making up about 30%, most of whom are core members of Blaze; the third are modified humans who can't survive if they leave Blaze, making up about 10%. Although this last group is the smallest in number, their combat power after taking their drugs is terrifying."

As he spoke, Yang Jin finished cleaning the sofa and hammock, picked up a rag, and started wiping the table. "Liao Wendong's plan will get the support of the second category of Blaze members, and among the third category, the majority are also estimated to support him. After he proposed the mutual-destruction revenge plan, even if Fire Phoenix inwardly disagreed, she could only go along with it."

"Baa!" Seeing Yang Jin approach its tatami, Ram Boss got angry and called for its underlings.

"Alright, I'll tidy the boss's bed." Xia Qing walked over and took the rag from Yang Jin's hand.

"Sorry, boss, I approached your bed without your permission. Also, your thigh muscles are really gorgeous—you can tell at a glance you're the highest combat-power evolved ram on Blue Star."

After stepping aside and sincerely praising Ram Boss, Yang Jin continued his analysis. "In this operation, the first category of Blaze members were definitely kept in the dark, left behind at the Blaze base as a decoy. Fire Phoenix has almost certainly already taken her people and fled the Hui-1 safe zone. She might have gone to meet up with Qu Fangzhou, or she might be hiding in the Evolution Forest. Sister Qing, can the Green Dragon Squad take on the mission to capture the animal territory invaders?"

Xia Qing confirmed with Yang Jin, "If the information comes from wolf pack members, after you catch the people, you can only get twenty percent of the supplies they're carrying."

Yang Jin nodded. "No problem, twenty percent is very reasonable."

Liao Wendong used Qiang-13 gas bombs for this revenge. Anyone even tangentially involved will be arrested—those who are heavily implicated face the death penalty, while lighter offenders are sentenced to forced labor until death.

Those who haven't been caught yet will surely flee, and then be officially wanted with bounties.

The Green Dragon Squad cooperating with the wolf pack to capture wanted criminals only gets twenty percent of the supplies the criminals are carrying, but after bringing these people back to the safe zone, they can also collect bounty money and raise the squad's contribution value.

Additionally, the main dangers humans face moving through the Evolution Forest at temperatures below minus twenty degrees come from attacks by other humans and attacks by fierce beasts in the forest.

The Green Dragon Squad is the number-one squad in Hui-3; no one dares to rob Green Dragon members in Hui-3's Evolution Forest. So the biggest threat to the Green Dragon Squad operating in the Evolution Forest is fierce beasts.

Their cooperation with the Evolution Forest fierce beasts directly cuts the mission risk by more than half. Missions that originally required a ten-person squad can now be handled by a five-person squad. With fewer people, cold-weather supply consumption and labor costs are also halved, and personnel and ammunition losses are close to zero.

So it's very cost-effective for the Green Dragon Squad to take on this mission.

After Yang Jin agreed to the split ratio, Xia Qing began dividing up the mission zones. "Missions in the southern and eastern Evolution Forest will be handled by you. Missions in the western and northern Evolution Forest will be handled by the Territory Alliance. During mission execution, Green Dragon members must strictly keep things confidential and abide by the 'Blue Star Lord Code.' Otherwise, the animal lords can, in accordance with the code's regulations, punish violators and seize their supplies."

"Understood." Yang Jin had read the code and had no objections to Xia Qing's requirements. What he was uneasy about was Xia Qing's safety.

"After this bombing incident, the safe zones of all bases will definitely tighten their inspections. It'll be much harder for Fire Phoenix to cause trouble in the safe zones again. When she reaches the end of her rope, she might come find you and Third Brother, to take you all down with her. Try not to leave the territory during this period. If there's a mission only you can handle, bring Huo Zhun and the others along."

Xia Qing nodded in agreement. "Alright. The southern wolf pack members will come tonight to pick up Fourth and the One-Eared Wolf. Captain Yang, are you going back to Territory One to rest tonight?"

"Good, I happen to have something to deal with over there tonight. Sister Qing, get some rest early. Boss, I'm off." After saying goodbye to Ram Boss, Yang Jin turned and walked toward the door.

Yang Jin didn't have entry clearance for her front door, so Xia Qing followed him over and opened the door for him.

After entering the area out of Ram Boss's sight, Yang Jin turned and looked at Xia Qing with hopeful eyes, asking softly, "Sister Qing, can I have a hug?"

Xia Qing……

Why on earth was her first reaction upon hearing Yang Jin's request to wonder how many points a hug would cost?!