Chapter 1565: A Job That Suits Yan Long

"Hi, Third Brother!"

At 11 a. m. on January 6, the emaciated Dian Yao was wheeled into Territory Seven by Yan Long and Wang Man in a wheelchair. Upon seeing Zhang San, she immediately sat up straight, raised her hand, and saluted.

When Dian Yao was carrying out guard duty in Territory Seven, she respectfully addressed Zhang San as "Lord." Now that she has retired and been taken in by her comrades for treatment, her status entering the Northern Zone One territory is as an employee of Territory Eleven, so following the custom of this territory, she has also changed her form of address for the boss to "Third Brother."

Zhang San swept a glance at Dian Yao and immediately gained a rough understanding of her physical condition. After a lazy nod, he raised his pointed chin and gestured toward Zhang Song beside him. "Have Zhang Song take you for a checkup."

Dian Yao immediately replied, "Understood, thank you, Third Brother. Sorry to trouble you, Song Ge."

"Third Brother, wait a moment. I'll bring you the checkup results shortly." Zhang Song, who had finally landed a chance to show off, immediately stepped forward, pushed Dian Yao's wheelchair, and headed out. Wang Man, afraid he might tip Dian Yao over, grabbed the wheelchair armrest. "The wheelchair's too heavy. I'll push it. Song Ge, are we heading to the examination room?"

It really was quite heavy. Zhang Song let go and led the way in front. "Not the old room. Third Brother purchased the most advanced examination equipment. This way."

After the three of them left, Yan Long closed the door, sat ramrod-straight in Xia Qing's usual seat, and said, "Your complexion looks much better than when we left."

After Zhang San obtained Zhang Ten's blood, he proposed extracting recovery factors to manufacture a special anti-allergy serum, so he would no longer be tormented by the symptoms of Qiang-element allergy. Now he eats well and sleeps soundly. Although he strictly controls his diet and won't let his outward appearance look too different from before, his skin tone has lost the pallor of the living dead and gained a touch of the living. Indeed, much better.

Yan Long wasn't an outsider, so Zhang San offered no explanation and lazily replied, "You don't look bad either."

Yan Long smiled. "After more than a year of recuperating here with good food, good drink, and good medicine, I'd have no conscience if I still looked bad."

You? A conscience? Zhang San shot a look at Yan Long, whose face, neck, and hands bore no marks of injury. "Xia Qing isn't one of your soldiers. Don't go too hard on her."

The body-damage repair serum Xia Qing used last year was an upgraded version of the one Yan Long's squad used, so her skin's impact resistance and repair ability are stronger. In theory, even if she took a few injuries during special training, she'd recover overnight. But ever since Yan Long arrived, Xia Qing's face, hands, and arms have frequently borne overnight injuries.

When she came to pick up medicine this morning, there were actually clear bruises on her neck in the shape of fingers. A strike that hard in that spot doesn't just damage the trachea—it could cause paralysis. Even Zhang San felt a chill of fear looking at it.

Yan Long knew Zhang San and Xia Qing had reached a cooperation and were now allies, but she hadn't expected Zhang San's concern for Xia Qing to have already surpassed reason.

She suppressed her smile and answered seriously, "If I don't strike hard, if I don't let her truly feel the sensation of being on the brink of death, she'll never know what terrifying abilities she can unleash in a desperate situation, nor how to convert that energy into combat power to kill enemies and survive. Do you know why Yang Jin returned to the Safe Zone?"

Zhang San raised his eyelids.

Yan Long answered her own question. "Because he couldn't bring himself to strike Xia Qing hard, he couldn't serve as her special-training instructor. If he stayed here, he'd only interfere with my training of Xia Qing."

Zhang San snorted coldly. "How would he interfere? Beat you up, or charge in and take the hits for Xia Qing himself?"

A corner of Yan Long's mouth quirked up. "If you want to know, you can call him back and verify it."

Zhang San, whose mouth was never one to show mercy, snorted coldly and did not pursue the topic further. "Is Dian Yao staying in Territory Eleven from now on?"

"Yes." Although the boss's being at a loss for words and forcibly changing the subject was rather endearing, Yan Long didn't dare truly provoke him. She went along with his wish to change the subject. "Right. Here with you, she can get the best treatment. Thanks to you and Xia Qing's efforts, Hui Three's Northern Zone One territory has already become the most livable human gathering area on Blue Star. If I can survive long enough to retire, I'll come here to work too."

Zhang San remained languid. "Don't want to be a lord?"

Yan Long shook her head. "Farming is too tedious and wearing. I don't have that kind of patience. When the time comes, I want to form a hunting team and go out hunting to exchange for survival supplies."

Hunting? Zhang San pressed, "What year are you retiring?"

Yan Long actually hadn't considered which year she'd step down, but since the boss wanted to know, she could think it up on the spot. "Around Year Forty of the Catastrophe, probably."

Advanced Evolvers theoretically have lifespans of over 120 years, so the age at which she leaves the combat lineup is no longer determined by physiological factors, but by psychological ones. Thirty years from now Yan Long will be 63. If she's not crippled, her body's various functions will still be at their peak, but after more than forty years of frontline combat, her psychological endurance will likely have reached its limit. It's time to step down.

Zhang San lazily replied, "By then there probably won't be a job called hunting anymore."

Based on the current development trend, thirty years from now the beast lords of the surrounding Evolution Forests of Northern Zone One will surely have all joined Xia Qing's alliance. If Yan Long ran into their territory to hunt, even if the beasts couldn't legally strip her of all her supplies, they'd photograph the evidence and then demand double compensation from Yan Long's employer through Xia Qing.

In other words, Yan Long might get fired on her very first day on the job. Imagining that scene, Zhang San's mood brightened.

Yan Long subtly observed the changes in the boss's expression, leaned forward slightly, and tentatively asked, "Then what job do you think I should do at that time?"

Zhang San lazily replied, "Be a caretaker." Repairing tigers, bears, jackals, and wolves that get sick and won't follow medical advice.

Yan Long……

Are you serious?

"Very good! Bear Bro, your skin disease has fully healed. From now on, pay attention to keeping up bear hygiene. Don't scratch or rub against things randomly, and clean out the bear den often, otherwise you'll get itchy skin and lose fur again."

Xia Qing, who was piloting a helicopter to patrol the Northern Evolution Forest, landed on Mountain 61. After checking on Xiong Wang's recovery, she gave special praise to her temporary worker No. 002. "Daigua, Xiong Wang recovering this fast shows you worked very conscientiously and responsibly. You've now climbed to the top of the pyramid and become a qualified medical monkey. You've written the history of Blue Star's evolved monkeys. All the monkeys on Blue Star are proud of you!"

Daigua, dressed in a dirty thermal protective suit, stared at Xia Qing with a large, expressionless white face.

Xia Qing got down to business. "Daigua successfully completed the task I gave you. The 1,650 credits you owed me are canceled."

Daigua's big white face instantly lit up. She pointed with her frostbitten little black paw at the cave behind her. "Ee! A-ao yeh qie o a…"

Xia Qing placed a white radish on Xiong Wang's big black paw, then casually swatted away the greedy little bear's little black paw and asked, "There are pretty big stones in the den. Did Xiong Wang give them to Daigua?"

"Ee!"

"Are you planning to trade the stones to me?"

"Ee!"

Xia Qing immediately pulled out a white radish, pointed at the greedy little bear, and said, "Daigua wants your greedy friend here to carry the pretty stones out. I'll use this white radish as payment…"

Before Xia Qing could finish speaking, the white radish in her hand had already been snatched away by Xiong Wang's big black paw!