Chapter 1941: We Have No Retreat

After nightfall, Xia Qing and four retired special forces soldiers went into the sea together, divided a large bundle of ore on the seabed about 350 meters from the coastline and about 35 meters deep into sixteen smaller bundles, then used a salvage ship to haul the ore up in batches, first buried it in the sand, and then took the opportunity of transporting shells to fly the ore back to Mountain 49 in batches by helicopter.

This mangrove protective belt was guarded by the Azure Dragon Squad, and this stretch of coast was contracted by the organic fertilizer plant of the Territory Alliance, so only people from the Azure Dragon Squad and the Northern Alliance could come here, and burying the ore under the sand by the shore was very safe.

Why did Xia Qing dare to go into the sea this time? Because this new material ore is very magical — if you carry a small piece on you, sea beasts won't come attack you.

But creatures on land won't be affected by this ore. Xia Qing didn't understand the mechanism of this ore, and could only sigh: Blue Star, in the middle of evolving, has climbed to the top of the cosmic pyramid on its own — it's fucking insane!

After burying the ore, Huo Zhun and Wang Man each carried a small piece of ore, had special-effect medicine provided by Boss Fu in their packs, wore protective gear provided by Boss Wu, and slid silently into the rolling waves of the sea.

Tomorrow night at nine, the second batch of ore will be delivered to the uninhabited island. So Huo Zhun and Wang Man must return to the uninhabited island as soon as possible, find the next giant sea beast that can haul ore, and bring the ore back quickly.

How would they return? Xia Qing didn't ask, because that was the secret of the Flood Dragon Special Forces, though she guessed it should be hailing a sea-ride.

Which kind of sea beast takes this job? Xia Qing guessed it should be orcas or dolphins, because they're fast enough.

After the two comrades left, Di Ming solemnly thanked Xia Qing, "Thanks, Sister Qing. If it weren't for your help, Hammer and Mongoose wouldn't have gotten such good gear and special-effect medicine."

Carrying special-effect medicine and gear during a mission is like having two extra lives — the probability of coming back alive shoots straight up.

Xia Qing gazed at the pitch-black sea and answered calmly, "You're too kind, Brother Ming. This is what I should do."

According to the agreement Xia Qing had previously signed with Yang Jin, she provided equipment and medicine to the mining team, and took a 20% cut from the ore they brought back.

After becoming Boss Wu's exclusive agent, Xia Qing could provide more advanced equipment to the mining and ore-transport teams. Of course, the cost of this equipment was borne by her and Zhang San.

After seeing the miraculous effect of this ore with her own eyes, Xia Qing felt this expense was not a loss at all.

Di Ming smiled, "Doing what you should and doing it wholeheartedly aren't the same thing. Special-effect medicine and fine gear aren't the same as ordinary medicine and ordinary gear. If everyone and every organization we'd worked with were as thoughtful as Sister Qing, we wouldn't have such a high casualty rate."

Xia Qing didn't understand why Di Ming suddenly brought this up, but since he'd opened the topic, she wouldn't respond with silence.

Because over the years, she'd seen one squad after another, one alliance after another, fall out and become enemies over small grudges that piled up over time. Responding passively, thinking everything was understood without words, only makes the situation worse. Many things have to be laid out in the open, and some matters have to be resolved as soon as possible.

So Xia Qing answered truthfully, "Because other people and organizations are strong and have a wide range of choices. I'm not strong enough, and I don't have that many options. The Flood Dragon Special Forces and the Azure Dragon Squad are my best partners right now. If your overall combat power drops, it affects me a lot too. And also…"

Xia Qing paused, then said something her idol would never have said in a lifetime, "You've also given your all working with me. I'm just treating you the way you treat me."

Di Ming turned to look at Xia Qing beside him in some surprise, then smiled knowingly, "What Sister Qing's referring to is May 24th last year, when Yanlong disobeyed her superior's orders and took Huo Zhun to fly a helicopter to Mountain 53 in northern Hui-3 to rescue you?"

Xia Qing nodded, "That was one of them."

In the many subsequent collaborations, whether it was Yanlong herself or the retired special forces soldiers in Territory 11, they all gave their all.

"Yanlong's decision to go save you was choosing Third Brother over the Hui City higher-ups."

Di Ming turned to gaze at the sea that had merged with the night, and told Xia Qing about the Flood Dragon Special Forces' predicament. "Because of some things that happened earlier, the Hui-1 military lost trust in us long ago. They refuse to give us good support or replenish us with quality soldiers — they just want to wear us stubborn hard-heads to death. People die eventually, but we can't die this fast, because behind us are a bunch of comrades who've lost combat ability, family members with no fighting power. If we die, they'll be trampled into the mud, living a life worse than death."

"When we learned Third Brother was going to Hui-3 Base to start fresh, Yanlong paid a considerable price to get assigned the mission of monitoring Third Brother in Territory 7. We stayed in Territory 7 for over a year, and Third Brother healed all our old injuries. So when Third Brother fell out with the Hui City higher-ups and decided to send a helicopter to save you, we had to step up."

"Yanlong only took Huo Zhun because Huo Zhun had already planned to retire in September and stay in the territory to live. Later, Yanlong had me, Mongoose, and Stinky Belly retire and join Territory 11 — also to bind ourselves deeply with Third Brother."

A wave crashed against the salvage ship. Xia Qing stood steady on the deck, watching the glowing little fish in the waves, listening quietly to Di Ming.

Di Ming paused for a few seconds, a smile in his voice, "Later on, your importance in the Northern Zone 1 territory grew day by day. Even Third Brother started following your orders, so you naturally became our important partner. Facts proved our choice was right — after working with you, we got access to better survival resources, earned more points, and secured the best medical treatment for our brothers and sisters who'd lost combat ability and were living in pain."

"Sister Qing says she doesn't have better options — we have even fewer. As long as Sister Qing asks, all 28 active members of the Flood Dragon Special Forces and the 5 retired members in Territory 11 will go all out."

After making the promise, Di Ming laid out their advantage, "Sister Qing wants this batch of ore to build ships, right? If the natural disasters worsen and humanity's living environment deteriorates to the point where we have to leave land and survive at sea, the Flood Dragon Special Forces will become the Territory Alliance's best ally for survival. Of course, you, Third Brother, and Sixth Brother are also our best allies."

Xia Qing responded, "When the time comes, let's form a fleet and take the best sea areas."

"Deal!" Di Ming answered loudly.

After getting the quality ore and reaching a cooperation agreement with Xia Qing, Di Ming felt light all over, smiled and stretched, "Sister Qing, it's about to rain. Shall we head to the operations room?"

Xia Qing shook her head, "I'm heading back to shore. In half an hour I have to carry out tonight's second sniping mission."

?? Thanks to reader hellholly for tipping 100,000 Qidian coins and becoming an Alliance Leader of this book. Here's the extra chapter — happy weekend.