Chapter 398: Do You Know Yishi?

"No need, I sprayed insect repellent, traded with Third Brother for it." Tang Huai had zero intention of putting on a protective suit, looking left and right. "Where's the sheep? Where's the wolf?"

Xia Qing, carrying the green-light yellow mealworms, led this idiot into her territory, warning him in advance, "Don't keep getting startled, or the ram will butt you and the wolf will bite you. If you get hurt, you deal with the consequences yourself."

"Got it, got it." After entering Territory Three, Tang Huai stuffed his protective suit onto the door railing and followed Xia Qing, to put her at ease.

Now that was sincerity, full measure.

No one would pass by here, and clothes wouldn't get lost either. If he wanted to stuff it there, let him.

Before bringing Tang Huai close to the thicket, Xia Qing first alerted her two companions, "Boss, Wolf Lao Er, a human has entered our territory. He's not very aggressive, no weapons, don't worry."

After rounding the thicket, before Xia Qing could say anything, Tang Huai had already, in a textbook Big Bad Wolf's-grandma tone, warmly and proactively greeted the two evolved animals he had long yearned for, "Hello there, I'm Tang Huai, from the territory ahead of yours. Boss, Wolf Lao Er, first meeting, pleasure to meet you, pleasure."

Tang Huai like this... was really asking for a beating.

Ram Boss didn't even acknowledge the bearded-blade squad that frequently came and went in Territory Three, let alone a stranger entering the territory for the first time and trying to approach him. He narrowed his eyes and began pawing the ground.

Sick Wolf, even more than that, remained on high alert against all humans except Xia Qing. Its sharp wolf claws dug into the ground, its eyes wild, the angry wrinkles on its nose appearing as it bared its sharp fangs and growled low. If Xia Qing hadn't been here, it would have already attacked this human who dared approach it.

Tang Huai wasn't scared at all; his voice trembled with excitement, "Wild! Truly wild! Worthy of an evolved beast raised in the Evolution Forest!"

Xia Qing...

"This ram really does look like a bad temper, way more solidly built than the small-tailed sheep at the safe-zone breeding center, and its coat color is brighter too. You raised it well!"

"Are you sure this is a wolf, not a wolf-dog crossbred from a shepherd dog and a wolf? Look at its build, coat color, and movements—it's obviously a wolf-dog."

"Moo!" Ram Boss let out an angry bellow.

"Woo—" Sick Wolf also let out a thoroughly intimidating low growl.

Xia Qing told Tang Huai to step back, "Are you done? If you stay here any longer, I really can't guarantee your safety."

Tang Huai nodded reluctantly, "I've seen enough, let's change locations."

Xia Qing, who had originally planned to go back for an afternoon nap, was silent for two seconds, then, considering the tray of green-light worms, led this extremely generous trading partner to the meeting room by the farmland to talk.

This guy wasn't wearing a protective suit; even though he'd sprayed the stuff, Xia Qing didn't dare let him stand in the buffer forest for long.

Both Ram Boss and Sick Wolf were very unhappy with Xia Qing's decision, but for the sake of the rations and jerky she stuffed into them, they held their peace.

After entering the meeting room, Tang Huai first muttered about the rustic furniture inside, then sat down at the table and told Xia Qing, "You want to raise worms? A Harmless-Element Breeding Room costs a fortune to build. Without a breeding room, even if you keep these worms alive until they lay eggs, the next generation's quality will drop."

Xia Qing asked, "How do you build a breeding room?"

"You need the post-catastrophe newly designed ventilation and air filtration system. A thirty-square-meter breeding room costs hundreds of thousands of credits, and you have to regularly replace expensive parts during use. If you're not breeding worms to sell, just eating them yourself and feeding chickens, it's not worth it. Unless..."

Tang Huai lowered his voice, speaking mysteriously, "Unless you have Yishi. You should know about Yishi, right? Among the upper circles of the safe zone, it's practically an open secret."

Xia Qing calmly asked back, "Do you have Yishi?"

"Impossible!" Tang Huai leaned back in his chair. "Yishi is a scarce mineral resource; you can't buy it even with credits. Have you ever seen Yishi?"

Xia Qing nodded, "When I was in the safe zone, I saw Tang Lu and Fire Phoenix wearing them—black-and-white patterned. Only later did I learn those were Yishi that can isolate Harmful Elements."

"Hmph."

Tang Huai gave a cold snort, unsure whether aimed at Tang Lu or Fire Phoenix, then continued, "Yishi is now a status symbol among the top circles of society. A tiny stone can continuously emit Yi Elements, not only nourishing the body but also dispelling Harmful Elements. How miraculous..."

After listening to him finish rambling, Xia Qing pressed, "Since it's a mineral resource, there must be a place of origin. Do you know where the Yishi mines are?"

It was very quiet here at Xia Qing's place, extremely friendly for hearing-evolved people. Tang Huai was very comfortable and in high spirits for idle chat. "The formation conditions of Yishi are just as mysterious as those of unpolluted spring water—still a puzzle to this day. It can only be occasionally found in the Evolution Forest; otherwise it wouldn't be so valuable. At the New Year's Eve dinner six years after the catastrophe, Tang Zhengsu got drunk and couldn't hold his tongue, bragging to my dad that he was going to send people to mine Yishi, but Tang Zhengrong cut him off."

"Others might not have heard clearly, but my ears are good—I heard it very clearly. What he said was: Shencaojia Forest Region. That place was an uninhabited area of high mountains and dense forests even before the catastrophe, and after the catastrophe, that three-thousand-plus square kilometer area directly became a human禁区." Tang Huai turned to look at Xia Qing. "You know why, right?"

Xia Qing nodded, "Because of the evolved monkey troops."

Shencaojia Forest Region is also within the scope of Huicheng Base, on the edge of Hui-6 Base. The forested area has quite a few brain-domain evolved monkeys that frequently wage war against humans, and also rob and snatch fruits and vegetables from human planting centers. It is the biggest hidden danger to the safety of Hui-6 Base.

"Right, exactly because of that. After Blue Star's evolution, monkeys became smarter—very hard to deal with." Tang Huai lazily yawned.

Xia Qing pressed, "Did the Sufeng Squad mine any Yishi?"

"Mine, my ass! Tang Zhengsu sent Hu Shaojiang to lead a team of over twenty; only one came back. You should know Hu Shaojiang, right?"

Xia Qing nodded, "At that time, he was the Sufeng Squad's third combatant. Who was the person who came back alive?"

At that time, the Sufeng Squad's first combatant was Tang Zhengsu, second combatant was Tang Feng who went missing in the fourth year of the catastrophe, and third combatant was Hu Shaojiang. After Tang Feng disappeared, he never showed up again—presumably dead. Hu Shaojiang also died in combat while on a mission in the summer of the sixth year of the catastrophe, and the Sufeng Squad's strength was greatly diminished. The Azure Dragon Squad arrived at Hui-3 Base that same summer, and while the Sufeng Squad was in a weakened adjustment phase, quickly established a firm foothold at Hui-3 Base.

"Xu Pin, the current vice-captain of the Sufeng Squad." Tang Huai yawned again.

Xia Qing's gaze darkened, "I remember Xu Pin only joined Hui-3 Base in the summer of the sixth year of the catastrophe."

"You know quite a lot. That's right, it was then. Smell the conspiracy? I also think Hu Shaojiang was killed by Xu Pin. Someone must have used a large amount of Yishi ore as bait to lure Hu Shaojiang to Shencaojia to mine Yishi. Otherwise, what idiot wouldn't know that place is dangerous? Risking it to mine Yishi is no better than just spending credits to build an air filtration system."