Chapter 503: Hot Spring Water Quality

This...

The data on this test result...

Xia Qing opened her phone's photo album, found the picture she was looking for, connected to the printer via Bluetooth and printed it out. Comparing the two test results, she was astonished to discover that the various component contents of the hot spring on Mountain No. 50 were very close to those of the unpolluted spring water in her territory. In addition, neither spring water contained radioactive elements or other harmful substances; the biggest difference lay in the content of Harmonic and Discordant elements.

The spring water in Xia Qing's territory had a Harmonic element content of 4‰ and a Discordant element content of less than 1‰; the hot spring on Mountain No. 50 had a Harmonic element content of 1‰ and a Discordant element content of 17‰.

This Harmonic-Discordant element content was roughly the same as the river water flowing through her territory, but because the hot spring water contained no other harmful substances, its overall water quality was better than the river water.

If the excess Discordant elements were filtered out using filter cartridges publicly sold in the Safe Zone, this hot spring could meet the standard for Yellow-Light drinking water.

If Harmonic Stones were used to drive out the Discordant elements in the spring water, the hot spring water could become Green-Light drinking water. No wonder those two evolved bears kept throwing Harmonic Stones into the pool, and no wonder the loaches and yellow eels in the pool could maintain edible quality.

Xia Qing also tested the soil quality inside the cave. There were too many indicators and chemical components she couldn't understand; she could only make out that the soil inside the cave was not high-Harmonic-element soil. This was normal, because the hot spring irrigating the valley farmland also didn't have a high Harmonic element content.

Could it be that this hot spring on Mountain No. 50 was also an unpolluted water source before, but because the mountain body cracked or someone deliberately blew the crack open, the mountain structure was damaged, causing the water quality to degrade and become ordinary mountain spring water?

She wondered whether this kind of water quality could pique her idol's interest.

Xia Qing contacted Ji Li, and upon learning that Third Brother was free, she immediately took the samples and test results on her back and hurried to Territory No. 7.

Although she could openly go to Territory No. 7 in her capacity as the manager of Mountain No. 50 to report work to Zhang San, the laboratory head, she still chose to take the North Isolation Belt with its uneven ground rather than the flat passage outside the south gate of the territory.

Because on one side of the North Isolation Belt was her own territory, and on the other side was her ally, this route was safer than the south gate passage.

Nothing is more important than safety.

After entering Territory No. 7, Xia Qing first delivered the already frozen-hard Green-Light yellow eels and Green-Light loaches.

Zhang San's sickly-looking face visibly softened under the glow of the Green-Light food. "Being able to raise yellow eels this big, that valley isn't entirely useless after all."

Xia Qing nodded, gazing at her idol with eager eyes.

Zhang San understood, casually grabbed the remote on the table and pressed it twice. "Speak."

Discovering that Zhang San had cut the surveillance, Huo Zhun discussed with Yan Long, "The lord doesn't want us to know the content of his conversation with Xia Qing. Should this be reported to the captain?"

Yan Long raised a hand and pressed down the brim of his cap. "No need. In the past, I was responsible for his personal safety during his conversations with Xia Qing."

"Third Brother, look, these are the test results for the valley spring water and soil. I found the hot spring's water quality is quite good." Xia Qing handed the test results to Zhang San with both hands.

After taking the two test results and looking them over, Zhang San turned, pulled a file folder from the filing cabinet, took out a test result from inside, and handed it to Xia Qing.

Hmm... hmm?!

Xia Qing was stunned when she saw the source of the soil sample in the upper right corner of the test sheet.

In the second month of the eighth year of the Catastrophe, someone had already taken soil samples from the mountain crack on the third peak of Mountain No. 50 and tested the soil quality. "Third Brother, this valley was discovered long ago?"

"Look at the sample name: Mountain Crack. At that time, a combat team searching for unpolluted water sources discovered that the temperature difference between the inside of the mountain crack and the outside was quite large, so they took soil samples from inside the crack and sent them back to the Safe Zone for testing." Zhang San explained, "After testing, they found the Harmonic element content in the soil wasn't high, so they directly ruled out the possibility of an unpolluted water source existing in the crack."

Combat teams always looked for unpolluted water sources as a side task when out on missions. This test sheet didn't list the name of the combat team that submitted the soil sample, so Xia Qing didn't know which combat team had been to the third peak of Mountain No. 50.

The second month of the eighth year of the Catastrophe was exactly half a year after Shi Jiayi's death.

Before September of the seventh year of the Catastrophe, people must have gone to Mountain No. 50 as well. These people hadn't discovered Shi Jiayi who was still alive—did she hide herself, or did they miss her because the mountain was high and the forest was dense?

Xia Qing came back to herself and sought her idol's instructions. "The hot spring's water quality is better than the river water flowing through our territory. I want to allow alliance members to take water from Mountain No. 50 as a drinking water source. Do you think that's alright?"

"That's fine. Improving water quality helps boost human resistance." Zhang San had no objections. "My share, you deliver it. You don't need to send too much—20 liters a week is enough. My territory has equipment for purifying water and making distilled water. You'd make me turn off the surveillance just for this?"

"Not entirely, there's one more thing." Xia Qing very solemnly took out the third test result from her backpack. "Third Brother, please look at this first."

Zhang San took it and glanced at it. "This is the one from your territory, and then what?"

Xia Qing was shocked.

Zhang San rolled her eyes at her. "What's that expression? Did you take the wrong medicine?"

Xia Qing steadied herself. "Third Brother, how could you..."

The look of disdain on Zhang San's face grew more obvious. "I thought, when I had you exchange eggs with me first, and then exchange with Territory No. 9, you would have already understood that I had confirmed there was an unpolluted water source in your territory."

Xia Qing composed her expression and explained to her idol, "I did guess at the time that you knew. I'm surprised because how could you tell at a glance that this was a water quality test result from my territory?"

Zhang San leaned weakly back in her chair. "Where else would your test result come from—if not yours, whose could it be? Before this, I had tested the soil in your territory, so I understood as soon as I saw the trace elements on the test sheet."

In fact, she could also get the test sheet for that hot spring in the Sea of Death, but that was Yang Jin's secret. Xia Qing certainly wouldn't speak of it, even if the person opposite her was her completely trusted idol.

Xia Qing sincerely offered flattery. "The memory of an Evolved Brain Domain user is really amazing."

"That's basic professional competence, it has nothing to do with Brain Domain evolution." Since Xia Qing had brought the spring water out into the open, Zhang San asked directly. "That water source should be underground, right? How did you discover it?"

Xia Qing explained, "It's not underground, it's in a crack in the hillside. I participated in the mission to clear this territory last winter and discovered it by chance."

Zhang San looked at Xia Qing for a few seconds and sighed. "In February this year, I sent a team over to test the soil quality and water samples of this territory. After weighing Territory No. 3 against Territory No. 7, I ultimately abandoned the high-Harmonic-element terraced fields in Territory No. 3 because Territory No. 7 had a thicker and more fertile soil layer. I suppose that period happened to be the dry season for the water source—lucky you."

Xia Qing secretly celebrated and asked sincerely, "Does Third Brother need spring water? How much do you need? I'll deliver it to you."