Chapter 526: Eating Kin

"Sister Qing, this water is really good."

After Tan Qi boiled the bottled water Xia Qing had sent over and took a sip, her eyes lit up again.

"This is spring water filtered several times, with very low levels of harmful elements." Xia Qing explained, "If you stay in the territory for a while, you can drink this kind of water often."

The dangerous zone of Mountain Fifty had been completely burned out. Once the surveillance and "No Entry to Dangerous Areas" signs were installed, Xia Qing could share the location of Mountain Fifty's hidden valley and the quality of the hot spring water with her allies, letting them collect the spring water and tidy up the valley in preparation for breeding.

Territory Fifteen was also her ally. Because its lord, Tan Qi, was too young, Xia Qing wouldn't share such important information with her, but the benefits due to an alliance member, she could still enjoy.

"Are these eggs from the chickens Sister Qing raises?" Seeing Xia Qing about to cook, Tan Qi hurried over to add firewood and help out, like a chattering, cheerful little bird.

Xia Qing's dinner today was steamed rice, chives scrambled with eggs, and snake meat ball soup. Tan Qi had brought a pack of green-light dried meat. "This is green-light bamboo rat jerky, Sister Qing try it, it's really good."

"Good." Xia Qing handed the rice to Tan Qi, "Eat more, I steamed plenty."

The bowl of fluffy white rice was the same quality as the green-light rice she had traded with her dad. Tan Qi hadn't expected Xia Qing to take out a whole big bowl of precious food and share it with her.

The green-light jerky she had brought was too little to trade for so much delicious food. So Tan Qi decided to trade with her most precious food, "I grew two pots of green-light strawberries. When they bear fruit next year, they'll probably still be yellow-light. When the strawberries ripen, I'll bring them to Sister Qing."

"Good." Xia Qing understood what the little girl was agonizing over and agreed readily.

Sure enough, after she agreed, Tan Qi picked up her chopsticks and began to eat. She ate every bite very slowly, very carefully. This attitude of valuing precious food almost like a religious devotion—Xia Qing had seen it in many people, and without exception, they were all people who had experienced extreme hunger.

Tan Junjie's treatment could support two people, so how could Tan Qi not have enough to eat?

Though Xia Qing found it strange, she didn't ask further. After the two of them finished all the food, she took out another handful of yellow-light chestnuts and set them by the fireplace for Tan Qi to roast and eat.

Guarding the warm fireplace, well-fed Tan Qi was full of curiosity about Xia Qing. "Sister Qing, I heard Brother Su Ming say that when you were in the safe zone you worked on a construction crew and learned a lot of useful skills. This little house and a lot of things in the territory, you made them all yourself. You're amazing."

Xia Qing used an iron hook to poke at the chestnuts and explained, "I'm a strength evolver. Only on a construction crew can I put my strengths to use."

"Strength evolvers are best suited for farming." Tan Qi confirmed this point even more from Xia Qing, "I want strength evolution too."

Xia Qing laughed, "Speed evolution is more impressive than strength evolution."

"Mm. Speed evolution suits hunting, strength evolution suits farming." Tan Qi hugged her knees on the chair and suddenly brought up something recent.

"Sister Qing, did you hear? This month, more than twenty children in the safe zone who had evolution abilities were eaten by people."

Rumors had always circulated in the safe zone that eating evolvers could induce evolution abilities. Although the authorities had debunked it many times, some people still believed it firmly. When Xia Qing was in the safe zone, she had also been hunted several times.

Children, especially evolver children, had always been a key protection target in the safe zone. Families that produced evolver children could receive more benefits and move to safer areas to live.

With all these protective measures in place, how could so many children have gone missing?

Xia Qing asked, "Is there a problem with the safe zone's guards?"

Tan Qi hugged her knees tighter, "They were all killed by their own relatives, because drinking the blood and eating the flesh of evolvers who share their bloodline makes the effect of inducing evolution abilities even better."

Seeing that something was off about Tan Qi's expression, Xia Qing asked, "Someone has their eye on you?"

"Mm."

Tan Qi stared straight at the flames burning in the fireplace, her expression so heavy it didn't look like a nine-year-old child at all. "It was my aunt. When I was cooking in the kitchen, she deliberately slashed my arm with a knife, trying to drain my blood. But she's an ordinary person, not as fast as me, so I dodged. But my grandma and uncle didn't believe me."

Xia Qing continued to ask, "Does your uncle's family have children?"

Tan Qi nodded, "There's a little brother. He didn't test for evolution abilities, and my uncle and aunt aren't evolvers either."

Xia Qing poked out a roasted chestnut, broke it open, and handed it to the little girl whose face had taken on a frightened look from recalling that terrifying experience. "Did you tell your dad about this?"

"Thank you, Sister Qing." Tan Qi took the chestnut and didn't forget to express her thanks. "Not yet. My dad's been too busy lately, I was afraid of distracting him, so I wanted to wait until he came back to say something. Sister Qing, I don't want to go back. I want to stay in the territory and farm. I'm already nine, and I'm an evolver. I have the strength to grow grain and vegetables to feed myself. Do you think that could work?"

Whether it would work wasn't up to Xia Qing to decide. "You'll have to discuss this with your dad and Aunt Yan."

Tan Qi gripped the warm chestnut and murmured, "I can't tell Aunt Yan, can't trouble her. She's even more exhausted than dad. Every day she's desperately training, getting stronger. Sister Qing..."

Tan Qi gazed at Xia Qing with teary eyes, showing the most vulnerable side of a child. "Do you think my dad will believe me, or believe his own mother and brother?"

Xia Qing looked calmly at Tan Qi, "Your dad is very capable. He'll definitely be able to get to the truth."

"Mm." Tan Qi sniffed, wiped her tears on her knees, and pulled herself together again. "My dad is only a level-four speed evolver, but his marksmanship and close combat are both excellent. He doesn't take on more dangerous missions not because he doesn't dare, but to stay and protect me. Until I was four, I was always with dad. Later, dad brought grandma and uncle and the others over, and only then sent me to the safe zone to study..."

After listening to Tan Qi chatter for a while about how amazing her dad was and confirming her emotions had settled, Xia Qing stoked the fireplace, checked the chimney, and sprinkled insect repellent around the house. She had Tan Qi use her own phone to call Yan Long, and only then left the little house to begin patrolling the territory.

The weather tonight was clear. The all-encompassing twinkling stars had pushed a crescent moon to the western hilltop. The cold wind slapped the greenhouse's rainproof cloth, making a few faint creaking sounds.

That sound pulled Xia Qing back to the territory from a head full of bloody memories.

A sound like that meant one or several of the greenhouse's support poles had come loose.

Xia Qing untied the wire fastening the greenhouse's wooden door, went inside, turned on her flashlight, and slowly walked forward. After finding the source of the creaking, she marked it to replace the supports tomorrow.

After checking three greenhouses, Xia Qing also inspected two hothouses. When she came out, she found Sick Wolf standing in the cold wind waiting for her, its mouth open in a very happy grin.

That smile was truly healing and warm. Xia Qing rubbed its head, took it along the wild-grass wall on a patrol lap, glanced once more at the little house by the farm fields where the lights had already gone out, and headed for her own home.

After entering the house, Xia Qing added some firewood to the fireplace, scrubbed the pot and bowls and chopsticks from her backpack clean, went over to Ram Boss who was chewing its cud, leaned against it, and called to Sick Wolf, "Lao Er, come here, I'll brush your fur."

Sick Wolf immediately ran over and crouched on the grass mat.

Xia Qing quietly finished brushing the fur of her two companions before going upstairs to sleep.

Tan Qi's words stirred Xia Qing's memories. She dreamed of the scene in the safe zone when she had been hunted as food by her own kind.