Chapter 536: Stealing Samples

It was just past eight in the morning. The sun had already risen, but the temperature hadn't climbed yet, so the rainproof tarp on the greenhouse was still rolled down.

Still, it wasn't dark inside the greenhouse at all, because several bright supplemental grow lights had been installed inside to ensure the wheat and rapeseed seedlings received the right duration and intensity of light each day for proper growth.

Zhou Qianpeng and Chai Shuling's expressions both twisted for a moment when they saw how bright it was inside the shed.

Xia Qing, her face expressionless, took note of it and chuckled to herself.

What? These people rushed in at the crack of dawn hoping to sneak around in the dark and pull some tricks while the temperature was still low?

Zhou Qianpeng composed his expression, turned back, and asked Xia Qing with a gentle look, "Young Lady Xia, hanging so many supplemental lights in the greenhouse must use a lot of electricity, doesn't it?"

"Mm." Xia Qing gave a flat reply. Other territories might be short on power, but she wasn't short at all, because she had a companion who loved generating electricity.

Chai Shuling carefully observed the wheat's growth, opened the visor of her airtight protective suit, and asked, "Young Lady Xia, the survival rate and growth of the wheat in your plot are both excellent—they don't seem to have been affected by the Calamity Snow. Could you share your planting experience?"

After saying that, Chai Shuling proactively explained, "If your methods are workable, we'll promote them on the broadcast channel to raise the wheat survival rate across all the territories in our base, and you'll receive a corresponding reward."

Xia Qing explained, "During the Calamity Snow period, I rented equipment that isolates Calamity elements, so this plot was affected less."

Chai Shuling pressed, "May I ask from whom, and what equipment did you rent?"

"You should know there are currently only two ways to isolate Calamity elements." Xia Qing's face was calm. "I signed a confidentiality agreement with the other party and can't disclose it."

The methods of isolating Calamity elements are either installing air filtration devices or using Yi Stones. Xia Qing's greenhouse wasn't made of glass—it leaked air everywhere—so she could only use Yi Stones.

The one who could rent out Yi Stones might be the lord of Territory One, Seven, or Eight—all three of them possess Yi Stones.

Chai Shuling smiled and nodded, took photos, then pulled out a tape measure to mark off a one-square-meter area, carefully counted the wheat seedlings within it. Li Chang crouched beside her, taking notes in a notebook, while Xia Qing stood nearby watching.

Zhou Qianpeng, who had been strolling back and forth in the greenhouse with his hands clasped behind his back, called Xia Qing over. "Did Young Lady Xia build this greenhouse's frame herself?"

When Xia Qing looked at Zhou Qianpeng, she caught Chai Shuling—crouching in the wheat field—in the corner of her eye, quickly yanking out a wheat seedling and stuffing it into her protective suit.

She thought her movements were fast and discreet, but she couldn't slip past Xia Qing, a Level-9 visual evolver—not to mention the observation of Su Ming, a Level-3 visual inspection team member.

Only Li Chang, who was keeping his head down taking notes nearby, probably didn't notice a thing.

From that move, Xia Qing could deduce that Chai Shuling, in her airtight protective suit, was a speed evolver. But her evolution level wasn't high—probably between Level 3 and 4.

Su Ming instinctively looked at Xia Qing. Xia Qing gave him a look telling him to stay quiet.

She had let the inspection team in on purpose—to dispel Suofeng and Liehuo's curiosity and suspicion about Territory Three, so they'd stop watching her every day. So whether Chai Shuling was stealing seedlings or soil, Xia Qing would pretend not to see.

While Xia Qing was being held up by Zhou Qianpeng, Chai Shuling and Li Chang finished inspecting the green-light wheat and asked Xia Qing to take them to the next plot.

Xia Qing's yellow-light wheat and yellow-light rapeseed weren't protected by Yi Stones, so the missing seedlings were obvious. After the two finished their inspection and seedling-stealing, Xia Qing led them into the planting greenhouse.

After entering the warm planting greenhouse, Xia Qing keenly noticed that both Chai Shuling and Zhou Qianpeng's gazes and breathing changed when they saw the sparse green-light spinach in the planting beds.

Looks like these two came for the spinach. Was it Deputy Base Commander Tang Zhengrong or the Liehuo Squad who sent her to inspect the spinach in each territory? Or were these two groups actually in cahoots?

Why were the seedlings in the green-light spinach bed so sparse? Because Boss Sheep and Sick Wolf had dug up a basket of spinach a while back and brought it home for Xia Qing to eat.

Zhou Qianpeng continued to stall Xia Qing. "Young Lady Xia, this greenhouse actually uses an all-steel frame structure—were these steel frames exchanged from the Safe Zone?"

The green-light strawberries had been moved home by Xia Qing. Now all the plants in this greenhouse, including the green-light mint, had nothing to fear from Chai Shuling taking samples.

But she couldn't let her steal things too smoothly either—otherwise it would look too fake.

Xia Qing stared at Chai Shuling and Li Chang, only looking up at Zhou Qianpeng when he asked a question. "Didn't buy them from the Safe Zone—traded with other people."

Zhou Qianpeng asked again, "These steel frames aren't cheap, are they?"

Of course they weren't. Xia Qing nodded. "I'm an evolver—I can go into the Evolution Forest to hunt and gather food, and trade for the supplies I need. Plus, these are all second-hand building materials, a lot cheaper than brand-new ones."

"Actually, I wanted to ask this earlier but felt it might be a bit forward." Zhou Qianpeng wore a warm smile and asked in the manner of an elder, "Young Lady Xia, you're a high-level strength evolver. Given your age and conditions, finding a high-level evolver to marry and have children with, then moving to the inner city of the Safe Zone to work, should be a lot easier than coming out here to farm, right?"

The path Zhou Qianpeng described was the choice most female evolvers made. The inner city of the Safe Zone had good public order and very thorough disinfection measures. Apart from the Calamity Rain and Calamity Snow periods, life in the inner city wasn't much different from before the catastrophes.

So moving to the inner city to live was the goal that the vast majority of outer-city residents strived for.

Li Chang, who was taking notes, was also very curious about this question and looked up at Xia Qing.

Chai Shuling? She was watching Xia Qing at all times, ready to steal seedlings.

Xia Qing looked at the water droplets condensing on the greenhouse plastic and answered calmly, "Before I came out to farm, I was only a Level-4 strength evolver."

Ordinary strength evolvers were looked down upon by other types of evolvers. Because Level 2 to 5 strength evolvers could be replaced by a few ordinary strong laborers.

So back in the Safe Zone, Xia Qing—a Level-4 strength evolver with all her limbs intact—finding a high-level evolver to marry, bear an evolution-capable next generation, and then move to the inner city to live wasn't easy either.

Zhou Qianpeng nodded and continued probing. "Young Lady Xia, in just one year in the territory, your strength evolution level went up two levels. What's the reason?"

Xia Qing explained calmly, "Probably because I work every day and often eat safe food."

Envy flashed in Li Chang's eyes. Chai Shuling, who had hidden a spinach plant, also looked up. "Looks like Young Lady Xia has good potential."

Zhou Qianpeng asked playfully, "So how about now? Is Young Lady Xia interested in meeting some young, promising high-level strength evolvers? I know a few whose conditions in every respect are very good."

Xia Qing didn't need to answer this question—Su Ming from the inspection team cut in. "Team Leader Zhou, Young Lady Xia already has a boyfriend."