Chapter 54: Did She Come Out Ahead or Lose Out?

Luo Pei laughed and answered frankly, "In order to find uncontaminated water sources, over the past ten years every area within Hua Nation that humans could reach has been screened countless times. After you took out the spring water to save me, Yang Jin mobilized the Green Dragon Squad's most elite forces and most advanced detection methods, and spent half a month screening Mountain Forty-Nine twice over, yet still couldn't find an uncontaminated spring."

After speaking, Luo Pei couldn't help sighing at Xia Qing's luck. "Finding a spring is a matter of luck. Just because we didn't find one doesn't mean there isn't one. Territory Three was cleared bit by bit by me personally leading a team last winter, and we didn't find a spring there either."

Xia Qing figured out why the Green Dragon Squad had bought the mountain, and felt a little relieved. Since the spring in her territory might be polluted or completely dry up once the mountain's internal structure was destroyed, in order to protect the spring water, of course they had to protect the mountain.

"Back then I was following Brother Luo to clear the evolved forest, and happened to see a little squirrel pop out of a crack in the rocks and run off. I thought there were fruits inside, so I pried open several stones before I found the spring. The spring is especially small, with almost no sound of flowing water. If it weren't for that squirrel, I wouldn't have found it either." Xia Qing told Luo Pei truthfully about how she found the spring, then asked curiously, "Brother Luo, are there still places on Blue Star that humans can't reach?"

Luo Pei answered simply, "Not to mention other regions, there are several within Hua Nation. Those places either have too high a content of harmful elements, or too many dangerous evolved creatures. Actually, if humans brought enough gear and forced their way in, they could get in too—it's just unnecessary, and there's also the worry that overuse of thermal weapons might trigger adverse chain reactions."

After the great evolution of Blue Star's creatures, humans had become more cautious in order to survive.

Xia Qing continued to inquire, "When Captain Yang pretended to take Brother Luo away by helicopter, he went west—was it because the bases to the west have large amounts of uncontaminated spring water?"

Luo Pei answered patiently, "The uncontaminated springs discovered at several bases in Orchid City to the west are indeed more numerous than ours. Another reason is that Orchid City is separated from us by a large stretch of evolved forest, so there's less contact. Flying west in the plane can better mislead the enemy. By the way, what levels are your hearing and vision evolution at?"

Xia Qing answered truthfully, "I haven't been tested, but my three-system abilities should all be above level five."

Luo Pei opened his eyes wide in surprise, looking at Xia Qing, and earnestly advised, "Although you're a lord now and ordinary people wouldn't dare do anything to you, you'd best not reveal that you're a three-system evolved person, to avoid attracting unnecessary trouble."

A twenty-five-year-old fertile three-system high-level evolved female would attract not only the Research Institute's interest, but also the competition of all the major powers and families in Hua Nation.

Xia Qing of course understood this point. "The people around me all think I'm a level-four strength evolver. So far I haven't noticed anyone suspecting my abilities. But I'm only twenty-five this year, and my abilities could still improve, so I want to gradually raise my strength evolution to level six. That way I won't be looked down on, nor will I attract special attention. Because even if strength evolution is raised to level six, it's not much use—it's still most suitable to stay in the territory and farm honestly. Besides, I can't do anything else, I can only farm."

As a three-system high-level evolver, the person most likely to become a top-tier expert of Hui Three Base and even the entire Hui City Base in the future, was sitting in front of him with complete sincerity, saying she could only farm...

Even after ten years of calamity tempering, Luo Pei, now steady as an old dog, couldn't help twitching the corners of his mouth, not knowing how to respond to this extraordinary lord.

Luo Pei even began to doubt Yang Jin's judgment—would this Xia Qing, who had no fighting spirit and only wanted to farm, really become a formidable existence in the future no weaker than the Fire Phoenix, someone no one in Hui City Base would dare look down on?

After understanding the Green Dragon Squad's plan, Xia Qing began to consider the most practical issue. "Since the mountain is to be mine, the points to buy the mountain should come from me. But I don't have that many points right now, so consider the points for buying the mountain as a loan from the Green Dragon Squad. Brother Luo, does that work?"

Luo Pei, who couldn't help laughing out loud, held the knife wound on his body that was aching from being stretched, paused to recover before answering, "Mm, that's exactly what Yang Jin planned. We'll buy you at least a hundred-year usage right for this mountain, then you lease the mountain to us as a training base, and we send people to guard the mountain for you as rent. You pay back the points for buying the mountain slowly with spring water and crops. We won't charge interest, and there's no time limit. When Xie Yu drafts the contract, I'll forward it to you."

"... No, Brother Luo." Xia Qing was a bit dizzy. "Is it necessary to buy a hundred-year usage right?"

This was the calamity year after the great evolution of Blue Star's creatures—life was uncertain, no one knew what tomorrow would bring. Under such circumstances, was it necessary to buy a hundred-year usage right for a mountain?

Luo Pei nodded firmly. "Of course it is. The higher the evolution level, the better the bodily functions, the longer the lifespan. You're a high-level evolved person, living to 140 is definitely no problem, so buying a hundred years isn't too much at all. If we buy for too short a time, once the spring water matter is exposed, the price you'd pay to extend the usage right later will be far higher than now. The Fire Phoenix of Hui One Base bought two hundred years."

Xia Qing, dizzy, carried the empty basket up the steps and out of the broken-down house, casually grabbed a basketful of grass and carried it back to the village, her head still dizzy.

Boss Sheep saw Xia Qing come back, ran over and sniffed the grass in the basket, showed a disdainful look, turned around and left.

Xia Qing followed behind Boss Sheep with the basket, dizzy-ly muttering through what had just happened. "Boss, you've got a good head, help me analyze it. On this big deal, did I come out ahead or lose out? Why do I feel both that I came out ahead and that I lost out?"

Boss Sheep, with his good head, narrowed his eyes and stared at the tin box in the kitchen.

"Forget it! Come on, you're going to tread the waterwheel and draw water for me!" Xia Qing wasn't the type to dwell on things—since she couldn't figure it out, she simply stopped thinking about it.

She opened the tin box in the kitchen, took a compressed ration and stuffed it in her pocket, then hauled out the modified water bicycle from the tool room. This bike had been modified by her—the seat was a large grass-cushioned seat suited for Boss Sheep, and the pedals were comfortable hoof-pedals suited for sheep hooves.

With rations in her pocket and the bicycle on her shoulder, Xia Qing successfully brought Boss Sheep to the reservoir. After installing the water bicycle, Xia Qing didn't let the novice sheep try it directly—she first demonstrated for Boss Sheep herself.

The modified bicycle, suited for sheep legs, was very awkward for Xia Qing to pedal, since her legs were nearly twice as long as Boss Sheep's. Still, she pretended to pedal comfortably for a while, watching the drawn water flow through the three-way opening into the irrigation channel and toward the fields, before stopping to wipe her sweat in an exaggerated manner, her expression very dramatic. "Treading the waterwheel is so tiring, why is it so tiring? I'll eat some rations first to replenish my energy, then keep pedaling."

Seeing Xia Qing pull out the rations, Boss Sheep standing beside her came clopping over, blinking his big glamorous sheep eyes and staring at her eagerly.