Chapter 672: I Have No Family

"I'll send two people over right away. Help them lift the stones and find the underground current." Zhang San's voice was still hoarse from being woken up, but since Xia Qing was talking business, as the disaster-control commander, Zhang San immediately got into gear and made arrangements.

Although there were no more Slaughter Snakes in this area, the reason for their sudden mass appearance had not yet been found. As the disaster-control commander, Zhang San had the responsibility to investigate the cause and take feasible measures to prevent the Slaughter Snakes from appearing again.

Xia Qing waited on the spot for fifteen minutes before she saw Yan Long running over, carrying a large pack on her back and a researcher in a sealed protective suit slung over her shoulder.

Zhang Song, wearing the sealed protective suit, let his feet settle on the ground for a moment before explaining his purpose to Xia Qing.

"Third Brother deduced that the appearance of the Slaughter Snakes is related to the river, so he sent me to check whether there's an underground river down here. I'll have to trouble Young Lady Xia to help out."

Zhang San hadn't told anyone that Xia Qing was an auditory evolver. Although Yan Long had already guessed from Xia Qing's performance during the special training that she must be an auditory evolver, she pretended not to know.

Digging pits and moving stones was exactly the kind of heavy labor suited to a strength evolver. Under Zhang Song's direction, Xia Qing quickly widened and deepened the pit, exposing the underground current to the light.

After Zhang Song took photos, collected samples, and tested the water quality, he made a preliminary judgment based on the water's flow. "This is an underground river formed by rainwater or melted snow, running between rock crevices. The flow speed isn't fast, and the volume isn't large. Please trouble Captain Yan to take out the sonar detector. We need to use sonar to determine the direction of the underground current."

Seeing the instrument Yan Long pulled out of her pack, Xia Qing could only sigh: Territory Seven really did have a lot of good stuff.

After using the instrument to figure out the underground river's direction and marking it on a printed map of the mountain, Zhang Song asked, "Young Lady Xia, may I go look at the area where the three sick wolves stayed last night?"

"Sure." Xia Qing led the way ahead.

Zhang Song stuck close to her side, afraid that if he walked too slowly, Yan Long would casually pick him up again.

Walking along, Xia Qing asked, "Song Ge, since there's an underground current, why would the Slaughter Snakes still burrow up out of the soil and then crawl into the river channel to swim toward Mountain Fifty-Five?"

If the Slaughter Snakes traveled underground, the chance of being discovered by humans would be very small, and the safety factor would increase dramatically.

Zhang Song speculated, "It should be because of temperature. Snakes are cold-blooded animals; they move sluggishly in the cold underground river and can't dodge danger quickly. The surface water heated by direct sunlight is warmer, so they'd be more agile there."

After arriving above the wolves' den, Xia Qing pointed at the rock face in the valley below. "The three wolves stayed over there. The slope here is too steep—it's safer to jump straight down from here. Song Ge, shall I take you down?"

To raise wild boars, Xia Qing had blocked the valley's exit and the gentler-sloped areas with spiked logs, so getting in and out of this valley was now rather troublesome.

Of course, this "troublesome" was relative. For humans and wolves who frequently went in and out of the Evolution Forest, it was just a matter of a little jump; but for Zhang Song, a weakling in brain-domain evolution, it was genuinely very troublesome.

He was well aware of his own limits. "Alright, thanks for your trouble."

Although the valley had already been thoroughly disinfected by Xia Qing, after Zhang Song entered, he still took out his instruments and carefully checked to confirm whether the high-level evolution bacteria had been completely eradicated—that was the second task that had brought him here today.

Yan Long first went to inspect the area by the pond that the wild boars had thoroughly rooted up, then came to the wolf den and asked, "Did you make this wooden door?"

"Yes." Xia Qing nodded, without mentioning that she had traded it to the wolf pack.

Yan Long tested the wooden door's sturdiness and was quite satisfied. "Nice craftsmanship. It'll come in handy on our next Evolution Forest expedition."

Xia Qing had considered this point too. "Mm, I can build a sturdy wooden frame and set up the tent inside it—that'll double the safety factor."

After the inspection was done and Yan Long carried him out of the valley, Zhang Song sincerely suggested, "Captain Yan, we're not in a rush this time. Could you let me walk back on my own?"

Yan Long nodded. "You walk in front."

"Alright, alright!" Zhang Song agreed immediately, and after parting from Xia Qing, he headed east along the isolation belt.

"Miss Deng, our chairman is taking a helicopter back to Hui-2 this afternoon and would like to invite you to a casual lunch at 11:45 a. m. at Territory Eight, to catch up on old times."

Hearing the voice coming from the north of Territory Four, Xia Qing, who had already reached the big Chinese toon tree in Territory Three, stopped and listened quietly.

Yan Long flatly refused. "I have a mission to carry out. I'm not free, and there's no 'old times' to catch up on with him."

The other party's response was polite, but the words themselves sounded very off. "Understood. Our chairman welcomes you and your family to visit Hui-2 during your time off. Once you've set a date, just give us a word, and we'll send a helicopter to pick you up."

Yan Long's voice remained calm. "I have no family, and no time for leisure."

The other party laughed with a note of smugness. "Isn't Miss Tan Qi, who lives in the Hazard Inspection Team dormitory, your goddaughter? Miss Tan is exactly at the age for fun and travel—you should take her around, broaden her horizons. Hiding in the territory pulling weeds all day will ruin her. Surely you want Miss Tan to have a brighter future too, don't you?"

Xia Qing's anger flared up just from listening. Yan Long remained calm, yet radiated killing intent. "Go back and tell Yu Dongming that if anyone from the Yu family dares to set their sights on Tan Qi, I will slaughter his entire household."

Zhang Song pulled open the face zipper of his sealed protective suit and asked in an entirely businesslike tone, "You're a security officer from Chunglian, aren't you?"

"That's right."

"Tan Qi is the lord of Territory Fifteen at Hui-3 Base and is protected under the Lord Law. Just now, acting under the chairman of Chunglian's benefit, you used Tan Qi to threaten and coerce a security officer of Territory Seven. I have already recorded and saved that conversation. If the Lord of Territory Fifteen is threatened or anything happens to her, I will immediately submit this video to the Territory Management Department and lawfully launch an investigation into the Chunglian Group."

The Chunglian security officer was furious. "Don't talk nonsense!"

Zhang Song calmly pressed on. "Please don't change the subject or blur the point. Which of my words do you think is nonsense? Please specify."

"Our chairman didn't mean it that way!"

Zhang Song understood. "Then it was you, this Chunglian security officer, who acted in the chairman's name…"

The other party began hopping with rage. "I was just showing a little concern! There was absolutely no threat or coercion!!"

Zhang Song looked up. "You don't trust an advanced brain-domain evolver's accurate judgment based on your tone and micro-expressions? Very well, bold skepticism is a good thing. You can tell Chairman Yu to lodge a formal objection to my assessment and submit this video to the Red-1 Brain Domain Research Institute, and have experts render a professional judgment."

"What are you feeling guilty about? Gripping your gun handle—are you trying to use force to achieve some purpose? Make me shut up?"

After the Chunglian security officer was driven off, Yan Long thanked Zhang Song. "Thank you."

"Captain Yan, you're too kind. We're all from Territory Seven, so we should be helping each other out anyway." After the polite exchange, Zhang Song discussed with Yan Long, "Sister Yan, next time we get the chance to team up for a mission, could you please not carry me over your shoulder like a dead pig while running?"

Xia Qing…

Yan Long asked, "How would you like to be carried?"

"…Princess carry? That position is more comfortable."

"No. I have to keep one hand free for defense. If you go on more field missions in the future and don't want to be carried, then train harder and run on your own."

"I'll choose to be carried."

Xia Qing…