Chapter 680: I'd Be Willing to Live Ten Years Less

Xia Qing formed a team to dig bamboo shoots, but didn't bring him along.

Tang Huai turned his head and called out to Liu Jing, the hearing evolver huddled in the corner, "Ask around who wants to dig bamboo shoots. We'll form a team too and set out at six in the morning."

You won't take me along? Fine, I'll form my own team and dig up all the bamboo shoots before you do!

Well…

Liu Jing was in a difficult spot. "Boss, a Ravager Snake has shown up in the evolved forest near us. Even combat squads don't dare come collect supplies anymore. There's no way we can rally the people in our territory. How about… you ask the evolvers in Territory Twelve?"

Territory Twelve belongs to Tang Huai. The workers and bodyguards inside are all paid by the Tang family, so they have to obey the moment Tang Huai gives the order.

If he could mobilize the people of Territory Twelve, his father would definitely find out. And once his father knew, he wouldn't be allowed to go. Tang Huai fumed, "A bunch of gutless cowards!"

Liu Jing rolled his eyes on the sly.

If you're not a coward, then say something like Xia Qing did: "Once we're out there, as long as you obey me, I guarantee your safety"!

You've got no real skills, yet you dare form a team to go collect supplies in the evolved forest. Why would anyone follow you—to go look for death?

Early the next morning, Xia Qing finished gearing up and told her companions where she was headed. "Boss, I'm going out to dig bamboo shoots. I'll be back when the sun reaches that spot. Wait for me, and you'll have fresh bamboo shoots to eat."

Bamboo shoots are Sheep Boss's favorite food. Hearing that Xia Qing was going to dig bamboo shoots, it voluntarily picked up the little basket and took on the bug-catching job it didn't like, signaling to Xia Qing not to worry about things in the territory and to dig as many as she could.

Whenever something involves its favorite food, Sheep Boss becomes clever and sensible.

Xia Qing rubbed the little curls of wool on its head. Passing the small hut by the farmland, she greeted Chen Cheng and Chen Zheng, who were standing guard over her territory, and hurried to the gathering point.

Just yesterday, after an hour and a half of negotiation, Xia Qing and Yang Jin had signed an agreement to continue hiring the Beard Feng Squad to guard the territory.

The terms of this year's employment agreement are completely different from last year's.

Last year, Yang Jin proposed that the Beard Feng Squad guard Territory Three twenty-four hours a day, ensuring the safety of the territory and Xia Qing herself, as one of the conditions in exchange for the territory's uncontaminated spring water.

This year, Xia Qing's combat ability has improved. Territory Three has cameras installed, and is protected by walls and the wolf pack. The walls around the northern District One territory are about to be completed. So Territory Three and Xia Qing's personal safety no longer depend on the Beard Feng Squad's protection.

Xia Qing's need for hired help this year is to have someone protect the territory and Sheep Boss's safety while she's away.

She chose to keep hiring the Beard Feng Squad because, after a year of working together, she trusts this squad.

After several rounds of haggling, the final agreed price was: during extremely special weather such as Ravager Rain or Ravager Snow, or in dangerous moments, the rate is 50 credits per person per day; in normal weather, when Xia Qing is away from the territory and someone needs to come watch the gate for her, the rate is 25 credits per person per day.

During the period of employment, Xia Qing can direct the members of the Beard Feng Squad to do tasks. So from now on, whenever Xia Qing asks the Beard Feng Squad to help her water, weed, catch bugs, and so on, she won't need to pay extra.

The Azure Dragon Squad is now the number-one squad in Hui One, and the Beard Feng Squad ranks ninth in combat ability within the Azure Dragon Squad. This employment price can be said to be quite a bargain.

The reason Yang Jin agreed to this deal, besides the fact that Xia Qing is a magnetic-sense evolver, which greatly reduces the risk coefficient for the task squad when guarding the territory during Ravager Rain and Ravager Snow, is also that Xia Qing's territory holds supplies important to the Azure Dragon Squad: Ravager Grass and uncontaminated spring water.

Besides negotiating the employment price, Xia Qing also raised the price of uncontaminated spring water from 144 to 180 credits per liter, still supplying the Azure Dragon Squad with 300 liters of spring water each month.

Of course, the spring water she and Yang Jin use jointly for cultivating cordyceps also went up in price accordingly.

In addition, Xia Qing also promised that whenever the Azure Dragon Squad needs her, she will take part in squad missions as a sniper and magnetic-sense evolver, earning credits according to her mission contribution.

Overall, both sides are satisfied with the results of this negotiation.

When Xia Qing arrived at the north gate of Territory Fifteen on time, all the members of today's bamboo-shoot-digging squad had already assembled. Besides the six strength evolvers, the squad also had three other members: level-six visual evolver Yue Haiying, level-six hearing evolver Liangzi, and level-four speed evolver Tan Qi.

Xia Qing, Yue Haiying, and Liangzi are the protectors and danger responders for this mission; the six strength evolvers and Tan Qi are the bamboo-shoot diggers and carriers.

Squad leader Xia Qing finished checking everyone's gear and weapons, announced the precautions for going out, then led the team out, leaving the territory through the east gate of the wire-mesh wall on the territory's outer perimeter.

Under the Territory Six road sign, Zhu Li watched longingly as Xia Qing led the team and disappeared around the corner of the thorny wall of Territory Seven. Her wish to become an evolver reached its peak. "Tan Qi is only ten and she already gets to go dig bamboo shoots with them. I want to go too. If becoming an evolver meant it, I'd be willing to live ten years less."

Kuang Qingwei laughed. "Becoming an evolver extends your lifespan by at least twenty years. Trading ten years for that is a pretty good deal."

Zhu Li was tickled into a snort of laughter by her husband and gave him a slap. "I'm being serious with you!"

"I know. We're not actually trading lifespan. Once the X-2 spinach grows leaves, I'll give them all to you to eat. That's more reliable than shortening your life."

Zhu Li tensed up again. "What if I eat it and still don't awaken an evolution ability?"

Kuang Qingwei comforted his wife. "That's fine too. Most people don't have an evolution ability. We've got strength and brains and land. Here we've got food and drink, and we're not doing badly."

That was true. Zhu Li was about to speak when she suddenly paused for a few seconds and asked, "Lao Kuang, did you hear Tang Huai cursing?"

Kuang Qingwei tilted his head and listened carefully, but heard nothing. "Xia Qing didn't recruit him for the mission team, so he's definitely bottling up his anger. No matter what he says on the lord channel later, let's not make a sound."

Zhang San, Beard Feng, and Xia Qing's group don't provoke Tang Huai, but Kuang Qingwei and his people are afraid to. Tang Huai doesn't hold grudges, but his father Tang Zhengpo and his sister Tang Ning are not people you want to mess with.

The wire-mesh wall outside the territory has four gates in total—east, west, south, and north. Apart from the north gate, which belongs to Xin Yu—in reality, Xia Qing—and doesn't allow anyone else to pass through, the east, west, and south gates are all manned by personnel from the inspection squads.

The east gate is on the eastward extension of the east-west alley between Territory Fifteen to the south and Territory Eighteen to the north, and is the responsibility of Tan Junjie's squad.

After checking that the protective suits of the outgoing collection squad met the requirements, Tan Junjie didn't specifically ask Xia Qing to look after Tan Qi. He only told his daughter, "You must obey the squad leader's orders. You are not to leave the team or act on your own. Dig two bamboo shoots—that's enough. Too many are hard to carry back."

Tan Qi stood at attention and answered loudly, "Yes!"