Chapter 730: Visitors from the Safe Zone

The second "possibility" Yang Jin mentioned quickly became reality.

The morning after the helicopter hauled away the suppressant, at ten a. m., the screening-team guard at the Dongmen radioed Xia Qing: "Lord Three, Lord Three, you there?"

Every lord with a walkie-talkie on pricked up their ears. Xia Qing, who was cleaning the chicken coop, pressed the talk button: "Territory Three, Xia Qing online, go ahead."

"There's a Tier-3 olfactory evolver named Feng Wen outside the Dongmen who says she's your good friend and wants to enter Northern Zone One's territory to visit you. Do you grant passage?"

Unlike the other territories outside Hui Three Safe Zone, Northern Zone One's territory is ringed by a sturdy iron-mesh fence fitted with surveillance cameras. So to enter or leave Northern Zone One, you can only use the East, South, or West Gates. All three are manned by screening-team guards, and outsiders entering the territory must show ID and state their reason for entering.

If the visitor is here to see a particular lord, the screening team must first contact that lord and get the lord's permission before letting them in.

This measure greatly raised Northern Zone One's security level.

Just the day before yesterday, the mother of Tan Junjie, captain of Northern Zone One's screening team, brought her grandson over, and because she hadn't gotten entry permission from Lord Fifteen Tan Qi, she was turned away at the gate.

Tan Mu called her son, who was on a mission at Mountain Fifty-One, and after confirming her son didn't have the authority to approve outsiders entering the territory, she could only take her crying, fussing grandson back to the safe zone on a transport vehicle.

The day Tan Mu came, the lords all secretly gathered to watch and got their fill of gossip. They hadn't expected more melon to eat so soon, and everyone was thrilled.

Xia Qing pressed the button again: "Grant passage. Tell her to come to Territory Three's Nanmen."

"Copy that. With Lord Three's consent, Tier-3 olfactory evolver Feng Wen is permitted to enter Northern Zone One's territory."

The screening-team guard set down the walkie-talkie and opened the iron gate.

Feng Wen hurried into the territory, then put on a smile and politely asked, "Excuse me, how do I get to Territory Three's Nanmen?"

The screening-team guard pointed to the road on the right: "Follow this road north until you hit the T-junction ahead, turn left, then go another 9 kilometers, and you'll see the Territory Three sign."

Nine kilometers. On foot?!

Feng Wen pointed at the patrol car beside her and asked meekly, "I'm not feeling well. Could you give me a ride over?"

The screening-team guard refused outright: "No. This is a patrol car, not a shuttle."

Feng Wen pitifully stared at the two armed screening-team guards at the gate. When they showed no reaction at all, she could only unwillingly trudge forward along the pitted dirt road.

Tang Huai crouched inside the wild-grass wall, gazed east for a long time, still saw no one, and pulled out his phone to tap-tap-tap:

Tang Huai: @Territory Fifteen Yue Hai Camp, where's the person? Not in yet?

Territory Fifteen Yu Shou: She's in, on the East Quarantine Strip. At her pace, it'll take her an hour to reach Territory Three. @Xia Qing, Sister Qing, go open the gate in an hour.

Tang Huai: That slow? Is Feng Wen injured?

Yu Shou: No, she's carrying a pretty big pack, eyeballing about 30 jin.

Hearing Zhu Li: Thirty jin isn't heavy. Could she be planning to walk slowly so she can have lunch at Sister Qing's territory?

Tang Huai: Exactly!

Shi Du: Back in the safe zone, Feng Wen never stopped badmouthing Sister Qing. She's not Sister Qing's good friend at all.

Hearing Zhu Li: Then there's even less reason to waste food on her!

Zhao Ze: When she gets here, please give us a shout in the group, Brother Huai.

Yu Shou had still overestimated Feng Wen's speed.

Half an hour later, Feng Wen arrived at Territory Three's Nanmen, slightly out of breath, and discovered the main south gate was actually locked. Her mood soured even further.

"Bang, bang, bang! Xia Qing, Xia Qing—"

Tang Huai: @Xia Qing, Feng Wen's here.

Hearing Zhu Li: Be careful, Sister Qing. When Feng Wen passed by the south side of Territory Six earlier, she kept looking over toward Territory Fourteen. I think she's connected to Territory Fourteen.

Xia Qing: Got it, thanks.

Pocketing her phone, Xia Qing set down the shovel, walked through the wild-grass wall, and saw Feng Wen in a fitted lavender printed protective suit.

The style she was wearing had been last autumn's popular model. Although it was only Field-Grade One, it had sold for 3,400 points.

Sharp-eyed Xia Qing noticed several places on Feng Wen's protective suit that had been patched with fabric of the same color. They looked freshly mended—the patches were very bright.

Her protective mask also showed signs of being repaired after damage.

This was probably the new outfit Feng Wen had bought last year. She might have been wearing this very set when she fled with Tang Rui, which was why the shoulder and elbow areas of the suit were damaged.

Seeing that Xia Qing was still wearing her old tattered protective suit, Feng Wen—who had been raising her arm about to keep knocking on the gate—straightened up and waved at her warmly. "Xia Qing, over here!"

Xia Qing glanced at the two people crouching inside the wild-grass wall of Territory Two, walked over expressionlessly, and stood behind the iron mesh silently watching Feng Wen.

Feng Wen's smile faltered. She lowered her hand and spoke first: "Your face detox cleared? You look much better now, and you've gained weight. Congratulations."

In the years of natural disaster, calling someone "fat" wasn't an insult—because only those with plenty of food could put on flesh, something everyone who didn't have enough to eat envied.

Xia Qing said calmly, "What do you want with me?"

That damned, familiar feeling again!

Having lived with Xia Qing for over four years, the thing Feng Wen couldn't stand most—besides her being dirty and smelly every day—was that half-dead, couldn't-care-less attitude of hers!

Pressing her lips together to tamp down her surging emotions, Feng Wen pleaded softly, "It's not convenient to talk here. Could you open the gate first?"

Xia Qing was silent for a few seconds, then opened the iron gate.

Holy shit!

Tang Huai, head down, tapped away: Xia Qing let Feng Wen in!

Zhao Ze: No way?!!!

Hearing Zhu Li: Don't worry, she'll be out soon. Sister Qing definitely won't feed her.

Feng Wen dragged her two aching, swollen legs, followed Xia Qing through the wild-grass wall, and caught sight of the neat greenhouses and smooth roads inside the territory. A very complicated look flashed through her eyes. "Did you fix all this up by yourself?"

Xia Qing didn't answer, and pushed open the door of the small hut by the wild-grass wall.

After this small hut was built, it had only been used for a few days last winter when hauling yellow clay from Mountain Fifty-One back to the territory. Since then, Xia Qing had been using it as a tool shed for the southern part of the territory.

Although it was a tool shed, Xia Qing tidied it regularly—no bugs, no leaks, no dust on the tables and chairs. Sitting down for a chat would be perfectly fine.

The small hut that Xia Qing thought was quite nice struck Feng Wen as extremely crude. Moreover, the room had a very obvious musty smell, scaring her so much she didn't dare take off her protective mask.

After sitting down in a chair, Feng Wen kept trying to get close to Xia Qing: "This little hut's not bad. Did you build it yourself? You were a construction squad leader back in the safe zone, so building a small hut must be no problem for you."

Xia Qing asked again, "I'm busy. If you have something to say, say it straight."

Feng Wen clenched her fists beneath the table, looked up at the now more beautiful Xia Qing, and begged her to take her in. "Can I stay in your territory? I can work for you—you don't have to pay me, just give me food and a place to sleep."

Xia Qing refused outright. "My territory doesn't hire people."

Feng Wen's fists clenched even tighter, her breathing grew heavy and rapid, and her voice trembled. "When you moved into the Evolver dormitory, I was the one who took you in. Now someone's trying to kill me, and I have nowhere to go—I could only come to you for shelter."

"Neither of us has any family left, and we lived in the same dormitory for four years. You're my best friend."

"Aren't you scared living alone in such a big territory? If I stay, we can keep each other company just like before."