Chapter 826: A Cup of Tea at the Ninth Territory

This visit by Fire Phoenix was brimming with sincerity.

Her helicopter landed on the empty ground at the south side of Northern Zone 1's territory. After obtaining permission from the Seventh Territory Lord, she brought no weapons and only two squad members as she entered through the east gate of this territory, heading for the Seventh Territory.

"Everyone, pay attention…" Crouched in the northeast corner of the Seventeenth Territory, Wen Nengjie lowered his voice and broadcast an announcement on the Lord Channel, his voice trembling with excitement.

Although Tan Junjie had not openly asked on the Lord Channel whether the Seventh Territory permitted visitors, the fire-red helicopter had landed in broad daylight at the south side of Northern Zone 1's territory—anyone with eyes could see Liehuo had sent people.

Other territories might not know who had come, but with Tang Huai the town crier on the Northern Zone 1, Territories 1–10 Lord Channel, how could everyone possibly not know?

Liehuo was the most formidable of Hui City's ten bases and several hundred battle squads. Liehuo's captain, Fire Phoenix, was Hui City's most legendary woman—this was a rare sight of a true big shot!

Wen Nengjie, who had just squeezed out five words while crouching excitedly behind the wild-grass wall, watched as the tall bodyguard behind Fire Phoenix, wearing an all-black one-way mirrored protective visor, turned precisely to face the direction where Wen Nengjie was hiding.

Survival instinct made Wen Nengjie drop his walkie-talkie and turn on his heels, sprinting toward the center of the territory.

"Pay attention to what? Old Wen, is your walkie-talkie out of battery?" Tang Huai asked on the Lord Channel.

Kuang Qingwei came online at once. "Old Wen, if the solar panels in your territory aren't generating enough power, you can bring your equipment over to mine to charge—only 2 points per hour."

After confirming the people over there posed no threat, the Liehuo bodyguard turned back to protect the captain as they headed north. Passing the east side of the Fifteenth Territory, one of the bodyguards turned his head slightly to look at the Fifteenth Territory's wild-grass wall.

Tan Qi and Jiang Ying, lying low behind the wild-grass wall, didn't move a muscle, not daring to even breathe hard.

After they had passed the Fifteenth Territory, Tan Qi, wearing an earpiece, finally pressed the walkie-talkie button and reported in a low voice, "Liehuo's captain has already passed the isolation belt east of the Fifteenth Territory and is heading for the Seventh Territory. She brought two bodyguards; one of them is likely a high-level auditory evolver."

Tan Junjie came online at once. "Tan Qi, you are not to leave the territory."

"Copy that. I haven't left." Tan Qi replied obediently.

Tang Huai gloated, "Old Wen, you weren't spotted by Liehuo's bodyguards and scared off, were you?"

Wen Nengjie, who had run back and found his walkie-talkie, was still shaken. "Brother Huai, I'll bet you a thousand points—the two bodyguards guarding Fire Phoenix definitely have more than thirty lives on their hands."

Tang Huai snorted. "Only thirty? You're really underestimating them. Which evolver doesn't have dozens of lives on their hands? Let me go see who she brought."

Before anyone else could speak, Tang Zhengpo came online. "Tang Huai, stay put in your territory."

"Fine, Dad, I won't go out." Tang Huai behaved.

"They're coming. They've already entered the corridor from the isolation belt." Zhu Li in the Sixth Territory lowered her voice and reported the latest situation, her voice full of an onlooker's excitement.

In the director's office of the Ninth Territory, Xia Qing, wearing an earpiece, didn't even look up, her pen scratching away as she wrote.

Outside the Seventh Territory's road sign, Deng Yufeng, dressed in a fiery-red special protective suit, beamed and smiled. "Captain Ji, Captain Yan, long time no see. Do I need to be inspected again before entering the Seventh Territory?"

Ji Li answered, "According to regulations, entering the Seventh Territory requires a strict inspection. Captain Deng, please cooperate."

"Of course." Fire Phoenix raised both arms. A female squad member from the Yanlong Squad stepped forward, quickly scanned Fire Phoenix's entire body with a handheld device, then stepped back.

Ji Li stepped aside. "Captain Deng, please come in."

Fire Phoenix asked lightly, "My two squad members can't come in together?"

Ji Li's reply was thoroughly professional. "Captain Deng did not submit a request for them."

Fire Phoenix held Ji Li's gaze for a few seconds before ordering, "Give me the thing. You two wait outside."

"Yes." One bodyguard stepped forward and handed over the black case he was carrying.

Fire Phoenix opened the case directly and asked politely, "This is the potion I promised to send to Third Brother for his research. Would Captain Ji like to verify what's inside?"

"I would." Fire Phoenix was being polite, but Ji Li was not polite at all. She took the case directly and handed it to the squad member beside her. "Once the inspection confirms there are no problems, someone will return the case to you. Please come in."

Fire Phoenix laughed. "Captain Ji is truly conscientious and responsible. With you leading the team to protect Third Brother, I can rest easy."

"How scary!"

After Fire Phoenix entered the Seventh Territory, Zhu Li ran back to the center of her territory, putting plenty of distance between herself and Liehuo's two bodyguards before daring to press the walkie-talkie and speak.

"What happened? I didn't see any fight break out!" Tang Huai, standing by the road sign of the Second Territory and watching through binoculars, asked immediately.

Zhu Li repeated the conversation between Fire Phoenix and Ji Li, then summarized, "Worthy of being the captain of an eight-hundred-person squad—her aura is overwhelming. Even when she's speaking with a smile, it makes your skin crawl. Tang Lu really has guts, daring to provoke her."

Tang Lu provoking Fire Phoenix and being trampled underfoot in the street was something everyone in Hui-3 Safe Zone knew and clapped their hands over.

Zhao Ze asked curiously, "Haven't heard any news about Tang Lu in a long time. Brother Huai, what is she up to now?"

Tang Huai didn't like Tang Lu, and his tone soured whenever she was mentioned. "She hired a tutor and is preparing for next month's exam."

Tan Qi asked curiously, "She didn't even finish elementary school either?"

"No, she's taking the college entrance exam. She wants to go to university."

Everyone: …

The pen in Xia Qing's hand paused for a beat. The few universities still open were all in the inner cities of the various bases, with extremely tight security. Tang Lu going to university was far better than being cooped up in a small room in the inner city of Hui-3 Safe Zone.

The country was short on talent now. If she could get into a decent program and graduate smoothly, she would surely land a good formal job.

The premise being: she had to get in.

Xia Qing felt Tang Lu's chances of getting in were still quite high. That she had become the only intact egg in the Tang family nest after it was overturned was no small feat of brains.

"Buzz—"

Even though she had already braced herself, when the phone on the desk lit up with a string of numbers and began to vibrate, Xia Qing's heart still skipped a beat.

Here it comes.

She took a deep breath and pressed the answer key.

Fire Phoenix's warm, smiling voice came through, oddly reminiscent of the Ninth Territory's former assistant Xiao Liu. "May I ask if this is Territory Three's Lord Xia? This is Deng Yufeng of Liehuo."

Xia Qing's tone was equally polite and formal. "This is Xia Qing. What can I do for you?"

Fire Phoenix watched Yanlong leading the way ahead, the corners of her fire-red lips curving high. "Lord Xia, I am currently within Hui-3 Northern Zone 1's territory. I would like to visit Territory Three now to apologize to you on Shan Ying's behalf. Would that be alright?"

"Captain Deng, you're too kind…"

"Miss Xia, I am sincere. Please give me a chance."

Xia Qing replied calmly, "If Captain Deng isn't in a hurry, you're welcome to come by the Ninth Territory for a visit and have a cup of tea."