Chapter 914: Wang Shunkang

Half an hour later, Xia Qing was carrying the employment contract for the Ninth Planting Center, signed by four Magnetic Sense Evolvers, to deliver it to the base office when Zhao Baolin stopped her.

Zhao Baolin set aside the indignation he had shown in the meeting room earlier; his face wore a smile and his voice was warm. "Xia, have you made your selection?"

"Yes, please have a look." Xia Qing handed the contract to Zhao Baolin with both hands.

In terms of affiliation, the Ninth Planting Center counts as a subordinate unit of the Planting Management Department, so Zhao Baolin is Xia Qing's direct superior. However, Xia Qing's department is rather special and possesses an extremely high degree of decision-making autonomy, so she doesn't need to seek Zhao Baolin's approval for every matter.

Zhao Baolin took it, flipped through it casually, and asked with concern, "How did you get here?"

The recruitment room has front and rear cameras, so Zhao Baolin must have been watching the entire selection process on the monitor screen, which means she definitely knows how Xia Qing got here.

But since the other party wanted to show concern for a subordinate, Xia Qing played along. "I took the Green Dragon Squad's supply transport helicopter here. Later I'll take the newly recruited employees and their family members back on the helicopter."

After responding, Zhao Baolin asked, "Does riding the helicopter cost anything?"

What a stupid question. Xia Qing answered, "60 points per person, and carrying supplies over 20 kilograms also requires payment."

"That's not cheap. Xia, riding the helicopter is indeed more comfortable than riding a patrol car, but our department has limited funds. When reimbursing travel expenses, we still have to follow the regulations." After saying this, Zhao Baolin put on an expression of having Xia Qing's best interests at heart. "No matter how big or small the matter, everything must be handled according to regulations. Only when you lead by example can those below follow the rules. You still have a long road ahead of you."

Her road was indeed very long, but it wasn't the same one Zhao Baolin was talking about. Xia Qing stated calmly, "Thank you for the reminder, I'll keep it in mind. This 'business trip' of mine doesn't require paying points, because I'm the machine gunner for this helicopter transport."

Zhao Baolin nearly choked to death on Xia Qing's words, but looking at the gold identity badge she wore and recalling her status as a senior sniper, she didn't dare put on airs anymore. "Alright. Your department must protect these four Magnetic Sense Evolvers well; they are all core talents of our base."

"Yes."

When Xia Qing left the administrative building and hurried back to the Green Dragon base, she waited for the four new employees of Territory Nine—Wang Jun, Wu Xinlian, Lü Ziqiang, and Geng Min—to arrive with their families and luggage.

Lü Ziqiang, 24, ranked 5th in ability among the 20 Class-B Magnetic Sense Evolvers. He was the first to arrive because he had no relatives and pitifully few personal belongings.

Lü Ziqiang was the Magnetic Sense Evolver who had been captured by the fishermen the night before last, tightly bound and locked in the storage room of the bathroom at Baiye Mall. The kidnapping had scared him out of his wits; he didn't want to stay in the Safe Zone a moment longer. How many points he earned didn't matter—his life and safety came first.

After being escorted by bodyguards to the Green Dragon Squad base, Lü Ziqiang immediately stood behind Xia Qing with his backpack on his back and two bags in his hands, following her wherever she went, afraid of being left behind.

Geng Min was the second to arrive. She is 28 years old this year and ranked 4th in ability among the 20 Class-B Magnetic Sense Evolvers, making her one of the most sought-after talents by every department. She joined the Ninth Planting Center on the recommendation of her husband, Xu Li.

Xu Li was a soldier once led by Yue Haiying. Several of his brothers who had been discharged from their battalion worked at the Ninth Planting Center, so he knew that although the wages there didn't sound high, it was the safest place, with the best food and the most spacious, clean housing. As for safety, there was even less to worry about.

Although Yue Haiying had lost an arm, his command ability and sense of responsibility remained first-rate. In fact, after Yue Haiying lost his arm, the regiment tried hard to keep him and didn't want him to retire. But Yue Haiying, in order to save the lives of brothers who had been seriously injured during missions, moved into Territory Fifteen together with them.

On account of this alone, there was not a single person in the Hui San military camp who didn't admire him.

Geng Min's family included her father, mother-in-law, and daughter, and they had a lot of supplies. The reason they arrived so quickly was that their home was not far from the Green Dragon base.

After Wang Jun and Wu Xinlian's two families also arrived, everyone loaded their belongings onto the helicopter and flew toward Territory One in the northern sector.

After boarding the helicopter, everyone tried to be as agreeable as possible, but each of the four families occupied a corner, all clutching their own supplies tightly, afraid someone would snatch them away. This was an instinct—in years of natural disasters with material shortages, everyone treats their supplies like the apple of their eye; losing supplies meant going hungry, meant death.

"Mama." After the helicopter took off, three-year-old Geng An'an clutched her mother's protective suit.

Geng Min gently patted her daughter, telling her not to be afraid.

Sitting across from the Geng family, Wu Xinlian and her son were in a similar situation. Except Wu Xinlian's daughter Liu Anqi was already six years old; although she was scared and pressed tightly against her mother, she still gripped the bundle in her hands tightly, ready to fight desperately if anyone came to take it. Liu Ke had seen Wu Xinlian off, but he had to first handle the matter of leaving the squad and couldn't go with them.

Wang Jun and his son, who had the best relationship with Xia Qing, sat in the seats closest to her and were also the most relaxed. Wang Jun chatted with Xia Qing about the changes in the construction team over the past two years since she left the Safe Zone. Seven-year-old Wang Shunkang sat beside his father, tightly hugging a small bundle.

Xia Qing had worked with Wang Jun for many years and long knew his habit of talking a lot when nervous. So she listened to Wang Jun prattle on about his son not getting enough nutritious food and growing slowly, while sizing up Wang Shunkang, who indeed hadn't grown much in nearly two years.

Children born after the natural disasters were mostly given names containing "An," "Ping," "Shun," "Fu," and "Kang," representing parents' hopes and blessings for their children.

Wang Shunkang was not Wang Jun's biological son; the two had no blood relation.

The first time Xia Qing saw this child was during the third Killing Rain of the seventh year of the natural disasters.

For those three days, lightning strikes, thunder, strong winds, and red-level hailstorms took turns assaulting the Hui San Safe Zone. Countless citizens truly lost control, frantically hurting themselves or their families, and even more people pretended to lose control to rob supplies everywhere. The Safe Zone became a hell on earth.

Level Four Strength Evolver Xia Qing was urgently conscripted and left her room to help quell the chaos.

She carried a steel blade whose edge had rolled over from hacking people, helped Wang Jun kill the out-of-control neighbor and the robbers who had rushed into the house, and then watched him trembling as he fished a blood-covered key from a gruesome corpse, opened an iron box under the bed, and pulled out a small child who neither cried nor fussed.

Wang Jun, who had lost all his relatives in the natural disasters, adopted this child who had likewise lost all his family. After that, Xia Qing often saw Wang Shunkang tied up under the shade of trees at the construction team's worksite, or under a sunshade built from boards. This child never cried or fussed, because after that disaster he never made a sound again, the whole person dull and vacant.

When Wang Shunkang was six, Wang Jun sent him to the Safe Zone elementary school for a week of classes, after which the child was somehow beaten until his head bled and nearly died. Wang Jun didn't dare send him again.

Heaven never truly cuts off all paths—Wang Jun suddenly gained an Evolver ability and found a new job, and his son had another chance to enter school.

He believed that after his son enrolled this time, he definitely wouldn't be bullied again. Because Xia Qing was the highest leader of the Ninth Center, and his son Wang Shunkang could be considered someone she had watched grow up.

Although Xia Qing had always been cold and distant with everyone, there was still some affection between them, more or less.