Chapter 969: I Am an Advanced Brain-Domain Evolver

The idol printed out a comparative analysis table of the samples Yang Jin brought back and the samples Xia Qing sent over; the contents were clear at a glance.

"The soil sample with qiangwu grass seeds planted beside the Lan Wu spring eye was mixed by me and brought over by Captain Yang. The most striking difference between the two soils is that at the beginning of this month I added yishi particles to the soil; the other elements don't differ much."

After finishing the soil sample analysis, Xia Qing moved on to the air samples. "Third Brother, the carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and diphosphorus trioxide levels in Lan Wu's air are so high—did a fire break out near the spring eye?"

Zhang San was very pleased with Xia Qing's progress. "To prevent the spread of the super evolution bacteria, the people at Lan Wu set fire to a large stretch of the evolution forest at the edges. The compounds from the burning drifted over with the wind."

I see. Xia Qing's finger pointed to the last line of Lan Wu's air analysis results—"Unknown Substance"—and she asked, "Third Brother, what is this substance?"

Zhang San led Xia Qing out of the lab and pulled up the video of this morning's air-testing chamber explosion for her to watch. "This is a kind of qiang-synthesized substance. When I was heating and pressurizing it to test its stability, I triggered a qiang explosion."

Xia Qing's heart clenched at once, and she looked her idol's paper-thin body up and down. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Zhang San shot Xia Qing a look and said irritably, "I've been researching qiang elements for eleven years."

"You're absolutely right—you're the top expert in our country who's spent the longest time and produced the most results on the qiang and yi two elements. You're a human standing at the top of Blue Star's pyramid…"

Zhang San was speechless. "Why do you have such an obsession with pyramids?"

Why?

Xia Qing was stunned for a moment before answering honestly, "My dad studied architecture. On our wall at home there's a photo of him standing at the top of a pyramid, radiating brilliance—he looked incredibly cool."

Zhang San snorted. "He snuck up there and got locked on by their laser lights?"

"No, the photo was Photoshopped. My parents had originally planned to take me to see the pyramids after my middle-school entrance exams." But the year Xia Qing took her middle-school entrance exams was the first year of the natural disasters, with frequent natural catastrophes all over Blue Star, so it was no longer possible to travel in peace.

Hearing it was for this reason, Zhang San said nothing more.

Xia Qing returned to the main topic and asked, "Third Brother, isn't it true that only high-concentration qiang elements struck by high-speed or high-temperature objects will trigger a qiang explosion? What's the detonation temperature for this new qiang-synthesized element at Lan Wu?"

"79 degrees Celsius, with a concentration equivalent to that of neon in the atmosphere." Seeing Xia Qing's expression, Zhang San knew she had no idea what the neon concentration was and added, "0.0015%."

Xia Qing was shocked. "That's way too unstable! If this substance spreads, Lan Wu will have to ban all thermal weapons except laser guns and laser cannons. All the factions at the base will have to reshuffle, and who knows how many people will die."

A bullet's friction with the air during flight alone can generate enough heat to reach 100 degrees Celsius—not to mention cannon shells, which are faster and have a larger friction surface.

No wonder Yang Jin had injuries on his arms and hands, and was also suffering headaches from overusing his brain! Under those circumstances, he still remembered to bring back three big crates of supplies for her—he was truly more than generous enough.

Lan Wu was probably a complete mess by now. Hopefully Zhang Shi could find a suitable candidate and identity soon, and send Little Eleven back.

Zhang San understood even better than Xia Qing how serious the consequences would be if this substance spread. "The qiangwu grass seeds turning to water might be related to this new substance."

Xia Qing followed her idol's line of reasoning. "Qiangwu grass is the nemesis of qiang-synthesized elements. Third Brother, are you thinking of trying to use qiangwu grass to absorb or break down this substance? Do you need me to go back and get the seeds?"

Zhang San shook his head. "I've already applied to Hui One for five qiangwu grass seeds."

Qiangwu grass was also planted beside Hui One's pollution-free spring eye, so getting the seeds wasn't difficult. The only issue was that Zhang San didn't have enough pollution-free spring water here, making the cost of cultivating qiangwu grass too high—but using them for research was still feasible.

Xia Qing nodded immediately. "You did exactly the right thing. There's no reason not to use Hui One's supplies."

Watching Xia Qing's penny-pinching, calculating manner, Zhang San couldn't be bothered to complain about her anymore. "As soon as you get back, contact Yang Jin right away and remind him to be careful. I've already contacted the Lan Wu research institute; I'll soon get air-testing samples from various spots in Lan Wu's evolution forest to confirm the distribution range of this gas."

Xia Qing lowered her voice. "Third Brother, has Hui One's surveillance on you been upgraded again?"

Otherwise, why would her idol have her make the call instead of contacting Yang Jin directly?

"How could it possibly be upgraded?" Zhang San shot Xia Qing a look. "I don't want more people to know my personal cell number. How's that old wolf of yours doing?"

In other words, her idol's main number was already being monitored!

Xia Qing suppressed her anger and answered, "That wolf has been taking the medicine Song Ge prescribed for four days now. Its appetite has increased and the diarrhea has improved a bit, but it still has no energy and just stays in one spot without wanting to move."

Zhang San nodded. "Have Zhang Song go over and examine it."

Xia Qing understood her idol's meaning—he didn't want the Ji Li squad to discover this wolf.

Xia Qing brought Zhang Song and some portable medical testing equipment to the south gate of her territory. Without waiting for Xia Qing to act, Zhang Song volunteered on his own, "Sister Qing, I'll go open the gate."

"Alright." Xia Qing handed the key to Zhang Song, then watched helplessly as he pushed open the car door and rolled out…

Before Xia Qing could even get out of the car, Tang Lu came out from Territory Two and hurried toward Zhang Song.

Xia Qing immediately jumped out of the car and stepped between Zhang Song and Tang Lu.

Tang Lu took two steps back, her expression sincere, and proactively explained, "Young Lady Xia, please don't be nervous. I just happened to see this gentleman fall, so I wanted to come over and see if you needed any help."

"I'm fine." Zhang Song got up, patted the dirt off himself, and said with a smile, "You're Miss Tang, the lord of Territory Two, right? Sister Qing stopped you because once she brought me out of Territory Seven, she's responsible for my safety. My combat ability is too poor to protect myself."

Tang Lu wore an obedient smile as she tried to get closer to Zhang Song. "Are you also an ordinary person?"

Zhang Song continued to smile as he stared at the masked Tang Lu. "No, I'm an advanced brain-domain evolver. Miss Tang, there's something I'm very curious about: this is our first meeting, and you only saw a fallen figure from behind, yet you determined my gender. What ability did you rely on?"

Within this territory, regardless of gender, everyone wore the same style of camouflage protective suits.

Tang Lu's smile froze on her face for only an instant before she responded with an earnest expression, "I guessed."

"Miss Tang guessed accurately." Zhang Song nodded, turned and opened the iron mesh gate of Territory Three. After waiting for Xia Qing to drive in, he nodded again at Tang Lu before relocking the gate and climbing onto Xia Qing's off-road vehicle.

Glancing through the rearview mirror at Tang Lu's expression as she stood on the passage, and only after the off-road vehicle had moved far from the wild-grass wall did Zhang Song curiously ask, "Sister Qing, have you had some past conflict with that lady just now?"