Chapter 998: Old Wolf Spots Something Wrong

Xia Qing was busy from morning till night and hadn't checked the new posts online, but after hearing Zhu Li's account, she knew Xin Yu had already taken action.

Yuan Yan from Territory Five came online. "I saw it too. What a bunch of conscienceless beasts. With the birthrate already this low, if we let them keep stirring things up, humanity will be extinct in another fifty years."

Shi Mu knew both Yuan Yan and Zhu Li were planning to have children, so she came online to put their minds at ease. "What spreads online isn't necessarily true."

Zhu Li didn't see it that way. "Auntie, the good news online isn't necessarily true, but the bad news definitely is."

Tang Huai jumped right in. "Sister Li's right. I saw the news too. It says Chonglian Hospital is behind it. Xin Yu, did you see it?"

As expected, Xin Yu, who rarely spoke, ignored Tang Huai.

Inside Territory Fifteen, little Shi Yi, who was previewing her language textbook in Tan Qi's living room, sensed the auras of her two older sisters fluctuating violently. They were scared, and Tan Qi was even more frightened than Jiang Ying.

Although Jiang Ying couldn't sense the aura fluctuations, she didn't want the two little sisters listening to the adults discuss such things. "Sister Qiqi, shall we turn off the walkie-talkie?"

Tan Qi shook her head firmly. "We can't turn it off. We have to know what's happening outside. Being safe inside the territory doesn't mean it's safe outside. We have to stay alert at all times."

Little Shi Yi raised her head, looked at Tan Qi who appeared calm on the surface but was terrified inside, and tried hard to comfort her. "Sister Qiqi runs fast. Bad guys can't catch you."

She was a Level Four Speed Evolver, but her current running speed and stamina didn't meet Aunt Yan's passing mark. Still, Tan Qi firmly remembered her teacher's and father's teachings: never show off her abilities in front of non-Evolvers.

She imitated Sister Qing, calmly patting little Shi Yi's head. "When our combat power isn't enough, running fast is what gives us a chance to survive. Not just me and Sister Ying—Shi Yi has to try to run faster too. After school starts, the teacher will teach you how to breathe and push to run fast. Our PE teachers are all retired soldiers with tons of real combat experience. They're amazing."

Little Shi Yi was full of anticipation for school. "Sister Qiqi, what will PE class do?"

She had lain on the mountaintop with her mother and watched lots of students running outside the buildings, everyone laughing happily. Her mother said they were having PE class.

"PE class is running and playing games, plus the coordination and danger-avoidance drills you see me and Sister Ying practicing every day…"

Tan Qi and Jiang Ying were on very good terms now. After returning to the territory from school, Tan Qi would teach Jiang Ying the training methods and knowledge she learned at school, and train together with her.

Inside Territory Three, Xia Qing was chatting with her good friend while holding dumbbells out to her sides.

"Do you still remember Deng Yuhui?"

"The captain of Chonglian Construction Team Six, the Level Four Evolver who led the team to build my territory wall last year." Xin Yu bringing up Deng Yuhui at this moment told Xia Qing her situation was not good. "Is she pregnant too?"

"Mm, over four months along." A parrot's melodious, clear call came through the phone, making Xin Yu's voice sound especially low. "She suddenly disappeared yesterday. She didn't request leave, and there was nothing unusual about her behavior before she vanished."

Xia Qing asked, "What about the child's father?"

"He's also a Chonglian employee. So far he's behaving fairly calmly. Deng Yuhui and her husband don't have much of an emotional foundation. Chonglian rolled out a series of policies and benefits to encourage childbirth. One of them is that, under equal conditions, married employees with children get promoted first."

During the Calamity years, pregnant women and children were protected key groups. Many people had children just to get the survival supplies and benefits.

Xia Qing set down the dumbbells and held the little black paw that was tugging at her hair. "Chonglian Hospital's dirty deeds have already been exposed. Hui City and Hui Two's officials will definitely send people to investigate. If Deng Yuhui really was taken by them, she should be released soon."

As for whether her child was still there, that was hard to say.

"Mm." Xin Yu leaned back in her chair, quietly watching the peony-headed peach-faced parrot preening its feathers on a branch. "Yu Wenchuang will use visiting me as an excuse after the third Killing Rain to come pursue you. If Hu Zifeng can't spare the time, give Tang Huai some benefits and let Tang Huai deal with him."

Xin Yu knew Xia Qing disliked troubling others, so she urged her not to feel awkward about asking. "If the Tang family hadn't asked you to take on that mission, your advanced vision and sniping abilities wouldn't have been exposed. The Tang family is definitely thinking about how to repay the favor. As long as you bring it up, Tang Huai will be more than happy to take it on. A guy like Yu Wenchuang isn't worth your time."

On a matter this small, Xia Qing decided to handle it herself. "Don't worry, he won't waste my time."

After hanging up, Xia Qing turned Daigua around and lectured it about tugging at her hair when it had nothing better to do. "I wash my hair every day. There are no parasites."

Staring at the little monkey for a few seconds, Xia Qing simply lifted it onto her lap, grooming its fur while chatting. "Daigua, I'm a dual-system advanced Evolver now. Do you think I should break up with Hu Zifeng?"

After her advanced dual-system Evolver abilities were exposed, quite a few "leaders" had called to ask about her work and then used the chance to bring up her personal life, offering to introduce her to a more suitable boyfriend.

After the accident at Territory Nine, most of the staff the Safe Zone sent to investigate the incident and conduct safety checks were single male Evolvers, and a few of them were quite popular back in the Safe Zone.

These people didn't take Hu Zifeng, the Level Five Visual Evolver on the Azure Dragon Squad, seriously at all.

So letting Hu Zifeng keep playing the role of her boyfriend no longer made much sense. Besides, Hu Zifeng wasn't young anymore either. He needed to seriously think about his own personal life, and it wouldn't be right to keep holding him back.

With Xia Qing's current combat power and strength, after breaking up with Hu Zifeng she could openly hire them to guard her territory.

After confirming there were no parasites on Daigua, Xia Qing set it aside. "Tomorrow I'll tell Hu Zifeng about the breakup! Daigua, how old are you? Do you have a wife and kids?"

Daigua the monkey had been tired all day; its eyes could barely stay open, so of course it didn't answer Xia Qing's question.

Xia Qing picked it up and placed it on a tree branch in the corner, greeted the boss pedaling a stationary bike, and prepared to head out for her night run and territory patrol.

"Smack."

Before Xia Qing could leave, she heard Old Wolf tapping on the glass. In summer there were lots of mosquitoes and bugs, so when Xia Qing had the lights on she kept the blackout curtains drawn. She'd installed air conditioning anyway, so the room wouldn't get stuffy with the windows closed.

Old Wolf, who disliked coming indoors, tapping on the window definitely meant something was up.

Xia Qing took the handgun and sniper rifle hanging on the rack, slung two grenades on for good measure, then opened the door and stepped out. "Fourth, what's wrong?"

Old Wolf turned and led Xia Qing outward.

Once outside the village, Old Wolf was displeased with Xia Qing's heavy footsteps and stopped to look at her feet. Xia Qing understood, lowered her voice, and followed him quietly on tiptoe.