Chapter 375: The Fire Phoenix’s Evolutionary Ability

Chapter 375: Chapter 375: The Fire Phoenix’s Evolutionary Ability

After the marksmanship lesson ended, Luo Pei handed Xiaqing a case of special training Bullets from his bag. "Take these and use them. When you run out, get more from Ah Jin."

"Thanks, Brother Luo." Xiaqing took the heavy case of Bullets. She was just wondering how she could bypass the cheapskate and trade directly with Brother Luo for more training Bullets when she heard him say he was leaving.

"I have to go on a mission. I’m leaving this afternoon. If you run into any problems during training, you can contact me directly, or you can ask Ah Jin and Zifeng."

Survival in the Disaster Years wasn’t easy. As the leader of a team, Luo Pei couldn’t possibly idle away in the territory after his recovery, just waiting for the wheat to sprout.

’Who will deal with the refugees in No.1 Territory after he leaves? The Green Dragon Team must have a plan. Luo Pei is a Top Level Sniper; his strength is long-range kills. Scheming and strategizing, however, are the forte of Brain Domain Evolvers.’

The Green Dragon Team certainly didn’t lack Brain Domain Evolvers; two of its three leaders were exactly that.

Xiaqing asked, "Brother Luo, would you like to take a jar of my pickled long beans? They’re a bit salty, but they taste pretty good and are great with a meal."

In addition to the pickled long beans, Xiaqing also decided to give Brother Luo ten jin of Green Light Mountain Walnuts. His Visual Evolution ability had dropped to Level 9 after taking the Antidote. Eating some walnuts, which were said to nourish the brain and help heal brain damage, certainly couldn’t hurt.

"Alright." Luo Pei reminded Xiaqing, "I’ve already spoken with Tan Junjie. He won’t ask questions about the Evolution Wolf Group entering or leaving the Third Territory and Zone Three of Mountain 49. But you have to restrain the Wolf Group. Don’t let them get into conflicts with people in the territory, especially the refugees."

"The Wolf Group will only operate within Zone Three of Mountain 49 and my territory; they won’t enter other areas. As long as no one trespasses into these two zones, there won’t be any conflict with them." Xiaqing seized the opportunity to ask, "Brother Luo, have you and Captain Tan set a date? When will the patrol teams begin their routine sweeps of the Northern Isolation Zone?"

Luo Pei updated Xiaqing on the latest situation. "The patrol teams will focus most of their attention on the Second Territory and No. 9 Territory. They’ll begin their patrols after the Harmful Snow."

’So, December,’ Xiaqing thought, nodding.

Luo Pei continued, "Tang Zhengpo wants his two sons to use the refugees in the Second Territory as practice. Fire Phoenix will be coming to No. 9 Territory soon. This winter is going to be lively. Do your best to avoid Fire Phoenix, and under no circumstances should you let the people she brings enter your territory."

’There is an unpolluted spring on Fiery Mountain, so the Fiery Fire Team is very familiar with spring water. If they enter the Third Territory, they will very likely discover the existence of my spring.’

Xiaqing nodded gravely and asked in a hushed voice, "Brother Luo, can you tell me what Fire Phoenix’s Evolutionary Ability is?"

It wasn’t much of a secret, so when Xiaqing asked, Luo Pei explained it plainly. "She has Recovery Power Evolution. It’s the ability for her body to return to its original state after being affected by external forces."

Xiaqing had heard of this type of Evolutionary Ability but had never encountered it before. Recovery Power was a passive ability and didn’t grant much combat strength.

’So how did Fire Phoenix, a Recovery Power Evolver, become the grand commander of the Fiery Fire Team and make all its members fear her?’

Xiaqing asked another question, "Why did she dye her entire body fiery red?"

This touched upon a past that those who knew about it were unwilling and couldn’t bear to recall. Luo Pei gave a simple explanation. "After Deng Yufeng’s Evolutionary Ability was exposed, it caught the attention of a group of madmen. Their research revealed that her blood contained a high concentration of the Yi Element and was extremely active, which allowed her to recover quickly from physical damage. For all sorts of reasons, those people performed numerous cruel experiments on her, drawing her blood for research to create Recovery Potions and Antidotes."

"To escape those madmen, Deng Yufeng injected herself with a synthetic Qiang toxin. Her Recovery Power could counteract the toxin in her bloodstream, but it couldn’t eliminate it completely. As a result, her blood lost its medicinal and research value."

"The Qiang and Yi Elements, along with the toxin, changed the color of her blood, causing the veins all over her body to become extremely prominent. So, after she escaped from that group of madmen, she took a medicine to change the color of her skin."

’So Deng Yufeng’s skin color turned red from medicine, it wasn’t dyed.’ Xiaqing then asked, "Are those madmen dead?"

Luo Pei sighed softly. "Most of them are. But there are still many other madmen like them out there. So, until you have sufficient combat strength and status, don’t risk revealing your true Evolutionary Abilities."

Xiaqing nodded and asked another question. "The synthetic Qiang toxin in Fire Phoenix’s blood... can it poison someone who comes into contact with it?"

"She regularly injects more toxin into her bloodstream. You can think of her as a walking poisonous organism. If her blood touches you, you will be poisoned." Luo Pei warned Xiaqing again, "Do your best not to interact with her. That whole ordeal changed her personality. She’s on the verge of becoming a madwoman herself."

Xiaqing nodded. After parting ways with Luo Pei, her steps felt heavy.

For years, Xiaqing had struggled to survive at the bottom rungs of society. But thanks to her outstanding Auditory Evolution, she had managed to pick up on a few secrets that were not common knowledge.

In the sixth Disaster Year, the Base Commander of Hui Yi Base, the vice-commander, and the director of the research institute had all been successively replaced. The base’s entire management was shaken up. The real reason was that the Hui Yi Research Institute had been secretly conducting all sorts of inhumane experiments, murdering and torturing countless people to death.

’The madmen Luo Pei spoke of must be that group from the Hui Yi Research Institute who were replaced. Fire Phoenix was their victim. And now, that former victim is about to become a victimizer.’

’This must be why Zhang San was so vehemently against it when he heard No. 9 Territory was planning to take in refugees.’

Fire Phoenix’s trip this time was likely for Zhang San. But Zhang San had Ji Li and others protecting him. As long as he didn’t leave Territory Land No. 7, Fire Phoenix couldn’t touch him.

All Xiaqing had to do was keep her own secrets safe and lie low to survive.

Luo Pei had said that once she had sufficient combat strength and status, she could publicly reveal that she was a Three Systems High Level Evolver.

But Xiaqing had no plans to do so. She held no grand ambitions or pursuits; she just wanted to live as comfortably as possible through the Disaster Years.

Of course, once her combat strength was sufficient, Xiaqing would seize the chance to put a bullet in Tang Zhengsu. The primary reason for killing him was to avenge her father, and as a bonus, she’d be ridding Hui San Base of a pest.

BEEP.

The camera at the North Gate of the Third Territory recognized and confirmed Xiaqing’s identity, activating the iron gate. After Xiaqing passed through, it sent a message to the client terminal:

Lord No.3 Xiaqing entered the Third Territory through the North Gate at 11:28 on November 10.

Hearing the iron gate clang shut behind her and seeing the message on her phone, most of the weight that had been pressing down on Xiaqing instantly vanished.

Lord Xiaqing didn’t want to think about matters outside her territory. She was only concerned with whether the spinach seeds in her terraced fields had matured, and whether the wheat and rapeseed she had planted had taken root.

She first went to the High Slope terraces to carefully inspect the spinach. After confirming the spinach seeds weren’t yet mature, she plucked a few scallions and walked over to the edge of the wheat field.

The seeds buried in the earth were struggling to grow. Xiaqing didn’t rashly dig up the soil to check on them. She simply cleared some weeds from the edge of the field and headed home with her basket.

The Green Light Chickens had laid four eggs today. For lunch, Xiaqing was going to have tomato and egg noodles.

The eggs were fresh Green Light Eggs, just collected from the coop. The tomatoes were perfectly preserved Green Light tomatoes from her underground vegetable cellar. The noodles were a mixed-flour type made from wheat and mung beans, and the oil was sunflower oil she had pressed herself.

She stir-fried the tomato and egg topping, sprinkled it with chopped scallions, and poured it over the boiled, hand-pulled noodles. Just like that, a bowl of tomato and egg noodles with sauce, perfect in color, aroma, and flavor, was ready.