Chapter 387: Fifteenth Lord

Chapter 387: Chapter 387: Fifteenth Lord

Even if she could afford it, Xiaqing wouldn’t buy it. The Mung Bean Cultivation Guide she had was purchased from No. 9 Territory, and while it was somewhat useful, the cultivation conditions it demanded were very strict, so it wasn’t much help for increasing yields.

That was why at the Territory Alliance meeting, everyone had already decided that unless the price dropped to under 100 points, they would not be purchasing any more Guides from No. 9 Territory.

The Lords of the Territory Alliance weren’t buying, but Lords who weren’t short on points would still get a copy.

Tang Zhengpo came online. To Xiaqing, his voice sounded a bit stronger than it had the past few days. "Assistant Liu, Territory No. 12 will purchase one copy."

Hu Zifeng came online as well. "Assistant Liu, No.1 Territory will purchase one copy."

Assistant Little Liu sounded pleased. "Alright, I’ll send someone to deliver them to the base of the road sign in twenty minutes. Please be ready to collect them, Lords."

Zhou Zhaoping, the assistant from No. 8 Territory, also came online. "Assistant Liu, No. 8 Territory will purchase one copy."

Assistant Little Liu replied immediately, "Of course. It will be delivered to the base of the road sign in twenty minutes. Assistant Zhou, I was wondering, will your territory’s compost fungus powder be delivered on schedule?"

Zhou Zhaoping responded in a calm, unhurried tone, "In four days, that is, on November 15th at 10 AM, the delivery truck will begin its route."

’No. 8 Territory actually has its own dedicated delivery truck now,’ Xiaqing thought. ’I wonder if it’s fuel-powered or electric.’

"ARGH, AARGH—"

Bestial roars, like those of a human who had lost control, suddenly erupted from Second Territory. Xiaqing shot to her feet. Wolf the Second, who had been digging a hole with its paws, and Sheep Leader, who had been lying down chewing its cud, also got up and stared south together.

"Second Territory, what’s your status?" Tan Junjie’s inquiry came over the radio.

Tang Huai replied, furious and exasperated, "Someone in the territory lost control and went berserk. We’re injecting them with relaxing medicine now."

The soothing agent worked quickly. Two minutes later, the roaring stopped.

Tan Junjie continued his questioning, "Second Territory, is anyone injured?"

"Only one person lost control. No one was injured."

"Roger. Report any new developments immediately."

Hu Zifeng started taunting him. "Second Territory, don’t try to be a hero. If you really can’t handle it, just let the refugees go. Give them a chance to survive."

The refugees had been in the territory for over ten days. During this short period, there had been no Harmful Rain, and atmospheric Harmful Element levels hadn’t risen significantly. For a refugee to still lose control and go berserk could only mean that the refugees in Second Territory were under extreme, constant stress, causing their bodies’ resistance to drop and the Harmful Element within them to skyrocket.

Surprisingly, Tang Huai didn’t argue with Hu Zifeng. "You’re right. If I can’t secure enough food soon, I’ll apply to reduce the number of refugees employed by Second Territory."

Everyone was thrown off by Tang Huai not arguing and cursing. Hu Zifeng, especially, was so unaccustomed to it that he didn’t know how to respond.

Xiaqing listened intently to the intermittent sounds of arguing and crying coming from Second Territory, her brow furrowing slightly.

’The Su Feng Team made Tang Huai take in over a hundred refugees but isn’t providing any food. What kind of wicked scheme are they cooking up? Could they be trying to force Tang Zhengpo to provide the food to support the refugees?’

Tang Huai asked over the Lord channel, "Captain Tan, can I form a team with the Evolver refugees in my territory and go to the Evolution Forest to look for food?"

Tan Junjie issued a grave warning, "You must explain to the refugees in your territory that once they step outside Second Territory, they will no longer be protected by the Lord Law. Before you leave the territory, an inspection team will need to confirm in person that the refugees are going voluntarily and are not being forced."

Tang Huai replied, "Understood."

The refugees from Second Territory were about to leave the territory.

Xiaqing immediately called Qi Fu and told him to notify everyone of an emergency Lord meeting at 6 PM inside Territory No.5.

For the past two days, construction vehicles hired by the Territory Alliance had been digging up thorn wood from Mountain No. 50 and transporting it to the territories, load by load. The southern perimeter walls for Territories Four, Five, and Six, as well as the western wall for the Tenth Territory, had been erected. This, combined with the diligent patrols of the patrol teams, had significantly eased the anxiety the Lords felt over the refugees’ arrival.

Zhao Ze was worried about his mom crossing the Northern Isolation Zone alone, so he waited for Xiaqing to arrive before letting his mother go with her.

In the eyes of the mother and son from the Zhao family, Xiaqing was an extremely capable person. Seeing that Xiaqing wasn’t the least bit flustered, Mrs. Zhao also felt at ease. The two of them chatted about farming and building greenhouses as they walked toward Territory No.5.

Once the meeting began, Xiaqing, who had called it, spoke first. "I’ve gathered everyone today for three reasons. First, to see how much longer it will take to harvest the thorn wood. Second, to discuss how to handle the refugee crisis. And third, I need to discuss the matter of getting soil from outside the territories to build greenhouses with everyone."

After speaking, Xiaqing looked at Shi Zhong. "Uncle Shi, how many more days will it take to haul the thorn wood?"

Unlike Territories Four, Five, and Six, which only needed walls on their north and south sides, the Tenth Territory had to be walled on all four sides and thus required a huge amount of wood.

Therefore, most of the wood recently hauled from the Thorny Wood Forest on Mountain No. 50 had been sent to the Tenth Territory. The person overseeing the work at the Evolution Forest on Mountain No. 50 for the past two days had been Shi Du.

Shi Zhong answered, "If we don’t add more vehicles and just rely on the ones we have now, it’ll take another five days to finish clearing the Thorny Wood Forest on Mountain No. 50. This afternoon, people from Territory No. 17 went to Mountain No. 50 looking for wood, and they’ve also set their sights on that forest. It looks like they plan to start working on it tomorrow. Little Du said those people look fierce and vicious, not like people you want to mess with."

Their territories weren’t the only ones to think of using thorn wood for walls. The Evolution Forest was unclaimed territory, so anyone could go there to cut wood.

Qi Fu asked the well-informed Kuang Qingwei, "Who is the Lord of Territory No. 17?"

Kuang Qingwei actually knew. "The first Lord of Territory No. 17 died during the second Harmful Rain. The current Lord is named Wen Nengjie. He’s a normal person. I had dealings with him back when I ran a shop in the Safe Zone."

"Before the Natural Disaster, Wen Nengjie raised pigs and ran a slaughterhouse. After the Natural Disaster, he fled into the Safe Zone with his factory workers and took the contract for collecting and burning corpses in the outer city’s West District. He had anyone who competed with him for the business killed. That’s why people in the Western City’s West District call him Dead Renjie. He’s an absolutely ruthless man. But as long as you don’t cross him, he’s actually somewhat reasonable. He used to come to my shop to buy things all the time."

Before Xiaqing could speak, Qi Fu’s phone rang. He took it out and saw it was Tan Junjie. He answered immediately. "Captain Tan?"

Tan Junjie asked, "Qi Fu, is Lord No. 10 in your territory?"

Qi Fu nodded immediately. "Yes, Brother Shi is here. Are you looking for him?"

Tan Junjie was silent for two seconds before asking, "Are you discussing the matter of building the thorn wall? I’d like to send the representative from Territory No.15 over. Would that be convenient?"

Qi Fu motioned for everyone to be quiet, then put his phone on speaker before asking, "Captain Tan, did you say you want to send someone from Territory No.15 over to discuss building the thorn wall?"

"Correct." Tan Junjie explained, "The Lord of Territory No.15 is my daughter, Tan Qi. The territory is currently being managed by my retired comrade-in-arms, Yue Haiying, as her representative."