Chapter 33: Luo Pei’s Reason for Leaving the Safe Zone

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Luo Pei’s Reason for Leaving the Safe Zone

Hu Zi fastened a bicycle wheel—one without a rubber tire, just the rim—onto a thick wooden plank that was a hand’s-width wide and over two meters long. He then staked the plank into the reservoir until the water submerged the rim. Next, he used a T-joint to connect two iron pipes into a long, straight tube and secured it to the reservoir dam. He then threaded a nylon rope, strung with many round plastic pieces, through the iron pipe. He used this rope to connect the rim in the water to the rear hub of a bicycle. Finally, he propped the bicycle up, securing it firmly on the shore.

Hu Zi got on the bike and started pedaling. Xiaqing watched as the plastic pieces on the nylon rope propelled water from the reservoir into the iron pipe. It came SPLASHING out of the T-joint outlet. It was a real eye-opener. "Sister Qing, you just have to pedal it like a bicycle, and the water will flow up through the T-pipe," Hu Zi explained. "The faster you pedal, the faster the water comes out. It’s so much more convenient than hauling buckets to water the fields."

"I get it. This is amazing." Standing to the side, Xiaqing nodded repeatedly and couldn’t help but praise him. "Who came up with such a brilliant idea? It’s genius!"

’After the Natural Disaster, oil and electricity were difficult to come by, so they cost a ton of points. A water wheel powered entirely by manual labor is absolutely perfect for me.’

Flushed by Xiaqing’s praise, Hu Zi’s face turned red, and he kept his head down, not daring to look up. "There’s also a hydraulic ram pump, which doesn’t use oil or electricity, just the kinetic energy of flowing water to pump it uphill. But that device is more complicated than this one. It needs more parts, it’s hard to take apart, and if you leave it by the water, you risk Evolved rodents chewing it to pieces. Plus, the ram pump isn’t as fast as this."

Xiaqing couldn’t imagine what a hydraulic ram pump looked like, but hearing it had many parts and was hard to disassemble, she knew it wouldn’t be suitable for her right now. "This water wheel is better. I can set it up when I need it and take it apart to bring home when I don’t. It’s simple and convenient."

"I heard Captain Tan say that you, Sister Qing, wanted the Sheep Leader to pedal the water wheel." Seeing how much Xiaqing liked it, Hu Zi took out a pair of modified pedals that looked like shoes a sheep could wear and a large bicycle seat. He quickly swapped them onto the bike and lowered the seat to its lowest setting. "The Sheep Leader is strong and smart. If you can get him on the seat, Sister Qing, he’ll definitely learn how to pedal."

Lying far away under a tree on the High Slope, the Sheep Leader leisurely chewed its cud. Down by the reservoir, Xiaqing’s eyes lit up.

Hu Zi reminded Xiaqing, "Even though I picked the sturdiest frame I could find, it won’t stand a chance if the Sheep Leader goes berserk. So please be careful, Sister Qing."

Xiaqing beamed and nodded.

Zhong Tao chuckled heartily. "If you ask me, don’t even bother connecting a long pipe to the T-joint. It’s only three or four hundred meters from here to your field. We can just pile up some dirt and dig a channel for the water to flow through."

Xiaqing couldn’t possibly trouble them. "I can build the channel myself. It’ll only take half a day."

Zhong Tao didn’t press the issue. While Hu Zi was calibrating the water wheel, he chatted with Xiaqing. "Captain Luo of the Green Dragon Team moved his territory out of the Safe Zone, too. He’s right around here. Have you met him?"

"I know he’s here, but we haven’t had a chance to meet." Zhong Tao had come from the Safe Zone, so he was up on the latest news. Xiaqing seized the opportunity to ask for more details. "Why didn’t Captain Luo stay in the Safe Zone?"

"Hmph." Zhong Tao’s face contorted with fury at the mention of Luo Pei. "After the Harmful Rain, high-risk Evolved Plants and birds appeared in the Evolution Forest to the east. Captain Luo accepted a mission to clear them out, but some son of a bitch set him up. He was hit with Qiang Synthesized Poison."

Qiang Synthesized Poison was a synthetic toxin made by combining a purified overdose of the Harmful Element with various other poisons. When it entered the body of a Yi Evolved animal or human, it caused severe systemic damage, and the toxin was incredibly difficult to purge. One could say that Qiang Synthesized Poison was the most vicious method of attack to emerge since the great evolution of life on Blue Star; its creation and use had long been strictly forbidden by the state.

In the midst of the ongoing Natural Disaster, the Sharpshooter Luo Pei and his High Level Visual Evolution represented Hui San Base’s greatest asset against attacks from Evolved flying beasts. Whoever had poisoned Luo Pei with Qiang Synthesized Poison, regardless of their identity or motive, deserved to be drawn and quartered.

Xiaqing tensed, her eyes sharp. "Since Captain Luo was poisoned, why didn’t he stay in the Safe Zone to have it treated?"

At the mention of this, Zhong Tao grew even more furious. "To counteract the Qiang Synthesized Poison, Captain Luo needs a lot of uncontaminated water. But some goddamn bastard started spreading rumors everywhere. They claimed that to treat Captain Luo, the base used up all the hospital’s uncontaminated water, and when that wasn’t enough, they took all the water from the Planting Center that was being used to grow premium Evolved grains. Tens of thousands of assholes in the Safe Zone got riled up and stormed the Green Dragon Team headquarters, demanding Yang give them an answer and kill Captain Luo!"

’Son of a bitch!’

Xiaqing barely restrained herself from swearing aloud. "The Su Feng Team did it?"

"Who else but that pack of bastards?" Zhong Tao grew more incensed with every word. "When the regular people couldn’t break through the Green Dragon Team’s defenses, those sons of bitches from the Su Feng Team pretended to rush forward to ’maintain order’ while trying to smash the gates. Yang had to personally put down a few of them before they got scared and scattered. I spit on them! That whole pack of bastards! The uncontaminated water was ’all used for Captain Luo’? My ass! Goddammit, do they really think I don’t know what’s going on? That stuck-up Tang Lu uses it for her baths..."

"It’s all set. Brother Tao, let’s head back." Hearing Zhong Tao’s rant get more and more out of hand, Hu Zi quickly finished adjusting the water wheel and called for him to leave.

Xiaqing exchanged the Evolutionary Animals she had caught for a reagent, then gave them two small bundles of Evolved Perilla as a thank you gift before seeing them off her territory.

’I don’t need Zhong Tao to explain the rest,’ Xiaqing thought. ’I can figure it out. The Su Feng Team doesn’t want Luo Pei to heal, so they spread rumors to incite discontent and riots in the Safe Zone. That’s why Luo Pei had to leave.’

’Of course, Luo Pei didn’t leave the Safe Zone to give up on his treatment. He left to make it easier.’

’With the Green Dragon Team’s resources, they can definitely find uncontaminated water to cure Luo Pei. I have no doubt about that. But I’d also guess they’ll have to pay a tremendous price to get it.’

’As one side wanes, the other waxes. Weakening the Green Dragon Team only strengthens the Su Feng Team.’

’And the stronger the Su Feng Team becomes, the harder it will be for me to avenge my father.’

Xiaqing coaxed the Sheep Leader into hauling dirt, building up an earthen path level with her fields. After digging a channel to the farmland along the path, she drove her shovel deep into the soil. ’The enemy of my enemy is a potential ally.’

「That afternoon」 Tan Junjie came to Xiaqing’s territory to pick up the items for their trade. Xiaqing gave him the Asparagus Chrysanthemum and Perilla, then asked about Luo Pei’s situation. "Captain Tan, is Captain Luo’s condition any better?"

Lately, Luo Pei would occasionally say a word or two during the nightly Lord chats, but Xiaqing couldn’t determine his condition from the sound of his voice. Since Tan Junjie had a good relationship with Yang Jin, Xiaqing figured he must have gone to Territory Number One to visit Luo Pei.

Tan Junjie answered vaguely, "An injury like his needs time to heal."

’Which means he won’t be getting better anytime soon,’ she thought. ’Qiang Synthesized Poison has to be treated immediately. The longer you wait, the more damage it does to the body. It seems the Green Dragon Team hasn’t found enough uncontaminated water.’