Chapter 53: The Secret of the Spring Water

Chapter 53: Chapter 53: The Secret of the Spring Water

’Running is useless, and killing Luo Pei to silence him is impossible. I have to calm down, figure out his motives, and then act.’

Xiaqing clenched her fists, forcing herself to appear calm. "I thought I’d hidden it well."

Luo Pei fumbled for his teacup, tilted his head back, and took a sip, exposing the one spot a single blow could be fatal—his neck—to Xiaqing. Then, he revealed his own trump card to her. "You did hide it well. A normal person might have been fooled. But I have Level 10 Visual Evolution and Level 6 Hearing Evolution. It’s easy for me to pick up on details others might miss."

Xiaqing couldn’t keep up her act any longer. Her eyes went wide as she asked, "Brother Luo, you also have Level 6 Hearing Evolution?!"

"Just like you, no one shows all their cards easily." Seeing the little girl, who usually acted as stoic as a block of wood, show such a vivid expression at his words made Luo Pei unable to resist a smile. "The fact that I’m a Dual System Evolver isn’t known to many people, even within the team. You have to keep it a secret for me."

Xiaqing nodded immediately and asked cautiously, "Of course. Brother Luo, do many people know that I have Three Systems Evolution?"

Luo Pei answered truthfully, "As far as I know, it’s just me, Yang Jin, and Xie Yu. I’m not sure about the others around you. Don’t worry, we’ll keep your secret too."

The people around her were all ordinary people or General Evolvers; Xiaqing was certain they hadn’t noticed. She relaxed slightly. "Did you tell Captain Yang and Captain Xie, Brother Luo?"

Luo Pei shook his head. "Yang Jin figured it out on his own."

Xiaqing was shocked again. "How is that possible? I’ve never been on a mission with Captain Yang. We’ve never even interacted before."

"He didn’t say." Luo Pei genuinely didn’t know. Yang Jin placed a great deal of importance on Xiaqing, but Luo Pei didn’t understand the reason, so he chose to say nothing at all.

Her head full of questions, Xiaqing calmed down again and returned to her most pressing concern. "Brother Luo, I still don’t quite understand why giving the mountain to me is the better option. From your perspective, it seems like you shouldn’t give it to me."

Having been at the bottom of the base for all these years, Xiaqing had limited information, so it was normal for her not to understand. Luo Pei patiently guided her thinking. "You know what Pollution-free Spring Water is used for, right?"

Xiaqing nodded, holding up two fingers. "For medical use and for growing crops, but I don’t know the specific details."

Luo Pei nodded. "Then do you know how many other springs our base has, aside from the one on your territory?"

This, Xiaqing knew. "Four, but I don’t know where they’re located."

That was a top-level secret at the base, so of course Xiaqing didn’t know. Luo Pei corrected her, "To be precise, Hui San Base has discovered a total of four springs in the past ten years. But now, only two remain."

Xiaqing’s eyes widened again. "What about the other two? Did they dry up? Or did another base snatch them away?"

Luo Pei patiently explained, "You’ve been on your territory for almost two months. You must have noticed that the spring’s daily water output varies, right?"

Xiaqing shook her head honestly. "No, it seems to be about the same every day."

Luo Pei chuckled at the girl’s earnestness and smoothly backtracked. "Perhaps it’s because you haven’t been here long enough to notice the seasonal changes in the spring’s water output. This variation follows the natural laws of Blue Star from before the Natural Disasters. So, after discovering the springs, the vast majority of people at the base advocated for exploring the water sources, determining their origins, and excavating and producing more pollution-free water to benefit all of humanity."

Xiaqing nodded. "That sounds very reasonable."

Luo Pei’s tone grew heavy. "But the Blue Star of today is vastly different from before the Natural Disasters. Many of our old technologies are now useless. To date, every single pollution-free spring that humanity has tried to probe and research has turned into an ordinary, polluted water source."

Xiaqing’s heart ached to hear this. "They couldn’t find out why?"

Too many things had happened for unknown reasons after the Natural Disasters. As a result, many people began to doubt established science, turning instead to all sorts of strange beliefs and theories, throwing the Safe Zones into chaos.

"Right, the cause is unknown. Currently, there is only one widely accepted but unproven theory: under the combined influence of nuclear-contaminated water, violent tectonic plate movements, and cosmic gamma-ray bursts, all of Blue Star’s water sources became polluted. Only a few mountain ranges, through a combination of multiple factors, formed massive and complex natural filters or equalizers. They filter out most of the Harmful Elements, radioactive elements, and other hazardous substances from the polluted water, creating pollution-free water sources."

"This complex structure is completely beyond the scope of humanity’s current knowledge and technology. Therefore, if the mountain’s internal structure is disturbed or destroyed by human intervention, causing a structural change that eliminates its ability to filter water, it cannot be artificially repaired. That’s why deep development and exploration of the springs have been strictly forbidden by the highest authorities."

Luo Pei emphasized again, "The consequences of a spring deteriorating are extremely severe, which is why the highest authorities ordered a strict information blackout. Just listen and don’t spread this around."

Xiaqing did her best to remember and digest the meaning behind Luo Pei’s words. "I understand. So, Brother Luo, what you’re saying is that there’s currently no way to artificially create pollution-free water, and even researching it is forbidden because it destroys the source."

"Correct. Although we can get pure water through distillation now, we can’t yet stably dissolve the Yi Element into it. That’s why distilled water can’t replace Pollution-free Spring Water, which is rich in the Yi Element." Luo Pei continued, "Therefore, Pollution-free Spring Water is an extremely important type of high-value resource. It makes its owners powerful, but it also leads organizations that can’t benefit from it to do everything they can to destroy the water source and weaken the owners’ strength. The spring with the largest output in our base was destroyed in exactly this way."

Xiaqing was instantly furious, her eyes wide. "Who was it?"

Luo Pei shook his head. "Knowing more won’t do you any good."

"...Oh."

Xiaqing fell silent and asked no more questions.

Luo Pei continued, "The spring on your territory is yours. If we asked you to hand it over, you would definitely refuse. If the mountain to the north belonged to the Green Dragon Team, there would always be voices within the team advocating to excavate the mountain to find a spring. Once a successor in the Green Dragon Team does that, the internal structure of Mountain No. 49 will inevitably be destroyed. The spring on your territory would then be ninety-nine percent certain to be ruined, turning into an ordinary polluted water source. The end result would be you losing your Pollution-free Spring Water, and the Green Dragon Team gaining nothing. Therefore, as someone who already possesses a spring, you are the only person who would never destroy the internal structure of Mountain No. 49."

There were some things Luo Pei left unsaid: in truth, there was another option, which was for Xiaqing to join the Green Dragon Team and bring her spring with her. But there was no point in even mentioning this option. Xiaqing had chosen to hide her abilities and join a construction team before; now that she had her own territory and a spring, she was even less likely to join a combat team.

Like most people who had struggled to survive for ten years since the Natural Disasters, Xiaqing trusted only herself and was deeply wary of others.

Yang Jin had said that if Xiaqing were pushed to the brink, she would choose mutual destruction—she would destroy the spring.

This time, Xiaqing finally understood completely. "So, Brother Luo, you’ve already searched all of Mountain No. 49 and didn’t find a new spring?"