Chapter 81: Yi Element Detector

Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Yi Element Detector

Tan Junjie reported the numbers directly. "I don’t know about the other areas, but in the Safe Zone’s Northern Territory alone, the number of casualties has reached ninety-four."

That casualty count wouldn’t be noticeable in a Safe Zone with two million people, but for a territory with such a small population, it was staggering.

’At this casualty rate, the total number of casualties across all territories must be over three hundred!’

’The seeds from the Planting Center are supposed to be strictly screened. How could aggressive Qiang Evolution occur on such a large scale, injuring hundreds of people?’

Xiaqing stood behind the tall, dense wall of grass, pulling up Injurious Grass while listening intently. Sure enough, she heard Su Ming mutter, "The Tang Family should bear the primary responsibility for causing so many casualties."

’Tang Zheng, the daughter of Hui San Deputy Base Commander Tang Zhengrong, works in the management of the Safe Area Planting Center. Was she the one who released the evolved potato seeds?’

’The Tang Family is the scourge of Hui San Base. The sooner they’re eliminated, the better.’

「In the afternoon」

Xiaqing accepted Luo Pei’s invitation and went to visit him, carrying three Green Light cucumbers.

Luo Pei had moved to the Third Territory for treatment over two months ago and had only contacted Xiaqing twice on his own initiative to review and sign contracts. So when he sent a message just now asking her to come over, Xiaqing agreed immediately.

During the recent Harmful Rain, Xiaqing had shot and killed over a dozen Evolutionary Rats and severed an aggressive, Qiang-evolved potato plant. She had personally experienced the benefits of using a gun, making her desire to master marksmanship even more urgent.

’If I could learn even a tenth of Luo Pei’s skill, I wouldn’t have ended up covered in wounds from that whipping.’

When Xiaqing arrived at the basement, she was surprised to find the living room empty, with only two folding chairs and a small table left.

Luo Pei, his face still slightly flushed, first asked about Xiaqing’s injuries. "Take this medicine back with you."

"Thank you, Brother Luo." After Xiaqing accepted the medicine, Luo Pei asked for the details of how she got injured, then gave her a serious reminder. "Besides shooting technique, you also need to improve your reaction speed and learn to dodge attacks."

After explaining to Xiaqing the methods and key points for practicing and improving her body’s reaction speed, Luo Pei earnestly advised, "After humans evolved, reaction speeds generally doubled. In the army, many ordinary soldiers who undergo professional training can achieve the reaction speed of a Level 3 Evolver. If they can do it, you, as a High Level Evolver, should be able to do even better."

Xiaqing puffed out her chest and lifted her head. "Don’t worry, Brother Luo. I will definitely get my speed up to the standard of a Level 3 Evolver."

"At least Level 4."

Xiaqing lifted her head even higher, her voice growing louder. "Yes, Level 4!"

The more Luo Pei looked at his student, the more satisfied he became. His voice softened a little. "Make sure to rest, too. Only practice after your injuries have healed. In the middle of next month, I’ll take you to Mountain No. 49 for some field practice."

Xiaqing advised, "You should wait until the poison is cleared from your body before going into the mountains, Brother Luo. And why is this place so empty?"

Luo Pei explained why he could no longer hide out here for treatment. "The day before yesterday, the Second Territory released a large horde of Evolutionary Rats to attack the No.1 Territory because they suspected I was there. To hide their true objective, they also released a few rats toward three other adjacent territories. Hu Zifeng sent his team to help you clean up the rats too quickly, and that made them suspicious of the Third Territory. Afterward, they released another large horde toward the Third Territory. So I can’t stay here anymore. I’ll be moving back to the No.1 Territory in a bit."

’Her Third Territory has a spring. It would be trouble if the Tang Family set their sights on it.’

Xiaqing hadn’t expected the Evolutionary Rats to be deliberately released by the Second Territory. She clenched her fists. "Brother Luo, was it Tang Huai who released the rats?"

"No." Luo Pei shared the intelligence he had gathered with Xiaqing. "It was Xu Pin who brought the Evolutionary Rats over before the Harmful Rain. Tang Huai probably didn’t know about it in advance. In fact, Tang Huai also suffered significant losses in this Evolutionary Rat attack."

Xiaqing frowned. "Brother Luo, we have to find a way to deal with the major threat that is the Second Territory as soon as possible."

Luo Pei nodded. "Just focus on recovering. We’re already working on a solution."

Tang Zhengsu was Xiaqing’s enemy, so she often thought about how to undermine the strength of the Tang Family or the Su Feng Team.

And now, she actually had an idea. "Brother Luo, I have a plan, but I don’t know if it’ll work..."

After they finished talking about the Tang Family, Xiaqing asked about the spring water for Luo Pei’s treatment. "Brother Luo, will the spring water for your future treatments be transported through the underground passage?"

Luo Pei discussed it with Xiaqing. "My water consumption has now dropped to a quarter of what it was initially. I only need to get water once every three days. After I return to the No.1 Territory, we’ll make it look like water is being delivered by helicopter, but actually, Wei Chengdong will circle around from Mountain No. 49 to your territory to get it. Is that okay?"

Xiaqing was confused. "Wouldn’t it be more convenient to use this passage?"

Luo Pei explained, "With the Evolutionary Rats around, we can’t keep this passage open. Not just the passage, this basement has to be filled in too."

Xiaqing understood. "Brother Luo, you suspect they have brain-domain Evolutionary Rats?"

Luo Pei nodded. "Even if they don’t have brain-domain Evolutionary Rats, they have other ways to control them. If you see any more rats, shoot to kill. Your personal safety is paramount. If you can’t handle it, call Hu Zifeng."

"Okay." Xiaqing nodded, committing it to memory. Then she explained the purpose of her visit. "Brother Luo, do you have a Yi Element Detector? I’d like to trade for one, using either spring water or Green Light vegetables."

Although Xiaqing owed the Green Dragon Team eight hundred thousand points, she could pay it all off with a month’s worth of spring water. The Green Dragon Team wasn’t in a hurry for her to repay the debt, and neither was Xiaqing, so she continued to trade with them as usual.

Luo Pei didn’t ask why Xiaqing wanted a Yi Element Detector and agreed without hesitation. "The detector in the laboratory on the second basement level hasn’t been moved yet. I’ll explain how to use it first, and then I’ll have Chengdong help you move it over after dark."

As its name implied, a Yi Element Detector was a device for measuring the Yi Element content in living organisms.

Harmful Elements were detrimental to the body, while Yi Elements were beneficial. According to publicly available lab results, the Yi Element content in edible organisms ranged from trace amounts up to 0.04%, which wasn’t a large variation.

Because detecting Harmful Elements was easier than detecting Yi Elements, Harmful Element Detectors were much cheaper than Yi Element Detectors. That was why Xiaqing only had a Harmful Element Detector. As for a Yi Element Detector, she had never even seen one, let alone owned one.

Now, hearing Luo Pei use the word "move" and say he would have to teach her how to use it, Xiaqing knew that the Yi Element Detector must be a complex and precise instrument, and not a small one at that.

When she got to the laboratory on the second basement level and saw a detector as large as the ice cream freezer from the small supermarket at her school’s gate, Xiaqing gave up the idea of a trade.

’An analysis instrument this large is probably more expensive than a mountain. Besides, if I take such a precision instrument, it would surely be a great deal of trouble for the Green Dragon Team to acquire another one.’

"Brother Luo, I thought the Yi Element Detector would be about the same size as the Harmful Element Detector. I didn’t expect it to be this big. I won’t trade for it anymore. But could I use this instrument to test the Yi Element content of a few plants? I’ll pay for any Testing Reagents used."

Luo Pei laughed, half in amusement and half in exasperation at her formal tone. "Enough with the formalities. Just bring out the plants you want to test."

Xiaqing took a cluster of Asparagus Chrysanthemum, a few stalks of Evolved Perilla, and a spinach root from her basket. "Just these three."

While Luo Pei tested the Yi Element content of the three plants, he explained the operating procedures and key points for using the Yi Element Detector to her.

Forty-five minutes later, the test results for the three plants appeared on the screen. Both Xiaqing and Luo Pei were stunned.