In and Out

At a corner of the training grounds, Han Qingyu, Shen Yixiu, Plague Chicken, and Liu Shiheng—who wandered over a moment later—stood together in the back row chatting. Having just exerted himself and gained a deeper appreciation for the importance of liquid source energy, Han Qingyu thought about "eating" something to replenish his reserves. He casually toyed with one of the source energy blocks he had just scavenged off Bai Ji, rolling it around in his palm while actually absorbing it. He wasn't nearly as stingy and frugal as before. He understood that the faster his strength grew, the better, and source energy blocks simply had to be consumed. The more he ate, the stronger he became; the stronger he became, the more he could seize; the more he seized, the more he had... That was roughly his current train of logic. The news about the assassins from the City of Iniquity that Tu Zi had passed along was tempting him like a source energy bank, where he was only temporarily ineligible to make withdrawals because he was still too "young." Once he grew strong enough, even if nobody else posted a bounty on him, he would save up his own money to put a bounty on his own head—complete with complimentary intelligence... No, sell! He would sell the intel! Tsk, tsk. Another line of business. He Tangtang, who had regained consciousness less than a minute ago, hurried over. His very first words were, "So, Qingzi, how strong are you really?!" He had experienced Bai Ji's strength firsthand, so the shock Han Qingyu's strike gave him far exceeded what ordinary people felt. "Very strong, haha." "Can you beat Iron Chick?" "...Can't." "Hahahaha." *If both sides truly went all out, I could probably hold out for a draw for three to five minutes right now, couldn't I?* Han Qingyu estimated in his mind. No one knew what exact grade Iron Chick's source energy degree of fusion was, but guessing by any measure, it had to be very high. Her body had been nourished by source energy every second of every day for the past six years, and the constitution she had developed was actually secondary, as was that suit of iron armor she wore. Even more crucial was this: Her control over and familiarity with source energy was a matter of daily routine. It had long become a natural bodily habit and necessity, and her methods of applying it were exceptionally flexible and varied. So, this was basically... a whole bucket of treasure. "Bucket Girl, eh... No, wait," Han Qingyu blurted out by accident, hurriedly catching himself. He didn't want to get ground into the dirt by Iron Chick right after basking in glory. Raising a hand, he patted He Tangtang and promptly changed the subject, pointing toward the other end of the running track in the distance. "Tangtang, look over there first to vent some steam." "..." Considering Han Qingyu had just avenged him, He Tangtang endured being called "Tangtang" and turned to look in the direction he pointed. Over there, members of the White Eraser were carefully scooping Bai Ji out of the dirt, transferring him onto a stretcher to carry him away. A shallow, human-shaped depression remained on the ground. Soon, however, someone from their squad jogged back, kicking dirt to fill the hole back in. "Come to think of it, they really ought to fill it in," Wen Jifei said with a laugh. "I hear Hollywood has a Walk of Fame. If they don't fill this in, this track will have to be renamed from now on—call it the White Eraser Walk." Feeling thoroughly vindicated, He Tangtang turned and said, "Don't be like that. Once he goes back, lies down... I mean, grows for half a year, he might very well be a strong contender for next year's strongest rookie again." At the same time, on Regiment 425's mutual selection grounds, a crowd was already standing before Squad 1777's recruitment booth. Most were new recruits from their own regiment, but there were also veterans who happened to be on leave at the base, along with people from other regiments. With the inherent perks granted to newly formed squads—ten spots for veterans from their own regiment and ten army-wide recruitment slots—Han Qingyu had drawn plenty of people to Squad 1777 through his steadily accumulated fame, that strike just now, and his recruiting pitch along the way. Lao Jian was busy dealing with this pleasant dilemma, his mind wandering: *I'm the captain. Even though I was a captain before, this one is completely different. Right now, I'm the captain of a super squad that has a very high chance of boasting two top-tier combatants in the future, maybe even three... So a col—a color Eraser?!* *Whoa! Red has to be preserved, it can't be used... Then what should we be called?!* "Blood Calabash Baby..." A faint whisper from the crowd suddenly drifted into his ears. The title had already caught on. Lao Jian almost coughed up a mouthful of blood right then and there. Turning his head, he glared resentfully at Han Qingyu. Milla chuckled quietly beside him. She had been doing her duty as vice-captain, helping out the entire time. Previously, because she had prepared to become a captain herself, she had actually contacted some old comrades-in-arms. But looking at the caliber of their squad now, it seemed she couldn't just bring all of them in. It was a bit tricky. "By the way, where's Regimental Commander Li?" Han Qingyu asked. Lao Jian paused. *Hey, I'm glaring at you! Your captain is glaring at you, shouldn't you show a little fear? You...* "He—he's probably still crying over there. Go take a look." "Okay." Han Qingyu rounded the crowd and soon spotted Regimental Commander Li sitting in the corner by the wall with his head hung low. Just as he prepared to walk over, his feet suddenly halted mid-stride. Looking down, Han Qingyu stared somewhat blankly at the source energy block in his hand. Just a moment ago, while absorbing energy, he had been trying out various ways to control the flow speed and circulation of source energy, including Rusty Sister's vortex technique and so forth. And then, something suddenly happened: He had channeled source energy back into it! The source energy he had already absorbed into his body—he had reversed the flow and channeled it back into the source energy block! He had attempted this several times before, but the result was always that he could only absorb, never reverse-inject it. Now, all of a sudden, he could. *Is it because I've gotten stronger?* *So, what kind of creature am I, anyway?* *A source energy gas station?! A propane tank...* "Kid, are you coming over or what?!" a gruff voice shouted. Regimental Commander Yang Wudong of Regiment 439. Somewhat surprisingly, the person standing beside Regimental Commander Li—who was hiding from everyone to secretly wipe away tears—was none other than his longtime rival in love, Yang Wudong, with whom he had never seen eye to eye. "Ah... coming." Han Qingyu casually tried reverse-charging it once more, confirming that he truly could take it in and put it back out. Then, slipping the source energy block into his pocket, he walked over. Regimental Commander Li raised his head and looked at Han Qingyu standing before him. His eyes were somewhat red and puffy, but he grinned broadly and said in his usual blustery manner, "Ah... You're back?" Han Qingyu smiled, nodded, stood at attention, and saluted. "Good." Regimental Commander Li uttered only this single word. After a pause, he turned his head aside again. Instead, Yang Wudong stepped forward, clapped Han Qingyu hard on the shoulder, and said as if still struggling to believe it, "Silly kid, are you—are you really coming back to this crummy regiment of yours?!" "Crummy my ass! What's crummy about 425?! Don't forget, you came out of 425 yourself! You only went to 439 because Xiao Nan didn't want you!" Without turning his head, Regimental Commander Li Wangqiang shot back lazily, his voice slightly muffled. At the end of the day, everything came back to Miss Xiao Nan... though she was probably an auntie by now. Yang Wudong glanced at him, said nothing, and turned back to Han Qingyu, clapping him on the shoulder hard once more. Surprisingly, his eyes held a touch of inexplicable gratitude and emotion. "You silly... brat. Deciding like this makes things very difficult for me! How am I supposed to trade barbs with your Old Li from now on?! Every time he opens his mouth, he'll bring you up—how am I supposed to refute that?" Han Qingyu looked at him and said in a low voice, "Just bring up Auntie Xiao Nan?" "Eh? Hahaha! Right! Xiao Nan didn't want him either!" Yang Wudong paused, then emphasized, "Miss. Miss Xiao Nan." "Right, so Miss Xiao Nan rejected both of..." Han Qingyu said. "Then back then, how did our commander get to stay while you left, Commander Yang?" "Because his skin is thick!" Yang Wudong burst out laughing. Looking at Han Qingyu, he said, "Good, that's good! Then work hard. In any case, back then I kicked you flying once, remember?... Do well. In the future, when people mention your name, I'll have something to brag about too." Smiling, Yang Wudong took his leave first. Turning around, he clapped Regimental Commander Li on the shoulder. As he walked off, he called back, telling Han Qingyu to drop by Regiment 439 whenever he had free time.