Due to the rules governing trial invitations, almost everyone present at that moment was young—recruits and juniors. Most of them marveled simply at Han Qingyu's strength, calmness, and decisiveness.
If a few seasoned veterans had been there, however, they would have realized something else:
From the moment he arrived to the moment of the kill, Han Qingyu had manipulated virtually the entire room to serve his surprise rescue, and those he had manipulated included the hostage herself, Yin Caixin.
As for how he had casually looted the corpses right there in front of everyone afterward...
Truth be told, the calm way he sheathed his blades, crouched down, and went through their belongings gave off the exact same feeling as an old hunter holstering his rifle and blowing the smoke from the muzzle.
No snow fell over Nepal that night, yet this lodge at the foot of the mountains—used by the Alphonse family to host young prodigies from various nations—felt as though it had weathered a blizzard thick as woven mats.
It was as if the entire lodge were blanketed under a heavy layer of invisible snow.
Yet in some of the rooms, hearth fires blazed with intense heat.
Such was the lodge's late-night atmosphere after that battle, once everyone had dispersed back to their quarters. Beneath the quiet surface lay fervid excitement, restless anticipation, flying sparks, and naturally, bone-chilling cold.
In short, a massive trouble had emerged here.
Back in their original room, inside the parlor.
The lights shone brightly.
Eight blue crystal source energy blocks lay arranged across the simple coffee table before Han Qingyu. Four had been taken from the fallen Cleansing Faction operatives' war boxes, while the other four had been searched off one of their bodies—he had always been remarkably professional at this sort of thing.
In truth, there might have been a few more blocks left in those men's rooms, but since they had traveled here attached to certain squads, going after those would have been inconvenient.
Of the blocks before him, the four used ones had been drained to varying degrees. Han Qingyu weighed and sensed each one in his hands, picked out the two with comparatively more energy left, stacked them, added two full blocks, and pushed them all in front of Shen Yixiu without any explanation.
"Yours," he said.
Split down the middle? Shen Yixiu blinked.
"We divide the spoils from work, plus it's for the mission. I'm not giving you special treatment, so don't be polite."
Thick-skinned as Han Qingyu was, in reverse he was actually the sort of person who feared letting others notice when he was being considerate; it made him feel awkward and uncomfortable.
After speaking with a strictly businesslike air, Han Qingyu drew another full block from the remaining four and tossed it backhand to He Tangtang.
He Tangtang caught it. "Qingzi... I didn't do anything just now, did I?"
"You're entering the field, aren't you? Hurry up and absorb more—consider it combat prep," Han Qingyu said, and then tossed the remaining two partially used source energy blocks indiscriminately to Wen Jifei and Liu Shiheng. "Share and share alike. You two will have to make do with less for now, but don't just idle around out here these next few days."
Once distributed like this, only a single full block remained in front of him. Of course, he had brought twenty full blocks of his own on this trip.
Dividing the spoils was always a pleasant feeling.
"It's just a shame that there was no other choice to save her. You and Rusty Sister exposed your strength early tonight," He Tangtang said with mixed regret and worry, tossing and catching the block in his hand.
Exposing their strength ahead of time was indeed a real issue. While they hadn't shown everything, they had revealed a trump card, which guaranteed they would now be overestimated and guarded against.
Whether from the perspective of competing to win or luring and slaughtering Cleansing Faction members, it was bound to create disadvantageous complications.
Still, a life had to be saved. Under the circumstances, if he hadn't used the Rusty Sister Vortex Slash, Han Qingyu wouldn't have had any other choice.
"Look at it from another angle—it's actually a good thing," Han Qingyu said with a smile. "After intimidating them like that, we should attract far less trouble once we enter the field.
"You have to realize that a single metal block is worth forty-odd, maybe even fifty-odd source energy blocks, and there are four of them in there. If we just relied on looting corpses, how many Cleansing Faction members would we have to kill to match that? So this works out fine. Once inside, we'll focus entirely on the metal blocks and try to snatch an extra piece or two.
"Besides, we're going in as a team. We have to look at the big picture."
Han Qingyu added that last point because, in truth, Yin Caixin lacked combat experience entirely. That "Super Wind-Fire Wheels" move of hers might spin fiercely, but her control was abysmal; in actual battle, its main function was just self-defense—stalling for time until rescue arrived.
And not just her; even He Tangtang would be in grave danger if he ran into a chaotic melee against top experts once inside.
"Qingzi makes sense. After pulling that off, not many people will dare mess with you once you enter," Liu Shiheng remarked. He couldn't resist asking, "Hey, do you think anyone will still try to make a move?"
"If they do, they'll definitely be experts, and thoroughly prepared," Han Qingyu answered directly.
He didn't underestimate the potential opponents and perils. Among these youths, there was no shortage of prodigies, nor was there a lack of 'veterans' who had likely worn armor for several years already.
"We can't beat them?" He Tangtang asked.
"If a whole crowd comes, we definitely can't."
He Tangtang immediately grew worried. "Then..."
The corner of Han Qingyu's mouth curved upward into a grin. "I've thought it through. Once we're in, we'll find a place and hide."
"..."
A dead silence fell over the room.
Lately, Han Qingyu had been relentlessly bold and unyielding... He Tangtang laughed and muttered, "I almost forgot all the foxholes I laid in with you, forgot what you're most specialized at."
His reminder brought chuckles from the rest.
"Tsk, tsk," Wen Jifei teased amid the laughter, looking at Han Qingyu. "Back then you weren't even an elementary group leader, but now you're really starting to feel like a proper squad leader."
The squad leader he referred to was, of course, the head of their little clique.
"Don't talk nonsense," Han Qingyu retorted decisively, knowing him better than anyone. "In primary school, I was the labor monitor! What about you?"
Wen Jifei: "..."
In fact, he had been the discipline monitor.
During his school years, however, discipline monitor had always been an awkward post. Teachers generally used it like the golden headband on the Monkey King—whichever kid caused the most ruckus and proved hardest to manage got stuck with the official cap.
As if they all related to that, everyone burst out laughing again, putting away their respective source energy blocks... Unbeknownst to them, they were growing more and more accustomed to this harsh world.
Only Han Qingyu still held the remaining block, casually toying with it in his hand.
The Han Qingyu taking the short end of the stick before them right now was a world apart from the Han Qingyu who had deliberately 'forgotten' to return the young girl's source energy blocks earlier.
As they laughed, the other four gradually turned their gaze to him, their eyes seeming to say: *Seeing you this generous is downright heartbreaking, Qingzi.*
Embarrassed, Han Qingyu awkwardly explained, "Yin Caixin was different—we didn't know each other, right?... What I took from her was her life-saving fee."
Just as he finished speaking.
*Knock, knock, knock.* A knock sounded at the door.
Luca's injuries were severe, but his life had been saved. He was slated to be sent to the Alphonse family hospital for further treatment.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Yin Caixin first saw him off and arranged for three teammates who had traveled with them to accompany and nurse him. Only then did she clutch the pillow she had brought from home and return once more to Han Qingyu and the others' room.
He Tangtang opened the door.
"Thank you," Yin Caixin said as she entered. She explained Luca's condition, thanked Shen Yixiu, and then walked over to Han Qingyu. Her eyes blinked, looking on the verge of tears again.
"Thank you... sir," Yin Caixin said, bowing deeply. "Um, your name is quite a tongue-twister."
A tongue-twister? *Cough, is that why she's calling me 'sir'?* A polite address, so suppose that worked too. Han Qingyu gave a wry smile. "You're welcome."
Yin Caixin looked up at him. "Um, do you still need source energy blocks? I have a few left."
She was preparing to express her gratitude with source energy blocks... Han Qingyu looked left and right, gave a pained smile, and patted his war box. "I've already collected. Rescuing you just now was done with your own source energy block."
A strange sense of balance and business transaction.
Yin Caixin looked blank for a moment, then asked earnestly, "So, you're only helping me to the value of one source energy block? The... friendship quota?"
She actually knew the word *qingfen*? Han Qingyu: "..."
"Can I give you eight more, then? I still have ten," Yin Caixin offered, completely in earnest.
"Th-that's too many, I wouldn't be able to use them all up, and we won't see each other again afterward." Enduring endless heartache, Han Qingyu forced a smile and said, "You should bring them into the trial grounds. If there's a need then, I'll let you know."
"Except into the trial grounds, each squad is only allowed to bring twelve blocks," Yin Caixin stated bluntly. "Two per person, plus two spares."
Han Qingyu froze stiff.
He Tangtang: "Huh? How can that be?"
Shen Yixiu: "How could that possibly be enough?! In a real fight, going by Great Spike standards, one block lasts two battles at most! Not to mention everyone inside might get dragged into other fights... And with my condition, there's extra consumption!"
Wen Jifei: "Then what are we supposed to do?"
Liu Shiheng: "Don't just think about not having enough. Think in reverse: if you guys go in and hide first, economize without using any, you might even be able to sell them!"
He Tangtang: "Sell your head! All you ever think about is business! What in there is worth more than source energy blocks? Wait, no—I feel like people might start killing each other just to rob source energy blocks."
The room erupted into noisy chaos.
Only Han Qingyu remained completely stupefied from the second Yin Caixin said those words, still frozen on the spot.
"Qingzi, Qingzi?!"
"Huh?"
"What are you thinking about? Do you have an idea?"
"Oh, yeah. I have a way." Han Qingyu glanced at Yin Caixin, swallowed his explanation, and simply said, "In any case, don't worry. Leave this to me."
...
Bedtime came, and Shen Yixiu and Yin Caixin headed back to their room first.
Reaching the doorway, Shen Yixiu suddenly paused, hesitated for a moment, and turned around to say coolly, "It's called 'Dimple.'"
"What?" Han Qingyu was baffled.
Shen Yixiu huffed, slightly petulant. "Rusty Sister Dimple Slash! That's way more fun than 'vortex'... Besides, I really do have dimples! They're in my photo—think back, don't you remember?"
"Yes, yes, yes, you definitely do!" Wen Jifei, He Tangtang, and Liu Shiheng immediately chimed in with sycophantic certainty, insisting they had seen them and remembered well.
"Well, fine then, though 'dimple' isn't very intuitive," Han Qingyu muttered. Fortunately, he thought to himself, it was just something they called it among themselves; in a fight, you didn't have to announce your attack name beforehand, or else you'd have to spend half the fight explaining it to the enemy first.
"How is it not intuitive? A dimple..." Wen Jifei said in exasperation. "You think everyone's like you? A dead-iron straight man."
"..."
That night, Han Qingyu asked for a private room. Sitting on his bed, he took out fifteen of his twenty full source energy blocks and began to absorb them all!
Chapter 125