First Sortie

The Third Fixed Exploration Site, which served as the trial grounds this time, was a vast region. Stretching down from several towering snow-capped peaks, the entire area boasted magnificent scenery, with countless streams of melted snow, over a dozen alpine lakes, sprawling mountain ranges, and passes of varying elevations. The temperature was quite low and the wind bone-chilling, but hiding inside the cave made it bearable enough. "Speaking of which, how do you always manage to find places like this? Qingzi, this makes no sense at all," He Tangtang asked with a chuckle as he ate. He had almost blurted out: *Are you a dog?* Fearing he might be beaten to death, he held his tongue. In this group's food chain, only Iron Chick could hoist Han Qingyu up and slam him against a wall at any time. He Tangtang sat near the bottom, only able to mock Wen Jifei every now and then... Both were on the bottom rung, bickering back and forth. Right then, the other three nodded in unison and looked toward Han Qingyu, all seemingly finding the matter rather miraculous. After all, they were certain Han Qingyu had never been here before either. So how on earth did he find a cave on the very first night? "I'm not too sure myself. In any case, whenever I'm in a dangerous situation and have the need, they seem to silently call out to me of their own accord," Han Qingyu joked with a smile. It was already the third day. Three days of eating well and sleeping soundly, while outside people might already be slaughtering one another and dying in droves. Yin Caixin thought for a moment and asked, "So are we just going to keep hiding, wait for the Great Spikes, wait for the airplanes to drop metal blocks, and not explore at all?" The stated objectives of the exploration trial, besides victory and slaying Great Spikes, did indeed include "exploration"—which was one of the reasons many had come to participate. After all, this place had always been considered one of the areas in Azure most likely to harbor source energy or dead iron. Many fantasized that once they arrived, they might be like the protagonists in wuxia stories or mythological legends who always stumbled into miraculous encounters, discovering it by some stroke of fortune, and going on to become heroes and legends of their respective factions. "No exploring," Han Qingyu said, leaning against the cave wall and shaking his head firmly. "Explore my ass. So many scientists haven't found a thing in decades. I don't believe a bunch of us running around aimlessly can dig anything up." That being said, every time Han Qingyu scrambled out of the cave to take a leak, he would actually choose a different spot to try his luck. It was just that even though he had trained his pee stream to flow uninterrupted, it was still all the same—he hadn't sensed the presence of source energy at all. "All right, whatever you say," Yin Caixin nodded. Since Qingzi had made up his mind, naturally no one objected. They simply continued holing up, sleeping occasionally, or chatting together in twos and threes. A moment later, Shen Yixiu scooted over next to Han Qingyu and apologized in a low voice, "Are you actually doing this to conserve source energy blocks? Because of me?" "No," Han Qingyu said firmly. "Feel free to use the source energy blocks without worry. As soon as one is depleted by much, swap in a full one in case a fight suddenly breaks out... And remember to give the used ones to me." There were twelve source energy blocks in total brought into the grounds, strictly inspected and verified. Among the five of them, Wen Jifei was allocated one, the remaining four had two each, and the last three were placed in Shen Yixiu's safekeeping. "Give the swapped ones... to you?" Shen Yixiu was taken aback, thinking Han Qingyu intended to use the drained source energy blocks himself. That was actually very dangerous, as it could easily lead to running out of source energy in a prolonged battle. "Yeah." Han Qingyu nodded. To convince Shen Yixiu, he had her swap one out right then and there. Shen Yixiu did so blankly, taking out a depleted source energy block and handing it to Han Qingyu. Right in front of her, Han Qingyu tested it with his war box, which indicated that it was about one-fifth depleted. Then he held the source energy block in his hand, fiddled with it for a moment... roughly five seconds, and put it back into the war box to test again. "Take another look." Shen Yixiu leaned in to look, and froze. She shook her head and looked again... Looking up, she stared dumbfoundedly at Han Qingyu. "Shh." Han Qingyu reached out and mimed covering her mouth over her iron casing. *Thud.* "..." Shen Yixiu grew annoyed and swatted his hand away. Smiling awkwardly while shooting a glance in Yin Caixin's direction, Han Qingyu shushed her again and whispered, "I only demonstrated this so you wouldn't worry about consumption... This is a huge secret. I'm very likely a gas canister... no, a source energy canister!" Shen Yixiu's entire mechanical body shook as she struggled fiercely to hold back her laughter. Then, after thinking it over, she looked back up at Han Qingyu, nodding joyfully and solemnly. "Then do you have a lot stored in your canister?" "Probably eleven or twelve blocks' worth, but it depends on the exact consumption." "Mm." Around the same time, Wen Jifei also struck up a conversation with the lonely Yin Caixin. Deliberately gesturing toward Han Qingyu's side, he asked, "Are you envious?" Having just seen Han Qingyu asking Shen Yixiu for a source energy block, Yin Caixin nodded with a hint of grievance. "You guys have it nice. Unlike me, I only have the sentiment of a single source energy block. Once it's used up, Mister won't care about me anymore." Wen Jifei paused. "So you want more than one source energy block's worth of sentiment?" Yin Caixin was very candid. "Yeah. It's a matter of little life and death after all." She uttered an idiom that wasn't actually an idiom. "Then you have to tell him. Just say it straight. By the way, do you know how to say that with an idiom?" Having said that, Wen Jifei whispered his teaching to Yin Caixin. Once again, Han Qingyu went out for a "pee test," spinning in a circle as he urinated to expand the radius... Unfortunately, the result was still failure. Making his way back from the woods on the other side of the slope, he advanced cautiously. Yin Caixin suddenly stood up from the bushes. "..." Han Qingyu stopped and stared at her, panic flaring in his heart: *What is she doing here? Did she peek at me peeing? Did she discover my secret?* "Mister," Yin Caixin took the initiative to speak, looking somewhat awkward. Han Qingyu had grown used to this baffling form of address. Without speaking, he nodded. Yin Caixin looked at him again and summoned her courage. "I... I harbor improper thoughts about you." "..." Han Qingyu felt he must have misheard. "What did you say?!" "Improper thoughts," Yin Caixin repeated. "..." *Improper thoughts... toward me?!* Han Qingyu froze. So she hadn't discovered his secret after all, but rather... But were mixed-race girls always this direct? Out here in the desolate wilderness, what was she trying to do? After taking a moment to recover, Han Qingyu said, "Are you out of your mind?" Yin Caixin: "Huh?" Yin Caixin was bewildered too, because Wen Jifei had just taught her this idiom. He had told her: wanting more than one source energy block's worth of sentiment is expressed with the idiom "improper thoughts." He had also said: Qingzi is kind of slow, so just tell him straight. So she had waited not far from the cave entrance and spoken plainly. Han Qingyu might not understand women, but he understood Wen Jifei. Seeing Yin Caixin's reaction, he guessed the truth immediately. "Did Plague Chicken teach you that?" Yin Caixin nodded blankly. "You can go back and challenge him to a duel. Just don't beat him to death." Han Qingyu bluntly explained the general meaning of "improper thoughts," and understanding Yin Caixin's anxiety, he assured her that at least here in the trial grounds, she wouldn't have to worry about running out of source energy blocks. *So it was a misunderstanding. I knew it, how could any woman possibly take a fancy to me?!* The two had just returned to the concealed cave entrance when— *Clang, clash...* Suddenly, the sound of clashing weapons, followed by human voices, drifted over from not far away. Shen Yixiu had heard it too, and stepped out of the cave. "Want to go take a look?" she asked, looking somewhat antsy from being cooped up. "...Let's go. See if there are any pickings to scavenge." Han Qingyu poked his head out, instructed He Tangtang to stay in the cave to protect Wen Jifei, and then led Shen Yixiu and their interpreter over the reverse slope to lie in wait and observe. "Should we lie here to watch?" Shen Yixiu walked over to a bush and suggested. Han Qingyu looked at the familiar patch of ground—he had just pee-tested it... He said, "It's not very suitable here. Let's find another spot. Follow me." In the end, the three of them lay behind a boulder not far off, concealed beneath weeds and shrubs, parting the foliage to peer downward. Below lay a pass between two mountains. A lopsided battle of roughly twenty against one was currently underway. "Who are those guys wearing headwraps?" "Looks like someone from Saudi Arabia... the son of some sheikh... a prince."