Less than two hundred meters remained.
Han Qingyu cautiously raised his head and looked at one of the shuttle craft ahead, buried halfway into the dirt.
According to the experience Azure had accumulated over time, these things were only ever set to self-destruct once the Great Spikes realized they were powerless to keep fighting, leaving behind wreckage and metal blocks.
Today, Han Qingyu wanted to try running it in reverse: smash the craft first and take the metal blocks from them.
If taking it didn't work, he could absorb it first. After all, there was still another craft on the scene today.
With that in mind, while the Great Spikes attacked outward with their backs temporarily turned to the craft and his direction, Han Qingyu crawled at full speed across the two hundred meters and plunged right behind the craft.
If not for the massive scale of the scene, with so many people and utter chaos, and had this been an ordinary sighting frontline squad operation... he never would have had a chance to get so close to the craft.
This was Han Qingyu's first time observing a Great Spike craft's pristine state at such close quarters.
Although he had been very close when he destroyed the device last time, the shuttle craft he saw back then had already popped open like a clam shell, and what he touched was the pyramid-like object inside.
In its pristine state, the shuttle craft was completely seamless. Aside from what looked like a landing strut, the entire thing was as smooth as an egg.
Han Qingyu inspected it carefully from top to bottom, then from bottom to top, running his hands over it along the way... but the surface of the shuttle craft didn't have even the slightest seam. Even the ejection hatch on top, where the Great Spikes had just emerged, was shut so tightly it was as though it had never existed.
Moreover, he felt no surge of energy from any metal block.
Insulated?
Try absorbing it.
In the past, absorption had almost always happened passively. This time, Han Qingyu actively took the initiative, pressing his hand against it and channeling his source energy absorption with everything he had.
Yet there was no reaction at all. Not the slightest stir.
So it really was motherfucking shielded, huh?
Did this mean they really had to cut down the Great Spikes first and wait for them to trigger self-destruction? Han Qingyu thought it over, unwilling to give up. He drew a dead iron straight sword from behind his shoulder and stabbed straight at the surface of the shuttle craft.
Clang!
Nothing happened. Apart from a shallow scratch, it hadn't damaged a thing.
Again. Adding the surge of liquid source energy, Han Qingyu put all his strength into another stab.
Clang!
This time, a small pit appeared.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang... Overjoyed, Han Qingyu drove the blade in over a dozen more times with full force.
A gouge roughly two knuckles deep appeared on the surface of the shuttle craft.
It hadn't breached yet, but considering this thing wasn't much bigger than a jeep and had to accommodate two Great Spikes lying inside, Han Qingyu reasoned that its metal hull couldn't be too thick.
In any case, there was great hope; he was probably close. Han Qingyu gripped his sword, preparing for another round of furious stabbing.
"Sss-aowl!" "Sss-aowl!"
Suddenly, roars thundered over.
Han Qingyu quickly poked his head out to check. In his line of sight, two Great Spikes had already turned around and were brandishing their column swords, charging madly toward him and the craft.
They charged like fierce beasts returning to defend their den.
"Holy..."
If he tried to withstand them, he definitely wouldn't last. He couldn't hold off one, let alone two!
Yet he was on the verge of puncturing it! That feeling of being just a hair's breadth away made Han Qingyu's heart ache with reluctance to let it go.
Run. While the green hills last...
He had already made up his mind and was preparing to turn around, when somehow—perhaps simply unable to bear parting with it—he gave it a test lift in his arms...
And... he could actually lift it.
He had no idea how much the thing actually weighed, but with the combined surging power of liquid source energy and the three-dimensional apparatus, his body told him: it wasn't very heavy. It was far lighter than he had imagined.
In that case...
Without even thinking about it—it bypassed his brain entirely, pure conditioned reflex—Han Qingyu seized the craft's landing strut with both hands and yanked the entire shuttle craft out of the earth in one motion.
Once pulled out, it felt even lighter.
Following the momentum, he hoisted it onto his shoulder...
Whoosh. Han Qingyu sprinted away at full throttle.
The two Great Spikes froze on the spot for a second.
"Aowl—!"
Snapping back to their senses at last, they gave chase right on his heels.
Han Qingyu had saved lives. Because he lured away two Great Spikes, the chaos on the scene eased significantly. Those who finally had a chance to stand or scramble to their feet and assess the situation looked back or raised their heads in confusion...
And froze dumbfounded on the spot.
Is that a human?!
Beneath the craft protruded two lower legs, wearing the trousers and boots of the Huaxia Front.
So... that was a human.
So, that guy... it seemed... no, it wasn't just "seemed"—he had genuinely stolen the Great Spikes' craft!
Was this some special tactic of the Huaxia Front?!
You can actually do that?!
At the same time, Shen Yixiu, Wen Jifei, Yin Caixin, and He Tangtang all stood up from the ground immediately.
Unlike everyone else, when they saw this scene, they were terrified, panicked, and driven mad with worry and rage.
"Qingzi! Are you fucking out of your mind?!" Wen Jifei shouted from far behind, his voice thick with fury and dread.
Meanwhile, Han Qingyu had two Great Spikes trailing behind him, so naturally he wouldn't run toward Plague Chicken and the others.
The silhouettes of the human and the Great Spikes receded into the distance, growing further and further away.
"Drop it, Qingzi! You dumb bird, drop it! Are you crazy?..."
Wen Jifei kept screaming, but how could Han Qingyu possibly hear him?
"Qingzi!" The other three cried out in shock and bewilderment.
Then came—whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Four consecutive explosive roars of three-dimensional apparatuses erupting.
Shen Yixiu, Yin Caixin, and He Tangtang immediately pursued at top speed in the direction Han Qingyu was leading the Great Spikes.
Only Wen Jifei hesitated on the spot for a moment, then resolutely turned around and sprinted in the exact opposite direction, toward the outer perimeter of the combat zone...
"I'm a fucking useless deadweight, Qingzi. Not only can't I catch up, but even if I did, I'd probably only distract you and make you look out for me, and that might get you killed.
"If I stay here... so many people have already seen me. Who knows if the Cleansing Faction or those turban-wearing guys might grab me and use me as leverage against you.
"I won't be a burden to you, Qingzi.
"You dumb bird, there's something wrong with your head! How could you pull a stunt like this?
"Don't die on me. Whatever you do, don't get killed, Qingzi.
"Rusty Sister... please."
Thinking and cursing the whole way, Wen Jifei didn't dare look back. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, rolling forward whenever he tripped and scrambling right back up.
Falling and getting up again and again, he quickly broke out of the combat zone and pushed himself to keep sprinting toward the trial grounds' exit.
From the start, his purpose here had only been to make up the numbers, to serve as a mechanic and quartermaster, and he had always been resolved never to become a liability. In this sudden crisis, with no hole left for him to lie low in, Wen Jifei's decision was clearer, calmer, and quicker than anyone else's.
By the time some ill-intentioned opportunists indeed decided to target any stragglers from Han Qingyu's team just as he had predicted, Wen Jifei had already vanished from everyone's line of sight.
...
Am I really this fast?
Naturally, Han Qingyu wasn't trying to show off. The truth was, right after he hoisted it onto his shoulder, he had felt some regret; he'd stunned himself with his own stupidity.
The only reason he kept running was to test the waters: run a few paces, and if he found he couldn't outrun the Great Spikes, he would just chuck the craft down a ravine and let them go hunt for it—which would still count as saving his comrades.
Yet, as he ran, he glanced back over his shoulder.
Han Qingyu shocked even himself. Under the combined power of liquid source energy and the three-dimensional apparatus, his current speed was actually neck and neck with the two Great Spikes—in fact, he was even a fraction faster.
Then he could definitely try again! With that in mind, Han Qingyu hitched the craft slightly to his left shoulder, gripping its landing strut tightly with his left hand, and drew his sword with his right.
Clang! He stabbed right into the same spot.
Unfortunately, it was hard to exert power in such an awkward posture. The strike yielded minimal results, and running slowed down instinctively when he struck.
Sensing the Great Spikes closing in, Han Qingyu had no choice but to sheath the blade and run first, waiting until he opened up some distance before finding an opening to stab it again.
Running. Aimless running.
Han Qingyu had originally intended to head toward areas with fewer people, which would count as a good deed, but the hills and fields were crawling with scattered trainees; he ran into people everywhere.
Thus, Han Qingyu could only ensure he didn't head in Plague Chicken's direction. Beyond that, he simply ran along whatever path was easiest, doing his best to dodge around anyone he encountered.
Actually, he hardly needed to dodge. With two Great Spikes trailing behind him, anyone who spotted him scrambled out of the way on their own, praying that Han Qingyu wouldn't bring the monsters toward them.
How could Han Qingyu possibly do something like that?
Until, suddenly, he spotted a group of turban-wearing men—and caught sight of his dear Prince Adubu.
Chapter 137