Still Claiming the Reward?

It was a painful dilemma. As things stood, so many Azure comrades, whether he knew them or not, had rushed all the way back simply upon hearing that he was in trouble and needed rescue... Back then, none of them had spared a thought for conserving their source energy blocks. Moreover, the incident had stirred something deep within Han Qingyu, markedly raising his sense of belonging and identification with Azure. He had seen so much of humanity's internal strife, madness, and ugliness in the face of crisis, and he had witnessed the power struggles among different factions within Azure. Yet the mutual recognition displayed by these young Azure soldiers brought a sense of warmth—even a surge of hot-blooded passion—to Han Qingyu, who was just as young. He could picture those hundreds of blue streaks sweeping across the plains just moments ago; he could imagine the sight of hundreds drawing their blades and storming the canyon. So... let it hurt. At long last, Han Qingyu made the hardest choice of his life. He voiced the generous offer, followed by words of gratitude, and only after a while gathered the courage to glance back. "Wait, are the brothers all this simple and honest?" Beside him, Wen Jifei stared blankly. "How are they simple and honest? Those who weren't holding back are really looting corpses, though they probably ran out of blocks over the past few days, too." With that, he nodded toward the group stripping the bodies further inside. "Those were originally all yours to loot." The agony of being denied corpse looting was truly agonizing. "But," Han Qingyu whispered, "aren't the living ones the ones that are truly valuable?" Everyone had entered the trial with two source energy blocks, and after more than ten days of consumption, very few people still carried spare blocks on them. Not to mention, a portion of them had already been hit with Han Qingyu's "give me" earlier. There should still be blocks inside their war boxes, though; otherwise, they wouldn't have joined this fight. That was why Han Qingyu said the living were worth more than the dead. The dead had just fought another round. From forty-odd corpses, even if fifty-some source energy blocks could be salvaged, along with weapons and gear, it might be divided among many people, but converted to full-capacity blocks, it would likely amount to only twenty-some. Meanwhile, on the more numerous living captives, there had to be at least eighty-odd blocks. On average, their remaining capacity was bound to be higher, easily adding up to forty to fifty full blocks. Seeing that not a single person had touched the living captives, Han Qingyu's heartache finally eased a little. "Wait, aren't captives supposed to be handed over to Azure military authorities for disposal?" Yin Caixin whispered with an earnest look, asking, "The military regulations—didn't you know?" "What?!" Han Qingyu had no clue. Had he known, he would have panicked long ago. He coughed violently on the spot, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and whispered with frantic urgency, "Then why aren't you guys hurrying?!" Shen Yixiu was bewildered. "Hurry up and do what?" "Go collect the source energy blocks from the captives! Quick, go take them!" Han Qingyu wasn't having any of that. In any case, today wasn't an official military operation. "But your injuries... you still have a blade stuck in your chest," Shen Yixiu said worriedly. "I won't die," Han Qingyu said. "But if you don't go, I really will die!" Caught between laughter and tears, Yin Caixin and the other two went off, leaving Wen Jifei behind as a crutch. In truth, Wen Jifei was the most suitable candidate for this kind of work. "I really should be on this... Qingzi, you good?" Knowing his own strengths and itching for action, Wen Jifei volunteered. Han Qingyu nodded instantly. "I'm fine. Hurry and go. I'll find a spot to sit down... Don't worry." "Alright." Wen Jifei could hardly wait; he let go and took off immediately. After all, with a college entrance exam score of 230, his English was even worse, but he certainly knew "Give me." With Plague Chicken on the job, Han Qingyu felt relieved. He shuffled a few steps, walked over to Wu Xu, sat down against the wall, and adjusted his breathing through the faint struggle and pain. Wu Xu turned his head to look at him without a word. Because he wore Generation 3 gear, he simply lowered his head, pulled a source energy block from his chest, and handed it honestly to Han Qingyu. Han Qingyu glanced at the outstretched hand. "Keep yours." Wu Xu looked at him, set the block on the ground, and still said nothing, turning back to lean against the stone wall just as Han Qingyu did. He hadn't entered the fray earlier against Han Qingyu or Rusty Sister, not even drawing a blade toward their throats, but due to his status, he hadn't helped either. The two leaned against the rock face enduring their physical pain, both remaining silent for a time. "I'm thinking of home. What about you? What are you thinking about?" Han Qingyu said suddenly without looking at him. He truly was thinking of home. After surviving the slaughter, his abrupt mention of wanting rice was really about missing home—the firewood stove, the fragrant rice, the little wooden table with peeling paint, and his parents. Caught somewhat off guard, Wu Xu stared at the stone wall ahead with unfocused eyes. After a pause, he said, "Nothing. I don't have anything to think about... Maybe a radio." "Oh. Come with me, then." Han Qingyu tossed the words out casually. Wu Xu whipped his head around, unable to conceal the spark of light in his eyes. It was precisely what he had envied moments ago... Yet he remained silent. Not far away, Wen Jifei, who was collecting source energy blocks while pocketing other odds and ends, bumped He Tangtang with his elbow. "Listen to that. Can you believe it? He actually said that line to a guy." "Yeah, completely unbelievable," He Tangtang agreed, nodding. "Earlier when he cradled Little Caixin's face, I thought nearly dying had finally knocked some sense into him and reminded him he still doesn't have a wife." "Exactly," Wen Jifei grumbled. "If he walked over and said those words to Little Caixin right now, she wouldn't even go back to Switzerland, you believe me?" "What good does my believing do?!" Annoyed, He Tangtang glared at a Self-Preservation Faction member in front of him. "Give me!" Back by the wall, Wu Xu still said nothing. "If you come, I'll give you a radio," Han Qingyu continued. "I'll also find a place to get you surgery to swap out that Generation 3 gear... Only in Generation 9 gear can your true strength show." Wu Xu hesitated. "I'm a Yu clan war slave." "Oh." Han Qingyu looked up and spotted the eldest miss of the Yu clan cowering in the crowd. "Old auntie over there, come here a second... Yeah, come over here." Yu Fengzi gritted her teeth and walked over to Han Qingyu. Having witnessed the entire ordeal earlier, she knew the person before her was a god of slaughter. "Wu Xu... in exchange for your life," Han Qingyu said bluntly. Without the slightest hesitation, Yu Fengzi nodded repeatedly, an unmistakable look of pleasant surprise in her eyes. "..." This backwater young miss didn't even possess the magnanimity of the old aunties next door in Fenglong'ao. Han Qingyu turned to Wu Xu. "See that? Serving as a war slave for someone like that... Why not leave together? We can be brothers from now on." Wu Xu looked at Han Qingyu, then up at Yu Fengzi, his gaze wavering. "Go! I'm telling you to go with him!" Yu Fengzi urged him anxiously. Wen Jifei strolled by and patted her arm, waiting until she turned before saying, "Old auntie, show some respect to our people." ... Members of the Alphonse family finally arrived to clean up the aftermath, just like the Royal Police who always showed up late in Hong Kong movies. Seizing the final moments, Wen Jifei and the others finished gathering all the source energy blocks from the captives. On the way back, Han Qingyu quietly revealed a bit of his suspicion and wariness regarding the Alphonse family. It was merely a suspicion, backed by no proof. Even with proof, he wouldn't be foolish enough to investigate the matter right here on the home turf of a Star Glory Medal holder's family. In his current state, his only choice was to play dumb and leave first. "Are we still going to claim the source energy block?" Shen Yixiu asked worriedly. "I mean the reward one." "...Of course we are." After thinking it over, Han Qingyu privately approached the captains of two Huaxia squads and had one of them take one of the metal blocks to collect the reward on his behalf, claiming it for slaying a Great Spike. Though Charles Alphonse was somewhat bewildered, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he still delivered the reward of a metal block as promised. The captain returned and secretly handed both metal blocks to Han Qingyu. After expressing his thanks, just as the crowd was preparing to disperse, Han Qingyu took Yin Caixin with him to claim the reward a second time. Charles Alphonse stared at him, dumbfounded. "We got one too, from the shuttle craft," Han Qingyu said earnestly. "So we're victors as well, right?" Yin Caixin translated his words faithfully. *So, did he truly notice nothing, believing this was merely a clash with the Self-Preservation Faction?* Charles had been trying to gauge just how much Han Qingyu understood. Earlier, when Han Qingyu had sent someone else to claim the reward, Charles had assumed it was born of fear from discerning the truth behind the curtain, and he had nearly resolved to take the risk and strike. Yet now, the boy had insatiably come in person to claim a second reward.