Touched

Regarding the reactions across various factions in the outside world to the battle at the Nepal trial site and the impact it had caused—good or bad, true or false—Han Qingyu and the others were completely in the dark for the time being. They had spent several days at Medical Station 209, receiving treatment on the one hand and waiting for someone on the other. Thanks to the effect of source energy on the human body, their wounds healed swiftly. In truth, Azure's entire medical system differed from that of the ordinary world. It was built around a population whose constitutions had been transformed. Everything down to the administration procedures, drug categories, and dosages had to be tailored to the degree to which an individual's body had been remolded by source energy. Once they began to recover, life at the medical station became far more pleasant. Every day, the young nurses came by to check on them, change their dressings, and administer all manner of recuperative therapies, interspersed with chatting, eating, playing cards... Liu Shiheng strolled in from outside, a bag dangling from his hand. In the end, he had come back. With his Azure credentials and the fact that he had stayed overnight with the squad at Medical Station 209's guesthouse before leaving the country, he was able to find his way back. Hearing footsteps, Wen Jifei and He Tangtang turned to look. Both froze for a second, their expressions betraying an emotional stir—a mix of relief and joy along with anger and resentment. Yet they quickly masked it. Neither said a word, turning back around to continue playing cards. "I... I'm sorry," Liu Shiheng said, lingering by the door with an awkward, guilty expression. Not a single person acknowledged him, not even Shen Yixiu. "How about you beat me up first?! Don't hold back," Liu Shiheng offered. The silence dragged on a while longer before Wen Jifei finally rose, walked over, and planted a solid kick squarely on his thigh. Liu Shiheng grunted in pain, but broke into a delighted grin. Then He Tangtang came over and delivered a kick of his own. Shen Yixiu stepped up, mimed a punch, and then let it go. Wu Xu did not know Liu Shiheng yet. He watched for a moment and remained quiet. "To be honest, we all thought you weren't coming back. Qingzi told us to wait a few days. What, couldn't bear to leave your pampered rich-kid life behind? Or were you just scared Azure would hunt you down?" He Tangtang asked resentfully after sitting back down. "Of course I missed it," Liu Shiheng explained, standing where he was. "But I couldn't screw you guys over. I know you—especially Qingzi—would have to take the blame for it." At those words, Wen Jifei hurled his hand of cards straight at him with a whoosh, venting his bottled-up rage as he roared, "So you did know! Then why the hell did you run?!" "I'm sorry... but you all know there's basically zero chance I'd get home leave anytime soon." Liu Shiheng hung his head. "My parents thought I'd had an accident while hunting on the mainland and gone missing, maybe even died... Whenever I pictured how heartbroken they must be every single day, I just couldn't bear it. I only wanted to go back so they could see me with their own eyes and know I'm alive and well." Silence fell over the room. Wen Jifei calmed his temper slightly. "You didn't leak any secrets, did you?" "No," Liu Shiheng shook his head firmly. "If you didn't, how did you explain things to your family?!" Wen Jifei's tone sharpened again. Pausing, he added, "Sit down and talk." Liu Shiheng sat down. "I told them I got in serious trouble while hunting on the mainland, enough to get life in prison. But by sheer coincidence, a special state department conscripted me, allowing me to redeem myself through service, which is what I'm doing now." "And your parents bought that?" Shen Yixiu asked with concern. "They were skeptical at first and even talked about spending money to grease the right palms and get me back. I told them this department was special and strings couldn't be pulled... In the end, with no other choice, I punched a hole straight through the coffee table right in front of them and claimed it was top-tier qigong taught by the department." Liu Shiheng's body had also undergone source energy nourishment; smashing through a coffee table unarmored was just about his current limit. He went on, "After that, they had no choice but to believe me. And seeing what a terrifying organization it was, they didn't dare try pulling strings anymore." "That really is intimidating enough." Wen Jifei paused. "Are they doing all right, then?" "They're fine. Compared to having no news at all before, knowing I'm alive and not rotting in prison was a massive blessing to them. I even told them that if I perform well, I might get to visit them again in the future, maybe even go back and live with them." Perhaps one day they could return. It seemed to be an unspoken expectation harbored by everyone regarding their future in Azure—a belief that everything would come to an end eventually, even though no one actually knew when, or if, that day would ever come. Wen Jifei nodded. "That's good, then. So did your parents..." "My dad had twenty million deposited across various accounts for me on the mainland," Liu Shiheng said. "What?!" "Twenty million," Liu Shiheng said, pulling out a stack of receipts. "He told me to use the money to grease the palms of the department leaders, make sure I don't get sent on any especially dangerous missions, and help me rack up a few more merits." Twenty million! Wen Jifei and He Tangtang exchanged a look. "By the way, where's Qingzi? Why don't I see him?" Liu Shiheng asked, looking around. "He's busy. He was just called over to take a phone call." Wen Jifei thought for a moment, then stood up. "Come on, let's go find him together. It's almost time for lunch anyway." The group stepped outside and headed upstairs together. The door to the room housing the internal dedicated landline was closed. A soldier stood guard, but recognizing them, made no move to stop them. Han Qingyu's voice drifted out from inside. "On what grounds? Why can't he pass the background check?" The person Han Qingyu was referring to was Wu Xu. On their second day at the medical station, Han Qingyu had already filed a report requesting his enlistment, along with an application for surgery to modify his device. On the other end of the line, Lu Wuzheng had grown heated as well, his tone hurried and sharp. "A background in the Self-Preservation Faction, an untraceable origin, an obsolete Third-Generation device... Isn't that enough?! What do you take Azure for?!" "...Oh." Perhaps because he cared so deeply about this matter and knew Commander Lu had a point, Han Qingyu's tone softened. "Even if I vouch for him personally, it's still no good?" "No. The army has already granted you the utmost tolerance and trust. Otherwise, he would have been detained right there at the medical station." Lu Wuzheng's tone softened slightly in turn, thinking to himself, *Do you think an army commander like me would personally step in to handle this if it weren't for you?* "But just a few days ago, he reported one of our compromised supply depots! Doesn't that count as meritorious service?" Han Qingyu was still fighting for him. "It was too late!" Lu Wuzheng drew out his words with a sigh. "That depot was attacked the day before you reported it, most likely by his patriarch and the others... That's another reason the vetting department rejected him." Everything was going against them. Annoyed, Han Qingyu said, "Then what if I take a squad and wipe out their village? Would that prove it?" Han Qingyu was genuinely willing to do it—he just quietly excluded Wu Xu from that target. "Wipe out my ass! It's already gone," Lu Wuzheng explained from his end. "One of our own wounded soldiers trailed them back there at the time, but when we sent people back later, the place was completely deserted." Han Qingyu fell silent for a moment, at a loss for words. "Commander Lu, could you please help think of something? Wu Xu—I can vouch with absolute certainty that he's clean. And if he joins, he'll definitely make huge contributions." "Sigh, don't be like this. It doesn't even sound like you... I'd rather you keep arguing with me." Lu Wuzheng sighed on the other end. "I really can't help with this. To ensure rigor and impartiality, the vetting department operates completely independently within Azure. I have no say there either... Forget about me; on a matter of principle like this, going to the Legion Commander or the Council Chairman might not even work." Han Qingyu fell silent. "You'd better figure out what to do with him. This is already the furthest I could push things for you. In my opinion, send him to the City of Iniquity. That's the only place that might take him in right now." Lu Wuzheng paused for a moment before adding, "By the way, wasn't there someone named Liu Shiheng in your squad who deserted while abroad? Do you need the army to send people..." "The City of Iniquity? Given Wu Xu's current state, how could he go there?! He's stuck with a Third-Generation device and knows nothing about the world—isn't sending him there just sending him to his death?!" Han Qingyu fumed in exasperation. Pausing, he added, "And no, Liu Shiheng didn't desert. He left the Third Exploration Site because I assigned him another mission. I'll handle... We're waiting for him right here." The call ended. Outside the wooden door, silence reigned. Both men standing there were deeply moved. Liu Shiheng turned his head, tears stinging his eyes. Wu Xu remained silent. He desperately wanted to stay with the people before him and fight by their side in the future. He yearned for the Azure they had described to him, and he could see how hard Han Qingyu was fighting on his behalf... The posture Han Qingyu had shown over the phone just now was something he had never witnessed before. Wu Xu had thought that a man capable of charging into a hundred-man death battle feared nothing. Yet, putting the two things he had just witnessed together, he realized that Han Qingyu and the others would most likely never leave Azure until their deaths, while he himself, for various reasons, could never be allowed to join. ... Lunch passed in an uneasy silence. Wearing no device and without the Binggu spear by his side, Wu Xu asked calmly, "Did the military say it's best to kill me?" Han Qingyu quickly shook his head. "No, of course not! Don't worry about it, I'll find a way." "Okay." Wu Xu nodded and said nothing more then. After the meal, during the brief time the group spent privately discussing countermeasures, Wu Xu vanished. By the time Han Qingyu and the others returned— Inside He Tangtang's hospital room, the Coalition autumn combat uniform Wu Xu had borrowed and loved was folded neatly on the bed. Underneath the clothes were the two source energy blocks he had collected earlier. Between the two source energy blocks lay a slip of paper torn from a nurse's notepad, on which crooked traditional Chinese characters were scrawled: "I am going to the City of Iniquity first. We will meet again in the future." Wu Xu had left so as not to put Han Qingyu in a difficult position. With the black spear slung across his back, thinking that since there was a place the military wished for him to go, he would go there first, and perhaps one day he could join them again... Wu Xu walked along the road all by himself. Suddenly, his steps came to a halt as two questions popped into his mind: "Where is this?" "Where is the City of Iniquity?"