He took down the Binggu spear, then slung it across his back again. People always talked about fighting a path out, but in truth, when a man didn't know the way, no path could be carved out with a weapon.
No matter how formidable Wu Xu's combat strength was, he was just as helpless to fight his way out.
After standing in place for about five minutes, Wu Xu suddenly jolted with realization: if he kept standing there, Han Qingyu would most likely track him down.
Running into each other would definitely be awkward; after all, he had run off after leaving a note.
Besides, if he were found again, it would only put Qingzi in a difficult position once more.
*Their officer said there's a City of Iniquity that can take me in, so I'll go there and not wander around... But where on earth is that place?*
Speaking of getting lost, a similar thing had already happened once in the sewers beneath the Nepal Front base. Plague Chicken had told the story to a bunch of young nurses just the day before yesterday, cracking everyone up.
Wu Xu thought to himself: *I'm not lost right now. I just don't know the way.*
Growing somewhat anxious, Wu Xu figured he had to get out of here first no matter what. However, Azure medical stations were always situated in remote locations, their roads deliberately designed with numerous forks and concealed from view.
He walked in a circle, only to find several places that looked all too familiar.
"I need to find a vehicle and follow it out."
"I'll just wait here."
Wu Xu didn't dare go near the main road for fear of being spotted. Before him lay a weed-choked path, which proved that few people or vehicles traveled along it, yet there were ruts showing traffic did pass through.
Having made up his mind, Wu Xu slipped into a nearby patch of woods to wait. His wilderness survival skills were exceptional; water and food would never be an issue.
Only, sitting there like this for a while, he felt a sense of loneliness.
Wu Xu had never thought of himself as lonely before, because he had always been used to being alone. But after just a few short days together, when those people were suddenly gone again, the loneliness felt immense and hard to adjust to.
The word "loneliness" didn't really exist in his mind, nor did he frame it as "feeling miserable"—it was simply a sensation, tied to no specific matter, governed by no complete logic.
There was not much that Wu Xu understood.
*I should have added a "thank you" to that note. I forgot. Sigh.*
The thought just came to him out of nowhere, and he felt deep regret that he hadn't said it to them.
***
Two days had passed.
Han Qingyu and the others had scoured the surrounding area, yet Wu Xu was nowhere to be found.
Only their small group could look for him. If higher-ups found out that Wu Xu had left on his own, they would probably launch a manhunt to preempt any trouble.
The very limit of the military's leniency was that Wu Xu's permitted destination could only be the City of Iniquity.
"Honestly, with Wu Xu having no ties or roots, once he takes off, he's really hard to track down." In the room, Wen Jifei wore a worried expression. No one blamed Wu Xu; he had good intentions, he just didn't know how to navigate such problems.
"Yeah, he's not like Liu Shiheng. If worst came to worst, we could always catch Liu Shiheng at his house," He Tangtang chimed in. "Say, Qingzi, could Wu Xu have actually gone to the City of Iniquity?"
"If he actually went there, that would be fine."
Han Qingyu stood up, at a loss as to where else to look. He thought that if Wu Xu really had gone to the City of Iniquity, at least there would be a defined boundary, and he could ask Tu Zi to help locate him.
The problem was that the City of Iniquity wasn't an actual geographic name at all. As a specialized term belonging to an even more clandestine realm behind the scenes, it didn't exist on any map. Most ordinary Azure officers and soldiers didn't even know it existed.
Not to mention the place was an ocean away.
On top of that, Wu Xu didn't have any money.
He was probably still stuck in the era where silver dollars counted as currency—and his only silver dollar had already been spent redeeming his spear last time.
"What I'm worried about now is him wandering blindly in ordinary society. If that happens, there's a huge chance something will go wrong, whether he's spotted by Azure or targeted by the Cleansing Faction or Self-Preservation Faction."
As Han Qingyu spoke, mentioning Tu Zi reminded him of someone, and he headed toward the internal line telephone room.
***
Research Institute 2 of the Azure Huaxia Front.
Xin Yaoqiao had her apparatus and backpack on as she sat on the sofa. She glanced at the two guards standing outside her front door, then turned back to look at her mother.
"He was severely injured, Mom," the girl complained in a petulant tone.
Her mother, sitting beside her, shook her head upon hearing this. "It was pretty severe, but he's out of danger now. Mom asked around for you."
"Still, I should go see him! Think about it—he just went through such a brutal battle, and if I don't even go see him..."
"You can't. Chairman Qu issued a direct order—you are not permitted to leave." Mother Xin didn't say "your grandfather" this time, using his official title to sound formal. She continued, "Besides, after going through something so huge, he didn't even think to let you know he was safe. Doesn't that just prove that in the eyes of that guy destined to stay single forever, you don't even exi—"
Before she could finish, a guard from the administrative area hurried up to the door. "Reporting."
"Hello, what is it?" Mother Xin asked.
"A telephone call at the office for Miss Yaoqiao." The guard directed his gaze to Xin Yaoqiao.
"Oh." Xin Yaoqiao was somewhat listless. She received plenty of work calls, and over the past two days, she hadn't felt like answering any of them. "Who is it from?"
"The caller said his name is Han Qingyu," the guard answered.
Mother Xin was stunned, finding it hard to believe. *Did that boy suddenly see the light? He got into a fight and had some sense knocked into him?*
Beside her came a whoosh—the roar of a three-dimensional apparatus.
Followed immediately by a rush of wind.
"I'm going to the office!" her daughter's voice drifted up from downstairs.
Sitting on the sofa, Mother Xin gave a wry smile and looked out the window. *Sigh, warriors really are more attractive to young girls than research staff. Just think:*
*A man clutching a two-hundred-page research report, sprinting toward you while yelling, 'Hahahaha, I produced results!'—only for sheets of paper to scatter everywhere;*
*Versus a man with twin blades in hand, drenched in blood, staggering toward you through a desolate canyon littered with the corpses of formidable foes, saying not a word, only offering you a gentle smile...*
*Even if it were me, I wouldn't be able to resist either.*
***
"Hello? Are... are you all right?" Xin Yaoqiao was panting into the receiver.
"I'm fine, pretty much back to normal," Han Qingyu said.
"Mm, I..."
"I have a favor to ask. Actually, two." Han Qingyu laid out both the removal of the Third-Generation apparatus and the issue with Wu Xu's enlistment background check.
He rarely asked others for favors, but when there was truly no other alternative, he wouldn't let meaningless embarrassment hold him back.
Xin Yaoqiao paused on the other end. "So you mean... you're coming to Institute 2 to see me?"
To see her? Han Qingyu thought: *Isn't it to dismantle the apparatus?* After a moment's thought, he figured it amounted to roughly the same thing, so he replied, "Yeah, if Institute 2 can remove that apparatus..."
"Of course we can! My grandaunt was involved in the great re-equipment back then." Xin Yaoqiao thumped her chest and said, "And about that other matter... I can help find a way too. So when are you coming?"
"Not sure yet. I'll call you back later."
The call ended.
Now the path through the higher-ups had been cleared; all that was left was to find the man himself.
"There's just no way to look for him," Wen Jifei muttered as they walked.
The group walked past the nurses' break room.
He suddenly stopped, listened to the commotion inside, and abruptly said, "There is a method we could try."
When Han Qingyu and the others heard his plan, goosebumps erupted on their skin on the spot.
"This... feels a bit cheesy, but honestly, it really might be worth a shot."
Chapter 152