Shen Yixiu's reason for wanting to venture deep into the mountain belly was likely connected to that suit of iron armor. She probably wanted to understand more about herself, but had never possessed any other avenue... And if the creator of that armor—a kindred vessel to her own—truly was Ne, then perhaps she might uncover some clues inside, finding even a sliver of hope for shedding the iron shell in the future.
Han Qingyu agreed. In truth, even if Rusty Sister hadn't asked, he would have wanted to take a look himself.
First, for Rusty Sister's sake; second, since no source energy blocks had been found on that suit of iron armor, where on earth did its source energy supply come from? Only the conditions deep inside the mountain could provide an answer.
The scene was quickly staged, complete with artificial tracks left by the monstrous python slithering all the way from the cave entrance to the battlefield.
Wen Jifei, Liu Shiheng, He Tangtang, and Xin Yaoqiao stayed behind, returning to the vicinity of the cave mouth—partly for safety, and partly to react to whatever might happen.
If anyone arrived, they would act as though they had just escaped danger, stepping forward to explain the situation inside the cavern and their perilous ordeal.
And what if someone came before Han Qingyu and Shen Yixiu returned? How would they explain that?
Simple: they would claim that after slaying the first monstrous python, exhausted and caught off-guard, Rusty Sister was suddenly dragged off by another monstrous python, so Han Qingyu gave chase while the rest of them were just heading out to call for help.
"Actually, if it takes too long, we really will have to go for help." Wen Jifei lit a cigarette, dug a small hole in the dirt to bury the ashes, and asked Xin Yaoqiao, "The research institute must have plenty of top experts, right?"
Xin Yaoqiao looked at him and nodded. "Though most of the experts are stationed in the working and residential sectors. Hearing a commotion usually doesn't bring them rushing out immediately, because normally there's nothing and no one of critical importance out here."
"Afraid of being lured away from their post?"
"Yeah. It's happened before."
The incident Xin Yaoqiao referred to had indeed been a ploy to lure the tigers away from the mountain. The operatives of Snow Lotus had paid a massive price back then, successfully drawing almost all the experts out of the research institute.
Then, when their infiltrators slipped inside, they ran into a single person—who was waiting at the crossroads with liquor and peanuts. Not a single one of them ever made it back.
The tigers had been lured away, but in the mountains remained an existence far more terrifying than any tiger.
While they were talking, Han Qingyu and Rusty Sister engaged their three-dimensional apparatuses and crawled rapidly through the mountain's long passage.
Since the mountain hadn't collapsed even when the monstrous python came rampaging through earlier, and the massive excavations over a decade ago had never caused any cave-ins, the bedrock here was certainly solid enough. That was one basis for their judgment. Furthermore, as Xin Yaoqiao had said, the site selection for the research institute itself would certainly have taken such factors into account.
Besides, neither of them was an ordinary person. As long as the mountain itself didn't collapse, minor rockfalls or blockages wouldn't pose much of a problem.
Of course, if they crawled on only to find it went impossibly deep, or suspected something far more terrifying than the monstrous python might be lurking within, Han Qingyu was fully prepared to turn back halfway.
If it didn't look right, they would pull out. He loved source energy, but he loved his life even more.
The passage wasn't terribly narrow—there was just enough room to curl up and turn around—but its length, darkness, and claustrophobic enclosure still bred deep discomfort. A creeping sense of despair born of pressure and oppression intensified with every passing second and foot traveled.
"Can we talk?" Shen Yixiu, who had insisted on crawling in front, spoke up after a period of silent crawling.
"Sure."
As Han Qingyu answered, in a rare moment of playfulness, he reached from behind to rap his knuckles against her iron calf, hoping to ease some of Rusty Sister's suffocating tension.
Rusty Sister pulled her leg back and clicked her tongue. "Hey, stop fooling around."
She sounded annoyed, but her tone had come alive, carrying a faint hint of a smile.
"If we keep crawling for a bit and it's too deep, we'll turn back," she continued.
"Yeah," Han Qingyu agreed.
"And um... once we win the war, are you going home?" Shen Yixiu suddenly asked, quickly explaining, "I asked He Tangtang about what you said when those girls from the outreach troupe questioned you, so I know."
"Oh, yeah. I really want to go home," Han Qingyu replied.
"Mm." Shen Yixiu paused, then said, "You'll definitely make it home safe, Qingzi... I really hope we win soon."
It had already been more than eighty years, a protracted vigil with no end in sight.
Did they hope for a swift victory? Yes, everyone did.
Yet in truth, if humanity genuinely achieved a swift victory and eliminated the threat of the Great Spikes forever, leading to the dissolution or transformation of the Azure Alliance... for Shen Yixiu personally, such an outcome would be terrifying. She had no idea where she would go or what she would do.
She had thought about this long ago, but had never voiced it.
To her surprise, Shen Yixiu soon realized that Han Qingyu had thought about this as well—thought about it on her behalf. Hearing what she said, he answered directly:
"It's probably impossible for it to end that quickly, and maybe it doesn't need to be so fast... Either way, by then, you'll definitely have gotten out of there. Don't worry."
"I..." Shen Yixiu choked, stammering, "I might actually never be able to come out... Back then, the doctors and scientists on the research project team said so in the end."
At a moment like this, almost any other man would have known to offer comfort and hope with words like "science will advance" or "don't worry yourself sick." But Han Qingyu wasn't like that. Instead, he said:
"Then before the war ends, I'll definitely hoard piles and piles of source energy blocks for you. If I can't earn enough, I'll rob them."
At those words, Shen Yixiu's body suddenly halted ahead of him. Beneath the silent iron plating came a few faint, stifled sobs, muffled with all her might. Then she let out a laugh, sounding genuinely happy as she said, "Deal."
Han Qingyu said, "Yeah."
"Then can I come hang out with you guys when the time comes? Come visit you?" Shen Yixiu paused, then asked, "Would I scare your parents, though?"
"No," Han Qingyu said with a chuckle. "When the time comes, I'll tell my mom first: 'Ma, come quick! I picked up a huge sheet of iron scrap today, we can sell it to the junkyard!'"
Shen Yixiu kicked a leg back, bumping him.
"That won't do? Fine, I'll change it. I'll say: 'Ma, come quick! I bought our family a huge iron bucket!'" Han Qingyu laughed at his own joke.
This time Shen Yixiu didn't kick him. After a moment's thought, she continued crawling forward, muttering, "I'm not talking to you anymore. You're infuriating."
"Actually, it's not that complicated. I'll just tell my parents straight out that you're my friend,"
Han Qingyu said calmly from behind.
There was no response. Only after crawling a little further did Shen Yixiu whisper, "Mm."
In that single "mm," her voice broke slightly.
After crawling like this for another two or three minutes, she stopped again and said, "I felt a downward shaft, but I don't know how deep it is. Could you pass me the flashlight?"
Just as she spoke, a stone was accidentally dislodged by her and tumbled down. Only after five or six seconds did a faint clatter drift back up.
"Seems pretty deep," Shen Yixiu said.
"Use our knives to climb down. Let me go first. Both of us need to listen carefully to our surroundings." Saying this, Han Qingyu waited for Shen Yixiu to drop in first and cling to the wall, then slid out himself and quickly scrambled past her to take the lead.
Stabbing his knife into the wall for a hold, Han Qingyu flicked on the flashlight and shone the beam downward.
The beam never reached the bottom, swallowed whole by the darkness.
Chapter 170