If it was the first possibility—or even if the first possibility merely couldn't be ruled out—then for Han Qingyu to pocket this metal block privately and conceal it from Azure's high command seemed like something he really shouldn't do.
The implications of this matter were simply too profound, so immense they might touch upon the future of all humanity.
*The question is, if I tell them, will they give me adequate compensation?!* Han Qingyu pondered it a moment, concluding that going by Azure's usual track record, the likelihood was near zero.
First, they might very well already know about it. The chances of that weren't small, and in that case, the intelligence value would vanish entirely—it would just be handing over a metal block.
Second, even if they didn't know, the possibility of small blocks being fused together still existed. Under those circumstances, at present, it definitely wouldn't carry enough weight to earn Han Qingyu a Star of Azure. What's more, it would probably be treated as classified and kept secret for a very long time.
So, the best result in the short term would probably just be him receiving another Gold Azure Guard... That would be far too much of a loss.
The truth was that for Han Qingyu himself, the meaning and value of obtaining this metal block was also enormous.
It meant that for quite a long time to come, Han Qingyu would basically have no worries about source energy. It meant his strength could take a massive leap forward. At the same time, it meant he could be confident in triggering an overflow of life source energy at any moment, possessing the capital to fight several battles that might be grueling and demanding.
*So, what should I do?* Han Qingyu wrestled with himself, pulling the metal block back out and gripping it tightly in his hand.
"If you hand it over, your heart will ache terribly, and you'll cry, won't you?" Shen Yixiu asked carefully and earnestly from the side. Then she added, "I think I'd probably cry."
Though she usually joked around, she had long since come to understand that Han Qingyu's obsession with source energy blocks also had her and their whole group factored into it.
*He's like a bandit chief meticulously planning every scrape, and we're his little bandits,* Shen Yixiu thought.
"Yeah. It'll hurt a lot." Han Qingyu looked down at the metal block in his hand and admitted it frankly.
"Of course it would. Just thinking about it is heartbreaking." Shen Yixiu nodded. "Then Qingzi, come over and look at this first... See if this works." She pointed at the rice-cooker-shaped apparatus.
"What?" Han Qingyu walked over, puzzled.
"There's an imprint," Shen Yixiu said.
With her pointing it out, Han Qingyu finally saw it. On the surface of the iron platform inside the apparatus where the metal block had rested, there was an indentation left behind over the past few decades. The impression was square, with neat, faint stepped tiers.
Shen Yixiu meant that through this trace, Azure's scientists might be able to discover on their own that Ne possessed an intact, massive block of metal.
"Ouch," Han Qingyu suddenly groaned in heartache.
"What's wrong? It won't work?" Shen Yixiu asked anxiously. "What I meant was, why don't we say nothing for now? We take it back and wait and see. If they discover it on their own, we never mention it. If they don't... then we'll have to tell them."
"...I'm just sad that it used to be so huge," Han Qingyu said, heartbroken.
The outermost ridge of the indentation on the iron platform was the original size of the metal block. It was probably slightly more than four times the size of the one currently in Han Qingyu's hand. In other words, its initial mass had been equivalent to at least sixty of the small metal blocks commonly recovered from shuttle craft.
Shen Yixiu: "..."
"Your idea is very good, but there's one problem: once we go back, how do we find out whether they know or not? Once something like this is discovered, it's bound to be top secret," Han Qingyu said.
"Could Qiaoqiao not even know?" Shen Yixiu asked. "She should be able to, right?"
Han Qingyu thought about it. "Not necessarily. I heard from her that her current research focus seems to be the language of the Great Spikes. Last time we met, she even chattered away with a blue-sheened Great Spike for half the day, though the guy never paid her any mind."
"Oh, so that's how it is..." Shen Yixiu stifled a laugh, remembering they were discussing serious business.
"Still, her family... Forget it. No matter what, let's take it and wait a few days to see." Han Qingyu made up his mind and gestured. "Pack that thing up first."
"All right."
Shen Yixiu turned back to pack up the rice cooker, wholly focused and moving with utmost care, afraid of leaving any traces.
Han Qingyu also slipped the metal block into the inner pocket of his autumn combat uniform, looking down to make sure it wouldn't bulge noticeably.
Everything that followed happened with startling abruptness.
Just as the sound of monstrous pythons slithering reached his ears and Han Qingyu was about to warn Shen Yixiu to prepare for battle, there was a loud *bang*. Shen Yixiu was sent flying by a massive tail, smashing straight into the wall with a deafening crash.
At the same time, two other monstrous pythons pounced toward Han Qingyu.
*Were these three actually dormant near the source energy field? Did they wake up because the disappearance of the source energy and the metal block felt wrong to them?!*
"Rusty Sister?!"
Han Qingyu drew both swords at once, blocking the initial strike from the two monstrous pythons. His body slammed heavily into the wall, and the first thing he did was whip his head around toward Rusty Sister.
That strike just now had caught her completely off guard, before she could even switch her body's source energy supply into a combat state. The sudden, violent impact left Shen Yixiu nearly unconscious inside her iron armor.
Before she could clear her head and react, the iron armor was coiled up by the body of the python that had struck her, the beast constricting tightly.
*Creeeak, creeeak.*
While fending off the attacks from the other two monstrous pythons, Han Qingyu heard the agonizing screech of iron armor straining under crushing pressure.
Rusty Sister's iron armor couldn't withstand the python's constriction; it was on the verge of shattering.
Once the iron armor ruptured, she would die, her vital functions rapidly collapsing.
This was something Rusty Sister had mentioned herself, and something the old army commander had repeatedly stressed time and again. Han Qingyu naturally remembered.
"Rusty Sister?!"
"Mm." The voice came from within the iron armor, laden with agony. Shen Yixiu had regained a sliver of consciousness, but right now, she was completely bound, powerless to break free.
Han Qingyu suddenly noticed that although the giant python attacking her looked similar in size to the previous one, the horn on its head had fully grown out.
That probably meant it was exceedingly formidable.
No time to care. The massive metal block pressed against his chest over his heart rapidly dissolved by roughly a fifth, and Han Qingyu's body felt the overflow of life source energy within.
"Don't be afraid!" The words weren't loud, nor were they vehement.
Yet the three-dimensional apparatus, liquid source energy, and life source energy—all three source energy turbines—reached their absolute zenith, whipping up monstrous waves in the fiercest surging tide inside Han Qingyu's body.
Bringing both swords down together, Han Qingyu surged forth like crashing breakers pounding the shore... *Boom!*
*Squelch.*
*Squelch.*
The scaled armor on the monstrous python's body was pierced through by the dead iron straight swords in his hands. Though not an instantly fatal blow, the creature's grip momentarily slackened from the pain. At that very instant, Han Qingyu's own back was slammed brutally by another monstrous python, smashing his entire body into the ground.
Without hesitating, *spurt*, Han Qingyu spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, scrambled straight to his feet, scooped up Rusty Sister in his arms, and bolted.
Because within his field of view, two more monstrous pythons had already appeared not far away.
A total of five!
He sprinted all the way from the miniature source energy field toward the entrance of the passage where they had descended.
Anxious and terrified, yet not daring to let it show too much, Han Qingyu asked, "Rusty Sister, is it broken? It didn't break, did it?"
"I... didn't." Shen Yixiu had already activated her source energy into a combat state, but her voice was still frail.
"Can you move?"
"Yes."
"You know I'm strong, right?"
"Mm."
"Can you climb?"
"Yes."
"Remember what I said about doing as you're told?"
"..."
"Do as you're told."
By the time he said this, they had already reached the foot of the wall. Using the small footholds Shen Yixiu had previously gouged into the rock, Han Qingyu cradled her in his arms, bounding up the hundred-plus-meter sheer cliff in a single breath. He drove one sword into the wall with one hand, then shoved Rusty Sister straight into the tunnel.
"Climb!"
The moment he barked the word, he yanked out his sword and spun around, kicking off the wall. Using the momentum to vault into the empty air below, he slashed down toward the head of a monstrous python that had reared up and pursued them to the base of the wall.
Movement in the tunnel was awkward, and Rusty Sister was injured. If both of them tried to squeeze in together, it would only give the monstrous pythons an easy target.
Midair, Han Qingyu roared once more:
"Climb!"
That roar was utterly ferocious.
Chapter 173