Third Update

With this sleep, by the time Han Qingyu woke up, more than two days—nearly three—had passed. He woke up in a hospital bed with spotless white sheets, thick layers of gauze wound around him from chest to back. Having taken multiple heavy blows from the monstrous python earlier, he had actually been badly hurt; it was only because his physical constitution was exceptionally tough that he had held on until he heard Rusty Sister was out of danger. "You're awake! Thank goodness. The doctor said your recovery rate is astonishing." Xin Yaoqiao stood by the bedside. Seeing Han Qingyu open his eyes, she patted her chest and gave a relieved smile. Actually, there had been something very strange about Han Qingyu over the past two-odd days: the skin on his face and body had been peeling, and beneath it, his complexion had turned fairer... But as a girl, Xin Yaoqiao felt awkward bringing it up. In any case, the doctors said this might simply be his personal idiosyncratic reaction after getting injured. As long as it caused no pathological changes, there was no harm done; they found nothing specifically wrong, nor could they explain it. As for the others, ever since returning from Nepal, they had known Han Qingyu shed skin whenever he fought beyond his limits, so they didn't think twice about it... Wen Jifei stepped forward, leaned down, and whispered: "Don't worry, I gathered up your stuff right away, except..." "Except what?!" Tensing in confusion, Han Qingyu looked over and saw a set of iron armor—both familiar and slightly foreign—standing there, holding a small dark green hardcover notebook. Shen Yixiu's own body had not suffered severe injuries this time. Once her iron armor was repaired and its internal circulatory system restored, there were no major issues left, so she had actually awakened before Han Qingyu. "What... what are you doing with my ledger?!" "Reading. Crossing things out." Shen Yixiu put her hands behind her back, hiding the little ledger behind her, and answered with delighted smugness... How else was she supposed to react? She couldn't very well start crying; sniffling and sobbing would only earn her a scolding. "Give it back!" Han Qingyu leaped straight out of bed and lunged to snatch it. "No! I haven't even gotten to secretly cross anything out yet!" Holding the small ledger high, Shen Yixiu spun around and bolted. She ran about three or four paces when—*splat!* As if someone had tripped her, she pitched straight forward, and her iron armor slammed onto the floor with a loud *thud*. "..." Han Qingyu was dumbfounded. He hadn't even started chasing her yet. Turning around in bewilderment, he looked at the others in the room and asked, "What's wrong with her?!" Watching Rusty Sister sprawled on the floor, everyone laughed. "It's nothing. She only got out of bed this morning," He Tangtang explained with a cheerful grin, having temporarily regained his rank among the squad's top three fighters. "She said the iron armor underwent some changes after the repairs and she's not used to it yet. For the past half-day, she's fallen flat pretty much everywhere she walked. She's already scared the wits out of plenty of people." "I see." Relieved and amused, Han Qingyu ambled toward her. Seeing him approach, Shen Yixiu scrambled to her feet to flee again. Two steps in—*splat!* Without any warning, she pitched flat onto the floor once more. Just like an awkward bear. "Run! Go on, run... Why'd you stop running?!" Amid bursts of laughter, Han Qingyu walked over, squatted down to snatch the little ledger back first, checked it, and stowed it away safely. Then he reached out, hoisted Shen Yixiu up by her iron armor, and propped her against the wall with a clatter. After looking her over, he remarked, "It does seem a bit different. But how did you become such a noob?" The armor on Rusty Sister was indeed somewhat different. If she used to look like a rundown robot, her armor now gave off a cutting-edge, cool, intensely mechanical feel. If she strapped a long blade to her back... well, she'd look a bit like a Transformer. At the same time, though it had undergone penetrative repairs and surface reinforcement throughout—even the original alloy sections had been layered over—it didn't look bloated in the least. Because the structure was more streamlined, Han Qingyu leaned back and observed that the armor appeared taller and leaner than before. She used to stand around 1.76 or 1.77 meters, but now she was nearly as tall as him. "The exact specs can't be measured for now, but that damned blacksmith said that in the same state, Xiuxiu's defensive capability has increased at least threefold." "...Mm." Threefold—a staggering figure, and one that directly concerned life and death. Han Qingyu nodded with relief and gratitude. Then he heard Xin Yaoqiao say, "That fellow who shares your 'dead' moniker already left. He said no thanks needed." "Then what about my leftover source energy blocks and stuff?" Han Qingyu hastily asked. "Leftover? Well... there's none left. Seeing that they were there, he just used them all." Xin Yaoqiao watched Han Qingyu's expression shift, suppressing a smile as she explained, "That's why Xiuxiu got such a huge boost." "Oh." Han Qingyu glanced at Shen Yixiu, let go of her, turned around, pulled out his little ledger, found a pen, and began recording: [Recent consumption: 3 metal blocks, 30 blue crystal source energy blocks (Shen Yixiu). Another 10 blue crystal blocks (Wu Xu).] [Remaining: 20 blue crystal blocks, 0 metal blocks.] Zero! All gone! Regardless of how much stronger everyone had become, in terms of source energy blocks, they were back to where they started before going to Nepal overnight! Having finished the calculation, Han Qingyu stood there, utterly numb. "You're done for, Rusty Sister." Liu Shiheng poked his head over for a look and turned back with a laugh. "And Wu Xu, you're in the little ledger too, you know?" Wu Xu gave a solemn nod. Shen Yixiu did the same. She had also drained a lot of the liquid source energy from Han Qingyu's source energy canisters; nobody knew that better than her. "I don't know whether Rusty Sister is done for, but right now, I think we'd better call for emergency resuscitation on Qingzi first," He Tangtang teased with a laugh. They all knew about the big chunk Wen Jifei was helping hide, so they felt relaxed. But that thing might very well have to be handed over! Han Qingyu knew it in his heart. After some thought, he could only set the matter aside for the moment... Getting up, he looked at Xin Yaoqiao and said earnestly, "So many things worked out this time thanks to you." "It's nothing," Xin Yaoqiao stammered slightly under his gaze. "Come on, don't be so polite. Aren't we good friends?" Han Qingyu was never one for pleasantries, so he simply said, "Anyway, if there's anything you need help with in the future, just let me know." *This guy is suddenly so serious...* Xin Yaoqiao unconsciously, yet automatically, glanced out of the corner of her eye at the silver bracelet on his wrist. *He probably doesn't even know, does he? Word about this silver bracelet has been spreading from mouth to mouth among the Azure girls, and it's becoming more and more famous.* Fortunately, he hadn't noticed. Looking up with a sly smile, Xin Yaoqiao said, "You promised." Compared to her initial impulsive and naive urge to run over just to see him, now that they were acquainted, understood each other, and grown familiar, Xin Yaoqiao was in no hurry. She felt calm. She didn't know how her own story would unfold, but she knew that the story belonging to Han Qingyu was only just beginning... Han Qingyu nodded. "Yeah. My word." ... A huge bowl of beef and mutton mixed noodles. Han Qingyu looked up from the bowl. "What?! You're saying that chunk has to be turned in?!" Wen Jifei grew frantic. After Xin Yaoqiao returned to work, Han Qingyu had just explained the situation to them. "There's no other way. With such a massive secret, we can't keep quiet about it, right? And if we report it, the piece will definitely be taken away for research," Han Qingyu said. He Tangtang was anxious too. "Then what are we supposed to do when we go back?! We only have twenty blocks left!" When he said "only twenty blocks," he hadn't forgotten that everyone still had a few blocks on them. It was just that going from sudden riches straight back to poverty, that pinched feeling of stretching every resource, was utterly agonizing. Taking into account Rusty Sister's consumption and the need to increase their strength, this was a very practical problem. Even the reserves of liquid source energy inside Han Qingyu's body were running low now. Furthermore, considering combat—specifically the likelihood that killers from the City of Iniquity would arrive before long—Han Qingyu also had to have metal blocks, and not just one or two. Judging from what happened in the python cavern, he now had to consume at least three metal blocks at once to stimulate the overflow of vitalized source energy... He pulled out the large metal block on the spot, looking at it with an aching heart. It had shrunk. Originally, this thing was equivalent to at least fifteen Azure standardized metal blocks. Because of what he absorbed during the battle in the python cavern, only about twelve remained. Keeping it would make him a wealthy tycoon. Yet he couldn't keep it. Han Qingyu could indeed absorb more of it to raise his baseline strength before handing it over, but doing so would still leave him just as strapped afterward and unable to use it mid-battle. What was he to do?! Two more days passed like this. Han Qingyu had basically recovered, and Rusty Sister had begun growing accustomed to her iron armor... As the date of the squad's departure drew nearer, the time to return was upon them. In the current situation, many big figures from the research apparatus had gathered at Institute 2. With Xin Yaoqiao's grandfather, Xin Zhiming, heading the special research team, they began exploring and studying the mutated giant pythons and the source energy field left behind by Ne. Day after day, Han Qingyu and the others dropped subtle hints to pry information out of Xin Yaoqiao, hoping to find out whether the researchers had discovered the indentation left by the large metal block. Yet they never got an answer. During the chaotic battle back then, equipment had been smashed all over the place. Could the imprint already be gone? Pondering this, Han Qingyu looked up and saw Xin Yaoqiao waving goodbye as she prepared to head to work. In a hurry, he called out from behind: "Qiaoqiao, wait a moment!" ... The residential quarters of Institute 2, Xin Yaoqiao's home, that evening. "Qiaoqiao, Qiaoqiao? What's gotten into you?" Mother Xin had been watching her for a while. Ever since coming home from work, her daughter had been sitting on the couch, giggling one moment and looking bewildered the next. "He's about to leave, isn't he?" Han Qingyu was indeed about to leave. Xin Yaoqiao looked up and blinked at her mother. "He suddenly told me that before leaving, he wants to meet Grandfather." "Is it because of that Wu Xu matter? But that's not something your grandfather oversees." "No. Wu Xu's situation can only stay under deliberation for now—neither driven away nor formally enlisted. He knows all that; he's not someone who lacks a sense of propriety." "Then why does he want to see your grandfather?" Mother Xin asked meaningfully. Xin Yaoqiao tilted her head away and mumbled evasively, "I don't know."