Deduction

Most of Azure's medical stations disguised themselves as military sanatoriums or convalescent homes. A small fraction were truly tucked away deep in the mountains, though even those put up a sign that could pass public scrutiny. Medical Station 101 was one of that small fraction, secluded in the mountains. Because it sat along a river, though, transportation was not much of an issue. Under normal circumstances, a medical station on the front line covered rescue operations for dozens of squads. They were by no means small in scale, and each had its own armed garrison. The little prince, Zhu Jiaming, had been handed over to the garrison squad the moment they arrived and was placed in temporary detention. The man harbored no complaints whatsoever, even praising the fine surroundings. Arrangements for Wu Xu and the other two wounded members of Squad 1777 were made swiftly. Han Qingyu had not been injured, but upon arriving, he submitted a special request to have a few X-rays taken. The doctor before him was a woman. In Azure's medical stations, the proportion of women far exceeded that of hospitals in the ordinary world, simply because men who entered Azure rarely found it in themselves to resist the pull of the battlefield. Holding the freshly developed film, the female doctor examined it back and forth for quite a while. She seemed rather hopeful about finding some minor ache or pain that might warrant further physical treatment, but there was nothing... Setting the film down, she looked up at Han Qingyu. "Nothing wrong. You're perfectly healthy." "I know." Han Qingyu hesitated after answering, sounding slightly uneasy. "Doctor, could you please take another look? Are my bones, or anything else, larger than normal?" Larger than normal? The doctor blinked in surprise. "Oh, you mean your bones?" "Yes, the bones." "All right, bones." Bewildered, she picked up the film again and scrutinized it several times. Looking up, she shook her head. "No, everything is completely normal. However, your bone and muscle density seem exceptionally high. Would you like a checkup for that as well? Or... should I feel for myself?" That last remark was meant to tease Han Qingyu a little. Precisely because of his reputation for being "dead iron," the doctors and nurses at the medical station were all eager to test him whenever an opportunity arose on duty, curious to see whether the rumors were true and have a bit of fun at his expense. Han Qingyu shook his head nervously. "No, there's no need." Because of his nerves, his refusal came off rather stiff. As someone harboring deep secrets, Han Qingyu did not want anyone prying into him unless absolutely necessary. Even with the promise he had made to Tu Zi about undergoing another source energy field test this year, he was already second-guessing himself. One reason was that through the affair with the Alphonse family, he had caught wind of the darkness lurking among certain high-ranking figures within Azure, which left him feeling uneasy. The second reason was fear that his current self might clash even more violently with the massive source energy field at the Research Institute, ending in one side being blown to bits. Right then, the female doctor nodded, then lowered her head... Her expression toward the desk surface was slightly awkward, tinged with wry amusement. *It really is true.* She was already thinking about how she had to tell everyone when she got back: that guy was truly dead iron, hopelessly dense. In truth, many of the tales surrounding Han Qingyu's dense nature were rather unfair to him. Once someone was saddled with such a label, countless unintentional actions would be filed under it automatically. *As long as they haven't grown larger, that's fine,* Han Qingyu murmured to himself. He thanked the doctor, picked up his X-rays, and let out a quiet breath of relief as he stepped out the door. By now, counting metal blocks alone, he had directly absorbed roughly seven blocks by Azure's standard. There were also the blue crystal blocks he had devoured one by one, along with what he had absorbed while soaking in the source energy field twice. While he could not calculate the exact sum, it was easily close to two hundred blocks. That amount of resources was enough to nurture several ordinary squads. Still, he had swindled, seized, or earned every bit of it himself... Han Qingyu had thought it through; there was no reason to feel guilty. At any rate, knowing his body had undergone no weird mutations was good enough. Returning to the hallway, he looked up and saw Wen Jifei and Liu Shiheng sitting there, tinkering with the radio they had bought for Wu Xu. Neither dared turn the volume up, however. Wu Xu was inside undergoing his second treatment. Just as in the morning, he refused anesthesia. He was the kind of person whose face gave away nothing, even when seriously injured. During the first treatment that morning, the doctors and nurses had felt quite relaxed when they first saw him. It was only when Wu Xu stripped off his shirt, exposing the wounds across his body, that they fell silent. Then he turned down the anesthesia. By the time the stitches were finished and he came out, quite a few doctors and nurses had red eyes. They had wanted to offer some gentle care, but he seemed to be another block of wood. Two blocks of wood. Two fireworks. This was the precise assessment the doctors and nurses at Medical Station 101 had reached after Han Qingyu and his group had been there for barely half a day. Hearing footsteps, the two fireworks looked up at Han Qingyu. "Everything all right?" "All good." "Good. The two of us were just talking about that bone thing. We made a deduction—could it have happened like this?" Wen Jifei gestured as he spoke. "Back in the nineteen-tens and twenties, when Azure was newly established in Huaxia and things were chaotic, a few people privately stumbled upon an unusual corpse. At the same time, they found that its bones were extraordinarily peculiar. "They might have fought over it, leaving a few dead, or they might have done it peacefully. In the end, the survivors divided the bones among themselves. "Afterward, bearing that secret alongside the hope of becoming invincible or achieving immortality... they took their clans and subordinates into seclusion deep in the mountains, cutting themselves off from the world... to study the bones while preparing for the apocalypse and the arrival of the Great Spikes." After listening, Han Qingyu recalled what Wu Xu had said about the Yu clan taking out the bone fragment to worship during sacrifices. The reasoning struck him as remarkably plausible. Just as he was about to discuss it further... Wen Jifei had already stood up. Leaning around Han Qingyu's shoulder, he looked toward the other end of the corridor and raised a hand with a warm, beaming greeting. "Hey, Sister Xiaolan! Were you looking for me? Well, look at that—you changed your hair! Even prettier now!" ... Mu Xiaolan had been sent over from the inpatient ward on behalf of the female soldiers to fetch Han Qingyu and his friends. When she first spotted Han Qingyu, she had felt a bit nervous, worried she might get the cold shoulder. Yet Wen Jifei's greeting instantly melted away her unease. *They've only been here for a little over half a day, and we've merely crossed paths twice amidst all the commotion, barely saying a word... With so many people around, he actually remembered my name?!* *He even noticed I split my ponytail into pigtails just now?!* *Could he... have feelings for me?!* *Goodness, my heart's racing.* Regardless, having someone pay such close attention always flattered a girl. Mu Xiaolan waved happily in front of her chest and beamed. "Yes, I was looking for you. Got a minute?" "Of course! Anything Sister Xiaolan commands, this humble Wen will brave mountains of daggers and seas of flames. Laundry, cooking, making beds, folding quilts... I won't shrink from a thing." "Smooth talker. I bet you say that to everyone, don't you? Hmph, big flirt." Despite her scolding, Mu Xiaolan could not help hopping forward on both feet, her spirits bouncing. "Oh, right—someone asked me to find you." "Which pretty sister?" Wen Jifei asked, delighted. "A female squad leader from your Regiment 425. She's admitted here right now, named Ran Qiuling... What, you don't know her?" Seeing Wen Jifei's expression instantly wilt, Mu Xiaolan tilted her head, looking puzzled. "I know her. How could I not?" Wen Jifei replied without hesitation. Who would dare forget *her*? Even a Wen Jifei who dared flirt with countless female equipment officers on the grounds, who dared conquer Medical Station 202... still did not dare provoke a former female squad leader from Regiment 425 in the slightest.