In the beginning, by instantly killing two Great Spikes in a single strike, Chen Buer had given Han Qingyu and Wu Xu a glimpse of the mountain peak's outline—in a sense, delivering a reprimand to ground the young prodigies.
Then came this wager for three people to draw their blades. Judging the weight he applied, the old man had roughly expected Han Qingyu and Wu Xu to be able to draw their battleblades, though the process would surely be grueling.
It was meant as compensation for the blow to their confidence following the reprimand. Having seen just how high the heavens stretched, drawing their blades under tremendous pressure and experiencing that sudden, boundless clarity would help their mindsets mature.
Of course, his measured force remained firm. If the two of them truly couldn't draw their blades in the end, the legion commander wouldn't go easy on them on purpose; he would simply feel a bit of disappointment and regret.
As it turned out, under the base source energy surge, Han Qingyu and Wu Xu unsheathed their blades one after the other. Both in time taken and overall performance, Chen Buer was thoroughly delighted.
Once the delight passed, the old man thought to himself that he had to win. Whether for the mission's spoils or for the legion commander's pride... his words had already been spoken.
The agreed-upon number was three. Startled by Shen Yixiu, who hadn't been in his calculations, Chen Buer had shamelessly and stealthily increased the weight bearing down on the girl.
A surging river tide suppressed the entire scattering of puddles, large and small.
Every member of Squad 1777 present strained with all their might, but the deciding factor was already suppressed. The wager's outcome was already...
*Clang!*
A sudden ring of metal echoed as a blade cleared its scabbard.
The friction of a dead iron straight sword sliding free of the combat uniform's fastening pin was a sound familiar to everyone present.
The instant Chen Buer turned to look, the crushing pressure across the field vanished with it. Over forty people, hands still gripping their hilts, whipped their heads around in stunned disbelief.
In the far corner of the back row, Wen Jifei stood with blade in hand.
Lips pressed flat, completely deadpan, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
*A Dice, indeed.*
*I am a small puddle; I am a large puddle... I drip, drip, gush... At one moment, I am even parched ground without a single drop of water... But in another moment, I am, at the very least, a rushing torrent.*
The third battleblade had been drawn.
"So... should we celebrate now, or what?" Captain Lao hesitated in conflict, holding back his joy and excitement as he glanced at his respected and beloved legion commander.
"Cough... Not bad. Very good." Chen Buer gave Wen Jifei an aggrieved look, turned around, and handed the Slash-Red battleblade to the old staff officer, saying at the same time, "Do we have enough of our own source energy blocks to pay up?"
His exact words earlier had been that if three people drew their blades, the metal block would be given directly as a reward... A direct reward, not returned to the squad to hand over for credit.
Thus, not only could the legion commander not take the mission spoils, he also had to... pay out an extra share from his own pocket.
"Enough, plenty enough. Heheh." The old staff officer couldn't care less about Chen Buer's plight, gloating as his eyes squeezed into narrow slits with laughter.
"Then pay up," Chen Buer said.
By Azure standards, refining a metal block yielded forty-three blocks. Forty-three blue crystal blocks were brought out, ready to be handed to Han Qingyu in exchange for the metal block... which would then be given to Lao Jian to turn in for the mission report.
Yet what Han Qingyu wanted was the metal block. He currently had a reserve of nearly two hundred blue crystal blocks, but only four metal blocks remained. Considering the battles he might face ahead, metal blocks were what he was truly and desperately short of—and they were usually nearly impossible to come by.
Thinking of this, Han Qingyu saluted and spoke up: "Reporting to the Legion Commander, may I keep the metal block? And for the mission turn-in, our squad will submit source energy blocks directly. Would that be acceptable?"
Chen Buer looked at him, slightly bewildered.
"Because winning the metal block from the Legion Commander's hands gives it great commemorative value, so I want to keep it as a memento," Han Qingyu explained. "Besides, we have plenty of source energy blocks—we just received some as rewards."
"..." Chen Buer sorely wanted to beat the kid up. After a moment's thought, he jerked his chin and said, "Give it to them."
Forty-three blue crystal blocks were handed to Lao Jian for the mission report... As for the metal block, Han Qingyu wasn't the least bit modest, slipping it straight into his pocket.
...
After reporting the mission's completion to the Rejecters and collecting all the dead iron fragments, Lao Jian announced that they were heading back.
On the way back to the garrison, Han Qingyu and his friends walked at the very rear. Wen Jifei refused to let anyone carry him on their back, instead hanging almost entirely draped over Han Qingyu.
He had drawn his blade earlier, but in truth, he had paid a miserable price.
"You should have spat that blood out earlier; your injuries wouldn't be as bad," Han Qingyu said helplessly, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"No way in hell... In a guy's whole life, I probably only get a few chances to look this cool," Wen Jifei grimaced, flashing a pained grin. "So of course I had to keep up the act right to the end."
Everyone chuckled softly.
Only Shen Yixiu didn't. Right now, she was heartbroken.
She had already been terribly sad about not being able to stand shoulder to shoulder with them during the battle at Medical Station 101. In that battle, Han Qingyu and Wu Xu had earned Legion Saber Insignias that would allow them to join the suicide squad in the future, but she had not. That meant: if that battle truly came one day, she wouldn't be able to stand beside Qingzi...
The girl had originally hoped that she would earn one herself down the road.
Yet just now, Han Qingyu and Wu Xu had both managed to draw their blades, while she hadn't... *So, am I truly unable to keep up with them anymore?!*
"Rusty Sister, what's wrong?" Han Qingyu asked with concern when he noticed her long silence.
"I'm fine." Shen Yixiu sniffled beneath her iron plating, turning her head away. "I'm just weak and useless, that's all."
She felt thoroughly wronged and aggrieved.
"..." Not knowing what was behind it, Han Qingyu couldn't think of how to comfort her right away.
Beside them, Wen Jifei said gently, "But Rusty Sister, you're a girl. You don't have to compare yourself to them."
"I will compare myself!" Feeling aggrieved and stubborn today, Rusty Sister stiffened her neck and retorted, "And I'm not a gi—I'm an iron girl, too!"
Everyone was caught between wanting to laugh and holding back, an ache tugging at their hearts.
"Girl," Chen Buer's gentle voice called out.
Although the old man was feeling down at the moment, he hadn't forgotten what he had thought about earlier. He took the opportunity to come over and explain things to Shen Yixiu.
Of course, he explained in a low voice, telling her that the surge suppression she had endured just now was actually greater than what Wu Xu and Han Qingyu had faced.
"Really? Grandpa Chen, is what you're saying really true?!" Shen Yixiu brightened up instantly upon hearing that. "Then Qingzi, Wu Xu, and I..."
"Neck and neck. In terms of base source energy surge alone, among the three of you, you're actually slightly stronger." With a slightly embarrassed look, Chen Buer smiled and said, "So you really gave Grandpa Chen quite a scare. Who would have thought our Xiuxiu had already grown so formidable?"
"That's great then! Heheh." Shen Yixiu cheered up, not even bothering to be modest. After giggling twice, a thought struck her, and she blurted out, "Then can I have one of these, too?"
She pointed at the Legion Saber Insignia on Han Qingyu's chest.
Chen Buer looked up at her, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
"No—I mean, I know I haven't earned such a huge merit, and I'm not asking to wear it on my body either, nor is there any place to embroider it on me..." Flustered, Rusty Sister waved her hands frantically in explanation. "I just wanted to say, if the day comes in the future..."
"Do you know what wearing this insignia means?" Chen Buer asked her.
"I know," Rusty Sister said. "A suicide squad."
Nodding slowly, Chen Buer pressed, "And you still want it?"
"Mm." Rusty Sister nodded firmly.
"What about your grandfather..."
"Grandfather will agree too."
"Why?"
"Because I... have to be with Qingzi and the others."
The words had tumbled out before she could stop them. Having said them, Rusty Sister felt a wave of embarrassment and tried to explain, "I'm doing really well now. I'm not poor anymore, and I'm not a pathetic creature anymore..."
All of this had changed after she met Han Qingyu and the others.
Shen Yixiu couldn't bring herself to voice words that were overly sentimental, but what she had always thought in her heart was: *Perhaps in the end I will die in battle. For someone like me, dying in battle isn't actually frightening. It's just that before I die, I must always stand beside Qingzi.*
Chen Buer listened in silence to her disjointed words. Spoken out in the open, a reason like hers didn't quite conform to the Azure spirit. Yet when savored carefully, it was actually the purest embodiment of that very spirit, untainted and true... Thinking it over, Chen Buer looked up and asked solemnly:
"So, are you truly certain you want this?"
"I—yes." Shen Yixiu nodded and said, "I know my merits..."
"This isn't measured by merit anyway; it comes from me personally." After Chen Buer said this, he looked at Shen Yixiu, then glanced at her battleblade. Turning around, he called out, "Bring me a set of combat uniforms."
The old staff officer rummaged through his pack and handed over a spare uniform belonging to Chen Buer himself.
Chen Buer held it in his hands and looked at it.
Suddenly reaching out, he grabbed the seam between the shoulder and sleeve of the combat uniform. With a slight exertion of force—*rip*—he tore off a long strip of cloth horizontally, complete with the saber insignia.
Then the old man walked up beside Shen Yixiu, paused for a moment, and turned to hand the cloth strip to Han Qingyu, saying, "She's your squad member. You do it."
"Yes, sir." Han Qingyu received it, threaded the strip of cloth bearing the Legion Saber Insignia through the hole in her hilt, fastened it there, and tied a knot.
On the path down the mountain.
The sword tassel fluttered in the wind.
Chapter 234