"But our craft can't even fly that high, can they?"
He Tangtang asked bluntly, looking bewildered. It was no secret that Azure's decades of research into aerial combat craft had yielded no results; it was an acknowledged fact.
For example, the "Fledgling Eagle" Tenth Army, prepared by Huaxia for future aerial combat, had long been mocked as nothing more than a showpiece.
Azure had trained many exceptional pilots.
Yet pitting the advanced fighter planes currently possessed by the nations of the world against the shuttle-shaped craft—or the potentially even larger, more powerful Great Spike craft of the future—was utterly pointless; they couldn't even manage to ram them.
Chen Buer turned to look at He Tangtang, then glanced at the others beside him. "There will be craft. Even if we ultimately can't breach this vault... at the very least, we will be able to fight at the zenith of the sky in the future."
"Then won't they see it?!" He Tangtang suddenly grew anxious, pointing toward the village below.
Chen Buer nodded without speaking.
"Yes," the old staff officer took over. "If that day truly arrives, keeping them completely in the dark will be impossible anyway. Perhaps letting them know by then won't be a bad thing."
"Besides, nameless soldiers have sacrificed their lives for nearly a century. Azure's final fight to the death deserves to be seen." The old staff officer's tone shifted abruptly. As he spoke, he looked up toward the distant sky, which was dyed a blood-red hue.
"As long as we win, that's enough," Chen Buer said calmly, lifting his head.
In the near future, humanity would at least be able to fight at the zenith of the sky.
The legion commander's words were already quite clear. Across multiple tiers of this hidden world behind the scenes, that fact had long ceased to be a secret. Before long, it wouldn't be a secret to anyone in this hidden world at all.
Decades of research into source-energy-powered spacecraft had produced no results—that was true. But Azure had never given up on the dream of fighting above the vault.
Research had continued uninterrupted, and this year, a breakthrough had finally offered a glimmer of hope.
Moreover, apart from Azure, there was another organization in this world that poured just as much effort into this field—and in many respects, they were even ahead of Azure.
That technology-driven Self-Preservation Faction organization was called "Voyage." From beginning to end, they devoted all their manpower, material resources, and financial power to this single endeavor... voyaging deep into outer space.
Azure was currently preparing to conduct a crucial technological transaction with Voyage.
Such a technological exchange was far more than simply swapping two sets of documents; the entire process would be intricate and take a considerable amount of time. What it ultimately involved and affected would likely extend beyond aerial combat and aerospace.
The location Voyage ultimately selected for the transaction was in Huaxia, where Azure's combat strength was formidable, deep in the southwestern hinterland.
That was the true reason behind the earlier incident at Medical Station 101. Even that incident was merely a ripple on the surface; Snow Lotus refused under any circumstances to be excluded from this leap in technological exchange.
It was also the real reason Chen Buer had come to the southwest and lingered here, and why Azure had used the Medical Station 101 incident to carry out a sweep of the entire region.
The topic went no further.
Han Qingyu and the others did not yet stand at that level, and there was no need for them to know more—even though they had already, without realizing it, contributed greatly to the smooth progression of the matter.
"Legion Commander, reporting, Legion Commander: you're the strongest person in the world, right?" Amid the brief collective silence, Wu Xu, who had remained quiet all along, suddenly asked out of the blue.
He hadn't paid any mind to the earlier talk about the zenith and the vault. To him, fighting was fighting; where they fought didn't matter in the least. Since the legion commander said so, they would surely find a way to go up and fight.
Chen Buer turned to look at him, puzzled at first, then smiled. "Some people say so. But perhaps I'm not. It's just that I drew my blade against something that seemed impossible to defeat, while most people didn't."
Wu Xu thought about it and nodded. "Mm."
Just a single "Mm," nothing more. So, was asking that simply this kid's ambition? Chen Buer pondered, then smiled and asked, "By the way, your degree of fusion wasn't in the files. What is it?"
Wu Xu shook his head. "I don't know my degree of fusion either. But that doesn't matter."
The degree of fusion didn't matter, yet he asked who was strongest. What straightforward confidence—or desire. It suddenly reminded Chen Buer of the era when degrees of fusion couldn't be measured. Things had been backward back then, but more people seemed to share such dreams, producing far more top-tier Grade B experts.
So, should they still send him to test his degree of fusion this September? Given what he'd said, there was no need, but Chen Buer couldn't help feeling intensely curious.
"At any rate, you just want to be very strong, right? Stronger than him?" With that thought, Chen Buer grinned and gestured with his chin toward Han Qingyu.
Wu Xu said, "That would be best."
"Hahaha..." Chen Buer glanced at Han Qingyu and burst into laughter. Where did this brat get such cohesive pull over people?
Laughing, Chen Buer stood up and stretched his limbs, saying to the old staff officer, "Time to get up. Before we knew it, it's past eight. We should be on our way."
"'Stealing half a day of leisure from floating life, idly watching the young lads rise toward boundless heights,'" the old staff officer chuckled, murmuring the verse as he supported his lower back to stand.
Han Qingyu stood as well and reached out to steady the old man.
"Until next time."
"Should we have them see you off?"
"No need."
Then: "Until next time, Legion Commander, take care..."
The six of them headed downstairs, lined up, and saluted.
Night had already fallen. The sentry post was about four or five li from the station. Chen Buer, the old staff officer, and Lao Jian switched on flashlights and walked down the mountain.
Before long, from the rooftop, Han Qingyu and the others heard the sound of helicopters lifting off.
Then they saw them.
Two helicopters circled briefly in the air before plunging into the boundless night.
"Thank you for the metal block, Legion Commander," Han Qingyu murmured with a wave and a grin. He now had five metal blocks, and this extra one in particular guaranteed that in his next battle, he could trigger an overflow of vitalized source energy.
Furthermore, although the matter of the Alphonse family hadn't been raised this time, judging from how their interaction had gone, Han Qingyu felt that after one or two more meetings, he would probably be able to drop a hint to the legion commander.
"Wait, that's not right," He Tangtang said suddenly from the side, frowning in thought before letting out a surprised cry.
"What's not right?" Liu Shiheng asked nervously.
"There were clearly three when they arrived," He Tangtang said.
That was true—three helicopters had arrived, so why had only two departed? Han Qingyu froze, then slowly turned his head to exchange a glance with Wen Jifei. Both of their eyes sparkled with pleasant surprise. Could it be...
"Could one of them be broken?!" He Tangtang asked. "Let's go take a look!"
Well, that wasn't entirely impossible.
The six of them sprinted back toward the station, with Bu Mang bounding along merrily behind them.
...
Sure enough, an armed helicopter sat parked on the station's training grounds.
Lao Jian stood beside it, accompanied by Milla, Qin Guowen, and the entire squad.
They stroked it, stared at it, their eyes wet with excitement.
The helicopter wasn't broken.
The legion commander had personally instructed that it be left behind.
This meant one thing: from now on, Squad 1777 had the authority and capability to provide air-support coverage to the surrounding area.
On the path toward earning their own colors, 1777 had finally taken another massive stride forward.
Hearing footsteps, Captain Lao turned around and looked at the newly arrived Han Qingyu, Wu Xu, Shen Yixiu, and the others. Secretly steadying his emotions, he said, "Don't worry. Even if a Great Spike shows up while you guys are away in the future, the rest of the squad will be able to handle it."
All those handpicked veterans in 1777 weren't just for show, and the substantial source energy rewards they had received this time naturally wouldn't go to waste.
"Then what about the driver? No, I mean the pilot?" He Tangtang asked, turning his head in all directions. "Does anyone know how to fly a plane? Who in our squad can fly a helicopter?"
Lao Jian froze on the spot!
Chapter 236