Rescue Mission

How could this be?! Zhe Shouzhao froze in place. This was not the Azure he knew. To prevent centralization, guard against dictatorship, and keep Azure from becoming a personal tool... from headquarters to every national branch, Azure had spent the past several decades adhering to a single principle: continuously bringing together elites of all kinds and representatives of diverse opinions, dispersing power and political stances. This had turned its democratic centralism into its own set of shackles on many occasions. And the spacecraft technology exchange was undeniably of paramount importance to them. In truth, Zhe Shouzhao had guessed correctly. The majority of the Azure Alliance Council and Scientific Research Headquarters were indeed inclined to accept most of his terms to secure the success of the technology exchange. Yet the matter lay within Huaxia, and someone had said no. "You people..." "The Huaxia Front does not accept threats." The officer before him was likely of no high rank, but at this moment, Zhe Shouzhao saw in him an unmistakable pride, arrogance, and the resulting contempt toward any consequences—a contempt born almost of sheer ignorance... It was as if no matter what consequences followed, Huaxia soldiers were confident they could make amends or resolve them with the blades in their hands. "I don't think you understand the consequences of doing this..." Zhe Shouzhao's inner weakness led him to try persuading a low-ranking officer, even though, upon closer thought, doing so made little sense. "I don't know about that, and I don't give a damn!" the officer replied bluntly. "Either way, if this exchange falls through, whatever clownish Zhe family you belong to will definitely be wiped out afterward." Zhe Shouzhao was speechless. *Can you even find our Zhe family, let alone wipe us out? Utterly absurd.* Yet that hardly mattered; what mattered was that he heard the other party's unequivocal stance. The officer didn't even look at him, carrying on on his own: "Damn it, what kind of sick joke is this? Threatening us?! In all my years growing up, I've only ever seen our Huaxia Front threaten other people." Zhe Shouzhao left. Azure didn't "detain" him. Most likely out of disdain. The officer returned to a rear tent, swapped uniforms with a junior officer to put back on his major general's uniform, and ran over to another tent to report what had just happened to the veteran staff officer beside the Legion Commander. "So, Zhengze, do you think it's possible that man was Zhe Shouzhao himself?" After listening, the veteran staff officer pondered a moment, smiled, and pressed. Legion Commander Chen was unbending and fiery-tempered. The staff officer never held him back, because he believed that was right—Chen Buer, the Legion Commander of Huaxia's Sole Witness Legion, was meant to be that way. And Azure's foundation had to forever be iron and blood. Even so, if possible, he would still quietly follow up with gentler, more nuanced measures behind the scenes. "It's very possible!" Zhang Zhengze thought back, nodding. "Recalling his expression at the time, he seemed quite torn and hesitant. And those extra words he said... those probably weren't things a subordinate merely tasked with liaison work should be dwelling on." "Mm, good then. So you hit him right where it counts, didn't you?" the veteran staff officer asked. Major General Zhang Zhengze gave a boyish grin. "At least our attitude came across loud and clear." "Good. We'll leave it at that for now and wait to see." The veteran staff officer rose and headed outside. As he passed, he patted the outside of Zhang Zhengze's shoulder, murmuring as if to himself: "Though this isn't the best method, if by chance it works, I still hope things can be resolved smoothly. The truth is, Old Chen has always been under immense pressure from all sides." *He was a man who wanted nothing more than to be the greatest martial artist under heaven.* *Yet fate forced him into high office.* *** Huaxia Research Institute 1. A staff member had just been called away to answer a phone call. When she returned, her expression was slightly different. Zhe Qiuhong looked at her, stood up of her own accord, and asked with a smile, "I can't leave again, can I?" "Mm." The staff member nodded. "There may have been some issues during negotiations." "Sigh... then I'll go back to reading." Zhe Qiuhong waved a hand, slung her bag over her shoulder, picked up her books, and walked toward the hallway she had come from. The staff member watched from behind for a moment. Having interacted with her for so long, she was already accustomed to Zhe Qiuhong's calm, polite demeanor. "By the way, I'm not actually a prisoner, right?" Up ahead, Zhe Qiuhong suddenly turned around and asked, a look of genuine inquiry in her eyes. "That's right. It's only because your situation is special, Dr. Zhe. Azure must ensure that you don't fall into the hands of Snow Lotus," the staff member replied. "Then what if I fake my death? Could I leave then? For example, you give me a corpse, and I alter it to look like me, and then arrange for me to die in a public incident," Zhe Qiuhong said. "I really need to get out. If I stay here any longer, there won't be any breakthroughs in my research." The staff member smiled wryly. "That isn't a question I can answer. I will report it to higher-ups for you." "Mm, thank you." Zhe Qiuhong nodded and turned back toward the laboratory. She had no combat strength and could not possibly escape, so for the past two years, even the laboratory door had been left unlocked. Furthermore, five years ago, she had come to Huaxia Research Institute 1 on her own. When asked later, she said there were certain experiments and data she could only conduct or find here, so she had come. Two years later, when she wanted to leave, Azure refused to let her go. Because at that time, a high-level mole within Snow Lotus had transmitted intelligence at the cost of his life: this woman was ranked third on Ne's priority list, and she was very likely the only person in the world to have ever dissected a Great Spike or a Great Spike-like organism (in all probability, just a mummified corpse). Although it sounded utterly preposterous and Azure had exhausted every method without being able to verify it, they still had to treat it with the utmost gravity. Huaxia Research Institute 2. "Sigh..." A long, disappointed sigh escaped her lips. Xin Yaoqiao sat on the sofa with her bag beside her, packed with short dresses, shirts, and skirts. *Now who knows when I'll get to see my Qingzi again... nor can I look at the silver bracelet on his wrist.* "He saved an entire medical station, Mom! Just think about it—how many girls are going to fall for him?!" Ever since Han Qingyu had visited Institute 2 last time, Xin Yaoqiao spoke of him at home with practically zero shame; after all, her mother already knew everything anyway. Mother Xin glared at her and couldn't be bothered to engage. Still, no matter what, having her daughter stay at home right beneath her watchful eyes gave a mother far greater peace of mind. "Even though I'm disappointed, though, I really, truly admire Grandpa Chen Buer!" Xin Yaoqiao suddenly blurted out. "Hmm?" Mother Xin turned to her and mused, "You probably don't know how much criticism Legion Commander Chen faces every time he attends Alliance meetings, do you? After this incident, he likely won't get any peace either." "But Mom, don't you think the current Azure Alliance is just too full of conflicting voices and too weak? Victory is already so slim, yet do they still want to suppress the military's authority?!" "...Don't you dare say that once you step outside." Mother Xin immediately turned stern. *** As a mere private, none of this had anything to do with Han Qingyu for now. They were in the middle of their own excitement. Today, Squad 1777 had just received their very first relief mission; because they were close, they had snatched it up. Lao Jian was both excited and worried. Aboard the helicopter spiraling upward, besides the pilot Yang Qingbai, there were only three people: Han Qingyu, Wu Xu, and Shen Yixiu. "Make sure to stay safe!" Lao Jian shouted a reminder at the top of his lungs, his voice drowned out by the roar of the rotor blades. The helicopter banked and flew into the distance. "And make a name for yourselves while you're at it... We don't even have our own dedicated coverage zone yet," Captain Lao muttered under his breath, gazing at the sky. ... "Calling from Sector 1655, calling from Sector 1655..." The sounds of fierce combat crackled through the communicator. "Copy that," Yang Qingbai replied. "We have arrived over your defense perimeter." "Good. The battle is happening in Block 6. You'd better parachute into Blocks 9 to 10." This was basic safety knowledge in Azure. Although Great Spikes couldn't leap excessively high, rescue personnel parachuting in were strictly forbidden from jumping close to a Great Spike to avoid being attacked in midair. However... "Parachute?!" The three of them—Han Qingyu, Wu Xu, and Shen Yixiu—exchanged glances. "Yeah, parachute! The woods are dense here, there's no place for a bird to land... Wait, damn it, don't tell me you guys don't know how to parachute?!" "..." The silence turned intensely awkward. "Do you know how?" Wu Xu asked Yang Qingbai. His phrasing was clumsy, roughly meaning: *If you do, teach us later.* Yang Qingbai wasn't very familiar with Wu Xu yet and failed to grasp his point. He turned his head, bewildered. "I do, but if I jump... what about you guys?! What happens to the chopper?!" The other end erupted in curses. "Then how the hell are you bastards getting down here?! Damn it, how did the Legion grant you rescue authorization and give you a chopper?! You're going to get people killed, you know that?!" It was combat; lives were on the line. In their panic and rage, the other squad naturally had no patience for politeness. "I fucking remember this area was covered by Squad 799, one of the top five! What rotten luck I have—I call for help and get a bunch of useless trash... How many of you came?!" Because their operational tier had only been raised a few days ago, the Legion's order hadn't filtered down to the squad level yet. In the chaos of requesting reinforcements during combat, the other squad didn't seem to know exactly who had come. The Rejecters' dispatch might have informed them over the comms that Squad 1777 was inbound, but in the heat of the moment, they hadn't connected the number with who was actually in it. "We have... three." "...Fuck your ancestors, I—" The voice on the other end completely blew a gasket. Even Squad 799 mobilized at least ten or more people for every rescue. Knowing they were in the wrong, they could only tune out the barrage of curses over the communicator. Yang Qingbai pondered for a second and turned his head. "What do we do? How about I drop down and hover low so you can jump into the trees?" "Can you do that?!" Han Qingyu's eyes lit up with pleasant surprise. What else was there to say? Jump! If they delayed, ruining Squad 1777's reputation was a minor concern, but if another soldier died down there, they would carry the guilt for the rest of their lives. Yang Qingbai nodded. "I can handle it. The problem is you guys..." "In that case, forget Blocks 9 and 10," Han Qingyu cut in. "Fly right over the Great Spike's head."