Squad 1655 kept Han Qingyu and his companions to eat at their station. In a place like the front lines, once an entire squad insisted on keeping you, unless there was truly urgent business, it was hard to refuse, nor was there any reason to.
The scene around the dining tables was somewhat peculiar, because even those from Squad 1655 who had stayed behind instead of going to the medical station were almost all wounded.
Two long tables stretched across the mess hall, and the kitchen staff had put in their best effort. Every team member present was wrapped in bandages or patched with blood-stained gauze, yet smiles lit up their faces. Talking and laughing, they shoveled down huge mouthfuls of rice and wolfed down big chunks of meat.
From time to time, they clinked cups, substituting water for wine.
Occasionally, someone moved too broadly and tugged at a wound, sucking in a sharp breath of cold air and cursing the pain, before grinning through the grimace all the same.
Then they would steer the conversation back to slaying Great Spikes, bandying about various names.
It was the first time in Yang Qingbai's life that he had witnessed such a scene. Sitting among them, he felt deeply moved. It was a silent shock, entirely different from being on the battlefield itself... a weave of wounds, blood, and smiles.
Only now could he truly claim to have experienced Azure's front lines in full. A surge of fierce emotion gripped him, making him yearn to grab a blade and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them.
"What's the matter?" Captain Liu looked up, suddenly noticing that Shen Yixiu was sitting beside Han Qingyu without eating anything. Puzzled, he asked, "Is Miss Xiu not hungry? Or does our squad's food not suit your taste? Most of our squad prefers spicy dishes, and we're used to it, so you see..."
Rusty Sister momentarily seemed at a loss for words. While she could now speak calmly about her condition to those close to her, she still didn't want more people knowing or gossiping about it.
Yet this was a question they might be asked every time they went out on a rescue mission in the future.
Beneath the long table, a steel-plated hand grabbed the hem of Han Qingyu's shirt—helplessly, yet naturally.
Han Qingyu set down his chopsticks, reached over, and patted the back of her hand through the metal plating. After a brief pause, he answered on her behalf: "No, it's just that with this full suit of armor she wears, putting it on and taking it off are both rather inconvenient."
"Oh, I see." Captain Liu nodded with a smile, looking her over. "It really is quite different from the two or three full-armor combatants I've seen before..."
"I actually love spicy food too," Shen Yixiu added, relaxing now that Han Qingyu had provided a good excuse.
Captain Liu chuckled and teased, "Well, if you just sit there watching and end up drooling with cravings, you can't blame our Squad 1655!"
Shen Yixiu laughed as well. "I won't. I'm actually looking at them to satisfy my cravings. Many of the dishes you made, our Squad 1777 has never cooked."
Naturally, no one believed her; it sounded just like a young girl trying to put on a brave face.
The people around them all chuckled at her response.
Only Han Qingyu and his friends knew that Rusty Sister was telling the absolute truth. Back at their own squad, she always sat by the table watching them eat, sometimes asking about how the different dishes tasted.
Lately, she had even begun going to the kitchen to learn how to cook, saying she wanted to make food for everyone.
"Then let me help satisfy your cravings. Let me tell you, this plate of Fuqi Feipian is delicious. It's incredibly tender the moment it hits your tongue, and it's not just spicy, it's numbing too. Mmm, I even taste a hint of sweetness..."
Han Qingyu pretended to tease and vex her, describing every flavor in vivid detail.
After listening, Rusty Sister got up and ran off to the kitchen.
Everyone thought she had been driven away in annoyance by Han Qingyu, and burst into laughter once more.
As the meal wound down, it turned into casual banter around the table.
"By the way, Captain Liu," Han Qingyu said, suddenly recalling something. "At least fifteen or sixteen of your members won't be able to fight in the near future. What will you do about defense going forward?!"
"Borrow people. Borrow a few from the regional branch, and get the other squads in our regiment to pitch in and pool a few veterans together." Captain Liu answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world, then looked confused. "You didn't know that? Don't tell me you don't know anything about how this stuff works?"
"...Uh, yeah. All I know is how to swing a blade." Han Qingyu felt a touch embarrassed. Squad 1777 had never encountered such a situation, and since he wasn't an officer, no one had ever explained these matters to him.
"Knowing how to swing a blade is what counts as real skill!" the Squad 1655 soldiers chimed in, offering him an easy out.
"That's true." Captain Liu nodded and smiled, the slight bewilderment lingering in his mind clearing up in an instant... The genius combatant before him was, after all, still just a rookie, a green young lad.
After the meal, the four took their leave and returned.
Squad 1655 never brought up the issue of parachuting versus fast-roping, nor did they spread word of it.
However, two details of the battle that the Rejecters had omitted from the regional report quickly leaked from the mouths of Squad 1655's members and spread far and wide.
First: Squad 1777's rescue team had only three people, which was all it took for them to virtually instant-kill two Great Spikes.
Second: their combat tactic was to jump straight out of the helicopter to chop down the enemies.
Thus, following the Medical Station 101 incident, the names of Squad 1777, Han Qingyu, Wu Xu, and Shen Yixiu began to be remembered far and wide across the Southwest Region, growing more famous by the day.
Among them, Rusty Sister was the most popular.
Because her name had never appeared in the Medical Station 101 incident, people had only known that Squad 1777 possessed two young prodigies. Only now did they discover to their surprise that there was a third.
What was more, this third one was a rare full-armor combatant—and a young girl at that.
And so: "That lucky bastard Lao Jian! What insane luck he has!"
Da Wa was envied by countless squad captains throughout the entire Southwest Region.
Yet Captain Lao knew full well, and everyone in Squad 1777—especially Wu Xu and Rusty Sister themselves—understood deep down: all of this was only possible because of Han Qingyu.
Otherwise, the two young prodigies being praised alongside Han Qingyu would probably still be struggling in their miserable lives, pitiable wretches trampled under the heel of fate.
However, ever since Rusty Sister had let it slip before the Legion Commander that one time, no one spoke of it again.
Qingzi didn't like that sort of thing; it made his image look too noble, which got in the way of acting like a rascal.
...
Squad 1777 station.
Han Qingyu, Wu Xu, and Shen Yixiu came in from outside carrying their parachutes and set them on the floor to organize. Rusty Sister's parachute was custom-made.
They had been practicing ever since returning from Squad 1655. They rarely practiced fast-roping, but drilled extensively with parachutes. This was not because mountain combat often called for parachuting, but because from the heights where fast-roping was typically used, they could honestly just jump down directly. For the three of them, a leap-drop was both safer and faster.
Moreover, a leap-drop didn't necessarily mean landing directly onto a Great Spike's head; they could jump into the area surrounding the battlefield, whether into trees or onto the ground.
Captain Lao sat nearby, watching them with satisfaction. Over the past few days, he had finally managed to pull himself out of his guilt and self-reproach. Whenever he had a free moment, he would pore over all sorts of documents and operational manuals that he had never had access to as an ordinary squad captain, studying them like mad.
*Beep, beep-beep.*
The communicator suddenly chimed.
Lao Jian answered it, then looked up with a hesitant expression. "It's a distress call from Squad 1624... It's quite close. Should we take it?"
Over the past year or so, due to the continually deteriorating defense situation, frontline rescue missions had grown increasingly frequent. However, Lao Jian no longer dared to accept missions recklessly.
Unless the distance was genuinely close, such that Squad 1777 could arrive the fastest and provide immediate aid to a neighboring squad.
"Does the terrain there require parachuting?" Han Qingyu asked. The three of them were still not very proficient with parachuting.
"It's about the same as our terrain. Fast-roping or leap-drops will work."
"Then take it, let's move fast." Han Qingyu turned and called out directly, "Have Yang Qingbai get ready!"
Each rescue mission yielded around twelve to fifteen source energy blocks. Squad 1777 had settled on a split of 7:3—Han Qingyu and the combatants took seventy percent, and the squad took thirty percent.
In fact, when they first held a meeting to discuss it, the proposed split had been 8:2, and everyone had unanimously agreed on an even heavier skew.
However, Han Qingyu had taken the initiative to make it 7:3. He was worried that the squad's overall growth would be too slow otherwise.
...
Squad 1624 defense zone, Sector Two.
One of the two black-armored Great Spikes was already lying on the ground.
It had been slain the moment the Squad 1777 trio made their airborne jump-strike.
The remaining one had been in better condition and held out a little longer. Just now, it had been forced back by Rusty Sister's long blade and had barely regained its footing...
When—*whoosh!*
Amid a sonic boom, a black spear had already pierced straight into the right side of its chest.
Wu Xu stood holding the spear.
At the same time, a figure glided forward through the air like a bolt of lightning, torso tilted slightly forward. With a reverse grip, his right-handed blade swept from back to front, cleaving deep into the side of the Great Spike's neck and slicing clean through.
Landing behind the Great Spike, Han Qingyu came to a steady halt. Without turning around, he sheathed his blade over his shoulder.
The scene seemed to freeze for a moment.
"Is the Great Spike dead?" In the watching crowd from Squad 1624, a young member stared blankly and asked the veteran beside him.
"If it isn't dead, it's about to trigger self-destruction," the veteran answered with certainty.
"Seeing it in person... they really are ridiculously strong."
"Yeah."
"So... is a Great Spike's heart on the right side?"
"Huh?" The veteran froze for a second. "Not sure, but if we can stab the left chest, we usually aim for the left. It's always worked well."
"Then why didn't Wu Xu—the one with the spear is Wu Xu, right?—why didn't he stab its left chest? Wouldn't a straight line have been easier to thrust? Why go at an angle to stab the right side?"
"..." Stumped for a second, the veteran thought about it and explained loudly and assertively, "You think you can just stab wherever you want? The left chest is a vital spot, so the Great Spike would obviously focus on defending and dodging it! Besides, in the heat of combat with source energy surging, opportunities vanish in the blink of an eye. That's why striking the right side was the best possible choice at that moment, understand?"
"Oh." The rookie pondered seriously and nodded.
The people around them considered it and felt that this must indeed be the case.
This conversation fell clearly upon the ears of Han Qingyu, Shen Yixiu, and Wu Xu.
Two of them desperately wanted to laugh and fought hard to hold it in.
One was thoroughly embarrassed, blank-faced as he pulled out his spear with his head down, pretending to search for a crater to lie in.
The truth of the matter was: Wu Xu had stabbed the wrong side.
Although he was powerful, and growing more powerful by the day, in moments of haste he would sometimes momentarily mix up left and right... especially when facing a target head-on.
*My right is its left; my left is its right,* Wu Xu silently chanted as he lay in the crater.
The shrapnel storm subsided.
The members of Squad 1624 set about collecting the spoils of war.
Finding it awkward to help, Han Qingyu and the other two went to a low earthen slope nearby to rest and wait.
Finding a rock by the edge of the slope, Han Qingyu dusted off the dirt and sat down.
One blade was over his shoulder; the other was driven into the dirt before him.
Wu Xu sat off to his side, looking in the other direction.
The butt of the black spear, Binggu, was planted in the soil, standing upright beside him.
The heavy sword was strapped across his back.
Rusty Sister stood behind them. After leaning against a tree for a while, she grew bored and kicked at the dirt... Then she secretly picked some wildflowers nearby and placed them on Han Qingyu's and Wu Xu's bodies and heads, snickering to herself in delight.
Similar scenes played out four more times between late June and early August.
In three of them, Wu Xu stabbed the wrong side again.
All told, Squad 1777 had deployed on six rescue missions in less than two months, completing every single one without a hitch.
The regional branch issued an order: Squad 1777 was assigned its own dedicated rescue coverage zone.
August 12.
Regimental Commander Li Wangqiang of Regiment 425 suddenly arrived at Squad 1777's station with an entourage for an inspection—though in truth, he had likely come to celebrate.
However, he also brought an official appointment with him:
"Captain Qin Guowen is hereby appointed Vice-Captain of Squad 1777, Regiment 425, Ninth Army, Sole Witness Legion, Azure."
The announcement concluded.
Not a single person present—including Qin Guowen himself—celebrated. Every eye turned toward Milla, who stood to the side.
Milla forced a smile. "What are you doing? Didn't you all know about this a long time ago? Heheh." Then her eyes reddened. "I'm leaving... I'm sorry."
The mood fell somber.
"Come on, this won't do. We should be cheerful," Wen Jifei stepped forward with a grin. "How about this? To welcome the Regimental Commander and Chief of Staff, and to send off Captain Milla, let's put on a couple of performances to liven things up..."
Qi Rourou shot him a murderous glare.
Wen Jifei waved his hands frantically, signaling he wouldn't dare do anything bad, then turned to look at Han Qingyu.
"And in passing, we can test and answer a question everyone is curious about deep down: just how strong is Qingzi?!"
*This bastard is up to no good...* Han Qingyu promptly glared at him too.
Wen Jifei didn't even look his way.
"Event number one: Rusty Sister plus Wu Xu versus Han Qingyu. Get ready to place your bets!"
"Event number two: at the training ground, two hundred meters out, Captain Milla and I will use a Milla 7 and Milla 9 to shoot at Qingzi... Ten rounds each. If we hit him more than five times, we win. Place your bets!"
"Splendid! That's a great idea!" Regimental Commander Li immediately roared in approval.
"Sounds fun!" Rusty Sister said with anticipation.
"Mm," Wu Xu nodded solemnly.
"Alright!" Milla broke into a brilliant smile, eager to give it a go.
The atmosphere erupted into noisy excitement, filled with applause and cheering.
Han Qingyu: "..."
"What's this, Qingzi? Unwilling? Afraid of losing face if you get beat?" Regimental Commander Li turned his head and deliberately prodded him with a smile.
Han Qingyu shook his head. "I just think that since it's a competition, there ought to be prizes."
Regimental Commander Li nodded instinctively.
"And since the Regimental Commander is here, the prizes should naturally..."
Li Wangqiang: "..."
*You have the nerve to ask me?!* he thought. *Your Squad 1777's source energy reserves are about to surpass the entire regiment's!*
The crowd snickered... then burst into uproarious laughter, convulsing with mirth.
No matter how many source energy blocks Squad 1777 earned, Han Qingyu, in the end, was still that same old Han Qingyu.
Chapter 242