Heading South

According to the battlefield command logs Tu Zi had helped look up through the Rejecters, Han Qingyu and his companions had set off toward the southwest for Zanda, clearing Great Spikes along the way while searching for 1777. They were not far from Zanda now. Yet on the map, below Zanda, along the lower edge of the border's extension, lay the south. There sat a place called Purang... wedged almost entirely into the territory of Nepal, which was where Squad 1777 was truly located at that very moment. A crucial pivot had occurred more than two days earlier, when Lao Jian received an order mid-march directing his squad south. That order had indeed been transmitted through the Rejecters. However, finding someone fluent in authentic Mandarin and obtaining Squad 1777's battlefield communication code from headquarters were neither of them particularly difficult tasks. Nor was Huaxia the only Front in Azure with Rejecters. Nearly every Front had them. In this combat zone surrounding Mount Xilang, given the sheer volume and dispersal of the shuttle craft, the Rejecter forces of every neighboring nation had been mobilized in full strength. Basking in the prestige and status of holding the first Star of Azure in Azure's history and singly guarding the Third Fixed Exploration Site, the Alphonse family had been rooted in Nepal for nearly sixty years. In this modest, unassuming little country, the name Alphonse carried immense, unassailable influence. Planting operatives throughout the vital departments of the Nepal Front was ridiculously easy for him. Just like the vast majority of the family forces he had mobilized this time, they had long since—or quite recently—been integrated into the official Nepal Front through open or covert channels. To put it simply: the order Lao Jian had received on the road, commanding the squad to head for Purang, had actually originated from within the Nepal Front Rejecters—from an Alphonse plant. It was precisely because of this that their true heading was completely different from the battlefield command records Tu Zi had retrieved and relayed to Han Qingyu. And so Squad 1777 marched onward. Behind them, the power of the Alphonse family slowly spread an inescapable dragnet. By steering Great Spikes together, destroying makeshift communication relay stations, and pre-positioning family assets... they gradually turned Purang into a "dead zone." A dead zone meant not only a fatal trap, but also that dead men tell no tales. Once Squad 1777, the bait, ventured deep into Purang and all preparations were in place, the trap would truly spring. Based on intelligence regarding Han Qingyu... he would certainly come. "This man must never be allowed to receive the Star of Azure alive." That was an order Alphonse had issued in person. To that end, he had not hesitated to dispatch his grandson Denis, his great-grandson Eric, and his great-great-grandson Charles—three generations of his bloodline joining the theater surrounding Mount Xilang as newly appointed frontline commanders of the Nepal Front—to bring this scheme to completion. At the same time, he sent Sean, a trusted family retainer whose combat strength stood above the peak level, leading a team deep into the northern combat zone to execute the concrete operational deployments. As for what happened next... If one were inclined toward superstition, perhaps it was the heroic spirit of General Upadhyaya—the former frontline commander of the Nepal Front who had fallen upon the summit of Mount Xilang during the Flag War—looking back to the north... unable to bear seeing the name of his Front exploited and disgraced. Yet the reality was simply that no one could have anticipated a battlefield deserter emerging from Squad 1777, abruptly doubling back. His name was Liu Shiheng. Most of the time, Wen Jifei and the others teased him by calling him Young Master Liu or Young Master Shiheng. *From now on, they'll probably call me Cowshit Heng!* Liu Shiheng thought through his tears, wanting to laugh yet wholly unable to muster one. He was on his feet walking now, because everything around him was so desolate and empty. In his hand was a map he had sketched all along the way, tracing the route back to that ruined building. Originally, he had planned to give it to 1777, or to any Azure squad he could find. Yet right now, he was still all alone, standing under the night sky of the grasslands. Nor did he dare go roaming about blindly looking for people. After walking a little farther, he finally found a concealed spot and stopped. With a solemn expression, Liu Shiheng pulled a bankbook from his waterproof pack and held it in his hand. "Heads, I go back. Tails, I don't go back, and just run for my own skin. That's it. One toss decides it. If I back out and toss again, may my whole family drop dead." Why use a bankbook? Because he was so unlucky—so hopelessly cursed that Young Master Shiheng no longer placed any faith in ghosts or gods. The only thing he trusted now was cash. Pressing his palms together with the bankbook between them, he bowed vigorously several times... Liu Shiheng squeezed his eyes shut, swung his arm, and flung the bankbook into the air. Then he tilted his head back, watching wide-eyed as it fluttered open in mid-air with a rustle... came tumbling down... and landed with its pages face down, spread flat against the ground. Dammit, both the front and back covers ended up facing upward. Would you believe that?! Liu Shiheng stood frozen on the spot... staring blankly for five seconds with utter bewilderment in his eyes. "Stop fucking with me, Old Man Heaven! Don't make me choose for myself... Don't go testing my conscience! I don't have one!" His knees gave out, and Young Master Shiheng dropped to the ground, on the verge of a total breakdown. *** "I'd heard about her for a long time, but seeing her in person—she really is gorgeous, huh?" "Yeah, but with her height, she's got to be over a meter seventy, right?" "Definitely. Hey, look at that gun of hers on the ground..." The speakers were two ordinary troopers from a Huaxia Azure squad. Not far ahead of them, a tall female officer with the rank of major, her golden-brown hair tied back, was conversing fluently in Chinese with their squad leader. This female major's name was Milla Joe. Though her personal combat strength was not exceptionally high, Milla had always enjoyed a certain renown within the Huaxia Front's Sole Witness Legion. For one, she was a foreigner serving in the Huaxia Front, and a striking, blonde-haired, blue-eyed soldier who stood out prominently. At the same time, her brother had once been an exceedingly rare foreign squad leader in Huaxia's Azure forces, highly famous in his own right. He had fallen in battle on the Huaxia front. Secondly, Milla carried a distinctive label of her own: within the entire Sole Witness Legion, she was the only person previously granted special authorization to employ firearms in frontline combat. Personnel in Azure's research system had even custom-built several generations of super firearms named specifically after her. By this time, Milla wore major's epaulets. The uniform on her body was no longer that of the Huaxia Front, but the operational uniform of an officer from Azure Alliance Headquarters. Due to transfer orders from Alliance Headquarters and her parents returning to their home country, she had left Squad 1777 prior to the Flag War to attend an officer training program in Indedu, preparing for a return to the turbulent lands of Xiongzhanli. The cohort of officer trainees she belonged to had remained in Indedu until recently, having taken no part in the previous Flag War. Back then, while Azure's assault on the mountain had been brutal, they had not lacked personnel. This time, however, the theater around Mount Xilang was simply too vast and the situation far too complex. Azure was stretched thin trying to cover multiple fronts, facing a critical shortage of manpower. Thus, they had finally been permitted to join the combat zone. Organized into twenty-person teams containing plenty of formidable combatants, the officer corps was tasked not only with assisting in cleanup operations, but also with battlefield investigation and coordination. "What?! You're saying..." To the eyes of her new comrades in the officer corps, Major Milla, who had been busy logging battlefield reports, suddenly bounced with excitement, visibly thrilled... She even reached out and caught the other squad leader by the sleeve. "Captain Ma, are you saying Squad 1777 passed through here the day before yesterday?!" In truth, they had not been separated for very long. During this period in the officer corps, Milla had made plenty of good friends and had even attracted several outstanding young officers who openly admired and pursued her. Yet her heart had never been in it. Every single day, what she missed and fretted over most was still 1777. "What a pity, I missed them," Milla muttered to herself, her eyes tinged with regret. She missed them so much. "No, that's not it." Suddenly grabbed by the sleeve by a foreign beauty, the honest, unpretentious Captain Ma grew instantly flustered, saying awkwardly, "It was Han Qingyu. Han Qingyu and his four-man team passed through here the day before yesterday. Not the whole squad." There was no helping it; the ruckus Han Qingyu's four had made was simply too big, and rumors of them barbecuing Great Spikes had spread like wildfire. Anywhere along their path, there was practically no one who didn't know they had passed through. "Oh, it was Qingzi," Milla said. With just that single sentence, her comrades noticed that Milla's demeanor had shifted again. She was still joyful, still thrilled, but beneath that joy and excitement lay an indescribable, vibrant glow. Something akin to pure, blooming delight. "Who are they talking about?" one of the male officers in the group asked nervously. His name was Aleksei. "The King," a female officer beside him told him excitedly. "Oh." Aleksei's spirits instantly plummeted. Naturally, they had all heard of The King's exploits on Mount Xilang. They had read the newspaper reports. They also knew that this fellow had once been a recruit trained by Milla's own hands, and later her comrade-in-arms. A while ago, when news of The King spread and caused a sensation, calls for the Star of Azure had erupted everywhere, across both the frontlines and the rear... Milla had been so proud, talking about him every day, her eyes shining with radiance. "That's right," Captain Ma continued with simple earnestness. "Just Major Han, Second Lieutenant Wen Jifei, Second Lieutenant Shen Yixiu, and First Lieutenant Wu Xu. The four of them passed through here the day before yesterday, pounced on a Great Spike, and tore off both its arms." "Right. And where did they head?" Milla pressed. "Toward Zanda. Said they went back to attend the All-Army Conference and returned late, so they were rushing to catch up with Squad 1777," Captain Ma explained patiently. "I see." Milla nodded, looking disappointed... then suddenly paused with a puzzled "Huh?" "Wait, Squad 1777 isn't in Zanda at all?!" "Our team just finished circling through that area several times." Milla made a gesture tracing her route, cutting downward at an angle. "I was asking people about 1777's position all along the way, but over in the direction of Zanda, not a single squad has seen them." "Uh..." Captain Ma froze, thinking, *You're asking me? How should I know?* In truth, Milla wasn't asking him; she was pondering aloud. Of course, it was merely confusion for now, not yet rising to genuine alarm. After all, though this battlefield was complicated and exhausting, the level of danger was not particularly severe. Most Azure squads could handle it without much trouble. *Could Qingzi and the others have gotten it wrong?... But he has friends among the Rejecters, and he holds authorization to contact them directly. So is it just that my luck is terrible, and we missed each other?* Milla thought for a moment, then turned to her teammates in the officer corps and asked meekly in English, "How about we head back toward Zanda to check again?" "Major Milla!" Aleksei, who had been drooping moments ago, suddenly stood up straight and stepped forward, adopting a formal tone. "I believe that on this battlefield, you should focus on our duties rather than your personal friendships." *There's no way in hell I'm letting you go back to find The King!* Aleksei thought secretly to himself. Love had to be fought for. As long as he waited until training concluded and returned to Xiongzhanli together with Milla, time and distance would work in his favor, and his chances would grow. "Right... Sorry, I apologize." Knowing she was in the wrong, Milla felt embarrassed and contrite. After offering her apology, she said, "In that case, I would like to request permission to contact the Rejecters." Unable to shake an underlying unease, Milla wanted to clear up her doubts. The request was granted. The call went through quickly. "Please state your unit designation," the Huaxia Front Rejecter operator answered on the other end. "Former vice captain of Squad 1777, Regiment 425, Ninth Army, Sole Witness Legion of Huaxia Front, currently a member of Detachment Two of the deployed officer corps, Milla Joe." "Regimental communication code." *Tap, tap-tap, tap...* Milla turned around and lightly tapped out a code on the communicator with her fingertips. The operator verified it, then called out away from the receiver, "Tu Zi, Tu Zi... call from Squad 1777. Didn't you say to inform you whenever there's a transmission from 1777 or Major Han?! Come take this." Soon, Tu Zi's voice sounded over the line. After a brief exchange, both of them grew tense. "I am ninety percent certain that 1777 is not in the Zanda area," Milla stressed. "But that's what the battlefield command records show. Brother Qingzi asked me to help him reach 1777, and I haven't been able to establish contact at all," Tu Zi said after a moment's thought. "Speaking of which, how is communications coverage around Zanda? It should be decent, right?" "It's decent," Milla replied. Her mind raced, and she asked urgently, "Then where are communications the worst right now?!" If even the Rejecters had been unable to contact 1777 all this time, they were clearly in an area with the worst coverage. Jolted by the realization, Tu Zi made internal inquiries and quickly got an answer. "To the south. The farther south you go, the worse it gets." "Understood. I'll try to head down and check. Also, please help me reach Qingzi and inform him of this." "Will do." Milla ended the call. Turning back, she explained the situation to her comrades in the officer corps. "I..." "Let's go," Aleksei was the first to speak. "It is our duty." Perhaps The King would come, and perhaps they would reunite... but when an Azure squad was unaccounted for, that was duty. Following Aleksei's declaration, the entire officer corps agreed. Even though that was not originally their designated area of responsibility, their assigned sector had already largely concluded its clearing, investigation, and coordination tasks. And so, they headed south.