Scouring the Plateau

All the way toward the canyon, they sprinted at full speed, constantly watching in all four directions. Along the way, the four of Han Qingyu did not encounter the rioting, scattering swarms of Great Spikes that Qin Guowen had spoken of. At least, they met none in any sizable numbers; the occasional stray Great Spikes they did come across were few, and they had no mind to clear them out. In truth, during last night's events, once the swarm of Great Spikes in that one valley rioted, the swarms in the other two valleys were quickly stirred up as well. Subsequently, the Officers' Corps Second Detachment where Milla was came under pursuit by swarms of Great Spikes. Because both Milla and Aleksei were injured, they had no choice but to retreat to the southwest, first entering Indedu's territory to contact the local front army for extraction before circling back out of the battlefield. As for Liu Shiheng... he was still walking alone; no Great Spikes chased him, and he remained completely oblivious to everything. "We're here." The rapidly sprinting armored figure came to a halt on the high slope, spoke, and looked back. Standing on the hillside facing the flank of the canyon and gazing down, the mountain looked cleft apart, the canyon entrance narrow. By now it was near noon, but under the overcast sky, the fog inside the canyon had still not completely dispersed. At the same time, there was no sound. The entire canyon was utterly silent, making it appear all the more secluded and deep. This made all four of them somewhat nervous and uneasy. Yet it was something they had to face sooner or later... Han Qingyu spoke up, "Let's go down and look." Heading down the slope and venturing about a hundred meters into the canyon from the entrance, traces of blood began appearing on the ground. Bloody water floated atop the muddy puddles. The further in they went, the more blood appeared in the chaotic puddle-filled footprints. "If it was like they said, that the holding action began from the middle section, then later Tangtang... must have fought all the way here." A girl after all, Shen Yixiu's voice had already begun to choke up. This spot was still quite a distance from the middle of the canyon. This was likely the final battlefield. Shen Yixiu raised her head, gesturing toward the blade gouges carved into the rock walls on both sides and the chaotic scattering of shattered rock littering the ground. The feeling was terrible. They were all too familiar with combat; merely from these left-behind traces, they could roughly envision how He Tangtang had fought to the death alone, a solitary army. Those images involuntarily formed in their minds. "Search," Han Qingyu's voice came out hoarse. "Right." The four searched the vicinity thoroughly and meticulously. Many traces of battle remained at the scene, and they were glaringly evident. Only on parts of the ground had the natural flow of muddy water washed over and concealed some of the marks. Yet in the end, only two bodies were found. Both were Black men, and neither wore military uniforms. "Judging by the marks of battle, the casualties shouldn't be just this few. The bodies that might expose evidence or clues have probably already been carried away, leaving behind only those they aren't afraid of being investigated." As Wen Jifei spoke, he bent down to pick up a dozen or so Azure standard battleblades gathered together on the ground. Wiping the mud from their surfaces blade by blade, he checked the inscribed serial numbers. Then, at a sudden moment, his entire body froze... The hand holding the blade trembled faintly. "It's Tangtang's blade," Wen Jifei said. "..." Han Qingyu stepped over, took a look, and froze for a moment. "It's fine, let's keep it for him first... As long as the heavy sword isn't found, it's fine. That's his most prized possession." "No, it's that as long as his body isn't found, nothing's set in stone." The word "body" weighed heavily on Han Qingyu's chest. He Tangtang was not someone who could ever be taken prisoner. Carrying immense unease, the four pressed forward. They searched the entire canyon once, then turned back and searched it again... In the end, they scoured the surrounding area for a dozen or so li around, thoroughly sweeping it twice. Still nothing. Neither He Tangtang's heavy sword nor his body was ever found. Deep down, an involuntary thought would creep in: *Could he have been carried off by the enemy?* They had seen the footprints left behind by the retreating enemy, and logically speaking, they could find no reason for He Tangtang to have survived. Yet the inclination of their hearts actively and instinctively severed that line of thought. By now, dusk was beginning to settle. They had searched for an entire afternoon... Standing on a hillside, Han Qingyu pulled his gaze back, forced a smile, and said: "He's not dead! Tangtang is still alive." He Tangtang was the ruthless sort who would trade wounds blow-for-blow with an opponent. But he had always calculated well, never allowing himself to be struck in a vital spot. "Yeah, look how cunning the bastard is. There's an old saying: wicked sly, wicked ruthless—it was made for someone like him," Wen Jifei chimed in. "So he's definitely alive." Rusty Sister and Wu Xu both nodded. "Mm." "What do we do now?" Wen Jifei asked. "Keep searching. Not just Tangtang, but Shiheng too. We search until we find them." *Even if I have to scour every inch of this plateau,* he thought. "All right." Wen Jifei and the other two nodded firmly. A flicker of hesitation crossed Han Qingyu's eyes. "If we wander around like this, the enemy will definitely come after us if they spot us... That works out fine; we can pry for intel and kill whoever we can. But there's one thing to watch out for. Vice Commander Qin said the suspected super Shiheng saw was a white man, about forty years old, very tall, carrying a medieval knight's sword on his back." At this point, he looked up, turning his gaze to Wu Xu and Rusty Sister, while handing them the map Lao Jian had used... Once Rusty Sister took it, he continued: "Remember, if you run into him, just run. The two of you can get away." On such a vast plateau, with zero clues or direction, searching together as four was too inefficient. Considering that if He Tangtang truly had escaped alive, he had to be severely wounded and could not afford any delay... they had to split up. As for the pairing, there was little need to deliberate: Wu Xu and Rusty Sister in one group, and Han Qingyu with Wen Jifei in the other. "Did you get that?" Han Qingyu pressed. "Mm, got it." Rusty Sister answered with a nod. Then Wu Xu nodded as well. "Don't all look so gloomy, will you? Shouldn't we be happy that we didn't find anything?" Wen Jifei grinned, easing the tension. "Hey, Rusty Sister." Shen Yixiu turned her head. "Hm?" "Don't throw a tantrum and leave Wu Xu behind on the grassland." A flash of panic showed in Wu Xu's eyes. Shen Yixiu: "Mm." The three of them chuckled. "Well then, you two pick a direction first. If you don't find anything, take a different route looping back," Han Qingyu said, splitting off a portion of their food and supplies and handing it to Wu Xu. Wu Xu took the pack and slung it onto his back. He looked around, waiting for Shen Yixiu to say which way to go. Under the circumstances, with their goal of finding people and not a single reliable clue, the direction they searched truly had to be picked at random. And the options were far more complex than just north, south, east, or west. Searching for people across such a massive territory, the slightest deviation in starting angle would end up forming completely different search routes. Thinking of this, Han Qingyu suddenly had a thought and said, "Why not just let Wu Xu choose? Pick one for yourselves, and pick one for me and Plague Chicken." Wu Xu's eyes flashed with confusion, as if finding it hard to believe. "Go on, pick. It's all the same," Wen Jifei said with a smile. "Oh." Wu Xu understood and nodded. He looked up, turned in a circle... and truly pointed at a direction at random, saying, "Then you guys go that way." "..." Han Qingyu and Rusty Sister exchanged a helpless glance. Wen Jifei flared up in exasperation... then slumped. "That's the direction we just came from. Didn't even deviate by a fraction of a degree." ... Wu Xu picked another direction for Han Qingyu and Wen Jifei. Then he randomly picked one for himself and Rusty Sister as well. "We're off." Watching Wu Xu and Rusty Sister disappear behind a low hill, Han Qingyu turned, patted Wen Jifei behind the shoulder, and strode forward, saying: "If we run into that suspected super, you..." "Relax, I know the drill," Wen Jifei chuckled. "When it comes to running away decisively, when have I ever slipped up?!" "True enough. Otherwise, I wouldn't have dared bring you along." "What about you? If you really can't hack them down, you..." "I'll run first too." Han Qingyu walked a few steps with his head lowered, then suddenly reached out, bumped the back of his hand against Wen Jifei's arm, and said, "Give me a cigarette." This was the first time Qingzi had ever actively asked for a cigarette. Wen Jifei glanced over, passed him a cigarette, and helped him light it. Then he lit one for himself and held it between his lips. The two of them walked on, one carrying the long black wooden case on his back, the other slinging the Milla 9 sniper rifle. Night fell over the plateau. The sparks flickered in the dark.