Chen Buer's Idea (Part 2)

Han Qingyu, Wu Xu, and Rusty Sister hadn't seen Chen Buer in advance. They were waiting for Wen Jifei in another military tent. "Rusty Sister, what on earth is wrong with you tonight? You keep staring at me like that, yet you won't say a word." Han Qingyu had been puzzled for more than two hours and finally couldn't help asking, adding helplessly, "You're acting like I'm going to do something to you." From a distance, the iron armor slowly turned around. "Are you really... Then can you first promise not to do anything to me?" The moment she said that, Han Qingyu instantly sensed that something was off. "Tell me what it is first, and I'll see." "No. You have to promise first, then I'll tell you," Rusty Sister said, instinctively pressing against the canvas wall to back away. Ever since he found out the armor's defense was more than adequate, whenever Han Qingyu got angry and fought with her, he would grab her by the leg and slam her clang-clang-clang into the ground! Can you believe it?! At that moment, the tent flap was lifted from the outside, interrupting the conversation between the two. Zhang Yi appeared with Wen Jifei. After exchanging a few words with another officer nearby, he turned and said directly, "Let's go, hurry up. At the chief of staff's and legion commander's ages, they're probably dying of sleepiness by now." With that, he gave Wen Jifei a quiet glance. ... Inside an ordinary military tent, the old chief of staff opened his eyes and set down the teacup in his hand. The tea was strong, though it had already gone cold. The old man rubbed his eyes and said with a smile, "You're finally here." "Yes, sir! Greetings, Chief of Staff." "...Greetings, Legion Commander." The four of them stood in formation, snapped to attention, and saluted. Hearing them, Chen Buer lifted his head from the desk. His gaze slowly swept over each of them, one by one, before returning and settling on Han Qingyu. "We know each other well enough that I won't put on an act and scold you first. That you'd do something like this was also within my expectations." "Thank you, Legion Commander," Han Qingyu said sincerely. They had known Chen Buer would support them in this incident, but the extent of support the old man had ultimately delivered still exceeded their expectations. "Then let's cut right to the chase." Chen Buer stood up, swung his arms to loosen his muscles, and said, "I can guarantee you won't die." "Thank you, Legion Commander." This was something they had already counted on, but they were still grateful. All four spoke. "No need to be polite. But this matter is actually very troublesome. Alphonse's strength, status, and influence dictate that this will be dragged out for a very long time." Chen Buer paused, then said, "Maybe five years, three years... Within three years. Within three years, I'll resolve this matter for you." "Then during these three years?" Shen Yixiu asked in a low voice, casting a glance at the chief of staff who hadn't spoken. As a child of Azure whose grandfather had once been an army commander, she knew more about the legion commander and the chief of staff after all, and she knew that in matters like this, it was usually the chief of staff who made the calls. The old chief of staff smiled at her, shook his head slightly, and kept quiet. Tonight was Chen Buer's stage—and not a martial one, but an intellectual one. Earlier, from the moment the two had met, or even since their phone call, Old Man Chen had been smugly insisting there was no problem, claiming he had a brilliant idea, but keeping it a secret for now. For the first time in all these years, Chen Buer had usurped his job. To tell the truth, the old chief of staff was rather looking forward to it. "During these two or three years, you stay just like you've been these past two days," Chen Buer said, turning his gaze toward them. What he meant was that for the next two or three years, Han Qingyu and the other three would be held fairly politely, questioned occasionally, and generally kept in this lingering limbo. Wen Jifei and Rusty Sister exchanged a look. Wu Xu was numb. "Report, Legion Commander, I have a question," Han Qingyu raised a hand and said formally. Chen Buer said, "Speak." "During the time we're locked up, will the Alliance issue us source energy blocks?" Han Qingyu had actually wanted to say metal blocks, but on second thought, he figured it was better to take it one step at a time. Chen Buer looked at him, disbelief in his eyes. He was actually thinking about that right away? Shouldn't his first concern be that he was going to be locked up?! "You think..." Fire flared in the old man's chest. He wanted to bark: *What the hell are you thinking? You're being locked up, not placed on an altar to be worshiped!* "I was thinking, one block a day?" Han Qingyu's eyes burned with fervor as he asked ingratiatingly. One block a day?! Chen Buer froze and calculated. Wasn't that the exact daily quota for a Star of Azure?! The old man tried hard to suppress his anger and counseled him earnestly: "Even if they gave them to you, it wouldn't do any good. A true super warrior has never been raised in a greenhouse on a diet of source energy blocks." As the last word fell, their eyes met. In Chen Buer's sight, Han Qingyu was pondering. He had experienced the battlefield after all; he still yearned for the battlefield. He had taken it to heart. Chen Buer breathed a small sigh of relief. "Actually, maybe not necessarily?" Han Qingyu spoke up, testing the waters cautiously. Chen Buer asked, "What?!" "I mean, maybe one could be raised that way after all. How about we try feeding me to see?" Han Qingyu suggested with sincere earnestness. Chen Buer stared at him in silence for a good long while. It was a look tangled with love and hate, with the urge to slap him to death buried deep in his eyes... The old man took a deep breath, and another, then spat out a single word through gritted teeth: "Get lost!" Han Qingyu's gaze wilted a bit, and he didn't dare make a peep. Yet thinking of everything the boy had done, everything he had just been through—only a year in the military, barely twenty years old... Chen Buer actually felt quite protective and heartbroken for him. It was just that this grandpa, who looked like an old farmer, was like all the simple, rustic elders of this nation: he always found it awkward to display emotion directly. Unable to bear being harsh, the old man softened and spoke from the heart: "Actually, the most important thing is that I cannot let those pieces of trash put you on trial. Trials like that, over and over, would ultimately wear you down." Han Qingyu said nothing. Wen Jifei wanted to speak, but held back. The old chief of staff stood up from behind and walked over to Chen Buer's side, though he didn't look at him as he said, "That's about enough, Old Chen. Everything that needed saying has been said. What is this idea of yours? You can spit it out now, can't you? Stop scaring them." "So the legion commander had an idea all along?" Rusty Sister said excitedly, feeling relief wash over her. "Yes, he already planned it out for you long ago," the old chief of staff said, then turned to look at Chen Buer. Every gaze in the tent fell upon Chen Buer. Old Man Chen puffed out his chest, feeling even better about himself than when he had walked out over the precipice of Xilang Peak with a single blade in hand. He pondered, raised his head, and once more let his gaze drift slowly across the four people before him. "Hurry it up, what are you dawdling for?" the old chief of staff couldn't help prodding. Immovable as a mountain, Old Man Chen spoke slowly: "Staking the honor of the Huaxia Front... you lot break out of prison." "..." The gasps of admiration he had anticipated never came. Han Qingyu, Wu Xu, Rusty Sister, and Wen Jifei exchanged blank stares, then turned back to look at their legion commander with even greater bewilderment. If they were going to break out of prison, what had they been waiting for him for?! "Or why not just fail the prison break and die? The four of you," Chen Buer added. This "death," of course, meant faking their deaths. Legion Commander Chen had experienced a sudden flash of inspiration on the spot, taking his plan one step further. Thinking about it, he felt quite pleased with himself. The four of them continued staring at him. "What do you think?" Having run out of patience, Chen Buer asked on his own initiative. "Think, my ass! This is your fucking idea?!" The old chief of staff hopped with agitation beside him, stammering in his exasperation. "You patted your chest and guaranteed me everything would be fine! The idea you were strutting around keeping secret for so long—is just this?!" Accustomed to being on the weaker side in matters like this, Chen Buer's gaze instantly wilted. He turned and asked with a guilty conscience, "Is it not good?" "Good? It's great. Azure really struck gold. A prodigy, Chen Buer, an absolute prodigy..." Fuming, the old chief of staff sputtered until he laughed out of sheer exasperation. "Then what do you propose we do?! You tell me!" Chen Buer snapped back in annoyance. The old chief of staff froze. He suddenly realized that with things having reached this stage, there really was no other way. Even he couldn't come up with an alternative. After thinking it over seriously for a while, the old chief of staff looked up at the four of them. "How about... we just do that?" Han Qingyu nodded. With almost zero hesitation, he nodded directly. Plague-Chicken Fei nodded too. After coming full circle, the idea had received unanimous approval after all. Chen Buer's momentum surged back in an instant. "See, I told you it would work, didn't I? How thrilling! You slaughtered three generations of his family and got away scot-free... Alphonse will definitely guess it, but he won't be able to touch me. Who knows, it might just infuriate him to death! Then for the next two or three years, you just go run wild wherever you want, train and grow. I guarantee that within two to three years, I'll completely resolve this matter for you." "If it's going to take two or three years..." Han Qingyu spoke up abruptly. His voice was not loud, sounding as if he were speaking while thinking. Chen Buer turned around. "What? You mean..." "I mean, if it's going to take two or three years, I'll do it myself," Han Qingyu said.