Howard was already deeply regretting coming here. For one thing, Wen Jifei's words from the previous night had shaken his conviction; for another, Chen Buer was currently sitting in the very same command tent with him.
Were the four of Major The Qing's group truly dead? To be honest, Howard was not entirely certain. If they were alive, there was no sign of them. If they were dead, no bodies had been recovered.
So what now? Were they really supposed to go find General Jiang Longchi, the one involved? Whether they could even find the man was one question; even if they did, they would still have to explain what had taken place.
"Um, Legion Commander Chen..." Howard swallowed hard, turning his head cautiously. "Would it be possible for you to personally communicate this matter with the Alliance Council? Do you think that might work?"
Having said that, he gave a quiet nudge to the interpreter beside him, who had completely zoned out.
To preserve operational secrecy regarding the incident, the interpreter today was the same one as before.
Her thoughts lingered on the people she had grown so fond of just the previous night. Were they really gone just like that? Even if they weren't dead, they had left Azure. Emotions churning inside her, the young interpreter sniffled and translated his words.
*Clatter!*
The teacup in Chen Buer's hand shattered on the floor.
This, after all, was a man who had once slammed his Red-Slaying Saber right onto the table during a meeting of the Alliance Council's presidium.
The instant the porcelain shattered, Jackson, Arthur, and Howard all flinched in unison, hurriedly turning their gazes away and keeping their mouths shut.
"Communicate with your damn ancestors! My people are gone! Shouldn't you bastards be giving *me* an explanation?!" Chen Buer stood up, his gaze sweeping over the three men. "You expect me to give you a report?!"
Not a single person dared answer.
"Keep pushing it, and when I lose my temper, I'll bash your heads into blooming sweet potatoes..." Realizing the phrasing was perhaps somewhat uncouth, Chen Buer paused, then snapped furiously, "In short, this old man can't even piss in the same trench as you!"
With that parting shot, the Huaxia legion commander stormed out of the tent in a towering rage.
The old chief of staff followed at a leisurely pace.
Only after making sure the two had walked far off did Howard and the other two finally look up, turning to the young interpreter to whisper and ask what Legion Commander Chen had actually said.
Xiufen's situation was this: as a young foreigner, she spoke fluent Chinese and could translate ordinary conversation with great precision. But one thing gave her immense trouble—Huaxia vernacular and slang.
For instance, the previous night, when Second Lieutenant Wen Jifei mentioned appearing in dreams, she hadn't managed to grasp it right away.
Blooming sweet potatoes? Never mind that. Pissing...
She wrestled with the words for a long moment before managing to speak: "Legion Commander Chen said he never wants to see you again, and he refuses to even use the same restroom as you."
Jackson and the other two exchanged blank, baffled looks. In that case, if they ever ran into Legion Commander Chen at future Alliance conferences, they would probably have to hold their bladders.
***
On the other side of the camp, the old chief of staff caught up to Chen Buer, who had deliberately slowed his pace. Walking shoulder to shoulder, the chief of staff said:
"As for this matter, the Alliance certainly won't issue an official announcement, but there's no way it can be kept under wraps going forward. There are bound to be a flood of rumors and speculation regarding whether the four of them are dead or alive."
"Isn't that a bad thing?" Chen Buer turned his head, asking with concern.
"Nothing bad about it—it's actually quite good," the old chief of staff said with a faint smile. "That way, all attention will be focused squarely on Alphonse. It's the best possible restraint on him, and the greatest protection for Han Qingyu and the other three down the road. Under such circumstances, he won't dare make any reckless moves. At the same time, rumors of his crimes will spread along with the talk... It will be a seed, and in the end, it will grow into a storm."
Hearing his old partner say this, Chen Buer felt somewhat reassured. "That's good, then."
"Yes, that's roughly how it will play out. Later on, even if someone manages to guess that you're shielding them, it won't matter. After all, nobody would have the nerve to come interrogate you."
***
That afternoon, the spread of the rumors among the mid- and lower-level ranks of Huaxia Azure remained limited to the narrative that "Han Qingyu and his comrades were detained after ambushing and killing the third generation of the Alphonse family in an act of revenge."
Around lunchtime, Xin Yaoqiao had already noticed her mother acting a bit strange. Now, sitting in the office, she found the atmosphere decidedly off as well.
Everyone was unusually quiet, stealing covert glances at her from time to time without uttering a word.
"Aunt Zhen?" Xin Yaoqiao called out with a touch of unease. When the aunt-like colleague at the desk diagonally across from her turned around, she asked, "Aunt Zhen, do you have something to tell me?"
Aunt Zhen's expression hesitated for a second.
That was all it took for Xin Yaoqiao to be sure. Her mind immediately ran wild, panic setting in. She urged, "Oh, Aunt Zhen, please just say it! If you don't, I'll keep imagining the worst, and I'm already starting to shake."
"Well..." Concern softened Aunt Zhen's eyes. "There are rumors going around outside that something happened to Major Han Qingyu."
She recounted everything she had heard about Squad 1777's ordeal on the Perimeter Xilang Peak battlefield, the rumors surrounding the Alphonse family, and everything in between. Finally, she said, "Major The Qing and the others couldn't swallow the injustice. They ambushed and killed the third generation of the Alphonse family at the frontline command headquarters to avenge their squadmates. Now they've been locked up, and what comes next might..."
Xin Yaoqiao jumped to her feet. She took two steps, turned back, yanked open her desk drawer to grab an unfinished set of research files, and dashed straight out of the office.
***
At three in the afternoon, wearing a special pass, Xin Yaoqiao arrived by small aircraft at the headquarters of the Huaxia Front Council.
Only one secretary was present in her grandfather's office. Xin Yaoqiao questioned him briefly and headed straight for the conference room.
*Knock, knock—bang!*
After two hurried knocks, the conference room door was shoved inward.
Everyone inside turned around.
The people seated here were all prominent figures: Council Chairman Qu Zhongshi, the deputy legion commander of the Sole Witness Legion... Even Xin Yaoqiao's grandfather, Xin Mingzhi, a titan of the scientific research system, was present.
"Qiaoqiao, what are you doing here?!" Seeing his granddaughter, Qu Zhongshi had already guessed something of her purpose, but the question slipped out anyway.
"Grandpa Qu, Grandpa Xin... No, reporting, Council Chairman!" Xin Yaoqiao raised a hasty, clumsy salute. "Could you please help Qingzi and the other three?"
Every pair of eyes in the room was fixed on her, but no one spoke.
Flustered, Xin Yaoqiao pressed on: "No, what I mean is, you have to talk to the Alliance Council right away! Tell them they must not hurt them, or Azure will definitely regret it! Besides, they must have been framed—they wouldn't have done that otherwise..."
The small Red Shoulder on Xilang Peak had called Qingzi "Yanxiu." What on earth was a Yanxiu?! Xin Yaoqiao's previous deduction had been that it was some kind of source energy monster.
Though she hadn't made any definitive progress since, she was certain of at least one thing: it was an entity that even the Red Shoulders knew of and feared.
Xin Yaoqiao was torn right now over whether she should reveal this secret outright to protect Qingzi, Plague Chicken, Wu Xu, and Rusty Sister.
Yet even as she spoke, the reactions of her grandfathers and everyone else in the room felt entirely wrong. They were submerged in an entirely different mood.
Xin Yaoqiao noticed it and fell silent. After several seconds, her eyes turned blank as she asked, "What happened to Qingzi and the others?"
"It's like this. Major The Qing and the other three were interrogated overnight. Afterward, likely fueled by overwhelming indignation, they impulsively attempted an escape. During the breakout, a fierce clash ensued..."
The speaker was the deputy legion commander of the Sole Witness Legion. As high-ranking brass, their information was naturally one step ahead; they were gathered here today precisely because of this development.
So... "Qingzi and the other three... are gone?" The hand Xin Yaoqiao had forgotten to lower dropped weakly to her side. She looked sorrowfully at her maternal and paternal grandfathers.
Under her gaze, Qu Zhongshi nodded slowly.
"...So that's how it is. You're all sitting here right now just discussing how to minimize the fallout, aren't you? Not figuring out how to help them." Xin Yaoqiao's body swayed. She coughed twice, squeezed her eyes shut, and opened them again. "An Azure like this..."
*Riiip!*
The breakthrough document in her hands—the latest research findings on Great Spike civilization language—was torn apart, shredded to pieces. She had originally intended to use this to claim credit, acting spoiled so her grandfather would save Han Qingyu and the others.
"Qiaoqiao, you..." Qu Zhongshi's tone turned severe.
"I resign. I quit."
Despondent, Xin Yaoqiao turned and walked out.
She had grown up sheltered, raised purely along the path of scientific research. She understood nothing of politics or worldly cunning; she could only even conceptualize love through science. She had never fallen for anyone, nor had she ever had many truly close friends.
She had run away from home once just to see Han Qingyu. That period when Han Qingyu, He Tangtang, Liu Shiheng, and the rest were staying at Institute 2 had been the happiest, most cherished time of her life.
In her impulse, her words had crossed a taboo—a grave taboo. She was a person Azure could never afford to release.
In that moment, Qu Zhongshi and Xin Mingzhi exchanged a helpless look. Qu Zhongshi looked up at the guard standing outside and said, "Lock her up for now."
***
Come dinnertime, in the temporary holding cell, the guard told her that her maternal grandfather wanted to visit and bring her food, but Xin Yaoqiao flatly refused.
Later, her paternal grandfather, paternal grandmother, maternal grandmother, and mother all came together. Xin Yaoqiao couldn't turn them away, but she refused to say much.
"How about this, Qiaoqiao? Grandpa will tell you something." Seeing that their coaxing had failed to work, Xin Mingzhi stepped forward and sat down beside his granddaughter. "Han Qingyu and the others probably aren't dead."
The other three in the room were caught off guard. Xin Yaoqiao snapped her head around, asking with cautious hope, "What do you mean by 'probably,' Grandpa?"
"It means Grandpa believes they aren't dead. First of all, I just inquired: no bodies have been found over there, and all claims come solely from the squad leader who intercepted them last night."
"Then they..."
"Listen to Grandpa first. The second reason is the one I have the most confidence in." Xin Mingzhi paused, then said, "I heard Chen Buer is over there as well."
"The legion commander?"
"Yes. Even though he certainly wouldn't tell me, I'm absolutely certain that as long as he's there, Han Qingyu and the others won't die." Xin Mingzhi spoke with absolute conviction. "He's Chen Buer, after all."
"Right, he's Chen Buer," Xin Yaoqiao murmured to herself. Pondering and recalling, she allowed hope to take root. "And he really likes Qingzi and the others."
"Doesn't he?" Xin Mingzhi smiled, raising a finger. "Shh, we can't tell anyone about this."
The definitive answer was still hanging in the air, but with a glimmer of hope restored, Xin Yaoqiao did her best to believe it.
Beside them, seeing her daughter's mood soften, Mother Xin let out a sigh of relief, yet her own misgivings deepened. Previously, she had treated her daughter's childish crush on Han Qingyu with an indulgent attitude, letting her play around. Now, she was absolutely certain that Han Qingyu was by no means a suitable match. Being friends was fine, but a son-in-law was out of the question.
"If you ask me, that boy brought it on himself—he has no sense of when to back down," Mother Xin complained under her breath.
Xin Yaoqiao slowly raised her head to look at her, her eyes filled with disbelief. "Mom, how can you say that?"
Mother Xin stammered, "D-did I say something wrong? He..."
Xin Yaoqiao paused for two seconds. "Right. You're right. He just doesn't know when to back down."
She looked away, as if debating, yet also as if merely speaking to herself:
"If he knew when to back down, he wouldn't have thrown himself at a Great Spike as a raw recruit, drawing the attention of a blue-sheened one."
"If he knew when to back down, the three of them wouldn't have done something as foolish as turning back to face three hundred enemies just to rescue Medical Station 101."
"If he knew when to back down, he wouldn't have stupidly rushed to save people on Xilang Peak, standing alone against a Red Shoulder... and that night on the Great Spike mothership, there never would have been that strike that pierced the heavens..."
As she spoke, the room fell into complete silence.
Chapter 369