Flight

Even with source energy sustaining them and allowing them to hold their breath for a while, staying underwater felt distinctly different for Han Qingyu and the others compared to being on land. Movement, speech, and hearing were all somewhat impaired. Shen Yixiu was the only one who felt no difference. Aside from worrying that the boys might actually pee in the water, she was perfectly comfortable and at ease underwater in her iron armor. Her physical sensation of the external natural environment was very faint, coming mostly from a psychological level. If she wasn't consciously aware of it or paying deliberate attention, she wouldn't even feel anything holding her hand over an open flame, let alone being underwater. At this rate, if someone gave her enough source energy blocks, she could probably strap on a backpack, walk out of the country across the ocean floor, and stroll all the way to the other side of the ocean on her own. "It seems to have stopped," the iron armor suddenly said in the silence, tilting its head up without producing a single bubble. "Has it? *Blub blub blub...*" The four men, who had been staring at each other's crotches, turned their heads, bubbles escaping from each of them. Rusty Sister nodded. "Yeah. I pressed against the wall and listened. They've left." The collective fish-bombing operation by the hidden clans had lasted about ten minutes before ending. Their source energy erupted as they resumed their pursuit forward. Afraid that their quarry might get too far ahead, they dared not delay. Han Qingyu immediately prepared to surface and take a look, but Wen Jifei reached out from behind, tugged him back, and blew bubbles as he spoke: "What if they left someone behind..." Han Qingyu turned back, releasing bubbles as he cautiously said, "Good point. Let's test the waters first." The two exchanged a look. *Regardless of whether anyone was left outside, the person left behind certainly couldn't be Qu Zongyan, since he's the main pursuit force. With that in mind, testing the waters isn't a bad idea. Being cautious is good.* After all, they were grasshoppers tied to the same string now, Zhu Jiaming thought to himself. Suddenly, "Hey, hey, hey hey!" He felt himself being hoisted up—a gentle upward force pushing him right out of the water. With a soft splash, the upper half of his body was exposed directly to the air... *Holy crap, so this is how you test the waters?!* *I thought you were going to toss a fish out!* *If someone was waiting up there with a blade and slashed down...* Zhu Jiaming took a deep breath, sensing that his future days were not going to be easy. He glanced left and right... and was dragged back underwater. "How is it? *Blub blub blub.*" "No one's there. *Blub blub blub.*" "Good, let's go." Han Qingyu poked his head above the water to take a look and said, "Hurry. Qu Zongyan will probably realize something's off and turn back the moment he chases for a while without seeing any footprints. We have to make haste." The five scrambled out of the stone pit one after another, reversed direction, and began sprinting toward the predetermined rendezvous point. In practice, it was still Rusty Sister and Han Qingyu holding Wen Jifei by one leg each and dragging him along as they ran. They had already discovered earlier that this posture interfered least with their speed, proving much smoother than piggybacking, supporting, or hauling him by the arms. Meanwhile, Zhu Jiaming ran for himself. Wu Xu ran beside him, carrying the Binggu Spear in one hand. The tip of the two-meter-long black spear was angled upward, and this top-tier dead iron spear named "Binggu" now had eight fish skewered on it. They hadn't bothered with the small ones. "Little Prince, hurry up!" Wen Jifei, flailing around like a noodle as they dashed along, still managed to complain about Zhu Jiaming. Zhu Jiaming glanced up at him, unable to get a clear look. "This is my fastest!" "Faster! Otherwise, at your speed, don't blame us for leaving you behind if Qu Zongyan catches up!" "You wouldn't do that." Inwardly, Zhu Jiaming thought that if Qu Zongyan really doubled back in pursuit, neither Wu Xu nor Rusty Sister could outrun him either... But having no choice under the circumstances, he could only offer an ingratiating laugh. "Heheh..." Halfway through his laugh, the Little Prince froze. Because—*Whoosh!* A mountain-toppling roar resounded from behind them, followed in rapid succession by three or four bursts of source energy eruption. Qu Zongyan and the top-tiers of the hidden clans were catching up, and most likely a dying Qu Zongxing with his last breath as well. At this point, the five were not far from the rendezvous point. Even if they turned away now and didn't head over, there was no guarantee that He Tangtang and Yang Qingbai wouldn't be discovered by the main force of the hidden clans pursuing behind them. If that happened, their situation would be even more perilous. "Never mind that, keep running!" Han Qingyu made a swift decision. Even if there really wasn't enough time to start the helicopter once they got there, they would grab He Tangtang and Yang Qingbai and run together. The five raced toward the rendezvous point at full speed. *Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump...* The faint sound of helicopter rotors drifted through the night, and from the sound of it, they were spinning faster and faster. "What's going on?! Did they know we were coming and start it up in advance?!" Wen Jifei asked loudly. After waiting three seconds with no answer, realization dawned on him, and he blurted out, "Holy crap, they even stole the helicopter!" They had forgotten one thing: Pang Jinghe also knew where the rendezvous point was. Under the circumstances, when Han Qingyu had told him earlier to take the Azure personnel and leave first, Han Qingyu had subconsciously assumed he would use the chaos to lead them to the ends of the earth before transferring to some Azure base. Pang Jinghe's plan, of course, was to bring them straight to the helicopter. And he would certainly tell Yang Qingbai and He Tangtang that this was Han Qingyu's instruction. That meant there wouldn't be enough seats! Furthermore, given the strength of the people currently on board, if the helicopter didn't gain enough altitude, it could easily be knocked out of the sky, which meant they would have to help defend it from the ground. Wen Jifei thought for a moment. "Little Prince, why don't you turn around and hold them off for a bit?" Out of breath, Zhu Jiaming wheezed, "I can't hold them off! Second Lieutenant Wen, you'd better shoot!" Wen Jifei considered it again. "Fair enough." With that, he raised Elegy of the Square, and with a *bang*, fired directly behind him. Then came *bang, bang, bang, bang...* He practically turned a sniper rifle into a machine gun. Given the immense deterrent power of the weapon, Wen Jifei's continuous fire indeed managed to slow the pursuit somewhat. The distance to the front grew shorter and shorter. At the rendezvous point, beneath the night sky and moonlight, the helicopter had risen above the treetops. It was hovering above. Hearing the gunfire, Yang Qingbai and He Tangtang naturally knew that Qingzi, Plague Chicken, and the rest were back. And judging by the frenzied firing, the situation was likely just as Pang Jinghe had described: they were still being hunted by two supers and over a thousand people. Two supers! Torn with anxiety, Yang Qingbai refused to pull the helicopter up and away. The cabin was already packed, and He Tangtang was still standing below. Amidst the chaos, he quickly locked eyes with Yang Qingbai, drew his blade, turned around, and shouted toward the distance: "What's the exact situation? Can you see clearly?!" Over three hundred meters away in the direction of his shout, Pang Jinghe stood with his back turned, holding a blade in one hand, standing calmly in the middle of the path. Somewhat hesitant, yet striving to sound composed, he replied: "I see it clearly. There are a few fish flying." He Tangtang: "..." As he sprinted over, he thought Pang Jinghe must have been scared out of his wits. Yet there truly were a few fish flying. Because it was night, the silver-white bellies and scales of the fish reflected the moonlight, whereas the black spear and the people were hard to make out. Looking through the woods from a distance, Pang Jinghe genuinely could see only a few fish flying through the air. Nor was Pang Jinghe scared silly. His mood right now was roughly half excitement and half nervousness. Because quite possibly, he would have to step up and hack down Qu Zongyan in a moment. *I wonder if I can beat him in a fight...* Pang Jinghe rolled his wrist, casually flicking his pinky and ring finger. The saber in his hand flipped unhurriedly from palm to the back of his hand and back again before he gripped it tight. ... "Qingzi, look," Wu Xu pointed ahead with the fish. Han Qingyu shifted his gaze down from the sky, looked ahead, and saw Pang Jinghe standing there alone with saber in hand. "What is he doing?!" Han Qingyu asked, bewildered. "No idea," Rusty Sister answered earnestly. *Whoosh, whoosh!* Almost simultaneously, source energy erupted from the two of them as they accelerated once more. While running, Han Qingyu waved toward the air and shouted, "Go! Qingbai! Fly off, quick!" Then, the three-person mobile artillery battery swept past Pang Jinghe like a gust of wind... Han Qingyu reached out, his wrist twisting as he struck his own saber from Pang's hand into the air. With another thrust of his arm, he grabbed Pang Jinghe by the shoulder of his clothes, carried him forward a short distance, and with an explosive blast of source energy, hurled him into the air. "Grab the landing gear!" Han Qingyu halted on the ground, snapped his saber back behind his shoulder, and shouted into the sky. Suddenly feeling a bit touched, Pang Jinghe flew backward through the air, looking at Han Qingyu. Reaching back, he unfastened his own blade from behind him. "Actually, though, I might have been able to help you hack Qu Zongyan to death." At this moment, beneath the moonlight, the helicopter was ascending. Pang Jinghe was drifting toward the aircraft. Suddenly, with a deafening *boom*, a figure catapulted up from the treetops off to the side. A massive tree shattered beneath his feet as the silhouette brandished a weapon, leaping toward the airborne helicopter. "How did he get there?" No one knew. The people on board were shouting, and someone prepared to leap out to intercept him. Han Qingyu slapped his back, and the rectangular wooden box behind his shoulder flew out of its wrapping... ready to open. At the same time, Pang Jinghe drifted into position. Without the slightest hesitation or waste of motion, he spun his body midair. His blade turned with him, cleaving downward through the howling wind. In midair came a crisp *snick*. The figure plummeted straight toward the ground. And after delivering that slash, Pang Jinghe did not fall. He seized the helicopter's landing gear with one hand while holding his blade pointed diagonally downward with the other, hanging there calmly in the moonlight as the helicopter departed. Blood dripped from the tip of his blade. It was Qu Zongxing's blood. Pang Jinghe recognized Qu Zongxing. *Even on the verge of death, this was the final, desperate strike of a super combat power! Turns out I really can kill a super.* *Should I go down and help them hack Qu Zongyan to death?* After savoring the moment alone for a bit, Pang Jinghe came back to his senses and glanced downward. *Whoa, that's high!* *Never mind then. Just as well—this lets me keep hiding part of my true strength.* Meanwhile, on the ground, Wen Jifei scrambled up. Han Qingyu reached out and held back He Tangtang, who had rushed over. Wu Xu, Rusty Sister, and Zhu Jiaming looked up at the sky. "That was Qu Zongxing," Zhu Jiaming said. "Really? But wasn't he a super?" Rusty Sister asked. "I blasted him with a shot that blew straight through his heart," Wen Jifei said. Holding his skewered fish, Wu Xu turned to look at everyone, his eyes finally landing on Han Qingyu. "I saw it clearly. The moment he leaped out, he was already dead in midair."