A Statue

For Zhu Jiaming, the problem before him was harsh and unavoidable: among the most trusted subordinates he had stationed in hiding, among the few surviving members of his clan, someone had betrayed him. Otherwise, the Zhe Shouzhao before him could never have demanded him by name, blatantly targeting the Bone of Eternal Life. In all the world, no one understood the Bone of Eternal Life better than he did. Yet in the past twenty-odd years, as he drifted from one hidden clan to another, his true motives and identity had never once been uncovered. He had always been seen merely as a useful, scurrying rogue, a petty opportunist—a genuine villain. "After so many years, I'd almost forgotten betrayal was even a possibility." "Thinking about it now, maybe selling me out to those clans just didn't pay enough..." That was simply how things stood; no amount of fury or despair would do any good. Zhu Jiaming could envision all kinds of ways this situation might unfold. He could guess that Zhe Shouzhao had no intention of actually letting Han Qingyu and the others walk away; he could also suspect that Wen Jifei and the rest were most likely just putting on a show. But he could not afford to gamble. What if they really did wash their hands of him? After all, Han Qingyu truly was severely injured, and when it came to the logic and execution of turning tail and running, they had always been seamlessly proficient. And so Zhu Jiaming had quickly declared his stance. Nor did he feel bitter or resentful about it afterward. If you chose to walk this path in the world, you had to respect fairness. You could live by conspiracies, scheming, betrayal, and groveling, but you could not harbor delusions. It was entirely fair. Since he had never regarded Han Qingyu and the others as friends or brothers before, this was nothing more than a transaction. ... In truth, this battle had been inevitable; Zhe Shouzhao's appetite went beyond Zhu Jiaming alone. That much had been obvious the moment he started reciting the dossiers on Han Qingyu and the others. Without an agenda, he would never have put in so much effort. Turning around roughly ten meters away, Rusty Sister drew the knight broadsword from her back once more, dead iron grating against dead iron with a sharp hiss. Whether deliberate or incidental, her iron armor shielded most of Wen Jifei's frame. Wen Jifei's motion of lowering his head and turning was completely natural. About two-thirds of the way through, his left hand snapped a magazine into place while his right hand raised the gun. Elegy of the Square rested upon Rusty Sister's shoulder, its muzzle swinging toward Zhe Shouzhao... His index finger tapped lightly against the trigger, but Wen Jifei did not pull it. Four men stood before Zhe Shouzhao. "He knows about the new guns?! Most likely. After all, it's not unique—there are seven of them worldwide in total..." *Pfft!* A silencer. A flash of blue muzzle fire suddenly flickered in the dark woods. The instant the shot rang out, Han Qingyu jerked backward. His battle readiness and the distance saved him; he evaded a fatal hit to the heart. The bullet punched through the hollow of his left shoulder and exited clean out the back. So Zhe Shouzhao not only knew about the new guns, but he also had one. "No wonder he dared to come..." This was something no one, Wen Jifei included, had anticipated. They hadn't even considered the possibility. It was too absurd, yet the reality was right before them. Qingzi was wounded. He was already injured, and now he had taken a bullet. Wen Jifei didn't look at him; he pivoted immediately, thrusting the long gun forward to locate the enemy's position and locking down that area. He didn't fire. Nor did the other party fire a second shot. Without making a sound, the sniper hidden in the dark had already shifted positions, melting away into the woods. A standoff between gun and gun. The sniper across from him had trees and darkness for cover. Beneath Wen Jifei's feet was open valley ground. Lines of rain formed a ceaseless curtain before his eyes. The enemy was in the dark while he was in the open, yet Wen Jifei did not seek cover. He simply stood there motionless with his gun leveled. There were two shots left, maybe three. He knew that if he couldn't pin this person down, or if he fell first, tonight's battle would be desperately difficult for Qingzi and the others. Right now, he held the suppressing position. He had to ensure the enemy couldn't move, then wait for them to risk peeking out for an opening to fire—and then gamble that he was faster. "Qingzi?!" Rusty Sister wanted to rush over. "I'm fine." Han Qingyu straightened up and pulled his hand away from his shoulder socket, his palm coated in blood. Stopping her, he said, "I'm leaving that side to you and Tangtang." An instruction delivered with no inflection, completely devoid of emotion. The iron armor paused, then nodded. "Mm." Stepping back, she and He Tangtang took up flanking positions diagonally in front of and behind Wen Jifei. The enemy had more than one top-tier fighter, and they had numbers. Wen Jifei had to pin down that sniper rifle, while Shen Yixiu and He Tangtang had to keep anyone from closing in on him. Wu Xu stepped up beside Han Qingyu. Zhu Jiaming walked over as well. "Pity. Niger should have fired the moment you stopped; that might have been a better opportunity. A shame I wanted so badly to have a few words with you." Having already shed his military raincoat, Zhe Shouzhao stood in a crisp white shirt. Parting the four men in front of him, he stepped forward, looked at Han Qingyu, and said: "Still, my advantage is just as overwhelming now. Wouldn't you say, Major The Qing?! Look at you, soaked in blood." A smile crept across the corners of Zhe Shouzhao's mouth as he spoke. He loved this game. "Are you surprised, Second Lieutenant Wen?" Turning his gaze to Wen Jifei, Zhe Shouzhao asked, then continued, "As I said, Voyage is now an affiliate of Azure. We contributed nearly a century's worth of accumulated research, so naturally we participated in many of Azure's studies and experiments on the mothership. Among them, of course, were the guns." The rain kept falling. Wen Jifei didn't move, nor did he speak. "Mine is called Iris. What's yours called?" Zhe Shouzhao asked again. He Tangtang said, "It's called NMSL." "..." Zhe Shouzhao unclasped his fist and rubbed his temples. Up to this point, he still hadn't managed to get a word out of Han Qingyu. "Unfortunately, Azure won't let Voyage touch or study anything outside of source energy propulsion. Did you know that? It's simply outrageous! For instance, that blue starlight column sword—I've coveted it for so long." To a certain degree, Voyage was genuinely almost entirely neutral, devoted whole-heartedly to researching spacecraft and space migration, while the Zhe family controlled and oversaw Voyage's armed branch. Zhe Shouzhao had no interest in outer space. "I heard Major Qing has one as well... Why not give it to me as a gift? Or I can just take it myself in a bit." As he spoke, Zhe Shouzhao gave a gentle wave of his hand. From the woods along the cliffside, nearly a hundred figures leapt out simultaneously. "Pin him down and kill him!" someone shouted midair. The vast majority of those touching down charged straight for Wen Jifei's position. The truly decisive factor in this battle would ultimately be the duel between top-tier combatants. Yet on this battlefield, which of the two guns could fire would be the most critical weight tipping the scales. Now that the gun was exposed, its direct threat to a top combat power might not be as great as imagined. However, top-tier combatants were locked in all-out duels. Under such circumstances, a sudden lethal bullet, even if it failed to kill, could very well alter the course of the entire battle. So they chose to attack Wen Jifei. It was the most advantageous choice, and also the greatest containment measure. *Swish!* Wu Xu moved first, the Binggu Spear sweeping across. *Clang!* A Greek spear over three meters long slammed down from the flank. A blond man who appeared to be in his thirties barred Wu Xu's path. Top-tier. Almost at the same moment, Zhu Jiaming stumbled back several paces from a clash, his eyes fixing on the short, stout Black man across from him. Top-tier. The melee erupted. From a bird's-eye view... the valley was in ruins. Wu Xu and Zhu Jiaming were locked in one-on-one combat, while Rusty Sister and He Tangtang held their ground desperately against dozens of attackers to protect Wen Jifei. Across the chaotic battlefield, nearly a hundred silhouettes shifted ceaselessly in the dim light, the clashing of weapons and detonations of source energy mingled with agonized screams... Only two people had yet to move. Han Qingyu turned his head to look at Zhe Shouzhao. Wen Jifei stood amid the curtain of rain like a statue.