Looking at He Tangtang, then at Wen Jifei, Wu Xu ignored them as usual. Only this time, as he turned around, he took a deep breath and let it out. He walked over, poured a cup of water, and stood beside Han Qingyu, drinking it.
The reason Wen Jifei and He Tangtang dared to court death so unscrupulously was that if Wu Xu truly got angry and beat them, he might accidentally injure them or even kill them.
Wen the Dice in particular was like fine porcelain; nobody in the crew dared lay a finger on him.
If the one courting death had been Qingzi, Wu Xu reflected, he would probably have said, "Let's spar."
And then, even if he couldn't win, he would still get a few punches in.
In a fight, Wu Xu didn't care about the logic of losing a thousand to injure the enemy by eight hundred. He only cared about that eight hundred.
This mindset had formed very early on—so early that Wu Xu himself couldn't remember when it had been.
*Is it because, like Doctor Zhe said, I can regenerate, and that's why I became like this? So could I really be a lizard?*
Frowning faintly without letting anyone notice, Wu Xu looked over.
In Zhe Qiuhong's hands at this moment, the black lizard was still alive, writhing and twisting side to side. Its four newly grafted green legs moved along with it, paddling as if scrabbling forward.
There was no denying Zhe Qiuhong's medical skill was superb, but tormenting it like this... *Why do I suddenly feel an inexplicable pang of pity?*
Unable to watch any longer, Wu Xu averted his gaze.
"Whoa, there's another one over there!" Ao Yong turned his head toward the doorway of the room Zhe Qiuhong had just come out of, exclaiming suddenly.
Everyone looked over. Another lizard was crawling across the room's threshold, front paws touching down...
"No, wait, isn't that a snake?" Qian Daofeng said.
It was indeed a snake, but grafted with the black lizard's four legs.
It had probably escaped from the operating table on its own, and its vitality was remarkably intact. Holding its head high, it maintained a snake's slithering habit, but having legs made it look as if it were wobbling forward, paddling along.
What was more, Zhe Qiuhong had somehow attached two little white horns to the top of the snake's head.
"A dragon!" Zhu Jiaming declared decisively.
"Dragon, my foot! At most that's a flood dragon," Wen Jifei said.
"Why do I think it looks so cute?" Laughter echoed from inside the suit of armor. Chuckling with deep meaning, Rusty Sister said, "Hey, how come it just happens to be one lizard and one snake? Tee-hee-hee-hee-hee..."
Except for Qian Daofeng and Ao Yong, everyone present understood what she meant all too well.
*Thwack!*
Passing by, Han Qingyu slapped the back of her helmet, knocking the iron head down and cutting off her laughter.
He wasn't nearly as easygoing as Wu Xu. Taking two strides up to Zhe Qiuhong, he glared at her in annoyance and said, "You're not going to tell me this is genuinely necessary scientific research, are you?"
Zhe Qiuhong looked up, met his gaze directly, and nodded.
"Researching and verifying the effects of source energy on the growth of muscle, blood vessels, and nerves," she said calmly.
In truth, this had long been established in the extensive history of Azure medicine, with clear directions already defined. Over the past dozen-plus years, even practical applications had gradually become commonplace.
So this excuse was blatantly bogus. Her messing around like this was clearly aimed at Han Qingyu and Wu Xu... She was a madwoman who desperately wished she could dissect the two of them. Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Han Qingyu said:
"Wasting source energy blocks like this! Believe me when I say I'll beat you?"
Zhe Qiuhong looked up at him, her gaze as direct as ever, though this time it seemed to hide a hint of grievance. "I believe you."
How could she not believe him? She had been tied up, forcibly stuffed beneath a driver's seat, dumped onto the ground, and flipped over like a pancake. The guy in front of her was no gentleman.
"Then why aren't you putting them away right now?!" Actually beating her was out of the question. After all, Zhe Qiuhong had basically saved their lives. Besides, a female scientist was now doing laundry and cooking every day—even taking notes and calculating data while she cooked... Han Qingyu was helpless against her.
"Okay." Zhe Qiuhong nodded. Slipping her scissors into her pocket, she held the lizard in one hand, scooped up the "little flood dragon" off the floor with the other, and scurried back into her room.
Inside the suit of armor, she looked over at Wu Xu, then at Han Qingyu, and burst into giggles once more. "Heh-heh..." She just found it all so hilarious.
*Thwack!*
On his way back, Han Qingyu gave her another smack, knocking the iron head down and cutting off the laughter.
Then he returned to Wu Xu's side and said, "Aren't you mad? Want to give it a try too?"
Wu Xu suddenly turned to look at him, eyes bright, looking eager to give it a shot. But after thinking for a moment, he ultimately shook his head and gave up on the idea.
...
Qian Daofeng and Ao Yong were actually completely bewildered. They felt that way toward the scene just now, toward everything that had happened tonight, and toward the group of people before them.
Fortunately, everyone except Doctor Zhe had taken their seats again.
"We'll take the dead iron. We want to trade it for blades and Ninth-Generation devices. As for the source energy blocks... we'll take ten."
*Clatter, roll.* Together, Qian Daofeng and Ao Yong once again pushed the remaining source energy blocks across the table.
Ten was already a great deal—already very greedy. Never in their wildest dreams had the two dared imagine that one day they would have thirty-two source energy blocks, plus so much dead iron.
Among all of it, they found it especially impossible to accept having so many source energy blocks. It felt wrong, somehow.
Across the round table, Han Qingyu crossed his arms, shook his head, and looked away.
"Don't do this. Stop being a pain, alright? We already said we're friends. Over that past stretch, we ate your food and used your things, and we never offered you money either."
He had kept the metal block this time; considering his upcoming plans, metal blocks were what he needed most right now. The source energy blocks were what they had extracted themselves, with the refining fee deducted according to standard procedures—no false modesty, and it kept Ao Yong and Qian Daofeng from overthinking things.
Seeing that Ah Jing seemed a little angry, their hands stopped. Qian Daofeng and Ao Yong looked at each other.
"But with our strength..."
"Alright, enough with the 'buts.'" Wen Jifei walked over, threw an arm around each of the two brothers' shoulders, glanced at Han Qingyu, and said with a chuckle, "Keep being polite and they'll really be gone. I'm telling you, honest to god, by then it'll be too late for you to change your minds."
Low chuckles rippled through the circle around them. They all knew how terribly Qingzi was suffering to hold back, how heartbroken he was.
Qian Daofeng and Ao Yong looked at Wen Jifei, bewildered and confused.
"Pack them up. Be careful to hide them well, and don't let anyone target you." Wen Jifei held open a bag along the edge of the table and swept the source energy blocks inside, sparing Qingzi from seeing them again and feeling the heartbreak.
Tossing the bag full of source energy blocks into Qian Daofeng's arms, he continued, "Just now you said you wanted to trade the dead iron for new blades and devices. Where are you going to trade them? Is it safe?"
"It's safe. There's a shop run by one of Shu You's subordinates. The rule says even if someone killed the owner's wife, they wouldn't use clues from the shop to investigate or hunt the person down. It's really like that, and has been for over a decade," Qian Daofeng said.
"That's good, then." Wen Jifei nodded, walked back, and sat down.
The room finally quieted down. Only at this moment, as their turbulent thoughts settled slightly, did Qian Daofeng and Ao Yong truly realize:
They really possessed thirty-two source energy blocks and over a thousand kilograms of dead iron fragments.
Soon they would have the new blades and new devices they had dreamed of, and they would grow stronger... And what was more, they had friends.
There was no doubt about that. Ao Yong thought it over, then said carefully:
"You guys are really strong, aren't you?"
Han Qingyu said, "Very strong."
"I know. Actually, just a few of you can take down a spacecraft."
"Yeah."
"So... you guys actually came from an elite Huaxia squad, right?" Qian Daofeng's voice was very low, his eyes filled with hope.
"...You could say that."
"Mm."
The two brothers didn't probe any further. They already knew enough. Knowing any more wouldn't be appropriate.
After a brief silence, Qian Daofeng handed the bag of source energy blocks to Ao Yong to hold. He stood up, went over, and tried to lift one of the bags of dead iron fragments. Coming back, he said:
"Can't lift it."
Ao Yong nodded.
Chapter 443