Drunk

The two brothers' eyes reddened again just like that. Feeling thoroughly embarrassed, they didn't know whether to laugh or cry, or what to say. "If you really want to say thanks, why don't you go buy some booze?" Wen Jifei said with a smile, seeing their awkward expressions. "We'll have a late-night snack—make up for last time and celebrate. We know you don't have money, and neither do we. Just take two dead iron fragments to trade." In the City of Iniquity, dead iron fragments were hard currency. Every shop accepted them, and all had standard scales for weighing. "Alright." In the past, doing something like this would have been utterly unthinkable. Saving up dead iron wasn't easy; once, Ao Yong had found a piece while sweeping the streets and had been so thrilled he couldn't sleep all night. But now they had so much... Qian Daofeng and Ao Yong rose and hurried off happily. Before long, the two returned carrying two large crates of beer and a mountain of food. There were still three bottles upstairs from last time, which Ao Yong also brought down. "Doctor Zhe, having a midnight snack?" Wen Jifei called toward the back. Wearing her white lab coat, Zhe Qiuhong stepped out of her doorway. "Yes." "Can you drink?" He Tangtang asked, twisting open a bottle cap. "Mm," Zhe Qiuhong nodded. "Figured you could. Doctors smell alcohol all the time—even if you've never drunk, you'd probably have an iron stomach." He Tangtang twisted open a bottle and set it at an empty seat. Zhe Qiuhong walked over, sat down, poured herself a cup, threw her head back, and glugged it down, calm and composed. Her alcohol tolerance truly seemed quite good, and Wu Xu had already undergone enhancement now, so in the end, it was Qian Daofeng and Ao Yong who showed signs of intoxication first. Normally, they never had the chance to drink with anyone and could never bear spending money on alcohol for themselves. Excitement made them drink fast tonight, and before long they were well on their way. Before getting completely plastered, they told Ah Jing about the matter with Liu Lang. Loosened by alcohol, they babbled on, recounting their past history with Liu Lang as well. Han Qingyu listened, only nodding placidly. "Got it." Since the two still had work tomorrow and needed to trade for new blades and devices, Han Qingyu and the others didn't dare let them get completely wasted. Around one in the morning, they urged them to go up to bed. Supporting each other, the brothers carried the source energy blocks upstairs. "The dead iron... so much dead iron. Is it really okay down there?" Qian Daofeng was more drunk than Ao Yong, his tongue tripping over his words. "It's fine. Ah Jing and the others are down there." Ao Yong gave him a firm hoist as they passed the second floor. "Hey, Brother Daofeng." On the steps leading to the third floor, Ao Yong stopped abruptly and whispered. "Huh?" Qian Daofeng turned to look at him. "Look at Ah Jing. If he didn't have that scar—look at his right eyebrow and eye, and the undamaged part of his left cheek. If you try to imagine him without that scar, isn't he... actually really handsome?" "Is he? Why do you care about that?! You're a grown man." Even as he said it, Qian Daofeng involuntarily squinted in recollection, blurring his mental image to imagine it. "Now that you mention it... seems he really is. Sigh, what a pity. Who knows what Ah Jing was like before...!" In an instant, cold sweat drenched his back. Perhaps all the alcohol he had just consumed had turned into sweat in a flash. Qian Daofeng's body went stiff, swayed slightly, and he turned slowly to look at Ao Yong. That time on the street with Rusty Sister's Dimple Slash—they seemed to have arrived only a few days before that. They were from Azure. Ah Jing had joked before, claiming he was Han Qingyu. "He... he couldn't really be Major Qing, could he?" Ao Yong didn't answer, but his eyes said: *What if?* "No, definitely not. That's too outrageous." Everything up to now was already ridiculous enough; Qian Daofeng felt things shouldn't get any more unbelievable. He shook his head hard, pausing... When he looked up at Ao Yong again, his eyes were much sterner. "No, we can't guess about this. Xiao Yong, do you understand what I mean? The two of us forget this right on this step. Don't guess anymore. Ah Jing is Ah Jing." "Yeah." Ao Yong looked at him, nodding in thought. Understanding, he said, "I know, Brother Daofeng." With that, the brothers climbed upstairs in silence. Yet in their hearts, they were still thinking about that what-if... *What if?!* ... "Did they guess it?" Han Qingyu asked. Wu Xu walked in from outside, brushed the dirt off his hands, and said, "Mm. But after guessing, they told each other it wasn't you and dropped it." He briefly relayed their conversation. Han Qingyu and Wen Jifei exchanged a glance and nodded. They had faith in Qian Daofeng and Ao Yong's character and integrity; otherwise, they wouldn't have stayed this long. The drinks on the table weren't finished yet... They prepared to keep going. "You're such a bully. I said... you're bullying me too much." Zhe Qiuhong's voice suddenly drifted out. At some point, Doctor Zhe had slumped over the table, right arm stretched out, face resting sideways against it. Murmuring, she lifted her head. Her face was flushed red. She was drunk. "When did she get drunk?" Han Qingyu turned, confused. He Tangtang shook his head. "Beats me!" He had just been busy passing bottle after bottle to her. "I'm a scientist." Paying no heed to their chatter, Zhe Qiuhong wobbled to her feet and pointed at herself. "Right, right, you're a scientist." Han Qingyu turned, getting ready to fetch Rusty Sister to carry her back. "You bully scientists! You said I'm fat! You used your foot to kick me over, lifted me up, and you're always threatening to beat me! Beat me... Scientists are the ultimate combat power!" That last sentence was shouted with all her might. After speaking, she swayed and braced her hands against the table. Then, looking around at everyone, she continued: "Device upgrades and advancement, life source energy expansion, source energy surge layering, source energy refining development... Do you know how much stronger current top-tier fighters are in actual combat compared to ten years ago? More than thirty percent! And twenty years ago? Doubled! Do you understand?!" "Impressive," Wen Jifei humored her. "Mm." Zhe Qiuhong nodded. "So when Chen Buer hacked Red Shoulder to death, do you know how terrifying he was? That was over thirty years ago." When she said that, Han Qingyu and the others suddenly grew interested in listening. "As terrifying as he was, even I treated him. Your Azure was always so nice to me." Her tone turned aggrieved again, and she sniffled. "Nobody ever bullied me like this." "He was wrong," Rusty Sister coaxed gently. "Yeah, my bad," Han Qingyu replied casually. "Right? My contribution to the practical rollout of source energy in limb replantation and wound healing was huge!" Thumping her chest, Zhe Qiuhong spoke with a slight sob in her voice. "Thank you." "Don't mention it. Actually, I didn't care about saving people—I just wanted to build up case studies." Han Qingyu and the others: "..." "I even wash your clothes!" Realizing she had strayed off topic, Doctor Zhe abruptly circled back. "Actually, I'm great at making money, you know? When it comes to making money here, nobody compares to me. "I'm amazing at it. You go find someone powerful with the most money, hack him until he's almost dead, and I can take every cent he has. And then he'll still have to thank me..." Zhe Qiuhong paused there. Beside the table, He Tangtang and Zhu Jiaming turned to Han Qingyu at the same time, their eyes gleaming with excitement. "She kind of makes a lot of sense, Qingzi."