Those People, Over a Year Later

The New Year was fast approaching. "Caixin," her grandfather called out from his chair. In Switzerland, all conversations in the household were now conducted strictly in Huaxian. It had been Yin Caixin's idea, and her grandfather and parents had all agreed, willing to do anything if it would make her even a little more cheerful. "Yes, Grandpa?" Having kept it up for more than a year, Yin Caixin's Huaxian had become very fluent and proper. Her only regret was that she had not learned it well earlier. She still remembered atop Xilang Peak, when that fellow had turned his nose up at her over it, refusing to marry her even when she offered herself up as a sacrifice. Not long after, he had vanished. Some said he was dead; others said he had merely gone missing. In any case, there had been no news of him since. "According to Huaxian tradition, the New Year is around the corner. Our family will celebrate the Huaxian New Year this year too. Why don't you head over to the logistics base, look around, and buy yourself a new set of clothes?" Over the past year and more, his granddaughter had worn nothing but military uniforms and training fatigues. It had been a long time since her grandfather had seen her any other way—like the young girl she used to be. In fact, because Yin Caixin frequently deployed with field squads on combat missions, the family rarely even saw one another. "All right, Grandpa." Yin Caixin tightened the device strapped to her body and walked toward the door. "If I have time after training, I'll go." Training, fighting, fighting, training... that was everything that filled her life over the past year. Yin Caixin wanted to become stronger as quickly as possible so that one day, she would have the ability to return to the Third Fixed Exploration Site and uncover the truth. That was where their group had first met. Looking back, it was also where the seed of darkness had been planted. It was only because she had taken on that trial mission that she had borrowed them to go. Had she known things would turn out like this, Yin Caixin would rather have never met them in the first place. *** Huaxia. The garrison of Squad 1777, Regiment 425, Ninth Army, under the Azure Sole Witness Legion. Under the evening sunlight, a helicopter hovered and touched down. The New Year goods were supposed to have been brought by the transport squad, but since Yang Qingbai happened to be returning, the higher-ups had told him to bring them along. "Oho, so much stuff! Even liquor! Pretty good benefits this year!" Qin Guowen remarked with a glance. "Yeah, enough to throw a wedding banquet! How about we just use these goods to host Captain Lao's wedding feast?" The squad members who followed joined in, laughing and hollering. Captain Lao's romance had long ceased to be a secret, yet a wedding had still never taken place. He wasn't in a rush, and the captain's lady wasn't either, as if they were waiting for something. What were they waiting for? In the hearts of the veteran squad members, each had roughly the same guess, yet none broke the silence to say it aloud. "Get lost, get lost, all of you! Cut the chatter and get moving on these crates!" Lao Jian deliberately put on a stern face and scolded them a bit. Then, walking over to Yang Qingbai by himself, he asked in a low voice, "How is it? While you were out this time, did you hear any word of them?" Yang Qingbai shook his head. During the battle against the Hidden Clan Alliance, he had flown the captured Azure soldiers back first. Ever since then, there had been no news of Qingzi and the others. Oh, and he had performed meritorious service. With the higher-ups evidently not keen to make a fuss, he had been awarded a Silver Medal and had just been promoted to Second Lieutenant a few months ago. "None. I didn't dare go poking around blindly, either," Yang Qingbai said. Lao Jian nodded. "Fair enough." Where on earth did those bastards run off to? he grumbled inwardly. Aloud, he said, "The New Year is almost here, and they didn't even think to find a way to send word back." "Right? At this rate, if Sister-in-law suddenly turns out pregnant one day, she won't even be able to wait for them to return for the wedding wine," Yang Qingbai quipped cheekily. "...By the way, what was with that sudden transfer of yours? What were you actually sent to do?" Lao Jian asked, pretending not to have heard the jab. Yang Qingbai's smile faded, his gaze turning serious as he looked at him. "Classified, Captain Lao." "All right. Go wash up, get some food, and turn in early." With that, Lao Jian turned to help unload the supplies. Yang Qingbai walked alone along the mountain path for a stretch until he reached the sentry post. First, he checked on the dog and the cat. As the little group's pilot, he had been left behind just like the cat and dog... "Honestly, with my combat power, tagging along would've just made me a burden, wouldn't it?" Leaning against the wall, Yang Qingbai muttered, "Though things might be different in the future! Qingzi, do you guys know what I went to do this time?!" In that instant, his eyes shone with excitement and resolve. Yang Qingbai whispered, "As one of the first batch of top-tier pilots selected by the Coalition, I went to test-fly source energy fighter jets. "Though that thing can't fire artillery shells, it's seriously insane, you know?! When they appear across the skies one day, you guys will definitely be blown away. "I was scared out of my wits back then. I had no idea Azure had long replicated and modified so many source energy aircraft, missing only that final engine. The largest of them isn't even finished yet, but it's as massive as a fortress. "No wonder Azure was always so short on dead iron back then, even though the stuff doesn't get consumed. Turns out the folks over in R&D working on spacecraft had been preparing all along. "Oh, and they seem to be retrofitting the giant ship left behind by the Great Spikes too, taking it apart for research while modifying it. Every now and then, I'd hear the researchers mention your name. They're all very grateful to you." *** Azure, Huaxia Second Scientific Research Institute. "Reporting, ma'am," a soldier saluted at the doorway of the linguistics laboratory. "Enter." Her hair pulled into a ponytail with a few stray strands across her forehead, Xin Yaoqiao looked up. She was dressed in a crisp, sharp Sole Witness Legion military uniform. For over a year, Xin Yaoqiao had worn only Sole Witness Legion uniforms to and from work every day—her silent protest against her maternal grandfather, her paternal grandfather, and the entire Council and scientific research establishment. "Reporting, Major Xin: this is the latest audio recording just sent back from the Antarctic battlefield. The Great Spikes spoke again." The soldier addressed Xin Yaoqiao as Major. This rank of major did not belong to the administrative or scientific research branch, but to the parallel Sole Witness Legion. Azure's rank system had two distinct tracks. Upon learning that the young lady had fallen out with both grandfathers over a certain someone, Chen Buer had deliberately granted her this rank of major in the combat track during that year's promotions. Xin Yaoqiao had been thrilled that day. "Understood. Leave it here. Thank you for your hard work." She was alone in the lab now. Waiting until the soldier had left, Xin Yaoqiao unwrapped the package, loaded the audio file into the dedicated playback equipment, and put on her headphones. She sat there quietly, listening to the battlefield sounds coming through the headphones. An older woman from the same office walked past the window outside. Catching sight of her profile, she waved. "Yaoyao, I'm heading out! It's New Year's Eve today, so remember to head home early too!" Xin Yaoqiao didn't hear her. "Zzzt... swoosh... Yanxiu..." Wait... Yanxiu?! Xin Yaoqiao paused the playback, filtered out the background noise, and listened several times, confirming that this was indeed the pronunciation of "Yanxiu" that Han Qingyu had asked her about back then. It was the third time. This was the third time the pronunciation had appeared in recordings sent back from the Antarctic. Red Shoulders had appeared there too. So Qingzi wasn't the only Yanxiu; Azure had other geniuses like him. "Still, there is only one Han Qingyu. "Qingzi, are you guys all right? Where are you right now? Do they celebrate New Year where you are?" Over the past year and more, both her paternal grandfather and even her maternal grandfather had dropped hints and stated outright that those guys weren't dead. Even the Chief of Staff over at the Sole Witness Legion had subtly conveyed reassurance. Yet there had been no news, no knowing where they were, no definite confirmation of anything. "That guy still owes me a live Great Spike..." Xin Yaoqiao drifted off in thought. Knock, knock-knock. A steady knocking sound came, growing louder. Hearing it, Xin Yaoqiao turned her head and took off her headphones. Grandpa stood at the door, smiling. "Major Xin, working so hard even on New Year's Eve? Aren't you going to celebrate the holiday?" "I'll head back in a bit, Grandpa," Xin Yaoqiao said, intending to keep listening. "Still need a bit? Seems if Grandpa doesn't bring out something real today, my Yaoyao isn't going to have a happy New Year. You haven't been happy for over a year now. Your maternal grandmother asked if you're coming over to her place for the New Year—since you haven't visited her for over a year, she's practically ready to throttle your maternal grandfather." Seeming very confident this time, Xin Mingzhi walked in with a smile. He pulled a dedicated cassette tape from his pocket and inserted it into the playback device. "What is this, Grandpa?" Xin Yaoqiao asked, puzzled. "A top-secret document... Given to me by that kid over at the Rejecters." Xin Mingzhi gestured for his granddaughter to put her headphones back on. The tape began to play. "Are you all doing well? It's chaotic over there, isn't it? Is Brother Qingzi okay?" Tu Zi asked. "Good, all good. If it's chaotic, we just brawl every day, no big deal... Qingzi? He's asking when you're going to pay back the source energy blocks. Oh, right, he's disfigured—got a huge scar on his face now, completely unrecognizable. Don't you go using that as an excuse to renege on your debt." Wen Jifei's voice was breezy and lighthearted. Tears silently crept out from Xin Yaoqiao's eyes, sliding down her cheeks. She was happy, and she was hurting.