Post-Battle Issues (Part 1)

“The deck beneath his feet was dead iron, and that ship’s stern was clad in dead iron as well... Meanwhile, my momentum had reached its end, and the force you gave me was too weak. Besides, no matter what, do not underestimate his combat strength.” Shu You offered this explanation in a cool tone. In truth, he didn't even know why he was explaining, or why he was in the mood to explain—just as he didn't understand why, at that moment, Han Qingyu hadn't roared in fury toward the sea, but had instead brought this up first, pinning the blame so directly on him. *We aren't close, all right? And I'm stronger than you!* With that thought, Shu You turned around and sat down on the ruined ship. He was still a bit weaker than Alphonse; though that had always been his own assessment, having it confirmed in reality inevitably left him somewhat depressed. Just then, *crack, crack, crack, crack...* The wrecked hull groaned loudly as a fracture split between the two of them, the fissure widening step by step. *It's going to sink... What, is this guy not afraid of the ship sinking?!* Puzzled, Han Qingyu glanced at Shu You, thinking to himself that it was probably because the man was the City of Iniquity’s strongest boss. In a situation like this, paddling back on a wooden plank or swimming back would look far too undignified. *Since that's the case, he definitely has a way! No rush then. Doesn't matter to me either way—worst comes to worst, I'll just swim back.* With that in mind, Han Qingyu sat down on the spot as well. In truth, it wasn't that he felt no anger or disappointment; he had simply never made a habit of throwing helpless, impotent tantrums since childhood. His resolve to kill Alphonse was firm enough—it didn't have to happen this very moment. At the same time, there was another perhaps more important reason: his mind had already begun unconsciously calculating other matters, such as the Black Hand's wealth and their sphere of influence... When Major The Qing was pondering things like this, he was almost an entirely different person compared to his state in battle. He was now excessively desperate for “money,” because just moments ago, he had finally figured out the price of unleashing his life source energy at full force—or at least one aspect of it: it would make him poor! After reaching super, fighting was just too damn expensive! Just now, to chase down the ship, he had erupted with full power once more, and the metal blocks on him had dissolved on their own—sixteen blocks in one go! *Who can afford to fight like this? Paying a price like that, I'd rather lose hair and go bald like God Lü,* Han Qingyu thought, his heart aching. *Crack, crack, crack, crack...* The fissure in the hull grew wider and wider. The two ends began sinking slowly, while the middle section, divided by the crack, was gradually tilting upward. The two men sat on their respective sides without uttering a word. ………… On the shore. Theodore was not dead yet. The bleeding hadn't stopped either, pouring outward from the wound on his chest. When footsteps arrived before him, Theodore slowly raised his head to look. It was the female doctor, along with Second Lieutenant Wen who used a gun, the iron suit... The female doctor walked at the very front. “Not dead yet,” Theodore saw the female doctor turn and say to the other two. “Could it be that you don't want to die?” When their eyes met, the female doctor suddenly asked. *Asking me?* Theodore stared blankly for a second. So, was this mockery and humiliation in his final moments? A bitter smile touched his lips, and he lowered his head to gesture at the wound on his body... “He didn't choose to pierce your heart. Judging from the wound's position, I can still give it a try and keep you alive,” Zhe Qiuhong said calmly. *Stay alive?!* Theodore quickly recalled certain rumors and asked, “The price.” “Privately join the Azure Dragon Gang and follow Major Qing.” “...” “After this battle, you should understand better than anyone else that he is worth following,” Zhe Qiuhong continued. In this instant, hearing her tone, Wen Jifei was somewhat surprised, because Zhe Qiuhong had actually spoken with a touch of anticipation in persuading Theodore—not at all like her usual aloof self. “Then... how can I be trusted? If I were in your shoes, even I wouldn't believe it,” Theodore asked, looking at Zhe Qiuhong as a gleam flared in his eyes. “During the surgery, I will tamper with your internal organs—a little issue that no one but me can solve, which will eventually turn pathological and kill you,” Zhe Qiuhong replied, returning to her emotionless tone. Theodore fell silent for two seconds. “But Shu You won't let me off.” This meant he had accepted Zhe Qiuhong's proposal. After all, he had no other choice. “That is simple... as long as you are 'dead'.” Having said this, Zhe Qiuhong stepped around him and walked toward the shore. Those who had come with her skirted around him as well. Theodore quickly understood. Locking down his life force, he sank into unconsciousness and slowly slumped over. Even so, he had no idea how long he could hold out... “Can he definitely be saved?” Once they had walked a little farther away, Wen Jifei asked curiously in a whisper. “Not necessarily,” Zhe Qiuhong said calmly, gazing out toward the distance across the sea. “Then if you're going to save him, shouldn't you hurry a bit?” “Why hurry? Let nature take its course. It's not like the dying man is one of ours anyway,” Zhe Qiuhong stated placidly. *That actually makes a lot of sense...* Wen Jifei was momentarily tongue-tied before continuing, “So, does that kind of surgery you mentioned really exist?” *If she really possesses methods like that, just how many people has she secretly brought under control?!* Wen Jifei thought to himself, tucking away a bit of vigilance. Zhe Qiuhong turned her head, smiled radiantly, and said, “Guess?” When Zhe Qiuhong didn't want to talk about something, it was impossible to pry it out of her. Wen Jifei chose not to guess, continuing, “By the way, do you think Qingzi really held back?” “Why couldn't it be an error? He just entered the super rank, so his control wasn't precise enough... Isn't that more reasonable to assume?” Zhe Qiuhong countered. “Reasonable,” Wen Jifei nodded. Then he suddenly thought to himself: *Yet ever since coming here, unless absolutely necessary, Qingzi truly has killed fewer and fewer people. Just like how he never liked rounding up a crowd to do things together before, yet here he went and formed the Azure Dragon Gang.* “Maybe he...” Zhe Qiuhong made a guess of her own, wanting to say that perhaps Qingzi had already suffered from the disadvantage of lacking a force of his own. In fact, she had already thought of this earlier; otherwise, she wouldn't have come over to find Theodore and made this superfluous move. Moreover, she did not actually possess that sort of “surgical technique” she spoke of. As for things like timed poisons and antidotes, those seemed to exist only in wuxia novels. Right there on the beach, Zhe Qiuhong didn't finish muttering her thought. “Could it be because of Sean?” Beside them, the iron armor turned to look at Wen Jifei, chiming in, “You told me about Sean's death; you said Qingzi remarked at the time that it was a pity. A full-scale Great Spike invasion seems inevitable, so maybe he feels humanity's high-end combat power is precious? Of course, someone like Alphonse doesn't count as human.” Wen Jifei thought for a moment and said nothing, merely thinking to himself: *Han Qingqing probably isn't quite that noble, Rusty Sister.* “Or perhaps he simply concluded that the Black Hand has wealth hidden in a third place,” Zhe Qiuhong said. “That's the most likely possibility.” ………… Suddenly, a flurry of hurried footsteps came from behind and swept past them. Wen Jifei paused the conversation, turned his head to look, and saw a shiny hemisphere illuminated by the firelight, fringed by flowing hair. “Boss!” he hastily called out. When Boss Dao halted to look at him, he asked, “Boss, what are you doing?” “I'm going to see how A'jing... A'qing, Qingqing, Major Qing is doing!” Dao Dali said with concern, pointing his hand toward the sea. At this moment, across the entire beach, aside from the Azure Dragon Gang members who were still surrounding the Black Hand's forces, everyone else was silently watching the distant sea. Out there, a ship was breaking apart, slowly sinking. The two super combatants sat aboard, with no one knowing what they were discussing, how the talk was going, or whether they might suddenly start fighting. Pang Jinghe was watching as well. Earlier, a sudden gust of wind had swept past behind him, followed by another, so powerful it had nearly dragged him into the sea. By the time he clearly saw that it was a white-haired fellow and Major Qing heading out together to hunt down Alphonse, Pang Jinghe had originally wanted to go as well. But after testing it slightly, he discovered he couldn't seem to leap that far, couldn't reach that wave-cleaving plank... *If I jump out and plunge into the sea with a splash, it'll look humiliating!* He had thought about it then and given up. *Why is it that we're all supers, yet I'm so much worse than them?!* That was the question Pang Jinghe was currently pondering. ………… At roughly the same time, on the ruined ship, Shu You cast another glance at Han Qingyu... probably for the tenth time. Finally unable to help himself, he spoke: “The ship is about to sink.” Han Qingyu was preoccupied with his thoughts and gave a casual nod. “Yeah.” “...Could you have your Huaxian ship come over to pick us up?” Shu You asked in a cold voice. Across the fissure in the hull, Han Qingyu turned his head toward him with a puzzled look. “Hm?” “My people don't have ships.” Shu You turned his head away, refusing to meet his eyes. It was rather embarrassing, but as the de facto master of this city, he truly could not paddle back on a wooden plank or swim back in the sea before so many watching eyes. As for pulling off maneuvers as intense as when they had arrived, that didn't seem appropriate either. “Oh, sure... Fifty metal blocks,” Han Qingyu said from the other side of the fissure.