On the derelict ship, Shu You and Han Qingyu were both standing now, as more and more of the hull was sinking beneath the surface.
Their gazes, drawn toward the beach by the gunshots, were pulled back almost simultaneously, and they exchanged a glance.
"So you knew we were here right from the moment we arrived?" Han Qingyu asked.
Shu You looked away and gave a very impatient nod. He had already explained just now: not only was he aware of the arrival of Han Qingyu and his crew, but on that very same day, he had received a letter.
The letter did not ask him to look after them—such a request would have been pointless anyway, as the sender wasn't familiar with him, let alone a friend.
Yet the underlying message of that letter was blatant: it was a threat.
There were not many people in this world capable of threatening Shu You, and fewer still who could make him heed them.
The writer of that letter happened to be one of them.
To convey gravity, the letter seemed to have been written by hand, though the English letters on the paper looked like the painstaking tracing of a child copying from an exercise book.
"If that's the case, why didn't you help out when we were almost hacked to death just now?" Han Qingyu asked, suddenly rather disgruntled.
Shu You turned his head in annoyance and glared at him. For a moment, the urge to cut him down flared up once more... Fighting to compose himself, the strongest man in the City of Iniquity said coldly:
"Why should I help? All I promised was that I wouldn't kill you within two years. Me not killing you doesn't mean you can't die."
At the same time, he raged internally: *Did you think that just because I, the supreme boss of the City of Iniquity, was threatened by Chen Buer, I'd just bow my head and grovel? Do I not have any face to keep?!*
"Oh." Han Qingyu nodded, lapsing into silence.
Time ticked by... The hull sank another few inches.
"So, you're still determined to charge me?" Shu You took the initiative to ask, helpless.
"Can't help it. It's an official ship, not my personal property," Han Qingyu explained. He then looked down at the water. "Boss Shu You, it seems you need to make up your mind quickly."
Shu You looked down and took a deep breath, then another... *If I had known this guy was such a shameless prick, I would've defied Chen Buer's threat to the death!*
*I really want to hack him to pieces...*
Suddenly, the hull shuddered violently, and its sinking accelerated.
"Call the boat," Shu You finally said.
He didn't look at Han Qingyu as he spoke.
"Well, as a rule, you pay the fare before you board the vehicle. For the boat... cash up front," Han Qingyu said from the side.
"..." Shu You's grip on his blade tightened sharply. "I didn't bring any metal blocks. But rest assured, my word is my bond."
"Well, all right then." Resigned, Han Qingyu turned and discreetly signaled to the Azure ship near the shore.
...The boat moved.
The two of them turned around, sheathed their blades, and stood on opposite sides, appearing calm and collected.
"Don't breathe a word about this," Shu You suddenly spoke up again just before the boat reached them.
Han Qingyu turned his head. "What? What can't be told?"
"About me paying you metal blocks."
"Oh, that. Don't worry, Boss Shu You," Han Qingyu replied.
And silence fell once more.
Only when the two were about to board the boat did Shu You speak up again:
"Once the two years are up, if you haven't left... I will definitely cut you down."
"I truly hope you haven't left by then."
...
"Allow me to introduce him: this is our Huaxian super combat power, Old Crab."
"Old Crab, this is Saul You, rank seven on the Dome Leaderboard and the boss of the City of Iniquity. Though us Huaxians are used to calling him Shu You."
At a corner of the bow, Shu You heard footsteps followed by Han Qingyu's voice, and he turned around with a blank look.
*Why is he here again?! I just said I really want to kill you, didn't you hear me?!* Shu You thought in exasperation. He merely cast a glance their way, refusing to reply or acknowledge the overly enthusiastic greeting from that Huaxian super.
"It's fine, Old Pang. Boss Shu You was wounded earlier, so talking might be too exhausting for him." Han Qingyu first ushered Pang Jinghe away.
This fellow had suddenly claimed to be a super, but when Han Qingyu gave him an experimental shove, he had nearly shoved him into the sea...
However, after some thought, he decided to let Old Pang keep this "super" identity for the time being.
One set of footsteps faded away.
Shu You realized Han Qingyu hadn't left.
"Hey, Boss Shu You, you know about the grudge between me and Alphonse, right? Speaking of which, how did you end up making an enemy of that old dog?!" Han Qingyu walked over, resting his hand on the railing as he asked.
Shu You slowly turned his head to look at him. And in that look...
"I'm sorry," Han Qingyu said sincerely.
For in that single glance, the grief and hatred in Shu You's eyes were beyond anything Han Qingyu could fathom.
Shu You's gaze shifted as he looked at Han Qingyu, then turned back without a word.
Decades ago, when Alphonse abruptly resigned from his post in the Coalition to garrison the Third Fixed Exploration Site, he had probably learned from somewhere about the existence of something extraordinary, and set out to find it.
It was merely a guess; Shu You did not know what it was.
Yet evidently, the Third Fixed Exploration Site had not yielded what Alphonse sought.
And so came the later expedition to Antarctica.
The squad containing Shu You, his girlfriend, and his brother was ordered to accompany the fleet, scouring over half of Antarctica on Alphonse's behalf.
Alphonse must have discovered something there—the very thing he had been hunting for—yet after attempting to seize it, he had been unable to succeed.
To that end, Alphonse began using his own personal retinue to conduct that sinister ritual, sealing people into the refining apparatus to provide life source energy... Perhaps he believed that with sufficiently immense life source energy, he could obtain that object.
A warrior aboard the ship Shu You was on witnessed the scene by accident.
He fled back, describing what he had seen in sheer terror to the others...
Alphonse arrived hot on his heels with his men, and everyone aboard the entire ship was slaughtered.
Shu You was the sole survivor. Having witnessed it all, he waited until nightfall and finally found an opportunity to leap from the ship into the pitch-black, freezing waters.
Swimming on and on, he reached the Antarctic glaciers, traversed Antarctica, and made his way off the ice.
Back then, he was merely an ordinary warrior with a Grade B degree of fusion.
Shu You originally intended to return to the Coalition to report the atrocities.
However, by the time he made his way back, the official verdict from the Coalition had already been established: Alphonse had reported that the ship sank in Antarctica, with all hands lost.
What's more, the moment he showed his face, people began hunting him down—including the very general he had sought out. Alphonse already knew someone from that ship had survived.
After escaping, with nowhere left to turn, Shu You fought through desperate odds and eventually arrived at the City of Iniquity.
What followed was another story: after scraping by and enduring humiliation for several years, Shu You was forced to fight on one occasion, only to discover that he had become inexplicably powerful.
He realized he might have acquired the very thing Alphonse had ultimately failed to obtain in Antarctica.
Over the ensuing years of scrambling, killing, and fighting, Shu You's combat prowess grew at an insane pace until he rose to become the number one on the assassin rankings, the strongest man in the City of Iniquity, withstood a slash from Chen Buer, and stepped onto the Dome Leaderboard.
After that, his explosive growth abruptly ceased, and he entered a long plateau.
For the next ten years, Shu You's combat strength progressed slowly.
Only in recent years had things improved slightly because he had obtained a few unusual items—though it was only a slight improvement.
...
The boat soon reached the shore; they hadn't been far off to begin with.
As they prepared to disembark, Shu You said:
"You seem to be searching for something, aren't you? The people you've been looking for—I've met them all... So, I'm guessing the thing you're after is in my hands."
Han Qingyu: "..."
Hack him down or call him 'bro'?
Or run?
Running seemed unnecessary. The guy actually had decent character—at least, he kept his promises. So before the two years were up, they should be safe.
"I have six pieces," Shu You gave a cool smirk and added, "Besides, regarding how to divide Black Hand's sphere of influence... tomorrow—no, the day after tomorrow. The day after tomorrow, I'll summon the other two factions, and we'll discuss it together."
With that, he stepped off the boat, carrying his blade across his back as he calmly walked through the crowd under everyone's watchful eyes.
Chapter 506