Night, Siberia. In a wooded valley near Lake Baikal, the military tents of Stream Vanguard were pitched in dense clusters across the terrain.
A few faint whistles of source energy drifted in on the night wind.
Someone was heading this way!
"Did you all hear that?" Inside one of the tents, He Tangtang abruptly shot to his feet, pointing at his ear with a wary expression. "It wouldn't be the old man barging in to kill us, would it?!"
Chen Buer barging in to kill them? Wen Jifei thought about it for a moment. "Knowing the old man's usual rotten character... it's really not impossible."
After all, that stockpile of supplies was by no means a small sum.
"Then what do we do?" Iron armor clattered and clicked as Rusty Sister turned left and right. "How about we give the stuff back to him?"
At this moment, Han Qingyu was still lying unconscious on the bed.
"Give it back?! I say we just prop Qingzi up, get ready... and hack him to pieces!" He Tangtang cautiously suggested.
The remaining few shrank back together, drawing in a sharp breath. Had Comrade He Tangtang grown so conceited that he dared think of this? That was Chen Buer...
"All right, prop me up and let me try," the one in bed murmured, leisurely opening his eyes.
Amid a burst of low chuckles, whoosh! The tent flap was pushed open.
Zhe Qiuhong stood at the entrance, puffing with anger. Having overheard their conversation just now, she glared straight at them. "So you didn't just forget that I hadn't come back yet, did you?!"
"We didn't forget, we remembered. But they said you might've been held hostage," Rusty Sister said.
They thought I might have been taken hostage? At least they still had some conscience. Zhe Qiuhong turned her head and asked curiously, "And then?"
"Then Plague Chicken said that since you wouldn't be in any danger anyway, we might as well leave first."
"..." Zhe Qiuhong froze for two seconds, then stomped forward and kicked Wen Jifei flat onto the floor.
Chen Buer had never intended to detain her, probably because he had known from the start that holding her was useless—it wouldn't get anything back anyway.
The reason she was back so late was actually because she had acted shamelessly and refused to leave, hoping to give Chen Buer a more thorough medical examination, or rather, conduct scientific research on him.
"The Legion Commander refused! Concealing his illness and refusing medical care!" Zhe Qiuhong said rather dejectedly.
"Nonsense, who would agree... who would dare?" He Tangtang chimed in.
"Piss off, I clearly had good intentions." Zhe Qiuhong was still fuming, but paused, remembering to turn around. "Oh right, the Legion Commander had people send me back, and today's little translator tagged along too."
Looking as though he was still only fifteen or sixteen, Tu Zi sheepishly poked his head in from the entrance and waved. "Brother Qingzi, Brother Plague Chicken, Brother Wu Xu..."
Looking at him and hearing him speak, he suddenly seemed very well-behaved and obedient, not at all like the excited, out-of-control boy on the battlefield earlier today.
"Right, so the Legion Commander is definitely not coming over to kill us, right?" Wen Jifei asked uneasily.
"Definitely not. Several councilors from the Coalition came and dragged him into a meeting. The Legion Commander is demanding compensation for combat losses from them, and the troops are preparing to pull out at dawn," Tu Zi said.
"What about you?" Han Qingyu leaned up slightly and asked weakly.
"I'm going back with them."
"That's good. I thought you wanted to come with us," Han Qingyu said.
Tu Zi's excited expression instantly crumbled. "..."
"Don't be sad! What I meant was, we really need you to stay in the Rejecters to help us. In our hearts, we've long considered you one of us," Han Qingyu explained.
One of them! If he was one of them, did he still have to return the source energy blocks?
Tu Zi thought about it, decisively choosing not to bring that up on his own.
"Yeah, that's what I thought too, which is why I ran over to see you guys." Tu Zi rubbed his hands together. "Brother Qingzi, when you guys go to kill Alphonse, be careful. Today's news will definitely spread, and I'm worried things will get very troublesome."
"I know," Han Qingyu nodded solemnly.
Once word of today's events spread, it would inevitably make Alphonse even more cautious and guarded, and it was very likely to invite Azure's intervention and obstruction. Han Qingyu and Wen Jifei were well aware of this; openly stating it in public earlier had also been a way to test Azure's stance.
Mentioning Old Dog Alphonse made the atmosphere turn a bit solemn.
"Oh right, I have another piece of good news." Tu Zi smiled, meeting their gazes. "It's about Squad 1777. Brother Qingzi, didn't you ask me to keep an eye on 1777 for you? For the past three years, I've checked on them every day."
"What happened to 1777?"
"Captain Lao is getting married. He submitted an application, and the Ninth Army has already approved it," Tu Zi said.
"Oh, to whom?" He Tangtang asked.
"A woman named Shang Nianhua... What, you guys didn't know?"
"We know her. We only asked in case he swapped brides."
As soon as He Tangtang finished speaking, cheerful laughter erupted in the tent.
That guy Lao Jian was finally getting married. An old iron tree blossoming at forty-three, and marrying a great beauty at that—it was truly cause for celebration.
"But Captain Lao seemed dissatisfied with the date the army approved. He filed another application asking for a postponement so he could reschedule. He even asked the army if there was any news about you guys..." Tu Zi said, glancing at them.
The joking in the tent ceased, giving way to silence.
For nearly three years, they hadn't sent a single message back to Lao Jian or the squad.
Carrying military duties as they did, it was quite complicated for an Azure outpost squad to hold a wedding at their base. Especially for the wedding of a veteran squad leader with a history like Lao Jian, people from both the regiment and the army would surely attend, and some of his old comrades-in-arms would likely come... In short, setting a date required coordination on all fronts to ensure operational duties weren't disrupted.
"What date was set?" Han Qingyu broke the silence.
"May eleventh."
"Oh, then there are nineteen days left..." Han Qingyu pondered for a moment, glanced at the others around him, then turned back and said, "We can make it. When you get back, help contact Captain Lao and pass along the message. Tell him to prepare with an easy mind—the wedding goes ahead as scheduled. We'll definitely be there."
Tu Zi smiled. "Yeah."
"But don't tell the Legion Commander. And tell Captain Lao not to mention it to the army or the regiment beforehand either, or it might get troublesome. Keep it completely secret in advance—we'll attend the wedding and leave right after."
Wen Jifei added from the side.
"Don't worry, I understand." Tu Zi nodded.
Major Qing returning to the Sole Witness Legion, even if merely to attend a wedding, was a monumental event—Tu Zi naturally understood that.
If word got out in advance, Squad 1777's outpost base might not even be able to fit everyone, the entire Southwest Region might be thrown into chaos, and the Second Research Institute might turn upside down as well.
Tu Zi thought to himself: whatever happens, I have to go too.
...
Around the same time, in another military tent.
While Han Qingyu and the others were chatting with Tu Zi, Zhe Qiuhong came over and unbandaged Milla's left arm to examine it once more, preparing to provide further treatment once they returned to the medical bay on the ship.
Treated on the battlefield, the arm had long stopped hurting, though it felt numb. Seeing Zhe Qiuhong stand up, Milla's eyes followed her, asking anxiously:
"How is it, Doctor Zhe? Can I recover?"
"Of course," Zhe Qiuhong said.
"I mean, can I recover enough to use a gun?" Milla asked gingerly. "A source energy firearm, firing continuously."
She already knew the secret of Wen Jifei's gun. For them, it was like a dream completely realized, yet she might fall right at the threshold of that dream coming true.
Zhe Qiuhong looked up at her, silent for a moment.
"I can't?" Milla asked.
"Your physique is too terri—ordinary, and this is an old injury on top of a new one," Zhe Qiuhong said. "With conservative treatment, you can recover enough to lead a normal everyday life. And then..."
"So, Doctor Zhe, you have a non-conservative method?" Milla keenly picked up on what Zhe Qiuhong was holding back.
"...Yes. I could attempt a special surgery to completely reconstruct it for you, but if it fails..." Zhe Qiuhong paused. "The cost is that you will lose your entire arm."
She wanted to say that given Milla's physique and degree of fusion, the probability of failure was very high, she didn't want to perform it, and Han Qingyu would certainly never agree.
"All right." Milla cradled her arm and stood up.
Chapter 548