May 10.
When Qin Guowen returned from the helipad at dusk, he brought back Regimental Commander Yang Wudong of Regiment 439.
Lao Jian stood at the doorway, but forgot to make a sound, looking immediately to Qin Guowen for a sign.
Qin Guowen gave a slight, subtle shake of his head.
"What's this? Looking at your sour mug, it's like you're not happy to see me! Let me tell you, I was just inspecting our regiment's defense sector and happened to be in the neighborhood."
They were old acquaintances, so Yang Wudong joked in his usual rough-and-tumble manner, casting a glance around.
"Where's Li Wangqiang? How come he's not here yet?! He wouldn't be staying away out of sheer embarrassment because seeing you get married reminded him nobody wants him, would he?"
"Welcome, welcome, Regimental Commander Yang. Our commander sent a telegram saying he won't be able to make it until tomorrow."
Lao Jian hurried over to greet him, thinking to himself: *You two old romantic rivals had better stop mocking each other. Neither of you has any room to talk!*
Whereas he was different now. He was in a position to mock them both.
The guest rooms had already been cleared out and prepared since morning. Lao Jian showed Yang Wudong the way, chatting as they walked:
"Even though our Regimental Commander Li isn't here yet, quite a few folks have already arrived. You definitely know them all, Commander Yang, so you won't be short on partners for drinking or cards..."
"What about those boys?" Yang Wudong asked out of the blue.
"Ah? Who?"
"Don't play dumb. Han Qingyu and his bunch! How could you be getting married as their own captain and none of them come back?!"
After barking fiercely, Yang Wudong suddenly raised his head to gaze into the distance, letting out a slow sigh.
"Sigh. I still remember the year he took his degree of fusion test and came up Grade A. I even gave him a kick back then. And now, just four or five years later, he's a super combat power, on the Dome List, and has left Azure."
...
May 11, the day of the wedding.
Starting early in the morning, guests arrived by plane and by vehicle from all directions. Among them were people from the medical station, from the Rejecters, captains from other squads, officers at the regimental level...
Both the Golden Eraser and the White Eraser of the Ninth Army sent representatives bearing red envelopes on behalf of Shao Xuan and Wei Jiang.
There was also the Long Blade Squad from the Sixth Army, and many others.
Truth be told, Captain Lao commanded far more respect and prestige than his rank and post would suggest.
First, he had been in Azure for over ten years just as a captain, so he knew a tremendous number of people.
Second, Squad 1777 was special.
Everyone across the entire Huaxia Front knew in their hearts that, if not for that incident three years ago, 1777 would have long since become a color Eraser—perhaps even the single strongest elite squad in the entire army corps.
As people recalled, back then they had seemingly planned to be called the Crimson Eraser.
Today, those few names stood at the very center of the storm throughout the entire source energy world, and Squad 1777 was undeniably the last and greatest connection Azure still retained with them.
So when many people came this time, they held a sliver of hope in their hearts.
Yet nothing came of it.
Those names did not appear.
"Something might have held them up," Qin Guowen whispered, stepping up beside Lao Jian while the guests chatted. "There are still two hours left."
"Yeah."
Hardly had Lao Jian answered when a sudden clamor arose among the guests. Almost every pair of eyes turned in unison toward the entrance of the station.
"What happened? Who... who's here?!"
The groom stammered in his excitement, squeezing forward through the crowd alongside Qin Guowen.
After finally forcing their way through, they saw over thirty pretty young women standing at the garrison gates, craning their necks and standing on tiptoe to look around.
The outreach troupe from Research Institute 2 had arrived.
In the Huaxia Front, these girls were essentially the equivalent of celebrities in the ordinary world. The sudden uproar, excitement, and buzz among the guests were all on account of their arrival.
"Congratulations, Captain Lao." Nie Xiaozhen offered her congratulations and presented a gift, saying, "This is from Yaoyao—er, Major Xin Yaoqiao of Institute 2 asked us to bring it. She wishes Captain Lao a happy marriage and a lifetime together to a ripe old age."
"Thank you. You've had a long journey," Lao Jian said as he accepted it, slightly awkward and formal.
"Don't mention it, Captain Lao!" Nie Xiaozhen lowered her heels, hesitating in a lowered voice. "Um, Captain Lao... did the former members of your squad not come back this time?"
"Ah, no." Lao Jian gave a wry smile, thinking: *Why do you have to ask? My own heart is already breaking.*
"...That's good, then!" Nie Xiaozhen forced a smile and said, "It's best they didn't come back. If they were here, we'd have to kick them out during our performance anyway. We've got a score to settle with a certain someone among them."
And so, only after the girls of the outreach troupe had all gone inside to rest did the scene finally settle down.
Turning around, Lao Jian froze for a moment.
More accurately, most of the guests present froze for a moment.
There were a dozen or so more people standing in a cluster at the gate.
"Regimental Commander?! Commander, when did you get here?" Lao Jian hurried over, blurting out.
"Li Wangqiang, you finally made it!" Yang Wudong shouted as well.
The crowd warmly called out greetings.
"Heh!" Regimental Commander Li sneered at them. "I arrived about the same time as the outreach troupe girls. I've been standing here forever, you bunch of bastards... Hurry up and pay your respects to the old army commander!"
With that, Li Wangqiang took a step back, revealing a white-haired elder standing behind him.
The elder was named Shen Fengting, the retired former commander of the Ninth Army. He also held another identity: he was the grandfather of Squad 1777's Second Lieutenant Shen Yixiu.
Of course, what the outside world knew far better was the suit of iron armor in Han Qingyu's crew—the female warrior who stood at the absolute peak of the top tier, though no one had ever seen what lay beneath the steel.
"Old Army Commander!" "Old Army Commander!" A chorus of voices rang out across the grounds.
"Aye! I had nothing better to do at home by myself, so I tagged along to join the festivities," Shen Fengting replied with an explanation, looking around in all directions at the place where his granddaughter had once lived and fought.
This was his first time visiting Squad 1777's station, but sadly, his granddaughter had already been gone for three years... The old man did his best to keep his emotions in check.
Because behind him, Tu Zi was following along, wearing a cap pulled low over his brow.
"My red envelope." Having finally paid off the debts he had racked up years ago to "feed" his granddaughter, Shen Fengting handed over a red envelope. It was thick.
Then he pulled another one from his other pocket and said, "This one is from the Front Commander and the Chief of the General Staff."
The crowd gasped in awe.
A red envelope from the Front Commander! Captain Lao's prestige was reaching the heavens.
However, this second red envelope looked rather thin...
"Don't get your hopes up. Old Man Chen's red envelope has twenty Huaxia currency notes at most," Shen Fengting said with a chuckle, exposing the truth.
A burst of laughter rippled through the crowd.
"Captain Lao, Captain Lao!" Amid the bustling crowd, several female soldiers from the squad ran over and tugged at Lao Jian's clothes. "Captain Lao, why haven't you changed yet?!"
"Hurry and change! It's almost time to fetch the bride."
"Oh, right, I'll go right now." Lao Jian cast a few final glances in all directions, feeling a pang of disappointment.
It seemed they really weren't going to make it.
...
If one viewed the training ground as an athletic field, Squad 1777's station was structured much like a small school.
Surrounding the field, two sides were enclosed by perimeter walls, while the other two sides were bounded by a building and a review stand.
The wedding banquet tables were set out on the field, packed with guests numbering just over two hundred. Eighty percent of them, as was customary in Azure, wore their devices and carried their blades on their backs.
And the place where the bride was to be received was the building on the side facing the mountain.
Back when Shang Nianhua had been captured and brought back by Han Qingyu and the others, she had been held in that very building. Today, she still lived there, and from there she would be wed.
The first long string of celebratory firecrackers went off.
Under the simplified ceremony, the bride came straight down the stairs dressed in a traditional red cheongsam. Walking behind to see her off was Que Qingshang, who had by now forgiven her "mother."
The groom was dressed in a suit, wearing his device, carrying his blade, and sporting a corsage, walking hand in hand beside his bride.
Amid applause and cheers, the two stepped onto the red carpet laid out before the review stand.
Outside the gate, another long string of firecrackers began to crackle...
"Crack-crack-crack-pop..."
"Crack-crack-crack-pop..."
"Whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
Chapter 556