Directionally Challenged

The three-dimensional apparatus was still humming along when Wen Jifei woke from his stupor. He regained consciousness faster than almost anyone else on the training field had that morning, probably... because he had flipped sides again. "Ayy-ya-ya!" At his very first glance upon opening his eyes, he let out a thoroughly effeminate shriek of fright, curling inward and scrambling backward on all fours, facing upward. He looked just like a decent woman cornered by a ruthless bully. The person crouching before him observing his condition was Zhang Dao'an. Han Qingyu and Milla sat in the distance shelling peanuts, watching with grins. "Scared the life out of me." Having finally caught his breath, Wen Jifei wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, rubbed the side of his head to check for bumps, and looked up. "Old Zhang." Perhaps he didn't even realize it himself, but he had actually addressed Zhang Dao'an as 'Old Zhang.' Han Qingyu and Milla exchanged a silent glance, both slightly impressed. "What is it?" Zhang Dao'an asked naturally. "About my constant flipping issue..." Wen Jifei understood the crux of why he had suddenly spat blood and fainted. Worried, he asked, "Does this mean I actually can't wear the armor at all?" Zhang Dao'an looked at him and shook his head. "No. It's only like this the first time... In the future, even if it flips to the F side, at most you'll feel a bit weaker or temporarily unable to sense source energy. You won't cough up blood and pass out." "...That's a relief." Wen Jifei let out a long sigh of relief. Reaching out, he clapped Zhang Dao'an on the shoulder and said with deep feeling, "You're the only one who cares about me, Old Zhang." With that, he cast a resentful glance at the two shelling peanuts in the distance. After all that commotion, by the time Han Qingyu went to the locker room to change, not many people were left. A grayish-black hooded trench coat had been placed on top of his locker. Judging by the texture, it seemed leathery, yet it didn't look like an ordinary leather coat, nor did it have any sheen. It felt as though it had been deliberately distressed, soft yet tough to the touch. He asked around and learned that it was the autumn uniform issued just today. The sudden reminder made him realize that without noticing, it was indeed almost mid-October. It had been nearly two months since he left home. His parents' reply had not yet arrived; because his posting had changed again, there was no telling where the letter was being rerouted. Furthermore, he didn't know if they had received the ten thousand yuan he had sent later, whether their minds were at ease, or if they were in good health. "This is great... check it out." Right then and there, He Tangtang threw on the autumn coat to show it off. The three-dimensional apparatus went on the inside, with the gray trench coat on the outside. Pulling up the hood covered him almost completely, making him look like an assassin. Compared to the summer uniform, it gave off a cooler, more mysterious, and more mature vibe. "When the time comes, you just whip off the trench coat like this... fire up the apparatus, draw your blade, and charge in to kill. Tsk, that's such a great feeling," Liu Shiheng said with satisfaction. "You could wear this whole outfit to pick up girls in Gangcheng." "Wait, what about the sword? If the sword goes inside too, wouldn't it stick out and make you look like a hunchback?" As he spoke, he flipped the trench coat over to inspect it and soon found several right-angle iron brackets riveted to the back. Structurally, they seemed designed precisely to hold a dead iron straight sword in place. Just as before: slung diagonally across the back, with the hilt rising over the right shoulder. "What if someone is left-handed? I've even seen officers who seem to use dual blades..." He Tangtang gestured as he spoke; drawing a sword over the right shoulder with the left hand was indeed awkward. "Didn't any of you read the notice posted by the door?" An unfamiliar recruit nearby gestured with his chin and said, "Left-handed wielders can apply for alterations to the coat... Later on, carrying dual blades will probably be an option too." "Is that so?" He Tangtang pondered for a moment and asked, "Then what if I want to carry eight swords in the future?" The guy's questions seemed endless and unpredictable. Visualizing the scene, Han Qingyu felt like laughing. "Then you'd have an iron-ribbed folding fan opening up right on your back... What, are you planning to pelt Great Spikes to death with them? ...All right, let's go eat." Three days later, Han Qingyu was among the first batch to receive their dead iron straight swords alongside their apparatuses, officially beginning combat training. Day followed day in this manner, and more than ten days slipped by in the blink of an eye. ... Outside a clothing store display window on a small-town street, Xin Yaoqiao checked her reflection against the darkened glass. She raised a hand to smooth her slightly messy hair, adjusted the straps of her worn backpack, and smiled happily. Right now, she looked entirely like an ordinary girl traveling alone to find relatives and work, her face even smudged with dust. Wrapped in an oversized black coat zipped all the way up to her chin, the three-dimensional apparatus worn inside was concealed completely. For more than ten days, she hadn't dared to drive, nor dared to take Azure routes or Azure vehicles. Even when staying in inns or riding long-distance buses, she had to stay on guard against being spotted by the Cleansing Faction while dodging her grandfather's search parties... She felt she had suffered terribly. "I hope it's love at first sight... otherwise this long journey across thousands of li will have been for nothing," the girl mused to herself as she strolled along the street with great interest. Then she thought: "What if he isn't actually that good-looking, or turns out to be annoying and I don't like him... Or what if I like him and he dares not to like me back... I'll beat him up." "Mm, that's what I'll do." A moment later, Xin Yaoqiao had a small transparent plastic bowl in her hand. Inside were fried sheet jelly bits, which looked dark and crumbly after being tossed with seasonings. Yet it smelled wonderfully fragrant. Spearing a piece with a toothpick, she tilted her head back and popped it into her mouth, careful not to let it wobble off... Some seasoning stuck to the corner of her lips as she ate; instead of wiping it away with her hand, she caught it with the tip of her tongue before spearing another piece. "Hmm... so where am I right now?" Xin Yaoqiao suddenly realized a problem. She turned and surveyed the unfamiliar small-town street in the dusk. She tried her best to recall the map memorized in her mind... After taking such a massive detour, this time she really should be close to the Ninth Army. But where was she supposed to go next? Where? ...Could it be that no one is truly perfect, that even a genius pretty girl like me has a weakness? Could it be... that I'm actually directionally challenged?! "Nonsense, of course she has no sense of direction... When she was little, she got lost in the No. 2 Institute base several times, did you forget? She couldn't find her school and couldn't find her way home." Qu Zhongshi tried his best not to worry. Comforting his daughter over the phone, he was reassuring himself as well: "Don't worry, nothing will happen to her... Trust me, our Qiaoqiao just got lost, that's all. We all forgot about this before; after all, we rarely let her go outside." "Besides, over on the Ninth Army's side, I've already instructed the army commander to wait for her with his confidants... Don't panic, don't panic." His daughter hesitated on the other end. "Can't we really dispatch a few more people to look for her?" "We really don't dare send more people. Even over at the Ninth Army, I only notified Lu Wuzheng, the army commander, and told him to keep quiet about it." Qu Zhongshi felt stifled and helpless. "We all know Azure has been infiltrated. Even if it hadn't... stirring up a commotion might only put Qiaoqiao in danger. Right now, no commotion and no news is actually the best news." Father and daughter hung up. Qu Zhongshi did not leave his office, remaining seated to wait for word. Meanwhile, standing on the street, Xin Yaoqiao suddenly muttered to herself, "Looks like I have to check the map..." She actually had a map; she had just felt that a genius's memory shouldn't rely on constantly checking it. "Mm, I'll check it once I leave town." With that, she quietly left the street and exited the town... Standing by the roadside, she looked around for a moment, then plunged straight into the woods along the road. Walking. Walking. Shhk! The instant she came to a halt, two customized dead iron combat sabers slid from her backpack into her hands. Back turned to them, Xin Yaoqiao's presence shifted abruptly. "Come out." In truth, the girl had already activated the three-dimensional apparatus on her body back on the street when a tractor rumbled past. Through vibrations, pacing, and breathing, she had already gauged the strength of the three people trailing her; they weren't capable of stopping her. ...In that case, it was better to just kill them.