Let's Go Chop That Strange Great Spike to Death

"Milla's having her official surgery now. Aren't you going to go see?" When Rusty Sister asked this, Han Qingyu was circling around, stroking that Swordfish-class source energy aircraft. "Hm?" Han Qingyu turned his head, his gaze briefly puzzled. "Go see what?" "Well, to encourage Milla." "Silly girl. Milla's under general anesthesia. If we encourage her, could she even hear us?" Han Qingyu rolled his eyes at her, turning back around as he added, "Besides, I can't be of any help if I go. Don't worry, Doctor Zhe said she's confident." Shen Yixiu: "..." Han Green Snake truly was a cold-blooded creature after all. "By the way, once Plague Chicken and Wu Xu get back with the apparatus, I want to take a trip home and fly this over. You want to come?" Han Qingyu suddenly turned back and asked. "Huh?" The question came so abruptly that Rusty Sister froze for a second, pointing at herself. "Me?" "Yeah. All of you together, everyone goes." "But I..." Helpless, Rusty Sister shifted with a few clacks, implying: *In this sheet-iron shell of mine, how could I go?* "It's fine, I've already got it figured out. I'll just tell my mom you're a mine-clearing robot from the army, not a living person. You just have to keep quiet. If you really want to talk, speak in that robotic tone from the movies." Rusty Sister: "..." "Think it's too far-fetched? Relax, my mom will believe it. My mom believes anything," Han Qingyu said. "...Qingzi." "Yeah?" "Auntie must have beaten you a lot when you were little, right?" "Yeah." Han Qingyu looked at her. "How did you know?" "Because if I were your mom, I'd definitely beat you every single day." *** "Uncle Ne, how about you give me general anesthesia first? Knock me out before you kill me, give me a quick end." In the small blue-glass chapel, Liu Shiheng tried his best to stay calm as he spoke to the empty air around him. The device had originally been stolen out of worry and sent off so Qingzi could wear it when fighting Alphonse. In the end, Ye Jian botched the delivery; by the time it arrived, the battle had already finished. Fortunately, the intelligence sent back by Snow Lotus reported that they won... Winning was all that mattered. As for the theft of the device, Ne already knew about it. "I never said I was going to kill you." Ne's voice carried a hint of amusement. "..." Young Master Shiheng was taken aback. Not overly thrilled, nor overtly suspicious, he asked, "Then what about Alice? I haven't seen her today..." Alice was the female secretary's name—most likely a code name. It was only with her help that Liu Shiheng had managed to steal the device. Young Master Shiheng's tone was somewhat tense and anxious. Ne did not answer right away. In the silence, *tap, tap...* The sound of high heels clicking against the glass floor rang out behind him, at the chapel entrance. Flowers were blooming on flower stands trailing down from the windowsills. Bathed in the light spilling into the chapel—whether sunlight or special illumination—Alice walked over and stood amidst it, smiling radiantly as she said: "Thank you for worrying about me. Thank you for always being so warm, my Young Master Shiheng. But please don't worry—I was only running a little late because I went to brew some tea for you." Alice leaned down, gently set down the teapot, poured a cup for Liu Shiheng, and then stepped back to stand at his side. Another brief silence fell. "Does Young Master Shiheng have nothing he wants to ask?" Ne spoke. "I do." Liu Shiheng nodded, then turned his head to look at Alice. "So, you were the one who told Alice to help me?" "Correct," Ne said. "Why?" In that moment, myriad possibilities crossed Liu Shiheng's mind: maybe Ne wanted to use this to show goodwill and recruit Han Qingyu; maybe there was actually a flaw in the device; maybe Ne had fallen in love with him... Well, ideally Alice was actually his daughter, and it was Alice who had fallen in love with him. "Because I reasoned that your friends would ultimately bring the device out and share it with Azure, wouldn't they? And then the fighting forces of this world would gradually all be equipped with tenth-generation devices..." Ne said. "Is there something wrong with the device?" Liu Shiheng interrupted, anxious. "No. If there were, Azure would definitely detect it. Do not underestimate their scientific research capabilities, nor should you mythologize me." "Then why do it?" "Because I would have released the new device sooner or later anyway. Giving it out like this now makes both you and your friends rather happy, doesn't it? Therefore, you may consider it a gesture toward our friendship," Ne said with a laugh. Liu Shiheng: "...You want to give it to all of humanity?!" "Indeed. Have I not always been doing so? Take the ninth generation, for instance—Azure making a few modifications cannot change the fact that it is my creation." "Why?!" *Damn you,* Liu Shiheng thought. *Aren't you supposed to be a villain?! Don't tell me you were just pretending all along.* "Because... if humanity is wiped out without even the power to fight back, how could it truly be considered an apocalyptic catastrophe? Only with struggle does it become interesting." Ne paused, then added, "And only then will the state of affairs I wish to see come to pass." In that moment, Liu Shiheng did not know what to say. Cursing him felt wrong; praising him felt wrong too... In the end, Liu Shiheng asked, "What kind of state of affairs? What kind of situation do you want to see?" "An age of splendor." Ne spoke those two words, then continued, "That concludes this topic. In short, please put your mind at ease, Young Master Shiheng, and continue living here in peace... Ideally, your friendship with me, as well as your friendship with Alice, will remain as before." Liu Shiheng: "..." "Speaking of which, Young Master Shiheng, you've actually rendered a great service to Azure this time, haven't you? If they knew you risked your life to steal the device from me." When Ne said that, Liu Shiheng caught on immediately: "You!" "Rest assured, they do not know for now. One day, when I wish for your friends to come here, they will find out." "..." A profound sense of powerlessness left Liu Shiheng speechless. "Soon," Ne continued. As his voice fell, the chapel ceiling opened, and something extraordinarily massive and heavy seemed to open in tandem with it. The air instantly turned frigid. Liu Shiheng looked up, his eyes widening... Starting several hundred meters above, an endless, breathtaking glacier entered his sight like a crystal dome. *** Several thousand meters up the glacier. Freezing winds lashed against travelers, carrying grit of ice and snow. In truth, due to more than two consecutive years of warfare, glaciers across many areas of Antarctica had sustained severe damage. More and more soil was exposed, and polar animals had lost their habitats. To this, the media told the public that severe natural disasters were striking Antarctica. Yet this was deep within the glaciers. "You know, that guy even chopped Alphonse to death. Word is he had help, but he really did hack him down. On top of that, he got himself a pretty reporter girlfriend." Pegmont walked through the ice and snow. Together with the friend at his side, he had just secretly slipped past the blockade line set up by Azure and arrived here. The freezing wind scattered his voice. His pink hair was dusted with snow and ice, making him look like a flower blooming amidst winter drifts. "Hm?" Makarov held a source energy sniper rifle in his arms and turned his head to look at him. "I said, I only just reached super, and I don't even have a girlfriend," Pegmont said. "As the world's greatest genius, the gap between me and him seems to be getting bigger and bigger." "Yeah," Makarov nodded. Pegmont glared at him, clearly dissatisfied with his calm demeanor, and remarked sarcastically, "Your gap seems pretty huge too. I mean the gap between you and Second Lieutenant Wen. The crown of the God of Guns rests on his head now." "Yeah. It's an issue with the gun." Makarov gestured with the rifle in his hands. He was one of the snipers specially selected after Azure invented source energy firearms. However, the weapon in his hands—the "Perfect Woman"—had only fired a single source energy bullet to date. Coordinating with Pegmont, that bullet had slain a Red Shoulder. "No, it's an issue of battle achievements," Pegmont insisted. "The latest news says that when Second Lieutenant Wen fired his very first source energy bullet back in the day, he seemed to have killed a super combat power all on his own, not to mention everything that followed. Meanwhile, Makarov, you still don't have any achievements you can truly show off. At this rate, the Alliance won't give you any of the remaining guns, and I doubt you'd have the nerve to beg those people to build you a gun just like Second Lieutenant Wen's." "...True," Makarov admitted. "So let's go chop that strange Great Spike to death, and then head back and find a war correspondent for a girlfriend!" Pegmont said excitedly.