Who Doesn't Have a Scoundrel by Their Side?

"U-us?" The Lord Commander pointed between himself and the old chief of staff. Going by the look in his eyes, he seemed unsatisfied, reluctant to leave just yet. Wen Jifei nodded, staring anxiously at the two old men. "Yeah, exactly you two." "Why? What's going on that you have to keep from the two of us?" "Because..." "Because I need to examine their injuries now. The wounds are complex and require a full undress. It's inconvenient to have extraneous personnel hanging around," Zhe Qiuhong cut in, her tone indifferent. "Extraneous personnel" Chen Buer balked. "Undress?!" "Yes, regularly. Don't forget I am a doctor, Commander. It is a routine examination—is there a problem?" Dressed in her white coat, Zhe Qiuhong stepped forward and said, "Or would you care for an examination as well, Commander? As it happens, the last one wasn't thorough." "Ahem, no need for me, no need." Chen Buer waved his hands and stood up. He glanced left, then right, before his eyes finally settled on Rusty Sister. The dent on the iron armor's shoulder had already been repaired. That damned blacksmith from the Second Sequence had taken time out of his packed schedule specifically to make the trip for it. Because he had been working day and night lately rushing out high-grade weapons, Jiang Chou had left immediately after finishing the job without even dropping by to say hello. "Say, Shen girl, aren't you coming outside with us?" Chen Buer asked. Rusty Sister wasn't willing to leave at all; she wanted to watch Qingzi do magic and eat bone. After a moment's hesitation, she shook her head. Chen Buer asked, "Don't tell me you've seen it?" To avoid being dragged out, Rusty Sister said calmly, "Mm! Regularly." "..." Chen Buer froze. What kind of situation was this? Did someone need to take responsibility? If nobody took responsibility in the end, how was he supposed to answer to Shen Fengting? Turning his head, the Lord Commander glared fiercely at Han Qingyu, then looked at Wu Xu. Yet words like that couldn't be brought out into the open. Chen Buer hesitated and held his tongue for now... His gaze settled on Wu Xu. "Speaking of which, I wasn't really frightened by that snake this time, but you, kid, gave me quite a shock. Soloing a Red Shoulder?! That setup of yours... how should I put it? Hearing about it felt entirely too shameless and exaggerated." What Chen Buer meant was that Wu Xu's characteristic, combined with the Near-Death Surge, was simply outright cheating. No wonder Han Qingyu had previously said Wu Xu might be one of the most underestimated high-end combat powers in this world. Wu Xu said, "Hm?" "...Right, come to think of it, you met Duosang Jiacuo three years ago, didn't you? That lama." "Yeah, what about him?" Wen Jifei asked. "Humanity's strongest physical defense. In unarmed combat, he could brawl with that Daie until next year, maybe even longer, you know? In any case, barehanded, even I couldn't kill him anytime soon." "Whoa!" Several people in the ward thought to themselves: *A true big shot. No wonder Master Duosang Jiacuo came looking for a beating right off the bat back then.* "Whoa my ass! Useless as shit... His attack power doesn't even reach top-tier, and his defense can't withstand dead iron weapons. Anything pointed or sharp could skewer him to death." Chen Buer sighed with emotion, then looked at Wu Xu and added, "He's far worse than you. Yours is the most shameless I've ever seen... in second place. Stay alive." Wu Xu said, "Mm." "That's all?" Chen Buer asked. Wu Xu stared at him blankly. Way too cold... Chen Buer rolled his eyes irritably, turned around, and said huffily, "I'm leaving. I'm swamped with military affairs, and after going to the trouble of taking time out to visit..." The old chief of staff stood up with a chuckle. In truth, the two of them really were swamped. Besides the fighting in Shenghai and Yuzhou, the Azure Council was waiting for Chen Buer to convene a meeting. Since that Daie had struck a second time, there could well be a third, a fourth... Azure couldn't count on conveniently frightening it off every single time. Therefore, a solution had to be found. Otherwise, once it appeared on another battlefield, it could be a slaughter of super combat powers and top-tiers. Chen Buer didn't bring this up with Han Qingyu. In the end, he merely asked, "Is there anything else, or any requests? If you want to raise something, hurry up... Let's make this clear upfront: don't be shameless enough to ask me for metal blocks again." "Nothing, then," Han Qingyu said. "I do," Wen Jifei said, raising a hand from the side. Chen Buer turned to look at him. "Speak." "It's about Stream Vanguard. Since we're no longer wearing uniforms, we're worried that comrades might not know in future operations, leading to some misunderstanding. We were hoping the Commander could help spread word in advance." Stream Vanguard wasn't just made up of their familiar faces; there were tens of thousands of people beneath them. Wen Jifei's concern was not without reason. "True enough," Chen Buer muttered thoughtfully. "Still, I'm afraid this isn't something a verbal notice can solve. What if there's a language barrier...?" "You're currently wearing matching black combat suits, right?" the old chief of staff interjected. "Yes," Wen Jifei nodded. In truth, Stream Vanguard hadn't put deliberate thought or choice into the color of their combat suits. It was simply because Wu Xu always wore black, so those below had standardized around black. "Then how about this: when I get back, I'll have Logistics make a batch of custom chest badges for you. Put them on, and it'll at least be one more way to identify you," the old chief of staff decided. *** When Xu Xiaohong and Chen Buer appeared at the doorway, along both sides of the corridor outside, wounded soldiers and medical staff stretched out in a long line, each standing stiffly at attention, watching them with ardent, emotional gazes. Some even had tears glistening in their eyes. The old man before them was their Lord Commander, invincible under heaven for forty years, the pillar of faith for everyone. As Chen Buer stepped forward, down the entire corridor, salutes were raised in succession... "The contrast is too damn sharp," Chen Buer muttered under his breath, his expression shifting as they rounded the corner of the stairs, unable to keep from grumbling. "Indeed. When have the two of us ever been treated so lightly? Being ignored was bad enough, but they even made up an excuse to kick us out," the old chief of staff chuckled secretly, fanning the flames. "Yeah, pisses me right off..." "Retaliate a bit, then?" "How do we retaliate?" Chen Buer asked eagerly. "Make their badges pink. The softest, girliest pink imaginable... And before delivering them, notify the entire military about it first." Without breaking a sweat, the old chief of staff whispered his revenge plot. Having said that, the two old men looked at each other, high-fived, and burst into delighted laughter. *** Inside the hospital room, Han Qingyu weakly looked at Zhe Qiuhong... He had indeed been stripped naked for examination and treatment more than once, but both times had been while he was unconscious. Were they really going through with it? Thinking this, Han Qingyu reached to feel the cloth pouch in his bosom, intending to hand it over to Wen Jifei. Aside from metal blocks, this cloth pouch was something he carried on him every day. Inside was an ordinary hair tie he had put in and forgotten to take out, a pierced old silver dollar, a small mirror, and finally, those two pieces of horn bone he couldn't stomach. *Right, I think I still owe Yaoyao-huanghuang a living Great Spike,* Han Qingyu thought. Suddenly, his eyes caught the expressions and sideways glances of Wen Jifei and He Tangtang... And finally, Zhu Jiaming, who had been standing silently in the corner with a scowl the entire time. The Little Prince seemed to be in a rather foul mood. "..." Han Qingyu understood in a flash. Enduring the pain, he struggled slightly and called out with an obsequious, affectionate grin, "Brother Jiaming, you're here!"