"A target for termination? No wonder."
Han Qingyu thought back to what had happened on the coast. That submersible craft and the Daie did indeed seem to have come specifically for him, or perhaps for their group.
At the time, several thousand Azure soldiers lined both banks of the estuary, yet not even they could divert its attention.
It had been a pure assassination run—lurking in concealment, striking without warning, and abandoning the attack immediately without lingering once Chen Buer arrived and blocked it.
Thinking back, what came before might have been connected to the deaths of those two Red Shoulders...
The death of the first Red Shoulder had allowed them to identify a target.
And the ambush had taken place on the very beach where the second Red Shoulder died, right where Han Qingyu and the others had lingered for a while.
"Does this list have numbers?" Han Qingyu suddenly asked.
"Hmm?" Xin Yaoqiao looked confused.
"Like Target Number One, Target Number Two, Target Number Three..." Han Qingyu figured he couldn't possibly be the only one.
A so-called target for termination likely included every powerful human warrior the Great Spikes had discovered.
Wu Xu, for instance, having slain a Red Shoulder on his own, was very likely one as well.
And the Legion Commander had to be on it without question—unless the Daie had realized long ago that it couldn't kill him and crossed him off the list.
"That I don't know. That was all we could decipher from the intercepted transmission. As for narrowing down the target to you, that's just my personal deduction," Xin Yaoqiao said.
In truth, telling Han Qingyu this was her primary reason for coming today. For the time being, she hadn't shared her theory with anyone else.
"I see." Han Qingyu nodded.
Since Yaoyao-huanghuang couldn't offer any more information, he had to judge for himself:
*It shouldn't be just me. But if I really am the sole target right now... could it be because I've already fused with part of a Bone of Eternal Life, making me special?*
"Let's go eat first." Done thinking, he gestured with a tilt of his head and started walking forward.
Xin Yaoqiao didn't move. Standing by the doorway, she asked, "Aren't you worried?"
"Honestly, not really. Because it doesn't make any difference. Even if you're not on the hit list, if you run into a Daie, won't you still have to fight it to the death?"
Han Qingyu turned back and smiled, his logic crystal clear.
"...True." Xin Yaoqiao took a few steps to catch up. "Still, going by that deduction, if you go all out again next time, you'll probably expose your position and draw the Daie back."
"So unless you have no other choice, try not to do that for a while, okay?" she said. "Wait until you're all ready."
"All right," Han Qingyu agreed casually with a nod.
Only then did Yaoyao-huanghuang relax. She followed behind him toward the hospital cafeteria, sneaking glances at his wrists the entire way...
Finally, the old silver bracelet peeked out from under his cuff.
It was still there. Major Xin let out a long breath of relief.
Thanks to the Institute 2 propaganda team's efforts across the forces these past few years, the legend of the old silver bracelet had become common knowledge throughout the Huaxia Front, especially among the female soldiers—Major Qing had an old silver bracelet given to him by his mother, which he would someday give to his girlfriend or wife.
They walked down the stairs.
The field hospital was tucked deep in the mountains. For safety reasons, the cafeteria had been built in a separate location, requiring a short trek along a mountain trail each mealtime.
As they walked,
"Oh!"
Xin Yaoqiao cried out from behind him.
"What happened?" Han Qingyu turned around at once.
Major Xin's long hair tumbled down around her shoulders.
Holding up a snapped hair tie in her hand, she said, "My hair tie broke."
"Oh... what do we do, then? Leaving it down should be fine, right?"
"It's not fine. As an Azure soldier, I have to be ready for battle at all times." Xin Yaoqiao suppressed a grin, looking at Han Qingyu while her heart fluttered with nerves.
"Oh... I've got one."
Han Qingyu suddenly remembered. Inside the small cloth pouch in his breast pocket, the hair tie Yaoyao-huanghuang had once used to tie up his sack was still there.
Back when they were on the run, Han Qingyu had hatched a plan: whenever he managed to capture a living Great Spike, he would cripple it, tie it up, and have someone deliver it to Yaoyao-huanghuang without a name or letter, fastening only that hair tie around the tip of the Great Spike's cone.
Because he had never caught one, the hair tie had remained with him all this time.
Lowering his head, Han Qingyu pulled out the pouch, untied it, found the hair tie, and was just about to hand it over...
"Oh!" Yaoyao-huanghuang let out another exclamation.
"..." Han Qingyu looked up.
With her long hair draped over her shoulders, Xin Yaoqiao bent her left arm and pulled back her combat uniform sleeve with her right hand, revealing her wrist. "Look at how silly I am. Turns out I had another one right here."
With that, she marched right past him.
Her steps were brisk and hurried. As she walked, Xin Yaoqiao tied up her hair, keeping her face turned away so Han Qingyu wouldn't see the sheer delight bursting across her features.
Helpless, Han Qingyu had no choice but to tuck the cloth pouch away and hurry after her.
***
After finishing their meal, Xin Yaoqiao didn't return to the ward; she prepared to leave right away, as the car sent by Institute 2 was already waiting for her.
Han Qingyu still didn't ask where Institute 2's new location was, though he guessed it couldn't be too far. As they saw her off, he deliberately handed her a slip of paper.
"Tu Zi set up an internal frequency and comms code just for us. If you run into any danger over there, call us... We have a Swordfish-class airship hidden in the mountains," Han Qingyu said. "Just hide and wait for me."
"...Mm!" Happy that someone was finally showing concern and looking out for her, Xin Yaoqiao took the slip and nodded hard. "Thank you."
"What are you thanking us for?! Plague Chicken and I were just talking about it," He Tangtang chimed in from the side. "We tallied it up. In all the years we've known each other, it seems like you've been the one helping us, time and time again, while we haven't done a single thing for you."
His words sounded entirely sincere—and part of them truly was.
Except... he was deliberately hinting at the living Great Spike.
Han Qingyu caught on instantly. Walking over, he reached out and grabbed the back of He Tangtang's collar from behind.
If He Tangtang dared to actually say it aloud,
he would go flying—flying very far.
"Really? I suppose you're right." Xin Yaoqiao's eyes curved into crescents as she shot Han Qingyu a look. "So what will you do about it? How do you plan to pay me back? Tee-hee."
Yaoyao-huanghuang shifted her gaze, glancing at Han Qingyu's wrist.
She, too, was dropping a subtle hint.
The moment she hinted, she turned her back to them, terrified she would give herself away. Her heart was pounding furiously...
*Ugh, why does my skin get thinner the older I get? I used to be so shameless back then,* Major Xin thought, feeling a twinge of envy for her past self.
This hint, however, flew completely over Han Qingyu's head.
"Don't worry. I will definitely catch a live Great Spike and bring it to you," he said earnestly, forced to face the reality of his promise.
"..." Xin Yaoqiao froze. Keeping her back turned, she gritted her teeth and said coldly, "Oh. If you really do catch one, remember to strip its weapons first and let it punch you a few times to test it out."
With that, Major Xin climbed into the car.
"Hasn't changed a bit. Truly hopeless," she muttered in despair, slumping against the backseat as the car drove off.
***
This time, unexpectedly, nothing unexpected happened. Life in the wilderness hospital carried on peacefully for over a month, stretching to nearly two.
Zhe Qiuhong stated that the surgery was still not ready.
Every day, Azure's television and radio broadcasts rolled out fresh content.
People across the world seemed to be gradually coming to terms with reality.
They accepted that monstrous alien creatures existed in the skies above, capable of bringing slaughter at any moment.
They accepted that humanity possessed an army of super soldiers.
They accepted this war between humankind and extraterrestrial invaders.
It felt as though the world would continue like this indefinitely.
In the south, on a university campus.
Over the past two months, the school had launched introductory courses on the Great Spikes, followed by a series of classes related to source energy and dead iron.
At the same time, intense preparations were underway for a new major centered on researching and combating the Great Spike invasion.
When classes ended for the day, a boy called out to a girl on the path.
"What's wrong? Why so serious all of a sudden?" the girl asked.
"Nothing. I just like you," the boy said.
"I've liked you for two years," he added.
"Huh? Then why..."
"I didn't have the courage before. But now I'm afraid that if I don't tell you, I might never get the chance," the boy said. "My cousin is in Azure. He said Azure will be drafting recruits soon. I'm heading home for a visit, and then I'm going..."
The boy gestured to the backpack on his shoulders. He didn't need an answer. Especially not under circumstances like these, where an answer might come from a fleeting wave of emotion or other impulses—he didn't want that.
"That's all. As long as you know."
With those final words, the boy turned and walked away.
In the west, in remote Huai County.
Inside a modest house in the old quarter, food and water were piled to the brim.
A small square table was squeezed between the clutter, laden with meat, wine, ham sausages, and an assortment of snacks. Seated around the table was a family of four: father, mother, son, and daughter.
Having had some wine, the father was slightly tipsy.
"The meat seems to have gone bad, Dad," the daughter said.
"Yeah," the son agreed, nodding beside her.
"Really?! No wonder you two have no appetite. Come to think of it, I don't have much of one either." The father sat up, leaned forward, and sniffed the dish without picking up his chopsticks.
In truth, this wasn't the first day they had lost their appetite.
The family had been eating like this for over a month. Resigned to the idea that death was inevitable anyway, they clung to each other around the clock, eating and drinking their fill every day as they waited for the end.
In the past, the father had actually been a very frugal and strict man.
"Dad."
"Hmm?"
"Are Little Brother and I really never going back to school? A lot of our classmates have started going back recently." The daughter tilted her head, looking into her father's eyes, a faint yearning flickering in her gaze.
The father parted his lips, hesitated, and said nothing.
Beside him, his wife reached out and patted him gently. "Hey, father of my children, tell me—if we finish all this food and the world still hasn't ended, what are we going to do? What if the kids grow up? They're going to grow up..."
The man stared blankly at his wife. After a long moment, he turned to look at his son and daughter.
Then he stood up and walked into the bathroom.
When he came back out, he had showered and changed into fresh clothes.
"Dad, are you going out?" the son and daughter asked.
"Yeah, I am." The man opened the door, letting the sunlight stream in.
"What for?"
"To check on your school. If classes really have started again, I'll send you both back. And after that, I'll look around town to see if I can find a job."
Chapter 637