Rusty Sister did not need to eat. She really wanted to, though. Often, she would gaze at the food on the table, ravenously craving it with earnest longing, trying hard to recall and imagine the texture of chewing and the distinct flavors of each dish. But she could not eat.
She had already forgotten the tastes as well.
Besides eating, there was something else Rusty Sister dearly wanted to do: drink alcohol once. Any kind would do, as long as it was alcohol. Because she had been turned into a robot at such a young age, she had never had a drink before.
Whenever Plague Chicken, Tangtang, and the Little Prince sat down to drink, they would always declare first that no one was allowed to resist the alcohol using source energy. Then they would get a little tipsy, and once tipsy, they became extraordinarily lively and cheerful, looking relaxed and happy.
Wu Xu could drink too.
Qingzi drank as well.
Those two were thoroughly boring, though. As soon as they got tipsy, they would just sit there without making a sound, only speaking when directly asked.
Whether Zhe Qiuhong drank depended on her mood.
Among them all, only Yang Qingbai never touched alcohol. By his own account, he used to be a drunkard, but now he refused to touch a single drop. He also kept up an unyielding daily exercise regimen and strict dietary routine that nothing could shake...
Even though she could neither eat nor drink, whenever mealtime arrived, Rusty Sister would still follow along downstairs, walk the mountain trail around to the other side of the valley, and head to the hospital's small cafeteria.
Just as she had always sat by the dining table back in 1777 and the City of Iniquity.
She loved watching them eat like this. Aside from Zhe Qiuhong, everyone had an enormous appetite, constantly wolfing down their food as though everything was the most delicious thing in the world. She also loved listening to their endless, aimless chatter while they ate.
As for the reason, it was probably because there had been far too long a time when no one ever invited her to join in.
Besides, watching other people eat was actually rather fun.
*Tap, tap.*
Han Qingyu tipped half a bowl of rice into the meager dregs of egg drop soup. Holding up the freed-up empty bowl, he turned around and mumbled through a huge mouthful of rice, "Rusty Sister, be a pal and fetch another bowl of soup."
He was reasonably polite when bossing people around.
"Ah... all right."
Just as expected, that Han Qingchong guy really hadn't noticed a thing. Reassured, Rusty Sister let out a sigh of relief, picked up the soup bowl, and stood up.
Before long, *clatter, clatter*, she returned carrying a brimming bowl of seaweed soup with both hands.
The sight made her look like a robot built for housework. The only catch was that this robot still carried a knight broadsword and a blue starlight column sword wrapped in black cloth strapped to her back.
As for her recent moods and today's behavior, if one were to ask whether it was romantic attraction—the kind between a man and a woman—Second Lieutenant Shen Yixiu did not know herself. She did not understand such things, nor had she ever seriously thought about them... To call it possessiveness sounded somewhat ugly, so she chose to call it dependence.
What if Qingzi was suddenly "taken" by someone one day?
*Oh my, just the thought is terrifying.*
Imagine removing Qingzi from this group of people before her...
*You might as well remove me instead!* Shen Yixiu only imagined it for a fleeting second before refusing to let her mind go any further.
*In that case, may you forever remain a dead-iron straight man, Major Han Qingshe... Uh, am I being too selfish here?!*
Second Lieutenant Shen Yixiu sat by the table, quietly agonizing in her heart.
The life she had once endured had been like a boundless expanse of darkness. The changes that followed were like a patch of floating land drifting into that dark, bearing sunlight, grass and trees, a house with a courtyard, and Qingzi and the others.
This was practically everything she had in the world.
And Han Qingyu was the one holding it together and keeping it upright.
***
After finishing their meal, they headed back to the ward. As they reached the second-floor stair landing, Zhe Qiuhong paused and turned her head. "I'm going to the ward to check on the situation."
At the far end of the corridor, outside an intensive care ward, quite a few people were still standing quietly.
When one thought about it, the elderly woman lying on the bed inside had probably never saved any of their lives. Yet through decades of honest, humble effort, she had provided something else entirely.
For ninety-nine percent of the people in Azure, their families back home were not doing poorly, nor were they left in worrying circumstances. Although Azure's remuneration in source energy supplies was modest, its secular compensation was exceptionally generous.
Their families could live comfortable lives, which gave the soldiers peace of mind. The only trouble was... seeing them was extraordinarily difficult.
Under normal circumstances, this was manageable. During holidays, it became a bit rough. And when someone was injured, underwent surgery, or lay hospitalized, it was as bad as it could possibly get. The suffocating feelings of loneliness and desolation could make even hardened soldiers fragile, threatening to swallow a person whole.
It was precisely because of this that the old woman in that ward had, without realizing it, etched herself deep into the hearts of so many.
"We'll go take a look too," Han Qingyu said, following behind Zhe Qiuhong.
"Doctor Zhe, Doctor Zhe..." The people outside the ward greeted her in hushed voices, looking at her with earnest eyes.
Zhe Qiuhong did not look at them. She addressed a nurse standing to the side. "How is she?"
"She hasn't woken up yet," the nurse said, her voice filled with worry.
"Mm, let me see."
The ward door opened. Several doctors and nurses were already inside. Zhe Qiuhong left the door open as she stepped in, and Han Qingyu stood at the doorway, looking inside.
The elderly woman on the bed had a kind, unassuming face. Bandages were wrapped across her eyes, and there were several treated wounds across her body. She lay motionless on the mattress.
The monitoring equipment hummed along rhythmically.
Zhe Qiuhong made a brief assessment, walked to the bedside, and gently squeezed the old woman's hand... She spotted a bloodstained scrap of cloth clutched in the palm. Reaching out casually, she tried to take it away, only to be surprised when the old woman seemed to tighten her grip with whatever strength she had left.
"This..."
"That can't be taken away."
A doctor who had accompanied the elderly woman from Field Hospital No. 7 explained that after being abruptly wounded and blinded, she had desperately fumbled around until she grabbed onto this piece of cloth.
The bloodstained scrap was actually a badge.
Inscribed along the bottom edge was a serial number: 1-95492.
Grandma Yuemei had never married throughout her entire life.
...She had almost married once.
The badge's serial number revealed that it belonged to a soldier from the First Army of the Sole Witness Legion—and from a very long time ago.
Long ago, when Grandma Yuemei was still little Yuemei with braided pigtails, she had fallen in love with an injured soldier admitted to the hospital. Fortunately, that person happened to like her too.
When his wounds healed and he was discharged to rejoin his unit, 1-95492 said he would come back to marry her.
Yet later on, all little Yuemei ever received was this badge of his.
After that, she had not lived in overwhelming sorrow. Carrying this badge with her, warmhearted and diligent, she made her way from one medical station to the next, through her twenties, her thirties, her forties...
By the time the doctor finished telling the story, Rusty Sister was already sniffling. Afraid she would lose control, she had stepped back out into the corridor. Only Han Qingyu and the others remained by the doorway, standing in heavy, wordless silence.
Zhe Qiuhong squatted down. As she reexamined the patient, she furrowed her brows in deep concentration.
From the look on her face, she did not seem to have any good solution either. The outcome still depended entirely on the old woman herself, leaving the rest to fate.
A shadow fell over everyone's hearts.
"The source energy block is depleted." Off to the side, the doctor on duty removed the empty blue crystal block from the nourishment device, turned around, and held out a hand toward the nurse.
In Azure's medical system, source energy nourishment was a routine method of treatment. Its fundamental principle was somewhat similar to an intravenous drip in the ordinary world. Even for those with the poorest degree of fusion, remaining in a source energy environment would provide a certain degree of benefit.
Because of this, many soldiers in Azure had actually faked illnesses in the past.
The nurse took the blue crystal block, turned, and hurriedly rummaged through a nearby crate. When she turned back, her hands were empty. "I'm sorry, I..."
"You! Go get more, quickly!" The doctor's eyes were red, his gaze flashing with sudden anger.
The nurse sprinted toward the door and looked at the crowd gathered there. "Do you..."
"I have some here," Han Qingyu spoke up first. He patted his pockets, realized he had none on him, and without waiting for Wen Jifei or the others to speak, reached around to open the metal case on his back.
As he made the motion, he glanced over... Han Qingyu reached out, took the empty blue crystal block right from the nurse's hand, and said, "Reimburse me for this."
He slipped the empty blue crystal block into his pocket, drew his hand back out...
A fresh source energy block was fitted into the nourishment device.
Chapter 643