Everything seemed to be heading in a good direction.
"Be careful. It's out there."
That Daie was definitely out there. General Bochen's voice was laced with immense worry and vigilance as he alerted headquarters.
Then he gestured for a soldier to take the communicator away, turned his head on the hospital bed, and smiled gratefully at Zhe Qiuhong. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it. Your condition is better than expected. Your medical staff should be able to handle the rest. I'll take my leave now."
Zhe Qiuhong packed her gear and turned to leave.
"All right... By the way, Major The Qing didn't come this time?" Bochen suddenly asked from behind her just as she reached the door.
Zhe Qiuhong hesitated, stopped, and turned around.
Having already met Stream Vanguard, proactively asking whether Han Qingyu had come meant General Bochen already viewed him as someone close to his own tier—even counting him among the rare few who might join forces to face the threat of a Daie.
Zhe Qiuhong remained silent.
"I heard about his condition earlier..." General Bochen continued, a trace of awkwardness and helplessness in his eyes.
"Not very good," Zhe Qiuhong replied decisively and calmly.
"I see. So it's really true. In that case, I can only trouble you, Doctor Zhe, to pass along my gratitude. And please tell Major Qing to rest and recover in peace."
General Bochen waved goodbye, turned back, and strained to circulate his life source energy. His eyes brimmed with anxiety, looking as though he were shouldering an enormous burden entirely on his own.
Even though, at this very moment, almost the entire human world was singing praises of his name and deeds.
***
In the makeshift military tent, the flap swung inward.
"How's General Bochen doing?" Han Qingyu asked hastily the moment he saw Zhe Qiuhong return with He Tangtang and the Little Prince.
"Not bad. Because he paced himself midway through, the strain was lighter than anticipated. After treatment and a few days of rest, he should be able to fight again."
Zhe Qiuhong's answer only addressed the immediate future.
As for the permanent damage that might result from Bochen's trait explosion and the extreme combustion of his life source energy, there was no way to account for that right now.
"That's good, then." Han Qingyu nodded.
Everyone in the tent, including him, felt temporarily relieved.
"So what do we do next?" Lao Jian said. "No, I mean, how do you think things here will develop from now on?"
"Mass for a decisive battle, probably," Qin Guowen pondered aloud. "After all, the batch remaining in the sky hasn't left, and there's still a Great Spike force in Antarctica—easily four to five thousand."
"And the swarms hovering over those cities might head over as well."
"Which means the Daie will definitely come too."
With just a few simple lines of dialogue, the situation grew grave once more.
Han Qingyu smiled. "Hahaha, no need to overthink it." Handing a cob of corn he had warmed up to Wu Xu, he changed the subject. "Come on, tell us, what's really going on with you?"
"Yeah, didn't they say you dropped down to top-tier?" Theodore chimed in from the side, eyeing Wu Xu.
He had been mulling over this ever since returning from the battlefield.
When they teamed up to fight that red-shoulder, the combat power Wu Xu displayed was not within the bounds of a top-tier at all.
Theodore even suspected that in a one-on-one duel, he might not be able to beat him.
"I don't know either." Wu Xu looked blank.
"Then are you..." Wen Jifei asked.
"Still top-tier." Whether he was in top-tier or super state was something Wu Xu could naturally discern himself. Pausing, he added, "Though I think I should be able to take that pink-haired guy."
With that, Wu Xu turned his head and gave Han Qingyu a pointed look.
Earlier, Han Qingyu had claimed that none of them here was a match for Peg Pink. Back then, Wu Xu had gotten up to go find him, only to be called back by Wen Jifei in the end.
"Well, no matter what, it's a good thing," Han Qingyu said, glancing toward Wen Jifei.
They would have exchanged looks, but Wen Jifei couldn't see his eyes right now.
Fortunately, Wen Jifei still understood Han Qingyu's meaning: Wu Xu was likely undergoing an extremely volatile transformation.
Not only was his combat power shifting, but his personality was changing too.
A man who had once been numb and indifferent to everything had recently become impulsive, combative, and even had a touch of aloof pride about him.
*A proud, solitary lizard?*
*If Xu'er really undergoes a complete change of temperament...* Wen Jifei tried to picture it, but he genuinely couldn't imagine what that would feel like.
Right then, *whoosh!* A sudden rush of footsteps propelled by source energy rapidly approached and halted outside the military tent.
"Report! General Bochen of Azure Oceania AA Formation requests Second Lieutenant Wen Jifei's presence to discuss a matter of military intelligence!" The soldier outside spoke with great urgency.
Discuss military intelligence?
Keep in mind, Zhe Qiuhong had only just returned.
What could it be? Wen Jifei murmured a few words to Han Qingyu, stood up, and stepped out with Wu Xu, following the soldier away.
***
"The follow-up forces from Antarctica suddenly diverted to attack South America. All of them—roughly 4,500 to 5,000."
Over a dozen officers stood crowded inside General Bochen's ward, and the communicator's speaker was switched on.
Judging by this setup, the intelligence was still classified.
"What?!" Wen Jifei was taken aback. There seemed to be no reason to tell him this; Stream Vanguard only had around a hundred people here.
"South America..." the staff officer continued.
"Do you need our help?" Wen Jifei interrupted, perplexed.
"That... probably won't be necessary," General Bochen took over weakly. "It's just that the main defensive force over there right now consists of fifty thousand warriors from the City of Iniquity. Our American Coalition only has twenty thousand troops left in the region..."
*It's them?* Wen Jifei froze. He was a little surprised, but not nearly as shocked as the Azure commanders.
Referring to the people from the City of Iniquity as warriors, Bochen continued, "As far as I know, most members of Stream Vanguard hail from the City of Iniquity as well, so I felt Second Lieutenant Wen ought to be informed."
Wen Jifei nodded.
"Still, you don't need to worry too much. Azure is already mobilizing forces—around ten thousand warriors and two supers," Bochen went on. "I apologize. Because we suspect this redeployment was deliberately orchestrated by the Daie, and there are severe dangers en route, we cannot send any more people over."
"The disparity in mobility between us and the Great Spikes is simply too vast," a staff officer remarked.
"Yes, but this should be enough—seventy thousand warriors plus six supers," another staff officer asserted firmly.
"Six?!" Wen Jifei breathed a slight sigh of relief. Factoring in that Shu You was bound to be there, with such high-end combat power, they stood a fighting chance even if they encountered three red-shoulders simultaneously.
The strategy would simply be for the other five supers to stall while Shu You took down one on his own.
"Yes, and Soryu is over there too," Bochen said. "Reports state that four super combat powers came from the City of Iniquity this time. Aside from Soryu, there's Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet, the Enchanting Catwoman..."
Upon hearing Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet's name, Wen Jifei deliberately turned his head and gave Wu Xu a meaningful smirk.
Wu Xu turned away, ignoring him.
"Then there's a hidden super from your Huaxia, Major General Pang Jinghe," Bochen continued. "Rest assured, this intel hasn't been widely disclosed; I only learned of it just now."
"..." Wen Jifei stood petrified.
"As well as Dao Dali, Boss Dao of the Azure Dragon Gang." Apparently aware of the connection between the Azure Dragon Gang and Stream Vanguard, Bochen smiled faintly as he spoke.
"...Fuck!" Wen Jifei blurted out woodenly.
He had completely forgotten about that mess.
"The situation is grave... General Bochen," Wen Jifei said slowly. He then walked over to the communicator and repeated in a measured tone, "The situation is grave, commanders of Azure. Far, far graver than you think."
Chapter 679