The existence of the Rejecters had never been a secret, but ordinary soldiers knew very little about what they actually did or how they operated.
In Lao Jian's words, one had to reach at least the level of a regional squad leader to even have a chance of direct contact with them... and even then, only by being contacted.
"Watch what you say over there. Remember to be cautious."
Just as he was about to leave with the guard, the voice came from behind.
Han Qingyu paused, turned around, and looked somewhat blankly at Lao Jian standing behind him to offer the warning. His gaze silently asked: *Cautious about what?*
"Just... don't shamelessly pester them for this and that... The Rejecters don't deal with that sort of thing."
Speaking right in front of the army commander's personal guard, Lao Jian quipped with a grin, yet his eyes held a trace of concern—worry, even.
This was the Blood Gourd Kid's current affliction. Every time the slightest hint of internal doubt surfaced regarding Han Qingyu, Captain Lao would instantly leap out all worked up to defend, argue, make excuses... and lash back.
Only after lashing out would he think: *Why the hell am I doing this?! It's not like I have a daughter to marry him off to.*
Yet when the next time came, he was right back at it, utterly unable to help himself.
"Can't ask for anything at all? Then can I just not go... I reject the Rejecters." Han Qingyu paused, smiled playfully, and continued, "A bit of a tongue-twister, isn't it?"
Lao Jian: "..."
Met with banter in exchange for heartfelt concern, Lao Jian felt helpless and lost for words, thinking: *Sigh, it's too damn hard to get close to this brat.*
*So he probably still resents me somewhat. The kind of resentment he can't fully muster, but resentment nonetheless... After all, it was me who dragged him away from his family to be a damned soldier.*
On this point, as Han Qingyu's "sponsor," Lao Jian himself had been feeling rather conflicted lately.
From learning that Han Qingyu's source energy fusion test yielded Grade A, to that silver Azure Guardian medal, and now, to learning about his insane performance during this battle... Captain Lao should have been deeply gratified and happy. In reality, while he did feel some gratification, when it came to happiness, he found himself inexplicably unable to smile.
A tree that towers above the forest... This sapling was growing a little too tall and standing out far too much... while he was still just a newly attuned recruit.
In this backstage world where Great Spikes, the Cleansing Faction, and the Self-Preservation Faction coexisted, and where multiple factions holding disparate views even existed within the Azure Alliance, if strength was one's reliance, then potential revealed too early—before it could actually be cashed in—was in truth a kind of danger.
On top of this psychological state, remembering the communications jamming during the battle... Lao Jian's mind was tangled with a thousand disparate threads, burdened by heavy worries.
"By the way, I threw up blood during the fight, several mouthfuls of it... That shouldn't be an issue, right?" Over there, Han Qingyu suddenly asked with complete seriousness.
"..."
Lao Jian's worries instantly dissolved into irritation. He felt a strong urge to snap: *If you want to know whether you're fine, go ask a doctor! Why the hell are you asking me?*
He scrutinized him again and saw that Han Qingyu indeed looked completely fine, so he said petulantly, "You won't die."
"Yeah, I figured coughing up a bit of blood was nothing," Han Qingyu said with a smile.
"..." Lao Jian cleared his throat, thought for a moment, and said, "Forget it, just go. The army has scheduled rest for you all tomorrow morning... After breakfast, come find me at the simulation combat grounds. You and I are going to spar."
With that, he waved his hand dismissively.
Due to Zhang Dao'an's sacrifice, Lao Jian was staying behind this time as acting head instructor for the 425 recruit camp, seeing this batch of recruits through before returning to Squad 752.
He had just received the first draft of the incident report today and reviewed Han Qingyu's decisions and performance throughout the battle at Squad 1123's area...
After the amazement came lingering terror.
He felt it had been fraught with mortal danger at every turn; the boy was simply blessed with immense luck not to have died.
He felt it was time for some hands-on discipline—to knock the kid down a peg so he wouldn't try to be such a hero in the future.
"All right, but you're paying for the source energy block."
Han Qingyu agreed nonchalantly, turned, and followed the army commander's guard, who was already on pins and needles, away.
***
The word "Rejecters" had originally been a moniker, much like "Sole Witness Legion." Through repeated use over time, it had gradually become official nomenclature.
Its precise designation was: Second Army of the Huaxia Front, Azure Alliance.
What did that mean? It meant that after establishing its first frontline combat unit in 1912—the First Army of the Huaxia Front—Azure had not rushed to expand its fighting force, but had prioritized establishing the Rejecters instead.
That was likely enough to illustrate the importance of this extraordinary army.
The first time Han Qingyu had heard of the Rejecters was on the truck heading to the base, but Lao Jian had been so cryptic back then that it amounted to saying nothing at all.
Through subsequent knowledge, Han Qingyu could roughly infer their function: first, to do everything possible at long range to stop shuttle crafts from reaching Azure; second, if stopping them failed, to guide their landing site.
This guidance was not directing it to a specific landing spot—the Rejecters didn't seem capable of that. What they could do was employ special methods within the shuttle craft's general landing zone to keep it from choosing major cities or specific sensitive areas.
The method was somewhat akin to a venomous insect flashing vivid, terrifying warning colors to signal others not to touch it.
That was about all. As for anything more—such as how they actually accomplished this—with Han Qingyu's current status and knowledge, he had no way of guessing and couldn't be bothered to ponder it.
In short, beyond being somewhat mysterious, their status was exceptionally elevated.
Han Qingyu had once overheard Regimental Commander Li and the others discussing "the possibility of the coalition cutting source energy block allowances if they got poor enough." They had mentioned that even if Azure gritted its teeth and slashed source energy block allowances for the Sole Witness Legion, they would never cut supplies to the Rejecters.
So, being suddenly summoned for an investigation by the Rejecters—was he nervous? A little.
Han Qingyu hadn't watched many movies in the past, but he instinctively pictured the stereotypical image of a mysterious organization: dark tones, suits, impassive faces, and sharp, piercing gazes...
"We're here. Go on in yourself."
Outside a confidential conference room belonging to the Ninth Army, the guard stopped, spoke to Han Qingyu, and turned to leave.
"Understood." Han Qingyu drew a deep breath, knocked on the door, and spoke with formal precision: "Reporting. Ninth Army, Sole Witness Legion, Regiment 425, recruit Han Qingyu, reporting as ordered."
"Enter." From inside came a low, aged voice, steeped in gravity.
Pushing open the door, stepping inside, and preparing to salute... Han Qingyu froze.
There were two people at the conference table. One was a slightly chubby, white-haired old man who, aside from being chubby, honestly fit Han Qingyu's expectations quite well. He was indeed dressed in a black suit, with drooping eyelids that made it difficult to read his expression.
But the other one—what on earth? This kid couldn't be older than fifteen, could he?
The kid was skinny and diminutive, wearing round, silver-rimmed glasses whose temples were wrapped in pain-relief plaster tape.
Before them sat tea, Coca-Cola... and a small pile of melon seeds.
They were pumpkin seeds, roasted until slightly scorched. Still, those were tricky to shell; sometimes being a bit scorched was nice, since impatient people could chew them shell and all.
"Actually, I'm already nineteen, only half a month younger than you, Brother Han... Though I'm not anywhere near as amazing as you. You're seriously formidable." As if sensing Han Qingyu's surprise and confusion, the younger one greeted him with a smile before introducing himself: "My name is Tu Zi..."
"Would you like some of these?"
He carved out a portion of the pumpkin seeds with the edge of his hand. His first pass divided too few, so after a moment's hesitation, he scooped out more than half... pushing them across the table in front of Han Qingyu. He looked up at him, eyes seemingly filled with admiration.
"Shall we chat while we eat?" Tu Zi continued. "Higher-ups instructed us to observe you before questioning... Chatting over snacks makes it easier for us to observe."
A remarkably candid explanation.
In that case... Han Qingyu sat down and grabbed a handful of pumpkin seeds.
The old man sitting beside him glanced his way. "Your hand... let me see it again."
Han Qingyu reached out his hand, feeling slightly awkward, because inside his sleeve, he was wearing that silver bracelet his mother had told him to bring as a keepsake.
"Why are you wearing this?" the old man asked. "Men rarely wear silver bracelets, let alone in the military..."
"Before I came, my mother had me bring it as a keepsake... Because over the past couple of days I suddenly witnessed so much unpredictable life and death and nearly died myself... I felt a bit unsettled after getting back, so I put it on."
Han Qingyu was telling the truth.
"Let me have a look," the old man said, still expressionless, holding out his hand.
Han Qingyu took it off and handed it over.
The old man took it and examined it intently.
At the same time, at the side, Tu Zi wrote the first line under the interview record's observation column:
*A man wearing a silver bracelet.*
Chapter 69