The iron armor's actions, looking back on them now, were actually easy to understand: she had been helping his mother, or else his mother would have plummeted long before. Han Qingyu felt somewhat guilty and sheepishly glanced at the opening where the crowd had parted, as well as the new building not far away.
Han Qingyu was by no means the type of person who refused to admit a mistake or apologize. Filled with remorse, under his mother's bloodied gaze, he stepped forward.
With that first step, his eyes shifted, and quite untimely, another realization suddenly dawned on Han Qingyu—these people before him were his soldiers.
And right now, this was his first direct encounter with them since waking up and losing his memory.
Stream Vanguard's elite forces had undergone some personnel rotations after returning from the Oceania battlefield to bolster the defenses of the Third Fixed Exploration Site, and a portion of their top-tier combat power, including Theodore, had returned there. However, in terms of sheer numbers, they had actually increased somewhat; currently, two hundred soldiers guarded Fenglong'ao.
Combat order: Wu Xu, Rusty Sister, the Little Prince...
Organized by combat-and-defense squads, all two hundred soldiers were in position, mostly dispersed in a semi-circle, silently watching Han Qingyu. Apparatuses, weapons—everyone was fully equipped.
This proved that they hadn't stood down from combat readiness even when sleeping.
Stream Vanguard's soldiers naturally already knew about Major Qing's current condition; with them stationed right here, the secret was impossible to keep.
This created a somewhat subtle feeling. They were thrilled by his awakening, occasionally found it amusing, but at the same time could not help feeling worried and at a loss.
"It's Major Qing with his nineteen-year-old memories, Major Qing who has never experienced a battlefield. Our King doesn't recognize us right now."
"He doesn't even recognize this world."
*Should I say hello?* A fluster of nervous panic seized Han Qingyu. With just two hundred people before him, the imposing aura was already intimidating. If it were ten thousand men, fully armed and lined up in formation... what would he do then?
The situation was equivalent to an ordinary nineteen-year-old boy waking up only to be told he possessed a special human armed force numbering over ten thousand—and that this force was ferocious, mighty, and considered super-elite even on a global scale.
*Forget it. Since they aren't saying anything, I should keep my cool too.* Han Qingyu didn't know what his style when facing them used to be. Afraid of doing the wrong thing and embarrassing himself, he forced himself to hold it together, put on a stern face, and paced his steps, walking forward at a measured, unhurried pace.
Rubi A Zha leaned forward slightly from within the crowd. He was now a source energy airship pilot, and he had exchanged a few words with Major Qing in the past.
"Major Qing, hurry up and go coax Second Lieutenant Shen," Rubi A Zha urgently wanted to say, having just watched the iron armor walk dejectedly into the new building.
Rusty Sister had once saved Rubi A Zha's life during the initial chaotic fighting in the City of Sin, descending before him like a deity. Because of that, compared to the others, Rubi A Zha had always cared for and worried about her more.
He thought it was just an ordinary sentence.
Yet before he could open his mouth, a hand reached out from behind, clamped tightly over his mouth, and wrenched his entire body back.
Only after Major Qing had walked past the crowd and entered the new building did that hand let go.
Uncle Shiliang glared at him, his eyes filled with both worry and anger.
"Uncle? I..." Rubi A Zha's expression was still blank.
Without a word, Uncle Shiliang seized him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him down behind the hillside.
"What do you think you were doing, you idiot?" Xu Shiliang said, a lingering dread in his voice. "Do you have any idea what you almost just did?"
"I... I just wanted to remind Major Qing too."
"'Too'?! Is it your place, fool? Didn't you see that even Second Lieutenant Wen is speaking in low whispers? Didn't you see that aside from him, among the people from their own team—the Little Prince, He Tangtang, Yang Qingbai... who else made a peep?"
"Auntie spoke up too," Rubi A Zha muttered back quietly.
*Smack!*
Unable to hold back any longer, Xu Shiliang kicked him in the shin.
There were things Rubi A Zha failed to realize because the situation remained very subtle right now. But someone like Xu Shiliang, who had lived through both Azure and the City of Sin, could sense it from the very beginning.
In the past, Stream Vanguard almost never needed internal politics or control... because back then, Major Qing as a whole had been far too powerful and terrifying, possessing a charisma and centripetal force that could virtually overpower everything.
As long as he stood there, there was fervor, solidarity, and absolute unity.
Now, however, he had lost his memories, supposedly reverting to his state before entering the source energy world. Whether his combat prowess had changed remained unclear for the moment, but it was already certain that he had lost his combat experience and instincts, along with the aura of someone at humanity's pinnacle...
This was no small matter.
It was a huge, monumental matter, whether for Stream Vanguard or for this world still caught in dual threats from within and without. The reason many people hadn't realized how serious it was yet, nor thought about the chain reactions and subtle fractures it might trigger, was that Second Lieutenant Wen and the Little Prince had tactfully played it down, preventing more people from feeling it.
In particular, they had kept Major Qing himself, along with his family, from realizing it.
In truth, during this time, even these trusted elites of Stream Vanguard stationed here had been barred from freely communicating with the outside world.
*Thank goodness Lieutenant Wu Xu's condition recovered and he stepped up in time. That was far too crucial,* Xu Shiliang had long thought through the whole situation in his mind, acutely aware of how delicate things were.
Therefore, in a situation like just now, when the soldiers faced the "nineteen-year-old Major Qing" collectively for the first time, if Rubi A Zha, an ordinary soldier, had truly stepped forward to publicly "advise" him...
The nineteen-year-old Major Qing might not mind; perhaps he would be amiable, or perhaps he would be slightly at a loss.
However, Rubi A Zha would inevitably draw the wrath of Second Lieutenant Wen and the Little Prince.
***
On the first floor of the new building, in the leftmost room down the hall, the light was on. The black iron armor was actually very afraid of the dark; right now, she sat silently on the floor in a corner against the wall.
Rusty Sister could actually understand Qingzi's actions earlier. *After all, he lost his memory. That was his mother, and I...*
What saddened Rusty Sister was that in the end, Qingzi had still treated her as a monster.
Those four kicks she took didn't hurt much, and she wasn't injured at all, but her heart ached so deeply—so deeply that she had been entirely dazed at the time.
A bond once so close, the person she had always relied on, had suddenly turned into a stranger. To Shen Yixiu, this brought immense terror and helplessness.
If they had to get to know each other all over again, Rusty Sister didn't know if they could rebuild their feelings the way they once did.
After all, at their very first meeting, she had been treated as a monster.
"I scared you. I'm sorry, Qingzi. But I can't get out, Qingzi... what should I do?" Rusty Sister sobbed quietly, suddenly feeling tears stream down, yet having no way to wipe them away.
Then, footsteps.
Footsteps that were somewhat slow and cautious.
When Han Qingyu appeared hesitatingly at the doorway, the iron armor clattered around, turning away from him.
"Rusty Sister," Han Qingyu called out hesitantly, the name feeling unfamiliar and awkward on his tongue.
The iron armor gave no response, save for an occasional sniffle.
"I'm sorry. I was in the wrong," Han Qingyu said in the tone one might use to coax a child. As he spoke, he stepped inside and sat down against the wall just like her. "And... thank you for keeping watch and protecting me all this time."
Chapter 712