Han Qingyu nodded, his eyes dazed. He still could not comprehend how defecting to the enemy could be considered routine business, but thinking about the people around him, he realized having one more friend like that was not actually all that surprising.
*What kind of people are they? How did I ever become brothers with them?*
"Even though he's most likely doing well for himself in Snow Lotus, he probably isn't very comfortable," the Little Prince reasoned further.
If he were truly comfortable, Liu Shiheng would not have merely sent people to protect his family; he could have simply brought them over, and he certainly would not have stayed out of contact with his parents for so long.
"There's another possibility: he wasn't the one who sent those people. But who could it be then?" Wen Jifei followed that line of thought, voicing his confusion.
Then, he and the Little Prince suddenly looked up at each other.
"The Generation 10 apparatus."
At the same time, they both thought of the Generation 10 apparatus that had inexplicably appeared on the back of He Tangtang's head!
That source energy apparatus—the most advanced piece in human hands today—was very likely made by Snow Lotus. Many people had already guessed as much long ago.
It was just that no one could understand why it had suddenly ended up with Stream Vanguard.
In its history, Azure had acquired next-generation apparatuses from Snow Lotus before, but both of those times, they had been seized in battle after immense struggle.
Yet this time, it was as if someone had voluntarily delivered a gift—and the recipient was not Azure, but Stream Vanguard.
Because of that, many had speculated back then that Ne might have been trying to win Han Qingyu over.
At this point, the whole trail of clues suddenly fell into place. Back then was the critical phase when Qingzi had led his people to seek vengeance against Alphonse... which meant Young Master Shiheng had stolen the apparatus from Snow Lotus.
"Because he was worried about us."
Thinking along those lines, why the Generation 10 apparatus had been delivered by Ye Jian, that unfathomable guy (Shu You's side had already told them about that), was no longer difficult to understand.
Liu Shiheng was currently mixed up with Ye Jian.
After hearing the clues sorted out and explained, Han Qingyu froze again. "Because he was worried about us, he stole from the head of Snow Lotus? What kind of people are these? How did I ever have the honor of being brothers with them?"
"We have to bring him back," Han Qingyu said, standing up.
"Yes, definitely. But we can't search with great fanfare, and especially not through Azure," Wen Jifei said after careful thought. "If he's... still safe right now, making a huge fuss in looking for him might only hurt him."
"Then what do we do?" He Tangtang asked next.
"Let's head back first and send our own people out in different directions to see if we can dig up any clues," Wen Jifei said, furrowing his brow.
He knew such a search would be difficult.
Yet he did not know that the actual situation was countless times harder than he imagined.
Liu Shiheng was deep within the glaciers of Antarctica, staying with Ne, and the skies above them were blanketed by Great Spike forces. The entire subglacial city had lost all communication with the outside world.
Searching like this, they were destined to find nothing.
***
Declining all subsequent invitations from Azure Headquarters, Stream Vanguard hurriedly set out on their return journey. Their airship took off that evening, pulling up vertically before speeding forward and upward.
The massive silhouette painted in red flickered in and out of the evening clouds, gradually fading into the distance...
At a corner of the airfield, behind the crowd seeing them off, a white-haired grandfather wearing the shoulder boards of a lieutenant general reached out from behind to ruffle his granddaughter's hair, speaking gently: "My little Caixin isn't crying, is she?"
Grandfather spoke very good Huaxia language. He was a Swiss man of Germanic descent, but had married a Huaxia wife; their son, in turn, had also married a Huaxia woman and fathered a daughter whose Huaxia name was Yin Caixin.
This name had not been chosen by her family; when they first heard it back then, both her mother and grandmother had burst out laughing.
"No, I'm not crying." Yin Caixin stealthily wiped the corners of her eyes as she turned around, speaking with mature composure: "I know I'm no longer that little girl who could chase after him all over the world."
These words had actually been spoken to her by her grandfather, and Yin Caixin had taken them to heart.
Dressed in military uniform, the girl wore the badge of the Swiss Front Army on her chest and the rank of colonel on her shoulders.
Yin Caixin was now a colonel, and very likely to have it replaced with the rank of major general before long.
Due to geographical location, administrative functions, luck, and various other factors, the Swiss Front Army had long been quite weak. That was why during the Oceania Zenith War, Yin Caixin had not stayed with Stream Vanguard; she had returned beforehand, participating as a top combat power and core commander alongside the expeditionary force dispatched by the Swiss Front Army.
Carrying the honor of being an external top combat power of Stream Vanguard, her invincible Wind Fire Wheels had swept across the deserts of Oceania... Yin Caixin had stepped forward time and again in that war.
She had done a tremendous amount for her comrades and the residents of Oceania they protected, and twice, her actions had even been decisive.
In truth, during that unprecedented war, especially in the melee phase, many soldiers and officers of Azure had delivered the greatest performances of their lives on that bloodstained earth.
Some might have been top-tier, while others were not even top-tier. Unlike the super combat powers, they were not assumed from the start to be capable of swaying the battle's tide, and they certainly could not be dazzlingly brilliant and watched by the whole world like General Bochen, Pegmont, Wolff, and Major Qing.
Yet to the comrades of their respective front armies and the ordinary residents of Oceania under their protection, they were everything.
They were the glorious heroes of those people, of those front armies.
And now, Azure had begun worldwide conscription. Facing the foreseeable super war ahead, the Swiss Front Army needed to grow and become strong to protect their country and people. The troops needed role models for inspiration and outstanding commanders to guide the newcomers.
Yin Caixin was the candidate carrying that halo. After the Zenith War, the Swiss Front Army had directly conferred upon her every honor within their authority along with the highest rank possible—colonel. Azure Headquarters was also currently reviewing an exceptional promotion for her to major general.
And so, one day, Grandfather had said to his granddaughter, "My little Caixin must shoulder responsibilities now."
The naive little girl who once chased Major Qing all over the world could no longer act so childlike, nor could she leave her troops at will.
Though she spoke sensible words, her eyes were red. Seeing this, Grandfather felt both guilty and pained. He said, "Even so, as friends, you didn't have to avoid seeing them. How rarely do they ever come to Switzerland? I even wanted to invite them over as guests. Why did you tell them you were already away at a boot camp when they contacted you, and then hide from them the whole time?"
Yin Caixin truly was going down to the recruit camps; her footprints would cover every single recruit camp in the Swiss Front Army, but in truth, she was only departing tonight.
"Sniff... Grandpa, do you want to hear the truth?" Yin Caixin asked, sniffling a few times.
If not, Yin Caixin intended to say it was because she feared she would turn back into that naive child; because whenever she was by their side, she was always the one being protected—even when she fought, it was under their watchful eyes.
She also intended to say it was because she feared she would feel sad...
"Of course," Grandfather said, wanting the truth.
"The truth is, if I hadn't hidden away, I might be on that airship right now," Yin Caixin said, lifting her hand to point toward the distant sky.
Grandfather did not catch on right away, blinking blankly. "Huh?"
"I couldn't let myself see him. The moment I see him, I won't be able to stop myself from wanting to chase after him all over the world again."
As Yin Caixin said this, tears spilled over, and then she laughed awkwardly through them.
Grandfather laughed too, gently wiping away his granddaughter's tears with an aching heart.
When she turned to look again, the Qing Spear airship with its red moth emblem had long since vanished beyond the horizon.
"Let's go, Grandpa."
Yin Caixin turned around, her combat boots clicking crisply as she walked toward the airfield exit.
The slanted rays of the evening sun shone upon her back, glinting off the metal case and combat sabers. As the colonel of the Azure Swiss Front Army swung her arm, a pink moth-to-the-flame badge was stitched near the cuff of her primary weapon hand.
Chapter 726