"Top-tier! Your father has reached top-tier! I'm finally fucking top-tier! More than three years..."
At this moment, whether he was balding no longer mattered in the slightest. Tears welled in He Tangtang's eyes as, flustered with joy, he looked down and patted himself all over twice.
The Yanxiu—bearing an evil mark and a sinful history—did not emerge on its own, nor could it be distinctly perceived just yet.
However, Zhe Qiuhong's judgment had always been reliable. Particularly when it came to Yanxiu, she was likely the person who had studied them most deeply in the entire world.
"So, I really can devour Spikes from now on." He Tangtang slowly raised his head again. "No, I'm going to eat people! One bastard per bite!"
More than three years of humiliation, days of enduring endless bullying...
He Tangtang had waited for this day for far too long.
"Which of you bastards laughed at me for being bald just now?!"
He Tangtang's tone turned deep and menacing as his sharp glare swept across the room... and then his eyes blinked, settling in a sudden flicker of sorrow.
Wen Jifei? He could beat him, but Wen Jifei was just a Dice who used guns; Tangtang could already beat him before.
Yang Qingbai? He could beat him too, but he was an F-grade waste who piloted airships. Aside from physical fitness far superior to ordinary civilians, he possessed no source energy martial prowess or combat capability.
In short, neither of them was in the same combat track as him. Beating them up proved nothing.
Among the remaining people: the Little Prince... top combat power at the absolute peak, with an insidious and shameless nature. In all likelihood, Tangtang still couldn't defeat him right now.
As for Rusty Sister? According to rumors circulating outside, she was very likely the premier combat power below super level in the entire human world, or at least in the top three.
He Tangtang's gaze continued to shift.
The next one:
Wu Xu!
...Better not.
The atmosphere instantly turned rather awkward. Stream Vanguard's newly minted top combat power, bearer of the sinister Yanxiu, the terrifying Spike-Devouring Demon, the great kidney striker—having just struck a boastful pose, he froze in place for about five seconds.
Finally, "Little Qingzi!" He Tangtang spoke up, pointing with his eyes. "You laughed at me just now, didn't you?"
Him. It had to be him.
He was the easiest to pick on.
At the back of the group, Han Qingyu stood looking totally bewildered. "I didn't laugh."
"Heh, you—"
"Qingzi really didn't laugh. Only he and I didn't laugh just now," Wu Xu stepped forward and said earnestly.
With his nineteen-year-old mindset, how could Han Qingyu possibly laugh at a comrade-in-arms suddenly going bald? This version of him was still a kind-hearted kid.
Not only had he genuinely refrained from laughing, but he had actually felt worried for He Tangtang.
That left no opening.
In truth, He Tangtang could have picked another excuse to start a fight, but since those words had come from Wu Xu, the Spike-Devouring Demon decided it was best not to provoke him, lest the first battle of his top-tier career consist of getting picked up and thrashed.
"...Oh. Well, let's go get breakfast then. What's everyone standing around for?" He Tangtang turned away sullenly. Son of a bitch, the truth was he might not even be able to beat Little Qingzi either; one slip-up and he might end up getting beaten to death.
So after breaking through, I'm still the weakest combatant here?!
Fortunately, He Tangtang wasn't the kind of person who could only act tough at home.
If he walked around outside more, he would surely find someone to beat up. If all else failed, he could take a trip to an underground black market.
The previous Zenith War had been fought on such an enormous, chaotic, and dispersed scale that even after the war, some source energy resources and apparatuses had ended up scattered into the civilian world. This had given rise to an odd community of source energy users as well as associated illicit transactions.
According to Azure regulations, that was naturally illegal.
Therefore, robbing a place like that would count as law enforcement.
With that in mind, the top-tier He Tangtang unleashed a burst of source energy with a whoosh, opening the door at blinding speed.
In the hallway just outside, two waiting reporters were nearly bowled over on the spot.
The visitors were Ashleia and Ian, old acquaintances. Generally speaking, anyone unfamiliar wouldn't dare appear before Major Qing and his entourage unannounced without an appointment.
And appointment requests were almost always rejected.
Qingzi's current condition was best kept hidden from the world. Otherwise, it would inevitably cause a massive uproar, perhaps even triggering chaos and widespread rumors.
"What are you two doing here? Didn't we say Qingzi isn't taking interviews for now?" Wen Jifei stepped forward with a smile.
"No, it's not an interview," Ian said hurriedly, holding equipment in one hand and accepting a cigarette from Second Lieutenant Wen with the other.
"Right, it's an official request. They'd like to ask Major Qing to say three sentences," Ashleia explained next.
From the sound of it, the two of them had come on an official assignment.
Three sentences? Surely they weren't having Qingzi record slogans? Wen Jifei thought for a moment and asked, "Say what?"
"Do not leap. Do not leap. Do not leap," Ashleia said seriously.
So the three sentences were actually just one.
These words were of paramount importance within the Azure combat system, printed on the flyleaf of the Azure Source Energy Apparatus Combat Manual as an enduring warning. Everyone present, with the sole exception of Han Qingyu, knew them by heart and had studied them before.
"Recruit training camps around the world have successively entered the second phase recently. And then... this phrase lost its authority."
Ashleia continued her explanation, casting a cautious glance at Han Qingyu as she did.
Because of him—his battles, his sky-piercing blade strike and rainbow slash across the zenith—the near-sacred authority of that warning had been shattered. Yet this concerned the precious lives of thousands upon thousands of young soldiers.
"Right now, recruits across the globe are leaping all over the place," Ian added succinctly from behind Ashleia.
"Understood." Wen Jifei nodded with a smile, walked back two steps to Han Qingyu's side, and whispered in their hometown dialect, "Help out and say it. This is a pretty life-and-death matter, and it has to come from you."
"Why?" Han Qingyu asked back carefully, also using their dialect.
"Because... remember when I told you? Even though you know you are Major The Qing, you still don't truly understand who you are," Wen Jifei said with a slight curl of his lips. "Young soldiers all over the world probably yearn to be you, so they mimic you."
"...Oh."
"How about it? Feeling pressured?" Wen Jifei asked with a chuckle.
"I... don't really feel much of anything," Han Qingyu answered honestly.
"Good. Go on over. You can say it a bit more solemnly."
And so, standing in the hotel hallway, Han Qingyu repeated 'Do not leap' three times. That brief, simple exchange would soon be packaged and broadcast to Azure recruit camps worldwide as Major The Qing's personal warning.
Although two minor incidents had occurred this morning, everything had unfolded rather peacefully so far. Han Qingyu and the others then headed downstairs to the buffet restaurant for breakfast.
It was a grand dining hall with dazzling crystal chandeliers, varied decor, and circular food stations spaced throughout. There was quite a crowd.
Carrying their plates to forage for food, the group gradually drifted apart.
Han Qingyu already had some food on his plate. At the moment, he was standing in front of a live cooking station, waiting for a steamer basket of shrimp dumplings. The presence of dumplings in a hotel in Maple Leaf Nation was somewhat unexpected, specially arranged by Azure for their party.
Steam rose from the counter. The young chef behind it picked up the freshly steamed shrimp dumplings, handed them forward, and said, "Major Qing."
Before the words had even faded—boom!
A source energy apparatus erupted into life. Turbulent currents swirled violently in an instant, sending breakfast items flying in all directions as utter chaos erupted. The young chef sprang forward, kicking off and soaring horizontally over the counter, his body nearly parallel to the floor.
At the same time, a dead iron short blade shaped like a kitchen knife shot out from his sleeve. Gripping it tightly amid the surging blast, he thrust it straight at Han Qingyu from beneath the steamer basket.
Top combat power?!
Wait...
Was he out of his mind?
A mere top-tier had actually dared to assassinate Major Qing!
Chapter 733