Protection

Qi Shantong was not a "good person." His perspective on people and matters differed from most of those Han Qingyu had met in Azure; he was fanatical and unhinged. This actually made Han Qingyu uneasy. Nowadays, he was probably a "genius" so bizarre that even he was not fully aware of it—perhaps he was—yet at the same time, he remained that mountain village boy who had failed the college entrance exams and seen little of the world. In fact, from the day he first came into contact with Lao Jian all through his time in Azure, he had consistently used a stubborn, narrow persona to disguise and protect himself. At first he recognized only money, then only source energy blocks. In many ways he was callous and impersonal, unwilling to forge overly close emotional ties with anyone here aside from his deep-rooted friendship with Wen Jifei. For example, on the day Grave-Robber Brother Lai Shitou admitted to being with Pure Purgatory and departed, Han Qingyu had actually been the quietest person in Dormitory 11. Right then and there, the others had spoken plenty, brimming with all sorts of emotions, while he, the actual target of the assassination attempt, had asked only one question from beginning to end: "Is your name really Lai Shitou?" He knew it, remembered it, and that was that. Even whether Lai Shitou would die or not was something he had only asked about privately much later. And for example... many other things were the same way. So perhaps he really was narrow-minded, simply wanting to survive. Either win alongside Azure and go back home, or, if they lost, have the strength to protect a few people and go on the run. In the dark of night, at the edge of the living base against the mountain, the lights of a nearby house were on. Qi Shantong stood there while the soldiers under his command cordoned off and secured the surroundings of the building. How should one put it? He probably could not be counted as a "bad person" either. Just as he himself had said, he too fought, contributed, and sacrificed for Azure. Therefore, as far as Han Qingyu was concerned, there likely would not be any danger coming from Qi Shantong for the time being. As for the things Qi had just spoken of, that level of thought, Han Qingyu did not understand it right now, nor did he care to know. "Actually, over the past few days, I did manage to interrogate a few things out of him, even if Old Wu thought he hadn't said anything... I also used this house to lure out a few people." Qi Shantong spoke, turning his head to glance at Han Qingyu. "How about I give you the credit for this? May it bring you a meteoric rise." "So this actually wasn't part of training, right? Head Instructor Qi," Han Qingyu replied, ignoring the offer and asking earnestly. Qi Shantong nodded. "...You could say that." Without a word, Han Qingyu turned and walked away. "..." Qi Shantong was taken aback. Three soldiers under his command stepped forward, moving to block Han Qingyu's path. *Whoosh.* Catching them unprepared, Han Qingyu instantly activated his dormant three-dimensional apparatus, lunged past them blade in hand... and rapidly vanished into the night. "Hahaha... Gutsy." Qi Shantong's voice echoed from behind. "Bother me again and I'll report you to Army Commander Lu!" Han Qingyu yelled back. "Lu Wuzheng neglected his duties and has already been dismissed." Han Qingyu was struck speechless. "Is that so?" a voice tinged with amusement rang out from nearby. It was none other than Ninth Army Commander Lu Wuzheng. "I was indeed dismissed... After dismissing me, they added a word to my title. I am now the Sole Witness Legion, Ninth Army, *Acting* Commander." Having said that, Lu Wuzheng turned his head and said, "Go on. Follow your own mind, and do what you want to do." Han Qingyu left, so he did not hear the conversation that followed. "Don't disturb him again, or you'll find yourself in big trouble," Lu Wuzheng said to Qi Shantong. "Watch out or the old man will come after you... and I'm not talking about the Legion Commander." ... By the time he returned his apparatus at the equipment grounds and hit the road, it was already past eight, creeping toward nine. Han Qingyu was starving, but the mess hall had likely run out of food by now. After a moment's thought, he took a slight detour to the living base's general store to buy something filling... He bought cookies. The shop clerk said those biscuits were called "cookies," imported from abroad. Han Qingyu had never eaten them before. He sampled one on the spot and found it quite tasty. Figuring he would have money anyway, he bought three jin, carrying them back toward the dormitory in a large bag, eating as he walked. *Squeak—* The sound of S-19 activating... Han Qingyu was already very familiar with it. Downstairs by the dormitory, just as the tin robot charged aggressively out from a dark corner, Han Qingyu produced a source energy block in the nick of time. *Clack.* S-19 came to a halt in front of him—or rather, in front of the source energy block. "Sorry, I was called away unexpectedly," Han Qingyu said as he handed over the source energy block. The tin hand hesitated for two seconds before reaching out to take it. Habitually stuffing the remaining half of the cookie into his mouth and crunching it down, Han Qingyu said somewhat indistinctly, "Starting tomorrow, I have to go out on a field march for a few days. Once I'm back, I'll buy another cycle." *Crunch, crunch.* "Mm, but next time you have to give the source energy blocks first." Wan Xiujing emerged from the corner as she spoke. She looked at him, her gaze suddenly fixing on his mouth, pausing for a moment before drifting down to the bag of cookies in his hand. "So you two have been waiting for me here the whole time?" Han Qingyu could not help smiling. "Haven't eaten either?" With that, he opened the bag of cookies, uncharacteristically generous. "Help yourself." Probably truly hungry, Wan Xiujing did not hold back. Reaching in, she grabbed as big a handful as she could, murmuring, "At first we thought you were going to welsh on us." The young girl sounded a bit aggrieved, with a faint trace of tears in her voice. It seemed her need for source energy blocks was not mere greed, but rather some unavoidable necessity. With that, she popped one into her mouth. *Crunch.* Glancing at what remained in her hand, she quickly swapped hands before Han Qingyu could close the bag and grabbed another fistful. Her hands were small, though, so even combining both grabs, she had not taken all that much. Then, *squeak...* S-19 also reached in and grabbed a handful. You can do that?! Stunned, Han Qingyu looked down into the bag. The expensive cookies had instantly dropped by a huge chunk. "You—is that even allowed?!" "I... haha." Wan Xiujing paused, then burst into cheerful laughter. Infected by her laughter, the gloom and unease from his encounter with Qi Shantong were swept away, and he could not help chuckling as well. *So in the end, robots and people who only care about source energy blocks really are more relaxing to be around,* Han Qingyu thought. Gathering the top of the bag, he held it in one hand and walked around the robot. *Pat, pat.* As he stepped past, he reached out and patted S-19's backside twice. Turning his head to speak to Wan Xiujing as he walked, he said, "While I'm gone these next few days, remember to get it inspected. Don't let it suddenly go berserk again like last time." A sharp *click* came from behind him. Han Qingyu noticed Wan Xiujing staring at him in panic. "What's going on?" Han Qingyu looked back over his shoulder... And bolted! S-19 had apparently almost gone berserk again just now.