"I didn't look," Han Qingyu denied naturally and firmly. Then he hesitated for a moment, adding in an awkward, lowered voice, "I only caught a hazy glimpse—that shouldn't count, right? In that situation, with the chaotic brawl and substantive turbulence filling the sky, plus I was injured... Truly, I couldn't even see clearly what she looked like."
Major Qing was not lying this time. It was just that hazy glimpse, after all, had been the very first time in his thoroughly straight life that he had seen a female body—and the body of someone who had always been so close to him, no less, which Zhe Qiuhong had described as the most perfect body she had ever seen... The shock he had endured and the impression it left were inevitably profound.
So much so that when he actually saw Rusty Sister just now, catching a sudden sight of her pale wrist, then another of the fair curve running from her neck down to her collar... those blurry images in his mind began flashing wildly of their own accord, completely beyond his control.
That was why he felt so stifled and had pulled a sour face, rushing to leave.
Otherwise, given their habitual malice, they would have certainly bullied this ignorant new little liaison officer thoroughly.
"Haha." Wen Jifei gave a knowing laugh. Second Lieutenant Wen was a sharp man; seeing Qingzi defend himself so earnestly, he knew the guy was genuinely flustered. He tactfully sidestepped the subject and said, "Looks like your Yanxiu truly collapsed."
Han Qingyu's Yanxiu had collapsed—it collapsed during that final charge back toward the zenith at the pole.
That scene—[Assaulting the Zenith Once More, Bearing the Flag into Battle]—had long since become yet another glorious, epic tableau of Major The Qing in the annals of the source energy war... The world believed that, as always, his will to fight was invincible, that even while gravely wounded and on the brink of death, he was determined to slay Puta'er. Yet little did they know that the strike was merely an incidental afterthought.
Major Qing had made that charge primarily to keep a promise.
And afterward, just as Wu Xu had said, not only had Han Qingyu recovered his strength after the collapse of his Yanxiu, but he had grown even stronger. His current state: he was Yanxiu, and Yanxiu was him.
"Since she's back, so be it." Once clear of the question of whether he had looked or not, Major Qing's natural confidence promptly returned. As he walked, he said, "Actually, I feel this place is safer than any secret base Azure has. If Ne and Nikola really find out, and if they dare to come, we dare to face them in direct battle."
"Yeah." Wen Jifei nodded, radiating confidence.
After the battle in Antarctica, Old Man Chen's condition was extremely dire—this was something the few of them had known all along... So if there was anywhere left in the world that could truly confront Ne and Nikola head-on, it was probably only Stream Vanguard.
Here, there was He Tangtang, who could threaten to self-detonate.
There was Corpse Man Weize, whose final strike in life was of a terror no one could fathom—a boast he had made to Wu Xu that this strike could bring down gods alongside him.
And there was Han Qingyu, whose current level could not yet be conclusively defined, but who had in all likelihood already expanded humanity's strongest tier from two people to three.
"What are you guys talking about?" Having shaken off Yang Tieyu, He Tangtang and Yang Qingbai caught up, snickering as they whispered, "She just dragged the two of us aside to ask about Rusty Sister. She was acting so earnestly!"
"Is that so? Total nutcase." Han Qingyu turned his head, both exasperated and amused. "Since she finds it fun, we'll just play along with her for a few days."
"Playing along is fine, but why does my mood feel so awkward right now? What about you guys? Anyone else feeling it?" As He Tangtang spoke, he glanced back quickly at the figure trailing behind them, stewing in silence. He couldn't put into words what the feeling was.
"Yeah," Wu Xu nodded.
With his nod, everyone readily admitted it. "A little, yeah."
Actually, aside from Han Qingyu, everyone's feelings were more or less the same.
In the beginning, when they learned that Rusty Sister had finally pulled through and was coming back—and free from her iron armor at that—everyone was filled with joy and excitement, curiosity and anticipation.
After all, she was a big iron tub who had lived alongside them for so long, and suddenly they were told she was turning into a young woman.
The feeling was like raising a dog all your life, only for it to suddenly turn out to be a fox, and now the time had come for her to become an enchanted spirit.
About this, even a guy like Wu Xu couldn't help being curious; otherwise, he wouldn't have rushed over from Weize's place today.
Today was a day they had counted on their fingers for many days. Crouching at the fork in the road, when they heard the sound of car wheels, everyone had grown unconsciously nervous.
Back when this group had laid eyes on Puta'er, they hadn't seemed all that nervous, yet just now, they really were.
When the car finally stopped and they saw Rusty Sister jump down whole, hale, and healthy, at first sight, some lowered their heads while others turned away, likely all secretly blinking away tears.
Their Rusty Sister had almost been lost forever.
In the end, all that was gone was a big iron tub, and in return, they got a girl back.
Right, they had almost forgotten that she had always been a girl. And now, there she was standing right in front of them—real eyes, real brows, real arms and all.
Thinking of this, everyone began to feel uneasy. The bond forged from sleeping together on communal kangs, draping arms over shoulders, kicking each other in the rear, and wrestling back and forth suddenly turned awkward, giving rise to an indescribable sense of unfamiliarity and distance.
This feeling made them irritable.
And to make things worse, completely oblivious and acting like a total fool, she was having a grand old time playing her little role all by herself.
So they felt even more speechless, and their annoyance flared even hotter.
…………
In truth, just as they felt awkward, how could Rusty Sister be any different?
Choosing to return this way and put on this act certainly had an element of playfulness and seeking fun, but inside, she harbored the exact same fluttering nervousness and anxiety.
"Will they not be used to it?"
"Will they dislike how I look now?"
"Will they become distant and awkward around me?"
Rusty Sister had thought that perhaps getting acquainted with them again under the guise of an outsider first, before telling them the truth, would be quite nice.
Only, she couldn't help agonizing over it.
"If they don't like Yang Tieyu, I should be sad, right?"
"Then if they all really like Yang Tieyu and soon treat her just like they treated Rusty Sister, should I be happy or sad?"
The little iron girl had pondered this all the way here.
And yet when she arrived, they didn't pay her the slightest bit of attention.
Even a fellow like He Tangtang, who floated on air at the slightest praise, and a fellow like Yang Qingbai, who loved crouching by the road to watch pretty girls, wore faces full of impatience...
The little iron girl was furious—she was about to burst with anger!
Then her thoughts flipped: "As expected, they're only good to one girl—Rusty Sister! Tee-hee."
She was on the verge of splitting in two.
"Hey! Just head into the base and find any empty spot to stay! We'll throw you a welcome banquet in the cafeteria tonight... If you can't find it, ask around!"
Up ahead, He Tangtang suddenly turned back and shouted.
"Oh," Yang Tieyu replied flusteredly, lifting her head.
"Find a place to stay on my own? My old room... Should I pretend I stumbled into it by accident? No, that's too obvious. Besides, what if they won't let me stay there and kick me out?"
"A welcome banquet... But I don't know how to eat... Oh, right, I know how to eat now. Will they try to force drinks on me?"
While she was lost in thought, the group ahead was muttering among themselves, their words muffled and indistinct.
"Playing along with her for a few days isn't a problem," He Tangtang said as he walked, pondering aloud. "The problem is how we're supposed to get along from now on. She's so pretty now—what do we do? Can we still bully her?"
"And with that figure of hers, can we still call her Tub Sister?"
Chapter 866