When the Little Prince brought out the liquor, Liaison Officer Yang's nerves instantly went on high alert. She had never had alcohol before. If she accidentally got drunk, wouldn't the whole cat be let out of the bag...?
"I'm sorry, I don't drink."
"Nothing to be sorry about. It's just that all along, of everyone Stream Blades has been willing to host with a banquet, not a single one has been allowed to say they don't drink."
The Little Prince's tone was unfriendly, and his expression turned equally sour, looking determined to force her hand today.
'Does Stream Blades have a rule like that? Since when?' Rusty Sister thought back. Such a rule had definitely never been stated overtly, but in practice, that really did seem to be the case.
After all, from the time the base was founded until now, this bunch had barely hosted more than a handful of people at banquets. As for those few exceptions—like Captain Shao Xuan back then, and General Liu Yiwu—once they came here, they naturally never left without drinking until they were utterly wasted.
'But I'm a girl! A gorgeous beauty! You bastards are even going to force drinks on me?!'
Having no choice, Liaison Officer Yang cast a pleading look toward Captain Milla, a fellow woman who had just arrived.
Yet her good elder sister of the past averted her eyes the second she saw the look.
"Well... all right, then." Major General Yang nodded with a resolute look.
Fortunately, it was only alcohol; she had life source energy to fend it off. With her current strength, let alone liquor, she could down a thousand cups of dichlorvos without falling over.
*Hum.* Activating life source energy did not require mechanical assistance; apart from a faint ripple of energy, it was virtually silent and formless.
However... "Drinking like that takes the fun out of it." Major Qing spoke as he turned to look over.
It felt as if he had merely cast a slow glance her way, his tone calm and composed. Yet the life source energy that had just welled up inside Rusty Sister flickered and snuffed out immediately, like a flame caught in a gale.
What was this? Direct tier suppression of life source energy?!
Qingzi was this strong now?!
Even as joy surged in Rusty Sister's heart, she abandoned her resistance.
Of course, this wasn't because she was completely incapable of resisting Qingzi's suppression. Tier suppression of life source energy had never been solid or infallible in itself. So long as one had sufficient fighting will and a steadfast resolve, even an ordinary super combat power could resist under Puta'er's suppression and strike at it. Not to mention that Rusty Sister herself was now vastly stronger than before.
"Then I'll try a little. Congratulations to Major Qing on recovering your strength and growing ever stronger."
With that, Major General Yang removed the hand covering her cup.
When the Little Prince poured the liquor, it truly was just a single mouthful.
"Then try a little first. Who knows, maybe Major General Yang is a natural heavy drinker. I've met a few people like that before—they drink liquor like water."
As the Little Prince spoke, he poured half a cup for Han Qingyu as well, then put the bottle away.
"All right, I'll give it a try. But if it turns out I really can't handle it after trying, none of you are allowed to force me anymore."
Having said her piece, Rusty Sister raised her cup in a proper fashion.
"Thank you." Han Qingyu also raised his cup, threw his head back, and drained it in one gulp. "Hiss... this liquor seems a bit strong. Take it easy, Major General Yang."
"Mhm."
Wait. Since when was Qingzi so gentle and considerate toward women? Could it be... could he have lost his true nature just because the new liaison officer from Azure was too pretty? Pull yourself together, you dead-iron straight man! In all those years past, you never once treated Rusty Sister with such tenderness!
You bastard, Han Qing-fish! Rusty Sister is severely injured over there, in a vegetative state, life and death unknown, without a word of news, and here you are lusting after pretty girls already?!
No wonder Yang Qingbai said this afternoon that you only worried and grieved for two days before bustling about with matchmaking again.
Han Qingyu, you have no heart!
Wait, should I be getting this angry right now? Why does something feel off?
*Tsk.* While lost in thought, the liquid had reached her mouth. Major General Yang braced herself as she tasted the flavor, then slowly lifted her head and smacked her lips twice.
Wait, why does this liquor actually taste pretty good? It's sweet and sour.
Am I drunk?
No, I'm completely fine.
"How about it, Major General Yang? Have some more?" The Little Prince gestured with the bottle in his hand, asking with a warm smile.
Rusty Sister thought about it and nodded. "Mhm."
This time it was half a cup. Because it was genuinely delicious, she finished it in two sips. Still not drunk.
"Another?"
"Mhm."
Not drunk.
"Again."
"Okay."
Not drunk...
"A little more." This time, Liaison Officer Yang held out her cup on her own.
"Major General Yang has great capacity! Did you really not drink before?"
"No, I never drank before. But my grandfather could hold his liquor very well, and my parents both liked drinking quite a bit... Maybe it's genetic?" Rusty Sister said with a bit of pride and smugness.
"Must be," the Little Prince agreed, while pouring her a full cup. "Come, for humanity, let's all drink a toast together."
"All right."
*Gulp.*
"Huh?"
"This cup..."
*Thud.* Before she could finish her sentence, she slid down from her chair and landed flat on the floor.
"Now *this* cup was the real booze!" the Little Prince followed up triumphantly. Two seconds later, his expression grew awkward. "Did she really go down in one cup? Dead drunk?"
"Yeah, dead drunk," He Tangtang said, looking up and glaring at him.
Their original plan had been to get Rusty Sister drunk, then wait for her drunken rambling to spill all her recent smugness, boasting, the 'scam,' and the 'truth,' so they could tease her endlessly about it later.
They just hadn't expected their hand to be too heavy, knocking her completely flat in one go.
"You guys... what do we do now?" Milla feigned anger, getting up to scoop Rusty Sister into her arms and lay her down on the tea sofa on the other side of the room.
"Well, then we'll just have to use this drink among ourselves to celebrate Rusty Sister's safe return and rebirth."
Wen Jifei smiled, raising a full cup of liquor.
...
Because the food on the table was utterly inedible and they could only drink on empty stomachs, it wasn't long before this bunch of mortal peak combatants actually got themselves drunk.
Of course, because they always maintained vigilance in their hearts, their drunkenness was limited; if necessary, they could sober themselves up at any moment.
In any case, getting drunk was a rare indulgence, and the tipsy buzz was pleasant... After drinking, no one was in a hurry to leave. Scattering about, sitting or lying down, they began to chat leisurely.
From the boot camp to Squad 1777;
From picking up Wu Xu to losing Young Master Shiheng;
From Xilang Peak to Antarctica;
From Lao Jian to Captain Shao Xuan;
From Ne to Old Man Chen...
*Thud!* A sudden noise of someone tumbling off the sofa.
Rusty Sister had rolled onto the floor.
Just as Milla was about to go over and help her up, she had already clambered up in a daze on her own...
Then, staggering over to the end of the sofa where Han Qingyu sat leaning back, she quietly lay down beside him, curled into a ball, and began snoring softly.
Baffling behavior...
"Is she... still drunk?" He Tangtang looked up, confused.
"Yeah. She thinks she's still in that suit of iron armor," Wen Jifei said with a gentle smile.
In the past, when they slept on communal bunkbeds, that suit of iron armor had always slept with one side against the wall and the other pressed right against Qingzi. In the middle of the night, flailing arms and tossing legs, she had nearly crushed Han Qingyu to death several times.
"Let her sleep."
Just like in the past, she slept her sleep, while the rest lowered their voices and continued their conversation... Wen Jifei tilted his head back to gaze at the starry sky outside the window, then turned to Han Qingyu:
"Speaking of which, if you really have turned the peak echelon from two people into three this time... then in truth, that makes four."
"Yeah." Han Qingyu naturally knew who Plague Chicken was referring to as the fourth person.
He Tangtang, however, didn't remember. "Who? Where are they?" Sprawled on the ground, he asked muzzily, sounding quite unconvinced.
"Where? Who knows?"
"The universe is vast."
Han Qingyu and Wen Jifei answered one after the other. With that, they both glanced out at the starry sky beyond the window.
...
This was a planet. It had sunlight, storms from time to time, soil, gravel, hills, and plains. It even had water. But there was no breathable oxygen, and there were no people.
No, there was one.
"Could this damn place be Mars?!"
Pegament would have loved to find someone to ask, but unfortunately, more than half a year had passed, and not only had he not seen a living soul, he hadn't even heard a human voice.
Chapter 868