Nothing Good

The engine roared as the jeep tore along the treacherous, winding mountain road, taking sharp turns at high speed, looking as though it could plunge headlong off the cliff at any moment. Han Qingyu dearly wanted to shout a barrage of curses over the mechanical din and wild jolting. Not just because the driver was behind the wheel like a madman, but even more because he had no desire whatsoever to help the man with whatever damn favor this was—in fact, he hadn't wanted to come in the first place. Given the inevitable battle awaiting them, what could he possibly do there besides throw his life away? Yet Han Qingyu had no way to resist. It felt utterly wretched to have his fate casually manipulated by someone else like this. Not daring to look at the road, Han Qingyu gripped the ceiling grab handle with both hands. His body was jostled almost completely out of the seat... swaying and twisting inside the cabin like a suspended rope. He was using perhaps sixty or seventy percent of his strength, yet putting on a show of exerting every ounce he had. In the driver's seat, Lao Jian wore a grave expression, his brow tightly furrowed and his gaze intensely focused. His hands, eyes, and feet coordinated with swift, precise motions. At the same time, he could not help worrying: only a few days had passed, and here they were again in the vicinity of Squad 752. Such an occurrence had practically never happened in the past few years, and this time... The call he had just received came from a nearby covert supply depot. A shuttle craft landing had suddenly occurred near the depot, with suspicions that there were very likely two craft arriving together. For that very reason, while dispatching their own garrison squad, they had immediately called for reinforcements from the surrounding sectors. If there really were two shuttle craft against a single squad... Lao Jian could easily imagine how brutal the battle would be. And there was a supply depot there. The problem was that the coordinates provided by the depot were actually quite far from Squad 752's base. The area around Fenglong'ao was already at the edge of Squad 752's sector, and the coordinates were even farther out. With no advance warning, only Lao Jian himself was able to make it in time, purely because he happened to be right here. "Squad 764 should make it in time." He told himself this to find comfort, yet he did not slacken in the slightest, continuing to drive the heavy-duty military jeep—which looked ordinary enough, but was actually equipped with an advanced Mitli engine—as he sped ever closer to provide backup. Roughly twenty minutes later, the jeep braked suddenly and came to a halt on a mountain slope with no apparent landmarks. The moment he stopped, Lao Jian turned the wheel sharply and drove straight into a broadleaf forest, leaving Han Qingyu stunned and alarmed. "Out of the car. Up the mountain." Holding the gear in one hand, Lao Jian hauled up Han Qingyu, who looked dazed and disoriented, and ran up the mountain as fast as he could. From midway up the slope, he took a path around the back of the mountain and entered a valley surrounded by tiered peaks. The journey was rather rough going, yet Lao Jian never put the gear on. "If you ask me... cough, cough... couldn't you just put that on and go yourself? Bringing me along only slows you down." Han Qingyu dry-heaved slightly, in no state to care about his tone. He was struggling, just like last time. In short, whenever he ran into Lao Jian, nothing good ever came of it. "Once the apparatus is activated, it can't last that long," Lao Jian said succinctly, then dragged Han Qingyu along as he continued sprinting through the valley. After running through the valley for about another ten minutes, "Right here, then... that should about do it." Lao Jian surveyed the surrounding terrain, halted, and estimated the distance and the duration the apparatus could sustain. Then he turned to look at Han Qingyu, who had collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion, and said gravely, "Now, I need you to do me a favor." Evidently he wouldn't have to go to the front line. Han Qingyu breathed a silent sigh of relief and looked up at him. Lao Jian went to work, first slinging the metal case diagonally across his back and plugging four metal straps into the ports. Next, he unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it open... It turned out he was already wearing a set of metal straps that resembled a military tactical harness. Right over his heart, these metal straps joined at a circular iron plate, which also had a port. "I was injured a couple of days ago, as you know... and I haven't fully recovered yet," Lao Jian said. "Then aren't you just going to your death?" Han Qingyu retorted, wondering if the blame would somehow fall on him. "Hardly. Even though all you saw that night was me getting sent flying, the truth is... I'm actually quite strong." Lao Jian gave a helpless, wry smile. Pressed for time, he pointed directly to the port over his heart and continued, "In short, the situation is that the moment this core port is connected and activated, there's a strong chance I'll pass out... because I won't be able to withstand the energy impact." "..." So that was why he had brought him along. Han Qingyu nodded. "If I pass out, don't panic. You just need to take this..." Lao Jian looked down, tugged at a metal strap extending from the bottom of the metal case, and pointed to a port on his belt, gesturing to Han Qingyu. "Connect this port for me, and I'll wake up shortly after." So the brown belt was also used for connections; it was merely disguised to look ordinary. The port on the belt was located roughly at his left flank. Han Qingyu took a look and said, "That spot—isn't that the kidney?" "...Yes," Lao Jian nodded rather helplessly. "Oh," Han Qingyu said. "Just that?" "Just that." Lao Jian gave a brief demonstration, then looked into Han Qingyu's eyes. "Of course, you could also take this opportunity to kill me, but don't forget..." "I know," Han Qingyu said. "Go ahead and connect it." He didn't bother asking why Lao Jian couldn't simply hook up the strap behind his waist beforehand. It was easy enough to guess that starting up such an apparatus followed a strict sequence. "Right. Remember, don't waste time—you might botch everything." Having said that, Lao Jian sat down, glanced at Han Qingyu once more, and turned back. Focusing his attention, he pulled the metal strap from the middle-left port around to his chest, plugged it in, and turned the dial on the circular iron plate with his fingers. Throughout the entire process, he showed not the slightest hesitation. Han Qingyu watched intently from the side. Click. Then came a humming vibration that felt more visual than auditory: buzz... Behind Lao Jian, the faint blue crystalline light inside the metal case flickered in a pattern of nodes. And then... he passed out. Without a single sound, he toppled backward. The entire process was simple, direct, and utterly anticlimactic, without a single twist or turn—he didn't even twitch. It reminded Han Qingyu of his tenth-grade chemistry teacher. That day, the old man had stood on the lecture platform holding a test tube, adding chemicals as he spoke: "Just watch me perform this experiment. It's dangerous—if you pour in too much, it might explode..." As soon as the words left his mouth, it blew up. Different tunes, same melody. Now Han Qingyu was the only one in the valley who could move. Then again, the black-armored robot was most likely nearby. In a situation that ought to be tense or downright terrifying, Han Qingyu's head was filled with absurd thoughts, and he inexplicably wanted to laugh. "Said he'd pass out, and he really passed out... What a man." Han Qingyu didn't just want to laugh; a moment later, he even felt like leaping up and cheering. It was the bastard on the ground right in front of him who had pointed a blade at his throat, forced him to enlist, and brought him to this perilous place... and now the man was lying there, completely defenseless. Murder... Han Qingyu naturally didn't dare. Just as Lao Jian had said, too many people remembered him from that night, and his name was already on the registry higher up. Then... spit on him a few times? Curse him out, stomp his face a couple of times? Catch a non-lethal snake to bite him twice... The nineteen-year-old youth, venting his accumulated frustration, indulged in these childish thoughts until his eyes caught a corner of the dull-colored metal case protruding behind Lao Jian. According to Lao Jian, there were source energy blocks inside. To Han Qingyu, source energy blocks held curiosity, desire... and an overwhelming temptation. I'll just take a look. Almost unconsciously, he took his first step. The moment his foot touched the ground, Han Qingyu snapped to attention: Was Lao Jian really that trusting and unguarded? Could he have left some mark on the equipment, or even faked passing out to test him? What's more, before connecting the strap, Lao Jian had seemed to deliberately check his watch... That sly bastard. With that thought, Han Qingyu set aside his curiosity and resentment, shuffled over somewhat weakly, took the metal strap, and completed the connection for Lao Jian. The process was not difficult at all; even a child could have managed it. Blue light flickered once more on the metal case—it looked like it had worked. Yet the man did not wake up. ...Could he be dead? If he died, the blame would definitely land on him! Anxious, Han Qingyu waited about two minutes. Seeing that Lao Jian still showed no signs of waking, he had no choice but to reach out and check his breath... Nothing! Dead! He's done for! What now? Take the apparatus and the source energy blocks and go on the run to the ends of the earth? ... Just as Han Qingyu was hesitating over whether to make a move, the "dead" Lao Jian abruptly sat up, glanced down at his watch, and then turned his head to look at Han Qingyu. "Thank you." With that, Lao Jian looked down and connected the metal strap extending from the upper-left port of the case to his right shoulder, then plugged the strap from the middle-right port into a lower position on the right side of his belt. "Looks a bit crude, doesn't it?... The three-dimensional apparatus is constantly being improved. I hear the next generation is coming out soon. Once you don armor, you should be able to use it." He suddenly added this with a smile. Then, fully equipped, Lao Jian sprang lightly from the ground in an instant, looking as if it took no effort at all. He picked up his saber and held it in his right hand, slipping the small conical dagger into the sheath on the outside of his left leg. "I'm off," he said. "What about me? Do I wait for you here, or can I leave?" Han Qingyu asked. "Don't—you can't wander around," Lao Jian said. After a moment's thought, he chuckled. "By the way, aren't you great at lying low in craters? Here's the plan: find a ditch on the mountain nearby and lie low. Don't go moving around, or you might get yourself killed." "There's danger here, too?" "Under normal circumstances, there shouldn't be." Lao Jian pondered with a furrowed brow, then grinned. "Then again, there's no fighting terrible luck. Your luck is so rotten—what if?" Han Qingyu was speechless. "That's that, then. Find a spot to hide and wait for me to return." With a wave of his hand, Lao Jian turned and bounded into the mountain woods ahead. Just as Jiang Che had witnessed that night, he moved at blistering speed, darting through the mountain woods as if gliding over flat ground. ... "Damn it, good thing I'm not afraid of snakes." On one of the small hills surrounding the valley, beneath a low slope amidst lush bushes, Han Qingyu had found a hollow and was dutifully lying flat. He had been lying there for nearly thirty or forty minutes, feeling somewhat at a loss. A viper had slithered over just a moment ago, and he had crushed it to death. The sky was gradually dimming. Apart from the wind and the chirping of insects, all was quiet. Why hasn't he returned yet? After this long, things should be fine, right? Just as Han Qingyu's nerves began to ease, the sounds of fierce combat suddenly came from atop the dirt slope above his head. Judging by the sound, the fight did not seem to be on the grand scale of that night; there appeared to be only two or three combatants in total. Yet it made no difference to Han Qingyu. If any one of them caught him in the collateral, he would be a dead man. What's going on? Weren't they supposed to be slashing robots together? Bewildered, he pushed the thought aside... Han Qingyu buried his head and held his breath.