A Matter of Members

Han Qingyu didn't mind Instructor Lao being called a Blood Calabash Baby. In fact, the moniker had originated with him before spreading around. The problem was that Lao Jian was now being called Da Wa. The name implied an order, and since there was a Da Wa, there was a high probability there would be an Er Wa... And who might that be? Sometimes, having self-awareness was truly an annoying thing. "Actually, Plague Chicken, you don't need to be so down about last night. You still made a contribution," Han Qingyu said, abruptly changing the subject. "Last night, you lured away two human-monkeys and over a dozen men for us... Even if you can't slash people like a Grade A, you can at least get hacked at like one." Laughter broke out. When all was said and done, the most decisive player in this mission had still been Plague Chicken. Had it been Han Qingyu or anyone else, none of them likely would have thought to go behind everyone's backs to bring Shen Yixiu along. It took someone exceptionally shameless and pushily familiar to do such a thing naturally, and actually pull it off. Naturally, Wen Jifei knew Han Qingyu best of all. Turning to look at him, he snapped in annoyance, "Let's get back to Da Wa... Er Wa." Shen Yixiu looked up at Han Qingyu at just the wrong moment. "*Cough.* Captain Lao isn't suitable," Han Qingyu analyzed solemnly. "First, he's a man of too much principle. Work with him, and who knows when he might report us? Second, he said so himself—once his stint with the recruits ends, he's going back to Squad 752." In truth, Han Qingyu had also considered going to Squad 752 so he could look after his family. However, the assignment regulations of the Sole Witness Legion strictly forbade soldiers from serving in areas near their hometowns. Thus, the Lao Jian option was ruled out. "What about Yaoyao-huanghuang, then? She's pretty good. She can really fight, and she listens to you." When He Tangtang brought up Xin Yaoqiao, he had no idea what her background was, nor what kind of concept it was to rope her into fleecing the Azure Coalition. Her biological grandfather was the Chairman of the Azure Huaxia Front Council. Naturally, Han Qingyu didn't know this yet either, though he remembered that back at Squad 1123, a Grade S combatant had personally come to take her back. Her status was readily apparent, leagues away from someone like him—just some bullshit Sub-Sequence. Speaking of which, what good was a Sub-Sequence anyway? It didn't even come with any fixed benefits. "She seems to belong to the research division, and her status is quite important. We probably can't afford her. Though if we make it big, we might consider kidnapping her if we get the chance..." Han Qingyu cracked a joke at the end, ruling out Yaoyao-huanghuang as well. "Actually, if we're worried about running into those human-monkeys again, Miss Milla is the most suitable candidate," Wen Jifei suggested earnestly. "She can stall targets in midair, which makes it easy to coordinate with you guys." Han Qingyu thought about it. "Right. We can sound Milla out." "Then during mutual selection, we'll all go to Captain Milla's squad?" Liu Shiheng asked with a trace of excitement. He had recently heard some talk about mutual selection and figured that due to the disparity in their strength, he might not be able to stick with Han Qingyu. But if it was Milla's squad, he might actually have a shot. Han Qingyu turned to look at him. "Isn't Miss Milla going to be a captain?" "Not necessarily." "...Oh." Liu Shiheng felt a bit disappointed. But in any case, their squad for privately robbing the Cleansing Faction now had its first recruitment target: Milla. "Four people is still a bit few," Wen Jifei remarked with a sigh, continuing to exclude himself and Liu Shiheng. "Yeah, we'll see about the rest once we get to a regional squad." Han Qingyu mentally took stock of the people available, considering what kind of roles they still needed to fill. "Then have you decided which squad you want to join?" Shen Yixiu asked. "I haven't thought about that yet," Han Qingyu replied. "No rush, then. Wait until after the recruitment briefing." Shen Yixiu nodded. Her ordinary movements were usually completely noiseless, but in combat, the mechanical feel became extremely pronounced. The other four asked in unison, "What recruitment briefing?" "Don't you guys know? Every year before recruits graduate from camp and go through mutual selection, there's a recruitment briefing. Regional squads ranked in the top twenty of the legion will attend if they need new blood... introducing themselves to the recruits." "...Wait, if that's the case and all the best ones get snatched up, what the hell are the other squads supposed to do?" Liu Shiheng said, growing a bit worked up. "That's not really how it is. Once ordinary regional squads get skilled with their formations, handling Great Spikes isn't very difficult, so the impact isn't that big," Shen Yixiu explained. "Besides, those top-ranked squads take in at most two or three recruits a year... and those they train and send out end up becoming captain material themselves... For the Coalition's overall combat capability, it's actually an improvement." "Oh." Liu Shiheng fell silent, and even He Tangtang looked conflicted, saying nothing. There was no arguing with that. After all, what if Golden Eraser wanted Han Qingyu? They couldn't exactly urge him not to go or hold him back, could they? Han Qingyu fell silent as well, pondering the dilemma, undecided. By now, daylight had fully spread across the sky. The river valley was cool and crisp, the water clear, the air fresh. Han Qingyu and the others scooped up water by the river bend to wash their faces and rinse their mouths, thinking about heading down the mountain shortly to get some breakfast. "Hey, don't you need to wash your face?" He Tangtang asked bluntly upon seeing Shen Yixiu sitting there motionless. "Ah... I..." Shen Yixiu paused, seemingly finding it difficult to explain. "Actually, right now... I suppose I can't really be considered a real human being. "I'm sustained by source energy... Dust doesn't get inside." Shen Yixiu gave a raspy little laugh. "Of course, because I'm still growing, it does get a little dirty occasionally... If I really want to take a bath, I can, but it's pretty troublesome. I have to use the port where the source energy blocks are replaced, through the metal straps, and use source energy to create a vortex to pull water inside... and then..." She trailed off. In battle, the girl was cold and decisive, but in daily life she had little contact with others, and her condition placed a heavy barrier between them, leaving her not quite accustomed to such conversations. In truth, Iron Chick actually quite liked bathing, because the sensation of being touched by flowing water was something precious to her. It was just that doing so consumed too much source energy, so she couldn't indulge in it often. He Tangtang thought about it and marveled, "Then your skin must be really fair." The next instant—*Bang!* Shen Yixiu abruptly snatched him up and hurled him against the rock wall. Tumbling down, he was still completely bewildered... *What on earth did I say wrong? She never gets exposed to the sun, she can wash, and she's nourished by source energy—isn't it totally normal that she'd be fair?* Han Qingyu spoke up next, slightly surprised. "You're saying you can create a source energy vortex and generate suction?" Shen Yixiu nodded. "Then your actual combat effectiveness ought to be even higher than it is now." Han Qingyu felt both admiration and envy toward her level of source energy control. "I... I never really thought much about fighting before. Just... staying alive," Shen Yixiu said earnestly. "From now on, I'll work hard."