Of the four modified motherships in the expedition fleet, three would ultimately close in on Mars and even participate directly in combat. Yang Qingbai would be responsible for piloting one of them.
As the world's strongest, most legendary, and most renowned source energy airship pilot (hailed as "The Dragon's Wings" by Anime Country), as long as he decided to go, this fact was beyond doubt.
Yang Qingbai was going.
Earlier, when he took the initiative to propose joining this expedition, Han Qingyu had not hesitated long before agreeing.
Out of concern, he could adamantly refuse to let Wen Jifei join the expedition. That was because he believed strategic command and advisory work could just as well be done with Plague Chicken remaining on the Blue Star (though naturally different from being on-site, with communication delays and no guarantee of constant connection).
Yet he had no way of refusing Yang Qingbai out of that same concern.
Because in this expedition and on such a battlefield, Yang Qingbai's role was simply too crucial—so immense that it might far surpass what a peak elite could contribute to the fight.
"He won't be disembarking anyway. And if things go south and we have to run, he's the pilot, so he's bound to be right there." Han Qingyu could only console himself with this thought.
The *Doomsday Great Wall* had been Yang Qingbai's choice, for reasons as simple as its name and hull structure. This modified mothership was not originally part of the expedition roster, but after Yang Qingbai asked for it, it was included.
To that end, Azure's scientific research department joined forces with over thirty top scientists from relevant fields in the civilian world. Using cutting-edge spacecraft technology, they completely overhauled the interior of the *Doomsday Great Wall*, and installed a dead iron battering ram on its bow as requested by Yang Qingbai.
In addition, in light of Yang Qingbai's peculiar physical condition (being a source energy invalid), they specially crafted a spacesuit tailored for him, which combined with an inner dead iron mask and breathing system to form dual layers of protection.
Over the past few days, Yang Qingbai had not run around with Han Qingyu and the others. He had arrived here on his own ahead of time, rolling, tumbling, slamming against walls, hanging upside down in the cockpit, and getting knocked around to adapt to any contingency.
Han Qingyu brought the two old men aboard the *Doomsday Great Wall* first. He repeatedly urged them that for the vast majority of the expedition, the two of them had to stay together.
This way, on the one hand, Shen Fengting could help "watch over" Jiang Longchi, preventing him from accidentally wandering off in space or on Mars and failing to find his way back to Fenglong'ao; on the other hand, Master Longchi could serve as Shen Fengting's bodyguard in the process, resolving Rusty Sister's worries.
General Jiang had become even more forgetful than before.
This was Han Qingyu's impression after interacting with him this time, as roughly every five minutes he would be asked: "Who are you?" "Are you my grandson?" "You're my grandson, right?"
Though not meant as insults—the old man spoke with genuine sincerity and affection—the humiliation was nonetheless substantial.
Yet the even more forgetful old monk had also grown stronger.
Over these past years, apart from occasionally bullying Han Youshan, he supposedly hadn't trained much. But just now, Han Qingyu had sparred lightly with him and discovered that the old man was already solidly half a step into the Vault-tier.
This meant that with General Jiang's current strength, after so many years away, he could easily return to the ranks of humanity's top ten—perhaps even slip into the top five. (Due to the emergence and uncertain power of Vault-tier and half-step Vault-tier combatants, the City of Sin's Dome Leaderboard no longer included such figures. They had simply lumped these people along with some suspected candidates into a separate category dubbed the Stars Leaderboard. The Stars Leaderboard had no numerical rankings: partly because several suspected candidates were too difficult to evaluate, and partly perhaps because the old men responsible for the rankings were truly unwilling to accept reality and rank Ne first among humanity ahead of Chen Buer.)
All in all, "a lethal weapon!" "Though if he doesn't have to fight, it's better he doesn't." Han Qingyu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Just a moment ago, when the old man sparred with him, he had raised his arm to deliver an axe chop... only to realize after swinging that he hadn't picked up the axe.
"Then I'll leave things here in your hands, Commander Shen. I need to head down and check on things," Han Qingyu said to Shen Fengting.
"Alright, don't worry." Shen Fengting smiled as he spoke, giving a meaningful look and waving a hand.
Han Qingyu was just turning around, barely halfway through the motion.
"Who are you?" Jiang Longchi shot to his feet. "Are you..."
"I'm your grandfather." Han Qingyu had no choice but to cut him off. Unable to bear the endless indignity, he shot back in a low mutter and hurried off the ship.
*Bang!*
Outside the cabin, he slammed head-on into someone.
This was an exceptionally improbable occurrence. Even at a casual run, Han Qingyu was blazing fast, but his reflexes were just as sharp; under almost any circumstance, he should have dodged.
The reason he failed to dodge this time was that the other person was fast too.
Moreover, this person wasn't sent flying—in fact, he wasn't even pushed back half a step!
This was undoubtedly an even more improbable outcome than their head-on collision. It meant the newcomer was strong... so strong that on the entire map of this world, there wouldn't be enough people like him to count on two hands.
Could it be Ne or Ye Jian sneaking in under a disguise? Han Qingyu immediately leapt back and took a look. "Master?!"
"Are you calling me?" Jiang Longchi asked, standing at the cabin doorway behind him.
Naturally not. Fearing that things would get tangled and veer back to the grandson business, Han Qingyu ignored him entirely without turning his head. Instead, he kept his eyes on the man before him—the one known for having humanity's absolute strongest defense: Master Dorje Gyatso.
No wonder he could run into Han Qingyu and not budge an inch! Aside from his lack of offensive power, every other aspect of this guy was roughly Vault-tier, perhaps even beyond.
Just as he had claimed himself: as long as dead iron didn't exist in this world, he could grind even Chen Buer to death in a one-on-one duel.
"Ah, Little Qingyu, thank goodness you're here! I'm boarding your ship." In his hurry, Master Dorje Gyatso didn't even bother with a Buddhist greeting, lowering his head to rush straight onto the ship.
"Wait." Han Qingyu quickly stepped across to block him. "Master, weren't you rejected?"
Dorje Gyatso had tried to pass as a veteran registering to return and was rejected. Han Qingyu certainly knew about this; when Huaxia informed them, the squad had reminisced about the past with quite a few sighs.
"No I wasn't! Monks do not tell lies..." Master Dorje Gyatso protested, looking aggrieved.
Right at that moment—"Over here!" A patrol squad from the Azure guard rushed over in a flurry. Seeing Dorje Gyatso blocked by Major Qing, one of them hastily reported, panting, "This guy climbed... When we spotted him, he charged right through... We couldn't catch up. Good thing you were here, Major Qing..."
"It's fine, he's one of us. Leave this to me." Han Qingyu dismissed the patrol, then turned around to look at Master Dorje Gyatso with a wry, helpless expression.
"Look at you. You're not young anymore, and you're a monk to boot. By the way, how did you get here?"
"By plane." The master's gaze turned pitiful and meek.
"Oh. Then... fly back."
"Out of money."
"I'll give... lend it to you," Han Qingyu said. "Once I see you off, I still have things to do."
With that, he reached out to haul him away.
"Don't do that." The master didn't dodge. He stood rooted to the spot, letting Han Qingyu pull while remaining completely immovable. "How about this: let's make a bet. Hit me once with your device active, your life source energy flaring, that dragon of yours roaring... If I let out a peep or take half a step back, I'll leave. If I don't budge, you take me along."
"No way," Han Qingyu replied after a moment's thought. "How about you hit me once instead? Hit me however you like, even put your back into it. If I make a sound or step back, I take you along. If I don't budge, you leave."
"..." Master Dorje Gyatso clenched his fist, looked down at it, then looked back up, his eyes pitiful and helpless. "You should hit me."
"You hit me," Han Qingyu said.
"You hit me."
"You hit me."
"..."
Wen Jifei arrived. Han Qingyu turned his head, greeting him with a look while gesturing toward Master Dorje Gyatso.
In truth, Wen Jifei had spotted the scene from afar and only came over to get a better look and listen. Chuckling, he simply sat down nearby to enjoy the show.
In doing so, he managed to pull himself out of the haze of romance and parting sorrow.
After about three minutes without a resolution, and remembering that Qingzi had yet to go say hello to the City of Sin's contingent, Wen Jifei had to stand up and step closer. "Master, Master, do you still remember me?"
Dorje Gyatso turned around, looked at him... then at Han Qingyu, and then back to Wen Jifei. "How about I hit you? If you make a sound or step back, you guys take me along. If you don't budge, I'll leave."
"..." Wen Jifei didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Exhaling to compose his face, he said, "Let's be serious, Master. This expedition is actually quite dangerous, you know?"
"That's why I have to go!"
"And frankly speaking, even if you go... you won't be of any use."
Dorje Gyatso spoke, and Wen Jifei spoke—their words collided.
"I—!" Master Dorje Gyatso froze, then cracked a self-deprecating grin, sorrow welling in his eyes. "But... I'm about to die of old age."
Wen Jifei: "..."
Han Qingyu: "..."
Perhaps because of Master Dorje Gyatso's expression and tone at that moment, neither of them could find words.
"I don't want to die of old age like this. I don't want to be a soldier who spent his entire life never setting foot on a battlefield while humanity teetered on the brink of destruction, locked in endless warfare..."
Dorje Gyatso had been kicked out on the very day he graduated recruit training. In all his years, he had never even touched a Great Spike. And the man who recommended to higher-ups that he be thrown out was named Chen Buer.
That bastard later became the commander of Huaxia's Sole Witness Legion, invincible under heaven.
Thus, he could never return.
"Still, I don't have the authority to let you board the ship," Han Qingyu explained.
"Yeah, your rejection came directly from Sole Witness Legion Headquarters," Wen Jifei said.
"May-Never-Starve, that bastard," the master muttered swiftly under his breath, looking both infuriated and somewhat cowardly.
"How about this? Let me contact that bastard again on your behalf and see what he says?" Having said that, Wen Jifei pulled out his communicator and placed a direct call to the Chief of Staff.
Why did he do this? Simply put, he was just trying to direct all of the master's resentment onto a certain old fellow who was currently being treated like an honored deity.
Yet unexpectedly, after hearing the situation on the ground, the Chief of Staff did not immediately uphold the rejection. Instead, he said he would go discuss it with Chen Xian'er.
The communicator fell quiet for about two minutes.
"Hello."
"Go ahead, Chief of Staff, I have you on speaker. Whatever Chen Buer said, just pass it along directly." To prevent Dorje Gyatso from becoming suspicious, and to keep the animosity properly focused, Wen Jifei had deliberately switched to speakerphone.
"Let him board the ship," Xu Xiaohong said with complicated emotion. "Just treat him like a tourist. Unless something happens, don't let him go outside."
"..." On the spot, all three froze.
"Alright, turn off speakerphone," Xu Xiaohong reminded him.
Han Qingyu turned his head and gave Master Dorje Gyatso a wry smile, mingled with helplessness, unease, and worry. But he truly could not refuse any longer. Gesturing toward the two old men by the door, he said, "Go on over and stay with those two."
Dorje Gyatso cheerfully ambled over. Naturally, he would never say thank you to the Legion Commander.
The Chief of Staff waited a moment on the other end before continuing:
"Let me tell you something. Dorje Gyatso was actually chosen by Chen Buer more than twenty years ago to be his partner if the day ever came when he fought Miwang in a final decisive battle.
"Of course, back then, Miwang was still an unknown name. Chen Buer had caught a saber projection spanning the stars beyond the Dome, and from that day forth he had been preparing to face the master of that strike. Back then, he said that if that battle ever truly arrived, in all of humanity there was probably only one person who could assist him: Dorje Gyatso."
"...Then why did you and Old Chen still tell us to bring him along?!" Han Qingyu and Wen Jifei snapped back from their stupor and asked in unison.
"Yes. Old Chen said to bring him along this time," Xu Xiaohong said without further explanation.
Chapter 901