Beyond the Zenith

The maneuvering device remained activated. Wen Jifei soon woke, regaining consciousness faster than the vast majority of recruits from the morning session. He had likely flipped again.

“Oh no!” he yelped in terror the instant he opened his eyes. He curled up, face to the ceiling, scrambling backward on all fours, like a damsel in distress being cornered by a bully.

The person squatting in front of him, checking on his condition, was Zhang Dao’an.

Han Qingyu and Mira sat farther off, shelling peanuts and laughing at the scene.

“Scared me to death.” Wen Jifei wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, rubbed the side of his head to check for bumps, and looked up. “Old Zhang.”

Wen Jifei probably didn’t even realize he had called Zhang Dao’an so casually. Han Qingyu and Mira exchanged a silent glance, both a little impressed.

“What is it?” Zhang Dao’an asked, unfazed.

“This thing where I keep flipping,” Wen Jifei said worriedly, well aware of what had caused him to spit blood and black out. “Does it mean I can’t wear the device at all?”

Zhang Dao’an stared at him and shook his head. “No. It’s only like this the first time. After this, even when you flip to F, the worst you’ll feel is some weakness or a temporary inability to sense source energy. You won’t be coughing blood or passing out.”

“That’s good.” Wen Jifei let out a long breath of relief, reached over, and patted Zhang Dao’an on the shoulder. “You’re the only one who truly cares about me, Old Zhang.”

He shot a resentful look at the two peanut-shelling people in the distance.

It took some time for Wen Jifei to wrap up with the device, and by the time Han Qingyu headed over to the locker room to change, there weren’t many people left inside.

On top of his locker sat a new gray-black hooded long coat.

Although the material felt like leather, it didn’t gleam the way leather jackets usually did. It looked deliberately distressed and was supple yet tough to the touch.

He asked around and learned that it was the autumn uniform, just issued today.

The reminder caught him off guard. It was already almost mid-October, nearly two months since he’d left home. The reply from his parents had yet to arrive, probably still being forwarded from place to place since he’d been transferred again. He didn’t know if they’d received the ten thousand yuan he’d sent, whether they were at ease, or if they were in good health.

“This is awesome. Look at this.” He Tangtang put on the autumn uniform to demonstrate.

When he pulled the hood up, the gray coat almost completely covered the maneuvering device on the inside. The look was reminiscent of an assassin, cool in a way that was more mysterious and mature than the summer outfit.

“Imagine walking into battle like this, then throwing the coat off and powering up the device before you grab your blade and charge in.” Liu Shiheng clicked his tongue in satisfaction. “The aura of it. You could wear this getup to pick up girls in Harbor City... What about the blade, though? If you keep it under the coat, it’ll poke out and make you look like a hunchback.”

He turned the coat inside out and found a few right-angle iron clips riveted to the back, structured to hold a dead iron straight blade in place. Slung diagonally, hilt over the right shoulder. Same as before.

“What if someone’s left-handed?” He Tangtang mimed drawing a blade from his right shoulder with his left hand. It was definitely awkward. “I’ve also seen officers carrying two blades.”

“You guys didn’t see the notice posted by the door?” A nearby recruit nodded toward the entrance. “Left-handers can request to have their coats modified. Dual blades would probably work in the future too.”

“I see.” He Tangtang thought it over. “What if I want to carry eight blades on my back?”

This guy’s endless stream of questions was impossible to predict.

Han Qingyu tried to picture it and nearly burst out into laughter. “Then you’d have a whole iron fan on your back. Are you planning to throw them at Sharpies like darts? Come on, let’s eat first.”

Three days later, Han Qingyu was among the first batch to receive a dead iron straight blade along with his device, and he officially began attack training.

Day after day came and went, and just like that, more than ten days passed.

***

Xin Yaoqiao peered at her reflection in the darkened glass of a clothing store window on a small town street and reached up to smooth her slightly messy hair. Then, adjusting the straps of her old backpack, she grinned.

At the moment, she looked exactly like an ordinary girl who had left home alone to seek work or visit relatives. Even her complexion was a dusty gray. A large, pitch-black jacket was zipped up to her chin, concealing the maneuvering device underneath.

It had been more than ten days since she had run away. During that time, she dared not drive or take Coalition routes and vehicles. Even staying at inns or taking buses required her to keep an eye out for the Wipers. Not to mention, she also had to evade her grandfather’s pursuit at the same time. She felt she’d been working far too hard.

The girl wandered through the street, peering around with interest.

Hopefully, it’ll be love at first sight. I’d hate for all this traveling to be for nothing. What if he’s not that good-looking in person, or he’s annoying and I don’t like him? Or what if I like him and he has the audacity not to like me back? I’ll... beat him up. Mm. That’s a good plan.

A little while later, Xin Yaoqiao held a small transparent plastic bowl filled with fried rice noodle chips coated in so much seasoning they looked dark and crumbly.

They smelled incredible.

Stabbing a piece with a toothpick, she tilted her head back to drop it into her mouth, being careful not to let any fall. There was sauce on the corner of her lips, but instead of wiping it with her hand, she simply licked at it with the tip of her tongue, then speared another piece.

Hmm... Where am I? Xin Yaoqiao wondered, turning around to survey the unfamiliar small-town street in the sunset.

With some difficulty, she tried to recall the map she’d memorized. Even after all the detours, she had to be close to the Ninth Army by now.

Which way do I go next, though? Is it true that nobody can have it all? Could even a beautiful prodigy like me have a weakness? Could it be that I’m... hopelessly bad with directions?!

***

“No kidding. Of course she’s lost. She got lost inside the research institute several times when she was younger. Have you forgotten about that? She couldn’t find the school or the way home,” Qu Zhongshi said into the phone, making a poor attempt at comforting both himself and his daughter at the same time. “Relax, nothing will happen to her. Trust me. Qiaoqiao really is just lost. We all forgot about this because we hardly ever let her go out on her own. The Ninth Army’s commander is already waiting for her with his trusted aides. Don’t worry.”

His daughter hesitated. “Can’t we send more people out to look for her?”

“We really can’t afford to send more. Even with the Ninth Army, I only notified Lu Wuzheng and told him to keep it quiet,” Qu Zhongshi said, frustrated but resigned. “We both know we have moles in the Coalition. Even if we didn’t, creating a commotion could actually put Qiaoqiao in danger. Right now, no news is the best news.”

Father and daughter hung up. Qu Zhongshi stayed in his office, waiting to receive word about his granddaughter.

***

Meanwhile, Xin Yaoqiao stood on the street and muttered to herself, “Guess I’ll have to check the map...”

The issue had never been that she had no map. She just thought a genius of her caliber wouldn’t need to reference it.

“Mm. I’ll check once I’m out of town.”

With that, she quietly left the street, strolled out of town, and stood at the roadside for a moment. After briefly scanning her surroundings, she wandered into the trees by the road, venturing deeper and deeper inside.

Whoosh!

She stopped. Two custom-made dead iron combat blades dropped from her backpack into her hands.

As she stood with her back to her three pursuers, her aura turned dangerous as she said, “Come out.”

She’d been aware of them since a tractor passed by on the street in town and had preemptively activated her maneuvering device to assess their strength through the vibrations of their footfall and breathing. They wouldn’t be able to keep her here.

Might as well kill them.