Beyond the Zenith

Han Qingyu didn’t mind others using “Blood Gourd Boy” to refer to Instructor Lao. After all, the nickname had started with him and spread from there.

For him to be called “Eldest Gourd,” though...

That implied a ranking. If there were an eldest, then there was almost certainly a second eldest, and who would that be?

Sometimes, self-awareness was a truly annoying thing to have.

“You don’t need to feel too bad about it, Plague Chicken. You did contribute last night,” Han Qingyu said, changing the subject with jarring abruptness. “You drew two ape-men and over a dozen people away from us. Sure, you can’t cut people down like an A-ranker, but at least you can take a beating like one.”

Laughter broke out.

When it came down to it, the most decisive figure in last night’s operation was still Plague Chicken. Han Qingyu and the others probably wouldn’t have thought to bring Shen Yixiu at all.

Only someone with a natural gift for shamelessness and an ease with people could have pulled that off as smoothly as Wen Jifei did.

Wen Jifei knew Han Qingyu best and shot him a flat look. “Let’s get back to Eldest Gourd, shall we... Second Gourd?”

Shen Yixiu glanced up at Han Qingyu at an inopportune moment.

Han Qingyu cleared his throat, avoiding her gaze. “Right, well,Platoon Leader Lao won’t work. First, he’s too principled. If he joined us, he could report us at any time. Second, he said it himself. Once the recruit period ends, he’s going back to Platoon 752.”

In truth, Han Qingyu had also considered going to Platoon 752, where he could keep an eye on things closer to home. The Coalition’s assignment regulations, however, included a rule prohibiting soldiers from serving in districts near their hometowns.

Lao Jian was thus ruled out.

“What about Wobbles? She’s pretty good. She’s a strong fighter, and she listens to you,” He Tangtang proposed.

He Tangtang made this suggestion in complete ignorance of Xin Yaoqiao’s background and what it would actually mean to recruit her into a scheme to steal from the Azure Coalition.

The girl’s maternal grandfather was the Chairman of the Oriental Republic Coalition Council.

Of course, Han Qingyu wasn’t aware of this either. All he knew was that an S-ranker had personally come to fetch her from District 1123.

Her status was obviously on another level—nothing like Han Qingyu’s own pathetic prospective tier. The prospective tier seemed rather useless to him. It didn’t even come with a fixed benefit.

“She seems to be part of the research division, and her status is pretty important. We probably can’t afford to involve her.” Han Qingyu paused, then added jokingly, “Once our operations grow big enough, we could always consider kidnapping her.”

Thus, Xin Yaoqiao was also ruled out.

“Actually, if you’re worried about running into those ape-men again, Mira is the best fit. She can provide aerial suppression, and she’d complement you two well.” Wen Jifei suggested seriously.

Han Qingyu considered this. “You’re right. We could try approaching Mira.”

“So, for the mutual selection, do we all go to Mira’s platoon?” Liu Shiheng asked, sounding a little excited.

There had been a lot of chatter recently about the mutual selection. Given the gap in their abilities, he figured he wouldn’t end up in the same platoon as Han Qingyu, but if it was Mira’s platoon, he at least had a chance.

Han Qingyu shot him a look.

“Isn’t Mira going to be a platoon leader?” Liu Shiheng asked uncertainly.

“Not necessarily.”

“Oh.” Liu Shiheng deflated.

In any case, their little off-the-books raiding crew now had its first recruitment target: Mira.

“Four still doesn’t seem like quite enough.” Wen Jifei sighed, pointedly leaving himself and Liu Shiheng out of the count.

“Yeah. We’ll figure the rest out once we’re in our district platoons.” Han Qingyu mentally noted the people he had on hand and considered the gaps they needed to fill.

“Have you decided which platoon you want to join?” Shen Yixiu asked.

Han Qingyu shook his head. “I haven’t thought about it yet.”

“No rush. You can wait until after the recruitment briefing assembly.” Shen Yixiu nodded silently.

Han Qingyu absently-mindedly noticed the difference between her movements in and out of combat. The former was usually silent, but the latter often had a pronounced mechanical quality.

The other four asked in unison, “What’s a recruitment briefing assembly?”

“You don’t know? There’s a briefing assembly held every year before the recruits leave camp for the mutual selection. The top twenty district platoons in the army will attend if they need new members and present themselves to the recruits,” Shen Yixiu explained.

“Wait, so the good ones get picked off first?” Liu Shiheng asked, getting a little worked up. “How are the other platoons supposed to compete?”

“It’s not that simple. Once a district platoon has its formations drilled and coordinated, taking down Sharpies isn’t all that difficult, so the impact isn’t that big,” Shen Yixiu explained. “Plus, those high-ranking platoons only take two or three recruits a year at most. The soldiers they train and produce are usually all future platoon leaders themselves. It actually benefits the Coalition’s overall fighting strength.”

“Oh.” Liu Shiheng fell silent.

Even He Tangtang seemed conflicted and stayed quiet.

None of them voiced their concerns, but the thought was still on their minds.

What if the Gold Erasers want Han Qingyu? It’s not like we can talk him out of it or hold him back.

Han Qingyu was also quietly weighing his options.

***

The light of dawn spread across the sky. It was cool in the valley, and the creek was clear.

Han Qingyu and the others kneeled by the river bend, cupping water to wash their faces and rinse their mouths. Perhaps it was time to head down the mountain for some breakfast.

He Tangtang noticed Shen Yixiu sitting still and asked her bluntly, “Hey, you don’t need to wash your face?”

“Oh, I...” Shen Yixiu paused briefly, as if struggling to find the right words. “To be honest, I’m... probably not a proper human anymore. I run on source energy, and there’s no dust inside the shell. Of course, I’m still growing, so things do get a little dirty from time to time. I can take a bath if I really want to. It’s just more complicated. I have to go through the port where the energy core slots in, run source energy through the metal strips to create a vortex, and let the water in. Then...”

She trailed off with a soft, hoarse laugh. It was easier for her to be cold and decisive in combat. When it came to everyday things, though, she found herself stumbling. She had spent little time around others due to the barriers of her condition, so she simply wasn’t used to it.

In truth, Iron Maiden actually liked bathing quite a bit. The sensation of water touching her body was precious to her. However, it used up a lot of source energy, and she couldn’t do it all the time.

He Tangtang thought for a moment, then said admiringly, “Your skin must be really fair, then.”

Shen Yixiu suddenly grabbed him and hurled him against the rock wall.

Even as he tumbled down to the ground, he still couldn’t puzzle out what he had said wrong. She didn’t get sun, could wash up, and stayed nourished on source energy. Fair skin seemed like a perfectly logical conclusion to him.

“You’re saying you can create a source energy vortex and generate suction?” Han Qingyu asked in surprise.

Shen Yixiu nodded.

“That means your combat ability is probably a lot stronger than what you’ve been showing.” Han Qingyu couldn’t hide his admiration and amazement at Shen Yixiu’s control over source energy.

“I... I never really thought about combat before. I was just, well, trying to stay alive.” Shen Yixiu said seriously. I—I’ll work harder from now on!”