Chapter 131 - Help, for a Price

Han Qingyu wasn’t about to help them.

The first reason for this was exactly as Han Qingyu had said to Shen Yixiu. They didn’t know who to help. There was a ninety-nine percent chance that two Preserver factions were hacking at each other down there. Being outnumbered and on the losing side didn’t automatically make the young man in black more worthy of help.

The logic of this world was straightforward. They were trying to kill him, but he was also trying to kill them. There was often no justice or evil in these kinds of fights.

Han Qingyu wasn’t one for righteousness either. He was just another person struggling to survive in this cruel world.

Another reason was that Han Qingyu didn’t believe anyone in a team-based trial would run solo this quickly. Based on the way the man held his ground without retreating, there were likely others behind him. His side probably had something up its sleeve.

If they didn’t, and he had willingly allowed his teammates to abandon him, there was no reason for Han Qingyu to risk getting injured to help either.

Not helping was the reasonable call.

The fighting below continued.

“It doesn’t look like it’ll be settled anytime soon. Are we really not helping?” Shen Yixiu asked after watching for a while. “If not, maybe we should just—”

As she was about to suggest they pull back, she turned to face Han Qingyu, only to freeze.

Han Qingyu had vanished from beside her.

Where did he go?

Only after Yin Caixin pointed him out did Shen Yixiu spot him. Han Qingyu was crawling flat on the ground down the slope ahead, inching forward through the bushes.

He was heading for two bodies that lay among the shrubbery, roughly a dozen meters behind the Arab fighters’ line.

“Is he going to scavenge?” Yin Caixin asked worriedly as she watched. “Even now, he’s going for it?”

“Yeah.” Shen Yixiu paused, then explained on Han Qingyu’s behalf, “If he waits until the fight is over, they’ll collect everything themselves.”

Yin Caixin nodded and thought it over seriously. “Would you call that risking your life for money, or just being blinded by greed?”

“Neither. It’s more like... he can’t help himself,” Shen Yixiu said, a mix of exasperation, irritation, and amusement rising in her chest.

She also felt inexplicably touched. The greedier he was, the heavier everything he gave away became.

Taking a deep breath, she dug her toes into solid rock and bent one knee slightly, readying herself to charge downhill for a rescue at a moment’s notice.

Yin Caixin noticed this and quietly shifted her own blade to her side. If a fight broke out, she’d just go straight in with her Invincible Firewind Wheels. The other side had the numbers for it to work, after all.

Han Qingyu drew a slow, deep breath and then held it. He had gotten extremely close, but the fighting ahead was ongoing, and he was confident he wouldn’t be spotted.

He was good at this.

The first body was in a perfect position, lying on its side with its back turned. Han Qingyu crouched beneath the bushes and reached out, first confirming there were no spare energy cores on the body before carefully pushing open the latches on the combat case and easing out the energy core inside.

Squeezing it in his palm, he gauged the remaining charge. More than two-thirds left. Not bad. Satisfied, he slipped the energy core into his pocket.

He then slowly crawled toward the second one.

The clashing of weapons and the shouts of combat were close, the sort of thing that would rattle a rookie with weak nerves. For Han Qingyu, though, the noise actually helped cover any sounds that could give him away.

A sharp clang cut through the air.

Several dead iron curved blades hooked upward simultaneously with the flat of their blades, sending the lone fighter’s black spear flying. It landed nearby, bouncing off a rock with a ringing clatter.

The man himself looked like he was barely standing, spent to his limit. Even so, he drew a short knife and continued blocking the path.

Han Qingyu ignored all of that. Instead, he took the chance to reach for the second body’s combat case and removed the energy core.

Next, he reached for the pocket at the body’s waist.

“Aaah!”

The body suddenly jumped up.

Han Qingyu was startled.

The bastard had been playing dead.

Han Qingyu hadn’t even thought to check for that.

Since he was already exposed—and feeling indignant about it at that—he immediately leaped up and grabbed the man. He dragged him back, pinned him down, and without caring about anything else, dug the energy core out of the bastard’s pocket and shoved it into his own.

Only then did he let go.

His sudden appearance brought the battle ahead to a temporary halt. The man in black got a moment to recover, staggering two steps before barely keeping himself from falling.

The Arab fighters turned around as one, their blades immediately pointing at Han Qingyu, shouting things he couldn’t understand.

They hadn’t charged at him yet, though.

Han Qingyu made a gesture behind his back, signaling Rust Girl and Yin Caixin to stay put. Then he just stood there, watching them, not drawing his blade.

The other side was in a fierce internal discussion.

Prince Adupu’s first instinct was to order the intruder killed. He’d been on the verge of completing a hunt and was thoroughly annoyed by the interruption.

One of his attendants, however, immediately grabbed his arm, his expression tense.

“He was involved in the battle at the hotel that day,” the attendant said gravely.

Adupu hesitated. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“He...” Adupu hadn’t personally witnessed the Rust Girl Dimple Slash that day, but he’d heard detailed descriptions of it more than a few times since.

This was worrying. If both sides drew weapons, he could be the first one targeted.

So, he decided to first ask the intruder’s purpose, but the other man didn’t understand their language.

“Is he alone?” Adupu asked, reluctant to back down.

His hawk circled overhead.

The attendant carefully tracked where the hawk was circling and studied the area closely. A glint of sunlight flashed off Rust Girl’s blade as she leaned forward to get a better look.

“That possibly even more terrifying iron armor is there too. There could be an ambush.”

***

The Arab fighters all left, just like that.

The language barrier meant Han Qingyu honestly had no idea what had just happened. His expression, however, remained perfectly controlled. Not a flicker of emotion showed. It seemed exactly as though he’d known all along that simply standing there would make them leave.

It made for a bizarre scene.

Then, it was just him and the man in black.

The man was severely weakened, so Han Qingyu wasn’t worried about being attacked. Stepping closer, he asked flatly, “Do you understand Chinese?”

The man nodded.

“Oriental Republic?”

He nodded.

“Mute?”

“No.”

“Azure Coalition?”

“No.”

“I have no interest in killing you.”

The man nodded.

“In fact, I just saved your life.”

“Yeah... Thank you.”

Han Qingyu expected repayment for this favor, but this fellow appeared dirt poor. After mulling it over, he asked, “Can you use a blade?”

“I can.” The man in black nodded.

“Good. There are two blades near the body on the ground over there. See them?” Han Qingyu helpfully pointed them out.

The man didn’t respond.

For the first time, Han Qingyu saw an emotion shift in the man’s eyes. It looked like utter bafflement. The man genuinely couldn’t parse what the person in front of him was getting at.

He found out soon enough.

By the time he returned to his senses, Han Qingyu had already taken his spear and left.

All he saw was Han Qingyu’s silhouette walking off with an air of utter entitlement.