Chapter 133 - Leave It to Luck

The bone-chilling wind of late December cut through the trees at the foot of the snowy mountains like whistling blades. The moon hung in the sky, painting the forest a patchwork of black and white. It was cold enough that there was no sound of insects to fill the frosty air.

Wu Xu sat wrapped in a thick, well-worn black cotton jacket. He rested in a concealed spot about three hundred meters from the cliff wall where Young Miss and her group were hiding, keeping watch over his surroundings.

He didn’t see this as particularly demanding. After all, his life had always been like this. There was nothing to compare it to and no other hardship to use as a reference.

This was the first time in Wu Xu’s conscious memory that he had ever left that sealed-off clan village.

Nobody had ever told him that his clear, bright eyes were rare in a grown man, nor that there were other ways of living.

Yuan Qing had stopped by once earlier to ask about the situation, say a few concerned words, and give him some medicine he claimed was very advanced.

Wu Xu accepted it with thanks. After the man left, though, he used his own old medicine to treat his wounds instead.

Yuan Qing had attempted to chat with him and build closeness, but as Wu Xu rarely responded, the conversation never got off the ground.

The spear. Right, I need to get the spear back. Wu Xu thought. I don’t know if I can beat that man, though. All he did was stand there, and that was enough to scare off the whole Arab group.

He peered down at the two dead iron curved blades beside him.

This was a deeply unfamiliar feeling. He replayed that moment in his mind. The man had asked if he knew how to use a blade, then took his spear and left. Despite feeling stifled, Wu Xu couldn’t help but let out a small, bitter smile. While he naturally knew how to smile, it was something he rarely did in front of others.

Maybe I can try ambushing him... but he didn’t kill me when he had the chance. What kind of person is he?

Wu Xu had read some books before. Old ones that taught loyalty and discipline, along with handwritten volumes from the clan, brushed in ink.

From his education, he knew the device and source energy were things he was supposed to be grateful for, because in the future, terrifying creatures clad in black armor would descend upon the world.

Everything the clan had done for the past few decades was to prepare for that day. When that time came, only those whom the clan had cultivated and sheltered would survive.

Earlier, Yuan Qing had asked him what his source energy integration level was. Wu Xu shook his head. It wasn’t a matter of hiding it. He truly didn’t know.

He didn’t even know what integration level meant.

When Wu Xu was thirteen, he and several children around his age were taken to undergo a terrifying surgery. Immediately afterward, source energy was force-flooded into their bodies. The survivors cultivated; the rest died.

Source energy was precious, so few were qualified to cultivate. At least, according to the clan leader. The reason Wu Xu had joined Young Miss on this outing was that the clan had run out of source energy. The aging clan leader had reached out to an old acquaintance from years past to get this opportunity.

Their biggest objective for this trip was source energy. That was what the clan needed.

But there was actually something else Wu Xu wanted deep down. He wanted a radio. Badly. Very badly.

The day before, on the way to the site, he’d been sitting in the vehicle when Yuan Qing got out to buy something from a little shop. An old man sat behind the counter there, and before him sat a radio.

There were people talking inside the radio, and it played beautiful songs.

***

Han Qingyu had found a larger cave. He propped the black spear across the entrance and hung the tarp they’d brought over it to block the wind.

The group all then entered via the route and direction that Han Qingyu detailed, so the bushes at the entrance looked untouched.

Han Qingyu then made charcoal elsewhere, carried it in, and covered it with grass ash so it gave off no visible light.

His survival skills were staggeringly extensive.

The group sat around the charcoal fire, balancing strips of meat on their blade tips and roasting them while they talked.

Han Qingyu had just decided against hiding like this for the next few days. He wanted to go out to scavenge.

Those were his exact words. Essentially, he wanted to seek out fights and loot the dead.

Han Qingyu hadn’t planned to bother with these scraps. His only goal coming in had been to get his hands on a couple of metal cores, which would be worth more than everything else combined.

However, he’d discovered two things in the chance encounter earlier that day.

First, he seemed to be one of the “monsters” of the trial grounds. As long as he stuck to scavenging and didn’t partake in those battles, it was unlikely anyone would pick a fight with him.

Second, no matter how small the amount, every energy core he picked up for free genuinely brought him tremendous joy.

There were over six hundred people constantly fighting and killing each other across this trial. He would never have an opportunity this perfect again.

The topic then turned to the events of the day.

“Was that man in black really that strong?!” He Tangtang asked, feeling a pang of regret at having missed it. He imagined a lone man with a spear, blocking a chokepoint and holding off more than twenty opponents alone.

What a brave fighter, he thought admiringly. Too bad his spear is gone now.

“What about his teammates?” He Tangtang asked.

“Didn’t see them.” Han Qingyu shook his head, bit into a piece of roasted meat that wasn’t quite done, and set it down to continue cooking.

“Actually, he’s probably much stronger than what we saw,” Shen Yixiu said. “He’s still using a third-gen device, which has a much lower source energy utilization rate than later models. On top of that, because it’s a surgically implanted device, he’ll take much more damage per hit in battle.”

Rust Girl had mentioned that the older devices were surgically implanted before. People like the legion commander and Shen Fengting from that generation still carried the scars even after upgrading.

The thought alone was enough to send shivers down their spines.

“You mean the impact directly shakes the internal organs?” Yin Caixin asked, thoroughly creeped out.

Han Qingyu made a face too. “Internal organs... like the kidneys?”

That was the first organ that came to his mind because the very first time he’d ever handled a maneuvering device was when he’d helped Lao Jian connect the kidney attachment point on an eighth-gen device. It had made a lasting impression, and he had subconsciously adopted the stance that combat power mainly came from the adrenal glands.

“The... kidneys?” Yin Caixin turned to stare at him in utter bewilderment.

“Of course it’s the kidneys,” Wen Jifei chimed in. “Haven’t you ever heard one of our old sayings?”

Yin Caixin shook her head. “What saying?”

“Kidney failure is simply part of every warrior’s life.”[1]

“Oh, I think I’ve heard that one.” Yin Caixin thought for a moment. “So?”

“It means that people who fight a lot tend to damage their kidneys.” Wen Jifei explained with a straight face.

Yin Caixin nodded and made a mental note. “Oh.”

The others were all desperately holding back laughter.

Han Qingyu couldn’t bring himself to call Wen Jifei out in front of everyone. He just quietly hoped that Yin Caixin would never visit the Oriental Republic.

The next morning, the group left the cave and headed to a snowmelt stream on the far side of the mountain to wash up and stretch their legs.

Suddenly, Yin Caixin let out a startled cry.

The rest glanced over and soon spotted it. A body was tumbling downstream, bumping against rocks with the current. The fatal wound was still bleeding. It looked like the person had just died in a fight and fallen into the stream.

Everyone felt a bit sick when they realized they’d just been washing up in the stream.

Everyone except Han Qingyu, that is. He just pulled the body over and opened the combat case.

“Hah! I can’t believe I found a core just like that,” he exclaimed before searching the rest of the body. Disappointingly, there were no spare cores. “What a shame.”

He decided to follow the stream uphill to look for more.

“It’s all snowcapped mountains up there, though. What would they be fighting over up there?” Wen Jifei asked.

At that moment, the whirring of a helicopter cut clearly through the sky.

Holy shit...

An airdrop had arrived.

“Quick, let’s go!” Han Qingyu led the charge in a dead sprint.

By the time they arrived, the airdrop had landed, and the helicopter had flown off.

At least fifty or sixty people were in a standoff. Among them were Preservers, as well as Coalition teams from various countries. It looked like tempers were already running hot.

Regardless of allegiance, nobody was willing to back down. Devices were activated and blades drawn.

For some, claiming a metal core at the Alphonse family’s trial grounds wasn’t just a practical gain. It was a point of honor. In short, it wasn’t purely about resources.

Han Qingyu had a much simpler mindset. All he cared about was energy cores. Honor didn’t matter to him at all.

“What’s going on here?” Han Qingyu called out with a smile as he approached.

Yin Caixin walked beside him, repeating the line in English and French.

Some people’s expressions soured the moment they saw Han Qingyu.

“The airdropped metal core fell in there,” someone from an Oriental Republic team helpfully explained, gesturing to a hole in the snowy ground.

The hole wasn’t big and probably wasn’t very deep, but it was pitch black inside. Nothing was visible.

Han Qingyu tried walking closer. Dozens of blades instantly pointed at him. This included Preserver blades and even some Coalition blades from various countries.

Young people and their impulsive need to fight over pride.

“This seems problematic. Think about how many people will die if a free-for-all breaks out. Some of you are Coalition allies! You’re going to cut each other up here instead of going after the Sharpie?” Han Qingyu asked incredulously.

Yin Caixin also added some emphasis in her translation.

“Everyone should be careful not to get played by any Wipers hiding among us,” Han Qingyu warned.

While they all understood his logic, nobody was willing to give in. There was no straightforward solution to this.

Han Qingyu frowned conspicuously and made a show of thinking hard. “How about this? I’ve got a suggestion to keep things friendly. Let’s leave it to luck.”

Yin Caixin translated, and everyone stared at him. The response came in a chorus of various languages. They seemed to be waiting for him to explain.

“Each team sends one person to lie down at the edge of the hole. At the count of three, everyone reaches in?,” he explained, gesturing in an attempt to make things clearer. “Whoever grabs it keeps it. What do you guys think? It’s fair and square, and each team gets one shot. No hard feelings.”

His gaze swept across the crowd with a good-natured smile.

Perhaps he came across as a bit too easygoing, though, as a foreigner abruptly stepped forward, waving his blade and shouting something at Han Qingyu.

Friend and foe were hard to tell apart in this situation, and Han Qingyu couldn’t be sure of the man’s allegiance.

“What did he say?” he asked Yin Caixin.

“He asked why everyone should listen to you when you showed up late,” Yin Caixin explained.

“Oh.”

Han Qingyu turned to face the man, drew his blade, and swung it.

Using the flat of the blade, he slapped the man across the face and sent him flying.

Everyone froze.

Han Qingyu hadn’t used a sneak attack. It had simply been fast and precise. He was even holding back his true strength.

Sheathing his blade, he glanced around and said in a low voice, “Because if we were to settle this with blades, I’d have the best chance of being the last one standing.”

1. This is wordplay. Wen Jifei says, “肾 (shèn) 败乃兵家常事,” which means “kidney failure is simply part of every warrior’s life.” The actual saying is “胜(shèng)败乃兵家常事”, which means “victory and failure are both part of every warrior’s life.” Wen Jifei is deliberately giving her wrong information again. ☜