Chapter 136 - Days on the Run

It was late at night in Research Institute No. 2 of the Coalition’s Oriental Republic Army Group.

“Yaoyao?” A colleague squinted to get a better look and, upon confirming that the person coming down the stairs was indeed the institute’s resident young genius, raised a hand in greeting. “Why are you going home so late?”

“Ah, well, I’ve just been a little busy lately,” Xin Yaoqiao said with a smile and a wave.

When she got home, her mother asked just as curiously, “When did you become so hardworking? Qiaoqiao, have you been coming back from the language lab this late every day?”

As long as Mrs. Xin could remember, her daughter had never liked staying at the lab, always longing to join the front lines of the Witnesses instead. If not for her family’s relentless suppression of that desire, she probably would’ve run away long ago.

Xin Yaoqiao didn’t respond, simply glancing up at her mom with a crescent-eyed smile.

“You’re not interested in that die-hard bachelor anymore, are you? Have you had a change of heart? Is that why my little Yaoqiao has decided to focus on research?” Mrs. Xin asked, head tilting down in question.

“I still am.” Xin Yaoqiao winked and grinned smugly. “That’s exactly why I need to earn more source energy cores. Once I crack the Sharpies’ language system, I’ll hide it and use it to extort Grandpa.”

Extort my dad? Mrs. Xin wore an exasperated look. “Do you really want energy cores that badly?”

“Yeah, I do. I also think that once we can communicate with Sharpies, there’s a chance we could extort them too,” Xin Yaoqiao said. “We could even trick them! And then—”

“I see,” Mrs. Xin interrupted, resolutely turning around. She had connected the dots and was prepared to leave the conversation at that.

It’s so frustrating being a mother! My darling Yaoqiao has the status and the looks. How could her love life be so tragic?!

Seeing her mom about to leave, Xin Yaoqiao hopped to her feet, grabbed her mom’s arm, and practically dragged her back to the couch. “Mom, you don’t know this, but he actually went to take part in that trial at the Third Fixed Exploration Site. He went with a Swiss girl. That girl... well, she’s... pretty—but he doesn’t like her! All he wants are energy cores.”

Mrs. Xin’s expression darkened. “How do you know he doesn’t like her?”

“You said so yourself—someone like him is destined to be single for life.”

“That’s true.” Mrs. Xin nodded, still feeling rather incensed at the brat who dared to crush a beetle on her daughter’s collarbone. “That girl’s probably not a fool either.”

“Exactly!” Xin Yaoqiao vehemently agreed, seeming much more at ease with her mother’s validation.

Mrs. Xin smiled. “Then why are you still saving up energy cores for him?”

“Well, because I’m a fool, of course!” Xin Yaoqiao cheerfully responded, eyes fluttering shut in brief delight before opening again.

Mrs. Xin was at a loss for words. Nothing could stop her from standing up and leaving this time. She made it all the way to the bedroom door before abruptly recalling something.

“You got me so worked up I almost forgot to mention, your grandma just called and asked if you’re visiting her for New Year this year.”

Xin Yaoqiao mulled it over. “I’ll go.”

Victory. The Qu family and Xin family grandparents competed over this every year. Mrs. Xin felt rather pleased with herself for helping her parents get ahead, chin rising slightly in pride.

“You can let Grandma know yourself. She’s still awake, waiting for you.”

“Mn.” Xin Yaoqiao rolled over, picked up the phone, and dialed the number.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Xin slipped into the bedroom, leaving the door slightly ajar so she could stand there and eavesdrop for a while. She heard her daughter acting cute on the phone with her grandmother, hinting that she wanted an energy core in place of her New Year’s money this year.[1]

This is driving me mad, Mrs. Xin thought, thoroughly worked up.

“I wonder if he’s in any danger... Someone always dies at this stupid trial,” Xin Yaoqiao muttered to herself in the living room outside.

***

It was late at night in the trial grounds of the Third Fixed Exploration Site.

Wen Jifei could no longer hold his curiosity back and made up an excuse to get Han Qingyu to accompany him out of the cave for a smoke. They made their way to the stream on the other side of the mountain. Once they sat down, Wen Jifei asked about the metal cores.

This time, Han Qingyu hid nothing from him. He told him he could directly absorb the metal cores, and that he could both absorb and recharge the blue energy cores.

“That’s why I told you I was probably really strong back when we were going to the source energy field,” Han Qingyu explained.

“Oh, I remember that. I even replied that I might be pretty strong too,” Wen Jifei said, chuckling to himself. “So, what exactly are you?”

Han Qingyu shook his head somewhat helplessly. “I don’t know either.”

“Hmm... Could you be a mini human version of a source energy field?” Wen Jifei suddenly suggested. “Maybe your energy clashed with the source energy field, causing the monitoring devices to short-circuit.”

“Oh?” Han Qingyu paused, pondering this possibility.

A sound came from downstream.

The two hastily lay down on the slope to hide, observing the scene by the faint moonlight.

“They’re wearing headscarves,” Wen Jifei whispered.

“Mn.” Han Qingyu’s expression was grave. “It’s that group, but there seem to be more than before. Look at the ones without head coverings. At least two of them are skilled fighters.”

“What are they up to, sneaking around like this? Are they looking for us?” Wen Jifei paused. “Did Wu Xu reveal our approximate location?”

“Probably not. Besides, the location we brought him to is quite far from here.”

“Then...”

“It doesn’t matter why they’re here. We need to leave. Let’s go”

Han Qingyu didn’t want to get into a fierce battle before the Sharpies arrived, especially not when the other party had both the numbers and skilled fighters to back them up. Even if all five of them were present, there would be no leeway for them to look out for each other while fighting against this many opponents, and the likelihood of casualties would be high.

The two decisively returned to the cave, rounded up Shen Yixiu and the other two, grabbed their belongings, and quickly retreated to the clifftop on the opposite mountain, where they lay flat on their stomachs to monitor the situation below.

Sure enough, Adupu arrived at the cave entrance with his men not long after. They surrounded the entrance and shouted into the cave.

“How did he find out where we were?” Shen Yixiu asked. “Did someone spot us and tail us without our knowledge?”

Han Qingyu shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Down below, when there was no response from the cave, Adupu had his men slowly make their way inside. After receiving their assessment, he headed in with an entourage of his own as well.

Somebody had clearly been staying in the cave, but it had since been deserted.

Inside the cave, Adupu picked up a few feathers from the ground and examined them closely. “These... these are my hawk’s feathers!”

His sacred hawk had been roasted!

Jumping to his feet, he spun around and burst out of the cave, shouting at the top of his lungs—in English this time.

From his demeanor, he seemed extremely confident.

“He said he knows we haven’t gone far, and wants you to come out and face him,” Yin Caixin whispered in translation. “He also said he wants to reclaim the dignity he lost last time, and that we all have to pay for his hawk with our lives.”

“Seriously? Didn’t leave on his own last time? Little Qing didn’t force him. What kind of twisted logic is this? He had that thing keep an eye on us; what’s wrong with us catching and eating it?” Wen Jifei muttered under his breath.

Han Qingyu gauged the distance between them and Adupu’s group. Deciding it was far enough to escape, he whispered a few words into Yin Caixin’s ear.

Yin Caixin put her hands around her mouth and shouted, “How did you know we were here?!”

Adupu paused for a moment, then replied.

“What did he say?” Han Qingyu asked.

Yin Caixin glanced at him. “He said it was a divine revelation.”

Nobody believed that.

Then, Adupu stood at the cave entrance, raised ?a metal core in one hand, and shouted something.

“He said if you want it, you’ll have to go down and get it,” Yin Caixin said.

To go or not to go? Of course I’m not going, Han Qingyu thought. Adupu can’t absorb it. As long as the trial isn’t over, I still have a chance.

“Trouble,” Shen Yixiu warned. “They secretly sent people to climb the mountain.”

Several of them drew their swords.

“Run!” Han Qingyu yelled.

They ran.

At the time, Han Qingyu hadn’t realized that this flight would last through the night and until dawn. As they were about to rest during the day, the enemy caught up to them yet again, forcing them to go on the run once more.

Adupu was like a man possessed.

A day passed, then two, then three...

Soon, everybody in the trial knew that Han Qingyu’s group was being hunted.

Their days on the run continued for quite a few days, until finally, the alarm signaling the Sharpies’ descent sounded.

1. Children receive money in red packets from their elders during Chinese/Lunar New Year. ☜