Chapter 120 - The Mixed Girl

If the allure of refined energy cores to the dead iron straight Han Qingyu was akin to an exceptional beauty to an ordinary man, then the temptation of a raw metal core was the equivalent of booking an entire lingerie runway show with the luxury of doing as he pleased.

Shen Fengting said there were four of them too.

So what if Wipers slip in? I’ve been worried about not finding them! Han Qingyu thought. As for the Preservers... Who exactly are they?

This wasn’t the first time he had heard the term, but he had never paid it much mind, as the name sounded relatively harmless.

“Deep Sea, Earth’s Core, and Long Voyage.” Shen Fengting listed the main branches of the Preservers. Almost all of them were self-explanatory.

Liu Shiheng nodded from the side. “I understand now. They’re to-be runaways.”

“Pretty much doomsday arks, right?” Wen Jifei asked, thinking it over. “Sounds like something only the rich and powerful would bother thinking about.”

Shen Fengting glanced at him. “You’re right, there is an ark program. They want to head into space and find a new place to live, or just scrape by on the ark for a while so they can wait to see how it all turns out.”

Among those aware of the Sharpie threat to humanity, some chose self-preservation, be it out of a pessimistic belief that resistance was hopeless, or out of other personal values.

A portion of them had originally come from the Azure Coalition, though more came from the heads of state who had cooperated with the Coalition in the early stages. Not only did they know about the Sharpies and the Coalition, but they usually also had a powerful family or corporate power behind them.

They were preparing in their own way. After all, they had no shortage of money, people, or talent. There was only one issue: existing technology wasn’t enough to achieve the self-preservation they were hoping for. This was the reason they fought over source energy as well and researched the technology behind it.

From Shen Fengting’s telling, it seemed the relationship between the Preservers and Azure Coalition was a delicate one.

Sometimes, the Preservers cooperated with the Azure Coalition on research or traded with them. At other times, they chose to attack, seizing source energy and technology.

Further complicating things, as their preparations were yet to be completed, they would occasionally help fight against the Sharpies as well.

“They’re both an enemy and a friend...” Shen Yixiu thought about it, puzzled. “Looking at it that way, doesn’t Alphonse have a bit too much autonomy, Grandpa?”

Shen Fengting nodded. “It is. Many in the Coalition have voiced this concern. Some believe the Alphonse family stands somewhere between the Coalition and the Preservers, with a foot in each boat. The problem is that the International Council has never been able to agree on hard measures against the first Starlight Medal recipient in the Coalition’s history.”

“Maybe they’re waiting for him to die... Like, damn him, they’ve waited so long already. He’s already over a hundred and twenty. The man really knows how to live,” He Tangtang said. It could very well be the truth.

“If it were me, I’d do exactly what he did,” Liu Shiheng admitted frankly. “It works in the interest of his entire family.”

The group went on analyzing and picking the situation apart.

Han Qingyu couldn’t be bothered to join in. Why bother analyzing? I’m only going for the raw metal cores. Faction politics has nothing to do with me.

“Commander Shen,” he suddenly said, interrupting their discussion.

Shen Fengting came back to himself. “Hm?”

“Should I go call Shao Xuan over?”

Shen Fengting shook his head. “The requirement is young people. Under twenty.”

“Oh, even better. Can we just go straight there?”

“You need an invitation.”

“Do you have one?”

“I don’t,” Shen Fengting said. “But my foreign comrade who served briefly with the Oriental Republic does. He went home afterward, taking an Oriental Republic servicewoman with him as his wife. He serves with the Swissland Army Group now, but they’re a small branch and short on young talent, so he’s written to me several times these past two years asking whether I knew anyone who could join with his granddaughter. I always said no, because there was no way I could rest easy with only Xiuxiu there. Now that you lot are here, though, I finally think it’s worth a try.”

“It’s worth a try,” Han Qingyu agreed, then paused. “From what you’ve said... we’d have to go in with someone else?”

“Correct.”

“Once we’re inside, can we kill—no, ditch—can we ditch her?”

Shen Fengting’s head was starting to ache. “What kind of nonsense is that? You—”

“Little Qing just hates the idea of splitting metal cores with an outsider. Those are meant for Xiuxiu,” Wen Jifei explained with a grin. “Besides, if we’re tagging along, that means the other side will most likely be the one deciding our share. Who knows how stingy they’ll be?”

That hit the point squarely. If the matter wasn’t settled up front, the other party could mark them off as hired hands. Shen Fengting’s expression visibly froze.

Han Qingyu nodded, sharing the concern. “If they pull the rug out from under us, we’ll never even get the chance to see the metal cores... I’ve never even touched one yet.”

“Well... Once you’ve set off, I’ll contact my old comrade and work out the specifics,” Shen Fengting eventually said. “Don’t worry. With both your and Xiuxiu’s strengths, I have the footing to negotiate with him.”

***

They approached the agreed meeting point in Nepor.

Since word was that the rules could change, Han Qingyu brought along nearly his entire little group. They both left the Oriental Republic and arrived in Nepor through the Coalition’s channels.

The other party was already waiting.

A young girl of about sixteen or seventeen stood with five or six foreign youths behind her.

“She’s mixed?” Wen Jifei muttered aloud at first glance. “How does that even work? She’s mixed, but she still looks more like one of us from the Oriental Republic. Were her grandmother’s genes that strong?”

“No, that isn’t it. My mother also has Oriental Republic blood, so I came out leaning more Oriental Republic in the end,” the mixed girl in question answered, stepping forward to meet them. “I speak Mandarin. Grandmother taught me. It just isn’t very robust.”

Who uses the word robust like that? What kind of Mandarin did her grandmother teach her?

Han Qingyu nodded. “I know. Commander Shen mentioned it. Hello, my name is Han Qingyu.”

“Oh, I know. Grandfather said you’re very robust.”

Robust? Out loud, Han Qingyu said, “I’m... alright.”

“Mn, and you’re the main force.” The mixed girl turned and greeted the rest of them stiffly but earnestly, “Hello, welcome, and thank you. I have a Chinese name, so you can call me by it from now on. My name is Yin Jizu.”[1]

Han Qingyu blanked for a second. “What?”

“Is something wrong?” The girl tilted her head, at a loss.

“Uh...”

It’s not a big deal, but the way it sounds is just a bit odd, and it doesn’t seem to fit a young girl like her at all.

“He’s surprised because your name isn’t a very good one,” Wen Jifei said helpfully, stepping forward.

“Huh?! What’s wrong with it?”

“That gets complicated. It involves the Book of Changes[2], the eight trigrams, and a great deal of traditional knowledge,” Wen Jifei said, moving closer. “As it happens, I come from a family of scholars, and we specialize in exactly this. Come on, let me break it down for you.”

The “scholar” walked off.

Yin Jizu actually followed him.

A little later, Shen Yixiu, who had been playing the robot this whole time, sidled over to Han Qingyu. There was an air of awkward helplessness about her, though she also simultaneously seemed as though she were holding back laughter. “Oh, that Plague Chicken, he... go and see for yourself.”

“What is it?”

“He’s... He’s conning Yin Jizu out of her money.”

As they were speaking, Wen Jifei came back and flashed them a smug look.

Han Qingyu was at a loss. “What did you do to Yin Jizu?”

“Who?”

“Her. That—”

“Oh, you mean Cuihua. I just used the Book of Changes to give her a new name. She’s Yin Cuihua from now on.”

The entire group was dumbfounded.

“Two hundred and fifty dollars as a renaming fee too.” Wen Jifei patted the money in his hand and murmured with satisfaction, “Not bad. She isn’t stingy, and she’s pretty easy to fool.”

The mixed girl came over beaming.

“Let me introduce myself again,” she said cheerfully. “Hello everyone. My name is Yin Cuihua.”

1. 尹记祖 (yǐ jì zǔ) roughly translates to Surname (Yin) + Remembering Ancestors (Jizu). This is a very traditional, masculine-leaning name. ☜

2. The Book of Changes, or I Ching, is an ancient Chinese text used for divination, philosophy, and understanding the dynamics of change through 64 symbolic hexagrams ☜