Chapter 126 - Entry Restrictions

The trial’s invitation rules meant nearly everyone present was young and relatively new. Their amazement focused mostly on Han Qingyu’s raw strength, his composure, and his decisiveness.

Had there been a few more experienced veterans in the crowd, they would have noticed something else entirely. Han Qingyu had been manipulating the entire scene from the moment he arrived, steering everyone to serve his ambush and rescue. The people he’d manipulated included even Yin Caixin herself, the hostage.

As for his brazen looting of the bodies in front of everyone afterward... The calm way he sheathed his blade, crouched down, and got to work resembled a seasoned hunter lowering his rifle and blowing the smoke from the barrel.

***

It did not snow in Nepor that night. Despite this, it felt as if the mountainside hotel the Alphonse family used to host young talents from around the world had just survived a blizzard.

An invisible layer of snow seemed to blanket the entire building. Some rooms, however, seemed to crackle with blazing flames.

That was the atmosphere in the hotel after the battle. The occupants had returned to their quarters. There was an outward stillness to the late night, but beneath it lay a building intensity, sparks of restlessness, and, contradictorily, a bone-deep cold.

In short, a serious problem had appeared.

***

The lights in the living area of their room were bright.

Eight blue crystal energy cores sat on the simple coffee table in front of Han Qingyu. Four had been taken from the dead Wipers’ combat cases. The other four had been found on one of their bodies.

He’d always been as thorough as a professional at this sort of thing.

The dead Wipers probably had a few more cores stashed in their rooms, but as they’d each been attached to some other team, going after those would have been pushing it.

Of the eight, the four used ones had been partially drained to varying degrees. Han Qingyu held each in his hand to gauge how much was left, picked out the two with the most remaining charge, and stacked them together. He added two full ones on top, then pushed the set of four across to Shen Yixiu without explanation.

“Yours.”

An even split? Shen Yixiu blinked.

“You did the work, so you get your share. I’m factoring in the mission ahead too. It’s not like I’m giving you any special treatment. Don’t be polite about it.”

Behind his thick skin, Han Qingyu was actually so afraid of someone noticing his consideration that he’d sooner die than let it show. The very idea made him feel exposed and self-conscious.

Keeping up his business-like demeanor, he pulled one full core from the remaining four and tossed it backhand to He Tangtang.

He Tangtang caught it. “Little Qing, I didn’t do anything just now, though?”

“You’re going in, so consume it while you can. Call it combat readiness.” Han Qingyu tossed the last two partially used cores to Wen Jifei and Liu Shiheng, one each, without bothering to check which had more. “Everyone gets a share, but you two will have to make do with less for now. Don’t sit around doing nothing these next few days outside.”

That left one full core for him. Of course, he’d brought twenty of his own on this trip.

Dividing spoils always felt good.

“It’s just a shame that you and Rust Girl both had to show your hand tonight to rescue her,” He Tangtang said, a note of regret and worry in his voice as he tossed his energy core from hand to hand.

Revealing their strength early was the real problem. They hadn’t shown everything, but they’d played a card that they couldn’t take back. It was almost certain that others would overestimate them and act cautiously after this.

This early exposure would have its consequences, both in terms of winning the trial and hunting down Wipers. There’d been no choice, though. Lives were on the line, and Han Qingyu had no other way to save her besides the Rust Girl Vortex Slash.

“In a way, it’s actually a good thing,” Han Qingyu said with a grin. “We’ll probably run into a lot less trouble inside after a show of force like that. Think about it. One metal core is worth forty-something, maybe even fifty-something energy cores. There are four in there. How many Wipers would we have to cut down to loot that many? This works out fine. We can aim to find two metal cores once we’re in. Not to mention, since we’re going in as a team, we have to think about the big picture.”

That last remark was an understatement. The truth was that Yin Caixin had zero battlefield experience. Her Invincible Firewind Wheels were undeniably fearsome. The problem was her terrible control. The best she could manage in an actual fight would be to hold her own ground and stall for time until help arrived.

She wasn’t the only concern. Even He Tangtang would be in serious danger if he got caught in a fight against skilled opponents.

“You’ve got a point, Little Qing. Not many people are going to come looking for you two after that display,” Liu Shiheng agreed, then couldn’t help wondering aloud, “Hey, do you think anyone’s still going to try something?”

“If they do, they’ll be experts, and ones with plenty of preparation,” Han Qingyu answered flatly.

He wasn’t underestimating the opponents or the danger. There was no shortage of prodigies among these young people, and more than a few “veterans” who’d been using maneuvering devices for years already.

“Can’t we beat them?” He Tangtang asked.

“If a whole group comes, definitely not.”

He Tangtang looked worried. “Then...”

The corner of Han Qingyu’s mouth curled into a smirk. “I’ve already thought it through. Once we’re in, we find a spot and hide.”

The room fell silent.

Given Han Qingyu’s recent tendency toward aggression, this caught everyone off guard.

He Tangtang laughed and muttered, “I almost forgot about the ditches we hid in together. Almost forgot what your real specialty was.”

That reminder had everyone else bursting into laughter too.

Wen Jifei tutted and grinned at Han Qingyu. “You couldn’t even lead a small group back in school, but now you’re actually starting to feel like a real team captain.”

The “team” he was referring to was, of course, their little group.

“Don’t go making things up,” Han Qingyu shot back without missing a beat. “I’ll have you know I was on the General Affairs Committee back in primary school. Were you ever anything?”

Wen Jifei fell silent.

He’d actually been in the Discipline Committee, but that position had been a deeply embarrassing one. Teachers typically used it as a taming collar, slapping the title on the most hard-to-manage kid.

The shared understanding got another round of laughs as everyone pocketed their energy cores. Without realizing it, they’d grown more and more accustomed to this brutal world.

Only Han Qingyu held his core in his hand, idly rolling it in his fingers.

The Han Qingyu sitting here taking a smaller cut from the loot was a far cry from the one who had “forgotten” to return Yin Caixin’s energy core earlier.

One by one, the other four in the room stopped laughing and turned to glance at him. Their eyes seemed to say, “You’re so generous it hurts, Little Qing.”

Han Qingyu shifted uncomfortably and offered an awkward explanation. “Yin Caixin’s different, alright? We’re not close. What I took was her life-insurance deposit.”

The words had barely left his mouth when a rapping came at the door.

Luca’s injuries were severe, but his life had been saved, and he was being transferred to an Alphonse family hospital for further treatment. Yin Caixin let out a sigh of relief and saw him off, assigning three of her own teammates to accompany him. Only after that did she head to Han Qingyu’s room, hugging the pillow she’d brought from home.

He Tangtang opened the door.

“Thank you.” Yin Caixin walked in, explained Luca’s condition, and thanked Shen Yixiu. Then, she walked up to Han Qingyu. She blinked once, as though she were about to cry again.

“Thank you... Mister.” Yin Caixin gave a sincere bow. “Mn, your name is really hard to pronounce.”

Hard to pronounce?And you’re calling me Mister now? It’s a polite form of address, though, so fair enough. Han Qingyu smiled wryly. “You’re welcome.”

Yin Caixin peered up at him. “Um, do you still need energy cores? I have a few left.”

She was trying to express her gratitude with energy cores.

Han Qingyu’s eyes darted left and right. He then gave a pained smile and patted his combat case. “I’ve already collected it from you. The ones I used to save you just now were your own energy cores.”

There was a strange sense of balance and trade.

Yin Caixin’s eyes went blank for a moment. Then she asked, quite seriously, “So you’ll only help me as far as one energy core’s worth? That’s the extent of our bond?”

She actually knows the word for bond? Han Qingyu wondered, slightly dumbfounded.

“Then can I give you eight more? I still have ten.” Yin Caixin was perfectly earnest.

“That’s way too many. I can’t use them all, and it’s not like we’ll see each other again afterward.” Han Qingyu smiled through the longing in his chest. “Save them for the trial. If I need any in there, I’ll let you know.”

“The trial only allows twelve cores per team, though. Two per person, plus two spares,” Yin Caixin said plainly.

Han Qingyu stiffened up.

He Tangtang gasped. “What? How’s that possible?”

“How is that enough?!” Shen Yixiu cried. “In a fight against Sharpies, one core lasts two battles at most. On top of that, everyone might get dragged into other fights too. Plus, my situation means extra consumption on my end.”

“So, what do we do?” Wen Jifei asked.

“Stop thinking about not having enough,” Liu Shiheng suggested. “Think about it this way: if you guys go in and hide, you’ll save on usage. Maybe you could even sell energy cores in there.”

He Tangtang scoffed. “Sell them, my ass! All you ever think about is business. What’s worth more than energy cores in there? No, wait, I feel like people are going to kill each other over energy cores.”

The room erupted into chaos.

Meanwhile, Han Qingyu’s eyes had gone glassy at Yin Caixin’s words, and he sat frozen in place.

“Little Qing? Little Qing?!”

“Hm?”

“What are you thinking about? Do you have a plan?”

“Oh, yeah, I’ve got one.” Han Qingyu glanced at Yin Caixin and held back from explaining. “Just don’t worry about it. Leave this to me.”

***

When it was time to sleep, Shen Yixiu and Yin Caixin stood up to head back to their room.

Shen Yixiu suddenly stopped before the door just as they were about to leave. After a brief hesitation, she turned around to face Han Qingyu and said coolly, “Call it Dimple.”

“What?” Han Qingyu asked in bewilderment.

A flash of irritation crossed Shen Yixiu’s face. “Rust Girl Dimple Slash. It’s more interesting than Vortex. Besides, I actually do have pear dimples. Do you remember the photos?”

“Yes, yes, we remember.” Wen Jifei, He Tangtang, and Liu Shiheng all scrambled to confirm that they had, in fact, noticed the dimples.

“I guess that works. It’s just that ‘dimple’ is a little harder to understand at first,” Han Qingyu muttered. At least he was the only one using the technique’s name. It was fortunate he didn’t have to announce his moves before a fight, or he’d be stuck explaining the name to his enemies first.

“What’s hard to get? Dimples...” Wen Jifei wore an exasperated look. “You think everyone’s like you? Dead iron blockheads?”

***

That night, Han Qingyu requested a room for himself. Sitting on the bed, he pulled out fifteen of his twenty fully charged energy cores and started absorbing.