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“It’s them again?”
“You can tell?”
Zhang Xinjie hummed softly as he inspected the wound on Han Wenqing’s arm.
“I noticed the pattern…” He answered
Han Wenqing gave a long sigh and looked away, as if gazing into his memory. “Yeah, it’s them… Devouring Sun and Mirrored Moon…”
“I see…” murmured Zhang Xinjie
“Just when we’re about to take Zalu’s head off, they attacked. I could hear them from miles away…” There was a bit of pensiveness to his voice, which was weird, coming from someone as clear and as focused as Han Wenqing. But Zhang Xinjie got used to it. He learned to get used to it. Especially these past few months when their attacks had become more constant, and the higher-ups started to feel a bit jittery about their business. But he knew what was on Han Wenqing’s mind. It definitely was not something as minute as how their business was going. He, probably just like Zhang Xinjie, knew that everything was going fine. Not as good as it used to be, but things were going fine.
What bothered him was them.
The so-called captain’s newfound obsession.
“It screamed. Just like how she always did, Devouring Sun…” His words came out jumbled, and there was this shaken look to his eyes, something no one expected from Han Wenqing. “And Mirrored Moon…” He shook his head, almost in disbelief. “I understand now why it almost took Jingyan out those weeks ago…” And now, there was a smile to his lips. This half-formed, almost a delirious smile. This was not Han Wenqing everyone used to know. Even now, Zhang Xinjie still found himself surprised that there were things in this world that could put such look onto his captain’s face.
It was chilling and mesmerizing at the same time.
“A death at its hands would be so pleasant. Maybe as sweet as a good night kiss…” He murmured.
“I see…” Zhang Xinjie hummed. His hands were still busy tending the wounds on his Han Wenqing’s arm. “Was there anyone else at the scene as well?”
Han Wenqing shook his head. “No, that’s all. Devouring Sun and Mirrored Moon. But they’re more than enough for the job. Tiny Herb and Blue Rain were busy biting each other’s head off.”
“I see…” The higher-up would not be so pleased, Zhang Xinjie thought. The higher-up always hated it when they missed their target. Even more when it’s to them. And the most when they knew it could have been an easy job. But Zhang Xinjie knew his captain couldn’t be more careless about it. There was bigger thing on his mind.
This bigger thing in his mind that had taken hold of him for almost these past three months.
Zhang Xinjie thought back to it and concluded…
yeah, it had been three months…
. . .
Tyranny was a company of some of the best 'field workers’ out there, in the Wasteland.
Just like any other of the field workers, they reaped profit from the barren earth of Wasteland. Their service was for the heads of those invaders. Those extraterrestrial lives that had come to earth ages ago and turned it into a planet of barren rocks. These days, these hunters that used to roam the earth freely got a taste of their own medicine now. As the small communities of survivors slowly raised up from the ash of their former civilization, the hunters became the hunted.
Heads or organs of these invaders could make a good profit, both in the black market and on the meeting table with a generous client. That’s why many were willing to risk their lives reaping something out of these monsters.
Tyranny was one of them.
Han Wenqing had been working for Tyranny as long as how he knew to hold a gun, and that was, ‘a very long time.’
For the most part of their company’s business, things were fine. Their service was among the most sought-after in the Wasteland, and Han Wenqing was their reliable captain.
However, these past few months, things had changed.
A new face had shown up on the block.
Their name was Xingxin. An unheard of company that recently caused a stir in the Wasteland. They came in and snatched away many of the big names’ targets, and rumor had it that people in Blue Rain were coughing up blood. Tyranny was another one of its victim. Maybe not as bad as Blue Rain, but their company still lost some of their most valuable targets to this newcomer.
The higher-ups were not pleased, but Han Wenqing got different things on his mind.
‘What are you doing?’
One day, Zhang Xinjie walked in on him. Han Wenqing was in their garage. His cloak was still covered in yellow dust, and he had hardly taken his goggles off. He was looking at a piece of metal, a bullet, balanced ever so carefully between his fingers.
‘It’s from them’
Han Wenqing answered, and Zhang Xinjie knew instantly what he was talking about.
Xingxin.
That day, their target was snatched away by Xingxin. Again.
‘Anything of interest?’ Zhang Xinjie asked. Because he knew his captain would not waste his time on anything unworthy of his attention.
‘…’ Han Wenqing didn’t answer. He gave a noncommittal hum and gestured for them to head back inside.
Zhang Xinjie didn’t persist. He knew when the time came, his captain would tell him.
Han Wenqing’s obsession slowly came clear afterward.
‘Can I have a look?’
He asked one day after they had come back from a mission.
This time, they managed to secure their target, though not without a price.
Zhang Jiale, their marksman, suffered a shot during the mission. It’s not a big deal. Zhang Jiale wasn’t taken out, but it was going to leave an ugly scar indeed.
Zhang Jiale chanced a look at Zhang Xinjie, the head of their company’s medical team. Upon receiving an approving nod from the man, he extended his arm toward Han Wenqing.
The blood had now dried, and Han Wenqing inspected it as if it held a secret to the success and the failure of their mission.
No one said a word. They knew Han Wenqing was not a man of superfluity. He would never do anything pointless, useless, or unnecessary.
They waited in silence until realization dawned in Han Wenqing’s eyes, and the man stood up again.
‘It’s them’
‘What?’
Perplexity echoed in their voices.
‘Xingxin. It’s them.’
The members exchanged a look, and Zhang Jiale spoke up.
‘How do you know? I thought that was a bit too quiet to be them.’
Zhang Jiale was right.
Today’s encounter was a bit too quiet to be Xingxin. Based on their previous experience with these people, they expected a bit more fanfare.
‘It’s them. The scar matched.’ Han Wenqing answered as pointed to the wound with his flashlight. ‘The tears, the burn… they looked like the one I got from their bullet weeks ago. It also resembled those I have seen left on the scene.’
Everyone had this baffled look between them.
‘You can actually tell?? From that???’ At the end of the day, it was still Zhang Jiale, the second-most senior member of their squad, to speak up.
‘I have observed…’ answered Han Wenqing. ‘From my guess, it’s not the usual members we have met. A bit too little noise as you said. I guessed it might have been Mirrored Moon or Snow Stripe…’
‘Mirrored what? Snow what??’
Apparently, the superiority of Xingxin’s firepower had so taken hold of Han Wenqing that he could reckon them by sound, by sight, and, apparently, even by their damage. Zhang Xinjie later found out that the man actually had quite an organized files of their bullets and the damages they left each time at the scene.
Han Wenqing was really obsessed with Xingxin. Their weapons, to be exact.
He thought that’s what set them apart.
‘They are good. But whatever they have in their hands are not what you can find from the black market. They’re efficient… too efficient…’
The look in Han Wenqing’s eyes… Zhang Xinjie could convince himself that his captain wouldn’t mind taking a shot or two from whatever those Xingxin people had in their hands. There was a bit of obsession, passion. A dark fiery glint that made Zhang Xinjie’s hands prickle.
He liked it.
This look suited his captain well. It put a smile on Zhang Xinije’s lips.
‘Guess we need to learn more about them then…?’
He said.
Slowly but surely, they really learned more about them.
News, rumors, about Xingxin were circulating everywhere in the Wasteland these days.
They knew they were two cores to the squad of Xingxin.
One was Devouring Sun. A powerful rifle with high collateral damage. Its iconic roar made it a headline among the field workers in the Wasteland. Han Wenqing would say it’s probably the most powerful firearm of Xingxin at the moment. The roar added up to its reputation.
Then, there was Mirrored Moon. A polar opposite to Devouring Sun.
The sheer power of Devouring Sun made one feel like being devoured whole by a beast. An unstoppable nightmare that materialized right in front of one’s eyes. Mirrored Moon was a bit subtler.
Han Wenqing had described it, ‘a death at its hands would be so pleasant. Maybe as sweet as a good night kiss.’ While Devouring Sun roared like a beast at night, Mirrored Moon whistled like a breeze in one’s hair. Devouring Sun might devour you whole, but Mirrored Moon went straight to the heart.
These were the cores of Xingxin in the field.
Apart from them, there was also Snow Stripe, another subtler type. Han Wenqing would argue it’s probably the quietest arm one could find in the field. However, its sheer power and precision were still second to Mirrored Moon.
Then, there was Flowing Flame, a fickle younger sister to Devouring Sun. She was powerful, that was without a doubt, but apparently had lesser control to Devouring Sun. With enough time, it might turn out to be the most powerful weapon in Xingxin’s arsenal. But for now, it was a masterpiece in the making.
Han Wenqing’s obsession with Xingxin’s arsenal had run so deep to the point that, at one time, he could tell them by sound, by the wind they pierced through in the field, by the chill they left on his spine, or by the scars they left on him.
He would not say he wanted to be at the end of their muzzles, because that obviously would be a nightmare, but to hear to them roar in the battlefield? That was certainly a blessing to his ears.
They made his heart pound to this mysterious rhythm. It got blood rushing all over him in this most intoxicating way.
A deadly weapon but a fascinating masterpiece.
The higher-ups could worry themselves dead regarding their business. Han Wenqing would always look forward to their next encounter.
. . .
It was a scorching afternoon, and Han Wenqing was out in the black market.
Black market was where one could find anything and everything in the Wasteland. A bag full of buns? Some nice jewelry for lovely ladies? A smuggled assault rifle? Even what your granny hid in the kitchen was known by someone here. It’s also where Tyranny’s trusted informants ran their business. Han Wenqing had an appointment with them today.
Han Wenqing made his way through the mass of cloaked bodies. The sun was too hot today. A minute out in broad day light, and one could easily turn to dust. Everyone had their sooty protective cloaks over. One could hardly find a non-tattered one here. Anything half-decent was hard to find in the Wasteland.
As Han Wenqing drew near to the meeting point with his informant, something happened.
A sound, thin and sharp like a needle, slitted through the air.
Han Wenqing was quick enough to dodge it. The bloke in front of him wasn’t.
He went down, and Han Wenqing turned back.
Behind him, a group of cloaked figures were coming his way, and they certainly were not here to offer him a bargain.
Chaos ensued.
Everything had always been up for grasp in the Wasteland, and every now and then, Han Wenqing got a taste of his own medicine too.
It’s not his fault that he’s so good at his job.
Han Wenqing put the name of Tyranny out there as one of the best ‘field workers’ in the Wasteland. It’s only fair that someone wanted to wipe his name out too.
In a spur of the moment, Han Wenqing noticed roughly eight figures coming after him. They were among the vendors, the beggars, the passersby. All blended in pretty neatly with the patrons of the black market.
No sniper.
Another quick look and Han Wenqing could confirm that.
Eight for one.
A generous one, wasn’t it?
Han Wenqing thought they were generous enough. The previous one was a bit stingy, and they eventually regretted that afterward.
As the passersby scrambled to find a place to hide (or a place with a better view perhaps), Han Wenqing already put some bullets into his ambushers’ heads. The crowds always loved the sound of bullets. The clamor intensified, and Han Wenqing pushed the ambushers back.
“Shit…”
He cursed once he found that his gun jammed. Of course, the enemies would be waiting for it, or else, it would have been a big shame.
The falling back ambushers came coming back in again, and Han Wenqing chose to push his way through the crowd.
“Damn it…” He cussed as there was no sign that his gun wanted to cooperate at this moment.
The enemies were right behind him. Not that it would be too much work if Han Wenqing were to turn back and gave them a bit of lesson, but to meet with the informant today, they had prepared this person ‘certain little gift’. Han Wenqing very much did not want to ruin it.
He tried his best to get his gun working again, but with no luck.
Just before Han Wenqing resigned himself to his fate and be done with looking after whatever gift they had prepared, a pair of hands intervened.
A very beautiful pair of hands indeed.
“Here, take this!” The person said and stuffed a gun into Han Wenqing’s hand.
The gun from his ambusher.
Han Wenqing could tell that clear enough.
“What are you doing?” He asked, in the meantime shooting back at his pursuers as well.
“Trying to be helpful, perhaps?” That person answered.
He cracked open Han Wenqing’s gun, and started tinkering with it. Han Wenqing was sure that was not how their technician team worked.
“Eyes to the front please!” That person said as he noticed Han Wenqing’s eyes on him.
“…” Han Wenqing sighed quietly.
Was it really this person’s job to tell him what to do?
He resigned to himself and continued to fend off the enemies.
“Gotcha!” The stranger said, and just when Han Wenqing was about to ask him, the gun roared.
Bang! bang! bang!
His gun roared. Almost like a beast. Angry and seeking its revenge. Han Wenqing was not quite sure that was how his gun worked before, but the way this person used it…
Damn… did he control it like controlling a beast…
For a brief period, Han Wenqing was honestly in awe of this man.
“Let’s go this way. I know some nice way!” The man said and started to pull Han Wenqing into one of the winding alleys of the market.
The man seemed well-versed in the direction of these dark alleys. His footsteps were sure and quick. It’s almost like he’s taking Han Wenqing back to his house.
Han Wenqing would not ponder too much on that.
The enemies were still behind their back, but with bit of bullets from Han Wenqing and the man, they eventually disappeared beyond Han Wenqing’s sight.
The chaos of the market slowly faded away, and the sound of their footsteps was all that remained.
They made a stop to catch their breath.
The stranger plopped himself onto some boxes piled up on the corner. His chest was heaving up and down rather aggressively. Han Wenqing was quite sure he’s not the most athletic type, not that his physique could convince him otherwise.
“There you go. I’m sure it won’t cause you trouble again.” Once the man caught his breath, he returned Han Wenqing his gun.
“Thanks,” Han Wenqing answered and took his gun back. “You worked in the field?” He asked.
Speaking from his experience, there’s no way someone who could run and shoot like that had never worked in the field. Even the way he handled Han Wenqing’s gun was clear enough.
He must have worked in the field.
“You can tell?” The man seemed genuinely surprised. His eyes, which had this beautiful shade of amber, looked at him, and god, if Han Wenqing didn’t want to drown in them…
“It was obvious enough.” He answered.
The man smiled, almost seemed pleased.
“I used to,” he answered, “but that was a long time ago. I only do technical stuff now.”
“I can tell,” Han Wenqing said. Not that he was judging him for his physical fitness or anything.
“Care tell me why?” He asked.
The man smiled and gestured for Han Wenqing to come closer.
He pulled Han Wenqing to the other side of the box. This way, Han Wenqing was standing between him and the sun.
“See?” The man said, and pointed to his left eye, that bright amber orb.
At first, Han Wenqing didn’t know what to look at. He swore, it was the sun that heated up his cheeks, not those bright amber orbs that were staring right at him.
However, after another long look, Han Wenqing noticed.
A scratch.
Almost.
It was like there was some kind of crack in that beautiful amber orb.
The man smiled.
“An accident. Years ago. Could not quite see from it now. Good enough that I can still work on those technical stuff!” The man seemed rather unfazed by it, and Han Wenqing found that somewhat admirable.
“I see…” He nodded. “Have you considered a return?”
“A what?” This time, the man looked thoroughly surprised. Those bright amber orbs enlarged, as if to devour Han Wenqing whole.
“A return” Han Wenqing repeated, matter-of-factly. “You’re certainly still good enough. Why not make a return?”
The man blinked, dumbfoundedly, and Han Wenqing found that even more perplexing.
There was no way this man had never thought about making a come back.
He certainly was more than good enough to make a come back. Han Wenqing was sure he was even better than most of his company’s recruits.
“You seriously should consider about that,” Han Wenqing said, and prepared to leave. He still had to go meet the informant.
“It would be ashamed not to see you in the field,” He said and turned away, waving him a curd good bye.
He didn’t see the man’s reaction after that. He simply was thinking about the informant, trying to think where that person would be now.
But at the bottom of his heart, he genuinely looked toward the man’s return.
. . .
Following the meet-up, Han Wenqing returned to their base, and got ready for another mission. A job like theirs held little to no mundanity. There was no guarantee when the wanted targets would pop up. All they could do was gathering as much information as possible, and be as ready as possible.
Today, if the information they had was correct, an invader they’re looking for would show up tonight, just outside the western rim of the Wasteland. Han Wenqing had better be prepared.
“How was the meet-up today?” Zhang Xinjie asked once he returned to their base.
“Affirmative. Their information lined up with what we got earlier. I’ll be in the shooting range. Tell me when it’s time,” he said.
“Sure,” Zhang Xinjie nodded. Han Wenqing knew he could always rely on Zhang Xinjie for his schedule.
He made a straight line towards their shooting range. There was something he wanted to check first.
Han Wenqing put on the protective gears, fished his gun out, and started shooting.
It still felt the same…
The same…?
As shots rang out, one after another, realization slowly dawned on Han Wenqing.
No, it’s not the same.
It’s even better…?
Just like everything else in the Wasteland, a half-decent weapon was hard to come by. This gun Han Wenqing had was already better than most of the guns out there in the black market. It’s the culmination of hard works by their technical team.
And now… it’s even better…?
Han Wenqing thought back to the man he had met at the black market. It was very brief when the man tinkered with Han Wenqing’s gun. It couldn’t be something too much, unless the man had another pair of hands and another pair of eyes to spare.
Then what did he do?
Han Wenqing looked at the gun in his hand.
In his heart, there was a mixture of foreignness and some unnamed exhilaration.
. . .
Their mission that night ended well. Even though there were other companies joining them, they managed to return with the head of Zhen Mo and some very special souvenir indeed…
“You said it belonged to them?” Han Wenqing asked after the team had regrouped at a meeting point on the way back.
“Yeah, Muyun was sure. He saw it belonged to their new kid, the quiet one. I mean… the extra-quiet one.”
“I see…” Han Wenqing gave Zhang Jiale a small nod, then turned towards the weapon in their protective crate. “Let’s bring it back to the base, maybe the technical team can see what they can do with it.”
Tonight, the special souvenir they got was nothing but a masterpiece from Xingxin.
Of course, it filled many of them with curiosity and joy. Not only because they finally managed to get something from those people but also because, finally, finally, they got to see what those people had up on their sleeves.
Han Wenqing was sure to bring it to their shooting range. His team tagged along as well.
The one they got was a pitch-black sidearm pistol with a silencer. Qin Muyun said he saw it belonged to Xingxin’s newest line-up, but regardless of whom it belong to, Han Wenqing was quite sure there’s nothing ‘below average’ among the Xingxin.
He unlocked the safety; and once made sure no one was in his path, he started firing.
True to its appearance, the gun was markedly silent. Han Wenqing imagined facing it in a real fight, and he thought Mirrored Moon and Snow Pattern may just found themselves the youngest sibling. The three of them would undoubtedly make Xingxin more stealthy and seriously more deadly.
They might as well just sneak in and kill them in their sleep…
In a rare moment, Han Wenqing caught himself joking.
However, there was a bigger thing in his mind.
He reloaded the bullets and fired again.
The gun was still as stealthy as it was. The recoil was also not too bad to deal with. It would be a very good sidearm for some more ‘surreptitious’ missions. Yet, that’s not what lingered in his mind.
Somewhere inside him, a certain trace of peculiarity lingered.
There was something he couldn’t quite name…
Something he didn’t know what it was or how he’s supposed to address it…
It was only after Zhang Jiale asked him what was it like comparing to the one they had from their technical team that Han Wenqing realized what was lingering in his mind.
It was him.
The realization dawned on him, if not hitting him in the face.
He thought back to the stranger he met at the market…
The man so pale and so frail he nearly heaved his lungs out from running…
The eyes so bright and warm like melted amber with a scratch that etched itself almost heartbreakingly onto it…
Han Wenqing remembered how those beautiful nimble fingers tinkered with his gun. The feeling he had was half the sinking feeling he dreaded so very much and the exhilarating feeling that made him want to run a mile in a minute.
The feeling was hard to explain, but there was one thing Han Wenqing was sure.
It was the work of that man, no doubt.
He did not know how was that person related to Xingxin.
Maybe he was the mastermind behind their work? Or maybe just their trusted contract perhaps?
Maybe he had nothing to do with them at all. Just a diamond in the rough waiting to be discovered, and the one who discovered him was Xingxin…
There were millions upon millions of possibilities, but Han Wenqing was sure…
A work this fine could belong to no one else.
If there were persons who could grind out something like this everywhere on the street, then Han Wenqing must be damned.
After all these years of working in the field, he had never encountered anyone or anything like this.
Genius never existed in abundance, and Han Wenqing realized his obsession finally paid off.
He seriously just got a glimpse behind Xingxin’s superiority.
. . .
Han Wenqing didn’t disclose this discovery to anyone else, not even Zhang Xinjie. That would require too much backstory, and Han Wenqing just didn’t want to go into it. Somehow, he just wanted to keep it to himself. Keep it his harmless little secret…
“Team 2, we’re in the spot now. Any update from your side?”
/ “Team 1, we spotted three snipers from Tiny Herb. All on the Western Pass. Muyun spotted some vanguards of Blue Rain coming up from the south. They’ll probably join us soon. No sign of Xingxin.” /
“That’s great. Maybe for once, we don’t have to trouble ourselves with them…”
/ “Let’s hope for that…” /
“Yeah, keep us posted…”
Their mission tonight was Shadow Tactician Shann. It was one of those Nightwalkers, invaders that appeared only at night and did their ‘tricks’ in the dark. Han Wenqing’s company was promised a hefty prize for its head. God knew how those people from the Capital would make a use of it, but that’s not what Han Wenqing concerned.
They were field workers. Their job was to ‘tend the field’.
Apparently, there were two other companies eyeing Shann tonight.
Tiny Herb and Blue Rain were no stranger to Tyranny. Even though they were not an easy piece of meat to chew, their ability to give them a headache was still a far cry from Xingxin’s. Han Wenqing would rather encounter them over Xingxin any day.
Of course, personally speaking, that’s certainly not Han Wenqing’s most honest wish…
Tonight, he grouped up with Lin Jingyan and Bai Yanfei. Their job was to go in and take down Shann, like usual. Zhang Jiale and Qin Muyun were up somewhere in the mountain, keeping them posted and watching over in case someone wanted to play a dirty trick. Like usual.
Zhang Xinjie was back at the headquarter, preparing to patch them up once they went back. Like usual.
It was another usual night for all parties involved at the Barrier Mountain.
/ “Tiny Herb is moving back up the Western Pass. Probably for the sake of their snipers. Possibly, they’ll hold up Blue Rain people from there.” /
“Got it, Team 2”
/ “And we received some noise over from the northwest. I think our Technician is coming.” /
“Thanks. Good job. We’ll keep looking”
Apparently, their informant was still as reliable as ever. Not before long, the slow creep of Shadow Technician Shann came into their ear shots. The atmosphere seemed to tense up a bit, and all the air seemed to be sucked away as everyone held their breath. No one wanted to draw first and got ganged up by rest waiting.
Ideally, everyone wanted to walked away with the target, with everything intact as much as possible.
And so, drawing first was not always the wisest choice.
Tonight, they were cautious, just like always.
/ “Tiny Herb stopped now. Half-way up the Pass. No further movement. Blue Rain’s people are coming. Six people. Usual team. No slowing down. You might run into some of them. Move up the rock formations if you want. Judging from their speed and direction, they will encounter Shann in the cove.” /
“Got it.” Lin Jingyan replied, and turned to look at Han Wenqing. “What you say?” He asked.
Han Wenqing pondered a bit, then answered. “Let’s move up. We either get to Shann first there, or wait until Blue Rain and Tiny Herb come over and snatch it from their back.”
“Got it.”
And so; Lin Jingyan, Han Wenqing, and Baiyanfei all moved up the rock formations. It was a tiny group of rocks that situated right in front of the clove. From here, they were more or less side by side with the Tiny Herb squad up on the mountain, and would be face to face with Blue Rain people who were coming up from the south. Zhang Jiale and Qin Muyun would watch over them from there.
/ “Shann in sight. Repeat. Shann in sight. Coming from your left ฺ Be careful” /
Han Wenqing’s squad were quick to hide themselves well in the rock formations.
The forest to their left rustled, and there it came.
Shann, the Shadow Tactician. Or at least that was how people in the black market called it.
It was one of those invaders. Its body lean and tall, with something akin to wrinkled black tarpaulin in place of a proper skin. Its claws were long and shiny, and they were giving out a soft gleam in the moonlight. Its big yellowish eyes looked around curiously from its oversized oval head. Its feet, with claws no shorter than those on their hands, made a chilling creeping noise as it moved slowly over dead leaves and onto a wandering path into the clove.
Han Wenqing, Lin Jingyan, and Bai Yanfei held their breath.
Tiny Herb folks on the mountain probably got a sight of him as well, and from the south, they could hear the footsteps of Blue Rain people coming.
/ “What’s your call, Captain?” / asked Zhang Jiale.
“…” There was a brief second of silence. “Let Blue Rain face it.”
/ “Gotcha,” /
The people from Blue Rain really didn’t slow down at all. It almost seemed like they just wanted to be done with it and go back home.
Shann, of course, noticed them too.
Upon realizing someone had intruded upon its path, Shann let out its screeching scream and charged full force into Blue Rain’s rank.
“Zheng Xuan” Immediately, they could hear the unmistakable voice of Blue Rain’s leader - Yu Wenzhou. Despite a charging monster in front of them, the man remained calm and collected as usual.
Han Wenqing could see some sort of grenade coming up from Blue Rain’s rank. However, just before the grenade would land right in the face of Shann, a shot rang out, and Lin Jingyan could only say…
“Crap”
The shot was unmistakably came from Tiny Herb’s sniper. It sent Blue Rain’s grenade came flying towards their hiding place.
“What the hell…”
The grenade exploded just right above the rock formations.
Han Wenqing, Lin Jingyan, and Bai Yanfei managed to find their way out. However, Shane’s attention was already upon them.
“Ha ha! Did no one tell you guys, Tyranny! But we, Blue Rain and Tiny Herb, are doing this together this time!”
Of course, if someone’s going to burst out into such an obnoxious soliloquy at this moment, it must Blue Rain’s Huang Shaotian.
“Well… anything truly could happen on this side of the fence huh?” Lin Jingyan mumbled dryly as they scrambled to avoid Shann’s purple energy orbs.
On any other day, no one in the right mind would imagine two biggest archenemies of the Wasteland coming together. That was, Blue Rain and Tiny Herb.
They simply could not tolerate the other. Whoever managed to get two of them to work together must have a bit too much wealth in excess.
Anyhow, they were here now, and it’s not like Han Wenqing had time to interrogate them on that.
The job was to get Shann’s head back to their clients. Others were simply miscellaneous details.
Luckily, just as the grenade was flying their way, Zhang Jiale on the other side of the clove already sent a couple of smoke grenades Tiny Herb’s way. This way, Han Wenqing and the other could have one less thing to worry about.
/ “We’re going your way. Will take care of Blue Rain from the back. Focus on Shann and Tiny Herb’s main squad.” /
“Got it,” Han Wenqing replied to Zhang Jiale’s voice.
Since Zhang Jiale and Qin Muyun would be joining them soon and would take care of Blue Rain along the way, Han Wenqing’s team could now dedicate their attention to Shann, and a bit to Tiny Herb’s main squad that was coming their way.
As they fired back, they could already hear some bullets flying over from Tiny Herb’s side.
“Careful!” Lin Jingyan shouted, and they saw what seemed like Tiny Herb’s iconic lava flask flying their way.
The flask hit the ground, and the area immediately turned into a burning field of lava. Whatever Tiny Herb did in their headquarter, it was certainly another thing to marvel in the Field.
“You alright!?” Though not hurting anyone, the lava flask did a great job in dividing the force of Tyranny. Lin Jingyan and Bai Yanfel were left on one side, and Han Wenqing and Shann on the other.
“Still fine,” Han Wenqing answered, curdly, particularly because Shann didn’t give him much free time.
/ “Jiale, Muyun, you head to captain. We will deal with Tiny Herb!” / Lin Jingyan’s voice came through their headphones.
/ “Copy that!” / replied Zhang Jiale. From their side, a bit of shouting and shooting could be heard, probably the Blue Rain people.
Even though he could hear that support would be coming his way, Han Wenqing would not give himself too high hope.
Blue Rain weren’t easy folks to deal with, let alone in a 2-5 scenario. The same went for Tiny Herb. Their sniper team had clearer view of the fight now, and probably wouldn’t let Lin Jingyan and Bai Yanfei mess with their main squad too much. Han Wenqing had better grit his teeth and rely on what he had.
That was, himself.
Shann screamed, apparently perturbed by the cacophony going on around it. Once it spotted Han Wenqing, it came full force at him, as if to put the blame on Han Wenqing.
Well, not that this was too bad.
If Han Wenqing could manage it fine enough, maybe he could lure it to the way Zhang Jiale and Qin Muyun were coming.
And maybe, just maybe, they could take this chance and took Shann away to finish it somewhere else. Lin Jingyan and Bai Yanfei could come and join them later.
But, of course, this was only an ‘ideal scenario’. No one knew what was going to happen.
No one knew if Zhang Jiale and Qin Muyun could shake Blue Rain’s people off.
No one knew if Han Wenqing could really pull Shann away.
No one knew what was waiting for Han Wenqing in the next step.
His only choice was to take the next step and see what was going to happen.
Bang bang!
Han Wenqing’s gun roared continuously. Almost like an angry beast in the night.
Shann was deterred slightly. Han Wenqing noticed certain spots that seemed to be the beast’s weak point.
“Ugh!” Han Wenqing groaned. He just caught one bullet in his arm. Apparently, it was the bullet coming from Blue Rain’s side.
/ “Captain, you good!?” /
Zhang Jiale’s voice came rushing out from the earphone.
“Not dead,” was a pretty accurate state of Han Wenqing at the moment.
/ “They’re pulling away—-” /
His voice was interrupted by a cacophony of shots and explosions, which could be heard from where Han Wenqing was as well. He suspected Zhang Jiale and Qin Muyun wouldn’t be able to help him soon, and so, he ran.
He simply tried to create a breathing gap between him and Shann as much as possible.
Shann constantly fired his direction its purple and black energy orbs. Those that missed Han Wenqing destroyed the surrounding woods and set many of them on fire, which, of course, was not too helpful for Han Wenqing.
“Shit” Han Wenqing said as Shann sent one of the burning trees flying his way.
He rolled across the floor and dash toward one of the bigger rocks in the area. He could use it as a shield, at least for now, before his friends could find their way and join him.
Just when Han Wenqing was about to reach that rock he was aiming for, a tell-tale gleam of something Han Wenqing very much did not want to see at this moment came into his sight.
A grenade
It was about to fall just right between Han Wenqing and Shann.
There’s a high chance it’s not the most explosive type of grenade because Shann pretty much worth much more intact than in pieces. But Han Wenqing was not quite sure any other type of grenade would be any use to him either.
Even though there was still a bit of distance between him and the rock, Han Wenqing decided to go for it. He hoped the grenade would slow Shann even for a second.
He dashed, and just when he thought he was about to be hit by a flash or a noise or god-knew what kind of grenade that was, a shadow engulfed him.
Han Wenqing turned and saw that he and Shann were already separated. The grenade went off. It was a flash grenade. Shann was shrieking because of it. Its noise probably could deal as much damage as the grenade, but that was secondary at the moment.
What had Han Wenqing’s attention now was the gigantic shield that separated him and Shann.
No
It wasn’t a shied.
It was an umbrella.
An obnoxiously big umbrella held by someone with an equally obnoxious smile on his face.
“Oh dear, what a state I just found you in, Captain Han?”
It was the man he met at the market.
That person behind the arsenal of Xingxin.
“Nice to see you again,” Han Wenqing answered, almost matter-of-factly.
“Thought so too,” that person giggled before closing the umbrella.
He aimed it at Shann, who was now coming out of its stupor.
The umbrella was, in fact, a gun in itself.
He fired two shots at Shann, and just when the beast was about to make a leap, Han Wenqing fired another two shots and toppled the burnt trees on top it.
That gave both of them just enough chance to find a better place to stand their ground.
They went separated ways. The synchronization came almost naturally. They took turn distracted Shann while the other bombarded it with whatever kind of attack they had.
“Over here!”
Han Wenqing immediately reached up as Shann sent a pretty powerful beam toward the tree he was standing on.
Somehow, that man’s umbrella even came with rotor wings that allowed him to fly, and it was just enough to help Han Wenqing from falling face-first into Shann’s claws.
Of course, the rotors were not strong enough to support both of them, but it’s not like Han Wenqing wanted the man to fly him home or anything…
Right after he managed to escape from Shann’s claws, he released his hand and descended right on top of Shann’s back.
He took out his knife, buried it deep into the base of Shann’s neck, just where it met with its spine.
The monster let out a spine-chilling shriek and tried its very best to shake Han Wenqing off.
Han Wenqing didn’t fight. He let go, and just when he landed two feet onto the floor again, Shann’s body was already engulfed in a laser beam that came from nowhere but the man’s mysterious umbrella.
It was a laser rifle, or at least that’s what Han Wenqing thought it bore the most resemblance. Judging from the amount of power it released, the man certainly had been preparing.
When the dust settled, and Han Wenqing could actually take a look at what happened, Shann’s scream already died down, and its charred figure dropped to the floor.
“I hope that will not cost you too much…” the man said as he joined Han Wenqing over Shann’s unrecognizable body.
“…” Han Wenqing didn’t answer. He simply reached down, ripped apart the charred throat and took out what seemed like a giant piece of purple crystal. “They said a complete body would be great, but I think this would be enough.” Han Wenqing answered, and put that crystal into his coat’s pocket.
“Wonder what they’d use that for~” The man chimed.
“…” Han Wenqing gave him a long look. The man was unperturbed. He simply looked back and gave Han Wenqing a soft smile.
Not everyone simply looked back and gave Han Wenqing a smile.
“…” It took Han Wenqing another short while before he reached into his coat and pulled out a piece of cloth.
“For your sweat.” He answered and stuffed into the man’s hands. Even though they had pretty much caught their breath, the man’s face was still covered in a thin sheen of sweat.
And he still looked pretty much sickly pale if Han Wenqing were to be completely honest…
The man looked slightly taken aback, but eventually accepted Han Wenqing’s handkerchief anyway.
“Thanks.” He answered, and there were certain things to the way he hid his smile behind Han Wenqing’s handkerchief that was just… not necessarily good to how Han Wenqing’s heart worked…
“You know me…?” Han Wenqing asked.
“Of course, who wouldn’t know the great Captain Han of Tyranny?” The man said in a way that was not necessarily flattering, but it’s not like Han Wenqing needed any more of those.
“And you…” Han Wenqing looked at him. “What do you have to do with Xingxin?”
The man looked like he was waiting for Han Wenqing to ask. Genuinely waiting.
“I’m Ye Xiu. The founder of Xingxin. It’s a great pleasure to meet you.”
Han Wenqing looked at the beautiful hand and wondered what kind of masterpiece it had crafted, and what more could it achieve?
“Han Wenqing. Tyranny. A pleasure to meet you too.”
A pleasure indeed…