090. A Stream Away

  Li Aozi had been gone for a long time, yet the tavern of the Akaban Squad remained silent.

  Xia Jianjing leaned against the sofa, deep in thought, tuggiedly at her purple-gray hair. Her colorless eyes reflected in the murky liquor, deep aant.

  After a long while, someone finally broke the silence:

  "Boss, that guy is pletely insane, right?"

  "Yeah, totally," someone beside him added lightly, "Going into space is already ridiculous enough. Boss was an air force pilot in Tianhuan, and high-altitude flight is absolutely prohibited. Yet that guy thinks he blow himself into the sky with a nuke—no sci-fi novel would dare write that."

  "Does he think he's pying a virtual game? Not valuing his life at all. Do you know how tight the Hojo Family's security is? Even the regur troops of Red Arrow couldn’t break through. Fighting the Hojo Family? That’s impossible. oal is to prevent war, not defeat the Hojo Family... It's just not feasible, boss, don't be foolish."

  "You idiot! Boss knows better than to listen to that madman."

  Li Aozi's pn was so shogly ihat it exceeded their uanding, leading them to joke and mock each other to ease the impact of what they'd just heard.

  Humanity ever reach space.

  The old times didn't achieve it, it won't happen now, and it won't happen iure.

  Perhaps spaever existed in the first pce, and above Camity was just thicker Camity. The sun might merely be a deception jured by chartans, a fake history that even kids today don't believe in anymore.

  Besides, someone like their boss, educated and a former pilot in the regur military, could never believe in such madness.

  "Prepare the bike."

  Xia Jianjing said.

  "Uh, boss, where are you going?"

  "To meet an old friend, I’ll be back soon."

  Xia Jianjing casually stood up, grabbed her motorcycle helmet, and walked out. She mouhe bike, revved the engine hard, and charged straight into the dense forest.

  The cold sunlight of the artificial sun fell, providing no warmth, only a sense of false light. Xia Jianjing raced along the rural roads, easily crossing ridges with her modified bike’s powerful engine and bance, and headed straight into an abandoned highway, driving into the mountain caves at the city’s edge.

  '…Gretorvo Nighsong, someone I deeply admire. Despite his immerength, he never wants to hurt anyone. But when danger arises, he steps forward without hesitation.'

  In the dim tunnel, Li Aozi's words suddenly echoed in Xia Jianjing's ears.

  That guy left such a strong impression. Though they had talked for less than half an hour, Xia Jianjing found herself able to recall Li Aozi's tone, his demeanor, and the look in his eyes with startling crity, as if the memory were vividly imprinted in her mind like a se from a movie.

  Gretorvo...

  ————————

  Beyond Nuliang, to the north of the Outer Lands, 14 years ago.

  "I’m pnning to apply to a military academy, bee a pilot. One day, I’ll leave this damned distrid bee someone of great standing."

  Fourteen-year-old Xia Jianjing had just pleted a smuggling transa. Her hair was a mess, a cheap cigarette hung from her lips, and she wore a tracksuit. At her feet y a baseball bat. She crudely poked the tall boy o her, who had also e out of the Outer Lands, and teased:

  "Hey—what about you? You’re such a weak little chick, stop being a porter all the time. Join the army with me, at least we serve the kingdom together."

  "Me?"

  Thirteen-year-old Gretorvo Nighsong, thin and frail, cradled an equally skinny calico cat. Fag his friend's question, Gretorvo kept his head down, carefully pulling out thorns from the injured cat and bandaging it. As he stroked its back, he turned his head and replied matter-of-factly:

  "I want to be a doctor."

  "Cool—doctor is ae profession. But being an engineer is good too. You’ve got a det brain. Once we make big money and afford to study, doctor or soldier, it doesn’t matter. When I get hurt in battle, you treat me."

  Xia Jianjing spoke, taking a long drag from her cigarette, letting the nie numb her pain.

  "Jing, are you joining the army to kill people?" Gretorvo shrank back timidly. "We’ve already killed ten people, no more killing, okay?"

  "No one wants to kill anyone. I just want to live fortably," Xia Jianjing said zily. "I want a stipend of 4 million zhu a month, beef aables at every meal, and fruit too—have you ever eaten fruit? I heard there’s a fruit called durian, but it's so expehat even the big bosses 't always afford it."

  Gretorve hands gently stroked the cat’s head, casually saying:

  "I haven’t thought about it. Durian, with ‘lotus’ in its name, sounds like a beautiful fruit."

  "I don’t know, but when I have money, I’ll buy a durian, share a piece with you, a piece with the teacher, and the rest will be mine. No one’s allowed to snatch it."

  Xia Jianjing rubbed her bruised left eye and took another drag, sitting by the trash . Suddenly, she asked:

  "Doesn’t a doctor earhan a soldier? Why don’t you e with me to flight school?"

  "I'll pass on that."

  Gretorvo chuckled:

  "You know, Jing… if someoo call out for help, and I couldn’t do anything, it’d make me really sad. Otlefield, people might be g for help everywhere. So studying medie would make me feel better."

  "Damn it! You’re doing that thing again."

  Xia Jianjing flipped him off:

  "You’ve been like this since we were kids. Holy, if it weren’t for me, you’d have been dead by now."

  "It doesn’t matter. You’ll fight for me." Gretorved awkwardly.

  "Screw you! You think I’m lightning? You’d cry out, ‘Oh, Xia Jianjing, save me,’ and in an instant, I’d teleport to your side. angels do that? Angels ’t do that, but I . So why the hell am I still hanging out with you?"

  Xia Jianjing unleashed a string of street curses and kicked him. Gretorvo just grinned sheepishly.

  "After all that, if I’m in danger, you’d still show up by my side."

  "Screw you! Ugh, I’m cursed to be stuck with you—this naive, saintly little idiot. I must have the worst luck ever."

  Xia Jianjing gred at him with pt, clig her tongue, and mumbled:

  "Fine, here's the deal: we save up enough money, you e with me to military school. I’ll bee a pilot, and you’ll be a bat medic. That way, I protect you, you weakling, and when I get injured in battle, you’ll treat me. Got it?"

  "…I don’t want to fight."

  Gretorvo’s gaze wandered.

  The estled fortably iorvo’s arms, softly nudging his hand.

  "What nonsense is that… Sint times, have there ever been Tianhuan people who didn’t fight? The whole world knows that’s just who we are."

  "Just because it's always been that way, does that make it right?" Gretorvo looked down at the cat, his eyes filled with sorrow. "We’re only joining the cheapest military schools because we’re poor. I bet soldiers in other tries are the same."

  "Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?"

  "Those who and wars are the big bosses and high-ranking officials, but why are the ones killing each other aleople like us—poor folks?"

  Gret her and said:

  "I don’t want us to be ordered by some rich guy to go fight other poor people. When we win the war, the gloes to the rid the corporations. All that’s left for us is blood and scars. When we lose the war, it’s people like us who die. We’ll be cursed as butchers by our enemies and cowards by our own people."

  "I don't waher of us to turn into that kind of monster."

  ————————

  "The dumbest kid, yet he sees things more clearly than anyone else. The stro body, but unwilling to inflict violen others. So foolish, sic. Like a blue whale, drifting through the deep sea, peaceful and untroubled by the world."

  Xia Jianjing couldn’t help but mutter:

  "Without you, I wouldn’t be able to take a siep, partner."

  FAL