Deep Understanding?

Thunderflame was a woman.

This was, of course, a very unexpected piece of news.

Bluesea looked calmly at Chen Xiaolian, seemingly unsurprised by Chen Xiaolian’s reaction. “Yes, she is a woman. Is that so strange?”

“I remember… the four founders of Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild were all from the military…”

“Are there no women in the military?” Bluesea shook his head, smiling. “You’re just trapped in conventional thinking.”

Chen Xiaolian pondered for a moment, then nodded. “You’re right. Thinking about it, there’s nothing wrong with it. I just misunderstood before.”

After a pause, he looked at Bluesea. “So, do you think Thunderflame will definitely come looking for me?”

“If she gets the news, she will definitely find you. From what I know of her temperament, that’s almost certain.”

Chen Xiaolian frowned. “Does she know now? I mean, since she’s also one of the leaders of our organization, then…”

Bluesea sighed deeply, his gaze drifting into the distance. In a seemingly casual tone, he said softly, “That’s another thing I want to tell you.”

“What?”

“Thunderflame, she’s not in Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild at all.” Bluesea’s tone seemed tinged with melancholy. “To be precise, she actually… left Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild a long time ago.”

Chen Xiaolian: “…”

This was an even more unexpected piece of news!

Thunderflame… defected? Left the threshold of Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild?

This…

Chen Xiaolian’s eyes flickered as he carefully pondered, realizing that this matter wasn’t difficult to understand after all.

It made sense.

If Thunderflame were still in Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild, then why was it only Bluesea who appeared alone to handle the “Blood sacrifice”? Why did Thunderflame, also one of the four giants of the team, never show herself throughout the entire ordeal?

Even Bluesea was almost resorting to suicide to buy time in the arena, such a significant event, and Thunderflame never made an appearance.

This had been a huge puzzle in Chen Xiaolian’s mind.

“So, you mean to say that Thunderflame is not in Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild?”

“Yes, she’s not.” Bluesea said bluntly. “Let me make it clearer. When I say she’s not here, I don’t mean she’s gone out or has some business to attend to. I mean… she’s no longer part of Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild. To be precise: she’s broken away from the team and established herself independently.”

“… A rupture?” Chen Xiaolian instinctively uttered these three words and immediately regretted it. He glanced somewhat embarrassedly at Bluesea.

Bluesea’s eyes showed a hint of desolation, his expression even a bit melancholic as he gazed at the distant beach. He whispered softly, “A rupture? You don’t need to tiptoe around it. Saying it like that is not wrong.”

But after saying this, Bluesea withdrew his gaze and looked at Chen Xiaolian. “The matter of Thunderflame is the highest secret of Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild. To maintain stability, the fact of her departure from the team has always been kept under wraps. Over the years, the team has faced so many hardships, and dealing with the matters of Skyblade has already been a heavy burden for me. If everyone knew that Thunderflame had also left, I’m afraid the morale would have collapsed long ago. So… within the team, no more than five people know about Thunderflame’s departure.”

After a pause, Bluesea sighed. “She and I had disagreements back then. Her temperament was too explosive and rebellious. She couldn’t stand seeing me endure hardships and compromises everywhere to support the team, nor was she willing to hide her light. Eventually, we had a falling out, and she left in a fit of anger. But out of old friendship, she didn’t publicize the matter, just quietly left, starting anew outside, even changing her name and no longer using the name Thunderflame. And within the team, I could only claim that Thunderflame was out searching for Skyblade everywhere and not appearing within the team, concealing the truth for many years has been quite challenging.”

“… No one suspected?” Chen Xiaolian frowned.

“She does come down every year, occasionally showing her face in Zero City, but it’s always brief, which is fortunate. Although some people have their suspicions, I’ve managed to barely conceal it.” Bluesea sighed bitterly.

Chen Xiaolian listened, unsure how to feel, but he couldn’t help but find the relationships among the four of Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild to be incredibly complex and bewildering.

After a moment of thought, Chen Xiaolian said, “Since we’re on this topic, I also want to ask you, is the reason you sought this meeting to tell me all of this?”

“The matter concerning Qiao Qiao is related to Qiao Yifeng, so I have to clarify it. As for any hidden agenda, I’ve already said that, considering your gratitude towards Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild, I won’t press you. If you’re unwilling to speak, I won’t force you to reveal anything. However…” Bluesea hesitated for a moment, looking at Chen Xiaolian.

“Just say it, whatever it is.”

“This matter is too strange. I’ve never encountered such a situation before. After an Awakened dies, the system erases all traces of their existence from the world. While resetting and refreshing isn’t unusual, completely erasing them rather than resurrecting them as ordinary people is extremely bizarre.” Bluesea looked at Chen Xiaolian. “You obviously know something and are hiding some important information. Although I can refrain from pressing for further details, this matter, in my mind, seems far from simple.

I suspect that someone will come looking for you in the future, whether it’s Thunderflame or if word of this were to leak out and other teams catch wind of it, they won’t overlook such a bizarre occurrence.

In recent years, every team in Zero City has been tirelessly trying to understand and uncover the truth of this world. If they were to learn of these strange occurrences, they wouldn’t let it go. While I can help you conceal it for now, it can only be hidden for so long. There are people who know you and also know Qiao Qiao. When they find out about this… ”

Chen Xiaolian smiled. “After all is said and done, you still want me to tell you.”

“If this matter is indeed significant, then rather than you bearing it alone, it’s better to collaborate with me. At least, Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild, top to bottom, have some acquaintance with you. Between us, there’s a basis for cooperation.” Bluesea was candid. “If you really don’t want to speak, then… let’s just forget I asked. I don’t intend to hide my intentions.”

“So, you’re playing the long game,” Chen Xiaolian sighed.

“I may not pursue it, but someone will. I may not press you, but someone else will.”

Chen Xiaolian glanced at the sky, the artificially azure sky, clear and pure, devoid of the haze of the outside world’s sky.

After a few seconds of contemplation, as if weighing his thoughts, Chen Xiaolian finally nodded slowly. “You’re right. If you don’t press me, someone else will. If you don’t investigate, someone else will. Bearing this alone is not as good as cooperating with a reliable partner. So, Mr. Bluesea, there are indeed some hidden aspects to this matter, but… before I collaborate with you, I need you to help me with something first.”

“…Go on,” Bluesea didn’t agree immediately but asked cautiously first.

Chen Xiaolian looked around. “I want to gain a deeper understanding of Zero City.”

“Deeper? How deep?”

“Very deep.”

…

The golden wheat fields in the farmland resembled brilliant waves under the sunlight.

On a patch of open ground beside the fields, a farm tractor lay sideways, its tracks dismantled.

A man emerged from beneath the chassis, hands smeared with black engine oil. He wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, then took a deep breath and cursed, “Damn it, looks like I won’t be able to fix it today. I’ll have to go to town and find someone from the agricultural machinery company.”

As the man stood up, his sturdy build, thick eyebrows, square face, and sharp features were prominent. His sleeves and pant legs were rolled up high, revealing his tanned skin. Between his brows, there was a resolute determination in his gaze.

Beside him stood two other men. One was a slender fellow, wearing a shirt, sitting under a large tree with a tea kettle, taking a sip of water. He glanced at the man and exclaimed loudly, “Brother Feng, if you can’t handle this guy, then those fools from the agricultural machinery company in town definitely won’t be able to! Didn’t you do mechanical repairs back when you were in the army? You used to fix tanks, for crying out loud. This thing can’t be more complicated than the stuff you dealt with in the army, right?”

The man with thick eyebrows smiled, “It’s been years since my army days, and I’ve let my skills go rusty. These years of farming haven’t left much of my former abilities.”

Several hundred meters away, on a hillside.

A chubby man sat on the ground next to a camouflage sleeping bag, surrounded by various snacks—chocolates, mineral water, cola, biscuits, bread, and an opened packet of ham sausages.

He held a military-grade telescope in his hands, but he seemed completely entranced, staring fixedly through the telescope at the man laughing heartily in the distant fields.

He didn’t know how long he had maintained this posture. As he continued watching, he couldn’t help but burst into tears, with mucus and tears streaming down his face.

Finally, the chubby man set down the telescope, vigorously wiping his nose with his sleeve, muttering under his breath, “Dad…”

After shedding a few tears, he glanced at the fields in the distance. The man with thick eyebrows had already propped up a bicycle nearby, securely fastened his toolbox to the rear seat, mounted the bike, and rode off along the field ridge. The chubby man immediately jumped up, disregarding the sleeping bag and food on the ground.

Swiftly retrieving a bicycle from the storage wristwatch on his wrist, he mounted it and pedaled desperately to catch up.

The two men traveled side by side, with about a hundred meters between them.

After about ten minutes, they were nearing a town. The man with thick eyebrows dismounted, crossed a bridge pushing his bike, made way for a farm truck loaded with sandbags, and then entered the town, exchanging greetings with familiar faces and shop owners along the way.

“Second Aunt, haven’t had lunch yet?”

“Little Zhu, playing hooky again today?”

“Hey, Luo Si! Sneaking off for another round of cards? Watch out for your wife catching you!”

“Haha, Director Zhang, drinks with you tomorrow!”

It was evident that the man with thick eyebrows had a good rapport with people, his laughter hearty and infectious. As he walked, a continuous stream of greetings and banter followed him.

The chubby man followed slowly behind. When he saw the man with thick eyebrows pushing his cart into an alley, he hurried to catch up. However, just as he entered the alley, someone slapped him on the shoulder from behind.

“Who are you, and why are you following me?”

The chubby man turned around to see the man with thick eyebrows scrutinizing him with sharp eyes.

Momentarily stunned, the chubby man looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar face. His nose tingled, and tears almost welled up, but he managed to hold them back with his good mental composure. He forced a smile and said, “I… I’m not following you anywhere.”

“You’ve been following me all this way, and now you’re following me into this alley. Don’t deny it,” the man with thick eyebrows shook his head. “You’re not from around here. I haven’t seen you before.”

“Well… you go your way, and I’ll go mine. Why would you think I’m following you?”

The man with thick eyebrows chuckled. “This alley leads to a dead end, only one fertilizer plant down there. So, who are you looking for?”

“I… I’m just looking for the fertilizer plant,” the chubby man insisted stubbornly.

The man with thick eyebrows snorted and grabbed the chubby man’s shoulder, forcefully pushing him against the wall. He demanded, “Stop lying! I can see through you with just a few words! There’s no fertilizer plant around here! Speak up, who are you? Sneaking around like this, are you trying to steal from us?”