Chapter 122: Release

"Early this morning, after the boss told us to go call our brothers back, I parted ways with Feng Ji. I then went to the base's mission briefing hall, as Feng Ke said he had been posting missions there lately. Everything was fine when I arrived; I just explained the situation and told him to hurry back to the team. When I was leaving, I accidentally bumped into someone—the same person who wounded him.

I have no idea why I bumped into him; I was clearly watching where I was going. It was as if that person appeared out of thin air. I apologized, but he didn't say a word, just stared straight at me, which made me angry.

I shouted, 'What are you looking at!' Then, the guy suddenly grabbed my hand. I don't know what he intended to do, but Feng Ke pushed him away. Before I could even intervene, they started fighting. In just a few moments, Feng Ke ended up in the state he is in now. Panicking, I rushed him back here," Xue Qi explained.

"Is that everything?" Qing Li asked.

Xue Qi nodded and said, "Yes, that's the whole story."

"Are you sure you haven't left anything out?" Qing Li asked, staring at Xue Qi.

Xue Qi thought carefully, shook his head, and replied firmly, "No!"

Hearing this, Qin Yu smiled helplessly and asked, "Why didn't that person hurt you, and instead let you bring Feng Ke back?"

Xue Qi paused, lost in thought. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he said strangely, "He did seem to say something as I was leaving."

"What did he say?" Qin Yu continued.

"It sounded like 'little sister'? I didn't hear it very clearly," Xue Qi said, sounding uncertain.

"'Little sister'?" Zhao Jiong looked Xue Qi up and down and said with a strange expression, "Are you a girl?"

"What are you talking about! I'm a real man! A pure one!" Xue Qi stood up and shouted.

"Xue Qi!" Qing Li's calm voice made Xue Qi shrink back immediately. *Whine, the boss is so scary!*

Qin Yu rubbed her ears, which were ringing from the shout, and asked, "Do you know why that man was looking at you?"

Xue Qi shook his head and muttered, "How would I know! That guy felt ice-cold, and his gaze was like he was looking at a dead person. How could I dare to ask so much!"

"But I did vaguely hear others at the mission hall saying things like, 'It's this matter again.' What matter could that be?" Xue Qi wondered, frowning.

Xia Cheng and Zhao Jiong exchanged glances, then looked at Qin Yu, realizing they were all thinking the same thing.

Zhao Jiong spoke up, "I think I know who wounded Feng Ke."

Xue Qi's eyes lit up, a flash of resentment crossing his face as he asked eagerly, "Who is it?"

"It's Shi, as in 'Shi' from 'Shi Huai' (Release). He was a member of the original Falcon Squad. It's said he is extremely powerful and his whereabouts are unpredictable. Although he is a member of the Falcon Squad, he rarely interacts with other members," Zhao Jiong replied.

"The last time we saw him was because he seemed to really want the antidote that had appeared at the time, so we had a brief encounter. But we don't know the extent of his abilities, as he didn't make a move back then," Qin Yu added.

"He is strong! Feng Ke and I are evenly matched, but that guy wounded Feng Ke without the slightest effort," Xue Qi said, sounding dejected.

"It seems his strength exceeds our imagination. Xue Qi, compared to Boss Qing, who do you think is stronger?" Zhao Jiong asked.

Xue Qi glanced at Qing Li and saw that his boss was focused on playing with his sister-in-law's hair, appearing completely uninterested in the current discussion.

Seeing this, Xue Qi swallowed hard and said tentatively, "I think, probably, maybe... the boss is stronger."

"Oh? How so?" Qing Li asked, still playing with Qin Yu's hair.

"Cough, cough... because I can feel that the boss is very, very strong! But with that guy, I couldn't feel anything at all—there was no presence of any aura. So, I really can't be sure who is stronger," Xue Qi said cautiously.

"Pfft, of course you couldn't feel the aura of that so-called 'Shi.' After all, he isn't human, so how could you possibly sense his aura?" Nangong Yao suddenly chimed in.

"Not... not human? Then what is he?" Xue Qi asked.

"Heh, even if I told you, you wouldn't understand," Nangong Yao said nonchalantly.

"Little Yao, stop pretending! We already know your true colors. Speak!" Zhao Jiong rolled her eyes at Nangong Yao.

Nangong Yao's hand stiffened, and his expression shifted immediately. "There were still people who didn't know! Did you have to expose me so soon? Hmph!"

"Hurry up and tell us! What exactly is that 'Shi' thing?" Zhao Jiong ignored his complaints and asked, full of curiosity.

"The drought demon (Hanba) brings disaster, scorching everything like fire." As Nangong Yao spoke, he gave Qin Yu an inscrutable smile.

Seeing this, Qing Li immediately shielded Qin Yu from Nangong Yao's gaze and glared fiercely at him.

Qin Yu pushed Qing Li's hand away, looked at Nangong Yao, and said, "You mean, that Shi is actually a Hanba? The legendary zombie?"

Nangong Yao smiled and nodded. "Exactly!"

Zhao Jiong looked curious. "Xiao Yu, what is a Hanba?"

Qin Yu looked around, noticing that most people looked puzzled, and began to explain, "Legend has it that the Yellow Emperor's daughter, originally named Nü Ba, was beautiful and kind. After the great war between the Yellow Emperor and Chi You, Nü Ba, worried about her father, fell gravely ill from physical and mental exhaustion. According to the shamans of the time, her illness was incurable.

"While she was on the verge of death, three souls of the beast Hou broke through the seals of Nüwa and Fuxi and escaped. To take revenge on Nüwa, one of Hou's souls sneaked into Nü Ba's room and took advantage of the situation to seize her body. However, that soul was incomplete and couldn't fully occupy her form.

"To successfully take over, Hou fused its soul with Nü Ba's three souls and seven spirits. After the fusion, Nü Ba mutated. Her hair turned white and fell out, her forehead became wrinkled, her body lost all moisture and became withered. Most terrifying of all, her body began to emit immense heat!

"Her mutation caused panic among the Yellow Emperor and the villagers. With no other choice, the Yellow Emperor banished her to the north.

"Because everywhere she went, lakes and rivers would evaporate, she became known as the Hanba (Drought Demon). And because of this, she is also called the Goddess of Drought."

"But Shi is a man!" Zhao Jiong pointed out.

Qin Yu rubbed her forehead and explained, "That is just the origin of the first Hanba. Later, people categorized zombies into levels, with the highest level being the Hanba. But in truth, the 'real' Hanba only exists in legends. I never expected we would actually encounter one."

"No, no, no. That Shi is not a true Hanba," Nangong Yao laughed.

"Not a Hanba? Then what is he?" Qin Yu asked with a frown.