Please Stand Back and Watch What Happens

"Big brother, I want to share my snacks with Little Peach and the others, but Penny, um, and Sister Freya all stopped me. Is that, is that wrong? When you have something good, shouldn't you share it with your friends?"

Little George seemed to think Yu Lian was exactly his kind of person. He'd taken him for a "big brother who understood him" completely.

"Well... actually, your sisters and Miss Frederica were right."

"Why?"

"Well, it's a little complicated to explain. I'm not sure you know enough yet to understand. If you want to understand your sisters, you'll have to study hard and read more." Yu Lian didn't fob him off with "You'll understand when you're older." Instead, he explained seriously, "Just remember that sharing your snacks with them right now would actually hurt them."

"R-really?" The little boy's big eyes dimmed again.

"I know Little Peach and the others are going hungry. But don't worry. After today, they'll have enough to eat and warm clothes to wear. Do you believe Big Brother? Hmm? Do you believe in the promise of Commonwealth officer Yu Lian?"

The boy listened intently. Only when Yu Lian finished that last sentence did his eyes brighten again. He bit his lip and nodded firmly.

"Oh, right. I'd like to meet that Big Brother Yaxiu you mentioned. Why don't you ask him to come over? Tell him I've got a bottle of fine, rich liquor and invite him to have a drink."

The little boy blinked, then asked even more excitedly, "Are you going to talk about how we can go pew-pew together and drive off those nasty Sand People who bully us?"

Yu Lian sighed inwardly, but smiled and nodded. "That's right, so please do me this favor. Keep it a secret. Don't let anyone else find out, okay? Remember, Mr. George Pearce, the outcome of our entire campaign depends on this!"

Seven-year-old military enthusiast Mr. George Pearce stood straight and gave Yu Lian a perfectly proper salute. Then he strode off, as proudly as if he were carrying out the highest orders.

Time passed quickly. Yu Lian had barely finished swallowing his food when someone came over. But it wasn't the bronze-haired Alliance mercenary. Instead, it was Baka and Youyou, both looking troubled, accompanied by an old man and a young man.

Both newcomers wore light cowboy outfits. The old man was Asian, like Yu Lian, while the younger one was an unremarkable white youth. The latter was nothing worth mentioning, but the former—the old man—was a bit of a puzzle.

Yu Lian couldn't help thinking that the old man's bearing didn't suit his cowboy clothes at all. He ought to be wearing a felt hat and a sheepskin coat, with a long pipe slung over his back and a whip in his hand. Of course, a pair of pistols with red tassels tucked into his belt would have completed the look.

The old man held his cowboy hat against his chest and smiled and nodded at Yu Lian with warmth and dignity. The young cowboy, on the other hand, looked timid, his smile stiff with an ingratiating edge.

"Sir, I, um, Mr. Wang..." Sergeant Baka the bear-man was still the same as ever: ferocious on the battlefield, but honest, clumsy, and tongue-tied around his own people. He stammered for ages without knowing where to begin, then turned a pleading gaze toward Youyou, who had long since grown impatient.

Youyou spoke at a near-rap-like speed and rhythm. "This is Mr. Wang Yougui. He runs a ranch and plantation nearby. Mr. Kelvin is his employee. Sir, Mr. Wang says he can organize everyone and gather thirty able-bodied young men who can handle guns. He wants to know if you might be able to lead them in grabbing some supplies from the enemy."

"..." Yu Lian felt that he'd encountered more than enough magical-realist absurdity for one night. Did it really have to keep coming, one thing after another, without regard for whether he could take it?

"Young man, I know we're asking a lot, but things have gotten so bad that I had to swallow my pride and come to you. The whole convoy is about to run out of food. We thought everything would be fine once we reached the city, but who could've guessed things would turn out like this?" Mr. Wang Yougui, dressed like a cowboy but still every inch the rustic landowner from back home, twitched his mouth and sighed. "I've got some idea of the situation now. They say there are at least a million enemy troops outside the city. Even if Lord Guan himself came, one mighty flood wouldn't be enough to drown them! There's no way we're getting into the city, so... so I can only ask you to think of something."

Yu Lian fell silent for a moment and glanced at one of the heavy cargo trucks in the convoy. In terms of size and tonnage, it was probably second only to Councilor Jiang's kodo beast. It was the kind of vehicle that could crush a raptor under its wheels and shrug off gunfire and artillery with its armor. In terms of sheer defense, it could charge onto a battlefield and serve as a tank.

"Is that your truck?" Yu Lian asked.

"Yes, I bought it on installments. I've still got five years of payments left... Sigh, when we fled, I loaded it up with all the spices we'd just harvested from the plantation. If I'd known, I would've filled it with food instead." The old man sighed, his face full of regret.

New Jade Gate's high-altitude spices were valuable. They were essential ingredients in many fine and household chemicals, as well as a great many luxury goods, but they were no use for filling anyone's stomach.

"...But we can't just watch everyone else go hungry and freeze, can we? And we can't leave them behind. Young man—no, sir, you can't leave them behind!"

Baka and Youyou were taken aback, and the young cowboy froze outright.

"Hold on! Who said we were leaving them behind? Does everyone know?" Yu Lian was shocked too. If word of that got out, those hundreds of civilians would go berserk. Then what was he supposed to do—shoot them or not?

"Hey, I've known Little Dong since he was running around in split pants. I know exactly what kind of person he is. If he hadn't talked me into it, I wouldn't have come all the way out here to grow spices. I'd have been better off staying on my few hundred acres back home." The old man gritted his teeth, then remembered they weren't alone and quickly added, "Sir, Little Dong isn't a bad person. He just gets carried away too easily. Now that he's a councilor, he's surrounded by nothing but a bunch of bastards."

"Have you said any of this to anyone else, sir?"

"How could I say that out loud? It'd cause a riot!" The old man shook his head. "But I'm just an old man. Even if I put my pride on the line, I can't get the others to hand over their spare food, clothes, batteries, and the like."

He paused, ashamed to the point that he couldn't meet Yu Lian's eyes. His lips trembled as he stammered, "I've read a few books too. With this many enemies, they must have a lot of provisions every day, right? Could you... could you think of a way to take us on a raid for some food? Not much, just enough to help everyone hold out a little longer. I don't think the Governor's Office could ignore a siege on a place as big as Tulong. If we can hold on for three more days—no, maybe just two. I know it's dangerous, and I shouldn't be putting you in a difficult position... but... sigh, this is the most manpower I could gather. They're willing to go with you. Don't let this old man's looks fool you; when I was young, I did a month of militia training every year. I was the best in my neck of the woods."

The old man gave a thumbs-up, and the young cowboy spoke urgently. "Sir, I'm Kelvin. My brothers and I can fight. Just give us the word. If it means getting food for everyone, I'll be the first to go! Please, sir. There are old people, women, and children there—so many children..."

Youyou didn't know what to do, and tears were practically squeezing out of Baka's face, which was halfway between that of a brawny man and a beast.

"You two, don't let a single word of this slip—not even to Ina. Especially you, Youyou. If I find out you let it leak, I'll stuff you into the barrel of a tank before everyone riots and fire you out with its particle beam!"

Given what Yu Lian knew of the "Scarlet-Eyed Witch," if Ina found out, she really might knock the councilor out and toss him into a raptor's nest.

Youyou clapped a hand over her mouth and nodded frantically. Only then did Yu Lian say, "I'm grateful for your courage and sense of responsibility. But, Mr. Wang, and Mr. Kelvin, things are still nowhere near bad enough to require ordinary citizens like you to risk your lives. I promise you'll all have food tomorrow. You can wait patiently for things to improve. Of course, I welcome you organizing all the able-bodied men who can fight. I want to set up defenses at the mountain pass and on the peaks on either side, and I really do need the manpower."

The old man still wanted to say something, but after Yu Lian reassured him again and again, he had no choice but to let it go for the time being. Once everyone had left, each with a heavy heart, Yu Lian suddenly realized he'd made a lot of promises that day. If he didn't want to be crushed beneath them, he'd better resolve these matters soon.

Yu Lian waited another hour, until most people had returned to their vehicles to rest and the whole camp had quieted down. Even the children had gradually stopped crying before the Alliance adventurer named Yaxiu Stein finally came over, dragging his feet.

He kept to the shadows between two Black Panther tanks, standing two meters behind Yu Lian. Even Ina wouldn't have noticed someone hiding there without looking carefully.

"Mr. Yaxiu Stein?" Yu Lian turned around and poured him a small glass of liquor.

The mercenary eyed Yu Lian suspiciously, then sniffed the aroma of his favorite liquor. He hesitated for a long while, but when he felt the thirst in his throat getting the better of him, he accepted the drink after all.

It was good liquor, of course. Yu Lian had gotten it from Ina—besides watching shows, she liked good cigarettes and good liquor. She really was a good girl. Yes, any girl who didn't go crazy crying over designer bags, jewelry, fashion, and luxury cars was a good girl.

Yaxiu needed only half a second to confirm there was nothing wrong with the drink. He tossed it back, then grinned, revealing his two-faced smile. "You know me? Oh, you must've heard about me from little George."

He'd already made up his mind. He might have accepted someone else's drink, but he certainly wouldn't do them any favors.

"All right, I sympathize with you and those poor people. But there's nothing I can do now. Old Mr. Wang has a chivalrous heart, but his suggestion isn't reliable. You won't get any supplies, and you'll expose this excellent hiding place to the Sand People. The entrance to the valley may be narrow, but how many attacks by a million Sand People can so few people hold off?"

"What do you think we should do, then?"

"Hey, isn't it a little odd to ask a foreigner like me in a situation like this? Warrant Officer, I'm just an ordinary mercenary..."

"You're not an ordinary mercenary. You graduated from the 827th class of the Guild of Adventurers' training camp, but never formally joined. Instead, you became a freelance explorer and mercenary, and you're currently affiliated with St. Cole Security. You're a psionic who has opened the 'Wanderer' Star Ring and is currently at the first ring, the Traveler. You specialize in swordsmanship and marksmanship. You're proficient in the second and fourth forms of the Guild of Adventurers' 'Nebula Guardian Swordsmanship' and the classical 'Norda Gun-Fu.' You're also skilled in psionic quickness and Cat Flow, and you know at least three psionic combat techniques."

The mercenary's smile froze. Was this really just "hearing about me"? He might as well have dug up my ancestors going back eight generations.

"Are you... um, one of those intelligence people? National Intelligence? Military Intelligence?" That still didn't make sense. I'm just a small-time nobody. Even the Empire's Starwatch Bureau wouldn't have any reason to spend that much effort on me.

The National Intelligence and Military Intelligence agencies were the Commonwealth's two major military intelligence services, both of some renown internationally. The former was the Commonwealth State Intelligence Investigation and Statistics Office; the latter, the National Defense Committee's Military Intelligence Integration Bureau.

"National Intelligence, Military Intelligence—they're all a bunch of fools! I'm their granddaddy." Yu Lian curled his lips and continued, "Anyway, let's get straight to the point, Mr. Stein. I want your employer to run into a little trouble—a little trouble that won't threaten his life. I hope you'll just stand back and watch what happens."