Chapter Seven: Su Xiaoxiao

Chen Hongxu fled blindly, not sparing a shred of curiosity for the commotion that had erupted behind him. Panicked and desperate, he could not shake off the female team leader who remained five meters behind. The two raced on through the wilderness until, seizing a brief opening, Chen Hongxu turned and barked with fury, “Split up! We’ll have a better chance of escaping if we run separately!”

Catching the feigned concern in Chen Hongxu’s eyes, the female leader let out a laugh and cursed, “What nonsense! Don’t think you can ditch me and escape alone. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

To her, Chen Hongxu’s uncanny ability to sense the approach of reserve members was their best hope for survival. She would never abandon him; wandering alone in the pitch-black forest risked stumbling into the reserves—an ill fate indeed. Besides, if she lost this boy now, where would she ever find him again?

Seeing her unmoved and even daring to retort, Chen Hongxu frowned, then quickened his pace. Soon, he reached a small river and, glancing back to find the team leader had vanished from sight, exhaled in relief. The fact that she’d kept up with him spoke volumes of her skill. The Spirit of War had never mentioned her, which meant either she hid her strength so well that even it couldn’t see through her, or it found her untrustworthy and likely to betray him when it mattered most. Either way, Chen Hongxu had no interest in her company any longer.

Yet just as he was relaxing, her voice echoed once more: “Do all men run faster than rabbits when they’re trying to ditch a woman?”

Chen Hongxu’s eyes narrowed. He hadn’t expected such relentless pursuit. With a sigh, he resolved to continue running—this time, he would not stop until he reached the city, leaving her to chase only his fading tracks. In the city, with the Spirit of War’s warnings, he felt no fear of the reserves she spoke of.

Catching sight of him preparing to run, the team leader snapped, “Am I going to assault you, or eat you? Why do you look at me as if you’ve seen a ghost?”

Ignoring her words, Chen Hongxu pressed on. Soon, the team leader’s voice, broken by exertion, called out behind him: “Without me, do you know this Blacklist mission? Can you survive in Japan just because you speak Japanese? To put it nicely, I need your protection. To put it bluntly, we’re both stuck with each other.”

Chen Hongxu halted, running a hand over the back of his head before turning back to her, his expression dark. She was right; alone in Japan, survival was unlikely. He had promised Xue Xi—perhaps not to perfection, but at least to do his utmost.

The team leader had been certain he would return. She bent at the riverbank, scooping water to cool her face, then looked up and said, “That’s more like it. We’re in this together now. My name’s Su Xiaoxiao, also a reserve member. My main task is to lead you rookies on the Blacklist to complete your mission in Nara. The better you do, the greater my reward.”

Chen Hongxu stared straight ahead, unimpressed by Su Xiaoxiao’s deliberate display of cleavage, and replied irritably, “Chen Hongxu, representing the Xue family.”

“The Xue family? Didn’t Xue Guiren die? And your surname is Chen?” Su Xiaoxiao eyed him suspiciously.

Chen Hongxu glanced at her increasingly brazen display and snorted, “Can’t you speak properly? Your looks are nothing remarkable.”

Su Xiaoxiao’s eyes flashed with anger. She raised a foot to kick him but froze at the sight of the black card Chen Hongxu produced. “The state must have a registry for Blacklist rankings. This black card with number seventy-eight can prove my claim. And you needn’t feign surprise—word’s already out about the Xue family’s participant.”

Watching Su Xiaoxiao’s greedy gaze fixed on the card’s number, Chen Hongxu put it away and asked, “Since we’re tied together, answer a few questions for me first.”

Su Xiaoxiao reluctantly tore her gaze from his pocket. She coveted only the number on the card; there was no point in stealing it, for the Blacklist rankings changed every five years. If your strength didn’t match the card you’d stolen, your ranking remained as it was.

She nodded, and Chen Hongxu asked, “How many reserve members have arrived this time?”

“I don’t know. That part isn’t related to my mission, so I have no way of checking. But there must be quite a few, or else Team G wouldn’t have set off fireworks to mark their territory.”

“Aren’t the fireworks for assembly?”

“You’ve watched too much television. Reserve members usually group in fives to form teams for the mission. The most outstanding of these is Team G. Their fireworks aren’t for gathering but to announce to all reserves that this area, a hundred kilometers across, is claimed by their team. Those who lack the strength will retreat, while the strong ones will negotiate in advance to avoid pointless conflict.”

“So why did they suddenly change the Blacklist’s usual rules?” This was Chen Hongxu’s greatest puzzle. “Don’t tell me the nation no longer wants hotheads; it never did. If the old way worked before, why not now? Don’t take me for a fool! If you can’t answer this, I’d rather forfeit the Blacklist than die blindly.”

Su Xiaoxiao hesitated, then nodded. “The change was indeed sudden. The reason is a manpower shortage. They need you Blacklist participants to fill the gap. This time, they’ve even invited many elite figures without black cards. So there’s much I don’t know myself.”

“A manpower shortage?” Chen Hongxu caught the key phrase.

“Right. My clearance doesn’t reach the details, but I know something major happened in Europe, and most ranked Blacklist members were sent there. That’s made the Japan mission much harder.” She paused, continuing, “After all, this isn’t China—we can’t just pour in like tourists. There’s a limit to how many can complete the mission. With fewer elite reserves, only numbers can fill the gaps. And since the country doesn’t want to lose the reserves who are already considered elite…”

“Cannon fodder, then?” Chen Hongxu’s eyes narrowed as he sneered. “Is there a big gap between the ranked Blacklist members and the reserves?”

Su Xiaoxiao hesitated, then nodded. “Since Xue Guiren, the Xue family’s black card holder, died, you probably lack access to this kind of information. Other great families have sent mediocre heirs—not so valuable that their deaths would sting. For reserves, this is the only path to the Blacklist proper. There are only a hundred ranked spots, but so many extraordinary talents in China. So a compromise was created—a buffer path. Accumulate enough merit as a reserve, and when the Blacklist convenes, you can challenge anyone on the list. If a ranked member dies, the reserve with the most merit takes their place. Seizing black cards is one way to earn merit.”

…

Chen Hongxu nodded, accepting that the dead were simply gone, and let go of the reserve issue. He believed he could survive in this treacherous environment. “I won’t ask about the mission yet—it’s pointless now. But can we go to the site? I have no interest in being mosquito food in this forest.”

Su Xiaoxiao laughed sweetly, nodded, and pulled a pocket watch-like locator from her clothes. After checking it, she said, “Due north, Nara. Let’s go!”