Chapter 13:

Thun-thunk (heavy armored boot steps) Yue Fei now fully garbed in his heavy suit of exo armor. Now more refined than before with the armor plates being more angular, covering his body more fluidly than before. Though still quite as heavy as before making each movement a heavy chore for himself if he wasn’t carful with his limbs. However, that problem was becoming less of an issue in the past few weeks, being more accustom to the suit.

Hou An’s electrical spear held aloft in his right hand and his pressure gun hung loosely dangling on his waist via a hook. Banging against his suits armor plates, the wires running towards his back connected to his power pack unit. His Gladius Han Sword sheathed and strapped to his right side of his waist.

Onwards he walked on in the near almost empty halls of his school, originally busy with students and fatuity staff going about their day, laughing and random chatter filling the halls in a sea of unfiltered sound. Now the same halls felt hollow and dead, gouged out what made it feel so lively in the past, the few souls that roamed these halls were now those that came back to rest in their dorms. While all other souls were out and about in the outside world fulfilling their duties, well almost everyone.

Yue Fei spotted a few students most notably in the Saint Maiden Scholars Institute dress uniforms huddles in their chat groups, happy gossiping away as if not aware of the situation they’re in. Yue Fei couldn’t help but feel the rising surge of frustration looking at the scene though honestly, he had more important matters at hands then to waste his energy in berating them. So onward he walked pasted these groups some turned their heads slightly to look his way, others ignored him as though he were not there.

Honestly, he preferred the latter as he could care less about their meaningless impressions, they were irrelevant to his duties, nor were they any useful to their goals. So onwards he walked on ignoring all the stares and pointless chatter around him. Soon he found himself where he needed to be at the school ground front gate, there he could make out his team had mostly gathered. Along with some extra faces, they all too donned on their armor despite the armor’s repaired state as fine as it was, however still bore the chips and scores of combats they’ve been subjected to in the last few days.

Yue Fei spotted Yue Yang and Kim-sing and walked straight towards them. The duo ceased the conversation upon noticing him walking towards them, and bowed their head slightly in greetings. “Is everyone here?” Yue Fei nodding to their greetings.

“For the most part, we’re just waiting on a few more and Lou Feng…ah there they are.” Yue Yang turned his body around his suit growled with power of hidden effort. At his angle he felt the heat from Yue Yang and Kim-sing’s power units, radiating their benign heat blowing out through the exhausted vent pipes like silky purrs. The power units like the rest of the armor have undergo significant changes, using whatever spare parts and generators that Yue Fei and his team had originally brought back.

The power units at least for some lucky personal such as Yue Fei’s team and a few others, instead of being solely a simple battery pack. It is now a hybrid power core, of electrolytes fuel-cell for their suits of armor, even containing reserve cells and an emergency solar collector via its solar panels which can be unveiled to the world via removing it outer shell layer.

Their warm gusts hushed from vents to caress his exposed face. It was smoothing despite the scorching heat that was begin to build up within him. The heavy armor on his body is gradually adding to this problem, but it was no issue…...as of yet that is. The ones in question were Lou Feng and the last few strangers of the team, that being Nip Fung, Mou-ming, Wei Li Jing, Shen Yi and the twins Zhongqing and Zheng Qing. There were another group of faces with them that Yue Fei didn’t recognize, so he didn’t pay them any attention and did another head count of his members.

“- Kai, Fei, Han Xin, Mi Liu, Mengya and Lee Shin are here ok other than Yang Yuhuan everyone’s here.”

“Oh, she’s not coming this time?” Yue Yang asked curiously at this fact.

“No, I asked her to stay back this time.” Yue Fei replied. “Its not like we’ll be undermanned without her.”

“I didn’t say that.” Yue Yang sighed in frustration at his response, this somewhat caught Yue Fei’s attention. “What?” Yue Yang simply replied “Nothing.” “You’re sounding like one of those side characters in some anime,

“From your own words you don’t understand my reaction?” Yue Yang looked Yue Fei in the eyes. “Nope.” Was the answer he got. “Ha~, never mind just forget it.” Yue Yang turned away uninterested in continuing the conversation.

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“Is everyone here?” Lou Feng asked trunding up towards Yue Fei, his armored boots thudding heavily on the cement ground, along with the three newcomers that Yue Fei didn’t recognize at first.

“Yes, my team has fully assembled and they are?” Yue Fei directed his question towards the newcomers that walked alongside Lou Feng.

“Ah yes these are my fellow classmates of my school, this is Ying Zheng.” Lou Feng explained directing Yue Fei’s attention to the first of the trio before moving to the next. “The one in the middle here is Wu Song and the last one is Walter Feng.”

“Walter, huh an American?” Hearing that name already gave Yue Fei ideas and thoughts.

“Yeah, I was born in America then my family moved to Asia with my relatives.” Walter Feng replied. “Oh, cool you half Russian?” Yue Fei asked looking over his facial features, a rare mix of Asian such as the pointy chin and English man features. One his slightly larger nose, along with his light blue eyes and his short dirty blonde hair.

“Nah man German my dad’s from Germany and my mother’s from China.”

“Wow~, ok. No means of offending you it’s just rare with your features.”

“None taken, I get that a lot.” Walter Feng waved off Yue Fei’s concern. Who nodded to this response then he walked off from Lou Feng’s group, heading towards the front of the gate, now standing before the gathered individuals, Yue Fei then called out to his team. “Ok now that we’re all here anyone forgot anything? Once we leave, we’re not coming back for a while.”

No one from the gathered crowd spoke up. Looking over them one last team Yue Fei then continued. “Alright then, let’s get going we’re losing day light form up flying V formation two rows, Lou Feng you’re taking point lead the way.”

“Roger that boss man.” Once the order was given everyone got into position. Forming two rows one behind the other till two rows of an upside-down V pointing outward of the gate. With Yue Fei falling behind under Lou Feng. Kim-sing who was to his right spoke to him. “Flying V? Really dude so original, you need to come up with a better name for these kinds of things because that was just lame.”

“Noted, I will take your recommendation into consideration now can we move on?” Yue Fei replied back to Kim-sing remark sarcastically, to whom merely smirked. He was not the only one who seemed to think that way. Yue Fei ignored it all. Then on the signal they started to run. With Lou Feng at the head, Yue Fei behind him everyone else fell in behind him. Lou Geng set a punishing pace through the uneven grounds and trees.

Within mere moments they were in the school courtyard, then they were bursting through the gate in mere nano seconds and into the ocean of trees. The group passed through the scores of landmasses with such speed it barely registered in Yue Fei’s eyes or senses. Nor did it really matter to him at the moment he was feeling ecstatic. The winds have him now, feeling the cool breezes tickling his expose skin on his cheek filled him with its rushing power and lifting himself up with untold strength. He was deeply enjoying this sensation, the after taste when one has finished a routine workout. Feeling the body of adrenaline, giving of the feeling of near boundless strength, but this feeling felt fives time more arousing then even that.

He was not the only person who felt that sensation. Onwards they all ran carelessly ramming through massive tree trunk larger than their own bodies and boulders scattered into powder before their stride. This fact didn’t escape Yue Fei mind, what is happening to them? Where was this strength that he and everyone else back at campus were exuding manifesting itself from? Was it from the armor? That theory has been debunked long before they ever acquired their gear, his experience of the first exploration trip taught him that.

That was a topic to theorize upon later, he was too drunk on the overflowing power at the moment. It was highly addicting the sense of time even seemed lost to him

They reached the top of the steep hill. However, Yue Fei and the other, tireless, ran up that hill with such speed surpassing human history, their profiles a blur of speed upon the earth itself. Once at the top there lay a steep, deep craven dividing the land in two before the group.

“Jump!” At that command they leapt from the ground Luo Feng in front of Yue Fei jumped and he followed. Then at that moment they were flying, Yue Fei found himself looking down into the shadowed canyon yawning under his feet. The darkness below seemed endless like an open maw just waiting to swallow him whole. The feeling was only momentarily it came and left as soon as it came. In a near blink of an eye the shadowy maw was replaced brown dirt and greenery, they landed hard with the hiss of shock absorbers, everyone’s armor grunted and growled of hidden effort forcing itself to endure. Well also everyone other grunted and their armor plates buckled absorbing the shock. Yet it was but another step in their stride, still they ran unhindered.

However, Yue Fei mid landing landed almost too close to Lou Feng’s rear end. “Oh, shit watch out bro.” Luckily for the duo, Lou Feng kept moving far enough from Yue Fei from having him crash into him.

“Damn man you trying to kill me.”

“Sorry you’re just too slow.” Yue Fei bashfully apologized in response to Lou Feng’s outcry. “Slow my Ass you dick.” Not lingering on the situation, they keep moving. However, the scenario replayed itself in Yue Fei’s mind.

Looking back at the situation, Yue Fei realized that it was not that Lou Feng was too slow, he himself was running too fast. Being as how he had a full exoskeleton while as Lou Feng only had the custom Levitate's Airframe, he and his colleagues only had the strength of their own legs to propel them forward. Though they have the strength to keep up with full armored personal, but fully armored gives one the slightly better edge. As their lower frame are enclosed in tough modified padded breaches, armored boots.

They didn’t have an exoskeleton to help boost their strength in their legs, so they had to carry the extra heavy weight themselves. The group ran onwards, the trees long faded away to tiny patches here and there, they were now running through long meadows fields. Filled with boulders and tall hills, the sun blared high above them from it position in the sky, Yue Fei guessed that it may close to none soon.

“Hey Lou Feng are we almost there yet? We’ve been running for a while now.” someone from the group called out to him.

“Yep, we’re close just over this last ridge to that mountain over there…. wait hold on.” The source that cut off his words came from the groups radio that crackly to life.

[Hm? What is that?] Yue Yang voice came over the walkie talkie attached to Yue Fei’s chest plate. [Is that one of us?] another voice came through.

[No, it’s something else. Get ready its-] the voice feed cut out silence fell through.

“That was Jacky’s voice!” Walter Feng’s booming voice came over the air seemingly recognizing the voice just now.

“Jacky can you hear me!?” Walter Feng cried into his walkie talkie nothing came through other than static.

“Cease your attempts he can’t hear us. Let’s go double time move-move!” with that Yue Fei and his team mates shot pasted Luo Feng’s own crew. “It just over that hill to that mountain right!?” shooting past Luon Feng over taking him Yue Fei questioned him not slowing his steps.

“Yes-!”

“Alright we’ll go on ahead meet you there try to keep up.” Then Yue Fei and his team was gone leaving only a dust trail for Luo Feng crew to follow after, leaving them behind.