The King of Black Fog

"Here, we are all Doraemon fans, how cute~" Li Qianxia handed cones to the two others.

"Where's my change?" Li Changzhou asked with his hands open.

Li Qianxia sat down between the two, peeling the wrapper of her cone as she asked Yang Qinglan, "What were you guys talking about? You looked really happy."

"Ask your brother." Yang Qinglan peeled his cone elegantly, his smiling gaze turned toward Li Changzhou.

"Li Qianxia, I'm asking you for my change, don't change the subject."

"Li Changzhou, you're the one changing the subject, tell me, what were you talking about!"

The flavor of Doraemon was good, but thinking about spending thirty, Li Changzhou felt a pang in his heart.

He and his sister were out of money, freshly evidenced by the fact that it took him a week to decide to walk into a hospital following the appearance of a human-shaped black fog.

"Wasn't there a matter?" He took a bite of the Doraemon, enjoying the taste of frozen chocolate melting in his mouth.

"Hmm," Yang Qinglan responded, "Tomorrow, I plan to challenge the instance."

"That soon?" Li Changzhou was noticeably upset.

"I and Lan have challenged it three times this week!" Li Qianxia boasted as she licked the top flower of her Doraemon.

Li Changzhou wanted to lick it as well, but with Yang Qinglan right across, he had to act mature and eat by biting.

Privately, he was just a little boy who could stick out his green tongue and linger playfully for a long time!

"Why participate so frequently? Doesn't the ticket say that as long as you participate once a month, you won't be penalized?" Li Changzhou asked.

"Because in a short period, we can't get any stronger in the real world," Li Qianxia licked her Doraemon again, indeed very cute, "Lan said it."

Li Changzhou shifted his gaze to Yang Qinglan.

She explained, "The results of your physical enhancement won't show in a short while, and even if they do, a certain degree of enhancement isn't a match for a spear."

Li Changzhou nodded.

"The Value Game has only started recently. My 'Attract and Repel' is very strong, and there are still few who can fly, plus with Qian Xia's speed, your spear mastery, we could hold a significant advantage."

Yang Qinglan took a gentle bite of her Doraemon, continuing:

"Pinduoduo's ten billion subsidies, all the major takeaway platforms' discounts, ride-hailing platform bonuses, Yu'E Bao's initial high deposit profits—capital trades funds for market, and we must stake our lives for survival space.

"If we hold back due to fear and only participate once a month, it will only make us lose our current advantage and put us at a disadvantage in the future."

Li Changzhou carefully pondered her words, subconsciously biting into his cone.

"Alright!" He agreed with the decision.

Though it was risky, he also wanted to explore his 'Physical Enhancement' instinct, but Yang Qinglan's analysis was correct. With their strength, the three of them could be hunters in this period.

If they delayed, whether it was their instincts or the skills they learned, they would lose their advantage.

Li Qianxia's 'Wolf Howl' had a speed and perception limit;

Yang Qinglan's 'Thorns,' described as 'iron arrows,' but creatures who could easily eat iron would definitely appear;

His own F-grade 'Spear Mastery' wasn't worth mentioning. He couldn't even guarantee hitting Qian Xia when 'Wolf Howl' reached a speed of 10.

"Speaking of skills," he suddenly remembered something, "can skills be swapped? There's a total of only six, my F-grade is a big disadvantage."

Skills on the Black Card could be improved with money, those could not.

"There's no such convenient information yet," Yang Qinglan said, "but don't fret over this too much; it's a necessary investment. With the current situation, should we keep skill slots empty deliberately waiting for high-level skills?"

"I understand the reasoning, but I still feel reluctant," Li Changzhou took a big bite of his cone.

Li Qianxia, nibbling on her crispy cone, hesitantly said, "Maybe it's like Pokemon, learning new ones and forgetting old ones."

The three did not continue discussing this matter, as learning six skills was still a long way off.

Even if the current skills are weak, they are necessary investments; careful selection and proper pairing are all that's needed.

"Since we've decided to actively challenge the Value Game, we need codenames and masks to hide our identities," Yang Qinglan said, her Doraemon almost finished, although she ate it bit by bit.

"Codenames?" Li Qianxia asked, puzzled.

"For example, 'King of Black Fog,'" Yang Qinglan looked toward someone.

Li Changzhou: "..."

"Then I'll call myself 'Summer,'" she said.

"It's better if it has no connection to your real name," she paused slightly, then added, "like King of Black Fog."

"... Yes," Li Changzhou nodded, expressionless, "I am King of Black Fog."

Li Qianxia couldn't help but laugh out loud, her voice dancing like sunlight upon water.

Yang Qinglan also revealed a faint smile, her slender fingers tearing further down the remaining wrapper of her Doraemon, as gentle as a lotus swaying in the breeze.

"What should I call myself?" Li Qianxia wondered aloud while eating her Doraemon.

"I'll be 'Xiaoqing,' the Xiaoqing from White Snake Legend," Yang Qinglan said.

"I think you're more like Bai Suzhen, including the sharp tongue."

"Eh? I think you're more like Lady White," Qian Xia added.

The siblings both spoke at once; at that moment, it was evident that their voices blended perfectly, perfectly fitting people's fantasies about twins.

Yang Qinglan ate the last bite of her cone corner and said, "That's exactly my intention, making it easy for you to address me without needing to correct yourselves, and letting outsiders think it's Xiaoqing from White Snake Legend."

"Lan, you're so smart! From now on I'll call you Xiao Qing, the 'qing' with three drops of water."

Yang Qinglan opened her lips as if to say something, but Li Changzhou had already bluntly spoken out, "Idiot, if you call her that in reality, how are you supposed to keep it concealed?"

"What did you say?!" Li Qianxia knew her brother was right, but she still argued back.

"You might as well use 'Idiot' as your code name." Li Changzhou was not going to be polite to his sister; he still remembered the thing about the thirty yuan.

Li Qianxia snorted indignantly and ate the rest of Li Changzhou's ice cream cone.

"My... my sister is really cute!" Li Changzhou patted off the bits of cone that fell on his pants.

Seeing him wanting to curse but holding it back, Yang Qinglan praised, "Not bad, breaking your swearing habit at one go."

Curious at this, Li Changzhou asked, "Do you simply dislike swearing, or is there some story behind it?"

"A cultured, polite person should not indulge in unrestrained speech that harms others."

"You don't just 'not indulge yourself'—you don't even let others swear."

Yang Qinglan did not answer, and looked down.

Li Changzhou looked at her long eyelashes, which cast shadows over her eyes.

Li Qianxia glanced at them both, intending to change the subject, when Yang Qinglan lifted her eyelids and said,

"Since the first time I participated in the Valued game, I've felt the human aspect of me being challenged, so... at least in certain aspects, I want to constrain myself with human morals."

"That's good, not swearing is good." Li Qianxia looked at her brother, "Right, big bro?"

"I'm fine with that." Li Changzhou said with a smile.

Yang Qinglan also smiled, "Thank you."

"What's there to thank for." Li Qianxia ate the last bite of her ice cream.

"It's my whimsy, though it's about being civilized." Yang Qinglan explained, then asked, "Qian Xia, have you thought of what to call it?"

"Hmm—" Li Qianxia raised her head, looking at the cafeteria ceiling.

Sitting in the air-conditioned cafeteria and looking out the window, fluffy white clouds adorned the sky, as blue as a painting.

Li Changzhou stared out the window in a daze. It was a scorching summer, just one week into the new school term.

"Got it!"

Li Changzhou refocused, "Little Li?"

"Go to... you're really handsome." True to being Li Changzhou's sister, Li Qianxia quickly changed her words, "How about I use the Blood-sucking Gun and call myself 'Vampire Queen'?"

"...You siblings have a great relationship," Yang Qinglan hinted pointedly.

Li Changzhou thought she was cursing.

"Yeah, even though we often fight, if I dreamt my brother broke his legs and couldn't walk, I'd be the one pushing his wheelchair."

"Nice talk." Li Changzhou kicked her shoe.

Li Qianxia giggled cheerfully.

"Vampire Queen is too long, how about 'Mosquito'?" Yang Qinglan suggested.

"Wenzi? Sounds like a sakura girl."

"The mosquito kind of 'wen'."

"How about me?" Li Changzhou couldn't resist anymore, looking to amend his dark history, "'Evil Wolf,' no, 'Owl,' how about that?"

"Sure, King of Black Fog!" Mosquito clapped her hand forcefully on her brother's shoulder.

"No problem, King of Black Fog." Yang Qinglan also smiled.

Li Changzhou fell silent, mumbling something under his breath - something about "thirty yuan," "ice cream," "heartless woman."

After the commotion, Yang Qinglan became serious and said:

"We must not underestimate our opponents. If we can reach Value 2, so can others. Think about it, if we meet a team just like us, what should we do? A sniper, and someone with a rifle; someone with Wolf Howl and speed fast enough to dodge bullets, plus me."

"Yeah." Li Changzhou had the same thought, confident in his own strength yet not underestimating his opponents.

"Got it, captain!" Li Qianxia saluted.

"I'm not the captain." Yang Qinglan shook her head slightly.

"Captain! I have a suggestion!"

"Speak."

Still saying you're not the captain, listen to that tone, look at that arrogant attitude!

"I suggest we leave tomorrow night, this way we can wear an extra piece of clothing. Even if we get a bit dirty on the way back, it won't draw attention!"

"Good idea, let's meet at 8 PM." Yang Qinglan nodded.

"Since it's settled," Li Qianxia chuckled mischievously, "how about we celebrate by watching a movie together afterward?"

Li Changzhou lost his temper, knocking on her head, "I've told you before! Don't make unlucky remarks like 'if we win, we'll go home and get married!'"

"Speak from your heart! You want to go home and marry Lan!"

"Spit out the ice cream I bought for you!"