The King of Black Fog

"The future might be quite a mess," Li Changzhou said as he dealt with the fried mandarin fish.

The crust was crispy, and the fish flesh was white and tender like garlic cloves. With a pinch of chopsticks and a dip in Sichuan pepper powder, the delicious taste burst in the mouth.

Li Qianxia asked, "What do you mean?"

"You know those apocalyptic scenarios described in various works? People live in bases, and outside are poisonous insects, ferocious beasts, and murderers. People in the lower strata risk their lives to pick up trash to survive, like this——"

Li Qianxia and Yang Qinglan looked towards the smartphone in Li Changzhou's hand.

Li Changzhou weighed the smartphone in his hand, eyed it, and said, "This here is a Redmi Note 10 Pro, the condition is quite decent, worth a lollipop, want to trade?"

The two university girls laughed at his joke.

One giggled like a playful fawn in the sunshine, shaking her head and neck, while the other was like a breeze through willows, silken as it brushed past one's ears.

"You two are still laughing?" Li Changzhou put down his phone, picked up his chopsticks and started on the garlic shrimp, "You have no idea how bad the situation is."

"How bad is it?" Li Qianxia sipped her pumpkin and mung bean soup.

"By that time, I'll reign supreme over my territory, and you'll be the king's sister. Like this," Li Changzhou pointed to the dishes on the table, "you'll eat like this every day!"

"If I'm already the king's sister, we would only eat at this level every day?"

"You're not considering the situation then. Many people would fight tooth and nail just for a lollipop."

"If those down below can't even get lollipops, wouldn't it be inappropriate for us to eat so well?"

"You don't want it?"

"I do!"

"You two siblings dream in tandem," Yang Qinglan said with a faint smile, revealing her neat, white jade-like teeth.

Hehe," Li Qianxia chuckled, "Just teasing our silly brother."

"Finished eating?" Yang Qinglan asked, having eaten very little herself.

"Yes," Li Changzhou put down his chopsticks—most of the food on the table had gone into his stomach, and his morning meal had barely filled the gap. "Waiter, the bill please!"

The female waitress came over.

"341," she said, instinctively looking at Li Changzhou.

People nowadays are too rigid in their thinking, instinctively assuming that if a man and woman dine out together, the man should foot the bill.

Li Changzhou gestured towards Yang Qinglan.

The waitress shifted her gaze to Yang Qinglan.

Yang Qinglan took out her smartphone and paid the bill by scanning a code.

Li Changzhou wasn't trying to be stingy; he genuinely had no money left. If he had to treat this meal, he definitely wouldn't have enough for the rest of the month's dining expenses.

"I'll pay half," Li Qianxia said as she picked up her phone.

"Think of it as the captain rewarding her subordinates," Yang Qinglan flashed her a smile, signaling that it was unnecessary.

Invincible youthful beauty, slim waist, long legs, plus money, and generosity... What to do, I totally adore her.

After the meal, the trio walked back to school.

Li Qianxia was stuffed and grabbed the hem of Li Changzhou's shirt from behind, following closely in his steps.

The midday sun was hot, and upon returning, each went back to their dormitories to rest.

Once in his room, Li Changzhou began doing pull-ups as part of his physical training.

As the sun set, he went to the field for endurance training, running for 90 minutes or doing 5-kilometer speed runs.

If you don't progress, others won't stop and wait for you. It's always like this in life.

Time quickly passed to Wednesday evening, around eight o'clock. While Yang Qinglan and Li Qianxia sat on the grass of the sports field discussing why they hadn't heard from Zheng Qing, Li Changzhou's "Physical Enhancement" finally brought results.

His heart thudded, pumping surges of blood through his body, initiating a metamorphosis, continually transforming him.

Exhausted, his breathing gradually eased, his steps felt like flying, and with just a light push off the ground, he could stride out far.

His strength was greater, his skin tougher, his explosive power stronger, his senses sharper, and his body felt lighter.

While jogging, he quietly savored the feeling of his body growing progressively stronger, almost as if... as if his life span had increased—that exaggerated.

On the lawn.

"What's wrong?" Yang Qinglan asked with curiosity, looking at Li Qianxia.

Li Qianxia stared at her hands in disbelief.

Yang Qinglan suddenly turned her head to look at a spot on the field. There was a strong sense of presence emanating from a being there, even stronger than the presence of the giant python from before.

It was Li Changzhou.

His steps were light as he ran. Under her "Perception" at a 5 o'clock position, when he passed by, she could even feel the length and strength of his breathing, as well as the robust and forceful surge of his blood.

"Phew," Li Changzhou slowly exhaled.

After five laps, the changes in his body finally slowed down. Only then did he realize that what he had thought was a slow jog was actually quite a fast pace for his former self.

At that speed, he certainly wouldn't have lasted five laps before, but now, he truly felt like he was running slowly.

Since that was the case...

He lengthened his stride and began to speed up.

The sound of whooshing wind swept past his ears, not slowing down even as he dodged the crowd on the field.

Among a group of people out for a stroll, he sprinted like a cheetah in flight.

He could go faster, Li Changzhou wasn't even out of breath, and his body showed no signs of fatigue; he could definitely go faster.

With that thought in mind... he smiled.

Swinging his arms, his left foot pressed down, blood rushing and fascia stretching and bending.

A drawn crossbow, the metal string taut; a dam brimming with floodwaters, on the verge of opening its gates.

His body and mind spurred him on to cause a big ruckus.

"Li Changzhou!"

His right foot gently tapped forward, and the great strength built up in his left foot melted away like snow, but he didn't stumble; he naturally drew in his power.

Li Changzhou turned towards the voice of Yang Qinglan, realizing then that he had attracted the attention of the people around him.

Before the physical changes set in, he had already run for 60 minutes, followed by five laps at a relatively fast pace for the average person, and then another lap at the speed of an athlete running the 100 meters.

Just now, he had been about to speed up even more.

Students and strolling citizens alike were eyeing him, much like a scene from a ghost story where the people around suddenly turn into ghosts.

Instead of the calm faces of ghosts, though, their mouths were agape with exaggerated expressions of surprise as they looked at him.

Li Changzhou left the track and walked towards Yang Qinglan and Li Qianxia.

As he walked, he clenched his fists, feeling as good as Sun Wukong the first time he transformed into a Super Saiyan.

If he met 'Invincible Wind Fire Wheel' again, he'd give him time to notch an arrow on the crossbow and then try to catch it with his hand.

Whether he could catch it was uncertain, but his current state made him feel as if he could.

"Brother!" Li Qianxia exclaimed incredulously, "I feel like my chest got firmer too!"

"..."

With just that one sentence, Li Changzhou's momentum deflated and he exited the Super Saiyan state.

"That sort of thing," he said, "You don't need to report to me."

Yang Qinglan looked them over, "Physical Enhancement?"

"Mm-hmm," Li Changzhou nodded.

"What about the data changes?"

Li Changzhou took a moment to recall.

[Nickname: 'King of Black Fog']

[Name: Li Changzhou]

[Value: 2 (10/200)] (Twins)

[Instinct: Physical Enhancement] (You are utterly infatuated and confident with every aspect of your body)

[Instinct: Twins] (Value fully shared, half the effect of instincts, backpack fully shared, Value Coin fully shared) (No one loves their brother more than you) (Source: Li Qianxia)

[Skill: 'Rifle Mastery', 'Unlearned', 'Unlearned', 'Unlearned', 'Unlearned', 'Unlearned']

[Strength: 8] (Seeing the limit)

[Agility: 7] (Top athlete)

[Intelligence: 7] (Genius)

[Constitution: 9] (One step away)

[Perception: 4] (Vigilant)

[Charm: 9] (Male protagonist)

[Equipment: None]

[Backpack Slot: 'AK-47', 'M95 Sniper Rifle' (Li Qianxia: 'Mosquito Style Blood-sucking Gun', 'Honeybee Sting Crossbow')]

[Money: 270 Coins (Li Qianxia: 15 Coins)]

"Strength, Agility, and Constitution have each increased by 2 points," he said.

"I gained a point!" Li Qianxia said excitedly, then lamented, "The effect of 'Wolf Howl' has spilled over!"

"You only get two Attribute Points for a Value increase, but you've managed to gain 6 points just through one breakthrough. And you've only trained for 4 days, no, including the time in the desert, it's been five to six days," Yang Qinglan said in amazement.

Li Changzhou had a vague feeling that 'Physical Enhancement' wasn't just a simple boost to physical fitness.

He had used Attribute Points gained from increasing his Value level to boost his 'Strength' and 'Constitution' before, and the sensation was completely different now.

Something deeper had changed.

But it could also be an illusion due to the large one-time increase in attributes.

If he hadn't been sharing the effects with his sister, he would have been tempted to turn 'Physical Enhancement' into a white card skill using black fog just to check the effect.

"How do you feel?" Yang Qinglan asked.

"One more round of enhancement and I could dodge bullets head-on; firearms would be of no use against me," Li Changzhou stated confidently.