The King of Black Fog

Li Changzhou suddenly remembered something.

"Officer Zheng," he looked at Zheng Qing, "do you know where I can buy some fitness equipment? The kind suitable for strugglers."

Zheng Qing nodded, "I'll give you a website, the stuff there is very professional and can be customized, but it's quite expensive."

"How expensive?"

Zheng Qing glanced at the money being hugged by Li Qianxia, saying, "The twenty thousand you have might not be enough."

"That expensive? What about 40,000?"

"About that."

"Li Changzhou! Are you thinking of using my money?! Are you?" Li Qianxia, hugging the money, glared fiercely, ready to pounce like a blood-sucking vampire.

"If all the money is used to buy equipment, what about the rent?" mused Li Changzhou.

The ignored Li Qianxia kicked him, then cuddled even more reluctantly with the money, looking like a mother about to be separated from her child.

"I can borrow it," said Yang Qinglan, speaking lightly but with the confidence of someone who owns property in a bustling part of Ming City.

"No need," Li Changzhou raised his hand, rejecting the offer very decisively.

He looked at Li Qianxia, "We'll have to dip into our savings."

"Think it over. The money left by our grandparents is only enough for us until we graduate from college," Li Qianxia said.

"Money will soon lose its value," he replied, "using money that will depreciate to train ourselves and then earn the hard currency of Game Coins in the future, that's fine."

"Alright," Li Qianxia didn't care, "anyway, if later on we have nothing to eat and have to live under a bridge, I can suck your blood to stave off hunger."

Li Changzhou was deeply distressed, "We can go back to the village and farm, why live under a bridge? We can't be lazy even if we're poor."

Buying equipment and renting a place were matters for later. Today, Li Changzhou still had something else to do.

"Officer Zheng, could you help me practice?"

"Practice?" Zheng Qing, who was drinking water, looked at him quizzically.

Li Changzhou explained, "So far, I have always fought other contestants with guns, but I think the game will soon move to close combat, and I need someone to help me brave up, least not to fear fists."

"No problem," Zheng Qing agreed without a second thought.

"Right," she added, "since we're practicing, lend me your Dagger. The courage from fist-fighting is too little if facing an enemy with sharp weapons, being still able to think calmly means your courage is about right."

Li Changzhou looked at Yang Qinglan, who shrugged.

"It won't hurt my brother, right?" asked Li Qianxia, holding the money and looking anxious.

"The unit I belong to trains like this daily, don't worry," Zheng Qing was nonchalant. She was an elite.

Five heartbeats later, the Dagger appeared in Yang Qinglan's palm.

Zheng Qing took the Dagger, scrutinized it finely, its blade gleaming coldly, sharp and deadly, with a groove for blood.

She drew "Lover" from the table, swipe, swipe, swipe, three strokes - stab, chop, swipe - "Lover" was dismembered, the cuts so swift they could serve as a paper cutter.

"Great! Even better than the one I lost!" she couldn't help but exclaim.

Looking at "Lover" on the table, Li Changzhou felt the pressure.

The two exited through the back door of the bookstore, ending up in the small courtyard where Yang Qinglan lived, its patio hosting an apricot tree that spread like a canopy.

"Ready? I'll let you get a few minor cuts," Zheng Qing smiled, remembering the incident when her knee was broken.

Li Changzhou felt even more pressure.

His opponent was a well-trained special forces soldier, holding a razor-sharp Dagger; one slip could mean several holes in his body or losing a few fingers.

He took a deep breath, "Come on!"

Before his words had died away, he made the first move, throwing a punch.

The sound of rushing wind.

Feeling the force and speed of the punch, Zheng Qing was surprised, but in the face of this strike, she didn't need to think and instinctively dodged to the side.

Then she quickly closed in, swiping her dagger across Li Changzhou's neck.

It was as if Li Changzhou himself had offered up his neck for her to slash.

Li Changzhou touched his neck with the middle and index fingers of his right hand, blood was present.

If just now Zheng Qing had applied a bit more force, or targeted another spot, his blood and airways would have been severed, bringing his demise.

"Got stunned?" Zheng Qing laughed.

"...A bit."

"Continue!" Zheng Qing's expression became stern, and she swung her dagger like a broadsword.

Li Changzhou panicked internally and subconsciously dodged.

Zheng Qing struck again, her dagger pursuing like a venomous snake.

Dodging repeatedly, Li Changzhou realized his reactions were quick, and as long as he intended to dodge, it was difficult for Zheng Qing to hit him.

Gradually, he calmed down and could clearly observe the dagger to find an opportunity to counterattack.

...

...

As the two sparred in the courtyard, inside the bookstore, Li Qianxia, reluctant to spend money, and Yang Qinglan, who was watching the store, also had a minor incident.

Li Qianxia was very sensitive and noticed something her brother had not.

"Are you angry?" she asked Yang Qinglan.

"Why should I be angry?" Yang Qinglan calmly cleaned up the torn-apart "Lover."

Li Qianxia said nothing, based on her previous observations when visiting the bookstore, she knew Yang Qinglan treasured books, especially those in the store.

Zheng Qing, being a warrior, only had daggers on her mind and never cared for a book, just like a person with a new pen who subconsciously draws wave lines on a notebook.

But for those who cherished cleanliness, any extra marks on the notebook were simply stains.

Li Qianxia's bright eyes watched Yang Qinglan, and she couldn't help but laugh, "How come you're like my brother? When he's truly angry, he's just like this, silent. Ask him, and he also says it's nothing."

"Your brother gets angry at you?"

"He dares!" She laughed as she said this, then slowly her smile faded.

"It was when our parents left. I remember crying hard, but he sat on the doorstep doing his homework, not saying a word. When grandparents asked, he also said it was nothing, his tone just like yours just now."

"I think if you two ever argue, it would be severe, the house would be as tense as the calm before a storm, relying on me as this little sun to mediate."

"Why should I argue with him?"

"Hehe." Li Qianxia didn't reply, continuing, "A few days after mom and dad left, I asked him when would they come back?"

"He said they wouldn't come back?" Yang Qinglan guessed.

"Yeah, but before he said that, he did something else."

Li Qianxia fell into her memories.

"Our village had an abandoned steel factory. Kids used it as a secret base and playground. That day he took me there, pried open the sewer manhole cover, sold it for a few dollars, and bought me a bunch of snacks."

"Just as I was happily eating the snacks, he told me that those two people would never come back."

Yang Qinglan cleaned up the torn "Lover," deposited the pieces in the trash can.

As if to liven up the atmosphere, Li Qianxia said proudly, "So from that time, I started liking making my brother spend money on me."

"Really?"

"Oh yes, really, at least half of it is true."

Yang Qinglan laughed, forgetting about the book, imagining Li Changzhou doing homework at the doorway and taking his sister to pry open manhole covers.