Dawn was breaking.
Zhou Kai’s gaze fell upon his system panel. The skill bar, originally completely empty, now had two new entries.
【Light Footwork Lv0 (Upgradeable)】
【Occultism Lv0 (Upgradeable)】
Both lines had conspicuous suffixes, indicating that points could be allocated.
Beep, beep...
On the nightstand, a brick-like phone vibrated.
Zhou Kai glanced at it, let it ring for a while, then slowly reached over, picked it up, and answered.
“Hello, Sis, I just woke up...”
On the other end was Zhou Kai’s older sister, Zhou Qing.
“Just woke up?” Zhou Qing’s voice was very gentle, but her speech was rapid. “I heard you only spent half a day at the boxing gym yesterday before running off in the afternoon... Are you feeling unwell again?”
“If it really doesn’t work out, take it slow. Don’t rush to find a job. Getting your health back is what matters.”
“Don’t worry about money. Health is the most important thing, you hear?”
Listening to the nagging on the other end, the tense line of Zhou Kai’s shoulders sagged for a moment.
He didn’t speak, only reaching out to fiddle with the faded family photo on the table.
Compared to the despair in his nightmares, the warmth of family was an anesthetic—capable of making him temporarily forget the pain, but unfortunately unable to cure the illness.
The problem now had long since ceased to be merely about health and work...
...but rather about how to keep his life in those damned nightmares.
Thinking of this, Zhou Kai took a breath, making his voice sound more energetic. “I’m much better today, Sis. I’ll head to the boxing gym in a bit.”
The boxing gym was a must.
To survive in the dream, he had to become stronger.
Zhou Kai was confident he could grind any skill to perfection as long as he crossed the threshold.
Just like now.
Barefoot, Zhou Kai stood on the squeaky spring bed in his bedroom that groaned with every movement, practicing 【Light Footwork】 according to the techniques in the manual.
The core of this technique lay in adjusting the body’s center of gravity, the force of each footfall, and the coordination between breathing and exertion.
The barrier to entry was low; it wasn’t difficult.
Zhou Kai practiced for over twenty minutes. When the spring bed’s sound changed from creaking to a faint hum, a line of subtitles flashed before his eyes.
【You have completed a practice session. Light Footwork EXP +1】
【Light Footwork Lv0 → Lv1】
Zhou Kai stopped and looked at the panel.
【Light Footwork Lv1 (0/15): An ordinary stealth technique】
Fifteen points of experience were needed to level up, yet he only had eight universal experience points.
Investing them now would yield very little effect.
“Time to head out.”
Zhou Kai splashed his face with cold water and did over twenty push-ups.
The reassuring feeling that his physical condition wasn’t continuing to deteriorate made him radiate a long-lost vitality; his whole person felt much more alert.
...
This year was 2027.
The Crimson Star Republic had recently signed a peace treaty with the neighboring Lyle Federation, ending several years of localized hot warfare.
The depression brought by the war quickly faded, and an atmosphere of jubilation spread from the border all the way to Xishan City where he lived.
Zhou Kai came down from the tenement building, stepping on wooden planks used to keep out accumulated water as he exited the narrow alley.
The view before him suddenly opened up, and the muffled sounds around him instantly became clear.
At the junction between the urban village and the new development zone, traffic was heavy, and posters promoting peace and development were plastered everywhere on the walls.
Zhou Kai looked a few moments longer; his mood truly improved somewhat.
For ordinary people, the word “war” carried too much weight.
The old tenement building was packed with corporate drones from the surrounding area.
The rent here was cheap, transportation was fairly convenient, it was close to the subway station, and less than nine kilometers from Xishan City’s CBD.
During rush hour, men and women in bright clothes rubbed shoulders, packing the subway and buses like sardines.
Zhou Kai deliberately avoided peak hours.
It was nine-thirty now; the crowds had thinned considerably.
Without much effort, he grabbed a seat on the bus.
The whole way, Zhou Kai stared out the window in a daze.
He hadn’t noticed it before, but recently, the more he looked at the Crimson Star’s urban construction style, the more awkward it felt.
Building facades were as garish as third-rate browser game advertisements; colorful screens had resolution so low they were pixelated; and those bright-colored posters seemed ready to cover entire buildings.
Cars, buildings, even street lamps—all seemed to pursue a cheap metallic texture, silver and shiny, the light pollution dazzling enough to dizzy the eyes.
Occasional splashes of pure colors like鹅黄 or rose-red instead appeared completely out of place.
As he watched, a word popped into Zhou Kai’s mind, quite apt.
“Retro-futurism.”
Beep, beep.
That square phone with half screen and half buttons, resembling a scientific calculator, rang again.
Zhou Kai swiped open the screen. In the chat app were a bunch of red dots; the one flashing was a contact saved as “Sister Swallow.”
“Little Kai, coming today? I went through so much trouble to get your sister to pay your tuition. I was looking for someone to keep me company, but you’re lazier than I am.”
“You haven’t come these past two days. Sis is so embarrassed she could dig out a Forbidden City...”
Lu Yan and Zhou Qing were university classmates. Before graduation, the two were virtually inseparable. She was three years older than Zhou Kai and had known him for five years.
She had dragged Zhou Kai into training with her partly out of hope that he’d move more and not mold away in his rental apartment.
Secondly, perhaps she wanted to use him as a tool to ward off those hormone-fueled beasts.
Zhou Kai replied with two words: “On the way.”
Then he turned off the screen and rested with his eyes closed.
...
Falconwing Boxing Gym.
Lu Yan, her hair in a ponytail, slightly baby-faced, wearing light makeup and sporting attire, spotted Zhou Kai from afar. She squeezed out from a group of members and quickly walked to his side. “You’re in good spirits today?”
As she spoke, she reached out wanting to pinch Zhou Kai’s cheek.
Zhou Kai raised a hand to block, easily deflecting it. “Nah, just had a good sleep.”
Dying four times in a row in his nightmares had caused his real-world body to plummet from sub-health to half-dead.
This time he had finally escaped and even built a safe house; both body and mind had gained a moment’s respite.
Right, there was also a fireplace.
Next time he went in, he’d need to find some fuel to light it.
Zhou Kai’s attitude toward Lu Yan was neither warm nor cold. “Sister Swallow, time to rejoin the group.”
“Oh oh... I heard they’re selecting official disciples today.”
She responded verbally, but she was like a sparrow, chattering away next to Zhou Kai endlessly.
Zhou Kai and Lu Yan stood in line together. His gaze crossed over the partition, drifting toward the disciple area that occupied two-thirds of the boxing gym.
That side was free, yet the environment was better than what they paying members had. They trained in different things too, more like indoor disciples in a traditional martial arts hall.
Coach Chen Ping, tall with thick, heavy brows, swept his gaze over Zhou Kai, devoid of emotion.
After all, a man who had run his body into the ground for no apparent reason...
Hah, whether congenital or acquired, the words “martial arts” had no fate with him.
Members without value—he couldn’t be bothered to look at twice.
Anyway, as long as the money was paid.
Once the members had assembled, Chen Ping dragged out a young man with the worst performance from the disciple area next door, apparently named Du Feng.
When Zhou Kai registered the day before yesterday, Chen Ping had been explaining force generation.
Yesterday’s trial class had been horse stance... all fundamentals more basic than basic.
But today was different. On Du Feng, he revealed some true skill.
“Know why you’re no good? Your fists aren’t fast enough! Your legs aren’t steady enough! Your sinews and bones aren’t flexible enough!”
While cursing, Chen Ping raised his palm, fingers together, fingertips like a bird’s beak, rapidly striking toward vital points all over Du Feng’s body.
Each thrust carried a sharp sound of tearing air.
Du Feng could barely parry at first, but as Chen Ping’s power and speed increased, the composure on his face gradually turned to panic.
“Wait, Senior Brother Chen... I can’t keep up!”
“Don’t use the Falcon Strike... T-This is too dangerous...”
Du Feng’s eyes widened.
Soon, the instant Chen Ping struck his waist, Du Feng let out a muffled groan almost simultaneously. His whole body lost strength, his legs went soft, and he knelt down.
All of this happened within a dozen or so seconds, swift as a rabbit rising and a falcon descending, the moves fierce and sharp.
Zhou Kai’s group of amateur members watched without blinking.
Chen Ping’s face remained cold as he barked at Du Feng on the ground. “Get up!”
Du Feng’s features twisted in pain, but he still forced himself to stand. “Yes, Senior Brother Chen.”
He first bowed to Chen Ping to apologize, then turned to the members and said with an embarrassed expression: “As per convention, I will spar with each of you using mixed martial arts in a moment. Those who can last ten moves under me without falling will become official disciples, have their tuition waived, and may learn our gym’s Falcon Strike Art and Broken Wing Style.”