When you're in an unfamiliar place, it's best to find a local who knows the streets and alleys well to guide you, especially a gossipy old hand who is knowledgeable about everything and can tell you all the ins and outs. This can save you a lot of trouble and detours.

Sure enough, three out-of-towners swaggered out of their houses, randomly chose a direction, and insisted on turning left at the first intersection on their left to avoid getting lost. Before they had even turned five times, they stumbled upon two groups of people fighting in an abandoned school.

Yan Shi was a gossip, loved to join in the fun and watch fights, so he dragged Zhuang Zhao to stand outside the fence to watch them brawl. The weapons were hollow iron bars and solid wooden sticks, but there were no large machetes, which probably meant that such brutal weapons were not used.

The two were already fighting when they arrived. After watching for a while, they got bored and were about to turn around and leave when a wooden stick flew over and headed straight for the back of Yan Shi's head.

Yan Shi was completely unaware of the impending danger. Zhuang Zhao instinctively reached out to protect Yan Shi's head. The wooden stick struck Zhuang Zhao's arm, and Yan Shi felt the impact.

She hurriedly checked Zhuang Zhao's injuries. The part that had been hit was already swollen and looked painful, but fortunately, no bones were broken.

"Are your bones okay?"

"It's nothing, really nothing, it's just a bruise, it'll go away in a couple of days." Zhuang Zhao quickly comforted Yan Shi, seeing that her voice was almost choked with tears.

Since the apocalypse, Yan Shi has never suffered such a great injustice. It's bad enough that he's being bullied by zombies, but he also has to be bullied by this group of teenagers.

“If there’s really nothing else, I want to go teach them a lesson. I’ve been holding back my anger since yesterday, and I can’t even enjoy my meals if I don’t let it out.” Yan Shi didn’t forget to discuss it with Zhuang Zhao.

"I had the same thought. If you're going to fight, then fight. If a wooden stick flies that far, no one would believe it was intentional." If he hadn't blocked it, he would have suffered a concussion at best, and who knows what might have happened in more serious cases.

"You two calm down, it's better to avoid trouble," Han Mo tried to stop them.

"No, it's precisely because everyone else is less troublesome; they all dare to throw things at passersby's heads." Yan Shi rejected Han Mo's suggestion, and the two of them vaulted over the fence with one hand, making sure to look cool at that moment.

Han Mo watched the two of them go inside in a flash, unsure whether to follow or just wait. He had never experienced his companions fighting before.

"Hey, whose is this wooden stick?" Yan Shi twirled the wooden stick in her right hand, her tone exactly like that of a delinquent girl in a TV drama.

She's wanted to play a delinquent girl for a long time. Before, she was so weak that she couldn't even beat a child. Now, beating up a group of them shouldn't be a problem.

The alien's strength and stamina far surpassed those of normal humans. Coupled with her training and experience, she was eager to try her hand at it.

"Where did this old lady come from? Please go back and have more children to contribute to humanity, instead of making a fool of yourself here."

They burst into laughter.

"Look at you, you good-for-nothing scum who can't even follow proper generational rules, calling me 'Auntie.' Did your mother give birth to you when you were only a few years old? Or do you think you're a three-year-old who can still wet your pants? Please, use your almost non-existent brain, okay?"

"Besides, what kind of contribution to society is having children? It's clearly about disciplining you all." After saying that, Yan Shi swung the wooden stick and hit the person who had spoken rudely earlier, so that he would stop spewing nonsense.

"Let's have a fight, then we'll be even."

"You filthy bitch!" Someone swung a stick at Yan Shi, but Yan Shi shifted his feet and dodged in front of the man, slapping him across the face. The man staggered a few steps, covering his face in disbelief.

He raised his leg and kicked the man on the right, then swept his leg, knocking down two more.

Yan Shi found his rhythm. His body recalled the memories of sparring with Chang Ge. He didn't even need to look; his body always reacted before his brain. Even if any fish slipped through the net, Zhuang Zhao niped them in the bud.

In less than three minutes, more than twenty people on the ground were unable to stand up.

"That's too weak."

"You can't even beat your aunt? Aren't you ashamed to go out like this? If you're not strong enough, just stay back, or you'll get beaten to death." Yan Shi said, not forgetting to mock him.

"What's wrong with bullying a child? Leave your name here."

"What? You want to fight? Get this straight, I hit you because you hit me first. There's a cause and effect. Don't act like I provoked you."

"One should be reasonable in life."

After venting his anger, Yan Shi felt better and hummed a little tune as he pulled Zhuang Zhao back home. He needed to give Zhuang Zhao an ice pack.

Han Mo: So why did you drag me along?

When they returned, Bu Qing and his sister also went back. They were startled to see Zhuang Zhao's arm swollen quite a bit, and were even more surprised after hearing the whole story.

"So my older sister has a combative side too."

"It's not that they're belligerent, they're just kids who are only half-grown, and they're always imitating others in fighting and killing. It's infuriating to watch."

"But in this world, you can't just learn classical Chinese. This is the environment in District Nine. You can't survive without using your fists. You either get beaten up or you beat others up."

"Then I'll get angry too."

"I just received a message saying that Gu Lian went to the nearby mountains. She goes up the mountain every now and then and comes back in two or three days."

"Once we confirm this person's identity, our mission is complete."

"right."

"Then we should cherish our time in District Nine."

"I can't wait to leave. I don't want to come to this den of dragons and tigers."

There wasn't much to do in the evening, so the four of them played cards. The loser had to do chores on the way back, like cooking or cleaning.

Just as Yan Shi and Zhuang Zhao were about to lose three rounds in a row, someone knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Bu Qing got up to open the door.

"Which of you has caused trouble outside? They've come knocking on our door!" The Han family asked before even entering the house, their voices sounding almost like they were about to cry.

“When we went to scout the location, someone stole our things. We hit them too hard and dislocated their arm. Does that count?” Bu Ke replied.

"Also, on the way back, someone tried to scam us and demanded money from us. We didn't have any money, so we knocked him out. Later, several more people came out, and we were afraid they would also ask us for money, so we knocked them all out." Bu Ke finished speaking before looking up at the Han family member.

"So, is it because of something?"

Yan Shi: You must have encountered quite a few things on your trip.

"They said it was a fight, between a man and a woman." The Han family was ashamed. How could so much have happened in just two hours?

“These two were fighting, but they started it. Look at theft and extortion, this is self-defense.”

"Does the Ninth District also have legitimate self-defense?" Yan Shi asked curiously.

"It doesn't matter, as long as we have strong fists," Bu Ke said confidently.

"Little ancestor, who told you all this? Some people shouldn't be messed with even if they're not strong, because they all have powerful backers."

"Why didn't you say so earlier? How would we have known if you hadn't told us? Wouldn't we have been ruined if we had run into them?" Yan Shi said casually. She didn't take it to heart. They hadn't bullied anyone, so they weren't afraid of ghosts knocking on their door.

"Of course it's ruined. The ones who came knocking were Si Yue's men. Who is Si Yue? The old patriarch of the Ninth District. He burns people for fun when he's unhappy, and the people who get burned don't dare to say a bad word about him."

"So what kind of presence does the Han family have here?" Han Mo asked.