"Give."
Under the cover of night, the boy and girl sat at the top of the steps of the National Martial Arts Hall. Ding Yi took out a small booklet from his pocket and handed it to Shen Qian.
"What's this?"
"I've gathered some information on martial arts high schools in Beidu. Hmm, they're relatively niche but not that bad... There are also some liberal arts high schools that offer martial arts programs..."
Meeting Shen Qian's gaze, Ding Yi awkwardly smoothed his temples, but continued speaking.
Thanks.
Shen Qian nodded knowingly, and although he felt it was no longer of any use to him, he still put it away.
"Also, although it's quite difficult to become a martial artist after the age of twenty, there are still many ways..." Ding Yi thought for a moment, then slowly said.
You seem a little different today.
Shen Qian gave the girl a strange look.
"What's different?"
"Your persona has somewhat collapsed. Remember, you're supposed to be aloof and cold."
Ding Yi ignored Shen Qian's joke, lowered his head and then looked up again, saying, "I don't know why, but recently my dad has been very strict with me and has been giving me very little money."
"It's okay, I don't really need the money right now."
Shen Qian sighed inwardly with regret. He had been inexplicably ganked by Lao Ding, and it seemed he would have to find another way to earn money for the second batch of medicine-making materials.
"I might have to leave..."
"Oh, where to?"
Shen Qian casually replied, then realized what he meant and turned to ask in surprise, "The kind that doesn't take the college entrance exam?"
"Yes, we're going straight to Beidu. It's what Beiwu requires. I heard that the Martial Arts Department is going to hold a huge competition, and we specially recruited freshmen have to participate in the training camp in advance."
“That’s true. You’ve already been admitted early, so the college entrance exam doesn’t mean much to you anymore. Even if you get the top score, your family won’t be short of the hundreds of thousands in prize money,” Shen Qian said with a smile.
"I'll be waiting for you in Beidu..." Ding Yi said in his usual aloof tone, then added very softly, "Is that alright?"
If it weren't for his recent increase in strength and sharpened hearing and eyesight, he might not have been able to hear those three words.
"Okay, I will apply to universities in Beidu."
Shen Qian would naturally not be stingy with such a promise that cost nothing.
In this age of information overload, no one is a fool. The two of them knew that such a promise probably revealed something, so Shen Qian joked, "Beiwu is full of talented people. If I go to Beidu and you change your mind, wouldn't I be embarrassed?"
"I won't."
"Who can say for sure what will happen in the future?" Shen Qian shrugged.
Then he saw Ding Yi turn around, stare at him for two seconds, then tilt his chin up slightly and close his eyes.
Under the cool moonlight, the girl's face, with its smooth forehead and delicate features, shone brightly. In particular, the touch of red, as if she had applied some lipstick, gave her a captivating allure amidst her fair and pure appearance.
It happened very suddenly.
Before sinking... I was a little excited.
He recalled scenes from movies and TV shows he had watched and decided to teach her a lesson.
In the distance, sirens seemed to be blaring, and then a series of notifications popped up in Shen Qian's mind.
"A valuable combat target has been detected. The system will automatically activate the auto-battle mode."
"Generating map information, area 10 km²..."
"Locating target, generating optimal route..."
"Target identified, system is automatically navigating..."
"bite!"
"???"
As everything went black, Shen Qian lost consciousness completely before he could even curse.
...
Thump!
The sound of a heavy object falling to the ground startled Shen Qian.
The moment Shen Qian opened his eyes, he almost fainted from the pungent, fishy stench before he could even recall what had happened.
This was a sewer, and half of Shen's body was submerged in the filthy, foul water. Three meters in front of him, a man was panting heavily, facing him directly.
The other person stood in the shadows, and his appearance was not clear for a moment, but Shen Qian could feel that the other person was staring intently at him.
A corpse was floating beside Shen Qian.
That was another man.
With the help of the light overhead, when Shen Qian finally saw the other person's appearance, his pupils involuntarily contracted.
His face was covered with hideous purple lines, and his eyes, which were staring at him, were filled with black blood vessels.
The same inexplicable purple markings were also present on his exposed neck and arms.
Scavenger!
Purple stripes are the most distinctive feature of scavengers who live in the wild year-round; they are a sign of physical mutation.
Shen Qian realized what was happening and was startled.
Without giving Shen Qian any more time to think, the man facing Shen Qian suddenly roared and pounced on him.
When his figure rushed into the light, Shen Qian also saw the purple markings on his face, the collapsed half of his head, and... the gleaming long sword in his hand.
With almost zero practical combat experience and absolutely zero experience in life-or-death battles, Shen Qian felt a moment of panic, but still instinctively dodged.
Clang!
The long sword struck the iron wall of the sewer, sparks flying everywhere.
"So strong!"
Shen Qian's heart sank; his opponent's speed and strength seemed to be greater than his own.
Almost powerless, Shen Qian struggled to dodge in the sewers. The flashing blades were like death warrants, and cold sweat beaded on Shen Qian's forehead with each dodge.
He knew that continuing like this was tantamount to waiting for death.
As soon as the opponent's long sword fell into the water again, he gathered all his courage, roared, and clenched his fist to smash it into the opponent's face.
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