The King of Black Fog

"Come, Qian Xia, sit tight, I will transfer all my sixty years of Inner Strength to you," Li Changzhou said.

"Must it be done this way?" she asked.

"Only through enduring the toughest can one become superior to others."

"Big brother, I've actually been hiding something from you. I'm a believer in equality for all."

"Come here!"

In the courtyard along Yanhe Road, under the apricot tree, Li Qianxia reluctantly moved a stone stool and sat in front of Li Changzhou.

Yang Qinglan watched the two from the other side of the stone table.

"Brother, be gentle, don't drill a hole in me," Li Qianxia still worried.

"Your brother will only be gentle with you," Li Changzhou lifted his right hand.

"Hmph, it really hurts... Ah!!!"

Li Qianxia shouted as her slender upper body contorted and cramped like a shrimp. Li Changzhou's finger touched her back, transferring the Bull Horn Spiral Force into her body.

The old hen by the side jumped in fright.

Yang Qinglan chuckled and reminded, "Qian Xia, don't just scream. Take the opportunity to practice Wolf Howl and Thunder Roar."

"You two... devils!" Li Qianxia grabbed a spear, turning her intense pain into strength that filled her wrists.

The spear's tip, like a venomous snake, instantly captured the flying pounce of the old hen, which then quieted down.

The spear was accurate, wounding without killing, showing some finesse.

A thread of blood flowed down the steel spear into her body, easing her pain and injuries.

By the time Li Qianxia licked her lips and withdrew the spear, Li Changzhou said, "Go and do a handstand with the spear. Imagine you're a drill. On this basis, recall the sensation of that touch on your back just now."

"Then why not start with the handstands first?" Li Qianxia pouted.

She complained verbally, but her body began to move. Her slender legs did not bend, and her body lifted off the ground. Then, with the spear tip touching the ground, she stood there.

The hem of her clothing slipped, revealing her tight, snow-white abdomen, and continued to expose more.

"Don't look!" she quickly covered up.

An accidental jarring of her brother was tolerable, but not the full exposure.

Li Changzhou wasn't looking; his gaze fixed on the alcohol lamp on the stone table.

When lit, the drop-shaped flame emerged, then transformed into a small owl that pounced towards his palm, dispersing into a tiny sea of flames.

Sizzling.

Li Changzhou remained silent, his left hand tensed, filled with strength.

The skin burned and curled, revealing the red flesh underneath.

"Brother—" she started.

"Don't move!" Li Changzhou commanded, sweat beads forming on his forehead.

Li Qianxia held her breath, glanced at Li Changzhou twice, then closed her eyes. She imagined herself as a drill, the steel spear as the tip of the drill, recalling the sensation of Li Changzhou's touch on her back.

Without techniques, without secret manuals, without teachers, they could only rely on this most primitive method of training.

This was because, with the blood-sucking steel spear and "Healing", Li Changzhou would not actually harm himself, nor would he allow his sister to get injured.

Yang Qinglan glanced at the siblings, sighed, picked up the old hen from the ground, and went to the kitchen to pluck the chicken and make chicken soup.

The wind blew through the apricot tree, the leaves rustling like ocean waves.

It might have been an illusion, but Li Changzhou felt that the burning pain he felt today was less.

Once he entered "Concentration", his breathing was even, and he was in an extremely calm state, it felt as though it was someone else in pain.

At lunch, both beautiful girls didn't eat the chicken, mainly drinking the soup.

"Treatment has returned," Li Changzhou remarked while gnawing on a chicken leg.

The meat was cooked so well it fell off the bone, white as cloves of garlic, and dropped from the bone at a touch.

"I don't like the chicken meat from the soup," Yang Qinglan explained, seemingly not lying.

"You flatter yourself," Li Qianxia retorted.

"Ah—" Li Changzhou sucked in a breath of cold air, his right hand grasping his left wrist.

"What's wrong?!" Li Qianxia immediately put down her soup bowl, and Yang Qinglan also looked over, her spoonful of rice paused before reaching her mouth.

(Hmph!)

"The wound... hurts," Li Changzhou spread his left hand open.

"..."

Li Qianxia continued to drink her soup, Yang Qinglan fed a few grains of rice from her chopsticks into her mouth, her lips soft and tender as peach blossoms.

The wound on the palm of Li Changzhou's left hand was still raw, the red flesh exposed without skin.

Everything must be put into perspective—compared to his previous injuries, this was practically nothing, so much so that both women were unconcerned.

Li Changzhou hadn't expected the wound to heal so quickly, feeling slightly out of his depth.

He was not concerned about deceiving them, but rather he feared the "boy who cried wolf" syndrome, that next time they would not be tricked, which would be the real mistake.

He decided to change the subject to divert their attention.

"My Constitution and Agility are maxed out. The players in the same arena will be very strong. Do you still want to join me?" Li Changzhou asked.

"I have thought about this," Yang Qinglan said.

The siblings listened attentively.

"Currently, my Attributes are the lowest, only at 4 points given through leveling. Besides leveling, Qian Xia has the 3 Points from 'Physical Enhancement,' Changzhou has even more with 6 Points, plus the 2 Points from the Black Card."

"Qing Lan, are you going alone?" Li Qianxia's tone was slightly reluctant. "If you're alone, you'd be much safer."

"Not really." Yang Qinglan gently shook her head and put down her bowl.

"I believe that the more dangerous it is, the more we need to help each other, treat each other with sincerity, and think as one," she paused before adding, "That's what I wanted to say."

"Yeah!" Li Qianxia was very happy and nodded vigorously, "Don't worry, Qing Lan, I'll protect you!"

Regarding this matter, Yang Qinglan had something to say: "Not to mention your brother, between you and me, it's basically me protecting you."

"What's up with my brother? Why aren't you mentioning him? He loses intelligence as soon as he uses his Skill. Without us, he would have died long ago."

"Your logic isn't correct," Li Changzhou also had something to say, "She's talking about you. Why are you talking about me? Shouldn't you be responding to her?"

Li Qianxia turned her face: "Any objections?"

Before Li Changzhou could speak, she warned him, "Let me tell you, Li Changzhou, I'm contemplating Intimidation."

"..." Li Changzhou lowered his head to eat the chicken.

"Humph!" Li Qianxia even more impressively turned her face back.

Although she was supposed to be sipping her soup, she slightly tilted her pretty little chin up, her ponytail disdainfully sweeping over the top of Li Changzhou's head as if to say: What a bunch of worthless scum.

Yang Qinglan smiled sweetly.

Li Changzhou glared at her: It was your rotten idea.

Yang Qinglan simply ignored him, picked up her bowl and continued to eat, implying... What a bunch of worthless scum?

Of course, this was Li Changzhou's interpretation. Yang Qinglan wasn't the type to call people worthless scum; she would only say: "Mere vegetation, wine sacks, rice bags, rotten wood, not worth considering."

After the meal, the three continued to practice.

Time flew by, and they thought it would continue like this until next Friday, but something happened on Wednesday.

In the early morning hours of Wednesday, October 1st, the Identity Cards of all Strugglers and Doomsdays popped up with a screen.

"Hello everyone!"

The Identity Card turned into a screen, where a woman in a white blouse, red business vest, skirt, and a silk ribbon tied around her neck appeared.

With delicate features and equally delicate makeup, her beauty almost rivaled Yang Qinglan's, just three grades lower.

She sat behind a desk with two microphones and two chairs, alone.

"How has everyone been this past month? Little Yue has been doing well, working hard every day, being ogled at by players, making me have to work on my butt."

"Oh yeah, some of you might not know me. I'm one of the metro attendants, called Little Yue. I hope everyone gets a chance to ride the metro; Little Yue is waiting for all of you, keep it up!"

She also clenched her fist as if to boost morale.

"Bro!"

Li Qianxia rushed into Li Changzhou's room, with Yang Qinglan following behind in pajamas, without having time to change.

"Let's listen to her finish." Li Changzhou was somewhat weak; he had just used 'Earth Tunneling.'"

In his mind, the screen on the Identity Card, the metro attendant named Little Yue, continued to speak.

"I apologize for disturbing everyone in the middle of the night, but this isn't to live stream how various creatures reproduce. It's a new game event, and Little Yue will briefly explain it to everyone."

"One city, three thousand lives, the trash of the Black Cards have two thousand five hundred spots (her voice still sweet), and the noble white Identity Cards only have five hundred, so pitiful, but let's accommodate them."

"In the city, everyone can do whatever they want, and the outside world can't disturb you!"

"How about that, isn't it tempting? A city, all to yourselves! Even I, Little Yue, am tempted. I would love to walk down the streets with a gun blasting away! But being blasted at by men with guns would be annoying, at least make them strip off their uniform!"

Little Yue's mood alternated between infatuated longing and disgusted annoyance.

"Of course, of course, there are other rules," she composed herself.

"First, the game will give each participating player 10 Points."

With a delicate hand she raised, a white Identity Card appeared at her slender fingertips.

"Here, can everyone see this clearly?"

[Nickname: Little Yue](10)

The rest blocked off, only revealing this section.

She pointed to (10) and said, "Right here, can everyone see this clearly?"

"After the game ends, Points can be exchanged for Skills, purchased Experience and Game Coins, which can help everyone improve their strength. Now then, you should all understand the rules, right?"

The white Identity Card disappeared from her hand.

"Right!" She leaned her lips close to the microphone. "Points can be plundered, transferred; three thousand people, thirty thousand Points, gosh, you've never seen such a generous game, right?"

"Now, we will use a draw to decide the city for this battle."

Little Yue's upper body leaned over the desk, her chest pressed like dumplings, spreading out flat.

Her hand groped under the table for a while, then she pulled out a square box with a round opening on top.

"Don't worry," Little Yue reached inside, "the city has a list of backups—only cities where buses have been out of service this month will be picked."

She looked up at the ceiling, an innocent look on her face: "Hmm, not this one, too small; this one, wow, so big, let's choose this one!"

Little Yue pulled out a piece of paper from the box.

She sneaked a peek at it first.

Upon seeing the answer, she slightly leaned her head back, making an "Oh~~" sound as if the answer was quite interesting.

Little Yue turned the paper around, facing all players, her painted lips clearly enunciating the word: "Prague."

She put down the paper and clapped forcefully, "Congratulations congratulations congratulations! Congratulations to Prague!"

"Okay!" she suddenly clasped her hands together. "Next, we start the draw for lucky players; wait, what?! It's already over? I haven't even started yet! That was too fast! Well, well, the selected players, you should have received the information."

"Lastly, we invite a lucky player to the scene, to tease, no, interview him a bit."