That day, 6:00 PM.
The setting sun stretched the shadow of the iron gate long and slanted as Lu Chao dragged his weary, hungry body from the boxing hall.
The grounds of the abandoned school were deserted. Zhou Cheng and the other two had long since left.
The same went for the other regular students and formal disciples. Without realizing it, he had become the last person to leave.
"You'll be back, won't you, young man?"
The old gatekeeper, holding a chipped thermos, had appeared by the iron gate at some point and asked with a smile.
Lu Chao was slightly taken aback.
"Sir, what do you mean by that...?"
"Heh, you'll find out later."
The old gatekeeper just smiled without another word and closed the iron gate.
CLANG!
With a screech of metal, flecks of rust fell from the gate as it closed tight.
Lu Chao stood at the entrance and shook his head, not giving it much thought.
An intense wave of exhaustion and hunger washed over him, seeping into every corner of his body.
His aching muscles sent out greedy signals, nagging at his mind for nourishment.
Every step felt as if his body was filled with lead, unnaturally heavy.
The body tempering effects of the Golden Stone Fighting Skill were better than he had expected. Of course, this was also thanks to the boost from [Basic Toughness], which allowed him to complete double the training volume of others.
"RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE..."
His stomach growled again. Lu Chao was desperate to find a restaurant, eat dinner, and get a good night's rest.
BZZT BZZT!
Just then, however, his smart-wristband vibrated softly with an incoming message.
[#Cleaning Crew Group#]
[Leader Cui: @All Members, urgent notice! Assemble before 8:00 PM. Location: Iron Ring District, Street Nine!]
[Seven bodies. Contamination zone is nearly one hundred square meters. Must be cleaned up before dawn. Not even a single finger can be left behind!]
He finished reading the message from the cleaning crew's work group.
Lu Chao fell silent for a moment.
Finally, his finger tapped the wristband. He could only give the same reply as his colleagues.
"Roger."
...
Night fell, and neon lights illuminated the city blocks.
Yellow police tape cordoned off an alleyway. A security vehicle and a cleaning vehicle were parked at the entrance.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Pick up the pace!"
"The Patrol Department has already swept the area. It's not dangerous, so get a move on! Don't dawdle!"
The cursing voice belonged to Fatty Cui. Sticking out his beer belly, he barked orders with a sullen expression, then walked over to the Patrol Department officer by the roadside, smiling and offering a cigarette.
Lu Chao was no longer surprised that a person could wear two different faces at once.
The group of six, already changed into their cleaning uniforms and wearing hard hats, carried their tools into the alley.
Seven bodies lay strewn about the dark alley. The Patrol Department had already done a preliminary investigation, cleared any dangers, and confiscated the firearms.
Thick, sticky blood stained the ground and splattered the walls. Combined with the bullet holes and empty shell casings in the corners, it was clearly another scene of a gang firefight.
"Goddammit, it's like they're trying to work us to death."
"I finally managed to get a day-labor gig at a restaurant tonight, and now I have to cancel it."
"Alright, that's enough. Don't forget they've been laying people off and cutting salaries lately. Keep a low profile..."
His colleagues were clearly unhappy with Fatty Cui's tone, but with their livelihoods on the line, they obediently split up the tasks and began to clean the scene.
Some sprayed disinfectant and used miniature devices to test radiation levels.
Others put on rubber gloves and struggled to drag away the cold corpses, grimly dismantling their cybernetic prosthetics.
Amid the bustle, Lu Chao fought back his exhaustion.
Only after Old Cheng gave the all-clear did he drag a body into a body bag.
"You look pretty worn out, kid. What were you up to during the day?"
Old Cheng glanced at him, puzzled, having clearly noticed his strain.
"Just found something to do."
Lu Chao made a casual excuse and zipped up the body bag, not wanting to explain further.
News of his martial arts practice getting out wouldn't do him any good. There was no need for everyone to know.
"Is that so."
Not suspecting anything, Old Cheng didn't press the matter.
He then moved to the second body, a middle-aged man with a deathly pale face.
His black shirt was riddled with bullet holes, and a gruesome tattoo covered his neck.
His arm, however, was mechanical. Its metal casing was entirely black, with a tangle of wires and tubes visible inside, connecting to the neural interface at his shoulder.
"Tsk tsk, now that's a nice piece of hardware."
Old Cheng crouched down, his rough fingers touching the prosthetic. "It's actually a cybernetic arm made by Lianwei Heavy Industry... a Civilian Model II. At max power, it can output two hundred kilograms of force. Even though it doesn't have any biosynthetic skin and is just secondhand, it's still worth ten or twenty thousand."
"If you could sell it to a knowledgeable Biological Engineer or a repairman, you might even get more for it. Too bad these gang members will probably claim it."
From years of collecting corpses, Old Cheng knew a lot about cybernetics, and Lu Chao had picked up some knowledge from him recently.
The manufacturing and implantation of cybernetics often required special experts like Biological Engineers or mechanical technicians. Afterward, the user would need injections of stabilizing agents to maintain their nervous system and reduce mental strain.
Looking closely, one could see a tiny logo on the mechanical arm—a submachine gun inside a ring. It was the mark of the mega-corporation, Lianwei Heavy Industry.
It was one of the top companies in the entire Alliance Country, ranked among the Five Major Enterprises alongside the Biotechnology Company, and was a particular leader in cybernetic weaponry.
Then, amidst the work, they moved on to clean another body.
Hearing some colleagues muttering complaints, Lu Chao grabbed a high-pressure hose and started washing down the ground, watching the water carry dark red filth into the storm drain.
"Has Old Huang's compensation come through yet?"
"Nope."
As if he had expected the question, Old Cheng sighed while mopping a corner of the wall.
"Xiaoluo said that public safety in the city has been bad lately. Some violent criminals have been causing trouble, and the Patrol Department lost a few officers, so their cases need to be prioritized."
"As for Old Huang... sigh... the department is short on funds, so it'll probably be delayed again."
Everything went unspoken. Lu Chao pressed his lips together at Old Cheng's words.
He once again felt the stark disparities within Ring City, especially the differences in status.
"Heh, that's not all."
Another colleague overheard and joined the discussion. "I heard that after Old Huang died, our cleaning crew was supposed to hire a replacement, but the spot was taken by the logistics department."
"And guess what? Someone from corporate is pulling strings to get their own person in, have them pass an internal assessment, and go straight into the Patrol Department."
"Heh, logistics is safer than our job, out of the wind and rain. They really know how to set things up, don't they? If you ask me, they might as well just cancel the assessment altogether and give all the future spots to them!"
Xiaoluo, the driver, was well-informed. He was a young man, and his voice was filled with righteous indignation.
The sudden news was like a boulder dropped into calm water, making all the colleagues pause in their work. A suffocating frustration filled the air, and Lu Chao's gaze darkened as well.
For people like them, the internal assessment was their only hope.
And yet, here were people willing to stoop so low to snatch it away.
"Alright, enough chattering!"
"Is the work done? What are you all dawdling for?"
Fatty Cui, beer belly first, had reappeared at the alley's entrance, having clearly overheard everyone's discussion and complaints.
His middle-aged face, framed by a receding hairline, was rather pudgy, and his small, squinted eyes held a gloomy look.
The atmosphere fell silent. Xiaoluo, who had just been speaking out in anger, immediately clammed up. Old Cheng and the others also went quiet one by one.
"Ring City is huge. Over a thousand square kilometers."
"If you're not satisfied with the company's decision..."
He tilted his chin up, pinching a cigarette between his fingers and pointing it at them.
"Then get the hell out."
He dropped the cigarette butt and crushed it under his foot.
Fatty Cui sneered and turned to leave.
His corpulent silhouette, elongated by the neon lights, blocked the light from the alley's entrance.
In the silence, expressions of pent-up anger appeared on everyone's faces, only to dissolve into helpless sighs.
"Let's get back to work."
Old Cheng shook his head and patted Lu Chao's shoulder, seemingly long used to this.
Ring City was indeed large, but the unemployment rate was also persistently high. Just having a job was a rare thing.
At once, the figures set back to work.
The burdens of life weighed on their shoulders. All emotions were buried deep inside again, their faces wiped clean of any extraneous expression.
But as he silently continued to hose down the ground, Lu Chao's eyes glinted. He subconsciously gazed up at the night sky.
'Ring City is huge, but the space for us to live in is so small.'
'That's why I have to seize this path of Martial Arts!'
...
「Three days in a row.」
Stance training, strength training, qi cultivation.
Collecting corpses, sweeping floors, earning money.
Lu Chao's every day was a frantic back-and-forth between the boxing hall and his job with the cleaning crew.
The powerful effect of [Basic Toughness] was on full display.
No matter how exhausted he was, he would wake up the next day feeling full of energy, with no trace of fatigue.
WHOOSH WHOOSH!!
He threw two consecutive punches, stirring the air.
Lu Chao was at the boxing hall again, practicing his stances on the concrete training ground, his fighting form perfectly standard.
[Life Energy: 5→6!]
The panel in his vision had changed that morning; his Life Energy had actually increased by one point.
Thanks to this, Lu Chao could feel that his physical constitution had grown a bit stronger.
His once-scrawny body now showed faint traces of muscle. His strength, stamina, endurance... all aspects had improved to some degree.
'Even a basic Fighting Skill can temper the muscles and skin and strengthen the body.'
'Not to mention my training volume is more than double anyone else's...'
He wasn't surprised by the change. He had started with no foundation, so the effects of his initial training were naturally more pronounced.
Besides, in addition to the nutritional meals provided by the hall, he also bought extra high-energy food every night to supplement his diet.
In just three days, he had spent another six or seven hundred yuan to achieve his current improvement.
"Junior Brother Lu."
Zheng Wu, dressed in a white martial arts uniform with gray patterns, walked out of the training building and called out in a clear voice. It had only been three days, but he was already seeing Lu Chao in a new light. He had been watching Lu Chao's persistence, and with one taking the initiative and the other showing appreciation, they had naturally become quite familiar.
"Senior Brother Zheng."
Lu Chao nodded in response and, at Zheng Wu's gesture, relaxed his Fighting Skill stance.
"Making it through three days shows that you've thought it through."
"Come on. Starting today, you're a member of the training building."
Zheng Wu explained with a smile, and Lu Chao understood what he meant.
Only now was he considered truly initiated into the Jinshi Boxing Hall.
Correspondingly, his tuition fee was no longer refundable. He had to see this path through to the end, until the three-month mark determined his fate.
"Aren't we waiting for Xu Linfeng?"
Puzzled, Lu Chao tilted his head and looked toward the concrete training ground.
Dozens of regular students were doing physical training, either frog jumps or squats.
From his batch, Zhou Cheng and Zhang Ping had already given up in the past two days. Unable to bear the pain and exhaustion, they had chosen to get a refund and leave.
Only the mostly silent Xu Linfeng had persevered until yesterday.
"Over the past three days, his recovery grew slower each day, his efficiency dropped, and he found it difficult to keep up with the long Fighting Skill practice sessions."
"He felt his talent was average and that it would be hard for him to achieve anything. On top of that, his family's financial burden is heavy, so in the end, he made a different choice."
Hearing the explanation, Lu Chao's gaze faltered.
Only then did he spot Xu Linfeng among the dozens of students, drenched in sweat, doing squats.
As if sensing his gaze, the other boy looked over.
His tired eyes were dim with disappointment before he deliberately lowered his head, averting his gaze.
A wave of emotion washed over him. Lu Chao knew that without his [Basic Toughness] talent, he might have ended up just like him, falling behind, exhausted from one training session after another.
This was what it was like to have no background and no money. The body's fatigue and muscle damage accumulated day by day, and hard work alone was not enough to keep going.
'No wonder...'
Shaking his head, Lu Chao remembered why the old gatekeeper had asked him that question.
Clearly, many people had fallen during these first three days.
"Let's go."
Without another word, Zheng Wu led him toward the training building.
The wide concrete training ground gradually receded, and dozens of students watched his retreating back with a mixture of envy and complex emotions.
Sunlight spilled down, making the entrance to the training building seem somewhat bright.
As if it symbolized some kind of hope.