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Chapter 68: Chapter 66: Muay Thai Unlocked
The footsteps were very urgent.
It sounded like someone was trampling on puddles, running frantically in the rainy night, the pace extremely dense.
Fang Cheng instantly widened his eyes, looking towards the left side of the street, in the direction of the hotel.
In the dim light, he saw a blurry black figure rushing towards him.
"That is..."
Before Fang Cheng could even wonder, the figure had already sprinted to the front of the tubular building.
The drainage system of Old Factory Street was dilapidated, and a short burst of torrential rain could easily lead to internal flooding.
The rushing water, barely up to the ankles, didn’t seem to slow that person’s pace at all.
Like a black hurricane sweeping past, it flung all the obstructing rainwater away.
It seemed to notice the gaze from above.
The black figure also looked up, casting a glance towards the tubular building.
Those eyes were unnaturally bright, like green phosphorescent light bulbs.
And like a feline creature that prowls the night, hunting food.
Fang Cheng’s heart suddenly clenched tight.
He felt a chill rush up his spine straight to the top of his head, chicken skin bubbling up on his arms.
Because of his high Spirit Attribute.
Even though it was dark and the rain was heavy, with his vision, he could still vaguely make out the appearance of that person.
Cloaked in a black raincoat, with the hood covering the face, creating a shadow.
Only when looking up did it reveal those sinister, glowing eyes, and the corners of a mouth tainted with blood traces.
Two lines of sight, one high and one low, intersected in the torrential night sky, briefly touching each other.
The person’s mouth corners stretched upward, revealing sharp, white fangs, as if smiling a greeting to him.
Then quickly lowered the head and continued to sprint forward.
In an instant, he disappeared into the distant alleys, at the edge of the field of vision.
The rain kept pouring, like many fingers extending from the sky.
Touching this dark and cold city, touching Fang Cheng’s tense face too.
He took a deep breath, immediately closed the window, and turned to walk into the bathroom.
The water roared.
He turned on the faucet, scooped up a splash of cold water with his hands, and buried his face in it.
One second, two seconds... half a minute...
Until he almost suffocated, he suddenly raised his head, greedily breathing in the fresh air.
"What on earth is that thing?"
"A malevolent spirit? A monster?"
"Or like Shijima Gorou, a freak whose body has mutated?"
Fang Cheng exhaled a breath of turbid air, staring straight ahead at the washbasin mirror.
Those beast-like pupils emitting green light, always lingering in his mind.
"Human eyes can’t possibly be that bright!"
He brushed back his slightly long fringe on his forehead, clearly meeting his own reflection in the mirror.
There were no lights on in the room, and it was raining outside, one could say there was almost no light coming in.
However—
The pair of pupils reflected in the mirror twinkled like stars on a cold night.
Even through the cornea, reflecting a faintly visible dark red glimmer.
"Uh..."
Fang Cheng’s mouth hung open, frozen in place.
For the first time, he discovered.
His own eyes were also very bright in the dark!
This discovery felt like a slap in the face, overturning his previous assertions.
Fang Cheng’s brow furrowed slightly, a strange thought suddenly flashing through his mind.
"Could it be that guy smiled at me because he thought I was one of his kind?"
A pale blue light screen slowly unfolded in front of him, obscuring the slightly odd figure in the mirror.
The surprised look in Fang Cheng’s eyes quickly faded, replaced by calmness and a rising excitement.
Humans experience fear entirely because they are too fragile.
To overcome this emotion, the only way is to make oneself strong enough to crush the source of all fears.
Fang Cheng turned back to his bedroom and glanced at the clock.
4:02.
Sleep evasion took hold, he decided to start his morning exercise earlier than usual.
He stepped towards the balcony in the living room.
Gaze fixed on the pitch-black rainy night outside the window, he began with a set of warm-up exercises.
Then, with a slight sway of his shoulders, he alternated his footwork forward and back.
His fists struck out like lightning flashes, his arms sweeping laterally in coordination.
Whoosh!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
With the power in his movements snapping through the air, he freely executed combination skills that fused Boxing, Sanda, Jujitsu, and Muay Thai.
Especially the newly learned Muay Thai elbow and knee techniques, which he displayed with increasing proficiency and ferocity.
In the dark, a figure agilely dodged back and forth.
Outside, the sky gradually became less opaque and brighter.
Despite the thick rain clouds, dawn still pierced through the windows, illuminating the figure diligently training inside.
Fang Cheng exhaled a breath of warm air, beads of sweat lightly covering his face.
Another morning exercise session came to an end.
A panel appeared before his eyes, scrolling through notifications of attribute increases and experience gains.
Fang Cheng reviewed his gains for the day, feeling a slight sense of fulfillment.
He then looked at another notification, his eyes shining even more brilliantly.
[Congratulations, your diligent practice has led to some understanding and you’ve successfully mastered a fighting Skill.]
[Unlocked Skill: Muay Thai lv0 (0/100)]
Fang Cheng wiped the sweat off his face and looked up at the cloudy skies outside the window.
The rain had let up quite a bit, and the sounds of people on the street were coming to life again.
As he turned to go wash his face,
he heard the wailing siren of a police car, suddenly approaching from the distance.
Fang Cheng felt a twitch in his chest and immediately walked to the window, looking down from above.
He saw an old, paint-peeling compact car with flashing police lights, rushing through the narrow streets.
Wheels continuously splashing muddy water, pedestrians on the street avoided it on both sides.
Through the rain-soaked car windows, a familiar face could be faintly seen.
"Is that Uncle Zhou?"
"Could it be because of that strange incident that happened early this morning?"
Fang Cheng narrowed his eyes and couldn’t help but speculate.
...
The mottled three-story hotel stood quietly amidst the murky rain.
The unlit signboard read "Yijia Hotel."
A few military police in uniforms were setting up black and yellow police tape in front of the entrance, constantly driving away the curious nearby residents who had come to gawk.
Despite the early morning rain, it couldn’t keep the crowd’s curiosity at bay.
Some stood under the eaves across the street, pointing and gesturing towards the hotel.
Others simply opened umbrellas, crowded up to the police line, craning their necks to peek inside.
"Did I hear a murder happened here last night?"
"Not just a murder, but a dismemberment case!"
"Really, I just saw those cops go in there and they ended up throwing up!"
"Hiss, killing is killing, why indulge in such a high degree of difficulty?"
The expressions of the crowd reflected both fear and a bizarre excitement.
The intermittent barking of dogs around seemed to cheer on these onlookers.
After a moment, indeed, a young police officer rushed out from inside.
His mouth puffed up, he leaned against the wall, and vomited a mouthful of yellow bile.
Just then, a police car with sirens blazing pulled up at the curb.
Three detectives wearing jackets got out of the car, covered their heads with their clothes, and hurriedly ran towards the hotel.
"Move aside, move aside!"
"Don’t hinder the police’s work, what’s there to see?!"
One of the detectives, with a dark complexion, roughly pushed through the crowd with two subordinates, squeezing their way inside.
