Chapter 24 - Yearning
The next morning.
At home grocery store.
Lu Yuan sat in front of the TV, staring at the screen, taking bites of the steaming buns in his hand.
The TV was playing the morning news.
"Yesterday, our city police cracked a kidnapping case, successfully capturing eight gang members of an evil cult, rescuing the victim just two hours after the incident occurred."
"Kidnapping case? Wasn't it a missing persons case?"
Lu Yuan picked up the pure milk on the small table next to him and gulped down a mouthful, swallowing the meat bun in his mouth. He frowned, thinking.
He had deliberately turned on the Jiaoyan City morning news today to follow up on what happened yesterday.
But the information he got from the news was not what he had expected.
It was just an ordinary kidnapping case, not the missing persons case that had caused some commotion recently.
The people who got out of the van were so-called gang members of an evil cult.
Gang, evil cult?
Lu Yuan didn't know how these two words were related.
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Exactly eight, no more, no less."
Lu Yuan recalled the number of people he had knocked down last night, which was consistent with the number of suspects reported in the news, and he felt a little more at ease.
Just then, the TV showed a picture of the kidnapping victim.
Although it was deliberately blurred, Lu Yuan could still recognize that it was the schoolgirl he had rescued last night.
"It looks like she really didn't mention me to the police."
Up until now, no one from the police station had called home, indicating that the police had not yet traced Lu Yuan's identity.
"Kidnapping carries a minimum sentence of ten years in prison in this world. Even if they have accomplices, they may not find me."
Last night's rain was too heavy, and the alley where the two sides clashed was dimly lit.
Lu Yuan suspected that many people on the gang side didn't even get a clear look at his face.
"I'll keep a low profile for a while, go out less, and it should blow over after the hype dies down."
Lu Yuan considered many possibilities, because he was afraid.
Afraid of getting into trouble himself, and even more afraid of his family being implicated or targeted for revenge.
"If only I were stronger, then I wouldn't fear them coming after me!"
Lu Yuan took a big bite of a meat bun, thinking: "And I need money too.
With money I could hire bodyguards to watch over my family 24 hours a day."
Lu Yuan felt like he had never yearned for the power of strength and money like he did now in both lifetimes.
"It's almost seven and your dad still hasn't come back from the hospital. The delivery will be here soon. How can I handle it alone?"
His mother, Zheng Qiuling, grumbled as she walked in from the store entrance.
Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan immediately said, "Mom, I'll help you later."
"Don't you have martial arts class today?"
"I can go a little later!"
Zheng Qiuling nodded, then came over to examine Lu Yuan's cheek, and suddenly asked in a caring tone: "Is it because your injuries hurt that you didn't sleep well last night?"
Lu Yuan was slightly taken aback, then nodded sheepishly.
"Let this be a lesson not to get into fights again."
Zheng Qiuling remembered and got angry again, unable to help lecturing him.
Lu Yuan could only obediently listen.
In fact, his injuries were much better. After a night, the bruises on his face and body had faded a lot, and the abrasions had scabbed over.
Only his back and ribs, the two most serious areas, still ached slightly.
The reason Lu Yuan didn't sleep well last night
was mainly because of [Imaginary Enemy]!
"Who would have thought [Imaginary Enemy] would be so draining? After just three matches, I feel like I've been gaming at an internet cafe nonstop for several days.
Even after sleeping for a whole night, I still feel a little listless."
Lu Yuan had originally thought that after specializing as a [Fighter], he wouldn't need to invest much in mental attributes anymore.
But it turns out he still couldn't neglect this area.
"No matter how many attribute points I get, it still doesn't feel like enough."
Lu Yuan thought to himself.
He now only had one skill point left. He planned to save it for when it was needed.
"Should you go to the hospital and get checked out, in case a bone is broken somewhere and you don't even know it?"
His mother Zheng Qiuling was still worried, and as she spoke, she couldn't help sighing: "It would be great if your sister was home. With her watching over you, I could worry less."
"Mom, didn't you always say she was the biggest worry?"
"Still better than you. Now you've learned to get into fights!"
Zheng Qiuling glared at him, and Lu Yuan immediately kept quiet.
At 7:23, the delivery truck bringing goods to the Lu family store arrived.
To prove that his injuries were no big deal, Lu Yuan was extra hard-working.
After his Strength reached 11, his strength increased a lot.
He could easily lift 40-jin bags of rice with one hand.
It took Lu Yuan less than ten minutes to unload the entire truck of goods.
While washing his hands, Lu Yuan heard the delivery driver urging his mother to pay for the goods, just like the previous times.
His mother Zheng Qiuling handed over two packs of cigarettes, spoke nicely, and spent a long time coaxing the driver before reluctantly sending him away.
Lu Yuan watched this scene in silence.
"I must pass the formal disciple assessment at the martial arts school today!"
"Lu Yuan, what happened to your face?"
At 8:05 in the morning, Lu Yuan arrived at Yuan Martial Arts School.
In the changing room, he ran into Cheng Peng, who immediately cried out in surprise upon seeing him.
"I fell while running in the heavy rain last night."
"Are you sure it's from a fall? It doesn't look much like it."
Cheng Peng looked Lu Yuan up and down dubiously. Lu Yuan was too lazy to explain more to him. He hurriedly changed into martial arts clothes and left the changing room.
Because he was helping his mother unload goods, he arrived 10 minutes later than usual, which was considered late.
But being late didn't matter much.
When Lu Yuan walked into the training room, he found that he was still quite early compared to others.
"There are fewer and fewer people."
Glancing around the training room, probably only two-thirds of the original class were present.
Over the past month, many people had suddenly stopped coming after practicing for a while, first claiming leave, then never showing up again.
For example, the bun-haired girl who was quite lively at the start of the class - her group had practically disappeared by the third week.
Last class there was one left, but this class even that last one was gone.
The temperament of these people reminded Lu Yuan of his past self.
He would be into learning something for a period of time, but once the initial enthusiasm passed, he would drop it and never pick it up again.
"If not for the Profession Panel, the boost from [Absolute Focus], would I have ended up like them in this life?"
Lu Yuan silently asked himself.
Perhaps so.
But at least it was different now.
"Lu Yuan, you're here!"
The only person who could be considered a friend to Lu Yuan in this martial arts class was the chubby-faced girl Liu Yue, who never missed a class.
Seeing Lu Yuan, she immediately greeted him cheerfully.
"Morning!"
Lu Yuan nodded at her. She quickly stared at Lu Yuan's face and let out a "ya" sound, asking the same question as Cheng Peng.
"Lu Yuan, what happened to your face?"
"I fell while running home in the heavy rain last night."
Lu Yuan didn't know how many times he had used this excuse.
Luckily Liu Yue didn't ask further, only kindly offered to get medicine for Lu Yuan. She brought medicine creams for bumps and abrasions, bandages, band-aids etc. every class.
Declining Liu Yue's kindness, Lu Yuan started warming up.
With the students' enthusiasm waning, Coach Lin Zhiqin also seemed to have become more "lax".
From the last few classes, he wouldn't arrive until after 8:30, leaving the students to warm up by themselves for the first half hour.
Lu Yuan mainly practiced basic leg techniques.
After fighting the middle-aged man in the consciousness space last night, he had gained something from it after all.
He wanted to digest it while he had the chance.
Entering a state of [Absolute Focus], Lu Yuan unconsciously began to imitate the middle-aged man's way of kicking, his motions...