West Mountain Explosion Incident

Rumble—

Dull thunder echoed through the night sky.

Fang Cheng suddenly woke up.

He looked up at the Alarm Clock. It was only 4:36.

Outside the Window, it was still Pitch Black.

Thunder rumbled faintly from the distance.

Mixed in with it were faint rustling sounds.

Clearly, after only two days of clear skies, it was about to rain again.

Fang Cheng yawned, his sleepiness gone, and simply got up early.

He turned off the Alarm Clock he had set, threw on a sports jacket, and went to the Bathroom to wash his face and rinse his mouth.

Then he walked over to the Living Room Balcony.

Staring at the dawn Scene Outside the Window, he slowly crouched down and said in a low voice:

"December 4th. Fifteenth Morning Practice begins!"

The Night Sky hung low, neon lights Flickered.

The figure before the window stood like a sculpture, outlining a tall, steady silhouette.

Before long.

That figure suddenly changed again, like a nimble antelope, leaping back and forth.

Whoosh!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Fists cut through the air, Footsteps shifted and turned.

As soon as he finished his Warm-up Exercise, Fang Cheng began practicing Shadow Boxing.

Punching techniques, Leg Techniques, punch-kick Combination Techniques, punch-throw Combination Techniques...

All kinds of combat skills came naturally to him, executed with practiced ease and not the slightest sense of pause.

After finishing one round of Shadow Boxing, Fang Cheng caught his breath briefly, then Closed Eyes and pondered for a moment.

Then he assumed a four-strand standing combat stance and, According To the key points from the instructional discs, tried practicing the Basic Skills of Karate.

In other words, the set of forms Majima Goro had demonstrated during training.

They included many complex techniques, such as kicking, striking, throwing, grappling, casting, locking, choking, Counter Techniques, Acupoint Striking, and breathing.

Many of Karate's theories and techniques were actually very similar to Traditional Martial Arts.

Because it had originally come from Xia Country and been carried forward in Eastern Island.

After being improved by generations of masters, its actual combat ability had greatly increased, and it had also become better suited to the style of modern combat sports.

But no matter how much it was improved, Karate's philosophy still leaned traditional, focusing on personal cultivation and the beauty of movement.

It was completely different from modern combat sports, which emphasized competition and decided victory with fists.

Its performance in the ring was therefore only slightly better than that of Xia Country's Traditional Martial Arts practitioners.

If one truly judged actual combat ability, a school like Jiu-Jitsu, which did not look particularly elegant, was instead even stronger.

However, Majima Goro's performance at the Club yesterday had made Fang Cheng see him in a new light.

Setting aside the other man's rather abnormal mental issues.

Just looking at the solid Basic Skills he had displayed, along with his beast-like abundant physique and desire to attack.

He could absolutely be called a top-tier combat athlete.

It was just Not Clear how large the gap was compared to a world-class Boxing King like Zheng Haokang.

The figure kept flashing nimbly, and the sky gradually grew hazy and bright.

6:50.

A passing shower stopped, and the voices on the streets became lively again.

After the start of winter, rainy weather had come and gone for a full week.

The climate was abnormal. Those who Didn't Know might think they had returned to the early-summer plum rain season.

Fang Cheng breathed out a puff of hot air, Sweat Droplets faintly seeping out on his face.

He simply took off both his sports jacket and his undershirt, letting his body get some air and cool down.

His Back Muscles were then revealed, with several bruised areas rubbed with red medicinal liquor.

Another new day had arrived.

Another Morning Practice had ended.

The Panel's light screen Emerged Before One's Eyes, and Fang Cheng examined today's gains.

Focus Experience +3

Boxing Experience +7

Sanda Experience +20

Squats Experience +15

Leg Raises Experience +9

"Not bad!"

Fang Cheng wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling a slight sense of fulfillment in his heart.

When he looked at another prompt information, the arc of his raised lips became even more obvious.

Congratulations. Through unremitting effort, your Agility has improved.

Because he had taken the fitness test at the Coaching Department yesterday and done 250 push-ups in a row.

Today's training volume had actually dropped a lot compared with before.

And to avoid worsening the fatigue in his upper-limb muscles, Fang Cheng had deliberately skipped push-up practice.

Even so, the gains from this morning practice were still very considerable.

His current attributes were:

Strength: 12

Agility: 12

Physique: 16

Spirit: 18

Aside from Agility, which had just broken through, the specific progress of his other three attributes was Strength 12%, Physique 37%, and Spirit 59%.

The special effect of "Lone Eminence" was like an endless fueling machine.

It shortened the time needed for his physical attributes, which originally would have taken at least more than a month to improve and break through, by a full two or three times.

Fang Cheng moved his limbs, drew in both arms, and fired several lightning-fast jabs at the air in succession.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

He felt the obvious change in his punch speed after his Agility increased.

He also felt a wave of soreness coming from the muscles in his arms.

That was a physiological phenomenon caused by lactic acid buildup and protein breakdown.

As long as you exercised, it couldn't be avoided.

"Indulging myself once in a while still comes at a price in the end..."

Fang Cheng murmured to himself and lowered his stance.

Doing 250 push-ups in one breath.

At the time, he had not felt it was much of a burden; he had even found it incredibly satisfying.

Yet after only one night's sleep, his body's muscles had instead entered a fatigued state.

Add to that the bruising injuries on his arms and back from being smashed with stools during the fight with that group of thugs at the night market the day before yesterday.

The two added together.

Before he had fully recovered, they would more or less affect his daily training plan.

Fortunately, his physique attribute was high, and his body was tough enough to take a beating.

Otherwise, he would probably have had to ask for several days off to rest.

"If I could master another skill like a rapid healing skill in a game, that would be even better..."

With a thought, Fang Cheng called up the light screen.

He looked at all the skills he currently had.

Speed Reading Lv1 (54/250)

Focus Lv1 (106/250)

Cooking Lv0 (89/100)

Cleaning Lv0 (91/100)

Boxing Lv1 (164/250)

Sanda Lv0 (35/100)

Push-Ups Lv1 (132/250)

Squats Lv1 (90/250)

Leg Raises Lv1 (18/250)

Potential Activation (23:58:16)

His gaze scanned each item in turn, finally landing on the last gray, sealed Skill Bar.

The cooldown displayed on it had less than a day remaining.

"I hope it doesn't affect my plan to unlock Pull-Ups tomorrow..."

Seeing this, Fang Cheng immediately gathered his thoughts and walked toward the bedroom.

He packed a few clean clothes, preparing to head downstairs to the public bathhouse for a hot shower later.

Today was Friday, so he did not have to work, and he had plenty of time to rest.

He glanced at the gloomy sky outside the window.

Fang Cheng then turned on the TV and switched it to Dongdu News Channel, wanting to catch the 7:30 weather forecast.

The host's pleasant, flowing voice soon rang out inside the room.

It was not yet the hour, so the station was still airing the morning news program "Good Morning Dongdu."

Fang Cheng put down the remote control, walked into the bathroom, first ran some cold water, and wiped his body down with a towel.

"Breaking news from this station: at around 3 a.m. today, a serious explosion occurred at the West Mountain Ruins excavation site, triggering a large-scale mountain fire..."

"West Mountain?"

Hearing this, Fang Cheng reached back and scrubbed his back with the towel, then walked back out to watch the news.

Ren'an Hospital, where his mother worked, happened to be located at the foot of West Mountain.

"...The specific cause of this incident remains unknown. Losses have not yet been tallied, and human sabotage may be involved."

"At present, Dongdu City Government and the National Guard have dispatched large numbers of military police and firefighters to the area to carry out evacuation, search, and rescue operations."

"To prevent traffic congestion, as well as the possible movement of criminals, the entire Xiguan district has temporarily entered a state of alert. All intersections have been sealed off, and unauthorized vehicles are strictly forbidden from entering or leaving."

"If members of the public have plans to go to this district in the coming days, please adjust your itinerary and await further updates from this station..."

Watching the host sit upright and solemnly deliver the news, along with the fleeting footage of West Mountain billowing with thick black smoke, Fang Cheng's brows furrowed slightly.

He then returned to the bedroom, took his phone from his bag, and quickly dialed a number.

Very soon, a busy tone rang out as he waited.

Beep—beep—beep——

In the end, the call automatically disconnected.