16. Fu Xiuran Knew Nothing.

Let's rewind to before Fu Xiuran returned home.

The man did not immediately call his daughter to share the good news.

Clearly, he would much rather walk in and see the little girl's surprised and joyful expression than hear her answer over the phone.

But instead of going home immediately, he went to the martial arts school that was already slated to be sold to the government.

In fact, the relevant agreement has already been signed and finalized, and even if the man wants to back out now, it's too late. The dozens of students he taught have all been dismissed, and the refund process based on the students' progress has been completed.

Therefore, this trip was not only tinged with a sense of nostalgia, but also had a definite objective.

When he stood silently in the martial arts hall, the scene before him was no longer the bustling place it once was.

Compared to the sophisticated electronic fitness or self-defense courses in big cities, this martial arts school seems overly simple and ordinary.

Without the aid of any high-tech equipment or a detection system with built-in intelligent modules, there is no need to go through any complicated iris fingerprint unlocking process to enter the door.

Fu Xiuran gripped the handle of the copper ring and channeled the energy into it according to the strange channel.

A second later, the lock cylinder turned with a soft click.

The door opened.

He didn't bring his keys; he usually entrusted these odds and ends to his daughter for safekeeping, or simply left them at home.

Therefore, Fu Xiuran used the copper ring as a medium to partially break the lock cylinder, and the old parts that fell out inside made the front unobstructed.

He pushed the door open and entered without a second thought.

The man clearly didn't care that the door wouldn't be locked after he left.

The martial arts school was simple and old. These training grounds, built in an ancient style and following the old rules and customs, contained nothing of value in this era.

As for the reason why the martial arts school looks like this...

Aside from personal preference, the biggest reason is the lack of sufficient funds.

The right to use those high-tech equipment and intelligent module systems all require a certain amount of assets as a price, and the latter also requires having a relationship with government-run enterprises in order to be able to move in.

Therefore, given Fu Xiuran's background, he could only find a Pure Land in this remote place where he could spread martial arts without needing these things.

If he lived in Canghai City, his martial arts school wouldn't be able to support himself and his daughter.

A large number of conglomerates and government enterprises have settled in Canghai City, and business opportunities in various industries require a lot of start-up capital to pass the initial screening and survive.

In cities that have undergone renovation programs, it is not uncommon to find industries with all kinds of high-end equipment and excellent service attitudes and standards.

Compared to so-called martial arts.

People prefer convenient things that combine scientific fitness, combat skills, and various sports.

Even with a martial arts level of profound Mind's Eye, it would be incredibly difficult to make a living by teaching martial arts in this day and age.

Therefore, upon learning that the renovation plan was about to begin, Fu Xiuran, did not hesitate much before choosing to sell the martial arts school.

He was not a pedantic person, or rather, these stubbornnesses seemed insignificant compared to reality.

Fu Xiuran measured this familiar place with his footsteps, his heart filled with unspoken emotions.

The empty room felt desolate and cold; a breeze blew by, and the fallen leaves on the ground rustled as they drifted down.

Although he had dismissed the students, he did not forbid them from coming to continue practicing martial arts. However, without his instruction, there was little point in them deliberately coming to the martial arts school.

Inch Heart Fist.

In such an era, perhaps even the meaning of keeping to oneself in seclusion no longer exists.

However, in the more than ten years since the martial arts school opened, not a single student has had the talent to access those hidden skills, which has led to Fu Xiuran having no need to break the old rules.

Talent and innate ability determine the length of one's martial arts journey, and even the most gifted individuals need a certain amount of time to cultivate and hone their skills before reaching the realm of the Mind's Eye.

This may also be the reason for the decline of martial arts. Even if you reach the upper limit, it will not be visible. These health preservation methods and physical training classics are the dregs of the times.

The proliferation of novelties has rendered these time-consuming and talent-driven techniques obsolete.

Su Qing'an's previous Martial Intent made Fu Xiuran feel a long-lost burning heat.

If that's the kind of Martial Intent they possess, their infectiousness alone is enough to qualify them to establish themselves in Canghai City.

The boy only needed to stand still, as if he had completely detached himself from the human species.

Divine power is like a prison, divine grace is like the sea.

How many people in this world could possibly dare to attack him under that overwhelming Martial Intent?

At least... Fu Xiuran couldn't do it.

It had nothing to do with courage; it was just that oppressive feeling was squeezing out the ethereal soul of legend, making it difficult for the body to even function normally, let alone the instinct to tremble.

Su Qing'an didn't even need to convey any specific intentions; Fu Xiuran would be willing to believe that he had no malicious intent.

Because there's no need.

The man sighed as he gazed at the plum blossom stakes in the courtyard, used for practicing footwork. The mottled wooden marks on the surface, with varying shades of color blending together to create a natural scene, were signs of the passage of time.

This martial arts school has been open for a full ten years.

But even after a long time, there will always be a time to say goodbye.

Perhaps I can only stay at this level of the ladder in my life, and the rest of my life is nothing more than stumbling and crawling in the same place.

This applies both in martial arts and in a social sense.

But Hua can't be like me. If Su Qing'an is right, this world is actually on the verge of collapse.

For a normal person, such a monster would be fatal just by touching it. This crisis has gradually exceeded Fu Xiuran's usual understanding. If he hadn't personally encountered and felt the terror of that "virus," he probably wouldn't have believed that this crisis was real.

After realizing these things, Fu Xiuran's joy at the removal of his inner ailment was largely replaced by sorrow.

If those monsters were to form a white wave, it would result in a senseless massacre in a backward city like this, where there are no garrisons.

In this authoritarian society, the upper echelons likely already knew about the appearance of these monsters and other specific information, and may even have had corresponding countermeasures or methods.

However, the appearance of these monsters became silent and colorless under the extreme control of the massive information network, as if they did not exist at all.

The fact that he was able to witness this event firsthand shows that similar incidents may have been happening across the country and even the world. Even if the frequency is low, the accumulated incidents have been dealt with so thoroughly that no one has heard of them, and they didn't even exist as urban legends before.

One can imagine that the social ideology of Previous Civilization was in some sense quite distorted, and such information-gathering power seemed to completely strip away the traces of those facts.

Fu Xiuran was born in this era and has lived for nearly forty years. He has been constantly trying to understand the world better, but now the things he once knew have turned a new page, causing his previous ideas to vanish.

The man previously felt that living in a small city wasn't so bad. Even if he were from the lower class in Canghai City or someone like himself, it wouldn't affect his quality of life.

Throughout his life with his daughter, there were very few times when they faced material hardship.

Even though he was a dreamer in some ways, Fu Xiuran still didn't let his daughter suffer much, which made him feel that his daughter's life was fine this way.

Even with the renovation plan in place, Fu Xiuran's only thought was to let his daughter gradually find something she liked that could support her in the years to come.

But Su Qing'an's words shattered those notions once again, like a harsh, biting wind carefully telling him about the bone-chilling cold of winter.

Fu Xiuran's gaze lingered on the ground of the training ground, his pupils somewhat unfocused.

He was lost in thought.

If the United Nations government truly becomes unable to suppress that information, it indicates that the world is about to face unprecedented turmoil.

This is different from several economic and social transformations in history, and even different from several world wars in human history. Even the nuclear winter more than a hundred years ago was not worse than this event.

Even if the United Nations government develops a large quantity of medicine that can treat that monster's toxin, and even if vaccines that can immunize against these toxins appear one after another.

Even under the best-case scenario, the initial cold wave would be enough to freeze too many people in the lower classes to death.

Those monsters weren't just about possessing terrifying toxins; they also had considerable lethality. At least for ordinary people who stayed at home, facing that monster wielding a scythe, the only option was to bravely and heroically choose to die.

And what about the even stronger monsters that Su Qing'an mentioned?

Fu Xiuran himself was all too clear about the nature of the government. There would be no garrison troops stationed in these cities, and the Mechanical Force commanded by the artificial intelligence module would only exist in cities at the level of Canghai City.

The safest place in the world right now, from a defense perspective, is the Mu Continent. This land encompasses almost all of the world's top technologies, so if a vaccine or medicine really exists, it will definitely be produced here first.

And this kind of thing is undoubtedly incompatible with ordinary people in the early stages. For ordinary people to be infected with those toxins, the most normal situation would be to wait for death on their sickbed.

With all these complex considerations in mind, Fu Xiuran naturally could no longer arrange his daughter's future according to his previous way of thinking.

Looking back now, perhaps my decision to send her to Canghai City was the right one.

Even if a major calamity or a wave of monsters were to occur in that kind of city, Fu Hua would still have a chance of survival.

That is indeed the case.

If Fu Xiuran hadn't chosen to send Fu Hua to study in Canghai City, but instead had kept her in the city, then perhaps witnessing her father's death and being killed by a Fu Hua Honkai Beast would have been a foreseeable and cruel outcome.

The Moth to Fire didn't have enough members to carry out a rescue mission in such a backward and remote town.

In contrast, Canghai City, as an economically prosperous area, has many powerful and influential figures, making it easy for them to be included in the first batch of rescue lists.

In the original trajectory, Fu Xiuran had done the best he could as a father.

That is, they helped their daughter seize that only chance of survival.

A shout shattered the increasingly chaotic thoughts in the man's mind. A little girl, carrying a bag, carefully pushed open the door. Upon seeing the man in a hospital gown, she beamed with joy and called out:

"Master Fu! Are you feeling better?"

Fu Xiuran found it somewhat amusing to watch the little girl in the distance, whose steps were so unsteady that she practically skipped and hopped as she walked.

It was a vibrant color, so different from the cold thoughts in his mind, that immediately brought him to the still stable reality.

He couldn't help but laugh as he replied:

"Alright, that's about it. Xinchan, have you been practicing your basic skills properly lately?"

The little girl was wearing a snow-white shirt and a peach-pink pleated skirt, and she looked like she came from the same junior high school as Fu Hua.

At this moment, her delicate and lovely face was filled with smiles, and she waved to the man as she jogged over with small, quick steps.

Upon hearing Fu Xiuran's question, the little girl's mouth almost instantly pursed, her gaze drifted aimlessly towards the sky, and her steps became slow and unsteady.

Immediately, the little girl used her willpower to pull her gaze back, looked directly into the other person's eyes, and answered seriously:

"Of course, my mom has made sure I practice martial arts diligently, and Xin Chan is very obedient."

Fu Xiuran shook his head and chuckled. It was obvious he was lying; his student was still as useless as ever.

"It seems you've been quite happy lately, Xin Chan, since you haven't seen your master."

The little girl in front of me is my neighbor's child, Lin Xinchán.

Because of her adorable and eloquent personality, and because she was practically raised by the neighbors, Fu Xiuran was very kind to her.

Even when it came to martial arts training, Fu Xiuran turned a blind eye to her occasional pouting and complaining, letting her slack off.

The young girl wasn't particularly talented in martial arts, so the man didn't have high expectations of her; as long as she had some means of self-defense and could improve her health, that would be enough.

He had sent Lin Xinchán a text message before coming to the martial arts school, asking her to come over and bring over the things he was staying at her house.

The little girl gave a haughty snort, took off her bag and handed it to Fu Xiuran, saying:

"I'll leave Baozi to you, Master. Remember to tell Hua to take good care of it. I'll come to your house to see it occasionally, so please don't refuse me entry then."

Fu Xiuran glanced at the pure white kitten in the pet carrier and said:

"Don't worry, I won't stop you from coming in. What kind of person do you take your master for? Are you trying to kick me to the curb after I've served my purpose?"

Lin Xinchán said with a smile:

"Just kidding, Master. I'll be going now. Please give my regards to Hua for me."

He watched the little girl's lively figure disappear as she hurried away after speaking, and after a moment of stunned silence, he let out a sigh.

If what I previously feared actually happens, just how many tragedies will ensue?

The man, filled with worry yet also anticipation for his daughter's surprise, knocked on his door fifteen minutes later.

And so, he saw Fu Hua's expression of genuine surprise.

Well, the surprise outweighed the joy.

Having just finished explaining Fu Xiuran's situation to Fu Hua, Su Qing'an subconsciously activated [Hidden] and stood to one side, caught in a dilemma.

Just as the boy was wondering whether to sneak out and run away, the girl quietly tugged at his sleeve, preventing Su Qing'an from running away.

When Fu Hua glanced at the backpack in the man's hand, she immediately forgot her strange state, and her suddenly bright eyes seemed to sparkle.

The girl released her hand that had been secretly tugging at the boy's clothes. She gently took the backpack, opened it, placed the lazy kitten on her lap, and gently rubbed its chin with her slender, white fingers.

Her snow-white skin sank into the kitten's cat-like white fur, and with each adjustment of her pressure Fu Hua could clearly feel the kitten's warm temperature and soft touch.

A moment later, hearing the cat's soothing purring, a joyful smile spread across her cherry-blossom lips.

Throughout this time, he barely glanced at Su Qing'an and Fu Xiuran, who were practically invisible to him.

Fu Hua's reason for being so happy is simple.

This is the kitten she picked up and raised at the martial arts school not long ago. A while ago, when her father was sick, she was almost overwhelmed, so it stayed at Lin Xinchán's house until now.

Above.

In short, Su Qing'an is now forced into a strange state.

He watched the two people chatting at the dinner table, remaining silent.

The food Hua cooked didn't taste as good anymore.

Even if one were to choose to confess, the timing is far too poor...

Why don't we go out and stay in the park for a few days?