Anomaly

Lu Yan's tolerance for alcohol was, as always, abysmal.

A few gulps down, her gaze went vacant, and her cheeks flushed a deep, mottled red.

Fortunately, Zhou Kai kept a close eye on her this time, preventing her from sliding straight under the table.

Alcohol breached the levees of her reason, and a flood of emotions spilled out.

Lu Yan first let out a long, weary sigh, then buried her face in her arms, her shoulders beginning to heave with sobs.

"Xiao Kai... Sister is sorry, I'm going to break my promise to you."

"That major of yours... it's damn cursed. I pulled every string I had, and not a single company had even heard of it!"

"If it really doesn't work out, I'll have my dad arrange a cushy job for you at the factory. Just watch the computer and drink tea all day..."

"Wuu..."

Zhou Kai was caught between laughter and tears. He reached out and patted her back, as if soothing a Fortune Cat. "Sister Yan, I'm already grateful enough that you were willing to help."

"Don't be sad over something like this."

But Lu Yan was beyond listening. The alcohol amplified her guilt and helplessness, leaving her to mope over the table and shed little pearls of tears.

Ma Yifan sat by, restless. He wanted to offer comfort but didn't know where to start. After holding it in for a long time, he finally asked tentatively, "Brother Kai, what exactly was your major in university?"

He was genuinely curious; what kind of bottomless pit of a major could stump even a local insider like Lu Yan?

Zhou Kai said helplessly, "Classics, with a focus on language and literature."

Ma Yifan scratched his head. He recognized every word, but put together, they were more chaotic than the plate of grilled pig brains on the table.

But his mind worked fast, and he immediately had a new idea. "Brother Kai, I have a proposal, though I'm not sure if it's appropriate."

Zhou Kai lifted his chin. "Speak."

Ma Yifan rubbed his hands together, his eyes brightening as if he'd thought of something exciting. "A few of my buddies and I are really interested in fighting and martial arts."

"We just never had a way in, and whenever we tried, we'd just run into posers looking to scam us."

"But look at you, Brother Kai. How long have you even been training? Even those old veterans from Falcon Wing aren't your match..."

"So, I want to put a group together and ask you to be our master—to teach us real skills!"

The more Ma Yifan spoke, the more excited he became, his thoughts growing clearer by the second.

"Brother Kai, what do you think?"

Zhou Kai froze. A few seconds later, a genuine smile slowly bloomed on his face.

"I can do that."

"Of course I can."

Fate is a strange thing sometimes.

An unintentional dinner invitation had unexpectedly and easily solved his livelihood problem.

There was no need to be coy or reject the offer out of a misplaced sense of social awkwardness.

Zhou Kai reached out and shook hands firmly with Ma Yifan.

"Brother Ma, thanks. You've done me a huge favor!"

Ma Yifan grinned like a three-hundred-pound child. "It's settled! I'll contact them right now and give you a firm answer within the week!"

"If you drink like this again, I promise I'll toss you straight into a roadside trash can."

Zhou Kai supported Lu Yan, escorting her back to the foot of her apartment building.

Lu Yan hung off his arm, murmuring half in a spoiled tone and half as a threat: "You wouldn't dare!"

"Getting a bit bold, aren't you? Not taking your sister seriously... do you want me to go tell your sister on you?"

Zhou Kai pursed his lips and said softly, "Which sister? Aren't you the one?"

Lu Yan's body stiffened, and she suddenly fell silent.

After settling her on the bed and tucking her in, Zhou Kai turned to leave.

The strange sensation from his dream last night felt like a thorn in his heart; he needed to return and investigate it as soon as possible.

But just as he was about to leave, Lu Yan reached out from under the covers and grabbed the hem of his shirt.

"I promise, I won't drink like that again."

Zhou Kai nodded. "It's a deal. I recorded that."

Lu Yan didn't let go. She tilted her head back, her eyes hazy under the influence of alcohol and the dim light. "You... you seem to have come alive these past two days."

Zhou Kai frowned. It was true.

Perhaps it was the dual effect of the Moonlight Orchid and the Clear-Headed state; his emotions had become sharper, and his expressions were more like those of a normal person rather than the cold, walking corpse he had been in the past.

The strange thing was, even though the Clear-Headed state had long since faded, this sense of vitality had remained.

"Perhaps it's because my body is feeling better, so my mood has followed suit."

"Sis, I'm heading back now. See you tomorrow?"

Lu Yan's fingers, which had been clutching the hem of his shirt, tightened abruptly.

Her lips parted as if she had something she was dying to say, but a few seconds later, she shoved his clothes away with a fierce, angry motion.

"Go, go, go! You're just like your sister!"

"Get out, both of you! Hmph!"

Zhou Kai laughed, turned around, and walked toward the door. "Reverse psychology doesn't work on me. Anyway, see you tomorrow."

He only said half of what was on his mind.

The other half remained hidden in his heart.

If the Nightmare tonight doesn't manage to crush me completely, then see you tomorrow, Sister Yan.

"Bye."

The moment Zhou Kai turned to close the door, the smile on his face receded like a tide, leaving behind only a steel-like stillness.

Light Footwork made his steps soundless, yet his vigilance against the unknown Nightmare made every step feel as heavy as lead.

With a soft "click" of the door lock, his figure vanished completely into the hallway.

Creak, creak.

Lu Yan sat silently on the bed, hugging her knees and rocking gently like an abandoned child.

What was it she wanted to say just now?

"Xiao Kai, why don't you move in with me? That rental of yours is broken and tiny, the soundproofing is terrible, and the utilities are ridiculously expensive."

"Besides, that heartless Zhou Qing has gone off to mess around with some bad woman, so the second bedroom is empty anyway."

Saying that from the perspective of an older sister would be perfectly normal, right?

But I...

"Why couldn't I just say it?"

Her eye sockets grew damp again, and Lu Yan rocked for a while.

She suddenly threw herself backward, covered her head with the quilt, and shouted in self-abandonment, "So annoying! I must be drunk again!"

There are too many worries; sleeping is the only thing that's real!

There were only three people on the bus, including the driver. Zhou Kai sat in the last row by the window.

Outside the window, the city in the afterglow of the setting sun looked like a fading oil painting.

He toyed with the black business card in his hand.

[To Sleepless Dreams]

"You rats, what exactly are you trying to do?"

The card flipped nimbly between his fingers, making a crisp sound.

If you called them good people, they investigated his identity, stalked him, and used underhanded tactics.

But if you called them bad people, they had yet to make any substantive moves.

The world was never black and white; the vast majority of people and things were soaked in this chaotic gray.

I can't let my guard down... Once I resolve the trouble at hand, I must find out the background of these people!

Zhou Kai's mind stirred, and he thought of that elusive roommate from his university dorm.

He had thought that after graduation, they would go their separate ways and live their own lives, but he hadn't expected to need his help so soon.

Fortunately, that guy was more like a high-dimensional artificial life form living on the internet; it was easier to find him online.

Suddenly.

BOOM!

The bus slammed on the brakes, the screeching sound of tires against the road nearly tearing his eardrums apart.

The massive inertia sent the entire cabin lurching forward.

In the past, Zhou Kai would have been sent flying like a cannonball by now.

But now, it was different.

He gripped the metal handle of the seat with one hand, and amidst the violent shaking and swerving of the bus, his body remained as steady as a rock, save for a slight forward tilt.

His enhanced strength and physical coordination allowed him to achieve the effect of being welded to the spot with just one hand.

Ten seconds later, the bus, now emitting black smoke, plowed into the roadside greenery and finally came to a halt.

The driver, his face purple from the constriction of the seatbelt, unbuckled it in a state of shock and scrambled off the bus to inspect the front end that had just collided with the barrier.

The vehicle was smoking and could catch fire at any moment; he couldn't stay here any longer.

Zhou Kai stood up and casually hauled the other unconscious young man off the bus as if he were a chick.

"That's strange... where did he go? The front of the bus is smashed like this, so where is that person from just now?"

The driver clutched his head with one hand, pacing back and forth around the bus while muttering incessantly.

The front bumper of the bus was completely caved in, and the windshield was shattered into a spiderweb pattern; judging by the impact, it had clearly slammed solidly into someone.

But... with the vehicle damaged to this extent, where was the blood?

Where was the person who had been sent flying? It was impossible for there to be absolutely no trace of blood left behind.

"Strange! This is truly a bizarre, monstrous affair!"

The bus driver tremblingly called the police, requested a tow truck, and contacted his company...

He turned around to say a few words to his passengers, only to find the space behind him empty: "Hey, you two lads, another bus will be here soon... wait, what the hell? Where did the other one go?"

In the distance, only the unconscious young man remained lying on the grass, while Zhou Kai had long since vanished into the street corner as the twilight deepened.