Boxing Gym

Dawn had barely broken.

Zhou Kai's gaze fell on his system panel. The skill column, previously empty, now contained two entries.

[Light Footwork lv0 (Upgradeable)]

[Occultism lv0 (Upgradeable)]

The bright suffixes on both lines clearly indicated that points could be added.

Beep, beep...

The brick-like phone on his bedside table vibrated.

Zhou Kai glanced at it, let it ring for a while, then slowly reached over and answered.

"Hello, Sis. I just woke up..."

The caller was Zhou Kai's older sister, Zhou Qing.

"Just woke up?" Zhou Qing's voice was gentle, though she spoke quickly. "I heard you went to the boxing gym yesterday and stayed for half the day, then left in the afternoon... Were you feeling unwell again?"

"If you really can't manage it, take things slowly. Don't rush to find work. Getting your health back comes first."

"Don't worry about money. Your health matters most, understand?"

Listening to her nagging over the phone, the tense line of Zhou Kai's shoulders slackened for a moment.

He said nothing, only reached out and rubbed the faded family photo on the table.

Compared to the despair in the Nightmare, his family's warmth was like an anesthetic. It could make him forget the pain for a while, but it could not cure the illness.

His problem was no longer merely health and work...

It was how to stay alive through those godforsaken Nightmares.

At that thought, Zhou Kai took a breath and made his voice sound more energetic. "I'm much better today, Sis. I'll head to the boxing gym in a bit."

He had to go to the boxing gym.

If he wanted to survive in his dreams, he had to grow stronger.

As long as he got his foot in the door with any skill, Zhou Kai was confident he could grind it to perfection.

Just like now.

Barefoot, Zhou Kai stood on the creaky spring bed in his bedroom and practiced [Light Footwork] according to the techniques in the handbook.

The core of this technique lay in adjusting his center of gravity, the force of each step, and the coordination between breathing and exertion.

The threshold was low. It was not difficult.

After trying for over twenty minutes, the bed's loud creaks turned into a faint hum, and a line of text flashed before his eyes.

[You have completed one skill practice session. Light Footwork experience +1]

[Light Footwork lv0 → lv1]

Zhou Kai stopped and looked at the panel.

[Light Footwork lv1 (0/15): An ordinary stealth technique]

It took fifteen experience points to level up, while he only had eight universal experience points.

Putting them in now would have little effect.

"Time to head out."

Zhou Kai splashed cold water over his face, then did more than twenty push-ups.

The reassuring sense that his physical condition had not worsened filled him with energy he had not felt in a long time. He looked far more alert.

It was the year 2027.

Not long ago, the Red Star Republic had signed a peace agreement with the neighboring Lyle Federation, ending the regional hot war that had lasted for years.

The depression brought by war quickly faded, and a jubilant mood spread from the border all the way to Xishan City, where he lived.

Zhou Kai came down from the old apartment block and stepped over wooden planks laid across pooled water before exiting the narrow alley.

His view suddenly opened up, and the muffled sounds around him instantly became clear.

The boundary between the urban village and the newly developed district was bustling with traffic, while posters promoting peace and development covered the walls.

Zhou Kai looked at them a little longer, and his mood did indeed improve.

For ordinary people, the word war carried far too much weight.

The aging apartment blocks were crammed with nearby office workers.

The rent here was cheap, transportation was fairly convenient, the subway station was close by, and Xishan City's CBD was less than nine kilometers away.

During rush hour, stylish men and women packed shoulder to shoulder, cramming the subway and buses like sardine cans.

Zhou Kai had deliberately avoided peak hours.

It was half past nine now, and the crowds had thinned considerably.

He found himself a seat on the bus without much effort.

Along the way, Zhou Kai stared blankly out the window.

He had never noticed it before, but lately, the more he looked at Red Star's urban architecture, the stranger it seemed.

The building facades were as gaudy as a third-rate browser game ad, with low-resolution multicolored screens pixelated beyond belief, along with brightly colored posters that seemed eager to cover entire buildings.

Cars, office towers, even streetlamps all seemed to be pursuing some cheap metallic aesthetic—silver and glittering, with light pollution dazzling the eyes.

The occasional patches of solid color, such as pale yellow or rose red, instead looked completely out of place.

As he watched, a term popped into Zhou Kai's mind. It was rather accurate.

"Retrofuturism."

Beep, beep.

That square phone, half screen and half keypad like a scientific calculator, rang again.

Zhou Kai swiped open the screen. A pile of red notification dots blinked in the chat app, and the avatar flashing at the top was labeled "Sister Yan Zi."

"Xiao Kai, are you coming today? I had to beg your sister before she paid your tuition. I wanted someone to keep me company, but you're even lazier than I am."

"You haven't shown up these past two days. I was so embarrassed I could have dug myself a Forbidden City..."

Lu Yan and Zhou Qing had been university classmates. Before graduation, the two had been nearly inseparable. Lu Yan was three years older than Zhou Kai, and they had known each other for five years.

She had dragged Zhou Kai into boxing partly because she wanted him to exercise more instead of rotting in his rented room.

And perhaps partly because she wanted to use him as a shield against those hormone-crazed animals.

Zhou Kai replied with two words: "On my way."

He then turned off his phone screen and closed his eyes to rest.

Falcon Wing Boxing Gym.

Lu Yan, her ponytail framing a slightly baby-faced figure, wore light makeup and sportswear. The moment she spotted Zhou Kai from afar, she squeezed out of a group of members and hurried over. "You look pretty good today, huh?"

As she spoke, she reached out to pinch Zhou Kai's cheek.

Zhou Kai raised a hand and easily blocked her. "No. I just got a good night's sleep."

Dying four times in the Nightmare had left his real body falling from suboptimal health into a half-dead state.

This time, he had finally escaped and built a Safe House. Both body and mind had received a brief moment to breathe.

Right, there was also the Fireplace.

Next time he went in, he would have to find some fuel and light it.

Zhou Kai's attitude toward Lu Yan was neither warm nor cold. "Sister Yan Zi, time to fall in."

"Oh, right... I heard they're choosing official trainees today."

Though she agreed aloud, she fluttered around Zhou Kai like a Sparrow, chattering endlessly at his side.

Zhou Kai joined the line with Lu Yan, his gaze drifting past the partitions toward the trainee area, which occupied two-thirds of the boxing gym.

That section was free, yet its environment was better than theirs despite them paying fees. The training was different, too, more like the disciples accepted into a traditional martial arts school.

The coach, Chen Ping, was tall and powerfully built, with thick, heavy brows. He swept Zhou Kai a glance, his eyes devoid of emotion.

After all, what kind of man ruined his body to such a degree for no reason?

Heh. Whether it was congenital or acquired, he had nothing to do with martial arts.

Chen Ping could not be bothered to spare a second glance for a member with no value.

As long as the money had been paid, that was enough.

Once all the members had arrived, Chen Ping brought out the poorest-performing young man from the trainee area next door. Zhou Kai heard his name was Du Feng.

When Zhou Kai had signed up the day before yesterday, Chen Ping had been explaining how to exert force.

Yesterday's trial class had been horse stance training... all techniques so basic they could not have been more basic.

But today was different. On Du Feng, Chen Ping revealed a little of his real skill.

"Know why you're no good? Your punches aren't fast enough! Your legs aren't stable enough! Your tendons and bones aren't flexible enough!"

As he berated him, Chen Ping raised his palm. His five fingers came together, fingertips shaped like a bird's beak, rapidly striking at vital points around Du Feng's body.

Every jab carried a sharp hiss that tore through the air.

At first, Du Feng could barely fend him off, but as Chen Ping's force and speed increased, the calm on his face gradually turned into panic.

"Wait, Senior Brother Chen... I can't keep up!"

"Don't use the Falcon Strike Technique... This... this is too dangerous..."

Du Feng's eyes widened.

Soon, the instant Chen Ping jabbed his waist, Du Feng let out a muffled groan almost simultaneously. His entire body immediately went limp, his legs buckled, and he dropped to his knees.

It all happened within a dozen seconds—swift as a hare taking flight, fierce and sharp in every move.

Zhou Kai and the other amateur members watched without blinking.

Chen Ping kept a cold face as he barked at Du Feng on the floor, "Get up!"

Du Feng's features twisted with pain, but he still forced himself to stand. "Yes, Senior Brother Chen."

He first bowed to Chen Ping in apology, then turned to the members and said awkwardly, "As usual, I'll spar with each of you using Comprehensive Combat in a moment. Anyone who can last ten moves against me without falling will become an official trainee, have their tuition waived, and be allowed to learn this gym's Falcon Strike Technique and Broken Wing Style."