A Conversation

"Wooo—wooo—wooo—"

The whole town suddenly rang with a series of piercing sirens. At the same time, a deep voice boomed through the loudspeakers across town. "Time's up. All Quasi-Martial Artists, report to the town exit immediately."

At the entrance to Monster Town, the Quasi-Martial Artists began filing out. Nearly every one of them was stained with blood, whether from monsters or from their own wounds. Some had to be helped out by their friends.

By then, Luo Zhe had already been locked in a small, dark room for several hours. Fortunately, with the Dimensional Space at his disposal, he didn't have to worry about being left without a way out.

Still, the room was cramped, and there wasn't a shred of light inside. It was so dark he couldn't see his hand in front of his face, and the oppressive feeling was intense. Worst of all, the silence was so complete that he could hear nothing but his own heartbeat. Time seemed to crawl by.

Only when the piercing siren sounded did the door to the dark room open again. Light from outside streamed into the room. Luo Zhe had grown used to the darkness, so when the light suddenly hit him, his vision blurred. He narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the world beyond the door, and it took him a good while to recover.

"Luo Zhe, come out. Someone's here to pick you up," a soldier called from the doorway.

What was coming was coming. Luo Zhe had been prepared for this, so he stood without a word and walked straight out.

But once outside, Luo Zhe saw that there was only a young woman in a white suit and two soldiers on duty. It was nothing like the scene he'd imagined, with the area packed with soldiers carrying guns.

"Luo Zhe, come along. Supervisor Zhuge is waiting for you," the woman in the white suit said with a smile.

"Supervisor Zhuge?" Luo Zhe was at a loss. Did Supervisor Zhuge really have that much influence? Could he actually cover up something like this?

The woman in the white suit didn't seem inclined to explain. She motioned for Luo Zhe to follow, then strode ahead, leaving him and the two soldiers staring at one another.

"Hey, wait for me!" Seeing that the soldiers had no intention of stopping him, Luo Zhe hurried after her.

It was the same familiar, quiet little building. When they reached the second-floor sitting room, Zhuge Tao was sitting alone at the head of the table, which was laden with a lavish breakfast.

After bringing Luo Zhe to the second floor, the woman in the white suit bowed to Zhuge Tao and went back downstairs, leaving the two men alone.

"You're here."

Zhuge Tao beckoned Luo Zhe over, his familiar, warm smile on his face. "You've been locked up all night. You must be hungry. Come, have something to eat first."

Luo Zhe sat down beside Zhuge Tao. Looking at the lavish breakfast on the table, he couldn't help swallowing. Honestly, he hadn't eaten a thing in sixteen or seventeen hours, not since yesterday at noon. Martial artists were much fitter than ordinary people, but that didn't make them any less hungry. His stomach had been growling for ages.

But with the supervisor sitting beside him and not touching his food, Luo Zhe felt awkward about digging in first.

When Zhuge Tao saw Luo Zhe sitting there without moving, he quickly guessed what was on his mind. He chuckled, picked up his chopsticks, and placed a piece of sticky rice chicken on Luo Zhe's plate. He even peeled away the lotus leaf wrapping and set it aside.

"Go ahead and eat. This was prepared for you. I've already eaten."

The rich aroma of sticky rice mingled with the scent of chicken, barbecued pork, ribs, and other meats. The appetite in Luo Zhe's stomach was already staging a revolt, but he forced himself to look away from his plate and turn to Zhuge Tao. "I'm sorry, Supervisor. I caused you all trouble last night."

"Oh?" Zhuge Tao's smile broadened. "Do you know what you did wrong?"

"Well..." Zhuge Tao's question caught Luo Zhe off guard. He honestly didn't think he'd done anything wrong. He'd only apologized because he felt bad that Zhuge Tao and the others had spent the night rushing around on his account.

"I've already looked into what happened." Zhuge Tao took a sip of tea. After Luo Zhe had sat there anxiously for a while, he finally smiled and spoke. "You weren't in the wrong. In fact, you did very well!"

"..."

Has the supervisor gone crazy? Luo Zhe wondered, studying Zhuge Tao from head to toe.

Seeing Luo Zhe's expression, Zhuge Tao was speechless for a moment before explaining, "In that kind of situation, when you can't be sure what someone's intentions are, protecting yourself has to come first. If you hadn't taken Wan Dong down first, and he'd had bad intentions, both of you would have been in serious danger. So I'm saying you did the right thing!"

Luo Zhe scratched his head sheepishly. Even if it was true, being praised to his face like this was embarrassing.

"Also, as martial artists, it's our duty to protect the weak! I know you kept protecting Wang Meng. Good job! But why did you ask him for two million in protection money? The Dojo gave you a full 120 million in start-up funds!"

Luo Zhe wasn't having that. He retorted, "How can you say I asked him for it? He insisted on giving it to me. I didn't even want to take it at first. He wouldn't press the emergency button, and kept saying he wanted to pay me to protect him. I had no choice but to accept."

Zhuge Tao shot Luo Zhe an exasperated look. "Don't try to fool me. If you're short on money, you can borrow some from me!"

"Lucky for you, Wang Meng spoke up on your behalf this time, so you got off without a problem. Otherwise, if someone had been looking for a chance to get you, they wouldn't even have needed to frame you. They could have caught you red-handed. Then you'd have been finished—and you wouldn't even know what killed you!"

Knowing he was in the wrong, Luo Zhe could only apologize obediently. "I'm sorry, Supervisor. I really have been short on money lately, and the Dojo's start-up funds still haven't come through. I couldn't resist the chance to make some extra cash."

Zhuge Tao couldn't help tapping Luo Zhe on the head. "I'll let it go this time, but don't do it again. If you're really short on money, call me. You're a genius martial artist from the Extreme Martial Arts Hall. If people get something to use against you over a little money, what would that say about the Extreme Martial Arts Hall?"

Luo Zhe fell silent, sitting quietly with an obedient, apologetic look.

Seeing that the mood had turned awkward, Zhuge Tao stopped lecturing him and served him another bowl of porridge. "Eat something first. I've already taken care of the examination.

"Once you get back, you'll be able to access the Extreme Martial Arts Hall's internal martial artist network, and the Hall's start-up funds will be deposited into your account."

Luo Zhe nodded, picked up his bowl and chopsticks, and began wolfing down his food.

"By the way, Luo Zhe, yesterday you said the War Blade I arranged for you was too light. Was that because your punching power has increased a lot lately? How strong is your punching power now?"

Luo Zhe had been shoveling millet porridge into his mouth, but he suddenly stopped. He licked his lips and said, "I had a test a few days ago. It confirmed that my physical fitness has reached the Junior Warrior Level."