Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a patch of light across the coffee table.
Ning Rongrong sat on the sofa, staring at the few lines of text on the system panel. She had been looking at them for nearly ten minutes.
[Target: Yang Wudi]
[Level: Rank 82 Soul Douluo]
[Martial Soul: Soul Breaking Spear]
[Traits: Extremely powerful attacks, relentless forward charge, never defends]
[Note: Clan leader of the Breaking Clan, master alchemist. He will stop at nothing to obtain rare medicinal treasures.]
She read the words "never defends" over and over, her brow furrowing tighter each time.
"Someone who never defends," she murmured, "is the hardest to fight."
Zhang Mo sat beside her, waiting for her to continue.
Ning Rongrong looked up at him. "Have you ever met someone like that?"
Zhang Mo thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"I've met someone like that once," Ning Rongrong said. "The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect once fought an enemy who didn't care about his life. Grandpa Sword thrust his Seven Kill Sword at him, but he didn't dodge. Instead, he charged forward, took the sword head-on, and wounded Grandpa Sword."
She paused, her voice dropping. "That man was a Soul Douluo, and Grandpa Sword was a Titled Douluo. After that battle, Grandpa Sword was bedridden for three months."
Zhang Mo was silent for a few seconds, then asked, "What happened to that man?"
"He died," Ning Rongrong said. "After taking that sword, he couldn't have survived either. But he didn't care. All he wanted was to land that one strike."
Zhang Mo said nothing.
Ning Rongrong looked at him and suddenly asked, "Do you know what people like that fear most?"
Zhang Mo thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"They fear someone even more reckless than they are."
Zhang Mo froze.
"My father said there are only two ways to deal with someone who doesn't care about dying. First, stay far away and make sure they can't hit you. Second, be even more ruthless, so they think you aren't afraid to die."
She fixed her bright eyes on Zhang Mo.
"Are you afraid of dying?"
Zhang Mo thought for a moment. "Yes."
Ning Rongrong nodded. "Then all we can do is keep our distance."
Zhang Mo said nothing.
He stood up, walked to the window, and looked outside.
The little street lay in the afternoon sun. Someone rode past on an electric scooter, and children ran back and forth in the alley. The sunlight was lovely; everything was just as it usually was.
Then he said, "We can't hide."
Ning Rongrong walked over and stood beside him.
"After he arrives, he'll search for us everywhere. There are billions of people in this world. He might not find us, but he'll find someone else. Innocent people will die because of him."
Ning Rongrong fell silent.
She remembered Huyan Li's first arrival, when he had blown up that excavator with one punch. If anyone had been nearby, they would have been smashed to pulp.
Zhang Mo turned to look at her.
"So we can't hide."
Ning Rongrong bit her lip and nodded.
"Then what do we do?"
"You said it yourself. He likes medicinal herbs."
He went back into the inner room and brought out the wooden box containing the Millennium Fleeceflower.
"Use this to lure him."
Ning Rongrong stared at the box, thought for a moment, and asked, "How?"
"Three days from now, there's an international Traditional Chinese Medicine Expo in Shanghai. I bought this there last time."
He opened the box, revealing the dark, lumpy root inside.
"The energy in this Polygonum Multiflorum is different from that of the medicinal herbs in his world. He'll definitely sense it. If we set a trap at the expo and wait for him to come get it, then—"
"Then we attack while he's distracted?" Ning Rongrong finished.
Zhang Mo nodded.
Ning Rongrong considered it, then asked, "What if he doesn't come?"
"He'll come."
"Why?"
"Because he's an alchemist," Zhang Mo said. "He won't be able to resist a good medicinal herb sitting right in front of him."
Ning Rongrong stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, "How do you know?"
"I've met people like that in the antiques trade. They'd bankrupt themselves over a broken bowl. They'd turn on anyone over a broken vase. A Medicine Obsessive is no different."
Ning Rongrong pondered that.
After a moment, she asked, "Then who attacks?"
"Me."
Ning Rongrong froze.
"I'll keep the Fish Gut Sword with me and look for a chance to stab him. You stay far away and boost me."
Ning Rongrong frowned. "But he's a Soul Douluo, rank eighty-two. Can you even hit him?"
Zhang Mo thought for a moment. "I don't know."
Ning Rongrong grew anxious. "You don't know, and you're charging in anyway?"
Zhang Mo looked at her. "Do you have a better idea?"
Ning Rongrong opened her mouth to say she did, but after thinking it over, she couldn't get a single word out.
She lowered her head in dejection.
"No," she said softly.
Zhang Mo reached out and gently patted her shoulder.
"Then that's what we'll do."
Ning Rongrong looked up at him.
His expression was calm, as if he were talking about something perfectly ordinary.
She suddenly remembered how he'd worn the same expression that night when he'd told Huyan Li, "Guess."
He knew he couldn't win, but he wasn't afraid at all.
She bit her lip, then suddenly said, "Then I'll keep an eye on him for you."
Zhang Mo froze.
"I'll stay back and watch his movements. He's a Soul Douluo, so he'll definitely be faster than Huyan Li. You might not be able to react in time on your own. But I can watch him and tell you which way he moves."
Zhang Mo looked at her.
Her eyes were bright—almost unnaturally so.
"Aren't you... afraid?" he asked.
Ning Rongrong thought for a moment. "I am."
She paused, then continued, "But what good does being afraid do?"
Zhang Mo said nothing.
"Last time, you took so many of Huyan Li's punches all by yourself. I have to do something to help this time."
She lifted her head and looked at him, her eyes shining.
"I may only be good at support, but I can still keep watch."
Zhang Mo looked at her in silence for a few seconds, then nodded.
"Okay."
Ning Rongrong smiled.
The smile was fleeting, but genuine.
Outside, the sunlight slowly slanted westward.
The two of them stood by the window, watching the clouds on the horizon.
After a while, Ning Rongrong suddenly asked, "Zhang Mo, is that Yang Wudi really that strong?"
Zhang Mo thought for a moment. "At rank eighty-two, he should be a lot stronger than Huyan Li."
Ning Rongrong fell silent.
She remembered what she'd just said—watching him, helping him dodge, helping him strike.
But could someone really dodge a rank-eighty-two Soul Douluo?
She didn't know.
But she didn't say it.
She simply reached out and took hold of Zhang Mo's sleeve.
Just like before.
Zhang Mo looked down at her hand, then at her.
She didn't look up. She just held on to his sleeve and said softly, "Zhang Mo."
"Yeah?"
"After this fight, buy me a phone."
Zhang Mo froze.
"You promised," she continued. "You said you'd buy one after we beat Huyan Li. We beat him, and you still haven't bought it."
Zhang Mo thought about it. It seemed he really had promised.
He nodded. "Okay."
The corners of Ning Rongrong's mouth lifted.
"And buy me that milk tea, too."
"Okay."
"And that dress, the white one. I didn't get enough last time."
"Okay."
"And—"
She suddenly stopped and said no more.
Zhang Mo waited a few seconds, then asked, "And what?"
Ning Rongrong shook her head and said nothing.
But her hand tightened around his sleeve.
The sun slowly sank, and the horizon turned dark purple.
In the distance, the neon lights came on one by one.
The two of them stood by the window, watching night fall.
After a long while, Ning Rongrong suddenly said, "Zhang Mo, do you think Yang Wudi will bring a bunch of lackeys with him, like Huyan Li did?"
Zhang Mo thought for a moment. "The system didn't say."
"What if he does bring a bunch of people?"
"Then you run."
Ning Rongrong froze.
"You're fast. Hide somewhere. Once I've dealt with Yang Wudi, I'll come find you."
Ning Rongrong stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly said, "You're planning to take everything on yourself again?"
Zhang Mo said nothing.
Ning Rongrong grew anxious. "No!"
She let go of his sleeve, stepped in front of him, and glared up at him.
"We agreed we'd fight together. Why are you trying to shoulder everything yourself?"
Zhang Mo looked at her.
She glared at him, her eyes a little red.
"Did you forget? Last time, you took so many of Huyan Li's punches by yourself and almost died. If that happens again this time, you—"
She couldn't finish.
Zhang Mo fell silent for a few seconds, then reached out and gently patted the top of her head.
"Okay," he said. "We'll take it on together."
Ning Rongrong froze.
She looked up at him, her eyes growing even redder.
But she bit her lip and forced back her tears.
She lowered her head and murmured, "That's more like it."
Outside, night had fully fallen.
Neon light streamed in, casting multicolored patches across the floor.
The two of them just stood there.
After a while, Ning Rongrong suddenly said:
"Zhang Mo, I'm hungry."
Zhang Mo turned and headed for the kitchen.
Ning Rongrong followed behind him.
After two steps, she suddenly said:
"Let's have steamed buns tonight."
Zhang Mo didn't look back. "Sure."
The corners of Ning Rongrong's mouth lifted.
She followed him, hopping and skipping into the kitchen.
The kitchen light came on, filling the room with a warm yellow glow.
The water in the pot began to boil, bubbling away.
Ning Rongrong leaned against the doorframe, watching Zhang Mo knead the dough, chop the filling, and shape the buns.
His movements were practiced. He'd clearly done this many times before.
She suddenly asked:
"Zhang Mo, when you lived alone, did you cook for yourself every day?"
Zhang Mo nodded.
"What did you eat when you were alone?"
"Whatever was handy."
Ning Rongrong thought for a moment, then asked, "What about now?"
Zhang Mo didn't turn around, but the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
"Now there are two of us."
Ning Rongrong froze for a moment, then blushed slightly.
She lowered her head and murmured:
"Then you'll have to do this many more times."
Zhang Mo said, "Sure."
The corners of Ning Rongrong's mouth lifted again.
She leaned against the doorframe, watching him bustle about.
The kitchen filled with a savory aroma.
Outside the window, neon lights blinked on and off.
Every now and then, the sound of traffic drifted from afar.
Everything was just as usual.
But Ning Rongrong knew that in two days, they would face another tough battle.
She watched Zhang Mo's back and suddenly felt that maybe it wasn't so scary after all.
After all, he was there.
Before you continue