Moving House

"Aren't you going back yet? Hurry up, or your parents will worry about you," Lan Xin said.

Reke shook his head and looked at the place they called home.

It was worse than the cave he lived in—just a few pieces of wood nailed together, covered with plastic sheeting, with garbage piled all around.

Forget a sick person; even a healthy person would get ill from living in a place like this for long.

"I don't have parents. Let's go in and see your mother."

Lan Xin bowed repeatedly to Reke in apology.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

"It's fine. Lead the way."

"Mom, I'm back, and I brought a friend with me." Lan Xin called out as he lifted the plastic sheeting.

"Cough, cough—"

"Then make sure you take good care of your friend. Don't worry about me."

Reke looked at the woman lying on a pile of straw. She was skin and bones, her eye sockets deeply sunken. He sensed her aura and frowned.

Her condition was far too poor. After enduring illness for a long time without money for medicine or treatment, her body was already on the verge of collapse.

He called Lan Xin over, ready to give him a chance.

"Lan Xin, would you like to train with me? I'll arrange for someone to take your mother to the hospital."

"Your mother's body is close to giving out. If she doesn't get treatment soon, she'll die within a month."

"Ah! Please, save my mother! I'll do anything you ask!" Hearing about his mother's condition, Lan Xin fell to his knees before Reke and repeatedly kowtowed, begging him.

Reke said no more. He took out his communicator and sent Pat a message, then turned to Lan Xin.

"Get up. I've already contacted someone."

"Thank you! Thank you!"

"Go with your mother to the hospital. Once she's feeling better, come find me."

Before long, Pat arrived with a doctor.

Reke called Pat aside and said, "Go with them to the hospital. Arrange for someone to look after them. Once she's recovered, bring them to me."

"What about you?"

Reke pointed at Lan Xin. "This kid will train with me from now on. Find me a place to live. I'm moving out of your building."

"Was there something we didn't do well?"

Reke waved a hand, stopping Pat from overthinking it. "It has nothing to do with you. I have my own plans. I was going to move out after a while anyway. These two things just happened to come up at the same time."

"All right. Leave it to me," Pat said readily, relieved.

Reke nodded, exchanged a few words with Lan Xin, and left.

Lying in bed, Reke thought of his mother from his previous life.

Both Lan Xin and his mother had moved him today.

What Reke didn't know was that the S-Cells in his body were rapidly dividing and multiplying.

Over the next few days, Reke didn't go on any more missions. He stayed in his room the whole time.

Lola also heard that he was moving out and ran off in tears.

But someone must have talked her around, because by the next day she was back to normal.

It gave Reke a glimpse of how fickle women could be.

"Reke, I found you a place. Come take a look," Pat called from outside the door.

Reke opened the door.

"Let's go see it."

Reke followed Pat, growing more and more suspicious as they walked.

Why?

After leading him downstairs, Pat headed toward the back of the building.

They stopped less than a hundred meters away.

Reke looked at the new place, which was separated from the building by only a single wall, and felt speechless.

He hadn't expected Pat to pull a little trick on him. No wonder it had taken several days to find a place. Pat must have spent those days negotiating with the owner of the house behind the building.

Reke shook his head helplessly but didn't blame Pat.

He wanted to settle down because he still had twenty years to spend on this planet. Where his home was didn't matter to him.

He already had a rough plan.

He would spend at most ten years in this city. For the remaining ten, he would travel all over the planet.

The move was quick. Once Reke moved in, it was done.

"Reke, um, you said you'd train Lan Xin. Could the people in our group train with you too?" Pat asked cautiously, rubbing his head.

Pat had started thinking about it as soon as he heard the news from Reke.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to all that trouble to find Reke a place right behind the building.

"You're at different stages. How about this: wait a year, until Lan Xin catches up to your level, and then you can all train together."

Reke didn't refuse. Even if he hadn't wanted to do it for Pat's sake, Lola had looked after him for several months. He couldn't very well refuse her.

"Great. I'll go tell everyone the good news. Get some rest."

"Wait. What did the hospital say about Lan Xin's mother?"

"They managed to save her, but she'll probably have to stay in the hospital for several months."

"Then tell him there's no rush to come over. He and his mother can come together once she's discharged."

Seeing how impatient Pat looked, Reke waved him off to go spread the news.

As soon as Pat got back to the building, he called everyone into the training room.

"Good news, everyone. A year from now, we'll be able to train under a powerful expert. Spend the next year or so working on your understanding of ki."

Those who knew Reke's strength guessed who their leader meant, and their faces lit up.

Four Ears was the happiest of all. This wasn't just his chance to grow stronger; it was also his chance to overcome his psychological shadow.

As long as that shadow remained, he could already see the limits of what he might achieve. If he could overcome it, he was sure he could surpass everyone in the group and secure his place as their strongest fighter.

Those who didn't know Reke's strength were different. They could only guess, and their expectations weren't particularly high.

But since their leader had said it, they went along with it.

Pat didn't care what the others thought. Getting stronger was up to each of them. He had given everyone the opportunity; how far they went was up to them.

As Pat left the training room, he felt as if he were floating.

Unfortunately, he hadn't gotten far before someone stopped him.

"Boss, don't go."

"Bellis, what is it?" Pat asked casually. He had clearly forgotten all about helping Bellis train.

"Boss, didn't you promise to train me? I've been waiting for days, and you never showed up. I couldn't find you either. Did you completely forget?"

Bellis glared at Pat, puffing out her cheeks.

"Click."

Pat knew he was in trouble. He really had forgotten his promise to Bellis, and now that the girl had come looking for him, he started to feel guilty.

Of course, he didn't let it show. Instead, he looked at Bellis with complete sincerity and said, "Do you really think your boss is that unreliable? I've spent the past few days preparing what you'll need for training."

"We can start the day after tomorrow. Just come straight to my place."

Bellis watched Pat's eyes suspiciously. After a moment, she seemed satisfied with what she saw, nodded, and left happily.