Black Flame City

Zhang Tie could hardly believe he had managed to hold out until school let out in the afternoon without fainting. After being beaten up by a few guys from the Airplane Brotherhood at noon, his lunch had been completely wasted, leaving him to endure the entire afternoon on an empty stomach. When the hunger became unbearable, he could only go to the school's water pipes during breaks and gulp down mouthfuls of water—this was one of the survival skills for this era learned at school. The instructors had said that in extreme situations, if there was truly nothing to eat, one should drink plenty of clean water regardless of thirst. This could alleviate hunger and slow the decline of one's physical strength. A person who is both hungry and without water can last at most two days, while someone who is hungry but has water can last more than three. That is the difference.

The only thing Zhang Tie felt lucky about was that this afternoon's class was collective military drill, which counted as one of the least physically demanding courses of the afternoon. The entire session consisted of all the graduating students putting on their uniform light armor, shouldering a training spear over three meters long, and drilling in formation on the parade ground. They followed the instructor's commands to shift into various formations, practicing maneuvers and thrusts. Becoming a Level 1 Spearman and earning the Level 1 Spearman badge was the sign and beginning of every boy in this era becoming a man, and it was also the choice most students made during their military service. The spearman is the branch that emphasizes formation and collective cooperation the most; it is the strongest branch, yet also the weakest. A square of spearmen composed entirely of Level 1 Battle Soldiers can easily withstand non-ranged, unorganized attacks from enemies of the same level three times their number on the battlefield. Meanwhile, a heavy-armored spear square composed of Level 5 Battle Soldiers is a pivotal force on any frontal battlefield. The entire Black Flame City, along with its surrounding population of millions, could only scrape together three Level 5 heavy-armored spear squares as the ultimate military force for the Coal and Steel Union that ruled the city.

Because his physical constitution was not an advantage—in fact, he was somewhat frail compared to others—Zhang Tie did not particularly like the profession of a spearman. When he held that three-meter-long, ten-kilogram training spear to swing and thrust, it always felt strenuous. By the end of training, looking at his own limp, weak thrusts, Zhang Tie always doubted whether he could actually hit or kill an enemy with such speed and force. Speaking of spears, even that fatso Barry seemed to handle his better than he did. After Zhang Tie thrust about fifty times, he could feel his strength gradually waning, yet that fatso could actually thrust over seventy times before his strength began to diminish. Among all the members of the Airplane Brotherhood, he was the weakest with a spear.

Although he disliked the profession of a spearman, Zhang Tie had to admit that the square formed by this profession he detested gave him a great sense of security. Every time he stood inconspicuously in the middle of the formation, looking at the classmates around him, Zhang Tie would always feel an inexplicable sense of safety. It was a contradictory feeling. For Zhang Tie, it seemed this was the tragedy of all the insignificant little people of this era like him—many times, you have to rely on things you dislike just to survive.

During the afternoon training, Zhang Tie felt as if his entire stomach and belly were a water-filled bladder. Every time he moved, the water inside sloshed around, making a sound that made him panic. Several times, when he made a slightly larger movement during a thrust, Zhang Tie felt the water in his stomach surge up to his throat like a rising tide, mixed with a strange odor. It would make his throat feel uncomfortable before receding, and he nearly vomited. His hands always felt soft and powerless. Several times, Zhang Tie felt the spear-drill instructor's stern gaze lingering on him. After looking at him for a few moments, the instructor finally turned away with a hint of understanding disdain, which made Zhang Tie grit his teeth in secret, though there was nothing he could do.

The one who attracted the instructor's attention was naturally Gelis. Of the six spear squares on the training ground, the one Gelis and his group were in was the most eye-catching. As a Level 2 Battle Soldier, Gelis immediately showed his difference from the other rookies during training. His height of nearly 1.9 meters, paired with a standard Black Flame City military-issue refined steel spear weighing over thirty kilograms and the triangular red spearman captain's flag on his spear, made Gelis stand out in the entire formation, looking majestic and insufferable. Under the instructor's appreciative gaze, Gelis became even more excited, as if he had been injected with adrenaline. Every time he thrust his spear, he would let out a ghost-like howl, filling the entire training ground with his shouts.

Zhang Tie felt some contempt in his heart, but he had to admit that if he were to face Gelis right now, he might be run through by that guy in two or three thrusts, or perhaps even just one. Gelis truly had the capital to be proud. Among all the graduating students in the school, everyone except Gelis was only a Reserve Battle Worker, not even a Level 1 Battle Soldier. Following the normal path, most people would only complete their promotion from Battle Worker to Level 1 Battle Soldier in the military during the first two years of service, at about age 18. During their eight-year service, over 95% of ordinary people would retire at the rank of Level 3 or 4 Battle Soldier. A few would reach Level 5, and only professional soldiers or those who would later rely on force for a living might reach Level 6. Advancing from a Battle Soldier to a Warrior earned one respect anywhere.

As soon as the afternoon military drill ended and he finished changing out of all his gear in the stinking equipment room, Zhang Tie hurriedly put on his shoes. He didn't even have time to greet Barry and the others before he clutched his stomach and dashed out, leaving the other members of the Airplane Brotherhood who were about to speak to him staring at each other in confusion.

"What's wrong with this guy?" Shavin, who had brown hair and freckles on his face, scratched his head.

"He seemed to drink a lot of water this afternoon; he probably couldn't hold it anymore!" Baghdad replied. As a black man, Baghdad was the strongest among everyone in the Brotherhood, and today's afternoon training had been the easiest for him. At the same time, Baghdad was also the one with the highest combat power in the Airplane Brotherhood.

"Heh, unlucky guy!" Light laughed.

"Unlucky? I'm the one who's unlucky!" Even now, Doug was still indignant, especially when he thought about how many people had seen him in such a pathetic state with vomit all over his head and face. Doug felt as if people were pointing at him all afternoon, making his nerves hypersensitive.

"Alright, Barry will get those few silver coins back for you!" Sista winked, making an obscene gesture that everyone understood. He looked at Barry, suddenly becoming bold and heroic, "All members of our Brotherhood must lose their virginity before graduation and become real men!"

"Don't worry, your benefits won't be lacking!" Barry patted the rather wounded Doug, comforting him. Watching Zhang Tie's back as he ran off, and thinking of his own four silver coins, the fat on Barry's face trembled with heartache. Then he shook his head, "An interesting guy. Although I haven't seen his ability yet and he's ordinary in every way, his heart isn't bad, and his brain is decent. He's a guy you can trust; at least with him, you don't have to worry about being backstabbed!" the fatso Barry said, rubbing his chin with a mature air.

Everyone nodded, only Doug was still there cursing with a face full of grief and indignation.

Zhang Tie, who was nearly at the point of his bladder exploding, rushed to the toilet and finally felt relieved after taking a leak, though his stomach began to growl like thunder. Coming out of the toilet, he rinsed his hands haphazardly at the water pipe and rushed toward the school gate. Now that he had four silver coins and thirty-four copper coins in his pocket, getting something to eat was the priority; otherwise, Zhang Tie doubted he could make it home.

There was a bakery not far outside the school. In the past, Zhang Tie, whose pockets were so empty they wouldn't even jingle, could only swallow his saliva while looking at those tempting breads whenever he passed by. Today, feeling the money in his pocket, Zhang Tie finally had the courage to walk into the bakery. After spending 10 copper coins to buy a piece of ordinary rye bread and walking out of the bakery, wolfing it down impatiently, Zhang Tie saw Teacher Daina at a glance.

Teacher Daina was still as beautiful and charming as ever. Captain Colin and another male teacher were walking with her, acting attentive and gentlemanly while saying something. At this moment, Zhang Tie had a large piece of bread stuffed in his mouth, his face somewhat distorted by the chunk of bread. When he saw Teacher Daina, Zhang Tie froze. Even Captain Colin didn't even glance at him, probably feeling it was shameful to admit he knew this student. The three of them walked past Zhang Tie without even looking at him. It wasn't until they had walked quite a distance away that Zhang Tie finally reacted. He hurriedly turned around and looked at his reflection in the beautiful glass display window outside the bakery—one hand holding half a piece of bread, his mouth chewing a large chunk as if he were choking, his mouth open, his head tilted. Because he had been exercising all afternoon, his nosebleed hadn't completely stopped, so there were two wads of paper stuffed in his nostrils. His eyes were squeezed into slits, his face still bore the marks of being beaten, and he stood there blankly like an idiot, with crumbs of bread and saliva mixed at the corners of his mouth. This appearance was the spitting image of a moron.

Was this the state in which Teacher Daina had just seen him? This realization made Zhang Tie feel incredibly depressed and discouraged. No wonder Teacher Daina didn't even look at him; with the moronic look he had just now... He lowered his head and saw that pair of old leather shoes again, grinning in a way that couldn't be more sleazy...

The fifteen-year-old, miserable youth felt his world turn gray; life had lost all its flavor.

Zhang Tie looked at Teacher Daina in the distance, feeling that her beautiful figure was getting further and further away from him. At this moment, Zhang Tie didn't even have the heart to quietly follow behind Teacher Daina for a while, just to watch that beautiful figure.

He stood blankly outside the bakery, watching the crowds coming and going. Finally, he ate the rest of the bread bit by bit without tasting it, then dragged his exhausted and bewildered body toward the commercial district on the east side of Black Flame City. There, starting last year, his family had used connections to find him a part-time apprenticeship so he could learn some skills to make a living. Two days a week, Zhang Tie still had to go there to work for two hours as usual before he could go home...