A Solid Sleep

Song Chen slept more soundly than he ever had before; it had been a long time since he'd drifted off so deeply.

For so many years, there hadn't been a single day he wasn't worried about the future. When he was little, he worried about having enough to eat; as he grew, he worried about his blood-qi levels rising; and as he grew older still, he worried about the martial arts entrance exam, the system, and the exotic beasts outside the city walls that could snatch his life away at any moment.

But last night, he slept like a log. Perhaps it was because he was finally home, or perhaps handing that case of potions to his parents had lifted a weight off his shoulders, or maybe he was just exhausted. Regardless, he slept until the sun was high in the sky.

Sunlight spilled in through the gaps in the curtains, casting golden patches of light across the floor.

Outside the window, the faint clamor of the streets drifted up—people shouting, vehicles driving by, and the buzzing of hovering drones.

Song Chen sat up and stretched, his body brimming with power. That feeling of overflowing blood-qi left him feeling refreshed and sharp.

He picked up the phone from his bedside table and opened the news. The headline was written in striking red letters:

[Level 1 Alert remains in effect. The Anning City Garrison Command has issued a notice: All citizens are to avoid going out unless necessary; all martial artists are to remain on standby.]

[Signs of large-scale exotic beast activity detected in the direction of Evergreen City; the military has dispatched reconnaissance squads.]

[Psionic cannon arrays have finished charging; city wall defensive formations are fully activated.]

[Garrison Commander Shen Qingshan has delivered a televised address: Anning City will never repeat the tragedy of Evergreen City. Citizens are urged to remain calm.]

Song Chen scrolled down line by line, and the comment section was already in an uproar.

"My cousin is in the City Defense Force. He says there's a risk of Anning City being breached."

"Don't scare people, okay? That would require at least a Tier 3 beast tide, wouldn't it?"

"You guys don't know, do you? I heard something happened over at Evergreen City. A top-tier researcher barely escaped back, severely wounded..."

"Tell us more, upstairs."

"Tell you more? If I say anything else, I'll be gone."

"Regardless, trust in the Garrison Commander! Anning City has never been breached!"

Song Chen put down his phone and walked to the window, where he could see a corner of the distant city wall.

Under the sunlight, those massive psionic cannons gleamed with a cold, eerie light, and squads of martial artists were patrolling back and forth along the ramparts.

Further away, faint black smoke rose into the air—he couldn't tell if it was coming from outside the city or if it was just a drill somewhere within.

A Level 1 Alert. The entire city was shrouded in a tense atmosphere.

Song Chen frowned. He wasn't afraid of a beast tide; what he feared was that if a tide came, he would be stuck inside the city, forced to watch others kill the beasts.

The system required slaughter points, and slaughter points required killing exotic beasts. Now that the beasts were gathering outside, he couldn't get out.

During a Level 1 Alert, all non-combatants were forbidden from leaving the city. As a student, there was no way he would be granted permission to leave; the last time he'd gone out, it was only under the guise of practical training.

I have to find a way out of the city...

Just then, a noisy commotion erupted outside the door. People had arrived, and there was more than one of them.

Song Chen pushed the door open and stepped out. The living room was as bustling as a wet market.

His mother, Li Xiuying, was standing in the center of the room, her face flushed with excitement, gesturing wildly. She was surrounded by four or five people—middle-aged women, an elderly man and woman, and two young people he didn't recognize.

Li Xiuying was gesturing as she spoke: "You didn't see it! The day Xiao Chen came back, he was carrying a case this big. We opened it up, and it was packed full of blood-qi potions—ten bottles, a full ten bottles!"

A plump woman slapped her thigh: "Oh my goodness! Ten bottles of blood-qi potion? Do you know how much that costs?"

Another thin woman chimed in: "Hundreds of thousands! My old Li couldn't earn that much in ten years of work."

Li Xiuying waved a hand with a carefree air: "Money isn't the point. What matters is that the child has this kind of heart."

"Xiao Chen said these potions are for us, to help us get our health back."

The plump woman's eyes went wide: "Xiuying, you're really enjoying the good life now. I've watched Xiao Chen grow up since he was a kid; I always knew he'd amount to something!"

The thin woman agreed: "Isn't that the truth? I said it long ago—this son of the Song family is going to be something special in the future."

Song Chen stood at the doorway of his bedroom, unsure whether to step forward or retreat. Since when had his mother become so talkative?

In his memories, Li Xiuying had always been a quiet, reserved woman who only knew how to bury her head in her work.

She would get up before dawn every day to cook for him, and at night, even after he'd fallen asleep, she would still be under the lamp mending his clothes. She didn't say much, but every word was filled with care.

Was this woman standing in the middle of the living room, beaming and gesticulating, really his mother?

Had he opened the door to the wrong reality?

Song Chen rubbed his eyes and looked again. No mistake, it was definitely his mother.

"Xiao Chen!"

Li Xiuying, caught up in her storytelling, finally spotted him. Her eyes lit up, and she beckoned him over: "Come here quickly, let Auntie Wang and the others get a look at you!"

Song Chen braced himself and walked over. The eyes of the several women fell upon him in unison, their gazes as hot as searchlights, scanning him from top to bottom, inside and out, as if they wanted to see right through him.

"My, Xiao Chen has grown so tall!"

"Look at this build—sturdy! You can tell just by looking he's cut out for martial arts!"

"His face has filled out, too. He's much more handsome than when he was a kid!"

Song Chen felt incredibly awkward under the praise. His gaze swept across the living room, and he noticed the two young people sitting in the corner. One of them was his cousin, Li Hao—a relative from his mother's side, seventeen years old, with a blood-qi level of 0.7, currently in his second year of high school.

The other was a girl of seventeen or eighteen, quite delicate in appearance, who was keeping her head down to play on her phone.

Li Xiuying pulled him down to sit. "Xiao Chen, come, come, chat with Auntie Wang and the others. Auntie Wang's son, Xiao Gang, also practices martial arts; you two should exchange pointers later."

The plump auntie nodded hurriedly. "Yes, yes, that boy Xiao Gang has a vitality value of 0.8 and has always been looking for a senior to guide him..."

Song Chen nodded politely, though his gaze fell upon his parents. His father, Song Zhengye, was sitting on the sofa drinking tea; his complexion was significantly better than yesterday, with color returning to his face and his eyes appearing brighter. The old scar on his arm remained, but he looked much more spirited overall.

His mother, Li Xiuying, had changed even more. Yesterday, she had been haggard with graying temples, but today, her face actually held a rosy glow.

The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes had faded, her voice was full of vigor, and her movements were much sharper; she looked nothing like the aged middle-aged woman from yesterday.

The potion had taken effect, and the results were even better than expected.

A complex emotion welled up in Song Chen's heart.

The plump auntie leaned in. "Xiao Chen, what is your vitality value now?"

The living room fell silent for a moment, and everyone looked toward Song Chen.

Li Xiuying's eyes were sparkling with anticipation; she had been too excited yesterday to even think of asking.

Song Chen was silent for a second, suddenly understanding why his mother was so thrilled.

Having lived in the slums for decades, their family had always been the most unremarkable household on the street. When other people's children were admitted to martial arts high schools, Song Chen had barely scraped by.

When other children's vitality values broke 1.0, Song Chen was still hovering at 0.6. While others could afford genetic potions, their family could barely afford meat.

For decades, they had always been the objects of sympathy and pity. Now, it was finally their turn to hold their heads high.

Since that was the case, there was no need to hide it.

"2.2." Song Chen slowly spat out the number.