Exhibition

The living room fell silent.

The chubby auntie's mouth hung open, wide enough to fit an egg. The sunflower seeds slipped from the thin auntie's hand and fell to the floor, forgotten. In the corner, the girl who had been playing on her phone looked up, eyes wide as saucers.

"How... how much?" the chubby auntie asked, her voice cracking.

Song Chen repeated himself. "2.2. I just broke through a few days ago."

The thin auntie murmured, "2.2... Doesn't that mean he's almost at the cutoff for a top university?"

Li Hao suddenly spoke, his voice tinged with awe. "Top universities require at least 1.5. He's already surpassed that. With a score like his, my cousin's a shoo-in."

Song Chen continued, "And that's not all. I also awakened an ability."

The room fell silent again, then erupted.

"An ability!"

"What kind of ability?"

"My goodness, Xiuying, your son awakened an ability?!"

Li Xiuying smiled so broadly her eyes narrowed to slits, but she still demurred. "Oh, it's nothing, really. He was just lucky and awakened a Lightning Ability..."

The chubby auntie nearly jumped. "A Lightning Ability? That's the strongest offensive ability there is! Xiuying, your family's ancestors must be blessing you from beyond the grave."

"Song Chen, hurry and show your auntie what lightning looks like!"

Song Chen raised his hand and focused.

"Crackle..."

A bolt of electricity as thick as his thumb shot from his fingertip and burst into a tiny spark in midair, snapping and crackling.

The chubby auntie recoiled, then immediately leaned closer, her eyes shining.

"That really is lightning! I saw it with my own eyes—a Lightning Ability!"

The thin auntie grabbed Li Xiuying's hand, so excited she could barely get the words out. "Xiuying, you're going to live the good life from now on. Your son's a shoo-in for a top university, and he's awakened an ability, too. He'll be at least a Second Rank Martial Artist someday. He might even become an honored retainer of the Garrison Command!"

Li Xiuying smiled from ear to ear, though she continued to play it down. "Not at all, not at all. He was just lucky..."

Song Chen lowered his hand and glanced at his mother without letting it show. She kept saying he was lucky, but her face plainly said, "My son is the best in the world."

He suddenly felt like laughing. In eighteen years, he'd never seen his mother this happy.

The chubby auntie suddenly lowered her voice and leaned in, all mysterious. "Song Chen, you're eighteen this year, right? Do you have a girlfriend?"

Song Chen froze.

"N-no..."

The chubby auntie slapped her thigh. "Perfect! Listen, my niece is seventeen this year and a real beauty. Her Vitality Value is 0.9, and she's a year behind you. She goes to Third Middle School, too. How about I arrange for you two to meet sometime?"

The thin auntie leaned over as well. "Right, right. My niece is lovely, too. She's eighteen, pretty, and gentle. Her Vitality Value is a little low, though—0.5. She might not be good enough for Song Chen..."

The chubby auntie immediately objected. "Your niece won't do. 0.5 with 2.2? That's far too big a gap!"

"What's wrong with 0.5? My niece is pretty."

Can pretty looks put food on the table? Strength is what matters."

The two aunties traded barbs, looking ready to start an argument.

Song Chen's head began to ache. He stood up. "Um...I need to step out for a bit."

Li Xiuying blinked. "Where are you going?"

Song Chen made up an excuse. "My teacher messaged me and told me to come over."

He gave the excuse he'd prepared earlier.

"Oh, honestly, you just got back and now you're going out again..."

"Hurry along, then. Don't keep your teacher waiting."

Li Xiuying wasn't happy that her son had to go out again for who knew how long, but when she heard him mention his teacher, she let it go.

In her heart, this nonexistent teacher was her son's greatest benefactor, and the greatest benefactor of their whole family.

Song Chen fled out the door, with the chubby auntie's voice following him. "That boy's really going places..."

Then came Li Xiuying's smug laughter. "Of course he is. He's my son..."

Song Chen stood in the stairwell and took a deep breath. He could still hear his mother bragging. Since she enjoyed it, he'd let her. After eighteen years, she deserved to be happy for once.

As for blind dates...and the risk of getting found out...he'd deal with that later. He couldn't worry about everything right now.

Song Chen walked out of the apartment building and took a deep breath. He was about to head toward the city wall when he caught sight of a figure from the corner of his eye.

The man stood at the mouth of the alley across from the building, wearing a dusty gray jacket with his cap pulled low. He kept peeking toward the building Song Chen lived in, holding a phone as if he were filming something.

Song Chen glanced over. The man turned his head at the same moment and met his eyes. His expression changed instantly, like a mouse spotting a cat. He jerked his head back, spun around, and ran.

Song Chen paused. He'd seen that face before. It looked familiar—one of Zhao Wei's lackeys, maybe. What was his name... Liu San?

No, Liu Si? Anyway, he was one of Zhao Wei's hangers-on from the street, the kind who often loitered outside the school gates and ran errands for Zhao Wei.

Song Chen's face darkened. One of Zhao Wei's lackeys was skulking around beneath his apartment building? What was he filming? Who was he watching?

A chill rose in Song Chen's heart as he thought of his parents at home. They had just taken Blood Vitality Potions and hadn't fully recovered yet. If that bastard Zhao Wei wanted revenge...

"Stop!"

Song Chen took off after him.

The man ran fast, clearly familiar with the area. He slipped through the alleys like a mudskipper, turning left and right until he vanished into the maze of lanes in the blink of an eye.

But Song Chen was faster. With a Vitality Value of 2.2, he no longer had to make up for his lack of strength with technique. He truly had the speed of a Martial Artist now.

He charged into the alley and swept his gaze around. A dead end lay to the left, the right led to the market, and a straight alley ran ahead. He could see the man's back flashing past at the far end.

Song Chen chased after him, rapidly closing the distance.

The man looked back, his face turning deathly pale, and ran even faster. He shoved a trash can out of his way, knocked over a stack of boxes by the roadside, and charged ahead in a panic.

Song Chen stayed on his heels, but didn't hurry to catch him.

During a First-Level Alert, soldiers patrolled the streets in force, and cameras were everywhere. He couldn't attack the man out in public, or he'd definitely be arrested.

He needed somewhere empty, somewhere without cameras or witnesses.

The man up ahead clearly hadn't realized that. He kept choosing side streets and ducking into secluded places, trying to shake Song Chen. He didn't know that was exactly what Song Chen wanted.

One chased, the other fled, through the alleys of the Poor District.

Five minutes later, the man dashed into a dead-end alley. By the time he realized there was a wall in front of him, it was too late.

He skidded to a halt and turned around, pressing his back against the wall as he gasped for breath.

"D-don't come any closer..."

Song Chen slowly walked into the alley. It was narrow, with the walls of run-down buildings on either side and no windows. A tangle of wires overhead blocked out most of the sunlight. Trash littered the ground, filling the air with a foul stench.

No cameras, no passersby. Perfect.

Song Chen stopped and looked at the man in front of him. Now that he was close enough, he recognized him. Sure enough, he was one of Zhao Wei's men. His name was Liu Si. He was in his early twenties, a small-time thug who loitered outside Third Martial Arts High School all day, running errands for Zhao Wei—delivering cigarettes, buying drinks, and the like.