Um, G-G-Good Evening?

"Really, that's all I have to do?"

Fang Ran looked at the route Ling had vaguely mapped out for him in the night sky and swallowed nervously.

"Mm. This training is mainly meant to develop your basic abilities. Given your current physical condition as an ordinary person, I've decided to train you gradually, starting with the most basic methods of movement," Ling said seriously.

"Oh, so that's how it is. You should've said so earlier."

Fang Ran patted his chest in relief, then looked at the "training plan" Ling had given him.

There were only a few simple tests on the plan. They mainly required Fang Ran to move between the rooftops of tall buildings, such as using The Float to accelerate himself across.

Fang Ran examined it carefully several times. Standing on the rooftop, he compared the route for quite a while and found nothing particularly difficult about it. The hardest part was merely the final gap between two buildings with a height difference of over ten meters.

"Well? Still not ready?"

Ling floated nearby at her leisure.

Fang Ran glanced at Ling, his confidence soaring as he sneered smugly to himself.

You foolish Power Bank, it seems you want to build up my courage from the basics this time.

But how could you know that, in yesterday's Night Battle scenario, I jumped directly down from an even taller building!

This little training couldn't possibly... possibly... possibly defeat me!

If Fang Ran's legs had not been trembling nonstop because he was not the cold, ruthless version of himself from the scenario, and because remembering what he had done there still frightened him a little, those words might have been fairly convincing.

"H-How could that be!"

Fang Ran stubbornly retorted. Then he summoned Silver Severing Dragon Tooth and gripped it in his hand, repeatedly imagining how he would jump in a moment. Taking a deep breath, he said:

"Speed, activate."

A streak of light flashed from the dragon's eye across the entire Silver Severing Dragon Tooth. Fang Ran had discovered during the previous scenario that when his Speed Value doubled upon activation, it was not only his speed that improved—his reactions became much faster too.

"Head toward the light. Be careful not to get so scared of heights that you freeze up~"

Ling floated away first, not forgetting to leave Fang Ran with a string of crisp mockery.

"Tch, don't underestimate me!"

Fang Ran curled his lips and shot back. Once Ling had floated away, he looked at the rooftop where he stood alone. Darkness surrounded him, there was no one around, and a chilly breeze blew past as he slowly shuffled toward the edge.

He peeked down.

Then immediately recoiled.

"Calm down! Calm down!"

"Fang Ran, you have to stay calm!"

"The more it comes down to a moment like this, the more you need to show a man's composure!"

Fang Ran kept reassuring himself. Then he tightened his grip on Silver Severing Dragon Tooth, took out The Float, stopped thinking about how one slip at this height would kill him instantly, and activated his magic!

"Don't let me down now! Float!"

Then Fang Ran charged forward. With one step off the rooftop's edge, he leaped directly toward the building more than ten meters away.

At that moment, Fang Ran had only one word in his mind.

Reckless!

He had to be reckless!

He could not look down!

As the saying went, if you wanted to get over a wall, throw your hat over first!

Uh... that didn't seem quite right.

But it didn't matter!

Because—

Fang Ran shouted the answer!

"Orcs will never be slaves!!!!"

In the pitch-black district, a massive shipping container in the third row of densely packed cargo containers was opened from both ends.

The weak glow of flashlights illuminated the inside of the container without leaking outside in the slightest.

Two groups entered the "temporary trading site" from either side of the opened container.

Black trench coats, black hats, ties, and bulging waists made the presence of firearms self-evident. The burly men on the right carried an air of dangerous ferocity.

Compared to the group on the right, who practically had the words "I'm a gangster" written across their faces, most of the people on the left wore ordinary suits and ties, with some even dressed in professional attire. They were generally lean and capable, faintly giving off the sense that they were not to be messed with either.

"Did you bring the goods?"

Among the men in black trench coats, a cold, hard-looking man stepped forward with a cigarette slowly burning at the corner of his mouth.

"Since I'm here, naturally the goods are here. I just don't know whether what I want has arrived."

A man stepped out from the other side as well. He wore a simple shirt and smiled with a sharp gleam in his eyes.

"Tsk. Show him."

The man in the black trench coat spoke quietly to someone beside him. Then one of the burly men opened a briefcase.

The case was packed full of neatly arranged U.S. dollars.

"Yo!"

The man opposite clapped his hands happily, his movements exaggerated. Then he tilted his chin, and the subordinate beside him understood. He took out a similar case and opened it.

Inside, transparent plastic bags were neatly arranged, each filled with a substance like flour.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

At the same time!

Both groups drew their guns simultaneously and pointed them straight at each other's heads!

The gangster and the man in the shirt both wore fierce, dangerous smiles as they told their subordinates:

"Check the goods."

"Check the goods."

Each side sent out two people to inspect whether the bargaining chips for this transaction were genuine.

After a while, both groups withdrew their hands at the same time and nodded to their respective bosses.

The two cases snapped shut, and both sides tossed them to each other. Once the cases were in hand, everyone tacitly lowered their guns.

Apparently, this was not their first time working together.

"Pleasure doing business. I look forward to seeing you next time."

The man in the shirt chuckled. The man in the black trench coat snorted without replying.

"Wahahahaha!!! Too easy!!! That foolish Summoned Beast actually thought something this simple would scare its great master!"

In the night sky.

Having overcome his initial fear while in a normal state, and with the height difference not being all that great to begin with, Fang Ran, who was controlling The Float with magic, discovered that flying through the air...

Was actually incredibly fun.

The night wind howled past his ears. The Float faithfully carried out Fang Ran's command, lifting his body after he rushed forward with acceleration and drifting him through the air.

He reached another point. After landing in the stylish pose he had planned, Fang Ran snapped his fingers, wearing an expression that plainly said, "I'm handsome."

"Stop admiring yourself over there and hurry up. You haven't even covered half the distance!"

Ling's voice rang out from afar. Fang Ran looked toward the faint glimmer in the distance and smiled smugly.

"Relax. With my current speed, it'll be more than enough!"

"Oh? Then I look forward to it."

Inside the data space, Ling floated in midair with one leg crossed over the other, a smile curling her lips as she withdrew the telekinesis that had been supporting the sheet metal beneath her.

"Ladder Cloud Steps!!!"

Fang Ran shouted low in the darkness, as though he were a highly skilled young hero from ancient times, traveling across rooftops beneath the night sky and engaging in flower-plucking banditry—cough cough—performing acts of chivalry!

Fang Ran accelerated and leaped out. The Float took effect, and his body drifted forward as though something were supporting it. Fang Ran found it unbelievably exciting.

Ling was getting closer, and Fang Ran had already planned exactly how he would make a stylish landing.

As the destination approached, reducing his Magic Energy Value was something Fang Ran had already become quite proficient at.

"Ha, what did I say? Ah!"

Before Fang Ran could finish speaking, the space beneath his feet suddenly vanished. It was as if he had stepped onto a sheet of paper, and with a cry of "Oh, damn!" he fell down.

Thud!

Fang Ran crashed hard onto the ground, feeling as though his bones were about to fall apart.

Fortunately, the pit was not very deep.

Thinking this, Fang Ran rubbed his butt and raised his head.

Then he saw the burly men in black trench coats and the thugs in shirts and suits.

They were staring at him with the bizarre expressions of people watching Godzilla invade Earth.

Then, swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Everyone drew their guns in unison and pointed them at Fang Ran.

Uh.

Seeing more than twenty guns pointed at him all at once, Fang Ran felt that he had to say something to save himself. With the corners of his mouth twitching wildly, he tried asking:

"Um... g-g-good evening?"

Fang Ran, twenty years old. A wanted fugitive on the run. Did not smoke, did not drink, was not gay, was a virgin, had been single for roughly as long as he had been alive, had taken the CET-4 exam three times without passing, had once received a confession from a male friend, had lost money three times in the first half of the year, had missed his stop six times, and had been rejected seven times.

At this moment, he updated his personal tagline.

Ran into a drug trafficking ring.

Mm, uh... please favorite, please recommend, please tip, please leave a review. I'll take anything except demands for more chapters.

Uh, it feels like there wasn't anything particularly noteworthy in the author's note today...