Chapter 24

Ten minutes later, Lin Sheng stepped off the bus and walked into the park, spotting the person he was looking for in front of the ice cream shop on the right.

Shen Yan was standing with another girl, both of them stomping their feet to keep warm while chatting.

Both were dressed in white—one in a tracksuit, the other in a hoodie and jeans—making them quite conspicuous.

"Here so early?" Lin Sheng walked over to greet them.

"We've been waiting for a while." Shen Yan let out a sigh of relief the moment she saw Lin Sheng.

She had changed into a slightly form-fitting tracksuit today, and her hair was cut into a short, ear-length bob. While she wasn't a great beauty, her tall, slender frame gave her a youthful, vibrant air.

"This is my best friend, my partner in crime since we were kids, Chen Lin." Shen Yan patted the long-haired girl beside her.

"Hello, I'm Shen Yan's classmate, Lin Sheng." Lin Sheng offered the girl a polite smile.

"Hello." The girl seemed a bit shy, her voice barely a whisper.

"Alright, let's see the money. I have things to do later, so let's split it up first," Lin Sheng reminded her.

Shen Yan didn't hesitate, immediately pulling a small fanny pack from her waist and zipping it open.

"We collected a total of 124 yuan last week. We're splitting it fifty-fifty, so 62 each. That okay?" She counted out 62 yuan and placed it into Lin Sheng's hand.

"Only this much?" Lin Sheng frowned.

If this were before, this amount would have been significant; it was a portion of the income he and Shen Yan had earned from their school book rental business.

"It's already a lot! It's only been a week!" Shen Yan argued.

Lin Sheng shook his head. The Steel Scale Club had just paid him half of his first month's salary in one go—750 yuan.

With that much money in his pocket, this sixty-odd yuan really didn't seem like much.

Of course, for a student, it was still a decent sum.

After splitting the money, Shen Yan tried to invite Lin Sheng to go shopping and grab a bite to eat with them, but he politely declined.

He didn't go far, instead finding a secluded corner within Rainbow Park, picking up a wooden stick, and beginning to practice his basic moves.

Although Naxi Swordsmanship relied primarily on calculation and timing, the unknown style of swordsmanship he had acquired from Ravel and the mercenaries was not limited to just that.

If he wanted to turn the muscle memory from those fragmented recollections into his own instinct, he had to practice repeatedly to accelerate the conversion.

After finishing a full set of basic moves, Lin Sheng sat down to rest.

Just then, a girl pushing a beverage cart came around the bend of the park path.

The cart was wrapped in white paper, looking neat and tidy, and was stacked with various types of bottled drinks.

Lin Sheng walked over and felt for some change in his pocket.

"Give me a bottle of mineral water."

He handed over a one-yuan coin.

The girl wore a baseball cap, her black hair draped over her shoulders. She had fair skin and large, alluring eyes that hinted at a touch of innocence.

Hearing his voice, she quickly grabbed a bottle of mineral water from the cart and handed it to him.

"Here you go."

"Thanks." Lin Sheng took the water, twisted it open, and took a sip.

"Out exercising so early? You students sure have energy," the girl said with a smile.

"It's alright. I woke up and couldn't fall back asleep, so I figured I'd come out for a workout," Lin Sheng replied casually.

"To be honest, it can be a bit dangerous to be up this early sometimes," the girl said, looking mysterious. "A while back, I was pushing my cart early in the morning, right here in this park. Those few days... if I hadn't been lucky, tsk tsk..."

Lin Sheng didn't say anything. It was obvious she was looking for an opening to get him to ask for details.

However, he had no interest in listening, so he deliberately feigned ignorance.

"You've heard about the robbery and murder case, right? It happened right at the back gate of Rainbow Park! I pass by that spot every single day; who would have thought something like that would happen?"

The girl, completely unfazed, continued on her own.

"Robbery and murder?"

"Yeah. They say they only just cleaned it up and removed the police tape this morning. They weren't letting anyone through before that," the girl muttered, rubbing her chin.

"But logically speaking, if it was a robbery, as long as the victim cooperated, there shouldn't have been that much blood, right? I passed by once while pushing my cart—the ground, tsk tsk, was covered in it! It felt like pure torture!"

"This is near the city center. How come there's no news about such a big incident?" Lin Sheng frowned.

"Who knows? Probably because the nature of the crime was too heinous, and the authorities want to keep the public calm, so they didn't release it," the girl shook her head. "I even heard people say that for a while, some people around here heard gunshots."

...That's no ordinary case. Lin Sheng was basically certain now that this wasn't just some robbery-murder.

It was clearly a cover story concocted by the relevant departments to divert public attention.

But that had nothing to do with him. What he needed to do now was focus on his training and improve himself.

Only through constant practice could he fully integrate the absorbed memory fragments into his combat instincts and make them his own.

As for the rest, Lin Sheng could sense that the government was hiding something, but so what? He didn't care about these so-called inside stories. If the higher-ups were covering it up, there was surely a reason for it.

After finishing his workout, he took the bus home, pulled out his books and exercise sets, and began to review. With the college entrance exam approaching, the time to decide his life's fate had arrived.

If he continued to live like a salted fish as he had before, he would truly never be able to get back up.

Lin Sheng also began to sprint forward, studying earnestly. With a mature intellect that far surpassed his peers, he did indeed hold an advantage in many subjects, but for many purely calculation-based disciplines, there was simply no way around it.

For these subjects, the tactic of drowning in practice problems was the only path.

Time passed amidst continuous review.

Soon, it was time for the weekly class at the Steel Scale Club.

Steel Scale Club.

Clang, clang, clang.

In the arena, Lin Sheng was feeding moves to Madilan, focusing only on defense without attacking. The two swords clashed repeatedly, creating a lively and impressive display.

"My dad told me not to go out and fool around lately, and to avoid the wilderness," Russell said lazily, leaning against the corner of the wall.

"Same here. It's probably because of that previous case," Xiayin replied calmly.

"What do you think actually happened? I asked my dad, but they wouldn't say anything; they're just keeping it from me," Russell asked in a low voice.

Xiayin shook her head. "I don't know either. In my family, only my grandfather knows, but he won't say a word about it. He just told us to be careful about our personal safety during this time and to avoid sparsely populated areas."

"Heh, the port arson case from before was the same. Over a dozen shipping containers were completely burned to ash. That was by the seaside—how much fuel would it take to burn through over a dozen containers like that? Isn't that just nonsense?"

Russell curled his lip. "Anyone with eyes can see there's something wrong with that, right?"

"Anyway, those are matters for the adults. We should just look after ourselves and stop worrying about it. Practice your swordsmanship, kid," Xiayin waved her hand, feeling a bit annoyed and wanting to drop the subject.

"True, if I don't work harder, even Madilan will surpass me." Russell realized she had a point. He lowered his mask, raised his sword, and walked toward the two who had just stopped in the arena.

Lin Sheng parried Madilan's sword, stepped back, and stopped, letting Russell take his place.

The two performed the standard fencing salute, drawing an imaginary cross with their blades in front of them.

"The case you were just talking about—was it the one at Rainbow Park?" Lin Sheng suddenly asked.

Once again, thank you all for your support of the new book, and thanks to "Two Big Pineapples" for being the first Alliance Leader and the first Helmsman after I ascended.

As for whether it's good or not, you'll have to see for yourselves as the story continues~ I trust that Old Scroll won't let you down.

Of course, if it really isn't to your taste, there's nothing to be done, and I can only look forward to reuniting in the next book~

Additionally, I'd like to recommend a book of the same genre by "Two Big Pineapples," Extreme Fist Monarch.

It is also a rare dream-themed book, though the style is different. If you're interested, feel free to check it out.