"I was in college with Qin Yu. I visited your home during summer vacation once," the girl said.
Qin Ze remembered.
No wonder she had looked familiar. They really had met before.
"So it's Sister Horse Eyes. Long time no see."
The girl said, "...My name is Ma Yan."
"Sister Ma Yan, what do you do for work?"
"...I'm a waitress at this food stall."
A crow seemed to fly overhead.
"Ma Yan, go home and rest for a couple of days."
The boss had woken up, half his face swollen like a pig's head.
"Got it, boss."
Ma Yan was dejected. She knew she had been fired.
She sniffled, then smiled again.
"Qin Ze, come over for a meal when you have time in a couple of days. Bring Xiao Yu."
"My sister went traveling. I don't know when she'll be back."
"Then come by yourself."
"Sure."
The two exchanged contact information.
"Goodbye."
Ma Yan rode off on a bicycle that rattled everywhere except its bell, disappearing into the night.
"Brother Ze, the bill's settled." Fatty came trotting over.
The two walked home.
"He Guang probably won't be locked up for more than a few days. Brother Ze, watch out in case he comes after you," Fatty warned.
"Falsely claiming military merit is a capital crime." Qin Ze didn't understand.
"It's a capital crime for an ordinary martial artist, but He Guang isn't ordinary." Fatty shook his head. "His big brother, He Fei, is a formal-sequence martial artist in Jiang City and a major, too."
"What's the sequence?" Qin Ze asked.
Both He Guang and the officer had mentioned it, but Qin Ze had never heard of it before.
"You seriously don't know what the sequence is?" Fatty stared at Qin Ze as if he were an alien.
Qin Ze said, "Spit it out."
Fatty explained, "Once you become a martial artist, you have to be assigned to a sequence. There are two kinds: the formal sequence and the informal sequence."
"The formal sequence includes martial school students, official civilian martial artists, and military martial artists."
"The informal sequence is mostly made up of civilian martial artists who aren't good at fighting or are relatively weak, as well as martial artists who were seriously injured on the front lines and can no longer fight."
"Formal-sequence martial artists fight on the front lines year-round, with an occasional leave."
"Informal-sequence martial artists are only called up in emergencies."
Fatty looked worried. "Brother Ze, why don't you stay at my place for a few days?"
After all, Fatty's dad was a martial artist too.
He Guang wasn't bold enough to storm Fatty's home just to get revenge on Qin Ze.
Qin Ze shook his head. "Registration for the martial exam is in a couple of days."
"Once I register and become an exam candidate, he won't dare try anything."
Martial exam candidates were protected before the exam.
If anyone dared lay a hand on one, law enforcement would show no mercy.
And after the martial exam, Qin Ze would become a martial school student.
He Guang would be even less inclined to try anything then.
Fatty thought for a moment. "I'll register with you!"
Qin Ze patted him on the shoulder. "Good brother!"
After returning home, Qin Ze remembered what the law enforcement officer had said and summoned Brother Devour.
"Has your body mutated?"
Brother Devour said, "How could it? I'm perfectly fine."
As soon as he finished speaking, two arms sprouted from Brother Devour's back.
Qin Ze: (ー_ー)!!
"It's mutating in the same direction as that exotic beast."
After watching for a while, Qin Ze couldn't help thinking of the exotic beast covered in arms and legs, and shuddered.
He absolutely could not devour the Soul Orb himself.
"I found that, even though it makes me feel stuffed, I can actually devour an unlimited number of living creatures with qi and blood and convert them into cultivation. Humans work best, but the price is faster mutation," Brother Devour said.
Qin Ze spoke earnestly. "You're a mature individual now. It's time you went out and made your own way."
"So what if you end up becoming an exotic beast? You'll still be our good brother!"
The other clones spoke up one after another:
"Watch out, Brother Devour! Qin Ze is using PUA on you!"
"Isn't it KFC?"
"You're both wrong. It's the Darwin effect."
"Qin Ze's mental power is strong. Even if Brother Devour fully transforms into an exotic beast, only his appearance will change."
Ignoring the other clones, Brother Devour nodded. "Then I'll go out jungling."
To be safe, Qin Ze assigned five more clones to accompany Brother Devour.
After seeing Brother Devour off, Qin Ze turned to the clones, frustrated that they weren't living up to their potential. "Look at Brother Devour. Learn from him and work hard on your cultivation."
"Stop rushing us. We're cultivating, we're cultivating."
"A fact that's neither hot nor cold: since you, the original, are trash, we who inherited half your stats are the trashiest of trash."
"That hurts."
"Fam, who gets it? Trash is rushing the trashiest of trash to cultivate."
Qin Ze flopped onto his bed and went straight into lying-flat mode.
He picked up his phone and was about to look at some pretty girls when a news alert popped up.
[An Otherworld has appeared one kilometer southeast of Jiang City. The Defense Bureau and the city's martial arts families are working together to clear out the dangers inside. Once the dangers have been eliminated, it will be opened to martial artists.]
Qin Ze had learned a little about Otherworlds online.
Each one was an independent small world, full of danger but also immense opportunities.
Nearly every large city had one nearby, but this was the first to appear near Jiang City.
According to past practice, whenever an Otherworld appeared, the authorities and martial arts families were the first to enter and explore it.
They called it clearing out the dangers. Those who knew, knew.
Qin Ze scrolled through videos of pretty girls for a while, then put down his phone and went to sleep.
No action all night.
Early the next morning, Qin Ze got up in a daze.
A clone waiting by the bed immediately began helping him get dressed.
The toothpaste had already been squeezed onto the toothbrush in the bathroom. All Qin Ze had to do was stand there and open his mouth.
He sat down at the dining table, and a steaming breakfast was promptly brought out.
Qin Ze took one bite and gagged.
"Did you beat the salt seller to death?!"
The clone wearing an apron shrugged helplessly. "Our cooking skills all come from the same source, after all."
Qin Ze bought two buns at the breakfast shop downstairs and ate them on his way to school.
At an intersection not far from school, Qin Ze ran into a downcast Fatty.
"Something on your mind?"
Fatty sighed. "Brother Ze, my ex-girlfriend wants to get back together."
Qin Ze said, "That's a good thing."
Fatty looked helpless. "But my current girlfriend hasn't broken up with me yet. The palms and backs of my hands are both flesh."
Qin Ze said calmly, "Easy. Split with one of them."
Fatty fell silent for a moment. "Which one do you want?"
Qin Ze said, "..."
"I fucking told you to break up with one, not split one with me!"
A stretch Lincoln pulled up at the school gate.
The door opened, and a show-off stepped out.
"That's He Bi. Brother Ze, steer clear of him," Fatty muttered.
He Bi noticed Qin Ze as soon as he got out and shot him a hostile look.
Qin Ze raised his middle finger.
He Bi snorted, turned, and walked into the school.
Fatty sighed softly. "You got his second brother locked up. That guy definitely won't let you off."
Qin Ze didn't give a flying fuck.
He'd even dared to beat up He Guang. Why would he be afraid of He Bi?
The classroom was noisy, but it fell silent the moment Qin Ze entered.
Everyone's eyes converged on him.
"I heard Qin Ze spent two months in a psychiatric hospital. I wonder if he's better."
"Mental illness isn't that easy to cure."
"Stay away from him from now on. It's not against the law for a mental patient to kill someone."
All his classmates automatically moved out of his way, and Qin Ze was happy to be left in peace.
Just like before he transmigrated, Qin Ze's seat was in the back row next to the trash can, and Fatty was his deskmate.
The day's class schedule was on the left side of the blackboard, while the right side read, "110 days until the college entrance exam."
Fatty took out his phone and tapped away. Qin Ze didn't know whether he was breaking up with his current girlfriend or his ex.
Ring ring~
The class bell rang, and their homeroom teacher walked in. He was in his thirties, wore black-rimmed glasses, and was slightly balding.
The teacher spotted Qin Ze beside the trash can at once.
"Qin Ze, you're out of the hospital."
"There are only a hundred-odd days until the college entrance exam. You need to hurry and catch up on what you missed while you were hospitalized."
Just like in Qin Ze's previous life, their teacher still worried himself sick over his students.
Qin Ze nodded.
The teacher put down his books. "Our first class today is breathing meditation."
"Qin Ze, come up here. I'll guide you personally and see how far behind you've fallen."