The Law of Survival X and X the So-Called "Deal"

After agreeing on a deal with the boy named A-Wu, Qi Zhou arranged a time with him: every day at noon, when the sun was at its highest, they would meet at the place A-Wu had marked on his map, behind that mound.

There was an additional agreement: if either of them failed to show up at the appointed time, the other would leave marks on the mound. One mark meant the same time three days later, and two meant the same time seven days later. Whoever received the message would erase the marks. If the person who left them came back and found them still there, it meant something might have happened to the other person, and the deal would be canceled permanently.

Over the next few days, Qi Zhou wandered around the garbage mountain.

He appeared to be wandering, but he was actually trying out different ways to use Nen.

Teacher Ku had only taught him "Ten" and "Gyo," but, well... surely there had to be more than two simple ways to use Nen.

If there was a way to keep Nen around his body to form Ten, was there also a way to draw it completely back into his body?

If he could maintain Ten at a certain level of intensity, was there a way to suddenly release all his Nen in a single burst?

With that in mind, Qi Zhou began trying to draw the Ten covering his body back inside.

It wasn't easy. To put it one way, it was like holding his breath: he could only sense his Aura Nodes after holding his breath for more than five minutes, but closing them to draw his Nen back in was difficult. You couldn't plug up a balloon leaking air all over, could you?

Although it was easier to draw his Nen back in with his eyes closed, there were many people on the garbage mountain who saw that he was alone and vulnerable and wanted to approach him, so Qi Zhou didn't dare court death by closing his eyes.

"Ah..."

After maintaining a completely closed-off state for ten minutes, Qi Zhou was tired enough to sigh.

He didn't know what use this ability had, either.

After practicing that, next came "bursting out."

Qi Zhou slowly let out a breath and calmed himself, sensing the Nen within his body. First, he kept himself completely closed off. Then, as if pressurizing a balloon, he built up power bit by bit, gathering the Nen in his body that he could control. At a certain moment, he released it in a sudden burst-!

"Boom-!!!"

The peak of the garbage mountain was blasted apart. Garbage rained from the sky, and countless pieces tumbled down the slope. Then they struck something and stopped.

Qi Zhou gasped weakly for breath, thankful that no one was around where he had chosen to practice.

After "bursting out," Qi Zhou returned to a completely closed-off state and unexpectedly discovered that, if he maintained that state when he was exhausted, both his Nen and his physical strength recovered faster.

At noon the next day, Qi Zhou stood at the agreed spot with his hands in his pockets.

Before long, A-Wu walked over slowly and stared at Qi Zhou. "Do you know Kerien?"

Qi Zhou looked at him blankly.

One look at him told A-Wu that he knew nothing. He explained, "Yesterday afternoon, about three people were going around the residential area asking if anyone had seen you."

A-Wu described him: "They were looking for a kid with 'white hair and blue eyes, no older than twelve.'"

"Ah... I might have met him. And... well, some rather unpleasant things happened."

Thinking of the man whose arm he had blasted to a crisp that day, as well as the two he had beaten by the river last night, Qi Zhou looked at A-Wu and asked:

"Is that man strong? Do I need to run away right now?"

"East District Elder Chelsea Taber controls all the gangs in the East District. Those major gangs directly under him also cultivate organizations of their own. The White Eagle Society is one of the small organizations they backed."

A-Wu frowned, thinking about how to describe him. "He's a minor leader, I guess. He's got a few people under him, but I wouldn't exactly call him strong."

"But... someone saw him a few days ago and said his right arm was gone." A-Wu stared at Qi Zhou, looking him over as though he were some kind of monster wearing the skin of a human child. "So you were the one who did it."

A-Wu fell silent, his eyes shifting as though he were thinking.

Qi Zhou waited a while before he heard him say, "And all of his men have been missing since last night, too."

He stared at Qi Zhou, seemingly expecting an explanation.

But Qi Zhou simply froze. Last night by the stream, he had only beaten two of them, and he had definitely let the other two go. How could they "all be missing"?

Seeing Qi Zhou lost in thought with no intention of explaining, A-Wu shrugged and spoke to draw his attention back.

"Personally, I'd suggest you run."

"After all, if everyone under one of his leaders is dead, the hall master will feel like he's lost face. If he sees this as a provocation, he won't let it go."

"Besides, if the hall master can't get back at a little kid, how's he supposed to keep doing things in District Five?"

"Let me think..."

Qi Zhou didn't ask how A-Wu knew so much. Instead, he thought for a moment and said, "But you've been in contact with me. Won't that be a problem for you?"

A-Wu sneered. "What the hell does it have to do with me? I'm just a poor kid who was taken hostage and had all his food and water stolen."

Qi Zhou was left speechless. "...Uh, well."

"Running away works, I guess." He frowned in thought. "But if the White Eagle Society really does come looking for you, just tell them I'm in the garbage mountain in District Nine."

"No shit." A-Wu tossed the bag in his hand to Qi Zhou and said coldly, "You don't have to tell me that."

Qi Zhou caught the bag and tossed him the bottle he was holding. "Then let's put the deal on hold. I'll come back when it's safe again. Well, if nothing happens, I'll leave a mark here in five days."

A-Wu raised a hand and caught the bottle full of clean water.

He stared at Qi Zhou and asked in a low voice, "...Do you... have... an ability ordinary people don't?"

"Huh?" Qi Zhou widened his eyes and looked at him in surprise. He might as well have had "How do you know?" written on his face.

"Tsk." Seeing Qi Zhou's undisguised surprise, A-Wu covered his face and sighed. "How have you even managed to survive here this long?"

His fist clenched at his side, but he didn't continue. He shook his head. "Forget it. I don't have anything to trade you for it anyway. That kind of ability..."

"How should I put it? I can use it, but I learned how for no apparent reason myself. Besides, my method might not work for you, and I don't know how to explain it to you." Qi Zhou frowned in thought, then shook his head. "Sorry."

A-Wu: "..."

He scoffed irritably. "That's hilarious. What's it got to do with you? Why are you apologizing?"

Qi Zhou: "...I just said it without thinking."

He continued, "Like you said, if that hall master wants trouble with me and can't find me anywhere, he'll probably search the garbage mountain. I'd better get going."

A-Wu turned and waved a hand. "Yeah. Hope I get to see you again."

Qi Zhou smiled and turned as well. "Hope you're right."

Qi Zhou returned to the garbage mountain in District Nine. The garbage mountain was Qi Zhou's home, and there was lots of good garbage in it. He really loved staying there.

Ah, actually, it was just quiet and safe, with few people around. Most importantly, he had no choice.

After all, if they had a choice, who would willingly live in a garbage mountain?

Still, with Ten to protect his body and Nen to condense into water for washing clothes and bathing, then dry his clothes with heat, building a little shack out of garbage in the pile wasn't entirely unlivable.

Ah, he'd already sunk this low. It didn't matter if things got a little worse.

Qi Zhou sat on the ground, mocking himself.

But he still couldn't understand it.

"A whole team under Kerien has gone missing," A-Wu said. Why? Even if those two couldn't save themselves, only... two people died. Thinking this, Qi Zhou was suddenly struck by the fact that he had used "only" to describe "two people died."

Qi Zhou: "..."

Qi Zhou: "..."

Qi Zhou fell silent.

He closed his eyes, put his thoughts aside, and continued his Nen training.

Though describing it that way was cruel to the two people who had died, if he wasn't strong enough, perhaps one day he too would be someone others described as a number of deaths.