Nightmare’s Call

After he got off the bus ten minutes later, Lin Sheng entered the park through the main entrance and met the person he went to see in front of an ice-cream store on the right.

Shen Yan was standing there with another girl. While they chatted, they stomped their feet to get warm. They were both dressed in white. One was wearing a workout outfit while the other a hoodie and a pair of jeans. They looked pretty eye-catching.

“You’re early!” Lin Sheng went up to say hello.

“We’ve been waiting for you.” Shen Yan breathed a sigh of relief when Lin Sheng showed up. Dressed in a tight-fitting outfit and sporting a clean ear-length haircut, Shen Yan was by no means pretty. But her tall and slim body screamed youthfulness.

“This is Chen Lin. She’s been my bestie since I was little.” Shen Yan patted the long-haired girl next to her.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lin Sheng, Shen Yan’s classmate,” Lin Sheng said politely with a smile.

“Nice to meet you too.” The girl appeared shy, and her voice was very soft.

“Where’s the money? I still have something on. Let’s split the money,” Lin Sheng reminded.

Shen Yan quickly pulled out a waist bag from behind her and unzipped it without hesitation.

“We got ¥124 of sales in total last week. We’re sharing it fifty-fifty, so ¥62 for each of us. Any issues?” Shen Yan counted ¥62 and shoved it into Lin Sheng’s hand.

“That’s all?” Lin Sheng knitted his brows together. It would have looked a lot in the past. This was part of the income from the book-renting business that he and Shen Yan operated in school.

“This is a lot considering that it’s only one week!” Shen Yan retorted.

Lin Sheng shook his head. Compared with his first month’s salary of ¥750 that Steelscale Club paid him, the ¥62 looked meager although it meant a lot to a student.

After they divided the money, Shen Yan invited Lin Sheng to go shopping and food-hunting. But Lin Sheng declined.

He did not go far. After he found a quiet corner in Rainbow Park, Lin Sheng began to practice his basic movements.

The heart of Naxi Swordsmanship was calculation and timing, but the unknown school of swordplay that Lin Sheng acquired from Ravel and the mercenary was more than that. If he wanted to turn the muscle memory that he learned from the fragmented memories into intuition, he needed to repeatedly practice expediting the process.

After completing the movements, Lin Sheng sat down to take a break. Just then, a girl who was pushing a drink cart came from one corner of the park.

The cart, wrapped all over with white paper boards and selling a variety of drinks, looked neat. Lin Sheng went up and took out some small change.

“One bottle of mineral water, please.” He handed ¥1 to the girl.

The girl was wearing a cap. With the combination of her shoulder-length hair, fair skin, and charming big eyes, she exuded a faint vibe of innocence. Hearing Lin Sheng’s words, she quickly took a bottle of mineral water and gave it to him.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.” Lin Sheng took the bottle, uncapped it, and drank its contents.

“Oh, you come here to work out early in the morning? A student like you has the stamina,” the girl said with a smile.

“I woke up early this morning so I may as well come out to do some workouts,” Lin Sheng said.

“To be honest, it’s pretty dangerous here early in the morning.” The girl appeared mysterious. “I’ve also woken up pretty early and come here previously. Had I not been lucky back then, tsk tsk…”

Lin Sheng did not respond. Apparently, she was waiting for him to ask her what that was all about. But Lin Sheng did not want to listen so he pretended to not hear her.

“Have you heard about the fatal robbery? It happened right at the rear entrance of Rainbow Park, where I pass by every day! I never thought such a thing would happen there!” The girl seemed unstoppable as she babbled on.

“A fatal robbery?”

“Yup. People say that they only cleaned up the scene this morning. Before that, there was a police barricade to stop people from passing through,” the girl muttered while she scratched her chin.

“By right, it shouldn’t have been so bloody if the victim had cooperated. While I was pushing my cart, I passed by the spot once and saw blood everywhere! It looked completely like a torture scene!”

“This is very close to the city center, yet I’ve never heard of this incident in the news.” Lin Sheng frowned.

“Who knows? Probably it was too gross, and the people at the top ordered for it not to be publicized.” While she spoke, the girl shook her head. “I’ve also heard that people could hear gunshots earlier.”

“This case doesn’t seem so straightforward.” Lin Sheng was basically convinced that it was not a robbery-gone-wrong. Apparently, some department was making use of the incident to attract people’s attention.

Nevertheless, it had nothing to do with him. His priority now was to concentrate on his training to elevate his capabilities. Only through repeated practice could he digest the fragmented memories and integrate them into his combat intuition.

What could Lin Sheng do even if he could sense that the government was trying to conceal something? He could not care less about the so-called conspiracy. Since the powers that be were determined to hide it, they must have had a reason to do so.

After his practice, he hopped on a bus and headed home. He resumed his study and revision to prepare for the coming college entrance exam, which would make or break his future.

If he still refused to buckle down and be serious, he would end up being a dead loss.

Therefore, Lin Sheng went into overdrive and studied hard. With his IQ being more developed than other students his age, he had an unfair advantage over them in many subjects except Math.

His strategy in tackling that subject was repeated revision.

Time flew while he did his revision, and the day of the week on which Lin Sheng had to teach in Steelscale Club arrived.

Over in Steelscale Club, Lin Sheng taught Madillan in the ring. He only defended, he did not attack. Their swords produced a series of loud clanging sounds when they clashed.

“My dad’s asked me not to go out recently, especially into the wilderness,” Russell said listlessly while he leaned against the wall in a corner.

“Mine too. It’s probably because of that case earlier,” Shayeen said calmly.

“What happened? I asked my dad, but he didn’t want to talk about it,” Russell asked quietly.

Shaking her head, Shayeen said, “I have no idea too. My grandpa’s the only person in the know. He’s never mentioned it one bit. He just reminds us to be careful and not go to quiet places.”

“Hmm, it reminds me of that arson case at the port where a dozen containers went up in flames. Mind you, it was near the sea. I wonder how much fuel was needed to burn all of the containers. Did it not make sense?”

Russell’s mouth twitched. “Come on, anyone with a good sense would have known that something was wrong.”

“Let the adults worry about it. Meanwhile, we just need to mind our own business and not stick our noses where they don’t belong. Practice your sword skills, youngsters!” Shayeen waved her hand impatiently as she did not want to talk anymore.

“You’re right. If I still don’t knuckle down, Madillan will surpass me.” Russell shut his visor, held his sword, and walked toward the two individuals in the ring.

Lin Sheng flung away Madillan’s sword and stopped, waiting for Russell’s turn.

Following the ritual before sparring, the two drew an “X in the air with their swords.

“Were you talking about the case that happened in Rainbow Park?” Lin Sheng suddenly asked.