In the 90s, you could acquire max-level skills every 14 days.

Sun Lei pulled Zhang Yong back and covered his mouth.

"Keep your voice down, or my mom will yell at you again!"

"Just sit still and talk."

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you the truth!" Zhang Yong sat back down and continued talking.

"There were two vehicles hidden in the cornfield, the jeep and the modified motorcycle in front, they were deliberately lying in wait for me there."

"Five people came down."

"They were all wearing masks and carrying iron bars. The leader wasn't tall, but he was incredibly strong, standing there like an iron block, so let's call him Block. Behind him was a tall, thin guy with exceptionally long legs."

"Dunzi spoke first." Zhang Yong, slightly intoxicated, mimicked the other's tone, "You're Zhang Yong, right? Let me guess what kind of trouble you're going to get into. I think you drank too much tonight, lost control of your bike, and fell into the river. If you're lucky, you'll be mentally disabled; if you're unlucky..."

Zhang Yong clinked glasses with Sun Lei.

"He'll become a cripple."

Sun Lei's wine glass clattered against Zhang Yong's glass, spilling several drops of wine.

"I laughed then." Zhang Yong glanced back at Sun Lei. "I said—'Really? Boss Chen really has absolute power.'"

"That block didn't say anything. It just shook its head, and then the second block rushed up and swung its iron rod at my head."

Zhang Yong gestured with his hand above his head.

"Bang!"

"They really went all out."

Sun Lei tensed up completely.

"But I was lucky, I only grazed the edge of the helmet." Zhang Yong patted his head and grinned. "I didn't wear a helmet during the day, I only put it on at night. It was a boxing helmet I borrowed from the gym, a full-coverage one, it protected the back of my head, temples, and chin."

"The second pier was stunned when he saw it clearly, and he stared at me while holding the iron bar."

"I only said one thing at the time: 'You've given me far too much time; I'd be letting you down if I didn't prepare everything perfectly.'"

Then Zhang Yong unzipped his jacket, revealing a white tank top underneath.

"See that?" He tapped his chest, making a loud thud. "Back at the distillery, Wei Dabiao helped me find this. It's just two thin steel plates, with a few holes drilled in them, then tied to my chest and back with strips of cloth. It's not thick, but it's really durable."

Sun Lei listened intently, his mouth agape.

"And then we started fighting."

Zhang Yong took out another lunchbox from the cloth bag, opened it, and revealed two cloves of pickled garlic.

"Lei Zi, eat this to cut through the greasiness." Then he added.

"The second man reacted the fastest. He missed with his first strike, and then swept his second one across. I braced myself with my left arm and met it with my lever. Iron against iron, I deflected his strike. Then I used my right-hand glove wrench to pierce his ribs."

"I've never used this much force when tightening car bolts; I just kept pushing them as hard as I could."

"The second pillar immediately collapsed to the ground."

"But the four behind him weren't pushovers either." Zhang Yong's expression turned serious. "The tall, thin guy was incredibly fast. He delivered a side kick right into my left thigh, and then the leader and the other two surrounded me from three directions, striking me with iron bars."

"These five people... have really trained."

Zhang Yong took a deep breath.

"The two in front forced me to block, while the tall, thin guy on the side kept kicking me, trying to knock me down. Once I fell, five sticks would come crashing down on me; even with steel plates strapped to my body, I couldn't withstand it."

"For the first half minute, I was purely on defense, just blocking and parrying to protect my vitals. I took four or five hits, and it hurt, but thankfully I had a metal plate protecting my bones."

"And my brain," Zhang Yong pointed to his temple, "hasn't been idle either."

"It took me a few hits to find my rhythm."

"Then the tall, thin guy kicked me again, and I didn't dodge, I raised my knee to take the kick. His instep hit my knee, and I winced in pain."

"In that moment of hesitation, I pushed off the ground with my right foot, twisted my waist and hips, and used the lever to lift him up from below, hitting his right wrist holding the stick squarely."

With a snap, the stick flew away.

"The tall, thin guy clutched his wrist and backed away, but I didn't give him a chance. I stepped forward and delivered a front kick that struck him squarely in the abdomen. He was sent flying two meters away and collapsed to the ground, unable to get up."

Zhang Yong's breathing quickened, as if he had returned to that battlefield under the moonlight.

At that time, combat sports improved rapidly due to real-world experience, which brought him many surprises.

"The remaining three people were clearly panicked, and they immediately attacked with three sticks at the same time."

"I took a step back and kept fighting them with my back against the motorcycle."

"When Dunzi's stick came down, I dodged to the side and used the lever to sweep across his knee. The moment he jumped and landed, the wrench in my other hand hit his arm directly."

"They beat his right arm to a pulp."

"The fourth one rushed up and stabbed me in the chest with a stick, but luckily the steel plate blocked it. Then I slammed the lever down from above with my right hand, hitting him right on the shoulder."

"I used all my strength this time. I used every bit of force I would use to tighten a bolt."

"The fourth person's shoulders slumped, and he couldn't even hold onto the stick anymore."

Zhang Yong smiled at this point. He really hadn't expected that he would break through from Lv.3 to Lv.4 in combat.

Fighting Lv.4 directly increased his reaction speed by 15%, and he became stronger and better at predicting attacks.

Sun Lei had completely forgotten about drinking and was listening intently, as if he were listening to a storyteller.

"The last one was also short and stocky. He went around to the side and tried to stab me with a stick."

"I was just about to give him a couple of whacks."

"Oh, what a pity, the sirens are on."

"The police came. They brought two police sidecar motorcycles, which looked like Changjiang 750s, and they stopped us directly."

"It was Xiao Li from our Chaoyang Police Station who led the attack, followed by two colleagues."

Sun Lei finally found his voice: "What? You called the police?"

Zhang Yong smiled and patted Sun Lei on the shoulder.

"I knew I was being watched, so I made sure I was fully prepared before going out."

"I didn't call the police; Wei Dabiao called them when we were at the distillery."

"Everyone in the police station knows that I've been being watched lately, and they told the local police officer, Xiao Li, about my trip to Tongxian a long time ago."

"As soon as I drove back from Tongxian, Wei Dabiao called the police station and asked Xiao Li to meet me."

"I timed it, and we should meet up about halfway there, exactly the same time."

"All five of them were caught. I even managed to patch the tire while they were investigating the scene."

Sun Lei's lips trembled, and it took him a long time to squeeze out a sentence.

"Then... are you alright?"

"I was hit seven or eight times."

Zhang Yong lifted his vest, and in the moonlight, a bruise could be seen on one side of his ribcage where the flesh was exposed.

"The steel plate blocked most of it, but there were still a few hits that weren't protected, and it hurts when I touch it."

He pulled his vest down, his tone relaxed.

"No bones are broken, it will be fine in a couple of days."

In the guardhouse, Grandpa Chen turned over, his snoring stopped briefly, then resumed.

The mosquito coil was almost burned out, and the last red dot flickered in the darkness.

Sun Lei lowered his head and remained silent for a long time.

"Zhang Yong".

"Um."

"sorry."

......