86: Only strength, only strength, can control your destiny!

Lu Chuan hadn't expected all 86 grilled fish he brought to sell tonight would be sold out.

Of course, He Jingrui hadn't expected it either.

"Wuwuwu, my grilled fish!!!!"

Before they left, Lu Chuan had clearly promised him that any grilled fish not sold tonight could be given to him to eat.

"Why are you doing this to me..."

He Jingrui squatted on the ground, drawing circles, his eyes devoid of spirit.

Lu Chuan suppressed his laughter, patted his shoulder, and offered a few words of comfort.

"Alright, let's pack up and go home."

He Jingrui listlessly helped clean up the trash at the site, then rode his tricycle back to Lu Family Village.

---

At the same time, at the base.

Senior Colonel Pu Xiujie angrily kicked open the dormitory door.

"Gao Lingfeng, stay; everyone else, get out!"

Ban Yangming, who was unclear about what had happened, and two other veterans all looked at Gao Lingfeng with concern.

However, Gao Lingfeng had an indifferent expression, completely ignoring their gazes.

Ban Yangming and the others felt helpless.

Ever since He Jingrui's sacrifice, Gao Lingfeng had changed completely.

No matter how much his old brothers tried to comfort him, it was useless.

Sigh.

The few of them sighed inwardly, then retreated, closing the dormitory door behind them.

Seeing that there were no outsiders left in the dormitory, Senior Colonel Pu Xiujie's anger intensified.

"Didn't you say you were going to ask how to get to the other side of the rift? Why did they tell me you volunteered for the 'Torch Project'?"

"You little bastard, you even dare to lie to me, don't you?"

He pointed at Gao Lingfeng, spitting as he spoke.

However, Gao Lingfeng completely ignored him, only saying coldly,

"My mind is made up."

"You're rebelling!"

Senior Colonel Pu Xiujie stepped forward and kicked him.

However, he couldn't move him at all and almost fell instead.

"Alright, alright, you, Gao Lingfeng, cherish your soldiers, and I, Colonel Pu Xiujie, am a murderer! Is that what you think?"

Gao Lingfeng's eyes struggled for a moment but quickly returned to their cold indifference.

"The leader is joking. A soldier's duty is to obey orders! He Jingrui died in battle simply because he was too foolish and naive, coupled with bad luck. No one else is to blame!"

Upon hearing this, Senior Colonel Pu Xiujie's cheeks trembled.

After a few seconds, the anger on his face dissipated, and he slumped to the ground.

He looked as if he had aged more than ten years, making the white streaks at his temples appear even more mottled.

The two inside the room fell into silence.

Finally, Senior Colonel Pu Xiujie still managed to ask,

"Can't you not go? People will die."

Gao Lingfeng sneered.

"Die? I should have died long ago. If it weren't for that fool He Jingrui, I would have been the one to die that day."

"Why do you have to punish yourself like this? He Jingrui left the hope of life for you. He wouldn't want to see this."

"Punishment? No, I'm not punishing myself."

"You're being stubborn."

"Believe it or not, you haven't been to that world. You don't know how terrifying that world is. When chaos descends, and exotic beasts invade, no one can escape unscathed. I don't want to see any more of my old brothers sacrifice themselves in front of me. Those people promised that as long as we don't die in the experiment, we can gain extraordinary power!"

"Is that your goal? You're gambling! Foolish!"

"Foolish? I've seen the light! Rather than live a mediocre life, it's better to seize the day!"

"The country raised you, your parents raised you, just for you to become an ephemeral creature that only seizes the day?"

"The country raised me, my parents raised me, not for me to hide behind my teammates and be a useless coward who only runs away with his head in his hands!"

"Unreasonable!"

"Think what you want!"

"Obstinate!"

"Think what you want!"

"You... Hmph! Go ahead and die if you want! I can't control you anymore! Damn it!"

Senior Colonel Pu Xiujie clutched his aching chest, fuming, and slammed the door shut as he left.

As he turned to leave, Gao Lingfeng pursed his lips, his palms clenched red.

---

The next morning, Lu Family Village, Lu Chuan's courtyard.

Lu Chuan, shirtless, struck a fighting pose in the courtyard.

He Jingrui scratched his head, gesticulating wildly beside him.

"Your force isn't right. It should be like this, then like this, and then like this!"

Lu Chuan looked confused.

He truly didn't know what "like this," "then like this," and "and then like this" actually represented in terms of actions and force techniques.

"Can you explain it more clearly?"

He Jingrui was also a bit anxious, moving his hands and feet even faster.

"It's just like this, then like this, and finally like this!"

Lu Chuan was a bit dumbfounded.

"So, what exactly is it?!"

He Jingrui's forehead was beaded with sweat, his hand movements became even more frantic, and his speech quickened.

"I told you, first like this, then like this, and then like this!"

"Oh, I see now."

Lu Chuan then stopped his moves and stood still, nodding expressionlessly.

Hearing this, He Jingrui's face immediately lit up with joy.

"You really understood? That's great! Yes, just follow what I taught you: like this, then like this, and finally like this."

Lu Chuan sneered as he pulled He Jingrui into the kitchen, tossing him a spatula and an egg.

"Come, come, I'll teach you how to fry a sunny-side-up egg now."

He Jingrui didn't know what Lu Chuan suddenly wanted to do. He looked at the spatula and egg in his hand and said confusedly,

"I don't know how to cook."

Lu Chuan continued to sneer.

"It's alright, I'll teach you. You first do this, then this, and finally this."

He Jingrui looked at Lu Chuan gesturing with empty hands, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"..."

Lu Chuan continued to sneer, gesturing again.

"Didn't get it? It's okay, you first do this, then this, and then this."

He Jingrui probably understood what Lu Chuan was trying to convey. He scratched his head, revealing an awkward smile.

Lu Chuan glanced at him, snorted, walked to the courtyard, and continued to practice his horse stance.

He Jingrui chuckled dryly and followed behind. Seeing Lu Chuan practicing his horse stance, he didn't go up to invite scolding, but instead ran to the side and started practicing his punches.

As Lu Chuan watched He Jingrui's punches, the wind from his fists surging and a faint rumble of thunder audible, a hint of envy flashed in his eyes.

He hadn't suddenly sought He Jingrui's help to learn a few fighting techniques this morning out of boredom.

It was simply because the system had suddenly spoken, advising him to learn some self-defense skills.

When Lu Chuan asked for the reason, the system's original words were like this:

【The host has broken through human limits, but can only mobilize less than one-thousandth of his physical strength. He cannot even protect himself against ordinary beasts. How can he preserve himself in the great trend of world changes?】

These words immediately woke Lu Chuan up.

He had previously brought He Jingrui home, naturally aiming to investigate the cause of the world's changes and thereby control his own destiny.

And now, through that rift and He Jingrui's experiences, he could already guess a thing or two.

So, a new problem arose: with his weak chicken-like strength, how could he possibly control his destiny?

【Only strength, only strength, can control destiny!】

The system responded to his doubts in this way.

"Yes, only strength, only strength!"

At this moment, Lu Chuan firmed his resolve to train and become stronger.

(To the esteemed readers who have read this far, thank you very much for your love for this book! Your requests for updates and comments are one of the motivations that keep the author writing after a busy day of work!

However, after this chapter is published, the author's heart is still very uneasy, fearing that some readers might not accept the sudden appearance of power-ups and battle descriptions and abandon the story.

Given this, why write it this way? I can only say that the tone of this book dictates that this chapter is indispensable. Even if it's not written now, it will have to be added later.

But the author hereby solemnly declares!

This book is still purely a random street food stall gourmet novel. A Chuan will steadfastly set up stalls all over the world, aiming to make gourmands everywhere drool, and of course, all you esteemed readers ୧ ⍢ ⃝ ୨

As for why there are descriptions of power-ups and battles, these are just some minor plots designed to serve the story and are not crucial. Esteemed readers who don't like them can choose to skip them; it will not affect the enjoyment of this text.

However, with random street food stall gourmet novels being so popular today, the repetitive unit plots of random stalls can inevitably lead to visual fatigue. So, in your leisure time, why not come and take a look at the chuunibyou youth A Chuan's gourmet adventure? )

Laugh ❛‿˂ ̵ ✧)