145: Chapter 145 Lin Chuqiao's Abilities

Chapter 145: Lin Chuqiao's Ability

Clack.

A figure nimbly vaulted over the wall, landing in the courtyard like a large bird.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be arms spread wide, shockingly holding two people.

"They didn't chase after us. You can put me down now..."

Lin Chuqiao's body leaned against Fang Cheng's chest as she spoke in a low voice, her cheeks and the roots of her ears dyed a deep crimson.

Hearing this, Fang Cheng nodded and immediately released his hands.

"Ouch!"

At this moment, Pan Wendi let out a strange cry, acting as if he hadn't stood steadily and nearly falling over.

"Wendi, how are your injuries?"

Lin Chuqiao hurriedly asked with concern.

"I'm fine, just a bit numb in my body. Fang Cheng's strength is simply too great."

Pan Wendi's voice was slightly weak, and his square face was also flushed red.

Fang Cheng looked at him speechlessly.

Lin Chuqiao blushing was understandable, given the traditional separation between men and women.

As a grown man who only sustained some minor injuries, what on earth was he blushing for?

He then turned his head to look at the house with a padlock hanging in the courtyard and asked Lin Chuqiao,

"Is this the place?"

"Yes, but unfortunately I didn't bring the key."

Lin Chuqiao lowered her head to glance at the ground, picked up a brick, and prepared to smash the lock open.

"Let me do it."

Seeing this, Fang Cheng stepped forward and gripped the brass padlock with both hands.

Then, with a sudden yank, he directly pulled out the copper lock along with the latch plates, the hasp, and even the screws.

The posture was so aggressive it was as if he was about to dismantle the entire door.

"Brother, can I call you my brother?"

Pan Wendi immediately cried out with a hint of adoration in his tone.

Lin Chuqiao patted his shoulder and urged,

"Stop running your mouth and hurry inside."

With a creak, the door was pushed open.

Fang Cheng scanned the interior of the house; it was filled everywhere with dust and cobwebs.

This place must have been abandoned for a long time.

The floor was covered in debris and trash, the table held leftover bento boxes and a bitten, rotting apple, and there was even a dead rat in the corner.

"How can it be so dirty? Clearly before I left, I cleaned it up very neatly."

Lin Chuqiao looked at the scene before her with a stunned expression, then said indignantly,

"When I wasn't here, the landlord must have sublet it to someone else again!"

Pan Wendi gave a hearty laugh:

"It's fine, having a place to rest our feet is enou—"

Before he could finish speaking, his body suddenly lurched forward and he collapsed straight down.

It was as if his entire person had been relying on a single breath of willpower, and upon reaching a safe location, he could finally no longer hold on.

Quick-eyed and fast-handed, Fang Cheng immediately supported the collapsed Pan Wendi, then looked at Lin Chuqiao:

"What's wrong with your cousin? Is he badly injured?"

Lin Chuqiao also quickly stepped forward to help support Pan Wendi together:

"He overused his ability, and his body is somewhat overdrawn."

Then, casting a glance toward the bedroom, she hurriedly said,

"There's a bed inside. I'll go tidy it up. Help me hold him for a moment."

After a few minutes, once Lin Chuqiao had simply arranged the bedding,

Fang Cheng carried Pan Wendi to the bed, allowing him to lie flat.

No one had lived here for a long time, so the conditions were rather crude; the bed didn't even have a mat.

Pan Wendi lay directly on the wooden bed boards, his eyes tightly closed and his breathing weak.

His pale complexion carried an unnatural flush, and cold sweat even seeped from his forehead.

After examining his injuries, Lin Chuqiao knitted her willow-like eyebrows slightly and prepared to go out to buy some bedding and daily necessities.

Although Yongan Island had a relatively warm climate and wasn't very cold at night, Pan Wendi was injured after all, and basic resting conditions needed to be ensured.

Seeing this, Fang Cheng said,

"I'll go buy them. It's inconvenient for both you and Pan Wendi to show your faces right now."

After persuading her to stay, he walked out of the house alone and vaulted over the wall again.

Landing silently in the alley outside the courtyard, Fang Cheng's gaze quickly swept across the surrounding scenery.

Finding no suspicious figures, he walked toward the main street.

This small courtyard was a place Lin Chuqiao had once lived in when she came to Yongan Island for a vacation two years ago.

She had paid three years of rent in one go, and later, due to certain issues, she left this place and had never returned.

Because Pan Wendi was quite severely injured, such a situation made it easy to expose their identities, making it inconvenient to return to the training camp base.

Thus, under Lin Chuqiao's instructions, Fang Cheng brought the two of them running here to temporarily settle down.

It was pitch black all around, and the environment looked quite secluded—an independent courtyard with few disturbances.

After passing through several alleys, Fang Cheng soon arrived at the slightly brighter main street.

There were relatively few pedestrians on the road, and many shops facing the street were closed.

Passing by a restaurant that was still open, the sound of a news broadcast drifted out from inside.

Glancing at the time, it was close to 7:30.

In Dongdu City, at this time many people had just gotten off work to eat, and nightlife hadn't even officially begun.

Yet on this island, many shops were already preparing to close for the day.

Fang Cheng walked a long way along the street before discovering a small supermarket that hadn't closed yet.

He then went inside for a stroll, bought bedding and mats, and added daily necessities such as basins, towels, and a thermos.

Ten minutes or so later, carrying two large bags of things and having paid the bill, he walked out of the supermarket.

Looking back as he passed the restaurant that was still open, he picked up a local accent and ordered a few stir-fried dishes.

The boss, who was watching TV out of boredom, immediately stood up with a smiling face and enthusiastically drummed up business.

Going out for a trip took less than half an hour.

Fang Cheng brought bags of various sizes back to the courtyard, vaulting over the wall to enter once more.

At this moment, Lin Chuqiao was holding a broom, sweeping a pile of trash out the door.

The windows were open to let the breeze through, the room was brightly lit, and it was cleaned up quite neatly; even the tables and chairs had been wiped down with old clothes.

He hadn't expected that someone who looked so delicate would be quite diligent and efficient when doing chores.

"How is Pan Wendi's body doing now?"

Fang Cheng took the washbasin and towel out of the bag and handed them to Lin Chuqiao.

Lin Chuqiao put down the broom, hurriedly thanked him as she took them, and replied,

"His physical condition seems alright for now; he should recover after resting for a few days."

She then fetched a basin of water from the kitchen faucet.

First, she wiped the face of the unconscious Pan Wendi, and then, with Fang Cheng's assistance, laid down the new mat and bedding so he could sleep as comfortably as possible.

After finishing all this, Lin Chuqiao still knitted her willow-like eyebrows tightly, her face showing worry.

"Right now, I'm just afraid my cousin will have problems with his mental state. After all, it hasn't been long since his Awakening..."

Hearing this, Fang Cheng couldn't help asking doubtfully,

"Do ability users usually fall into this kind of situation easily?"

"Yes."

Lin Chuqiao nodded slightly, explaining in a solemn tone:

"Continuously using abilities in a short period of time not only consumes physical strength but also imposes a heavy burden on the mind. Mild cases result in dizziness and coma, while severe cases can affect sanity, and it's even possible to go mad or go crazy."

"Therefore, we must maintain restraint at ordinary times. I suggest you learn Meditation; the main reason is also to enhance your mental capacity and minimize the negative impact..."

Listening to Lin Chuqiao explain the issues to watch out for when using abilities, Fang Cheng couldn't help recalling the battle process with the experimental subject in the warehouse that night.

It seemed that he had fallen into that state of frantic slaughter and lost his sanity precisely because he overused the skill effect "Blade Storm".

Speaking of this, Lin Chuqiao's face revealed a look of remorse as she muttered to herself,

"This time it was my mistake for trusting my own ability too much, not expecting that the other party was simply a lunatic who would even refuse things of mutual benefit and cooperation..."

Fang Cheng stood aside and listened, not expressing any opinion on this.

He was very clear about the people encountered tonight; they were obviously members of the Noah Organization lurking on Yongan Island.

As for the mysterious man in the black windbreaker, he was precisely the eccentric person Fang Cheng had paid attention to while investigating news at the dock.

Seeing that Lin Chuqiao didn't seem to understand the background of the Noah Organization well, yet could accurately find the location of the other party's stronghold,

Fang Cheng guessed in his heart that this should be related to her ability.

After blaming herself a few words, Lin Chuqiao suddenly raised her eyes to look at Fang Cheng:

"Thanks to your help this time, otherwise I wouldn't have known what to do..."

Her tone was filled with gratitude, her gaze flashing with a trace of crystallization, making her look very sincere.

Fang Cheng smiled and didn't say much.

The main reason for stepping in to save them tonight was simply to repay a favor.

Earlier when chatting on the mountain, mentioning Pan Wendi going out and not returning, Lin Chuqiao had appeared exceptionally anxious.

After returning to the training camp base, the two of them didn't find Pan Wendi's figure back in the dormitory either.

As if she had a premonition of something, Lin Chuqiao immediately walked out of the building and hurried running down the mountain.

Seeing this, Fang Cheng then made some preparations to deal with danger and tracked them all the way.

In the end, he coincidentally saved the two of them.

After speaking a few words with Lin Chuqiao, Fang Cheng then spread out the packed stir-fried dishes on the table.

Busy for a night and not even managing to eat a meal was truly not right.

However, Lin Chuqiao didn't have much appetite, and Pan Wendi hadn't woken up yet either.

This lavish dinner with fish and meat was basically all wrapped up by Fang Cheng alone.

Sweeping away the last bit of leftovers like a storm, a prompt message drifted across his eyes.

"Gourmet experience +1."

Fang Cheng immediately focused his gaze on the pale blue light screen that emerged.

The previous battle was too tense to notice related conditions, but now he had spare time to check the panel.

Aside from Sanda and Jiu-Jitsu skills increasing by 50 points and 26 points of experience respectively,

the most noteworthy was the prompt message regarding the Breathing Technique skill.

[You used the Breathing Technique in actual combat for the first time, successfully resisting a formidable enemy, experience +30]

Fang Cheng's gaze flickered slightly, as if he realized something.

Through the situation of exchanging blows with the wind-breaker man, it could be proven that the Breathing Technique not only had miraculous effects in health preservation, but also had certain effects when countering the impact brought by the enemy.

Especially the ability displayed by the other party similar to manipulating force fields, which was close in effect to the ultra-high water pressure he endured while training deep in the seabed.

This couldn't help but breed vigilance and precaution in Fang Cheng's heart.

Perhaps he could continue to dive continuously, deepening his training location to adapt to this intensity of attack.

In the future, if he encountered enemies with similar remote control abilities again, he would be able to deal with them more calmly.

Fang Cheng pondered how to improve his future training plan.

Lin Chuqiao was also harboring thoughts, her willow-like eyebrows slightly knitted, seemingly making some kind of decision.

The two of them guarded Pan Wendi lying on the bed, facing each other in silence.

Inside and outside the house was completely quiet and still, with a few faint wails of police sirens drifting over from afar.

It seemed the island's police were searching everywhere for the "culprits" who created the bombing case.

Fang Cheng did not plan to rush back to the training camp base overnight.

Besides worrying about any accidents arising, it was also for the sake of safety.

At least wait for Pan Wendi to wake up.

...

Early in the morning, a fresh breeze blew through the windows into the quiet house.

The dust particles flying everywhere in the air glittered with golden light under the sunlight.

It also illuminated the face of the woman sitting on the chair with her eyes slightly closed, making her appear radiant and uniquely bright.

With a "creak",

Fang Cheng pushed the door open and entered the room, catching sight of the sleeping Lin Chuqiao, and couldn't help shaking his head inwardly.

Continuously using abilities last night should not have been a small burden for her.

Even after removing her makeup to reveal her original appearance, fatigue could still be seen on her face.

Coupled with being full of worries, it wasn't until close to dawn that her body and mind relaxed, and she fell asleep without realizing it.

At this moment, Fang Cheng was full of vigor.

Having just returned from completing a seabed exercise, his whole body radiated the vibrant aura of the ocean.

Guarding until five o'clock last night, no trace of the enemy was found.

Fang Cheng guessed the other party should have given up the pursuit, so early in the morning before dawn, he ran out to do morning exercises.

After leaving the training camp base, he instead didn't need to deliberately disguise himself to avoid the eyes and ears of the Zhenxiang Society.

Staying in the sea for nearly 4 hours, it wasn't even 9 o'clock yet when he returned.

Thinking of this, Fang Cheng opened the panel again to check the practice progress of several main skills today.

[Push-up lv2 (468 / 500)]

[Squat lv2 (415 / 500)]

[Stance Training lv1 (13 / 250)]

[Breathing Technique lv0 (54 / 100)]

His gaze swept across them one by one, finally resting on the Push-up skill, a slight sense of excitement stirring in his heart:

"I'll push harder tomorrow. Once I reach the Grandmaster level, my strength will inevitably become even stronger!"

Perhaps awakened by the noise of Fang Cheng opening the door, Lin Chuqiao suddenly opened her eyes, appearing extremely vigilant.

Upon seeing Fang Cheng's face, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief, rubbed her sleepy eyes, and stood up.

Fang Cheng looked at Pan Wendi, who was still lying on the bed, and asked,

"How is it? Are you feeling better?"

Lin Chuqiao's face relaxed as she replied softly,

"He already woke up once just a moment ago."

Hearing this, Fang Cheng also nodded with gratification.

Pan Wendi was a good person, and since they knew each other, learning he was fine was naturally good news.

Then he asked again,

"Do you plan to house him here to recover from his injuries?"

Lin Chuqiao, however, shook her head:

"Wendi's condition isn't suitable for him to continue staying here. I plan to go buy boat tickets later and send him back to Dongdu tomorrow to recover."

"Didn't you say you wanted to sneak into the Zhenxiang Society to find an opportunity to approach the Meditation target?"

"Forget it, matters of cultivation can be figured out later."

Lin Chuqiao still shook her head, her tone revealing determination:

"I originally only discovered through prophetic divination that a mysterious organization with a stake in the Zhenxiang Society existed, so I wanted to use my ability to instigate them into further conflict, and then reap the spoils while the snipe and the clam fight."

"I just didn't expect those people to be utter lunatics. Now even I can't predict what kind of things they will do next..."

Listening to Lin Chuqiao reveal her own ability and the contents of her plan,

Fang Cheng nodded slightly, feeling that her choice was relatively wise.

Neither the Noah Organization nor the Zhenxiang Society were simple factions.

If not for learning more Meditation knowledge, he actually planned to leave this right-and-wrong place early as well.

Seeing that everything was safe and sound here, Fang Cheng then bid farewell to Lin Chuqiao.

"Then I'll return to the training camp first. We'll keep in touch."

Watching Fang Cheng turn around and prepare to leave,

Lin Chuqiao suddenly spoke up, calling out softly,

"Fang Cheng."

"What is it?"

Fang Cheng turned back to look at her, somewhat surprised.

"Thank you."

Lin Chuqiao's eyes flickered, her smile radiant.

Fang Cheng also smiled slightly, then waved goodbye and leaped over the wall once more.

This time when he landed on the ground, he saw a toddler wearing split pants staring at him in utter shock.

He seemed to be treating him like a petty thief leaping over roofs and bounding over walls from television.

Fang Cheng immediately gave a soft hush toward him, then quickly lifted his legs and strode forward, running toward the training camp base.