21: Chapter 21 A "Ruthless Person" Arrives at Koma Bridge

"Bang!"

"Ow~~~"

"Bang bang..."

"Awoo~~~"

Lin Ning collapsed on the ground in pain, his expression contorted; he really didn't want to howl, but he truly couldn't control himself.

At a time like this, who cared about acting like a tough guy!

In the spacious training hall, there weren't many pieces of equipment, and they were spread far apart.

It was mainly people sparring in pairs or trios; occasionally, someone would stop to rest and watch Lin Ning, the newcomer, getting beat up with great interest, but there was no mockery—everyone had started out this way!

The smell of sweat and low growls intertwined, filled with the aggressive aura of male hormones.

In this past hour or so, Lin Ning had first done a physical fitness test—running, squats, push-ups, power pull-ups, and so on—and then underwent a combat reaction test. This led to the current scene where Lin Ning was lying on the ground, refusing to get up no matter what.

His coach, Coach Chen Hu, nodded with relative satisfaction, but then shook his head in disdain. "Your physical fitness is too poor, but your reaction speed and physical foundation are okay. You know the general process now; do you want to train here?"

Although Lin Ning had been beaten quite badly, he still approved of this Fighting Gym that Officer Li Feng had recommended.

The coaches were all veterans. Regardless of whether the venue was a bit small or rudimentary, the strength was real, and what they taught wasn't just flashy muscle-building; it was exactly what he wanted.

Lin Ning, still sprawled on the ground, nodded. "I'll train here. I'll pay the fee in a bit."

Coach Chen Hu reached out and pulled Lin Ning up from the floor. "Alright, go over there and rest for a while. I'll make a plan for you. In the early stages, you need to improve your physical fitness first..."

Lin Ning winced with every step as he shuffled to the rest area.

He looked at the people teaching or training in the hall, habitually glancing above their heads.

A few students who trained particularly hard and had fierce looks in their eyes mostly had [Green] above their heads, but the halos were solid, occasionally flashing a very faint [Gold]—these were likely the veterans with "a bit of a story" that Officer Li Feng had mentioned.

In the corner, a young man who was constantly venting on a sandbag and radiating a low-pressure aura had [Light Red] above his head.

What caught his attention most was Brother Hu himself—[Zhou Weihu, Retired Soldier/Security Consultant]—it was an extremely somber and heavy [Deep Green], the halo almost condensing into substance. Lin Ning had only seen this color on a few highly respected old police officers and Chen Zhi.

Now, Lin Ning had his own set of verification methods for who could be associated with and who to stay away from; regardless of personality or human nature, safety was at least guaranteed.

After recovering his strength, Lin Ning underwent muscle relaxation and stretching training under the guidance of a junior coach named Hao Qiang.

Since it was the first day, Lin Ning received the training plan from Coach Chen Hu, listened carefully to his explanation, and also stated his own goal—to be able to run and fight.

Hearing Lin Ning's words, Coach Chen Hu smiled in agreement. "Not bad. Being able to run is the top priority. You're clear-headed."

Three thousand eight hundred a month; this price really wasn't expensive. It would be more expensive for special combat training later on. Lin Ning could accept it.

After agreeing on future times, Lin Ning left.

In the afternoon at Juma Bridge, the sunlight made the stone-paved road scorching hot. Lin Ning dragged his body, which felt like it didn't belong to him, back to the vicinity of his home. From a distance, he saw Jin Er, Xu San, and Zhang Shitou huddled again at the plastic table outside the street corner shop, chatting away over a plate of edamame and two bottles of beer.

He really didn't have the energy to take a detour, so he shuffled over and pulled up a maza stool to sit down weakly.

"Oh boy!" Xu San cried out as soon as he looked up. "What happened to our Lin Zi? Did you get boiled? Or did some rich lady drain you dry?"

Lin Ning didn't even have the energy to roll his eyes. He shouted toward the shop, "Uncle Wang, an ice-cold Beibingyang, save my life..."

Jin Er cheerfully grabbed a handful of edamame for him and looked at Lin Ning closely. "Been exercising?"

Hearing this, Lin Ning gave a thumbs up; he truly admired Jin Er's eyesight. "Sharp eyes!"

Jin Er laughed proudly. "You bet. Even though I don't have money, I haven't lived my life in vain; it's all been trained into these two eyes."

Zhang Shitou: "It's about time you trained. You clearly aren't someone who stays out of trouble. If you run into trouble later, you should at least have the ability to escape!"

Lin Ning was a bit surprised. He tossed an edamame into his mouth and asked, "How can you tell I'm not someone who stays out of trouble? I'm honestly working as a delivery boy every day to pay off my debts, I don't even have time for entertainment."

Jin Er raised his eyebrows. "You're someone who honestly does deliveries? Go find a mirror and take a good look at yourself later. Look at your eyes, look at your spirit!"

Zhang Shitou and Xu San nodded in agreement. Although Lin Ning looked like a steady and ordinary kid, those eyes showed that he wasn't one to stay quiet, nor did he have the spirit of someone who would honestly just work and live.

Lin Ning thought about Jin Er's words and nodded. Whether a person had confidence or had resigned to fate was indeed different. He didn't need a mirror to understand why Jin Er and the others said that.

He sighed, "I really envy your eyesight. It feels like you can see through the people and affairs of the world."

Jin Er took a pleasant sip of beer and shook his head dismissively. "It's just having lived a few more years and seen more people. Any more praise would be overdoing it. We just watch the daily lives of ordinary folks. As for those high-level worlds and affairs, we can't understand them."

"However, speaking of reading people..." Jin Er took a sip of beer and suddenly seemed to remember something, lowering his voice slightly. "A 'Tuotou' moved into our building yesterday."

Lin Ning was a bit confused. "What's a 'Tuotou'?"

Xu San glanced at Lin Ning with disdain but still explained, "Someone who looks peculiar, a 'Passing Deity' who isn't one of our kind."

Lin Ning still didn't quite understand, but he had a faint feeling about what they were talking about. It seemed he still had much to learn.

He asked with interest, "Why do you say he's a 'Tuotou'? How can you tell?"

Jin Er took over, gesturing. "Comes out at night and stays in during the day, has very little luggage, and the way he looks at people... it's like we look at edamame, wondering if it's edible and how to eat it."

Zhang Shitou was concise: "He has a 'scent' on him."

Lin Ning: "What kind of scent?"

"It's the scent of 'trouble,' and the scent of 'big trouble' stained with dust and blood. You can smell it from eight zhang away."

Jin Er summarized: "In short, he's not an ordinary person. Stay away so you don't get 'burned'."

Lin Ning's curiosity was piqued.

Firstly, his desire to learn was soaring, and he wanted to verify theory with reality.

Secondly... judging by what Jin Er and the others meant, this might be a 'Red Name' with a bounty. If he let it go, it would be a disrespect to his glorious future.

"Which room is he in?" he asked seemingly casually.

"The one Yao Hui used to have," Xu San said. "What, Lin Zi, you want to pay him a visit?"

"Visit for what?" Lin Ning tossed the last few edamame into his mouth and stood up, clapping his hands. His body still ached, but his eyes were clearer. "I just feel that the experience of you elders is so precious, just hearing about it isn't enough. Aren't we learning how to 'read people' now? With such a ready-made, high-difficulty 'observation sample' delivered to our door, shouldn't I go 'study' a bit?"

Jin Er squinted at him. "You brat, I knew you weren't some quiet, proper, honest person, ha! Be careful. If you get burned, our old arms and legs won't be able to pull you out."

"Don't worry," Lin Ning cracked his neck and grinned. "I'll just 'study' from a distance, I definitely won't disturb the teacher."

He turned and walked toward the Small White Building. The soreness in his body was still nagging him, but at the thought of a possible bounty and the chance to verify his people-reading skills, his steps became a bit lighter, and his mind began to race at high speed...

If he really was a "Passing Deity," his alertness must be very high, constantly observing his surroundings and people for danger. There would only be one chance. Besides looking at the color above his head, it would be best to take a photo of his face.

Lin Ning pondered. If it was just a ruthless person planning to cause trouble, it might not be his business, but if it was a wanted criminal or something, it would be easy to cross-reference.

Yeah, go home first to change clothes and get his gear—the Delivery Recorder.

These days seemed to have more and more of a "sentence" to look forward to.