Chapter Fifty-Six: A New Life

Recently, I've had a few things to deal with, and it just so happened to coincide with the period of heavy promotion! I haven’t slept for two nights straight!!! The updates have slowed down, and all I can do is apologize to everyone!!!!!! I’m so sleepy zzzzzzz

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“Yezi, this black windbreaker may look cool, but if you get flour on it, it won’t look so good anymore!”

“Yezi, you can’t just keep a straight face like that. You’ll scare away the customers!”

“Hey, Yezi, why did you take apart the workbench? Oh heavens, you didn’t even spare the chairs?”

...

When the old man awoke and learned of Ye Chong’s predicament, he took him in without hesitation. The old man lived alone, had no children, and made a living running a humble noodle shop. Because his noodles had a unique flavor and were affordably priced, his life was comfortable enough!

With his hunger finally sated, Ye Chong saw the old man struggling with his chores and naturally offered to help. Yet, his help only made things worse. It was Ye Chong’s first time in a kitchen, and when the old man told him that kneading dough required strength, Ye Chong pressed down so hard he broke the workbench, sending flour billowing throughout the room. Both Ye Chong and Grandpa Qian ended up looking like two ghosts covered in white!

Incidents like this happened more than once. Each time, Grandpa Qian would simply smile at Ye Chong and give him gentle encouragement.

Ye Chong’s noodle-making skills improved rapidly. Thanks to his extraordinary strength, the noodles he made were incredibly chewy, and everyone who tasted them sang their praises. Under Grandpa Qian’s constant smiles and encouragement, Ye Chong’s stoic expression gradually softened, and he even started greeting customers on occasion. The old man would take Ye Chong shopping, introduce him to old friends—wherever he went, he liked to have Ye Chong by his side. Ye Chong found himself growing fond of this life—no pressure, everything comfortable. He was truly happy with such a simple, contented existence.

However, Ye Chong’s training did not cease just because life had become peaceful. After finally breaking past the ten-ball bottleneck in his steel ball training at Black Horn and reaching thirteen in a short span, his progress could only be described as meteoric. Under Mu’s guidance, Ye Chong never slacked off in his physical regimen. It was as if he were born for this kind of training—his strength kept increasing, yet his muscles showed little outward growth. This was crucial. Normally, greater strength meant thicker muscle fibers, so once your strength increased past a certain point, so did your muscle mass—making your body bulkier and your movements less agile and balanced. Therefore, how to gain strength without bulking up was a key issue! Strength was the source of speed, but having strength did not guarantee speed—muscle hypertrophy was one of the main reasons why.

Black Horn’s approach was to use ancient martial arts and silver fluid stimulation to achieve this goal.

But for Ye Chong, a problem that troubled almost everyone else simply didn’t exist. No matter how he trained, his muscles barely changed. As a result, Mu unhesitatingly devised a grueling training regimen.

Ye Chong clenched his teeth and persevered!

As for Mu, he spent his days mysteriously immersed in the virtual net, doing who-knew-what.

Thankfully, business was getting better; otherwise, just Mu’s monthly energy supplements would have been a heavy expense. Add Ye Chong’s astonishing appetite, and the little shop would have been out of business long ago.

Life was a bit hectic, but Ye Chong was more than satisfied!

—

After Ye Chong had displayed his superhuman strength, the local hooligans scattered like frightened birds, never daring to show up again. Their so-called protection fee was no small sum each month.

At home, Sun Xuelin and Axiu found themselves worried. With both their parents out, what would they do for food? Neither of them knew how to cook!

“Axiu, let’s go eat noodles at Grandpa Qian’s. His noodles are really good!” Sun Xuelin suggested.

Axiu frowned, pulling a face. “Noodles again? Well, I guess we have no choice.”

When they arrived at Grandpa Qian’s shop, he greeted them with a warm smile. “Xuelin, it’s been a while since you came by! What brings you here today?”

Sun Xuelin smiled. “Well, what can we do? Both my parents are out, so we had to come to you! Grandpa Qian, this is my sister, Axiu.”

Grandpa Qian grinned. “What a lovely young lady—Xuelin, you two don’t look alike at all! So, the usual today?” Axiu’s cheeks flushed instantly!

Sun Xuelin said, “Yes, the usual! Axiu, what would you like?”

Axiu murmured, “I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

Grandpa Qian chuckled. “That’ll be two bowls of beef noodles! Yezi, two bowls of beef noodles!” he called toward the kitchen.

A clear, if quiet, voice replied, “Alright, got it.”

Sun Xuelin was surprised. “Grandpa Qian, did you hire someone? When did that happen? I didn’t know!”

Grandpa Qian laughed. “He’s not an employee; Yezi is a distant relative of mine. I was feeling lonely, so I asked him to stay with me.” He’d said this to so many customers lately that even he was starting to believe Ye Chong truly was his kin.

After a while, Ye Chong emerged from the kitchen carrying two steaming bowls of beef noodles. Though his expression remained reserved, a keen eye could spot the hint of joy on his face. He set the bowls on the table and said, “Enjoy your meal,” before returning to the kitchen.

“Wow, these noodles are delicious!” Sun Xuelin exclaimed after the first bite. “Grandpa Qian, they’re even better than yours! So chewy!”

Grandpa Qian replied with pride, “Of course! Yezi’s skills are unmatched—everyone who tries his noodles can’t stop praising them!” His expression suggested he was basking in the compliment himself.

Seeing the thick stack of beef sliced paper-thin, Sun Xuelin couldn’t help but marvel, “What incredible knife skills!”

Grandpa Qian’s eyes narrowed in delight as he called out, “Yezi, the guests are praising your knife work!”

Ye Chong responded, “Oh! Thank you!” and shook his head, amused. Grandpa Qian always repeated the compliments for him—didn’t he get tired of it? Still, a faint smile played at his lips as he quietly chuckled and continued kneading the dough with focus.

—

His hands never stopped moving, but in his heart he wondered, “Mu, what are you up to?”

After a moment, Mu replied, “I’m busy. Just concentrate on your noodles!” And with that, he was gone.

Mu had been spending a lot of time on the virtual net lately, doing who-knows-what. Maybe he should log in himself one of these days—it had been a while since he’d visited the consciousness training base, and he wondered how the old men from the “Aurora” group were doing.

Thinking of this, Ye Chong kneaded the noodles with renewed vigor.

—

With the report in hand, Fei Ge lit a cigar and sat in a haze of smoke, contemplating for a long time.

According to Ah Zai’s report, the only newcomer to the neighborhood was a young man who’d joined Old Qian’s shop. All the regulars said he was a distant relative who’d come to stay with Old Qian, and his noodle-making skills had left everyone in awe.

Hopefully, that young man really wasn’t the killer. If he was...

The smoke in the room thickened, making it almost impossible to see anything clearly.

—

Leng San stood in silence, his gaze sweeping over the corpses before him, the chill in his eyes growing ever more intense. When his eyes landed on one body in particular, his mask of indifference finally cracked. The muscles in his face twitched violently, and the pain he’d tried so hard to hide was now laid bare. Staring blankly at the corpse, tears slid silently down his cheeks, falling onto the floor.

It was his brother—his own flesh and blood. All these years, he’d gone to great lengths to conceal his brother’s true identity, for he had too many enemies and a sudden, inexplicable death was a constant threat. He didn’t want his brother to be dragged into his troubles. So he’d disguised him as an ordinary subordinate—a disguise that had worked. His brother had been safe all this time, never even suffering an injury.

But now, his brother’s lifeless body lay before him, his throat crushed by someone’s bare hands. How could he not be consumed with grief and rage?

In this territory, there were only a handful of people with that kind of strength. He refused to believe he couldn’t find the culprit! If he did, he would make them pay with a vengeance that would leave no trace behind, dead or alive! Leng San vowed bitterly in his heart.

Outside the room, his men had all noticed the strange atmosphere. The boss’s face had changed when he saw the bodies, and then he locked himself in the room with the corpses and hadn’t come out since.

Would the boss be alright? His loyal subordinates couldn’t help but worry.

Suddenly, the door swung open. Leng San stepped out, eyes bloodshot, and in a hoarse voice said only, “Investigate. Start immediately!”