“You motherfucker! Use your fucking brain! That kid isn’t an ordinary person; you really think he’s a student?” The leader shouted. “If he really was a student, would he have that kind of killing intent? Couldn’t you feel it? That’s a killing intent nurtured from actually killing people and not our child’s mockery of it.” The leader stared the other robbers down. “Are you deaf? When he asked us if we’d come back for revenge, he’d already revealed his killing intent. His killing intent. If we go looking for trouble again, I promise he won’t hesitate to end us.”
After the boss cussed at them, the burly train robbers finally accepted it all. It’s true that the kid had left a deep impression. They had felt extremely pressured, even breathing had been difficult. It had been as if they were on the verge of suffocation.
“But at first,” Er Leng Zi said. “No matter how I looked at him, he just looked like a kid.” Despite the rest of the gang agreeing with Big Bro, Er Leng Zi still had to argue.
A crisp slap rang out.
“Son of a bitch—why do I have such a stupid little brother.” The leader lowered his raised hand. “Don’t you know? He’s scary because he looks like a student. If he actually looked like an expert, would we have anything to be afraid of? When have you ever seen a real expert look like an expert?!”
Boss scowled with hatred for the stupidity of his little brother, so it was no surprise that he slapped the little idiot again. Boss was frustrated, extremely frustrated. If he and his idiot brother didn’t look so much alike then how would that kid know to kidnap just him in order to threaten the other four?
It turned out that Er Leng Zi was Boss’s actual little brother. So, it was no wonder that he was the only one who raised a fuss while the others just silently accepted getting cussed. Of course he wasn’t really stupid, if he didn’t complain for his brother, Boss would be even more upset.
“Big bro…”
Another slap landed on Er Leng Zi’s face.
“Call me Boss!”
“Boss…” Er Leng Zi wore a wronged expression as he nursed his face. Even though his face was thick and tough, he couldn’t accept being slapped for nothing, right? He still didn’t even understand why he wasn’t allowed to call his own brother, “big bro.” Why did he have to call his brother, “Boss”?
“What?” said Boss.
“Are we going to get on the train?” Er Leng Zi glanced at the last of the passengers who were nearly finished boarding.
“Get on the train, my ass. This city is the most advanced and civilized city in the country. It’s a beautiful place, and although the city isn’t that big, it’s famous for being wealthy. Since we’re here, we need to get our share.” Boss’s creepy laugh wafted into the night.
They were wandering rogues. They didn’t have a fixed address. When they had money, they spent it with their lives on the line, and when they didn’t have money, they figured something out.
***
After Zhang Yang left the train station, he took off at a crazed run. It was early in the morning already, and there were a lot of people jogging so he didn’t attract any attention.
When Zhang Yang finally felt tired, he gasped and leaned against a large Banyan tree, hiding himself in its shadow.
After leaving the train station, the more Zhang Yang thought, the more frightened he became. Back there on the train, he had been overwhelmed by a surge of cold-blooded clarity. It was intense and all-encompassing. And for that short amount of time, it had become a natural part of him.
But now, fear blazed through Zhang Yang.
If it was the old him, even if he was beat to death, he would never have had the guts to argue with a group of buff train robbers.
But there was something that frightened Zhang Yang even more. He had almost lost it. He’d almost lost all control and had very nearly killed that one train robber. He didn’t understand any of this. His mind had held thoughts and convictions of a fierce and experienced killer. Certainties that no student would ever know. But there was more.
Why?
Why had he almost lost all self-control? Why did he want to kill someone who could no longer threaten him?
Zhang Yang wracked his brain over this question. That definitely hadn’t been his own thinking. He’d lived his entire life without harming even a chicken. He definitely wouldn’t suddenly show such a fierce killing intent towards a random stranger.
Zhang Yang really wanted to understand why this happened. This wasn’t an issue with his inherited knowledge. When he had been stuck in the hospital for over a month, Zhang Yang had performed nearly a thousand small experiments. He had already confirmed that those thoughts and memories wouldn’t affect his decisions. At the most, they would trigger an instinctive response for self-preservation. Not an overwhelming hunger to kill.
That would mean that the problem lay in himself!
“Why, why…” Zhang Yang muttered to himself. He glanced at the night sky. Even though it was already early morning, the sun still slowly rose. He had two choices: first, go to the school dorms to sleep; second, go to a friend’s house to sleep.
“Taxi!” Zhang Yang didn’t hesitate and called out for a ride. He decided to go to his friends house to crash. The school was closed at this time, and the old man gate guard was stubborn to the extreme. Not to mention, school had already been in session for three days. If he went to school now, that old gate guard would definitely cuss him out.
“How much fare for XX street?” Zhang Yang knew that if he didn’t ask about the price, he’d get gouged once they arrived.
“Twenty.” The driver, upon hearing Zhang Yang’s local accent, didn’t cheat him and gave him a fair price.
“Okay, twenty,” Zhang Yang said. “I’ll give you the money first, and you give me a ticket.”
The taxi driver had already lowered the window. The icy air conditioning washed over Zhang Yang, relaxing his entire body. He reached into his pockets for his wallet. Even though the taxi had said a good price, Zhang Yang didn’t fully trust the driver. He decided that paying for the cab ticket first was the safest option.
“My wallet…” Zhang Yang’s expression shifted from careful to stupefied. His hand that had been rooting around in his pocket stiffened. Besides the serrated knife, his pocket was empty. He had even almost cut himself on the knife while looking for the damn wallet.
“What’s wrong? No money?” the taxi driver asked.
“I left my wallet at a friend’s house.” Zhang Yang very nearly cried, his expression following suit. He finally remembered…that girl still had his wallet.
“I’m not Lei Feng,” the taxi driver said. “If you don’t have cash, then you should just walk there nice and slow,” he laughed. [1]
Suddenly, the taxi driver’s sharp scream rent the air. The taxi took off like an arrow accompanied by his continuous shouting. In just seconds, the vehicle had disappeared in the direction of the city traffic.
Zhang Yang coughed at the taxi’s escape fumes. “Why’d you run so fast?” he said to no one. “I just wanted to ask if this knife could replace the twenty yuan taxi fare. Did you really have to run so fast?!” Zhang Yang held the knife in his hand, a dazed expression on his face as he watched the tiny speck speed away in the distance. How frustrating! It looked like he could only go back to campus. His friend’s house was twice as far as the school.
Looking at the knife in his hands, Zhang Yang gave it a light toss. It felt fairly heavy; the dagger should be of fairly high quality. Zhang Yang was originally going to throw this weapon away, but he decided to pocket it instead.
C City was a famous city that never slept, especially during the summer. The streets were filled with lonely springtime hearts and people with a need to vent their frustrations. Due to this, Zhang Yang wasn’t all that bored as he slowly trudged down the street.
Occasionally, from shops that were half-covered and lit with sensual lighting, women covered in heavy makeup threw provocative words his way. Zhang Yang had long heard rumors of such establishments, though unfortunately, he had never had a chance to get a taste. Even more unfortunate, he didn’t have any money on him today. It really was a shame.
But then again, rumor has it that prostitutes would rot your younger brother’s head. If ya know what he meant.
Translator’s Notes
[1]: Lei Feng was a soldier in the People’s Liberation Army. He was used as a propaganda icon for selflessness and modesty, as well as his devotion to the communist party.