Chapter 14: Night Roamers 3
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The street was empty, swept with black fog, then came the occasional sounds of fighting.
In this environment, even without the other side calling out, Fan Peiyang would automatically make way.
Carrying his gifted stationery, he obediently walked into a nearby alley. From the alley he could see the whole street but didn’t need to worry about getting caught in the crossfire—the perfect vantage point to secretly observe.
Torn T-shirt had said some lunatics would go out hunting Night Roamers on the days they appeared, in order to gain experience and stationery that might drop.
Fan Peiyang was equally curious about the Night Roamers and the lunatics.
He had just entered the alley when the black fog passed by. But the one chasing it was just a single person, a youth in a hooded sweatshirt with a cartoon bear printed on the chest.
Fan Peiyang was puzzled. Earlier he had clearly seen several shadowy figures.
“Hey, I’m over here—!” Hooded sweatshirt moved nimbly, somehow circling around to taunt from in front of the black fog.
Fan Peiyang was very familiar with this voice—it was the one who had yelled at him to get out of the way earlier.
In a flash, the black fog condensed into a shadow pouncing at the hooded sweatshirt, too fast to even see its form.
But Hooded sweatshirt didn’t dodge or evade, and the instant the shadow pounced, he unexpectedly dispersed like smoke.
Illusion like stationery?
Fan Peiyang narrowed his eyes, only then could he see the shadow’s outline clearly—a wolf.
“Old Wang, Chai Ye—!” Yells came from around the corner of another connecting alley some distance from the wolf shadow.
Following the sound, Fan Peiyang saw the real Hooded sweatshirt hiding there.
The wolf shadow hesitated after pouncing emptily. Hearing the shouts, it instinctively looked up to locate the source, distracted for that instant. Completely unaware, two people came out from the alley behind it.
Illusion and shouting, Hooded sweatshirt had easily implemented continuous disruption on the Night Roamer.
Fan Peiyang shifted his gaze to the two sneak attackers.
One was dressed fully in black, the other wore a regular blue outdoor tracksuit. Both held blades, stealthily approaching the night haunting from behind.
All black moved faster, almost within ambush range. The wolf shadow keenly noticed and suddenly whipped around.
All black drew his blade.
The wolf shadow dispersed into fog.
The blade didn’t hit anything vital, but still managed to injure the Night Roamer. When the wolf shadow turned to fog, its howl could be heard as the All black ‘s arm made a “ding” notification sound.
Experience points.
“F*ck, you call that a miss?” Hooded sweatshirt ran over and laid into All black.
Obviously injuring the Night Roamer was far from their goal.
All black glanced up, his voice and aura equally icy: “Because a certain someone’s disruption was pathetically useless.”
“Oh c’mon,” Hooded sweatshirt turned to the one in blue. “Old Wang, you say, who’s useless, me or him?”
Blue cloth had a patient expression and tone: “You’re both fine, I’m the useless one, ok?”
Disrupt and ambush, what a seamless coordination.
They’re not lunatics, but three challengers with real tactics and skill.
Fan Peiyang marked one off.
Just when he wanted to test the new stationery, volunteers had arrived. He was very satisfied.
Locking onto All black who seemed the strongest attacker, Fan Peiyang concentrated and the opponent’s stats appeared in his mind after a few seconds—
Intelligence: A
Stamina: A
Attack Power: A
Defense Power: A
Comprehensive Danger Level: A
It was indeed not low.
While Fan Peiyang checked the data, the three had re-spread out.
“Chai Ye, stay by my side from now on. Taozi, you go hide over there, ready to coordinate anytime—” Blue cloth directed Hooded sweatshirt to sneak into an alley while he stuck back-to-back with the one in black, looking up at the fog floating overhead.
The black fog suddenly rapidly gathered, the wolf shadow pouncing at All black like an unsheathed sword.
Fan Peiyang realized—All black had injured the Night Roamer so it would target him. Blue cloth made All black leave his side for just this reason…
“Crack—”
A transparent panel like bulletproof glass appeared on the raised arm of Bleu cloth, like a glass shield. The pouncing wolf heavily collided with it, directly cracking the transparent panel.
Just as Fan Peiyang guessed, Blue cloth was on defense.
Hooded sweatshirt = Disruption
Blue cloth = Defense
All black = Offense
—Fan Peiyang had a basic assessment of this hunting party’s setup.
The wolf shadow’s tremendous impact knocked down Blue cloth, but All black nimbly dodged to the side. Seizing the moment with the wolf still atop the transparent panel, he slashed down with his knife.
The wolf shadow “swish”—dispersed into fog right when All black withdrew his knife, then abruptly re-formed by All black’s knife-wielding wrist and viciously bit down!
All black’s body stiffened but he stubbornly remained silent.
“Chai Ye—!”
Blue cloth dispelled his transparent panel and stabbed over with his knife.
From the other direction, Hooded sweatshirt had also arrived, blade in hand as well.
Fan Peiyang was amazed by Hooded sweatshirt’s speed—he hadn’t even noticed when the guy came over.
The two blades descended together. The wolf shadow released its bite and nimbly leapt away, then suddenly tipped its head back and let out a long howl—”Awoo—!”
Then it turned into black fog again, completely enveloping the three.
At the same time, Fan Peiyang noticed more black fog approaching not far away, moving very quickly as if it was a black gale.
But the three surrounded by the original Night Roamer’s fog had obstructed vision and hadn’t discovered it at all.
The earlier wolf’s head-raised howl was summoning its companion!
Realizing this, Fan Peiyang took a new can from his pocket…
A self-defense weapon so important, of course he wouldn’t only bring one when going out.
The new black fog had reached the three’s rear. In a flash it condensed into the wolf shadow and ferociously pounced forward.
The fog surrounding the three instantly dispersed. Their keen senses detected the wind behind them and they swiftly turned, but the wolf’s claws were already before their eyes…
“Bang—!”
A strange can flew over out of nowhere, heavily striking the wolf’s paw.
The wolf shadow “Awoo”—its paw was knocked off course, swiping empty air.
The three reacted at once, slashing back with their blades.
The new wolf shadow was injured and “swish”—dispersed into fog.
Only now did the three notice the man in the alley’s shadows. Over six feet tall, broad shoulders, long legs, shirt neatly tucked—his gaze was deep and unfathomable.
Their eight eyes met. The three spoke:
Hooded sweatshirt: “You’re not gone yet? What stationery did you use just now? Hey, I’ve never seen you in the Underground City before?”
Fan Peiyang: “You’re welcome.”
Blue cloth: “Thanks for the help.”
Hooded sweatshirt: “……”
Blue cloth: “……”
Somehow the order of conversation felt off.
All black pulled down his sleeve to simply bandage his injured wrist.
Hooded sweatshirt frowned at the wound: “Use some stationery to heal it?”
“No need,” All black clamped one end of the sleeve in his teeth and pulled it taut into a knot, “Let’s save it for the challenge.”
Without warning, wind rose on the street. The three looked left and right to see large amounts of black fog drifting over from both ends of the street.
“Tsk, all the Night Roamers around are coming.” Hooded sweatshirt said, slinging his arms over both Blue cloth and All black’s shoulders and pushing them towards Fan Peiyang’s alley. His eyes didn’t forget Fan Peiyang though—”Still watching? Let’s scram—”
Narrow alley, wild sprinting, lethal black fog.
Fan Peiyang was at the back while the cans flew back and forth rapidly behind him. He frequently looked back, using his mind to strengthen control over the cans and single-handedly construct the sturdiest barrier possible.
The black fog easily kept pace chasing them, but whenever it caught up and formed into wolf shadows, either the cans would strike it or if it got lucky dodging the can, it would be finished off in a backhand blow.
The cans couldn’t truly injure the wolf shadows like the blades, but also made it very difficult for them to attack effectively.
“The Night Roamers are congregating more and more, this won’t do,” Blue cloth judged the situation. “We need to find somewhere to hide temporarily—”
Fan Peiyang noticed the street was increasingly familiar. Although still some ways from Torn T-shirt’s dwelling, the manhole to enter the underground pipes wasn’t far anymore.
“Speed up,” he decisively took charge. “We have to shake them off first.”
The three didn’t ask further and immediately sped up.
Fan Peiyang led them around a corner into a new alley, and as expected, he saw the familiar manhole cover. He promptly opened it: “Get in here—”
The four all jumped in. Fan Peiyang shifted the cover back and the one in black picked up a fallen can, studying it closely.
Time ticked by second by second, and the activity above gradually stilled as the Night Roamers apparently drifted away.
“Let’s get acquainted,” Blue cloth extended a friendly hand. “Wang Zhengming.”
Fan Peiyang politely shook: “Fan Peiyang.”
Hooded sweatshirt was more casual, directly saying: “Tao Wenyu.”
All black remained emotionless: “Chai Ye.”
Fan Peiyang looked at Blue cloth’s honest expression, then at the cartoon bear on Hooded sweatshirt’s chest—horned demon head wielding a tiny pitchfork. Finally he looked at All black up and down, easily matching their features to their names through these characteristics.
Wang Zhengming, good honest man.
Tao Wenyu, demon bear.
Chai Ye, all black outfit.
“You’re new here?” Tao Wenyu cut straight to the point asking.
Fan Peiyang was already nonchalant about having a newbie face: “Just arrived yesterday.”
“Doesn’t look like it from how you control stationery,” Tao Wenyu raised a brow. “That can you flew just now was pretty fast, it was getting faster.”
Fan Peiyang thought back to how it felt earlier controlling it, and truthfully said: “My proficiency is increasing.”
Tao Wenyu: “When proficiency goes up but so does stamina consumption.”
Fan Peiyang: “Still fine.”
Tao Wenyu: “Oh, your stamina is that good huh?”
Fan Peiyang: “You don’t need to know.”
Tao Wenyu: “……”
He suspected the other was showing off, but had no evidence.
“Friend, want to join Nightwalker?” Wang Zhengming sincerely extended an invitation. “We don’t care about complicated stuff, we just focus on the challenge level.”
“Don’t think Nightwalker’s no good just because you see we’re still at 110,” Tao Wenyu put his arm over Wang Zhengming’s shoulder, joining the persuasion. “We’re waiting to recruit even more outstanding partners. But no one’s suitable, so we wait. We prioritize quality over quantity.”
Fan Peiyang looked at them for a bit before asking: “You guys are challenging the challenge level this time?”
“Our team is completed, of course we’re going to…” Tao Wenyu trailed off. “No wait, you mean you’re going too?”
Fan Peiyang affirmed with silence.
Tao Wenyu looked at his matter-of-fact attitude and was ready to rip out his hair: “Dude, wake up. You just got here yesterday and you want to challenge the challenge level in a week? Do you think your life’s too long? Even if you join Nightwalker, there’s no way you can immediately challenge the level.”
Chai Ye finished examining the can and handed it back one-handed.
Fan Peiyang accepted it and put it back in his pocket.
Tao Wenyuan rolled his eyes at Wang Zhengming: “There’s no saving him, he’s a total madman.”
Wang Zhengming looked at Fan Peiyang: “So there’s no chance of you joining Nightwalker either?”
Fan Peiyang thought for a bit then sincerely promised: “If we run into Nightwalker during the challenge level, I’ll go easy on you.”
“……” Tao Wenyu now just wanted to push open the manhole cover and walk far away, otherwise he might end up beating this guy like a Night Roamer.
Chai Ye looked over with considerable interest.
Wang Zhengming laughed: “Alright, I’ll thank you in advance on Nightwalker’s behalf.”
He wasn’t someone who listened to advice, nor was he someone content to be beneath others.
Tao Wenyu lifted the manhole cover and jumped out first, followed by Chai Ye, then Wang Zhengming.
“You’re not coming up?” The three were puzzled seeing Fan Peiyang remain unmoving.
Fan Peiyang lightly shook his head: “You guys go first, I’m going to think about some things here.”
They didn’t really understand but also didn’t ask further.
From the moment they met, he had been a mysterious man. The Stationery Tree was a mystery, using cans was a mystery, his stamina was a mystery, even the bulging bag he kept holding without letting go was also a mystery.
If he didn’t want to get close, then there was no need to understand him.
“See you at the challenge entrance.” Wang Zhengming left these parting words and shut the manhole cover.
Fan Peiyang listened to their footsteps fading away until gone. He neatened his sleeves again and bent to crawl into the homeward pipe.
Twenty minutes later, the metal mesh emitting light appeared up ahead.
Fan Peiyang’s heart tightened. The metal mesh clearly bore signs of damage.
All the way here he had suppressed his worry, constantly telling himself what Torn T-shirt said—the Underground Well was safe, they had lived here so long, he wouldn’t be wrong. But the wolf shadow still flashed through his mind from time to time, as he bursted into that “room” where Tang Lin was.
No wolf shadow please.
No wolf shadow please.
Fan Peiyang silently chanted these four words. In the brief dozen-odd seconds from seeing the metal mesh to reaching it, his heart rose higher and higher…
The scene inside the metal mesh finally clarified.
Fan Peiyang froze behind it, dumbstruck.
The wolf shadow did appear, but was well-behavedly sprawled at Tang Lin’s feet, showing a picture of harmony.
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