Chapter 30: Martial Hall
After Zhou Ming had properly rewarded his stomach with a good meal, he went straight back to the Garden Community in the southern part of the city.
Besides checking out of his rental, there were still some things he had yet to retrieve.
“Phew, cough, cough…”
Inside his old residence, Zhou Ming squatted down and retrieved the phone he had hidden in the corner of the wall.
A gentle blow sent dust scattering everywhere.
“Good thing I brought the charger with me, or else I’d have to go back again just to turn this thing on.”
As expected, the phone screen was pitch black—no power at all.
After all, he had been away from home for more than two months.
After waiting over ten minutes, Zhou Ming finally managed to power it on.
“Ding, ding, ding…”
It sounded like a string of firecrackers going off.
Notification after notification—unread messages and missed calls—popped up in quick succession.
Zhou Ming was almost worried his phone wouldn’t be able to handle the bombardment.
He scrolled through them.
At first, it was just Wang Yan and Xiao Yun reaching out normally.
Later, after he hadn’t responded for a long time, they began spamming him with texts and calls.
“Guess it wasn’t a waste getting to know those two.”
Although the fault lay with him, Zhou Ming hadn’t wanted to make them worry, so he didn’t tell them in advance.
And since his old, beaten-up phone had turned useless once he left Qinshan Base, he had hidden it under the bed to avoid damaging it while in the wilderness.
Judging from the state of his home, it hadn’t been robbed while he was gone—probably because even the thieves didn’t think this place was worth the effort, which was why his phone was still there safe and sound.
Then Zhou Ming called Wang Yan first to let him know he was safe.
Upon receiving the unexpected call, Wang Yan began by cursing him out, then proudly announced that he had successfully condensed his Spiritual Seed and tamed a Ferocious Beast cub.
During the call, Wang Yan complained endlessly—thankfully, he had managed to condense his Spiritual Seed before his twentieth birthday.
Otherwise, as his father later told him, if he hadn’t broken through by twenty, his father and mother would have already started “training a new account.”
Wang Yan was filled with resentment toward his father’s words, grumbling in Zhou Ming’s ear the whole time, even questioning whether he was his parents’ biological child.
Once the topic started, Wang Yan wouldn’t stop talking.
In the end, Zhou Ming couldn’t take it anymore and directly hung up.
He had thought Wang Yan would at least express some concern—but instead, it turned into a full-blown venting session.
Looking at the last number in his contacts list, Zhou Ming—who had been decisive and ruthless while in the wilderness—suddenly felt a headache coming on.
As the saying went, “If you’ve taken from someone, your hands are tied; if you’ve eaten from someone, your mouth is sealed.”
For a whole year, Xiao Yun had looked after him like a younger brother.
Zhou Ming owed her that kindness.
Now, after disappearing for more than two months, he wasn’t sure how to face her.
In the end, he still made the call—but held the phone away from his ear in advance.
“Hello, Zhou Ming?”
Unlike his own phone, Xiao Yun’s had caller ID. Seeing the unfamiliar number, she was unsure at first, but her tone carried a hint of concern.
“Sister Yun, it’s me.”
Hearing her voice, Zhou Ming felt a pang of guilt and brought the phone closer to his ear.
“Zhou Ming! I knew you weren’t dead!”
???
Why did that sound so awkward? But hearing how happy she was, Zhou Ming didn’t bring it up.
The two ended up talking for half an hour, mostly catching up on what had happened recently.
Near the end, Xiao Yun mentioned that her birthday was on the 9th of next month. It would also be her younger brother’s farewell banquet, and she invited Zhou Ming to attend—both to celebrate and to let her brother, Xiao Lei, apologize to him.
Originally, Zhou Ming didn’t plan to go. But remembering how, during her last birthday, he had only sent a short “happy birthday” after finding out, he knew he couldn’t repeat that mistake. So he agreed.
After hanging up, Zhou Ming glanced at the calendar. Seeing that there were still more than ten days before Xiao Yun’s birthday, he wasn’t in a rush.
Now that he had returned to Qinshan Base and taken care of all miscellaneous matters, Zhou Ming began planning his next steps.
……
In the eastern part of the city were clustered numerous Martial Halls and Shooting Ranges within Qinshan Base.
The area’s prosperity was second only to the inner city—in some ways, it was even more lively.