Chapter 974: Tiger from the North

Midnight, outside the Cattle Farm Station. War Tiger squatted at the curb, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips. The craving gnawed at him repeatedly, but he kept telling himself: not yet.

His eyes narrowed at the movement behind him. “How did it go?”

Gao Yang had suddenly shown up, sitting beside War Tiger and watching the bleak, lonesome old street with him. “I checked with Lie Detection. They’re clear.”

“Colorless had a good eye for people. Her subordinates are all solid.” War Tiger smiled as he took his phone out of his pocket, opening the notebook app before tossing it to Gao Yang.

“Based on what I know about you, you must have checked their Talents with Replicate. This is the information I got from them. Check if there’s a difference. Perhaps one of them is hiding a Talent.”

Gao Yang caught the phone and said in surprise, “Have you recovered from the side effects of quitting smoking?”

War Tiger snorted.

Gao Yang browsed through the list.

Wandering Tune: lv6 Portal, lv3 Blocking.

Harvest Song: lv6 Master of Hidden Weapons, lv3 Mirror Man.

Bumblebee: lv6 Decaying Particles, lv3 Hedgehog.

Canary: lv4 Rabies, lv3 Jeer.

Lin Fu: lv6 Talisman, lv3 Personality Kill.

Old Seven: lv6 Finger Strength, lv3 Six Senses Judge.

Small Luo: Lv6 Toys, lv3 Praise.

Veggie: lv6 Magic Hair, lv3 Lion Roar.

Rewind: lv4 Suggestion, lv3 Clairvoyance.

Crimson Bee: lv6 Bee Venom, lv5 Spider Venom.

Gao Yang returned the phone to War Tiger. “All match. Only one inconsistency.”

“Who?” War Tiger’s gaze sharpened. He was surprised that something had slipped his notice.

“Canary,” Gao Yang said. “She also has level 1 Dodge.”

“That cranky girl?” War Tiger didn’t expect that.

“When I checked, she didn’t lie, though, and she was benevolent.” Gao Yang chuckled. “It’s likely that she’s just missed the notification about her new talent.”

“Haha, that sounds like her.” War Tiger waved at him. “No need to remind her. Let’s see when she’ll notice.”

...

Twenty minutes later, War Tiger “borrowed” the semi-truck of a moving company. The passengers boarded the truck. Wandering Tune used Blocking on the vehicle, while Rewind scanned the surroundings with Clairvoyance.

War Tiger took the wheel, Gao Yang beside him.

“Anything from Qilin?” That was what War Tiger had been thinking about the past few days.

Gao Yang shook his head.

War Tiger smacked his lips and reassured himself, “No bad news is good news.”

Then he asked, “Have you merged with the Guard Rune Circuit?”

Everyone had heard about Gao Yang's Talents reaching level 7—a morale boost that left them eager to see his Absolute Defense reach level 8.

Gao Yang shook his head again.

“Doesn’t make sense.” War Tiger stroked his chin thoughtfully. “You’ve always been quick...I mean your growth, not your other performance.”

Gao Yang ignored the joke, his brow furrowing. “That might have proved my theory.”

“The three prerequisites?”

“Yeah.” Gao Yang nodded. “A strong conviction, a clear path, and the right power. All three conditions must be met. My dad’s conviction was to protect his family. For that, he would go as far as to lock fate.”

War Tiger sighed. “But not you.”

“Most of those I’d like to protect are already lost to me.” Gao Yang's gaze remained fixed on the road ahead. “Rather than locking fate, I’d rather return to the past to change fate. Time-Space Spirit will suit me more.”

War Tiger shook his head, caught between relief and concern. “It’s good to have a dream, Little Yang Yang, but at least wait until you get Time-Space Spirit. That’s the very first step!”

Gao Yang couldn’t explain his system and the wishing fountain, so he asked about War Tiger’s progress instead. “And you?”

Thinking about it frustrated War Tiger. He clutched the driving wheel while tossing the Damage Rune Circuit in his hand. “Good mindset. Steady performance. Still level 6.”

Gao Yang wasn’t surprised. He had seen many strong points in War Tiger, but conviction wasn't one of them.

“I’ve been thinking about your theory all this time,” War Tiger said. “And I thought: maybe I have to find what I most want to do before I can deduce my conviction.”

War Tiger narrowed his eyes and turned the wheel. “Everything aside, what I most want to do is to fight a powerful opponent.”

Gao Yang was surprised. “That simple?”

“That simple.” War Tiger's smile turned sheepish. “It’s simple yet difficult. I haven’t found the right opponent yet.”

“When I just came to Li City, I was naive and arrogant. I thought I was the biggest deal. Then I met Dragon and got taught a lesson. I thought I would avoid another beatdown for now and follow the guy until I got stronger than he was. Then I would fuck him up.”

“You’re always a defiant one.” Gao Yang snorted.

War Tiger burst out laughing. “But plans always change. After years of following Dragon around, I lost my eagerness to fight Dragon.”

“Because you can’t win?”

“That’s not what it’s about. I can fight those I cannot defeat. I just don’t want to fight him anymore.” War Tiger shrugged. “Then I have another target: Azure Dragon.”

“For a long time, I dreamed about fighting the strongest man on paper to the death. Thinking about it pumps me up.”

“But!” War Tiger rolled his eyes at Gao Yang. “He died at your hands, and I don’t feel like fighting his corpse puppet.”

Gao Yang’s eyes glinted. “Don’t you have a better target now?”

“Qilin, you mean?”

Gao Yang nodded.

War Tiger confessed, “I’m gonna kill that bastard for sure, but I don’t want to have an all-out fight with him. Just doesn’t feel like it.”

“Why?”

“Dunno. It doesn’t feel exciting.” War Tiger sighed. “I’ve been searching for the perfect opponent, but haven’t found them to this day. Perhaps that’s why I can’t reach level 7.”

War Tiger glanced to the side at Gao Yang.

“If you want to fight me, I’m game.” Gao Yang propped his face up with a hand, looking ahead at the road. “But you better ask Hong Xiaoxiao for a hairpin first.”

War Tiger laughed. “Where’s the fun if I have insurance? Little Yang Yang, not even you understand me. It seems there’s never going to be someone who can. How sad.”

A few seconds later, he started singing in a booming voice:

“I’m a tiger from the north, wandering the vast wilderness.”

His voice carried to the truck bed.

“Cutting north wind sweeps, foggy yellow sand passes...”

Lin Fu was from War Tiger’s time, too. He knew the song well and joined the singing without hesitation.

“I can only clench my chilled teeth...”

Wandering Tune started singing, too. It was one of his go-tos at karaoke.

“And howl twice...”

Bumblebee and Old Seven put their arms around each other, their off-key voices adding to the growing chorus.

“For nothing else but the beautiful grassland...”

Crimson Bee stood up and sang from his heart to maintain the atmosphere.

“I’m a tiger from the north, wandering the vast wilderness...”

Veggie and Small Luo joined.

Small Luo sang like a kid, while Veggie had a clear, pure voice that was surprisingly pleasant, and she didn’t stutter when she sang.

Harvest Song stayed characteristically quiet. She didn’t know how to sing.

Canary squatted to the side, confusion evident on her face. Why did everyone know this song? The feeling of being left out grew until, acting on impulse, she threw back her head and howled like a wolf.