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nOn the way home, the bicycle went on a path along the riverside.

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nIn the distance, a ship of more than 10 meters in length was headed in this direction. Many people were crowded on the bow of the ship.

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nBoth the men and women had pallid faces and disheveled hair. Each of them carried more than one bag, and many of them had their children with them.

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n“These must be refugees from outside the city.”

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nChen Yiming stopped the bicycle by the roadside and carefully observed the ship.

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nThe top of the ship was covered with a large sheet of tarpaulin. If the refugees did not gather at the ship’s bow, it would be impossible to tell what was in the ship’s cabins by just looking at it.

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nThe ship dropped anchor along the shore near an empty area not far from Chen Yiming.

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nThe refugees at the bow of the ship jumped onto the shore. After that, more refugees exited from the ship’s cabin one after another. Following the lead of those in front, they made their way onto the shore.

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nChen Yiming estimated that there were about fifty of them.

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nWatching the ship turn back, Chen Yiming felt a sense of urgency.

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n“I have to inform my family about this situation quickly.”

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nWith the refugees sneaking into the city and the troops gathering, something big must have happened. The village in the city would definitely be the first place for the refugees to settle down, and his home just so happened to be in the village.

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nHe got back on his bicycle and sped home.

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n…

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nWhen he got home, it was already dark out.

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nDinner was already served on the dining table — a total of four side dishes and a soup.

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nFather Chen — Chen Jindong — was lying on a chair smoking a pipe. Mother Chen was sitting at the dining table, ledger in hand, tabulating the day’s earnings.

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nChen Yiming’s younger sister, Chen Yingying, was doing her homework at the dining table to save on the electricity bill.

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nSeeing that her son had returned, Mother Chen put away the ledger and called the family over. Chen Yiming obediently went to help with the dishes.

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nAt the dining table, everyone ate in silence.

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nWhen everyone had finished eating, Father Chen stopped Chen Yingying, who had wanted to go back to her room to continue studying. He had a serious expression on his face.

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n“I just got the news from the farmers’ market today — there might be another war in the west. There are rumors that alien creatures appeared in the lake. From now on, you all have to be careful when you are outside.”

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nHe paused for a moment before cautioning Chen Yingying.

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n“Don’t come back on your own after school anymore. Wait for your brother to pick you up.”

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nThen, he briefed Mother Chen.

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n“In the future, the restaurant will only accept orders until 4 pm. Yiming will pick Yingying up directly after delivering the last order.”

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nChen Yiming waited for Father Chen to finish before hastily interjecting, “I have some news to report as well. On my way out today, I encountered soldiers already assembled into troops. At the riverside on the way back, I also came across refugees hiding aboard a ship and sneaking into the city.”

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nOutside the house, it had started to drizzle again. The temperature seemed to have become exceptionally cold.

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n“Refugees entering the city. Refugees entering the city. Refugees entering the city.” Father Chen said to himself, repeating it thrice.

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nHe fell silent, seemingly deep in thought.

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nAfter a while, Father Chen continued, “The scale of this war might not be small. Right from the start, it isn’t possible to survive outside the city.”

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nWhen Madam Chen heard about the refugees entering the city, she started to feel frightened and worried.

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n“Should we just close the restaurant and reopen it after all this is over?”

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nFather Chen’s heart sank. He thought for a long time before saying, “Let’s wait a few more days and see how much the situation worsens. Moreover, Yiming is going to the martial arts school to train, and we will have recurring expenses.”

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nThen, he turned to Chen Yiming and asked, “How’s the preparation for your registration to the Mantis Snake Sword School?”

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nChen Yiming thumped his chest and promised, “No problems here. I’m confident that I can completely master all the basic sword moves over the next few days. After that, I’ll go and register immediately.”

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nFather Chen looked at Chen Yiming solemnly and said heavily, “This is no joking matter. You had better not be lying to us.”

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nThen, he instructed Madam Chen, “Once Yiming becomes a trainee at the school, remember to hang the training robes up high right after you have washed them. Hang them high enough that even those passing by our door can see it.”

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nMother Chen was delighted to hear this.

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n“That’s a good idea. I can also sew a few more replicas so that the people passing by will see them clearly.”

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nThe martial arts trainees were worlds apart from the warriors, and it was not for certain that even one in a hundred trainees would become a warrior. Even so, it would be easy enough for a trainee to win in a fight against several ordinary people, not to mention the refugees who were in poor physical condition.

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nAs long as Chen Yiming could successfully become a trainee at the Mantis Snake Sword School, the Chen family would not have to worry about anyone causing trouble for them. They would be able to deter any would-be troublemakers with just the title of a martial arts trainee.

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n…

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nThe next day, the Chen family’s restaurant continued its business as usual.

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nChen Yiming woke up early in the morning. Since there were no orders in the restaurant in the morning, he made good use of the time by practicing his basic sword moves.

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nFather Chen handled the ingredients by himself while Mother Chen visited the neighbors to find out the latest news. Chen Yingying went to school as usual.

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nLife still had to go on. The workers had to work and the students had to attend school. During the day, order in the city was still guaranteed.

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nNear noon, Chen Yiming stopped his training and started to go on deliveries.

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nAs he cycled across the bridge, he realized that the situation had worsened. Some refugees had already started to set up their homes under the bridge.

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nAs he approached the central business district, countless middlemen appeared on the roadside, raising sign boards to recruit people. All the sign boards had the same message: “XX project, mass recruitment. Meals included, accommodation not provided.”

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nThe laborers at the construction site were only provided three meals a day. With these terms, it was almost impossible to recruit anyone under normal circumstances. Clearly the situation was much worse than Chen Yiming had expected.

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nWhen Chen Yiming arrived at the central business district, he saw a large number of white-collar workers walking out of the office towers with their personal belongings. Most of them had tears in their eyes. It was clear they had just been fired from their jobs.

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nHis heart sank. He desperately hoped that he could obtain the last skill point soon.

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n…

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nAnother two days passed.

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nEveryone in the city knew that there was going to be a war in the west. The streets that used to be lively were now deserted.

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nEast Lake City started to prepare for war.

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nThe farmers’ market was forced to close down as everything was sold out. Ordinary citizens could only go to the designated rationing stations, collecting half a kilogram of rations every three days with their identity cards.

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nA large number of government corporations began to hire logistics personnel for the war.

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nThe Chen family’s restaurant was closed for business. The door was locked tight and the whole family stayed in the house all day.

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nThe only fortunate thing was that the restaurant owners, Father Chen and Mother Chen, had already taken countermeasures. They had a vacuum packing machine at home, and they often made smoked meat and dried vegetables, sealing them in vacuum packs.

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nThus, there was enough food stored in the basement of the house to feed the family for a whole year.

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n…

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nOn the night of the fifth day, the drizzle that had been falling continuously for several days finally stopped. The stars were shining in the sky again.

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nChen Yiming was practicing his basic sword moves in the courtyard on the first floor. Since restrictions were being imposed on electricity usage, he could only light a kerosene lamp.

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nHe practiced his moves again and again. A shadow was reflected on the wall, changing continuously along with his movements.

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nThe martial arts talent panel suddenly appeared in front of him, catching him unaware.

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nChen Yiming

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nTalent: Pale gray skill bar

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nSkill points: 3

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nHe obtained another skill point, and the total skill points on the panel clearly displayed the number “3”.

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nWithout any hesitation, Chen Yiming added three skill points to swordsmanship on his skill bar.

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nThe pattern representing swordsmanship lit up.

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nChen Yiming

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nTalent: Swordsmanship—Level 1

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nSkill points: 0

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nThe next moment, he felt as though something had cracked open in his mind, and a powerful force surged through him.

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nHe began to practice the basic sword moves again.

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nIn the first round, he was able to execute all the basic sword moves perfectly.

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nIn the second round, all the moves were connected, flowing smoothly from one move to the next.

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nIn the third round, the combination of basic sword moves such as stab, strike, taunt, provoke and slash automatically appeared in his mind. He could swiftly adapt his moves according to the situation.

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nWith the enhancement from his Level-1 swordsmanship talent, all the moves seemed as though they had been imprinted in his mind all along. Before the move he was executing had ended, he already had a plan for his next step.

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nHis speed of thinking had exceeded his body’s movement speed. The speed of his body seemed to have slowed down, and he could just go by feeling to steadily execute the sword moves without the slightest mistake.

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nA breeze blew past and the flame flickered. His figure kept still, sword in hand.

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nHis eyes were shut tight as two figures appeared in his mind. One of the figures was constantly switching between different weapons, holding a sword at one moment and a saber at another.

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nThe other figure held a long sword in his hand, using only combinations of the basic sword moves to counter the other’s moves. In an instant, the two figures seemed to have fought many times, and various ways to counterattack automatically appeared in his mind.

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nWhen he opened his eyes, he could not help but clench his fists. The grievances he had built up in his heart were released all at once.

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nAfter enduring for nearly three months, it was finally his turn to shine.

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nThese combinations of sword moves were not some profound technique, and were only flexible usage of the basic sword moves. But just with these, his current self could easily win against 10 of his original selves.

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nA sense of security started to grow in him, and he felt full of confidence.

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