Infinite Fighting

"Uncle Deng, I need to buy some medicine."

"What kind?"

"Anything for bruises and injuries. I got hit by a crate earlier, so I want to have some on hand."

"This one, this one, and this one. They’re all for external use. Use this one on bruises to reduce swelling. If you have an open wound, disinfect it, sprinkle on the powder, and wrap it with a bandage..."

....

Buying the medicine wasn’t difficult.

The man didn’t ask what it was for.

But the medicine was a bit expensive.

It cost one hundred and fourteen batteries.

More than half of his saved-up batteries were gone in an instant.

When he returned to his residence, Zhang Ji discreetly scanned his surroundings. He didn’t sense anything out of the ordinary, so he approached the door and knocked softly.

No sound came from within.

Opening the door and stepping inside, Zhang Ji didn’t see anyone.

’He’s gone?’

Zhang Ji’s expression changed slightly.

His feelings were complicated.

He had considered this possibility, but the reality of it still left him feeling a bit disappointed.

After barring the door and setting down the medicine, Zhang Ji sat on the bed and sighed.

This was the closest he had come to the world of fighting since arriving here.

Now that he’d missed it, there was no telling how long it would be before another opportunity like this arose.

Zhang Ji stared blankly for a while, then collected himself and prepared to rest. Suddenly, a noise came from the door.

GRIND~!

The steel bar barricading the door was bent by immense force. Kratos casually removed it and stepped inside.

Then, with his bare hands, he straightened the thumb-thick steel bar and put it back in place.

Seeing such strength, Zhang Ji finally understood why his door lock had been loose.

It had been yanked open with bare hands.

"Where’s the medicine?" Kratos asked.

"On the table." Zhang Ji got up and pointed to the medicine on the table.

Kratos strode to the bed, lay down, and lifted his shirt. The movement revealed not only his lean, powerful muscles but also a wound.

It was a bullet. Zhang Ji couldn’t tell what type it was, but it was lodged in the muscle. It wasn’t too deep; at least it hadn’t hit any internal organs.

"Use those to pull it out," Kratos said to Zhang Ji, pointing to a pair of needle-nose pliers lying nearby.

"Oh... okay!"

Zhang Ji snapped out of it, grabbed the pliers, and then picked up a lighter, intending to sterilize them.

Kratos just watched quietly, saying nothing.

After holding the pliers in the flame for a moment, Zhang Ji approached Kratos’s side.

Kratos lay back down, and Zhang Ji carefully approached the bullet with the needle-nose pliers.

The bullet was slippery, and the pliers couldn’t get a firm grip. He needed to go deeper.

Zhang Ji glanced at Kratos. The man’s expression was unchanged, his face a mask of calm, as if he felt no pain at all.

Realizing he couldn’t hesitate, Zhang Ji pushed the pliers deeper into the flesh, gripped them tightly with both hands, and yanked.

SQUELCH~!

The bullet came free.

Meanwhile, the muscles around Kratos’s wound contracted, clenching together to staunch the flow of blood.

"I still need to disinfect it and apply the medicine..." Zhang Ji said.

"Go ahead," Kratos nodded.

Zhang Ji gathered the supplies. He cleaned and disinfected Kratos’s wound, sprinkled on the medicinal powder, and then applied a gauze dressing.

Throughout the entire process, Kratos did not speak.

Only after Zhang Ji finished did he suddenly speak, "How did you end up here?"

Kratos was asking Zhang Ji how he came to Shanli Island.

This was a place of exile for criminals. Petty thieves sentenced to ten-odd days were almost never sent here.

In the Eastern Extreme Country of today, only those who had committed major, antisocial crimes and received sentences of five years or more were cast out here.

He didn’t see any of those traits in Zhang Ji.

"I’m not really sure," Zhang Ji answered truthfully.

’Who knows how transmigration even works.’

"Quite a few people have been tossed here carelessly over the years. They seem to treat this place like a garbage dump. The moment they decide they don’t like someone, they just dump them here," Kratos said.

He had misunderstood Zhang Ji’s situation.

Zhang Ji, however, had no intention of explaining. It wasn’t something that could be easily explained.

"I’ll stay here for a few days. Just go about your life as usual. If I make it through this, I’ll give you what you’re owed. If something happens to me, you don’t need to worry. You won’t be implicated," Kratos said.

Zhang Ji stared at Kratos. He did want something from the man, but it wasn’t this.

Seeing Zhang Ji still staring, Kratos couldn’t help but speak up. "I can’t give you the things I have on me. You’re a smart kid; you should know they’ll only bring you trouble."

"I want to learn martial arts and become a fighter," Zhang Ji said bluntly.

Kratos refused without a second thought.

"It’s too late. You’re too old. A true martial artist needs to start building their foundation at the age of three. They also need a certain degree of natural aptitude. It requires a massive financial investment, and the individual must put in relentless effort, constantly tempering their own body. Only then can they hope to achieve something before they turn twenty-five, when their Qi and Blood are at their absolute peak. And that’s just to achieve *something*. To become truly extraordinary, you have to endure even more inhuman training, face death several times, and break through the limits of the human body just to step into that hallowed hall..."

"I still want to learn," Zhang Ji said seriously.

’Nothing in this world is easy. The hardest part is not even trying.’

Kratos met Zhang Ji’s gaze and saw that same unyielding look. The corner of his mouth curved into a slight smile. "We’ll talk tomorrow," he said. "Rest for now."

That night, Zhang Ji gave the bed to Kratos, while he himself slept on the floor on a piece of cardboard.

’It didn’t feel much different from sleeping on the bed. The only difference was that one was higher up than the other.’

「Early the next morning」

He went to get their meals and brought them back.

He brought back two portions; the extra one was for Kratos.

Fortunately, he had always had a big appetite. He would also sometimes save room for roast duck rice, skipping a meal or eating less, so no one noticed anything was off.

"I’ll teach you a Breathing Skill," Kratos said suddenly during the meal. "Learn this. Exhale... inhale, inhale... Exhale... inhale, inhale... Exhale, exhale, exhale... Follow that rhythm. Keep cycling through it until it becomes instinct."

The breathing method was a bit complicated, but Zhang Ji memorized it. His memory had never been this good.

He began to breathe according to this, averaging over a minute per cycle.

He didn’t feel much of a difference.

Then he went to work.

’If I stayed here, it would be too suspicious.’

Things at the warehouse were running as smoothly as ever; it seemed Kratos’s disappearance hadn’t caused any disruption.

’This means they don’t want news of Kratos getting out... at least not yet.’

Zhang Ji worked, still maintaining that breathing method.

’He wasn’t sure if it was just in his head, but he felt like he could exert his strength more freely while using this breathing technique.’

After working until evening, Zhang Ji brought a large portion of roast duck rice back to his residence.

He didn’t see Kratos.

But Zhang Ji already had a feeling he knew what was going on.

After waiting a while, Kratos knocked on the door.

This time, there was no need for him to display his martial prowess.

Zhang Ji opened the door. Kratos walked in and went straight for the roast duck rice.

As he ate, Kratos observed Zhang Ji.

He noticed that he was still maintaining that breathing rhythm.

’Kratos nodded to himself. He hadn’t made any mistakes, and his attitude was excellent. He wouldn’t mind teaching him a thing or two.’

After finishing the meal, Kratos said to Zhang Ji, "Take off your shirt."

Zhang Ji’s mind certainly didn’t go there; he quickly stripped off his shirt.

Kratos picked up a piece of cardboard, rolled it into a tube, and suddenly whacked Zhang Ji on the back.

WHACK~!

It hurt a little, but Zhang Ji just frowned slightly.

"Did you feel anything?" Kratos asked.

As Zhang Ji was pondering, Kratos suddenly struck again.

WHACK~!

Along with the pain, Zhang Ji vaguely sensed something. As he breathed, blood seemed to rush to the point of impact for an instant, significantly reducing the damage from the blow.

’What is this?’

Zhang Ji touched his own shoulder, his eyes filled with surprise.

"The Breathing Skill directs the flow of your blood. When you’re hit, it concentrates your Qi and Blood to the point of impact to reduce the damage," Kratos explained, looking at Zhang Ji. "This is the fundamental theory behind the Horizontal Martial Arts Training technique, Iron Shirt!"

"And then?" Zhang Ji was getting excited. He said, "What should I do next?"

"Get beaten!" Kratos explained. "You start light and gradually increase the intensity. It begins with light taps from a wooden stick and progresses to heavy blows from an iron rod. The ancient methods even involved being put inside a sandbag to ensure the force was evenly distributed. Under assault, the body undergoes a cycle of injury and self-healing, causing the skin, flesh, and bones to develop a protective layer. However, that kind of training is very damaging and drains your future potential. You’d end up with chronic illnesses and become disabled in your old age. The improved method, however, only requires a certain amount of impact combined with medicinal washes for the whole body. This guarantees rapid Recovery, tempers every part of you, and prevents those ugly protective layers from forming."

"Let’s do it!" Zhang Ji said.

"Not now," Kratos shook his head. "Without the medicine, getting beaten will only leave you crippled. You have to go get the medicine."

"Where is it?" Zhang Ji asked.

"West Warehouse 2," Kratos said. "I’ve taken on a few disciples-in-name here, and they’ve been training all this time. I usually have someone else fetch the supplies. Once you get there, just enter the correct password to get access. But you’d better not take only what we need. Grab some other things as well to avoid suspicion."

......

West Warehouse 2.

During his lunch break, Zhang Ji pushed a forklift over to the area.

He hadn’t been to this area before.

His section only handled loading and unloading; someone else would then come with a forklift and take the cargo away.

The warehouse was huge and stored a vast number of goods.

After all, Kui District was also quite large, and it wasn’t easy to sustain the lives of several thousand people.

"What are you looking for?" a man in work clothes walked over and asked Zhang Ji.

"Which way to Storage Bay 3-5?" Zhang Ji asked.

"That way!" the man said, pointing.

"Thanks."

Zhang Ji quickly pushed the forklift to his destination. He glanced at Bay 3-5, then walked over to Bay 3-7, two units down.

There was an electronic lock on the storage bay door, which required a password to open.

Zhang Ji entered the password Kratos had told him.

[BEEP~ PASSWORD CORRECT! PLEASE WAIT. OPENING BAY DOOR!]

The bay door rose, and Zhang Ji pushed the forklift inside.

The cargo boxes inside were all metal cases with combination locks, looking much more high-grade than ordinary goods.

Zhang Ji found the boxes Kratos had mentioned and loaded them all onto the forklift. He also grabbed a few boxes labeled "Food" and stacked them on top as a disguise.

Only after leaving the area and hiding the items did Zhang Ji breathe a sigh of relief.

「That night.」

He carried the boxes back to his residence.

Kratos opened one of the boxes. Inside were some miscellaneous medicinal ointments.

"This is it?" Zhang Ji asked.

"You wish."

Kratos shot Zhang Ji a sideways glance, moved aside the top layer of ointments, revealing what was underneath: several rifles.

Zhang Ji’s eyebrow twitched. ’He knew it. For Kratos to risk exposure by sending him to get something, it couldn’t have been that simple.’

"Then where’s my medicine?" Zhang Ji asked.

"That one over there is yours. The password is the same."

Kratos pointed to a box nearby, then shouldered a rifle and took aim, apparently checking to see if it was in working order.

Zhang Ji opened that box. Inside were various jars and bottles of ground-up powders. He took out one bottle, opened it and sniffed. The smell was very strange, like a stink bug.

"It’s poisonous. Don’t go sniffing it randomly. It has to be mixed correctly before you can use it," Kratos said.

Zhang Ji was startled and quickly closed the bottle.

Kratos chuckled, put down the gun, and said, "Relax, I’ll teach you. I keep my promises."

Zhang Ji didn’t say anything.

’He had no choice. Kratos held all the cards; he could only accept whatever came his way.’