A floor down.

　　Fang Ping did not go home. He exited the building and hid somewhere outside.

　　He worried that the man would eventually figure out that Fang Ping tried to drug him before the effect took hold and would thus, go downstairs and attack him.

　　Fang Ping stayed vigilant against martial artists.

　　Although it would be fortunate if the man was still alive, given his misstep in which he had accidentally spilled the entire contents of three bottles’ worth inside his kettle.

　　Martial artists could resist the effects of drugs, so Fang Ping had figured that he probably would not die and would have some energy left.

　　He decided to wait outside for a while before going up to conduct recon.

　　—

　　Unit 201.

　　Huang Bin entered the room and hid his package before feeling somewhat dizzy.

　　He shook his head. Suddenly, Huang Bin felt his legs turn to jelly, affecting him so much that he just had to flop onto his seat.

　　“Sh*t!”

　　The first culprit that Huang Bin had thought of was not Fang Ping, but the Department of Investigation Services in Sun City!

　　He had been discovered and attacked stealthily!

　　How did the other party do that?

　　Huang Bin, with his fogged mind, had felt terror and disbelief at that moment.

　　He had confirmed that no one was monitoring him since his move here.

　　He had observed his surroundings meticulously before he went out every day. Those people who monitored him could not evade his observant eye.

　　His thoughts swam furiously and hazily. He had picked up the fact that someone was observing him within a relatively short time.

　　He had only gone out to buy his breakfast in the morning…

　　Breakfast?

　　Could it be his breakfast that was laced with drugs?

　　But it was already two to three hours since he had eaten his breakfast. What drug would it be that took effect after such a long time?

　　Huang Bin still did not consider Fang Ping as an option at this point.

　　He could not muster the effort to think as his brain became increasingly hazy.

　　He became anxious as he felt his limbs crumple. This could not go on!

　　He bit his tongue, filling his mouth with the potent flavor of blood.

　　Huang Bin managed to turn sideways, pick his package up, and clambered toward his window with difficulty.

　　But then he noted that his windows were all anti-theft and not easily opened.

　　“F*ck!”

　　Huang Bin’s head felt like it was going to burst from the pain. He felt his limbs turning stiff by the minute. The men from the Department of Investigation Services were probably waiting outside.

　　He dared not exit from the front door, so jumping from the window was his only viable option for a possible escape.

　　He maneuvered himself to the living room from inside his bedroom with difficulty. He punched his legs with force as he felt his control on his limbs slip away.

　　Fang Ping had administered way too big a dose.

　　Martial artists had higher resistance, that was true, but Huang Bin was only Rank-2.

　　Fang Ping had administered ten times the average dose. An ordinary civilian would have probably passed out with drool trickling down their chin.

　　Huang Bin’s resistance could be evidenced by his retained mobility.

　　Huang Bin wasted no time on self-pride. He had finally reached the balcony, relying only on his strong determination and his will to live.

　　The doorbell rang at this moment.

　　“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

　　“Uncle, I’m here to watch TV.”

　　“Uncle, are you still at home?”

　　Huang Bin could barely manage to stay conscious due to his addled brain. He did not bother responding to the brat outside the door.

　　He no longer thought about masking his identity.

　　Suddenly, his consciousness cleared. Right, he could capture someone as a hostage!

　　At his current state, the possibility of survival after jumping out of the window was low.

　　If he had captured someone, especially a Senior Three martial-science-exams hopeful, as a hostage, Sun City would reconsider their actions as they would not dare disregard the kid’s life.

　　As if he found his biggest lifeline, Huang Bin mustered everything under his power, turned himself towards the door and moved with sheer determination.

　　He must capture the kid before the men from the Department of Investigation Services realized that he fell into their trap.

　　—

　　In front of the door.

　　Fang Ping kept on knocking, but there was no sound from inside.

　　Fang Ping guessed that the man had probably fallen victim to his scheme.

　　Fang Ping did not lower his guard though. His hands, tucked behind his back, held a considerably chunky stick of wood.

　　It would be best if no one opened the door. He could sneak in from his house’s garden.

　　He would have to play it by ear if the door opened.

　　If the man fell for his trick, he could whack him on the head depending on the situation.

　　If the man had not, he could tell him that he came to plumb the congested drains.

　　“Yes, a plumber!” Fang Ping motivated himself.

　　While calculating his next move, he knocked on the door, yelling innocuously, “Uncle, are you home?”

　　“He wouldn’t have already gone out, would he? I’ll swing by afterward.”

　　Fang Ping muttered to himself. Suddenly he heard the soft sound of footsteps from inside the door.

　　After a while, the theft-proof door was opened from the inside.

　　Huang Bin could no longer see that clearly. He could not even identify whoever it was that stood in front of him. He said, “Come… come in…”

　　“Uncle, nothing has happened to you, has it?” Fang Ping did not dare to enter the house at this moment. He retreated a step back unintentionally, and said carefully, “You don’t look good. Are you sick?”

　　Huang Bin felt himself close to fainting. How possibly could he waste the time on empty words? He opened the theft-proof door carefully.

　　He panted heavily. “Come… Come in…”

　　“Uncle, do you want me to help you look for a doctor? I can call the police for you too.

　　“Your situation doesn’t look good…”

　　Huang Bin was close to imploding. Call the police, your ass!

　　The brat had been here for so long, the people from the Department could be waiting downstairs from any moment.

　　Huang Bin threw caution to the wind just when he had a little energy left, and reached towards Fang Ping.

　　Fang Ping had anticipated that this would happen. He retreated a few steps back in succession.

　　Huang Bin stopped for a moment. It was at this time that Fang Ping realized the extent of his deterioration.

　　This guy had wanted to capture him. It was obvious that he harbored malicious intent.

　　Others would request Fang Ping to call a hospital on their behalf.

　　This guy, though, wanted nothing but to capture him!

　　If he was not a criminal, Fang Ping would swallow the stick he was holding.

　　At this moment, all of Fang Ping’s suspicions were confirmed.

　　He did not hesitate. He did not need to be kind when opposite him was a martial artist who wanted his life.

　　His right hand, hidden behind him until that moment, brandished a stick and lobbed it in the direction of Huang Bin’s head.

　　“It’s this brat!”

　　That was Huang Bin’s first reaction.

　　The boy had his guard up against him and had gotten a stick ready, too. He had figured out the person who had tricked him at this point, even though his brain was addled.

　　It was not by his enemies, the Department of Investigation Services, or even by those other martial artists…

　　He, Huang Bin, was tricked by an idiot kid!

　　“Son of a b*tch!”

　　He did not curse out loud, not that he had the time to.

　　The moment Fang Ping’s rod smacked down, Huang Bin barely managed to raise his right arm to protect his head.

　　Under other circumstances, he would have kicked Fang Ping to death with one move before the rod could even touch him.

　　Now he was completely out of energy. It was a testament to his determination that he could still stand.

　　—

　　“Bang!”

　　The rod did not hit Huang Bin’s head but on Huang Bin’s arm.

　　Something flickered in Fang Ping’s eyes. An ordinary civilian would have counted himself lucky if their bones did not break from the force.

　　Landing a hit on the man’s arm, though, had felt like hitting a block of cement, causing the rod to rebound.

　　He did not know how formidable martial artists really were, but he knew, at the least, how physically strong the other was.

　　Those thoughts were dismissed instantly.

　　Fang Ping had no time to think. He had not dared to use all his might for fear of accidentally killing him, but he could not think about that now. He retracted the rod and hit again, this time with all his might.

　　“Bang!”

　　The hit was, again, blocked by Huang Bin’s arm. The pain from the two hits roused Huang Bin from his daze somewhat.

　　Huang Bin was filled with anger with the thought of him being tricked by a kid. He bit his tongue hard.

　　Huang Bin seemed to gain momentum. He put his legs forward towards the door in small steps.

　　He no longer defended himself. He punched forward with all the energy he could muster.

　　Even at this state, he, a peak Rank-2 martial artist, must let this son of a bitch understand that a martial artist was not someone he could trick without consequences!

　　—

　　Fang Ping had seen the other move forward, naturally. There was no time to strategize. When Huang Bin swung his fist towards him, Fang Ping swung his rod in the opposite direction.

　　“Crackle!”

　　Fang Ping’s expression showed his astonishment. Huang Bin’s punch had appeared to be slow, listless even, but it had reduced his rod to splinters.

　　The area between Fang Ping’s thumb and forefinger burned up in severe pain as it took the brunt of the strong rebounding force, numbing his hand.

　　Fang Ping did not dare release the rod. Gritting his teeth through the pain, he lobbed the remaining half of the rod on Huang Bin’s head.

　　That punch was Huang Bin’s limit.

　　He could no longer feel anything in his limbs.

　　“Twang!”

　　He had finally landed a hit on Huang Bin’s head for the first time. It did not shatter nor bleed, unlike what he had imagined. Huang Bin’s skull was harder than normal.

　　Fang Ping almost cursed. This was what a martial artist was like?

　　It took numerous doses simply to sedate him. Aside from him not passing out as the drugs were supposed to, he had the strength to fight back too.

　　Even he had exerted all his strength, his bones were so much harder than everyone else’s.

　　Fang Ping felt his hands smart as he attacked.

　　He did not have time to think about those matters. Fang Ping exhausted his energy and started beating Huang Bin up.

　　Fang Ping did not stop to think of the possibility of him murdering someone.

　　This was scary!

　　A person like this was after him somehow. If he did not make the first move, the other would have killed him with just a slap.

　　Huang Bin was no longer able to stand. Fang Ping landed a few solid hits on him before Huang Bin collapsed to the floor, unable to move.

　　Huang Bin had not passed out completely, though. He opened his eyes large and glared at Fang Ping with anger as if he wanted to frighten him just by his eyes.

　　Fang Ping disregarded him. He hit him even harder than before with the remaining half of that rod of his.

　　He hit his head first and changed targets when he saw Huang Bin’s head bleed.

　　Hands, legs, chest…

　　Fang Ping hit him repeatedly on anywhere that could seriously harm him.

　　Only the sounds of the rod colliding with a human body and Fang Ping’s labored panting could be heard in the stairwell.

　　Fang Ping had no idea of the number of times he had hit the man. He had only stopped when his limbs were completely exhausted and panted laboriously.

　　Only then did Fang Ping really take a look at Huang Bin.

　　He lay on the floor, blood all over his head.

　　His limbs convulsed from suffering countless heavy hits.

　　Only the infinitesimal motion of his chest proved that he was still alive.

　　Fang Ping panted for a while, fear only coming to him after his deed.

　　He dared not imagine how he would end up if he did not drug the man.

　　It was not Fang Ping’s first brawl.

　　This was not really a brawl, though; it was him thrashing someone one-sidedly, someone who could barely retaliate. It was him hitting a man until his limbs felt sore, until he could only pant from exertion. It was his first time doing that.

　　Licking his dry lips, he kicked Huang Bin’s body gingerly and got no reaction.

　　Fang Ping glanced at his surroundings. The stairwell was quiet, a result of everyone being out for work.

　　He looked at Huang Bin again, the man currently prone in front of the door, and he felt his head hurt. This man was too dangerous. He would not regain consciousness again later, would he?

　　He did not hesitate, picking his rod up and giving the man a few more hits.

　　Huang Bin was left convulsing. This sight convinced Fang Ping that the other was really powerless for the time being.

　　He put down the rod and entered the house, dragging Huang Bin behind him before he closed the door.

　　—

　　In the room.

　　Fang Ping rummaged the room for a set of sheets, rolling Huang Bin to wrap him inside the bedsheets.

　　This method of tying someone up was more reliable than using rope, in that it contained the entire body.

　　He then wrapped him with a comforter, leaving only his head out exposed.

　　Fang Ping was still worried that it would not be enough. He did not manage to find any rope on the second floor, but he had gotten his hands on some wire.

　　He then tied the wire around the comforter, round after round, and used a pair of pliers to secure the knot.

　　Only then did Fang Ping wipe the sweat off his forehead and pant. “I’ll eat a sock if you can get yourself out of this!”

　　The man’s limbs were somewhat dislocated from his hitting. He did not know if any of them had been broken.

　　Now his hands were trapped inside and thus had no way to channel his energy. The man was wrapped tightly in several layers, which included rings of wire on the outermost layer.

　　If he gets out of that, he might as well be Superman.

　　After tying the man up, Fang Ping covered his mouth with layers upon layers of duct tape.

　　Fang Ping suddenly felt strange at this moment.

　　He muttered, “Why do I seem more like an antagonist?”

　　This thought of his was not unreasonable. He had barged into the other’s house to drug him, had hit him until he was on the brink of death, and lastly had tied him up and taped his mouth shut.

　　Were those not only things that villains do?

　　This thought would be more applicable if Huang Bin was a woman.

　　Fang Ping’s face twitched. If anyone entered the room, they would definitely think that he was in the wrong.

　　He shook his head and stared at Huang Bin for a while, his head throbbing again. Sorting this out would not be an easy feat, seeing as he had reduced the other to this state.

　　He now confirmed that this guy was definitely not innocent.

　　If he showed this to the police without any proof that the man was a criminal, he would be subjected to something far more serious than a disciplinary reprimand.

　　Fang Ping had not intended to assault him, feeling that drugging him was enough.

　　But then he had to retaliate, especially when the other had not gone down after he had taken ten times the normal dose — having the strength to fight back, even.

　　“I’m in trouble!”

　　Fang Ping muttered. He was not afraid, though — when there’s a will, there’s a way.