Chapter 48: Sonic Boom

Chapter 48: Sonic Boom

Under the hazy moonlight, in the dead of night, the slowly walking corpse exuded an eerie, chilling aura.

Though the ghost from the previous night had also been unsettling, Chen Shouyi hadn’t actually seen it with his own eyes—it had felt distant, unable to evoke a deeper sense of dread.

But this bizarre corpse was right before him.

Grotesque and terrifying!

At the first glimpse, even Chen Shouyi felt goosebumps rise on his skin.

Perhaps having been dead for a day, Old Man Wang’s corpse had already begun to decay. A faint stench of rot lingered in the air.

At the far end of the alley, a few bold figures watched from a distance, too afraid to approach.

Chen Shouyi guessed they were likely Old Man Wang’s relatives.

Faced with such a phenomenon—a corpse reanimating in the middle of the night—the family must have been terrified out of their wits.

According to local customs, after a loved one’s death, a vigil would be held the following night as part of the funeral rites, and the body would only be sent to the crematorium in the early hours of the third day.

But given the current situation—roads blocked, power outages—who knew how long it would take before the body could be cremated?

Old Man Wang’s withered corpse shuffled closer, soon passing beneath Chen Shouyi’s window. The stench of decay grew stronger, nauseating.

The corpse’s footsteps didn’t pause, and soon it moved away.

After watching for a while, Chen Shouyi returned to bed. But he had barely lain down when shouts erupted outside.

"Who’s there?"

"Stop right there!"

"Or I’ll shoot!"

Since the previous night, military police had been patrolling Dongning City’s main streets day and night. Perhaps noticing Old Man Wang’s unnatural state, several muffled gunshots soon rang out, shattering the silence of the night.

Chen Shouyi didn’t bother joining the commotion. He lay still, staring at the ceiling.

Suddenly, he found himself thinking of Zhang Xiaoyue, wondering how she was doing.

But ever since the internet had gone down, they had lost contact.

...

The next day, the power still hadn’t returned.

The streets grew even more desolate. Aside from workers repairing power lines, few pedestrians walked about, and an air of unease hung over the city.

In the morning, Chen Shouyi went to school, only to find it closed—the gates shut, not a soul in sight.

He then went to Zhang Xiaoyue’s neighborhood, lingering for a long time. Glancing at his phone, still without signal, he could only leave in frustration.

Chen Shouyi didn’t know which building or apartment Zhang Xiaoyue lived in.

Even if he did, he wouldn’t have dared to knock on her door unannounced.

Unconsciously, he wandered near the abandoned construction site and noticed traffic police posting notices everywhere.

Chen Shouyi stepped closer to read one.

The notice addressed the traffic congestion.

It demanded that by noon the next day, all car owners who had left their vehicles on the road must remain in their cars, ready to cooperate with traffic clearance efforts. Those who failed to comply or whose cars couldn’t be moved would have their vehicles scrapped.

Most of the cars here were still operational—only a few had truly broken down. But it was these few that had brought the entire traffic flow to a standstill.

The authorities were clearly taking this seriously.

Then again, it made sense. If cars were left abandoned on the streets indefinitely, the roads would remain blocked forever—not only hindering movement but also making it harder to restore order in the city.

...

At the summit of Mingshan Park stood a massive ginkgo tree. By mid-October, its leaves had begun to yellow. A strong wind rustled through the branches, sending golden leaves fluttering down like dancing butterflies.

Suddenly, a phantom-like blur flashed by, accompanied by a sharp whistle of air. Before the leaves could touch the ground, they were shredded into fragments by a small sonic boom.

A young man in a gray T-shirt stood beneath the ginkgo tree, gripping a tree branch with a sharp gaze.

Precision is key in swordsmanship, but speed is even more crucial.

Compared to striking an elastic ball, leaves were lighter, their trajectories more erratic, and more easily disturbed by the airflow generated by a sword swing. Yet, his rapid judgment and lightning-fast strikes minimized these interferences.

He glanced at the branch in his hand—its tip had already been reduced to frayed fibers after several full-force thrusts that shattered the sound barrier.

This was the peak of Mingshan Park, the largest park in Dongning City. With the streets still heavily patrolled by the Military Police, Chen Shouyi had no choice but to practice here instead of the abandoned building’s spatial gateway. Fortunately, the place was deserted at this hour, with few visitors.

…

After his recent enhancements, the synergy between his attributes had increased his sword speed by nearly fifty percent. Today’s session confirmed he had finally broken the sound barrier.

But these sonic boom thrusts place an immense strain on the body. By the end, the resistance felt like stabbing into solid steel. Just a few dozen strikes left my arms numb from the recoil. Chen Shouyi frowned slightly.

Thankfully, Martial Arts techniques distribute force across as many muscles as possible, spreading the backlash more evenly.

In truth, only someone with his robust Constitution could endure this. Another Martial Artist with comparable Strength and Agility would likely cough up blood after just one or two strikes. And if he were in the Otherworld, his Natural Healing ability would further mitigate the effects, making the strain negligible.

Just then, laughter echoed from a distance. Soon, a young couple, entwined in each other’s arms, approached.

"It’s too quiet here… There’s no one around. It’s kind of scary," the girl murmured.

If there were people, I wouldn’t have come, the young man thought.

"With me here, what’s there to fear?" he said aloud. "There’s an ancient ginkgo tree at the summit—hundreds of years old. I wonder if the leaves have fallen yet."

The girl, reassured by her boyfriend’s strength, still hesitated. "Let’s just take a look and head back soon. I’ve heard the public security hasn’t been great lately."

"Hey, looks like someone’s already here," the young man muttered, disappointment in his tone.

The girl studied the lone figure—handsome, though still boyish, probably a student. He didn’t seem like a troublemaker. She relaxed slightly.

"Oh, really? What’s he doing?"

"Probably just wandering around aimlessly."

Annoying. Chen Shouyi suppressed a frown as he watched the couple. With a resigned sigh, he stopped his training.

He walked over to a nearby pavilion and sat down, using the interruption as a chance to rest. Once they left, he’d resume his sword practice.

The young couple, nestled intimately beneath the ginkgo tree, soon began kissing, the young man's hands growing increasingly restless.

"Stop... not here, someone's watching!"

"I'll chase him off. Just wait..." The young man whispered to the girl.

She immediately swatted him, her face flushing with embarrassment.

He chuckled and strode toward Chen Shouyi.

"Hey, buddy, do me a favor and clear out."

Chen Shouyi glanced at the spacious pavilion in confusion. "There’s plenty of room here. Isn’t it enough for you two?"

The young man frowned, displeased. "What I mean is, you leave. Go somewhere else. Give me some face."

Chen Shouyi finally understood and felt a surge of irritation.

"Who the hell are you? Why should I give you face?"

He had finally found a decent place to practice, and now these two were bothering him. He could’ve ignored it, but they had the nerve to push their luck.

The young man was taken aback, clearly not expecting a teenager who looked like a high schooler to refuse him.

"Are high schoolers these days really this arrogant?"

"Fck, are you deaf? Don’t make me spell it out—you looking for a beating?"

Chen Shouyi’s temper flared. The oppressive atmosphere of the past few days had already left him on edge, and now this was the last straw.

"I’ll beat you!"

In an instant, he lashed out with a kick aimed at the young man’s thigh. The latter, clearly trained in Martial Arts, reacted swiftly, instinctively retreating—but not fast enough. The tip of Chen Shouyi’s foot struck hard, sending a numbing ache through his leg. His right knee buckled, dropping him to the ground.

"Tch, no wonder a brat like you acts so cocky. You’ve got some skill." After a few seconds of grimacing, the young man stood up, his face twisted in anger. "That kick had some power, but you’re still far from a real Martial Artist Apprentice."