Chapter 83: Moving into the Villa, Shen Lie's Challenge
"Just what I had in mind!" Zero's claw traced an arc through the void.
Pale blue spatial ripples spread out like water, and a door materialized out of thin air.
Chen Yu pushed the door open aggressively. Behind him, Ling Yue followed while holding Aisha, with Long Aotian clenching his fists close behind.
Inside the villa's living room, the warm yellow lights were already on. Zhuge Jing was sitting on the genuine leather sofa, legs crossed, idly toying with a silver villa key in his hand.
On the coffee table sat a pile of freshly opened imported fruits. He had clearly just settled in and was enjoying a moment of peace.
Hearing the door open, Zhuge Jing pushed up his silver-rimmed glasses. The gentle smile on his face stiffened for a second, and the key in his hand dropped onto the table with a clatter.
He was well aware of the commotion caused by the fight below earlier, and naturally, he knew the terrifying strength of this animal, Chen Yu.
Zhuge Jing adjusted his glasses again. "Student Chen Yu? Welcome as a guest!"
"You shady bastard!" Chen Yu raised an eyebrow. "Come out and 1v1 me!"
"Hold on, I already found the key, why do we still need to fight?" Zhuge Jing asked, feigning confusion.
" The time limit isn't up yet. I'll flatten you in one second!" Chen Yu looked ready to explode into motion.
"Oh?" The corners of Zhuge Jing's mouth curled up. "Then you can try."
Hearing this, Chen Yu paused.
He swept the area with his Observation Haki several times. Zhuge Jing was just a Beginner (Peak) contestant.
Chen Yu looked back at Ling Yue. judging by her expression, she couldn't see through the guy's trump card either.
Zhuge Jing pushed his glasses up and said, "I probably ate the Luck-Luck Fruit. I am super lucky."
"At certain times, as long as I will it..." Zhuge Jing tossed a silver coin into the air, his lenses flashing with a sharp glint. "I am invincible."
"A single coin is enough to defeat you all."
Ding—
The tossed coin hit the floor, spun around a few times, lost momentum, and toppled over flat.
The air in the living room froze.
Long Aotian looked at the coin, which had done absolutely nothing, and then at Zhuge Jing, who was still striking a cool pose.
"Is there something wrong with your brain?"
Zhuge Jing: "..."
Ahhhhh!!! This is so awkward, dammit!!!
On the surface, he remained calm, but internally, he had already been screaming for a while.
"Impossible! My luck shouldn't have run out yet!"
Zhuge Jing wanted to try again. His finger barely grazed a water glass when the cup suddenly shattered, spilling half a cup of hot water onto his trousers.
He yelped and jumped up, frantically trying to wipe it off, only to slam his toe into the corner of the coffee table, letting out an even more tragic wail.
Finally, he lay on the floor, looking like he had lost his soul.
Luck-Luck Fruit User, Zhuge Jing — Defeated!
"It was you?" Zhuge Jing stared at Chen Yu, his eyes behind the lenses filled with a look of 'wisdom'.
"Let me teach you a phrase: Haki transcends all." Chen Yu leaned against the armrest of the sofa. "My will just happened to suppress that little bit of luck of yours."
" The good luck you rely on only exists because you haven't met someone strong enough to shatter it."
As soon as his voice fell, Zhuge Jing tried to get up, but tripped over something unseen and nearly face-planted onto the carpet.
Zero jumped down, snatched the key, and laughed maniacally. "Hahaha! The villa belongs to us!"
Ling Yue held Aisha and looked around, her gaze landing beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows in the corner of the living room.
Outside, there really was a heated swimming pool, its surface shimmering under the moonlight.
Aisha's eyes lit up. She broke free from Ling Yue's hand and ran to the edge of the pool, her small hands gripping the railing. "Sister Ling Yue! There really is a pool! Can I play in the water?"
Ling Yue walked over to protect her, then looked back at the boys arguing. Her tone was gentle but carried weight. "The villa is quite large. I checked just now; there are four bedrooms and an attic."
Long Aotian poked his head out to look at the second floor. "Really? So I don't have to squeeze into the collective dorms?"
He rubbed his belly. "There's a kitchen here, too. I'll handle the late-night snacks from now on. I finally have a place to cook the instant noodles I brought."
Zhuge Jing stood frozen in place, then suddenly smiled.
He pushed up his glasses, picked up the key from the floor, and placed it back on the coffee table. "I lost, I lost."
Then, with a thud, he dropped to his knees and hugged Chen Yu's thigh. "Brother, give me the attic, please!"
"Look, the villa is so big, you need a loyal servant, Brother!"
"I have OCD, I guarantee the cleaning will be top-tier!"
Chen Yu raised an eyebrow. Ling Yue and the others signaled that they had no objections.
Chen Yu said, "We guys will take the first floor. Ling Yue, you take the second floor."
Long Aotian had already darted into the kitchen. The sound of the refrigerator opening drifted out. "I choose the room next to the kitchen! It's convenient for cooking noodles when I get hungry at night!"
Once everyone was assigned a room, Aisha played by the pool for a while before going to take a bath with Ling Yue.
Long Aotian cooked three packs of instant noodles, giving one to Zhuge Jing, declaring that strangers become friends after a fight.
The three men, plus one tiny person, sat in the living room shooting the breeze.
"Whoa! A Tontatta? Never seen one before." Zhuge Jing poked Zero's face curiously.
He was immediately bitten on the finger by a flailing Zero.
"Old Jing, how did you get into the training camp?" Long Aotian asked curiously.
Chen Yu also looked at Zhuge Jing. After all, the guy was only at the Beginner (Peak) realm, and his combat power was incredibly weak.
Zhuge Jing scratched his cheek. "About that... I shamelessly begged my way in."
"I don't know if it was good luck or a staff error, but initially, they dialed the wrong number and let me know about the training camp's existence."
"And then?" Chen Yu slurped a mouthful of noodles.
"Then, since my ability is basically a bug—you know, wishes coming true—I just dialed a random number and somehow connected to Instructor Huo."
"Although he blocked me later, I still managed to find their offline staff through sheer luck. I basically pestered them until I got in."
Recalling how skillfully he had hugged his thigh earlier, Chen Yu nodded in profound agreement.
"A Luck ability? Is there really such a ridiculous power?" Long Aotian looked Zhuge Jing up and down, stunned.
"I dunno. I ate a fruit that tasted like shit the other day, and then I became like this."
"Holy crap! That must be an Ability Fruit, right?!"
"Probably. I just bought it at a fruit stand."
"Is that fruit stand still there?"
As the conversation heated up and was about to veer into sensitive topics, the villa door was suddenly knocked upon.
"Who is it?" Long Aotian ran to open the door with a plastic fork still in his mouth. As soon as he cracked it open, he saw a young man in a black training uniform standing there.
The boy wasn't very tall, with healthy wheat-colored skin and sharp, short hair. Sweat still clung to his forehead, and he clutched a pair of black boxing gloves in his hand.
He didn't look at Long Aotian. His gaze went straight past him, landing on Chen Yu on the balcony. "Hello, I'm looking for Chen Yu. I want to duel him."
Long Aotian nearly sprayed his noodles. "What? A duel? It's the middle of the night!"
"Buddy, official training starts tomorrow. Wouldn't it be better to sleep early?"
Hearing the commotion, Chen Yu stood up and walked to the door.
The boy's eyes were very bright, like a fire was burning inside them. He placed his gloves on the ground and rotated his wrists. "My name is Shen Lie."
"I watched you fight in the training grounds this morning. Your Taijutsu is very strong. I wanted to spar with you, but I was practicing my punches and lost track of time. I'm really sorry."
Chen Yu paused. Surprisingly polite.
Most people in the training camp were Ability Users; those who specialized in Taijutsu were extremely rare.
Under the perception of his Observation Haki, the explosive power hidden within Shen Lie's body piqued Chen Yu's interest.
Chen Yu rolled his shoulders and placed Ace (the blade) on the cabinet in the entryway. "Alright. There's an empty lot outside. Let's have a quick spar."
Hearing the noise, Ling Yue walked out of the bedroom. She gave them a single glance and didn't bother interfering. Just men being childish.
Zhuge Jing also poked his head out, pushing up his glasses. A gleam—one known only to gamblers—flashed across his lenses. "Dragon, and you too, Little Ultraman, want to make a bet?"
The open space outside the villa was large enough for the two of them to thrash about.
Shen Lie assumed a fighting stance, feet shoulder-width apart, fists slightly clenched.
Chen Yu didn't hesitate either. He tapped his feet lightly against the ground, sinking his center of gravity slightly. He didn't activate his Conqueror's Haki, nor did he use any elemental abilities. He purely wanted to test the opponent's physical prowess.
"Here I come!" Shen Lie gave a low shout and launched himself forward, his fist smashing toward Chen Yu's chest with the sound of breaking wind.
Chen Yu raised his hand to block, but his heart suddenly jolted.
The moment he touched the opponent's fist... No!
He didn't touch it!
Hitting without contact?!
"Armament Haki? Ryou?!" Chen Yu's eyes lit up.
(To be Continued)