The pupils of Li Jialing and Han Te constricted at the same time. They had absolutely no time to dodge when they were blown to the ground. When they finally avoided the scourge of bullets in a haste, a streak of silver brilliance ten times faster than the bullets arrived from the sky and knocked the two young men to the ground heavily.
“Aya!”
Li Jialing and Han Te exclaimed at the same time when they were thrown into the soil, their faces swollen.
The silver brilliance gathered into a tall, magnificent, elegant, glittering battle puppet. It slowly landed between the young men and opened its arms, with two clusters of silver electric arcs in the two palms, preventing them from further fighting.
“Enough.”
The Fist King’s calm and nonhuman voice came from the silver puppet. Shifting the artificial eyes on the skull to Li Jialing’s side on the rail, he said, “I’m sorry, no matter how annoying Han Te is, I have to ensure his safety and cannot allow anybody to threaten his life according to my deal with Li Yao.”
“Who would ever waste time on threatening the life of such a sucker?”
Li Jialing wiped the blood on his lips and glanced at the Fist King. “It was he who had been pestering me. I did not bother to deal with him at all. Since Master Fist King is here, he is all yours. But I suggest you give him a good lesson. Otherwise, even if I don’t kill him, he will eventually get himself killed one way or another.”
After saying that, Li Jialing left without looking back.
“Hey, hey, hey, golden-haired boy—”
Han Te was more than angry. He was about to chase after the guy when the Fist King grabbed the back of his neck as quickly as a bolt of lightning and tossed him to the ground heavily.
“That’s enough!”
The Fist King said, “You are absolutely no match for Li Jialing. Chasing after him will only place an unnecessary threat to your life. I will not allow anybody to do that, yourself included.”
“Then help me beat him!”
Han Te rose quickly, like an unkillable cockroach, and spat toward Li Jialing’s back that was disappearing. “Master Fist King, we are both from the Land of Sins. I’m sure you’re on my side, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I’m on your side.”
The Fist King said, “But it’s only about keeping you safe, not about horsing around with you. Also, I feel that Li Jialing did have a point. You’ve been too arrogant recently. Or rather, your head is overwhelmed by the torrents of changes, resulting in your high psychological instability.
“Such a trouble-making mental state will greatly increase your odds of encountering dangers and the difficulty for me to protect you. So, I suggest that you slightly change your character and lifestyle?”
“I’m an arrogant troublemaker?”
Han Te bulged his eyes and looked at the Fist King in disbelief. “Master Fist King, even you think that it’s my fault, and I’ve been too arrogant and annoying?”
Pondering for a moment, the Fist King said, “I do not like to judge human beings morally. What you did had nothing to do with me too. However, from the perspective of protecting your safety, it’s true that you’ve been acting rather arrogant and annoying. As far as I know, several guys are already preparing to work together and beat you up in secret. If you do not change yourself, it won’t be surprising that you somehow get yourself killed, like what Li Jialing said.”
“Even Master Fist King has taken the side of that rich golden-haired boy?”
Han Te stepped back in shock, almost unable to believe his ears. A vague smile of sorrow struggled to appear on his swollen face, and he gritted his teeth for a long time before he finally burst out, “Yes, I am arrogant, I am cocky, I am conceited, but so what?
“From when I was born on the Land of Sins to right now, I’ve always been a minor cockroach. However tough I am, the experts can easily step on me and kill me, can’t they?
“I’ve been living in fear and may get killed any second since childhood. I’ve been struggling to survive every second. Nobody has ever given me any chance to be cocky!
“Only in here, only during the brief time when I was in the Big Bai Pirate Gang and the Blue Sky Market can I slightly show myself off. I’m not like you, Master Fist King, you are a big shot. You, Grandpa Yao, and Boss Bai are all magnificent, intimidating big shots. You can be arrogant whenever you want. If not today, tomorrow still works.
“But I am just the humblest person. If I do not show off today, chances are that I will be killed tomorrow. I’ll be killed in the vacuum, without leaving the slightest remains!
“Then, why shouldn’t I enjoy my life and show off? Who knows where I will be tomorrow? Who knows!
“I’m so scared. I’m scared that I will die an unknown death before I do anything, like so many people did on the Land of Sins and in space! I’m not scared of death, but I want more people to remember me, remember my name…”
Han Te buried his head in his arms and his legs. His shoulders shuddered for a moment before he finally said in a sullen voice, “Master Fist King, does my performance in the past few months really stink?”
The Fist King: “Yes.”
Han Te: “Have I really disappointed a lot of people?”
The Fist King: “Yes.”
Han Te: “Am I really no match for Li Jialing, and I am not even as good as a little finger of that golden-haired narcissist?”
The Fist King: “In every aspect, yes.”
Han Te: “Hey, hey, hey, Master Fist King, you don’t have to be so straightforward. Can’t you say something nice and comfort my wounded heart?”
The Fist King: “While your recent performance stinks and is absolutely no match for Li Jialing, you are still rescuable. Speaking of which, I may have made a mistake by entrusting you to Boss Bai. He is an excellent fleet commander and a most distinguished space pirate, but he is hardly a qualified life teacher. I will communicate with Boss Bai and change the way of your education. In the meantime, you better control your private life.”
“Huh?”
Han Te was confused. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I am certainly not interfering with your private life. You know who I am. That’s the last thing I care about.”
The Fist King said, “I’m just reminding you that it will be better for everyone if you could slightly contain yourself, and Liu Li will be less devastated.”
“What?”
Han Te picked his ears hard. “My… My ears were humming because of the golden-haired narcissist’s beating. I didn’t catch what you said in the end. What about Liu Li?”
“Nothing.”
After a brief silence, the Fist King said, “You heard wrong. All in all, control your private life and do not let everybody on the street know whom you slept with last night, alright?”
“Okay.”
Han Te rubbed his nose and said casually, “I’ll try!”
“… You’ll try?”
His artificial eyes blinking, the Fist King was in deep thought. A moment later, he leaned closer to Han Te expressionlessly.
In cracking sounds, his two mechanical arms were dismembered, revealing the glittering operation facilities inside.
Han Te was chilled. Sensing a strong crisis from the guy’s cold eyes, he screamed in fear, “Master Fist King, what’s up? You… You are not going to beat me, are you? You can’t beat me. You are supposed to protect me. You can’t hurt me!”
“That’s right. I certainly will not hurt you but will try to protect you with everything possible.”
In the gentlest tone, the Fist King said, “I’m going to protect you from any threat, including viruses.”
“Viruses?”
Han Te was stunned. “W-What viruses?”
“All kinds of viruses, particularly those caused by a messy private life.”
The Fist King’s right arm was thrown over like a whip and took off Han Te’s pants. “Considering your recent performance, it is my judgment that your lower half body is under the severe threat of various types of viruses and germs. For your safety, I am going to help sanitize you.”
“Lower half body? Sanitize?”
Han Te’s face was pale. Looking at the sanitation equipment that the Fist King’s left hand presented, he was even more scared and shrieked, “What’s that long and thick needle about? That’s too unbelievable!”
“It’s for the sanitation of the inner wall.”
The Fist King fixated Han Te to the ground and explained, “If you want to sanitize a water tube, the shell is only secondary, and the key is the inner wall, right?”
“Ahh!”
Han Te was about to say something, but he was in too much pain to make any meaningful syllable. He simply cried in agony, “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
It was not until three minutes later when he became as twisted as a cooked lobster when the Fist King stopped.
“Alright, your little water tube is as good as new and will not suffer any threat from bacteria and viruses for now.”
The Fist King said, “However, if you keep on flirting with girls, the odds that you are invaded again will be quite high. So, I will decide according to your lifestyle whether or not you need new preventive therapy—a comprehensive sanitation from inside to outside.”
“I was wrong.”
Hardly breathing, Han Te held his belly and cramped. “I was really wrong, bro!”
“Good.”
The Fist King nodded his head and suddenly changed the topic. “Right, do you know Liu Li’s favorite food?”
“Huh?”
The weird question made Han Te forget the pain in his groin, which seemed to have just been hit by a meteoroid. “What’s going on?”
“I want to give Liu Li a surprise to keep her in the perfect work state while my body is being polished.”
The Fist King stared at Han Te. “Is there any type of food whose flavor she has forgotten herself?”
The nonhuman eyes made Han Te shudder hard again. Covering his belly even more tightly, he stuttered, “… I think so. Liu Li loves her mother’s noodles with soft-yolked eggs. There were always two eggs, one on the top and the other buried at the bottom of the bowl.
“Eggs were the most precious ingredients on the Land of Sins because they broke easily during the airdrops. So, only when it was Liu Li’s birthday would her mother make the food for her. The egg buried below would be the ‘surprise’. Liu Li was very happy every time.
“However, nobody made the food for her again after her mother passed away. Even when noodles were made, one egg on the top would be best. We never had the extravagance to bury a second egg below.”
“Got it.”
Deep in thought, the Fist King rose and said, “I’m off. You were rather badly wounded. Hurry and go to the infirmary to get some balms for yourself.”
“How can I go anywhere right now?”
Han Te felt like crying. In a shivering voice, he asked, “Master Fist King, bro, can’t you bring me to the infirmary?”
“No.”
The Fist King rejected his request coldly. “I’m in a hurry to cook noodles with soft-yolked eggs for Liu Li to treat her trauma, which is very bad. As for your minor wounds, they will not kill you. According to my scanning, there is no fatal threat around. You can totally move yourself to the infirmary one step after another.”
“Cook noodles… Minor wounds… Can’t kill me…”
Han Te struggled to lower his head. Looking at his bruised and swollen body, he whined aloud, “Master Fist King, Grandpa Yao entrusted Liu Li and I to you and asked you to protect us together! Our privileges are too different. You can’t be that biased toward me, can you?”
The Fist King had already walked away, but hearing that, he turned around and squatted before Han Te, nodding his head solemnly.
“Yes.”
The Fist King said solemnly, “I’m exactly so biased.”