Inside The Black Mist

The handsome man jumped off the high stool, dusted off his clothes, and spread his hands as he looked at Yan Bing on the ground. "What are you doing?"

Anger flashed in Yan Bing's eyes, but he forced a smile on his face. "Mr. Xie Miao, I just... I just drank the glass for Xiao Ju. I didn’t do anything."

"This is “nothing?”" The man named Xie Miao exchanged a glance with his companions behind him, then chuckled. "Listen to him, saying he didn't do anything..."

His expression suddenly changed, and he shouted manically, "I gave this woman a drink because I favored her. She must drink it whether she wants to or not. But what the hell does it have to do with you? Who do you think you are to drink it for her?"

Xie Miao lifted his foot. "Playing hero, are you? I'll teach you a lesson!"

He kicked out viciously, aiming the tip of his shoe straight at Yan Bing's heart!

Just as it was about to hit, a foot suddenly came from the side, blocking Xie Miao's kick and knocking it off course. The impact left Xie Miao's ankle tingling with pain.

Xie Miao's expression froze. He couldn't believe someone dared to intervene and angrily turned his head.

He saw a silver-haired, black-eyed boy whose left eye seemed to be a cybernetic implant, occasionally flickering with an electric blue light.

"Who the hell are you?"

Xie Miao took two steps back, clutching his ankle.

Yan Bing initially felt a wave of relief, but then he said sternly, "Sir, this has nothing to do with you. You don't need to—"

"As long as you are a member of the Raven Squad, I can't pretend I didn't see this," Tianyang said calmly, his gaze moving to Xie Miao. "Moreover, he attacked first, so I can't just ignore it."

Xie Miao sized Tianyang up and down. "Raven Squad, white hair... Are you the Ascender Second Lieutenant who took down the Qin family?"

Tianyang admitted it openly. "Yes, that's me. No matter who you are, now you have attacked a Night Walker soldier in a public place. I believe you owe him an apology."

He pointed at Yan Bing, who had just been helped to his feet by the female bartender.

Xie Miao was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. "You can't be serious? Asking me to apologize? Don’t think that just because you took down a third-rate family, you're something special. Night Walker? So what? I'm a Night Walker too, and my rank is higher than yours!"

"I'm a Lieutenant!"

He pointed at himself and shouted, "Now, Second Lieutenant. You injured me. I want you to apologize right now!"

Tianyang remained unafraid. "Ridiculous. If you're also a Night Walker, then you should know that attacking a fellow soldier is a more severe crime! If you don't apologize, perhaps the Commander will have something to say about this."

"You're threatening me?" Xie Miao took a step closer, nearly face-to-face with Tianyang.

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He pointed at Yan Bing and shouted, "Soldiers like him are a dime a dozen! They're cannon fodder, expendable! Do they deserve to be called my comrades? And you dare to threaten me over this piece of trash?"

"They enter the Inverse Universe just like us, facing no less danger. They make sacrifices just like us, sometimes even giving their lives. So, yes, I believe they are our comrades!" Tianyang stood his ground, responding sharply.

Hearing this, Yan Bing's hands clenched tightly, his eyes glowing with a new light.

The few soldiers who had come with Xie Miao, members of his squad, were also taken aback by Tianyang's words.

But the most surprised was Xie Miao himself, not only because Tianyang had openly defied him but also because of the boy's statement.

He realized that after Tianyang's words, not only did the Raven Squad soldier look at him with respect, but even his own subordinates were starting to see him differently.

A surge of anger welled up within him.

Xie Miao felt that his authority over his men was slipping. And with a Second Lieutenant daring to insult him to his face, he lost all his composure.

Drunk and furious, Xie Miao threw a punch at Tianyang's face!

"Spouting nonsense and defying your superior, I'll make you kneel!"

If it had been the old Tianyang, standing so close and with Xie Miao attacking suddenly, he might have taken that punch for sure.

But after all the battles he'd been through, especially being hunted by the Shadow Knight, those life-and-death experiences had sharpened his senses and reflexes considerably.

Almost the moment Xie Miao's shoulder moved, Tianyang instinctively reacted.

He evaded Xie Miao's punch, quickly moving behind him and using the [Disassemble] technique taught by Han Shu to take him down.

Xie Miao hadn't even realized what had happened before his world spun upside down, and he found himself on the floor.

Although the fall didn't hurt much, his pride was in tatters.

Xie Miao got up and glared at his men. "What are you standing there for? Get him! Now!"

The soldiers hesitated at first, but after Xie Miao yelled a few more times, they exchanged glances, and then charged at Tianyang.

In the Upper District, and especially in a bar, Tianyang didn't want to escalate the situation, so he refrained from using his Star Resonance abilities.

As the soldiers rushed him, he frowned.

Just then, someone barged in from the side, tackling the soldiers to the ground. It was Yan Bing. However, he was quickly overwhelmed and pinned down, taking a beating. As Tianyang moved to help, he felt a breeze behind him—Xie Miao had already kicked at him.

With no other choice, Tianyang dodged, stepped back, and once again swept Xie Miao off his feet.

Looking back at Yan Bing, he saw that the latter could only curl up, arms shielding his head, as fists rained down on him.

Tianyang let out a cold snort and was about to intervene when something caught him by surprise—Xie Miao grabbed him from behind.

At this rate, Yan Bing would either be beaten to death or end up in the hospital for some time.

Suddenly, a foot kicked into the fray, sending one of Xie Miao's subordinates flying. The next moment, someone began punching and kicking, and within a few moves, Yan Bing was rescued.

Tianyang looked closely—it was actually Cang Du. The ponytailed young man was still holding a bottle of liquor, coldly scanning Xie Miao's remaining men, who didn’t dare make a move.

Then he looked at Tianyang. "Are you planning to just stand there?"

Tianyang smiled, then slammed his head into Xie Miao's nose. The latter cried out in pain, stumbling back while glaring at both Tianyang and Cang Du.

Finally, he shouted, "Just you wait! This isn't over!"

He turned to leave, but Cang Du suddenly smashed his bottle at Xie Miao's feet. "Hold up, pay for your drinks before you go. We're not covering your tab."

Xie Miao looked furious, but after clutching his nose, he quickly paid the bill and left.

With the incident over, the bar staff started cleaning up. Tianyang walked over to Cang Du and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"None of your damn business." Cang Du sat down at the bar and knocked on the counter. "Give me a bottle of Gentiana."

Gentiana was a type of strong liquor. Tianyang had once tried it at the Volcano Bar, and after just one glass, he was so drunk he passed out. Kaidi had often scolded Nan Fei for it afterward.

Tianyang studied the ponytailed young man. He seemed to be in a bad mood—could it be that he had just gone through a breakup?

Tianyang cleared his throat. "Anyway, thanks for earlier."

"Stop it." Cang Du took the bottle of liquor from the bartender and twisted it open. "I wasn't helping you. I just couldn't stand that guy named Xie."

He took a swig of the strong liquor, then jumped off the stool and walked away, reeking of alcohol.

At that moment, Yan Bing finally walked over, his face bruised and swollen, but he seemed to be alright.

"How did the surgery go? Was it successful?" Tianyang sat on the high stool at the bar and ordered a light drink. Light drinks had a lower alcohol content, and since Tianyang knew his limits, he didn't dare drink anything too strong.

Yan Bing took the ice pack the female bartender handed him and smiled as he pressed it to his forehead. "It went smoothly. After filling in the biomaterial, I feel like there's no difference from before."

Tianyang glanced at the female bartender behind the bar. "Is she your friend?"

Yan Bing looked a bit shy. "She's my fiancée. Her name is Xiao Ju. Tonight's her last day working at the bar, so she won't be coming back here anymore. That's why I thought I'd invite you over for a drink, but I didn't expect all that to happen."

"Sir..."

Tianyang knew what he was about to say and waved his hand. "You don't need to say anything. I just did what needed to be done."

Yan Bing nodded. "Then have a few more drinks on me!"

"Alright," Tianyang agreed wholeheartedly.

...

The next day, when Tianyang woke up, his temples were throbbing painfully on both sides, making him feel miserable.

He smiled wryly as he got out of bed. Sure enough, alcohol was something best consumed in moderation.

After having breakfast, he drove to the Night Walkers' headquarters building. He took the elevator to the squad's quarters, and just as he was about to push the door open, it was slammed open from the other side.

Or more precisely, it was flung open!

Cang Du stormed out, his face full of anger, and even bumped into Tianyang without saying a word before running off.

What's going on?

Puzzled, Tianyang walked into the quarters. Passing the partition, he saw that everyone was in the hall—Han Shu and the others were all there.

Han Shu was sitting in the central high-backed chair, his legs crossed on the conference table, smoking silently.

On either side of him, Lao Xu and Ji Yu were sitting in silence.

Tianyang could clearly feel that the atmosphere in the hall was strange. It was obvious that Cang Du had stormed off in a huff for some unknown reason.

And no one even glanced at him as he returned to the squad.

With no other option, Tianyang cleared his throat and said, "Captain, I'm back."

Han Shu grunted in response, uncrossed his legs, and stood up. "I'm heading out for a bit. Lao Xu... you take care of things."

Leaving those words behind, the stubbled captain, reeking of smoke, walked past Tianyang and out of the room.

Ji Yu also stood up without saying a word and silently walked to his room at the back of the hall.

Left with no choice, Tianyang sat down beside Lao Xu. "What's with them? Why are they all acting so strange?"

Lao Xu shook his head and smiled bitterly. "It's my fault."

"What happened?"

Lao Xu sighed. "I'm leaving, Tianyang. I've already submitted my retirement request to the command, and they've approved it. So from now on, I won't be coming back here."

"What?!"

Tianyang jumped to his feet. "Why? Didn't you say you'd work another year or two before retiring? Why so sudden..."