Ethan Young watched as the masked boy, who had just stirred up trouble and looked every bit the boss, quietly swam in the water inside. As he swam, he left the battlefield, his swimming skills so impressive that no one noticed him slipping away without a sound.

When he walked out of the chaos, he even raised his hand to fix his hair.

Very concerned about his image.

“”

In the height of summer, this person was wearing long sleeves and pants, with a mask on his face, making it impossible to see his features.

He clearly wanted to walk under the shade of the trees as well. Looking around, only the spot where Ethan Young was standing was out of the sun, so soon there was another person beside Ethan Young.

The masked guy was quite tall, half a head taller than Ethan Young.

He stood side by side with Ethan Young to watch the fight, then slowly took a lollipop out of his pocket—a pink, strawberry-flavored Chupa Chups. He unwrapped it in a couple of moves; the temperature was so high that the candy had melted a bit, and Ethan Young could smell a sweet, cloying scent in the air.

Then the guy pulled down his mask, the black fabric loosely hanging under his chin, and bit on the lollipop for a while. He didn’t have much patience for candy, so after sucking on it for a bit, he crunched it with his teeth. When he was about to throw away the wrapper, he suddenly realized that the person standing next to him might also be a contestant from the opposing team here to claim the purple weapon.

Ethan Young held back for a while but couldn’t resist: “What are you looking at?”

Even after being called out for secretly staring at someone, the guy didn’t seem the least bit uncomfortable. He calmly pulled his mask back up, his fingers hooking the edge of the fabric. The black cloth contrasted sharply with his fingers, making his skin look unnaturally pale: “Are you with them too?”

Ethan Young said, “So what if I am?”

The masked guy thought for a moment and said, “Friend, want to spar a few rounds?”

The fight on the other side was brutal. Honestly, Ethan Young thought it was pretty embarrassing and didn’t really want to get involved: “Friend, I advise you to cherish your life.”

The masked guy rolled up his sleeves twice, revealing a lean wrist: “What a coincidence, I just like courting death.”

After exchanging a couple of moves, Ethan Young had to admit that this guy was unexpectedly skilled.

His fighting style was extremely sharp and efficient—quick, fierce, and precise. If you accidentally got hit, the pain would go straight to the bone.

Ethan Young had been roughhousing in crowds since he was a kid. He got beaten up a lot when he was little, but after he turned ten, he was usually the one doing the beating. It was rare for him to feel overpowered.

But it only lasted a moment. After Ethan Young used a dirty trick to trip the masked guy, their fight moved to the ground. The masked guy took a while to pin down Ethan Young’s arm and tried to get up from under him, but was caught off guard when Ethan Young kneed him in the stomach.

“Wait a second—” the masked guy said, “Do you know how hot the ground is today?”

Even though there had been a red heat warning for days, and people were doing fried egg experiments on the pavement every day.

Ethan Young wanted to say, aren’t you a grown man, not that delicate, right?

While Ethan Young was distracted, the masked guy suddenly flipped him over, switching their positions in an instant. The masked guy raised his eyebrows—his eye sockets were deep, the space between his brows and eyes was narrow, and his gaze was intense.

He leaned in close, one hand propped next to Ethan Young’s neck, and said, “It’s pretty warm, why don’t you feel it for yourself.”

“Feel your grandpa.”

The two of them didn’t get to wrestle on the ground for long.

Ethan Young suddenly felt lighter, and when he looked again, the masked guy had quickly climbed off him, patted the dust off his clothes, then reached out a hand to pull him up, suddenly babbling nonsense: “Friend, how could you be so careless, tripping on flat ground? Be careful when you walk, how can I feel at ease letting you wander the park alone like this?”

Ethan Young really couldn’t understand this move: “Are you an idiot?”

The masked guy said, “You’re the idiot.”

After that, the masked guy shouted to the others: “Stop—enough fighting, the cops are here.”

Only then did Ethan Young vaguely hear the sound of police cars. Then he saw, across the street, five or six fully armed police officers getting out of the car one after another, pointing and shouting from across the road: “Get down! Hands on your head! Don’t move! Gathering for a fight! You’ve got guts, huh!”

The two of them were a bit far from the main fight, and the masked guy reacted quickly, pulling Ethan Young up before the police got out of the car. The police didn’t expect to find two stragglers under the tree, cooling off and having a one-on-one.

The masked guy put his arm around Ethan Young’s shoulder. From a distance, the two of them looked just like a pair of good buddies taking a stroll in the park at 10:30 in the morning: “No need to thank me, I have good ears. So, let’s get our stories straight. What identity do you want? I’ve already decided for myself—I’m just an innocent bystander who ate too much breakfast and came to the park for a walk to digest.”

Ethan Young said coldly, “I can’t be bothered with you.”

The masked guy: “”

Ethan Young added, “You come out to fight and you’re afraid of the police?”

“Not afraid,” the masked guy shrugged indifferently, “just think it’s a hassle.”

Originally, the two of them should have been lucky enough to watch the police take away a dozen people, but things never go as planned.

One of the guys, who was a bit weak-minded, panicked. He looked left and right, couldn’t find his boss, then turned and saw his boss standing under the tree. In a panic, like a chick looking for its mother, he shouted, “—Bro Henry!”

“”

Henry Howard was cursing a thousand times in his heart.

Ethan Young: “Bro Henry? You?”

Henry Howard said, “If I said I wasn’t, would you believe me?”

Ethan Young pried Henry Howard’s arm off his shoulder, ending the brotherly act and immediately turning hostile: “You should ask the police if they believe you.”

Naturally, the police didn’t believe it.

Better to catch the wrong person than let one go, so they just took everyone back first.

The police stood in front of the two of them, looking from one to the other, not sure for a moment which one was “Bro Henry”: “Bro Henry? Who’s that?”

Henry Howard stepped forward to claim his street name: “Me, it’s me. Surname He, given name Chao, Zhuo Yue Chao.”

Ethan Young hadn’t had time to clear his name and distance himself when the guy who had just pulled him up and wanted to get their stories straight introduced him to the police: “Officer, he’s my sparring partner.”

Ethan Young: “” Thanks a lot.

“Take them all, bring everyone back!”

At the police station.

There were so many of them—seventeen or eighteen people lined up to go in, like a red carpet procession. When they reached the designated spot, they split into two rows, squatted facing each other with their hands on their heads, just like the criminals you see on TV.

Ray Jones actually thought it was kind of novel. He nudged Ethan Young with his elbow: “Old Young, don’t you think we look like drug dealers right now? This treatment—I’ve only seen it on TV. Makes me think the cops back in Heishui Town are really nice, at least they give you a chair to sit on.”

Ethan Young: “Still thinking about sitting? Keep dreaming.”

Henry Howard was squatting across from Ethan Young, and couldn’t help but laugh.

The officer sitting at the center of the conference table knocked on the table: “What’s this, you think you’re here for a tea party? And you, what are you laughing at? Why are you still wearing that thing on your face? You know it’s embarrassing, huh? Take it off.”

Henry Howard cooperatively took off his mask: “I’m allergic to UV rays.”

“You’re really something, still coming out to fight.”

Henry Howard said, “Can’t help it, for the tribe. Actually, I’m a peace lover, not into fighting and killing.”

Ray Jones nudged Ethan Young again, holding back but finally couldn’t: “Damn, what a hottie.”

Ethan Young: “Ray Jones, do you think it’s appropriate to be crushing on a guy while squatting in the station?”

Henry Howard heard and replied in a good mood: “Bro, you’re pretty handsome too.”

Ray Jones laughed and thought this guy was interesting: “Hey, are you mixed? You look kind of exotic.”

Even though the guy was squatting, his aura was undiminished. His hairstyle was neat and clean, most of his forehead exposed, with a high nose bridge, narrow eyes, and a deep double eyelid crease. When he looked at people, his eyes seemed to speak—unfathomable, dangerous, and laid-back.

“I’m mixed from eight countries. My ancestors spent three generations in Europe, then moved to Southeast Asia. My dad’s Arab, my mom’s French.” Henry Howard saw the admiration growing on Ray Jones’s face, paused, and said incredulously, “You believe that? I’m Chinese, purebred, not mixed.”

Just as the two were about to move past their grudges and become friends, the police finally cut to the chase, killing the budding friendship in its cradle: “Which one of you is going to tell me what happened here? Why were you fighting?”