Epoch of Twilight

Ning Xiaoran began to shake even before Wang Shishi had gotten there. It was obvious that she could not stand it anymore. She was suffering. Luo Yuan looked at his watch and frowned. He had overestimated her physical condition, but he had not expected that she would not even last 30 seconds.

Luo Yuan became very serious and said, “Keep it up, nine more minutes to go!”

Ning Xiaoran looked frightened and her eyes were full of tears. Finally, Wang Shishi arrived. She had heard from Sun Xiaowu about the lessons and she said excitedly, “Brother Luo, I heard that you’re teaching us martial arts! Although I’d prefer a sword, a knife is quite cool too. You must teach me until I reach your level!”

Luo Yuan looked at her excited face and said, “You won’t be smiling later.”

"Ms. Wang, the sword is the weakest among the weapons. During ancient times, people used it as an ornament or a prop during religious ceremonies. It’s not powerful enough to kill a mutated beast. The best weapon would be a knife," Lin Xiaoji argued.

Wang Shishi twitched her nose and asked, “Then why did the ancient heroes use swords?”

“Stop believing what you read in novels.” Lin Xiaoji could not stand her naivity.

“You... You’re too much!” Wang Shishi was speechless. She felt really annoyed.

“Enough! The discussion is over. Since all of you want to learn, start with the stance. However, both of your physical conditions are better than Ning Xiaoran’s, so my expectations will be higher. Twenty minutes for you. If you get up before I tell you to, then please pack your stuff and leave! I don’t train lazy people,” Luo Yuan said emotionlessly. If they lacked the determination, it would be wasteful to feed them during such chaotic times.

Everyone was frightened of Luo Yuan and they suddenly became very serious.

Wang Shishi was not happy with what he had said, and she asked him, “What about me?”

“You?” Luo Yuan looked at her for a second and said, “That applies to you too.”

Wang Shishi pursed her mouth. She had just wanted to know how important she was to him. However, Luo Yuan had been too straightforward and he had hurt her feelings.

“What are you waiting for? Do it now!” Luo Yuan said, glaring at Wang Shishi.

Everyone looked at each other and quickly did the stance practice. Only Wang Shishi was still left standing there.

“I’m not going to do it!” Wang Shishi said, clearly upset.

"If you’re not even willing to put in the effort for the basic training, then how are you going to learn martial arts? Just leave!" Luo Yuan said sarcastically. He felt that he had been too lenient with her last time and that was why she was acting out now.

Wang Shishi was mad. She knew that everyone was judging her behind the back. Her eyes were full of tears as she said, “I, I hate you!”

Suddenly, she ran away with tears rolling down her cheeks. Luo Yuan was very mad, but he did not bother checking on her. He knew she would not run away for long. He expected her to come back soon. He was disappointed as it would be really wasteful for her if she was not willing to discover and strengthen her talents. Since he had upgraded to Level 7, his power had been growing very slowly, but his stress level had risen drastically. Although things were peaceful now, no one knew how long it would last. The stress made him become less patient and get mad easier.

No one dared say anything or even take a deep breath as they noticed Luo Yuan’s furious expression. Ning Xiaoran had reached her limit and her legs were shaking vigorously, sweat rolling down her pale forehead. She was trying to endure as she was also worried about pissing him off. After a minute, Huo Dong could not continue anymore. He was almost 50 years old with a beer belly after all. A moment later, Zhao Gang and Sun Xiaowu quit as well. After another two minutes, Chen Xianfeng and Lin Xiaoji had reached their limit as well.

Although Lin Xiaoji was an evolved survivor, he was still new to it and he had not managed to maintain a proper energy level due to starvation. Luo Yuan looked at his watch and realized that none of them had lasted three minutes. Their physical condition was too poor and there was a big gap between them and himself, even worse than the gap between him and Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi. The two of them had eaten quite a lot of good meat from strong mutated beasts and their physical condition was about 10-11 points, which was actually lower than men.

Luo Yuan did not have the interest to continue. He was starting to worry.

“It’s been five minutes. Why hasn’t Wang Shishi come back yet?"

They had gone through many ups and downs since the mutation outbreak, and Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi had already become his closest family. It was impossible for him to just ignore her. He kept looking at his watch, and his heart was not in it anymore. Had she really run away? What if...? Girls always took jokes too seriously, especially during their puberty. He felt slightly regretful that he’d talked to her that way in front of everyone. He had gotten more frustrated than before.

In the end, Luo Yuan decided to check on her. He was really worried about her. He turned to Chen Xianfeng and said, “Please help me test them. I’m going out for a short while. Let me know who can do what when I get back.”

Chen Xianfeng was the most reliable person among the group and he would be the best person to do the evaluation. He did not say anything, he just nodded instead. Luo Yuan took his knife out and wandered around the district, assuming Wang Shishi would not leave the area. Indeed, a few minutes later, he heard someone crying somewhere in the distance.

Luo Yuan felt relieved as he quickly ran in the direction of the sound. He reached a 7-storey residence building, one of the few buildings that looked safe. He opened the grill and ran up to the fifth floor. The door of Unit 501 was open wide and Wang Shishi was squatting down in the living room, crying. She was crying like nobody was watching. She did not notice Luo Yuan standing there for quite a while.

“Shishi, let’s go home,” Luo Yuan said.

When Wang Shishi heard his voice, she immediately stood up and wiped away her tears. “Why are you here?” she said arrogantly. “Just leave me alone! Didn’t you say you’d kick me out if I couldn’t do the stance for 20 minutes? Well, now I’ve left, so why are you here?”

Luo Yuan sighed, feeling her anger. He walked into the living room, wiped away the dust on the couch and sat down.

Wang Shishi was still crying. She was so mad at Luo Yuan for walking into the house and sitting down like he owned the place. She pulled him up and said, “This is my house now! You’re not welcome here! Please leave!”

“I can’t even sit down for a while?” Luo Yuan said.

“No! Get up now, get up!” Wang Shishi kept dragging his arm, but soon she got exhausted.

She got even madder and said, “You always bully me and scold me in front of everyone! I hate you! I hate you! You want to kick me out? Sure! I’ll leave! I’m not coming back anymore!” she started crying again as she recalled the pain and insult.

Luo Yuan sighed as he looked at her sad, crying face. He asked, “What do you want me to do so you will return home with me?”

“Apologize!” Wang Shishi said as she turned around.

Luo Yuan compromised and said, “Fine. I shouldn’t have scolded you. I will not scold you in front of everyone ever again.”

“You think it’s that easy?” Wang Shishi said, raising her chin arrogantly.

“I’ve already apologized, what else do you want from me?” Luo Yuan said.

“I, I want you to kiss me,” Wang Shishi said softly.

“No way!” Luo Yuan said, rejecting her directly. “How could you even think of that? You’re still so young.”

“I’m not! I can do whatever Sister Huang can do.” Wang Shishi grabbed his hand and placed it on her boobs with blushing cheeks.

Luo Yuan felt his hand boiling and quickly pulled it back. “But... but you’re not even 14 yet! How could you?”

Luo Yuan did not know how to respond. Wang Shishi raised her chin slightly and said, “It’s March now, I’m already 14. I really don’t know whether I’ll survive till adolescence. I just want to know what kissing feels like.”

Wang Shishi closed her eyes and raised her chin, taking rapid, shallow breaths. Luo Yuan was attracted to her juicy lips, smooth skin and pretty features. His heart was pumping faster than usual, but he was still rational enough to control his urges and say, “No.”

Just as he was about to say something, Wang Shishi stopped him by pushing her lips against his and squeezing her tongue into his mouth. Luo Yuan’s eyes opened wide in shock. He could not believe it. He was confused and he wasn’t sure whether he should push her away. Her lips were soft and sweet, and her tongue was like a little fish trying to escape. Wang Shishi leaned on his body helplessly, her smooth breasts pressing against his chest. Luo Yuan could feel her full, round breasts.

They embraced each other until Wang Shishi could not breathe properly anymore. Her lips had become juicier because of the kiss, which made Luo Yuan lose his mind. Wang Shishi lowered her chin, blushing.

“Am I... am I a bad girl?” she asked anxiously.

“No, you’re an innocent girl,” Luo Yuan comforted her.

“Can we still stay together like this?” Wang Shishi said with open eyes as she raised he head. That was enough to satisfy a young girl.

“Yes.” Luo Yuan sighed. He needed to take responsibility after making certain mistakes.

Wang Shishi was very happy. She looked like she had just took a sip of honey water upon hearing his answer.