Chapter 15

"Kid, every time after school, he runs so fast, it's like he's going to be reborn!" Watching Zhang Tie wave and disappear, Bali clicked his tongue, somewhat helplessly.

"Is he going to work at the grocery store?" Shawen added.

"That grocery store he goes to twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday. He already went yesterday, and today is Friday. What is he doing?" Bali explained.

"Maybe he's rushing home!" Since making peace with Zhang Tie, Doug rarely said a word for him.

"A man who goes home right after school has no future!" Baghdad stood with his arms crossed, somewhat proudly.

"What about you?" Lait asked Baghdad.

"I'm going to the Tiger Combat Hall to try my luck. This weekend, the Tiger Combat Hall will hire a few part-time waiters. If I can get in, I'll have the chance to use the training equipment for free in the future. If I'm lucky, I might even meet a few experts who can give me some pointers!"

"Alright, good luck. That place is a rich man's domain. I heard that Gris goes there every day after school to train for several hours..." Lait shrugged.

"Gris goes to the Blaze Combat Hall, one of the best combat halls in Black Flame City!" Baghdad's tone was full of envy. "It would be great if they also hired part-time waiters!"

Bali rolled his eyes at Baghdad's words.

"What about you, Lait? What are your plans for the weekend?" Shawen asked Lait.

Lait hesitated for a moment, then decided to tell the truth, "This weekend, my dad is taking me to visit an old friend of his. This old friend just arrived in Black Flame City a few days ago and has been appointed as the deputy manager of the Storm Merchant Guild in Black Flame City. Dad might want to take me to pave the way for the future! What about you, Shawen?"

"I'm going to tutor on the weekend, I can earn 40 copper coins a day!" Shawen said somewhat embarrassedly.

"Your dad is really stingy. You're only 15, and you have to earn money to support the family on weekends!" Doug said bluntly.

"Who can blame Shawen? He has two younger brothers. The responsibility of being an older brother is not light!"

"Right, so what about you, Sista?"

"Hehe, I've saved some money this month. I can relax on the weekend!" Sista said, moving his waist suggestively.

"Really, you saved a month's pocket money, skipped breakfast, just for one day. Are you going to die if you don't visit a brothel?" Baghdad said with disdain.

"I'll die if I don't visit a brothel! After the first time, I realized that I'm living for women..." Sista answered seriously, then hooked his arm around Bali's, whispering together...

Thus, on the weekend, the core members of the Flying Brothers' Gang chatted casually at the school gate and then went their separate ways.

Zhang Tie, at this moment, was running quickly through the alleys near the school. After running about two streets away from the school, Zhang Tie finally arrived at a place he had visited countless times before, the Wesley Street tram station. Then, Zhang Tie stood at the entrance of a small alley next to the station, breathing heavily, quietly watching the corner of the street. Over the past two years, he had waited here countless times, and most of the time, he could see the person he was waiting for. In the past, after school, he would wait at the school gate with many others and follow that person for about two streets. But since the terrifying one-eyed man came to the school and started pursuing that person, all the bold students were beaten by the one-eyed man and no longer dared to follow that person after school. Only Zhang Tie persisted. Zhang Tie no longer dared to follow that person, so he found this place. As long as it wasn't a working day, Zhang Tie would come here first every day after school, just to get a good look at that person, even if it was just a glance, Zhang Tie felt very satisfied.

After waiting quietly for more than ten minutes, the person he was waiting for, as usual, walked out from the corner of the street about 40 meters from the station. At the moment he saw Teacher Daina, Zhang Tie felt that what he saw was not a person but a painting, a living painting. The moment Teacher Daina appeared, the whole world seemed to come alive. The 15-year-old boy felt his breath almost stop.

Teacher Daina walked from a distance to the station, with her back to Zhang Tie. Zhang Tie, at the alley entrance, about 20 meters away, just stared at Teacher Daina's back. It was the most beautiful back, with the most beautiful hair, the most beautiful figure, wearing the most beautiful clothes, showing the most beautiful legs, and those deadly sexy black high heels. Zhang Tie felt that Teacher Daina was the embodiment of a goddess.

Teacher Daina's hair must be very fragrant, just like the scent of her body! Looking at Teacher Daina's beautiful hair, Zhang Tie thought, not knowing what it would feel like to touch it, the boy entered a fantasy...

On the station platform, there were originally a few passengers waiting for the tram, discussing something loudly. When Teacher Daina arrived, Zhang Tie noticed that their voices became quieter. The two gentlemen who were sitting on the chairs reading newspapers quietly straightened their backs, and one of them even turned his head to the reflection of the advertisement board next to the station, quietly combing his hair.

Zhang Tie actually hoped that the tram Teacher Daina was waiting for would never come, so he could keep watching her silently. But after just five minutes, the tram of Black Flame City slowly approached the station. All the trams in the city were just smaller versions of trains, with narrower tracks, smaller engines, lower-powered steam units, slower speeds, and smaller capacities, but they were more suitable for use within the city.

As the tram slowed down to stop, a puff of steam came out from the deceleration valve at the back of the car. The conductor stood at the door, half of his body out of the car, ringing a bell and shouting to remind the passengers to put coins in the fare box. The people at the station began to board the tram...

Zhang Tie waited until Teacher Daina got on the tram and the tram slowly drove away before he reluctantly turned his gaze away. Then, with a feeling he couldn't quite describe, he walked toward home.

...

Since it was the weekend, Zhang Tie's older brother, Zhang Yang, was also coming home. As usual, every Friday was the day when the whole family had a reunion dinner, so the dinner on Friday was especially abundant. Mom used the remaining half of the cured meat to cook a pot of cloud beans. When Zhang Tie got home, he hadn't even entered the door when he smelled the familiar aroma of the meat broth. Seeing the ceramic pot on the small stove at home, bubbling with oil and a milky white meat broth, Zhang Tie's appetite was immediately whetted. He picked up the spoon on the pot, scooped a spoonful of soup, puffed his cheeks and blew hard a few times, and without caring that it was still a bit hot, he drank it in one gulp. A taste that Zhang Tie felt could be described as happiness instantly slid into his mouth.

"Little glutton, if you're hungry, have a bowl to tide you over!" Mom walked over from the shop, affectionately ruffling Zhang Tie's hair, just like she used to, for more than ten years.

Zhang Tie swallowed, "No, I'm not hungry, I'll wait for Dad and Brother to come back!"

"Our Guoguo has grown up!" Mom said as she tied her apron, "Your dad is working overtime today, he'll be back a bit later. You go watch the shop, I'll cook!"

"Okay!"

Half an hour later, Zhang Tie's dad came back, greeted Zhang Tie, and then went to the kitchen to help. After another twenty minutes, just as Zhang Tie was about to sit down at the table, thinking Zhang Yang wouldn't come back, Zhang Yang returned.

Zhang Yang was 1.88 meters tall, with a robust build, long hands, and a face somewhat similar to Zhang Tie's, but with narrower eyes and eyebrows, giving him a somewhat elusive and lively air. Zhang Yang wore the dark black uniform of the Black Flame City Guard, with a yellow copper buckle leather belt around his waist, a standard-issue long sword hanging from the belt, and the rank of sergeant on his shoulder, making him a squad leader in the Black Flame City Guard, just one step away from being an officer.

From a young age, this older brother was the idol Zhang Tie admired.

Zhang Yang, who had returned home, was carrying a backpack. Without a word, he opened the backpack and took out two items, handing them to Zhang Tie, "Take them, open them, just enough for us to have a meal!"

"Canned beef!" Zhang Tie's eyes lit up, and his mouth watered even more. He didn't expect his brother to bring such good things this time.

"You sit, I'll take care of it..." Mom took the two cans from Zhang Tie without hesitation, and while she went to the kitchen to set the table for Zhang Yang, she put one of the cans in a cabinet, only opening one. The three men at the table all smiled. Mom was always frugal, sometimes even splitting a copper coin into two uses. The whole family was used to it.

"Brother, do you have any other good things?" Zhang Tie looked at the bulging backpack in Zhang Yang's hand, which still had many things not taken out. In Zhang Tie's eyes, his brother sometimes seemed like a magician, always able to produce many things.

"Here, they're all for you!" Zhang Yang directly threw the whole bag into Zhang Tie's hands. Zhang Tie eagerly opened it, and the first thing he saw was a pair of black training shoes, two dark green vests, and two dark green underpants, a towel, and a bar of soap. The shoes, vests, underpants, towel, and soap were all personal items issued by the Black Flame City Guard, and they were also in high demand in the black market of Black Flame City. They were all things that his older brother had saved up to bring back for him. Looking at the new shoes and then at the worn-out pair on his older brother's feet, Zhang Tie felt a slight sting in his nose.

"I've already exchanged these for the right sizes. Mom said you're a big boy now, don't cry!" Zhang Yang said, reaching out a large hand to mess up Zhang Tie's hair.

Zhang Tie, feeling a slight sting in his nose, felt extremely embarrassed and angry at his older brother's last words. His older brother found it hilarious and turned to say something to Dad, who also laughed. He didn't care about the embarrassment of a young heart.

"Mom!" Zhang Tie called out in dissatisfaction.

"Alright, alright, let's eat, I won't say it again!" Mom walked over with a plate of opened canned beef.

The family started to eat, enjoying a warm and harmonious meal...

"Don't go out at night for the next while!" At the dinner table, Zhang Yang said to Zhang Tie, "Black Flame City might not be peaceful recently!"

"What happened?" Dad became somewhat nervous, and Mom perked up her ears. Only Zhang Tie, feeling somewhat depressed, chewed on the piece of beef tendon in his bowl, "Did you hear any news?"

"A few days ago, the second-in-command of the Red Scarf Bandits, Blood Hand Butcher Sara, was captured in Andaman City. Yesterday, the Alliance Parliament voted to hang Sara, and the Red Scarf Bandits have announced that they will seek revenge!"

"Will they really target Black Flame City?" Dad doubted.

"During the vote on whether to execute Blood Hand Butcher, 11 out of 17 representatives from the Andaman City Federation voted in favor, and the representative from Black Flame City also voted in favor. The voting results somehow leaked, and the Red Scarf Bandits have targeted the 11 representatives who voted in favor. Black Flame City is relatively remote, located at the northern end of the Alliance, surrounded by weak areas of the Alliance, making it the most likely target for the Red Scarf Bandits!" His older brother said calmly.

"Has the Alliance fallen? How did the voting results leak? There must be a conspiracy. For a group of ruthless butchers like the Red Scarf Bandits, there are still people who want to spare them..." Dad said with a sense of injustice.

"I don't know about the conspiracy, but for the next two months, all the leaves of the Black Flame City Guard have been canceled. I won't be able to come back for the next two months!" His older brother shrugged.

"Son, is it dangerous?" Mom asked, somewhat worried.

"Mom, don't worry. The Red Scarf Bandits don't have the ability to attack the city. The city's defense forces and fortifications are not to be underestimated. They will most likely only carry out terrorist and sabotage activities in secret. The pressure on the city guard is not great, just be careful yourselves!"

Zhang Tie opened his mouth, and at this moment, he wanted to tell his family about the Black Iron Fortress he had obtained. However, his inner rationality told him that if this secret was revealed to his family, it might bring an unpredictable disaster to the family. After all, whether it was himself, his brother, or even his parents, they were all small figures in Black Flame City. Zhang Tie had heard before about small figures obtaining treasures, but in the end, those small figures did not have good endings. Perhaps, keeping this secret in his heart and not worrying his parents was the best choice...

After dinner, his older brother left. Dad was going to play chess with his neighbors in the evening, which was his biggest hobby. Mom was going to the church, and after closing the door, the house was left with only Zhang Tie. After washing the dishes, Zhang Tie returned to his small room.

Now, it was time to study the secrets of the Black Iron Fortress again...

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