But Zhang Shan didn’t give up at all. His legs gradually changed from kneeling to squatting, roaring while exerting force upward.

Qiao Jiajin suddenly felt something was wrong and hurriedly clamped down tighter on the opponent’s neck, using all his strength to pull Zhang Shan’s arm once more. He was certain Zhang Shan couldn’t breathe now, yet still possessed earth-shaking strength.

Though Zhang Shan kept crying out in pain, he still slowly stood up while lifting Qiao Jiajin’s entire body.

Qiao Jiajin sensed Zhang Shan might quickly slam him down to crash him into the ground. No matter who it was, they would be stunned dizzy for half a second in that instant and release their grip.

Then if the opponent followed with a ground counter, victory would be decided.

But after all, he wasn’t an ordinary person. After forcefully clamping the opponent’s neck, he also hooked the backs of his two feet together, and the hands holding the opponent’s arm also interlocked their ten fingers.

This time, even if he was slammed to the ground, he absolutely couldn’t let go, and he also had to use the force of the downward slam to dislocate the opponent’s arm.

Come on, Zhang Shan. Qiao Jiajin thought silently. Since my strength isn’t enough, I’ll borrow your strength one more time.

But Zhang Shan clearly realized where the danger lay. After lifting Qiao Jiajin to his feet, he didn’t rush to slam down. Instead, he arduously shifted his steps, slowly rotating his body.

Qiao Jiajin’s legs clamped the opponent’s neck, his entire body suspended in mid-air in a lying position. For a moment, his sense of direction became somewhat confused.

Before he could figure out what the opponent intended, he felt Zhang Shan’s core suddenly exert force, and his entire body rapidly spun in place while lifting him.

Qiao Jiajin only felt a whooshing sound by his ears, and in an instant understood what was happening.

But in the instant of understanding, a white wall flew toward his side.

So this was Zhang Shan’s tactic—he was preparing to swing his head into the wall. This way he could not only save his arm but also heavily injure him in the process.

Qiao Jiajin had no time to react and left everything to instinct. So at the critical moment, he curled up his neck and made a head-lowering movement.

If he hadn’t dodged this collision, his brain matter would probably flow out from all the holes in his face, wouldn’t it?

Before he could catch half a breath, the wind sound by his ears continued. Zhang Shan spun forcefully once more, this time even closer to the wall, clearly intending to smash Qiao Jiajin to death against the wall.

Because the distance was truly too close, Qiao Jiajin knew that even lowering his head wouldn’t let him dodge this time.

So as the white wall flew toward his face, his instinct finally made him release Zhang Shan’s arm and block it in front of himself.

“Thud!”

The sound of flesh colliding with stone rang out. Qiao Jiajin was almost thrown by brute force and crashed into the wall.

Before he could even cry out, he felt his back hit the ground, and the back of his head also knocked against the floor. In an instant, his entire body was in excruciating pain.

Though both arms had been placed in front to block the collision, after all, the impact force was extremely great, and his brain also went completely blank within one second.

Qiao Jiajin had no time to think further. He immediately rolled over, curled up his body to protect his head, then opened his eyes to look at Zhang Shan.

Naturally, Zhang Shan wasn’t having an easy time either. His entire face was flushed red from holding his breath. Clutching his finally liberated arm, he retreated repeatedly, coughing sounds continuously coming from his throat.

Both men knew the opponent was having difficulty moving—this was the best opportunity to win this fight—yet neither could stand up.

This collision by Zhang Shan had left Qiao Jiajin dizzy and dazed, his arms shaken numb. Moreover, the two had expended enormous physical strength in those dozens of seconds of confrontation. Now, wanting to execute another killing move was truly difficult.

“Damn… you bastard…” Zhang Shan said while stroking his neck. “You almost won…”

After hearing this, Qiao Jiajin gave a bitter laugh, pushed against the ground to shift his body, and with difficulty sat down on the floor.

“Big guy, you’re really amazing,” Qiao Jiajin said while leaning against the wall. “Good thing I didn’t encounter an opponent like you on the streets, otherwise I couldn’t have protected others.”

“Also good thing you’re not an ordinary street thug,” Zhang Shan said. “Otherwise, good people in this world would have no way to survive.”

“Haha…”

After speaking, Zhang Shan sat down cross-legged, as if he also wanted to catch his breath.

The two were separated by only a few meters, sitting on the left and right sides respectively. If wine were placed on the ground at this moment, they would look like two good friends reminiscing about old times.

After hearing this, Qiao Jiajin paused and looked up at the pitch-black sky above, saying thoughtfully: “Big guy, it sounds like you’ve encountered some bad people.”

“I’m not a good person myself,” Zhang Shan said. “Punk… have you ever beaten someone to death?”

“Me…?” After hearing this, Qiao Jiajin seriously pondered this question, then shook his head. “I don’t know. Although I hold back my force every time I fight, focusing on quick knockdowns and trying not to attack vital points. But when there are many people on both sides fighting, inevitably some will use knives. Even though I haven’t killed anyone, the opponent might also die from being knocked down by me.”

“Damn, that sounds like a truly bizarre experience,” Zhang Shan replied with a laugh. “That description sounds like being born on a battlefield.”

“More or less,” Qiao Jiajin answered.

“But I’ve beaten someone to death,” Zhang Shan said, changing the topic. “I don’t know what era you’re from, but in our era, beating someone to death was a very serious matter.”

“It’s a serious matter in any era,” Qiao Jiajin said. “It’s not even about the law… After all, the opponent is a person. They have blood, flesh, thoughts, their own concerns and convictions in their heart. I don’t have a blood feud with anyone—what right do I have to judge another person’s life or death?”

Zhang Shan seemed to be touched by Qiao Jiajin’s words. He slowly lowered his head, his entire person seemingly occupied by some distant memory. After a moment, he asked in a deep voice: “Punk, do you hate your own body?”

“What?”

“Have you ever, even for just a moment… hated this body of yours that’s like a weapon?” Zhang Shan said. “Or was there some instant when the thought ‘how good it would be if I were an ordinary person’ flashed through your mind?”

“Putting it that way, I’ve also hated my own body,” Qiao Jiajin laughed. “But what I hate is that I’m not strong enough. What I hate is that I can’t become the ‘Terminator.'”

“Damn,” Zhang Shan grinned. “That’s really a strange way of putting it. You don’t want to kill people, yet you think you’re not strong enough. So what do you want to do if you become stronger?”

“Protect.”

“Protect…?”

“This world is riddled with holes, but there are always people willing to mend and patch it,” Qiao Jiajin said. “I’ll stand in front of all the cracks and protect my own people from harm.”

Zhang Shan fell silent for a few seconds, then said: “But there are always other ways to ‘protect,’ right? Can it only be through fighting?”

“I don’t know how to do anything—I only know how to fight. Whoever is good to me, I’ll fight for them.”

After hearing this, Zhang Shan’s expression changed several times again. He just felt that though Qiao Jiajin and he clearly lived in the same world, they were also completely different people.

This feeling was like the last can of beer remaining in the refrigerator.

He himself would say “What a pity, only one can left,” while Qiao Jiajin would say “Great, I still have one can.”

They viewed the same world from different perspectives, ultimately presenting completely inverted scrolls before their eyes.