Yumo slammed a fist into Zhangyuanzhou’s face.

Blood sprayed from his nose.

Every face froze in shock.

Zhangyuanzhou was caught completely off guard by the sudden punch.

But it wasn’t over.

Yumo threw his full weight into tackling him down, then kicked his face while he was dazed! The kick missed—Zhangyuanzhou’s friend yanked Yumo back by the arms from behind!

Others finally snapped out of it. Some tried to pull them apart; others stood frozen or turned to flee. Every movement stopped dead at Yumo’s roar:

“Nobody moves!!! Stay right here! Anyone who leaves answers to me!! No calling cops or teachers—this is between him and me!!! And you—let go of me!!!”

He wrenched free with unnatural strength, jabbing a finger at Zhangyuanzhou, who’d just staggered up:

“Zhangyuanzhou! I came here to fight you one-on-one! Don’t ask why, don’t refuse—I’m in a hurry! A real hurry!!”

“Are you insane!?”

Anyone could see Yumo wasn’t himself.

Uncharacteristically furious, almost hysterical, his eyes glinted with raw menace. This wasn’t just revenge for some slight.

He wore thick gray gloves instead of boxing wraps, and had removed his glasses—fully prepped for a brawl.

Zhangyuanzhou didn’t care about his reasons. At this point, backing down meant cowardice.

“A worthless punk getting in my face!? Fine! All of you—stay out of it! I’ll beat him till his own mother won’t recognize him!”

“Come on!!!!”

They lunged at each other, brawling under the stunned stares of the entire class.

Zhangyuanzhou: 192cm tall, 83kg, trained in hand-to-hand combat.

Yumo: 179cm tall, 65kg, minimal fighting experience.

By boxing’s seventeen weight classes, Zhangyuanzhou was light-heavyweight; Yumo barely super-featherweight—five classes apart.

Such a size gap nullified most techniques, especially with the bigger fighter being more skilled.

The outcome was obvious.

*Thud!* Zhangyuanzhou’s heavy punch landed. Yumo blocked like a TV boxer—arms crossed—but staggered back, forearms throbbing! Before he could breathe, the next blow smashed his jaw. Teeth sliced his inner cheek; bloody spit flew.

“Ugh…!!!”

Yumo’s vision blurred. Girls screamed; someone yelled, “Yuanzhou-ge, just stop!” But Zhangyuanzhou was too fired up to listen. Yumo barely deflected a quick jab before a kick slammed his stomach. He stumbled back, clutching his gut, waves of nausea rising.

“Hey! Zhangyuanzhou, that’s enough!”

Even Tanglingxue looked uneasy. Liyu stammered, “S-should we get a teacher?!” Yumo forced himself upright, shouting, “No teachers!!” as he charged again.

“Damn clingy bastard!”

Zhangyuanzhou’s hook hit Yumo’s shoulder, but Yumo gritted through the pain and drove a fist into his gut! Zhangyuanzhou gagged but dodged the next punch by a hair, then headbutted Yumo—stars exploded behind his eyes.

“You wanna fight me? You’re not even close to my level!!!!”

Zhangyuanzhou grabbed Yumo’s hair, yanking his head up. He raised his right fist—*one punch to knock him out cold, maybe give him a mild concussion—*

*Slosh.*

A liquid sound cut through the chaos.

Yumo’s left hand now held a small uncapped bottle.

He poured its clear contents over his gloved right hand.

Zhangyuanzhou froze mid-swing. In that split second, Yumo pulled a cheap lighter from his pocket.

What happened next was instantaneous.

*Click.* The lighter sparked.

A flash of flame.

Fire streaked in a straight line.

Searing pain erupted on Zhangyuanzhou’s chest.

He recoiled instantly, scrambling back on tiptoes—his jacket! A premium down jacket! A charred fist-print smoldered on his chest, tiny flames still dancing.

Dead silence filled the park.

“Eh!? EHHH!? F-fire!?”

Only Zhangyuanzhou’s frantic stammering broke the quiet as he patted out the flames.

Across from him—

“Damn it… I’d hoped… I could knock you out clean… no need for this… but no choice…”

Yumo’s right hand was burning.

They were brand-new lab gloves.

Aramid fibers woven tight, aluminum foil lining—ordinary thick winter gloves at first glance. In truth, heat-resistant past 700°C.

He’d doused them in pure alcohol, lit them with a street-vendor lighter—and *fire punch* was complete.

One slip, and he’d be engulfed. If his clothes caught, he’d be ruined. But with precise control and protection… his fist gained a fire buff.

*(Author’s note: Don’t try this at home.)*

“I thought about… splashing this in your face… burning you scarred for life… but… I’m not that cruel. I held back. You get it? Come on! Round two!”

Yumo flipped him off with his burning hand.

“Uh…………?”

Zhangyuanzhou was speechless.

Everyone was speechless.

He almost felt like he was facing an elite game boss.

Maybe it wasn’t just a feeling.

“Uh… buddy… your hand… doesn’t it hurt?”

“Shut up! Fight me! I’m in a hurry!!!!”

“WaitwaitwaitWAIT!?”

The blazing fist swung! A fierce punch trailed blinding fire—not faster, but terrifying. Zhangyuanzhou had brawled often, but never seen anything this reckless. Yumo’s strikes were wild, but that dancing serpent of flame on his right hand… Zhangyuanzhou didn’t know alcohol’s burn temp, but it sure as hell wasn’t safe!

*Punchpunchpunch!* *Dodge-dodge-dodge!* Zhangyuanzhou retreated under the onslaught. But he wasn’t some pushover—how dare a nobody chase *him*?!

“—Gotcha!!”

As Yumo threw his next punch, Zhangyuanzhou ripped off his down jacket, using it as a shield. It sizzled with a burnt stench as he wrapped the thick fabric around Yumo’s flaming fist.

“Ha! Idiot! All bark and no bite!”

Even Zhangyuanzhou knew fire died without oxygen. The *fire punch* was out. Now this punk—

“What are you grinning at!?”

Yumo’s gloved left hand suddenly clawed at Zhangyuanzhou’s face! A futile struggle—until the palm slapped over his mouth and nose. A stench worse than rotten eggs, bleach, and burnt food flooded his senses.

“Gurk!?”

Nausea surged up his throat. His eyes and throat burned. Zhangyuanzhou retched, releasing Yumo—*what the hell?! Fire buff on his right, toxic debuff on his left!?*

“Relax—it’s mostly non-toxic. Just… intense. Be a man and endure it!!!!”

*THUD!!!* Yumo’s knee smashed Zhangyuanzhou’s chin. His extinguished right fist hammered the man’s gut. Overwhelmed by pain and sickness, Zhangyuanzhou couldn’t fight back. Yumo raged on like a berserker—*punch! punch! punch!*—aiming for thick muscle to avoid killing him. *Make him hurt! Make him scream!* Until—

“St… ngh… stop… please… don’t… ngh ngh ngh…”

After countless blows, Zhangyuanzhou wept.

Curled on the ground, face swollen and bloody, tears streaking his cheeks.

“I… surrender… ngh… stop… please…”

“…You surrender?”

“Yes… surrendered… it hurts… so bad… stomach… sick… ngh…”

“Really?”

“Really… please…”

*THUD!*

Yumo kicked his stomach. Zhangyuanzhou convulsed, vomiting violently—sick spilled across the ground.

“Surrender’s fine… vomiting helps… that’s enough… that’s enough…”

Just then, *beep-beep-beep* sounded. Yumo’s phone alarm rang.

His expression tightened again. He pulled out his phone and called, the whole class frozen in place, too scared to breathe or flee.

“Hello? Dad… yeah… I had to step out earlier… Yuxin? …Huh? Out of danger? Oh… oh… got it… okay… I’m coming back now…”

He hung up, yanked off his gloves, wiped blood from his mouth, gasping. He put his glasses back on and scanned the crowd.

Then spoke—

“Did any of you… see my fist on fire? Smell anything strange?”

“…………”

“Don’t stay silent. Answer me. Please.”

“N-no…” “We saw nothing.” “Yeah… nothing…” “We were just passing by…”

“Good. Very good. Now… this park… I know it has no cameras… but you… if anyone recorded this… keep it to yourselves. Don’t post it anywhere. Don’t show any adults. Understand?”

“…………”

“Understand?”

“…Yes.”

Victory had eased his frenzy slightly, but his chilling aura remained—a stark contrast to the Yumo they knew. Unquestionable. Terrifying.

“Right. It’s late… sorry to trouble you all… go home if you want… or karaoke… I’ll head back—oh.”

Yumo spat out the last traces of blood, raised his hand, and pointed at Tanglingxue in the crowd—stunned and pale.

“I don’t know if you’re friends with this Zhang bastard… doesn’t matter… just stop looking at people like that. It’s fucking unsettling… that’s all. Bye. Happy New Year. Don’t forget your homework.”

He swayed out of the park, tossing Zhangyuanzhou’s burnt jacket into the river on his way.

Minutes passed in trembling silence before anyone dared move toward home.