Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

The shadow came fiercely, punching out with a force that seemed to change the color of heaven and earth, mixed with an unparalleled momentum rushing forward. But the next moment, it seemed like a wave crashing against a breakwater, being caught by Fang Zheng’s hand.

“Who is it?”

At this point, Mira curiously tilted her head to look behind Fang Zheng, only to see a tall figure standing there in a down jacket, wearing a black knit hat and windproof glasses. He stared intensely at Fang Zheng, fury blazing in his eyes. Even the cold wind seemed intimidated by him, swirling around from afar.

“Probably a single dog who can’t stand seeing couples happy.”

Fang Zheng held the man’s fist with his left hand and picked up chocolate with his right, finishing it off in three bites.

“How is it? Tasty?”

“What the hell did you put in this chocolate?”

“Chili oil, oh.”

Mira triumphantly puffed out her chest.

“How is it? Isn’t the flavor exciting? After all, I thought regular chocolate was too low on challenge, so I made this.”

“Of course it’s exciting. I’ll send you a White Day return gift when we go back… How about fresh, warm milk?”

“Uh… Did you get angry?”

“Heh heh.”

Fang Zheng chuckled, withdrew his gaze, and turned to look at the man behind him.

“Alright, although I don’t know who you are, it sure takes courage to interrupt our date. Let me see how skilled you are.”

“Hmph!”

Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s reply, the man snorted coldly, then swung another punch towards Fang Zheng. But Fang Zheng easily sidestepped the attack, lightly placing his right hand on the man’s arm, with a press and a push, the man instantly lost balance and toppled to the side.

If it were an average person, just this one move would make him surrender, but the attacker was clearly not ordinary. He actually stopped himself with a backhand, and then lifted his leg high to kick at Fang Zheng. Fang Zheng again extended his hand, smoothly dodging the kick, and the opponent clearly did not intend to stop, he charged again.

“Hah! Ha!!”

In an instant, the two tangled in a fight, but the scene was completely different. The man’s fists whipped with the wind, every move like a bolt of lightning, a storm, vowing to completely crush the target in front. But opposite him, Fang Zheng’s actions were light, gentle, and slow as if he were a single stalk of straw in a storm, seemingly about to be blown away at any moment, but returning to his place the next moment.

Moreover, Fang Zheng’s speed was extremely slow. If the man’s moves seemed like an immovable storm causing difficulty in seeing clearly, then Fang Zheng’s most resembled a dance performance, each move slow and gentle. Under such extreme movement and stillness comparison, their fight appeared increasingly bizarre.

“Go Fang Zheng, take him out!!”

Mira cheered on from the side, knowing Fang Zheng’s true identity. Naturally, she didn’t think he would lose to an ordinary man, and Fang Zheng’s strange fighting style, although slow and gentle, carried a certain graceful charm. Mira couldn’t quite see what he was doing; she only felt that Fang Zheng looked just like the matadors she’d watched in Spain before, casually and elegantly brandishing a red cloth, turning the rampaging bull in circles.

“What on earth is this move?!”

A moment later, the man was already out of breath, reluctantly retreated, glared at Fang Zheng, and asked. He’d never had such an oppressive fight; despite giving his all earlier, he hadn’t even touched the opponent, and even when hitting, it felt like punching a pile of cotton, with no force felt.

He’d never encountered such a strange fight before!

“Using softness to overcome hardness, naturally it’s Taiji.”

Fang Zheng rotated both hands, drew a circle, and with a smile retrieved them.

“How’s that? By now you should understand, you’re no match for me. Best to retreat early. Considering that single dogs always rage on Valentine’s Day, I won’t bother with you.”

“Dream on!”

Upon hearing this, the man flew into a rage once more.

“How dare you deceive a pure-hearted girl, I won’t let you off lightly? Look out!”

Before his words fell, he again clenched his fist and rushed at Fang Zheng.

Oh, still one who won’t change until hitting a wall?

Watching his opponent throw yet another punch, Fang Zheng’s expression turned slightly cold. Then he extended his hand, intercepting the incoming punch. Yet, inexplicably, the man suddenly trembled and retreated backward. Fang Zheng also withdrew his hand at this moment, squinting at him intently.

“What kind of trick is this you’re pulling now?”

Covering his abdomen, the man’s tone grew much more serious, whereas Fang Zheng folded his hands behind his back and chuckled.

“Don’t even know Gusu Murong’s Big Dipper Shift, what martial arts have you trained? I’ve provided you retreat time and again, but since you’re refusing to take advantage, don’t blame me for taking action.”

Hearing Fang Zheng speak, the man clenched both fists.

“Tell me, what is your relationship with Miss Sonoko?”

“Sonoko?”

Upon hearing the question, Fang Zheng raised an eyebrow, then his eyes shifted.

“Ah, that woman, I’m currently dating her.”

“What?! Then why did you try to approach Miss Mouri?!”

“Simple, because the one I like is Ran.”

Fang Zheng spread his hands, revealing a smug smile.

“That silly woman is so easy to deceive. I just said sweet words to her, and she ended up like a lost spirit, devotedly following me. She even gave me chocolate, hahaha… She doesn’t know that my pursuit of her is completely for the Suzuki Family assets.”

“What?!!”

Upon hearing this, the man lifted his fist again.

“How dare you… dare to do such a thing?!”

“So what if I did? Aren’t you the same? Look at you, you’re here for Sonoko too, aren’t you interested because of the Suzuki Family assets?”

“Nonsense! I like Miss Sonoko. I absolutely won’t hand her over to someone as despicable as you!”

After saying this, the man raised his fist once more and rushed at Fang Zheng.

“Then it’ll depend on whether you have that ability!”

Facing the man who charged again, Fang Zheng’s mouth subtly curled up, revealing a cold smile. Following that, he too took calm steps forward.

Facing Fang Zheng who was slowly walking towards him, the man roared angrily, punching out. But Fang Zheng stretched his right hand, pressing it against the side of the man’s fist. Fang Zheng’s entire body seemed to surge forward like noodles, directly leaning against the man, and the next moment, accompanied by a muffled groan, the man flew back.

“Use their own methods against them.”

Fang Zheng smiled and raised a hand to the man.

“I advise you not to exert too much force, or the one suffering will be you yourself.”

“Not done yet!”

The man jumped again, delivering a spinning kick towards Fang Zheng.

“Hmph, karate, flashy but ineffective.”

Even before the words died away, the man saw the shadow flicker before him, the next moment Fang Zheng disappeared from sight.

“I want to see what tricks you have in front of Ghost Step?”

“Hah!”

At the same time, the man launched another attack, punching at the source of the sound. However, he still couldn’t see Fang Zheng’s shadow; conversely, his fist smashed hard onto a tree, and with a “bang,” the tree collapsed loudly.

“Useless!”

In the next moment, Fang Zheng appeared like a ghost in front of the man. His right hand wrapped around the man’s hand like a viper, then shook it forcefully. The man immediately felt an irresistible force travel along his arm; the world spun around him, and he fell face-first into the cold snow.

“It’s about time to stop, isn’t it?”

Looking at the man who had fallen to the ground, Fang Zheng dusted off his hands.

“You’re pursuing Sonoko, but ultimately, isn’t it just for her money? How about this: I’ll give you a hundred million yen, and you don’t appear in front of Sonoko and me anymore. How does that sound?”

“Are you kidding me…!”

Upon hearing this, the man wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and slowly stood up.

“I would never hand Miss Sonoko over to someone like you. I’m not pursuing her because of her money.”

“That’s strange.”

Looking at the man who was getting up, Fang Zheng crossed his arms.

“If it’s not for money, then why go to such lengths for a woman?”

“Because I like her.”

“What?”

“Because I love her! I love Sonoko! She is the woman I love the most!”

Glaring at Fang Zheng, the man clenched his fists and shouted loudly. Watching this man, Fang Zheng silently picked up his phone.

“Okay, done, thanks for cooperating.”

After saying this, Fang Zheng turned away.

“Sonoko, what do you think? Are you satisfied with this confession of love?”

“Huh?”

At this moment, the man paused, turned his head, and realized that at some point, Sonoko, Ran, Conan, and the others had appeared not far away. Sonoko was now looking at him with a flushed face.

“A-Arata? Why are you here?”

“Miss Sonoko? Huh? This…… so……”

The man was dumbfounded, not knowing what to say. Just then, Fang Zheng walked over to Sonoko, waved his phone, and soon the man’s voice echoed from it again.

“Because I love her! I love Sonoko! She is the woman I love the most!”

“See, I’ve recorded it for you, I’ll send it to you later, so I’m heading back now, Mira, let’s go.”

“Okay!”

Watching Mira happily leave with Fang Zheng, and then looking at Ran Mouri standing beside Sonoko, the man was completely baffled.

Only when everyone returned to the lodge did this farce finally come to an end.

“Really, what are you doing?”

While applying medication to the bruised Kyogoku Makoto’s nose, Sonoko complained.

“I heard a noise outside, so I went out with Ran and Conan to check the situation, and unexpectedly saw you fighting with Mr. Fang Zheng……”

Before Sonoko could finish, Kyogoku suddenly held her hand.

“Miss Sonoko, what exactly is your relationship with that man named Fang Zheng?”

“Huh?”

Faced with Kyogoku’s question, Sonoko was taken aback.

“We’re very good friends.”

“But didn’t you give him chocolates? And on the phone earlier, didn’t you say you were going to give the chocolates to the man you liked? So I made a special trip to see what kind of man was worthy of you, Miss Sonoko… Then I saw you giving chocolates to him behind the lodge!”

“Ah, about that…”

Upon hearing this, Sonoko finally realized.

“That was just practice. I was practicing how to confess while giving you chocolates, so I asked Mr. Fang Zheng to be my practice partner……”

Saying this, Sonoko was sweating profusely.

“But at that time, Mr. Fang Zheng criticized me as completely clueless about talking like a human…….”

“So you’re not dating?”

“Of course not!”

“Then is he Miss Ran’s boyfriend?”

“Huh?!”

Ran, sitting nearby, was startled to hear herself implicated and quickly waved her hands.

“No, Mr. Fang Zheng is actually dating Miss Mira…… Oh, Miss Mira is my distant relative and looks a lot like me, so you probably mistook her for me at the time.”

“I see……”

Kyogoku Makoto bowed his head in dejection.

“Sorry, I saw you gave him chocolates and saw him with Miss Ran, so I thought he was a two-timing playboy……”

At this point, Kyogoku Makoto suddenly raised his head again to look at Sonoko.

“Then, Miss Sonoko, if the man you want to give chocolates to isn’t him, who is he?”

“……Huh?”

“Don’t play dumb. You once called and said you knit a sweater, made a teacup, and planned to give him chocolate. If it’s not that man, then who is he?”

“………”

Upon hearing Kyogoku Makoto’s inquiry, everyone fell silent for a moment, then Sonoko helplessly extended her finger towards Kyogoku Makoto. Kyogoku Makoto quickly turned around, looking behind him—to find nothing but a wall.

“???”

“It’s you.”

“……Huh?”

“I mean, that man is you!”

“Me, me?”

“Yes.”

At this point, Ran quickly offered an assist.

“Although Sonoko’s sweater isn’t finished yet, she should have already given you the teacup she made with her own hands.”

“What? That was a teacup? I thought it was a vase!”

“………”

At that moment, Sonoko felt her spirit had been crushed.