Whispers in the Winter Wind

After two more months, only 15% of the initial stock remained unsold. Almost all of the quantum technology sent out for purchase had been acquired by customers.

Qualtoquanm Tech only needed to issue minor software patches for a few devices due to some tiny errors. These fixes generally did not cause any trouble for the people using them. A large number of customers showed a lot of satisfaction with the merchandise.

The company's hoverboards, storage rings, gear used by law enforcement and fire departments, specialized earmuffs, and the Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) they made available to the world had all made a big positive impact on society. This was especially true for the storage rings and the tools supplied to police and fire personnel.

Global crime rates saw a 35% decline. This was largely because the quantum glasses used by the police were so good at spotting criminals or would-be criminals. Within the previous four months, these glasses helped capture 55% of criminals within specific countries, which scared many potential criminals away from illegal activity.

At this point, Qualtoquanm Tech came to the decision to ramp up production, making even more units of their products. They also planned to push more of their specialized gear into the market, with a particular focus on construction workers.

The quantum gloves that Yasushi and his group used while they were in Yuwu, along with other advanced tech, would be demonstrated by various people to a global audience within the next two months.

Yasushi himself didn't need to be part of the public demonstrations, allowing him to concentrate on supporting the effort from behind the scenes along with the rest of the staff.

On this particular day, Yasushi was at home. It was one of his days off, which also happened to line up with Jingliu and Xinyi's day off as well. So, they were all home for the day. But, Yasushi didn't fully relax. He spent his morning going through some important papers, but he planned to unwind for the remainder of the day.

Even though he was "working," he couldn't get away from his family, nor did he have any desire to. So, his daughter Yue was sitting on his lap, sometimes pulling at his attention, while Yinhaie was also present in the room, keeping an eye on her daughter.

"Dad...can we visit the park later on with Advika?" his younger daughter questioned, looking up at him. She had been quietly playing with a small doll while she was sitting on his lap.

"The park? Which one are you talking about? There are several of them in our neighborhood," Yasushi responded to his daughter. He stopped looking at his papers and gave her a gentle head rub.

"The dog park! Can we bring Azeri too?" Yue exclaimed with a big smile, looking right at him.

Yasushi gave his daughter a somewhat awkward smile. Their cat, Azeri, had been living a very comfortable life as if she were royalty ever since he and Jingliu took her in a few years back. She was getting up there in years but was still ready for any sort of adventure, even though the dog park...was probably not something she would enjoy at all.

"Mmm…" Yasushi hummed thoughtfully while stroking his daughter's hair. "I don't believe Azeri would have a good time being close to so many dogs…how about we just go with your sister and others?" he suggested gently.

"Okay! I'll go tell them right now! Will big sister Himari be joining us too?" she asked with clear happiness.

Yasushi smiled back at her and responded, "I'll talk to your grandmother and see if they can make it too."

Yue was very pleased with this answer, hugging him quickly before jumping off of his lap and running out of the room to go tell her sister Advika. Yinhaie sighed lightly before getting up as well.

"I'll go and make sure she doesn't say anything she shouldn't," she stated, chuckling to herself. Yinhaie then looked at Yasushi, smiled, and then followed after her daughter.

Before he could really react to the situation, Yasushi felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, indicating an incoming text message. He pulled it out and saw the message was from Xinyi.

"Another failure. If I don't find anyone by the end of the year, I'm coming back. This speed dating thing is so annoying. Most of the guys I meet are either total creeps or just plain desperate!" Xinyi's text read, along with a bunch of annoyed-looking emojis.

Yasushi was amused by this and texted back, "Have you considered looking for someone who isn't exactly your usual type? You know, it's a big world, try casting your net as wide as you can and see if you find someone that way."

It took a moment, but Xinyi replied, "I have actually. Nandini, as well as my dad, both told me the same thing. But some of the guys I met were just…strange. I tried to give them a chance and go on a second date with them, but it didn't work out. They were simply too weird!"

"How so?" Yasushi texted back, asking for more details.

"They smelled like ass! Some of them hadn't even showered. I swear, one of them just...sniffed me! The others were only interested in sex. I kept telling them I wouldn't do that unless I was in a relationship, but they're terrible at it! I don't want one-night stands, and I sure as hell don't want a fuck buddy!" Xinyi furiously texted back to Yasushi.

The two of them kept texting each other back and forth until Yasushi's daughter, Yue, came back into his room to pull him out so they could go to the dog park. Yasushi chuckled softly and turned off his laptop before going along with them.

He quickly sent a text to Xinyi letting her know that they were heading out and that he may not be able to reply as quickly as before. Once Yasushi arrived at the front entrance hall of his home, he saw that his mother was there with Himari. Jingliu, Yinhaie, and Nandini were also there, along with his two daughters, Yue and Advika.

"I guess we're all going then," he remarked with a smile, taking in the sight of the large group he would be going with.

Azeri, their cat, walked into the hall and meowed a few times before heading back into the room she was in. It was as if she was wishing them well on their little adventure, which made everyone in the group laugh.

+-+

It didn't take them very long to get to the dog park. They had a simple fifteen-minute walk there without anything unusual happening. Once they arrived, they let Yue, Himari and Advika go off to run around and play to their hearts' content. They had brought a ball to play with, kicking it around while other dogs joined in on the fun.

The adults mostly stayed back, keeping an eye on the children. However, Yasushi paid very close attention to them, while the women with him continued their conversations from earlier. He would occasionally listen in, but most of the talk was about things women are typically interested in — fashion, makeup, and similar topics.

He eventually tuned out their conversation and focused his attention back on his daughters and little sister, who were playing happily until their peace was broken. A man walked into the park, and then let his dog off its leash. The old man looked grumpy and seemed ready to start a fight, and his dog appeared to have the same bad attitude.

Owners at the dog park began calling their dogs back to them, and the dog that the old man had let off its leash seemed to become annoyed by this. The dog then started moving toward Yasushi's children.

However, sensing some kind of danger, Yasushi used his ki to quickly increase his speed and appear beside his daughters and little sister. He positioned himself in such a way that he could act as a guard for them.

He wasn't about to stop them from playing, especially since they had just arrived and hadn't had much time to enjoy themselves yet. The others also noticed this and were now aware of the old man and his dog, and other people at the park made sure to be careful and wary of them.

"Is something wrong, dad?" Advika asked, confused by the sudden strange change in the atmosphere.

Yasushi looked back at his daughter and smiled gently. "Nope, nothing's wrong, sweetie, just keep on playing," he reassured her.

Yasushi then turned his full attention back to the dog, which had stopped a short distance away. It seemed to be sizing him up, trying to decide what to do next. Yasushi was letting out a small amount of his ki, like a warning signal, telling the dog to stay back.

Seeing Yasushi's intense stare, the old man stormed right up to his dog, standing right next to it. "What the fuck are you looking at my dog for, huh?!" the man yelled, making the entire dog park go quiet.

"There's no need for that kind of language, sir. We're in a dog park with kids and animals around. Using swear words like that will only frighten them," Yasushi responded, keeping his voice calm and his eyes on the man. "I suggest you take a breath and say that again."

This clearly made the old man angrier; his voice got louder as he spoke. "Calm down? You think you can tell me what to do? I'm older than you, and you're threatening my dog!" he shouted, then paused for a better look at Yasushi. "Wait a minute... you're that little quantum punk that showed off that stupid floating skateboard!"

Yasushi didn't show any reaction at all; he had become quite used to being recognized whenever he went out. Whether it was for a quick shopping trip, a casual outing with his fiancé, time with his kids, or their mothers, it never really mattered. One way or another, people would recognize Yasushi because of the demonstration he had given that day.

So, it didn't surprise him much that this grumpy old man recognized him too. He let out a slight sigh and simply asked, "Yes, I am. So what?"

"You spoiled little shit. Do you think you're better than me? You think you can bully my dog!?" the man screamed, making absolutely no sense to Yasushi at all.

'Don't old people have better things to do with their time? This guy is acting like he has a massive stick shoved up his ass,' Yasushi thought to himself. He then looked back at his little sister and daughters, who were now looking even more nervous than before.

'I don't want to scare them, so I should handle this carefully and not make a big deal of it,' Yasushi thought as he focused his gaze back on the old man.

Calling the police in this situation wouldn't really accomplish much, in Yasushi's opinion. He figured that the other people who frequented the park probably had already tried that route before.

At best, he suspected the old man would just get a light scolding and be told to leave, but he could easily return whenever he wanted. This wouldn't solve the issue, or keep the old man from potentially doing it again.

He really didn't want to resort to this, but it appeared to be the only real choice since having a calm discussion was clearly impossible due to the old man's overwhelming anger and hostility.

Yasushi turned his head to the side and saw Nandini and Yinhaie quickly taking Advika and Yue away from the area, while Himari ran back to his mother's side for safety. He had to be quick, for the sake of his family and those at the dog park.

Before the old man could even open his mouth to say another word, an intense and overwhelming feeling of dread suddenly washed over him, and he froze completely. He was unable to move at all. His eyes landed on Yasushi, who had started walking directly toward him. The old man was barely able to glance at his own dog, and saw that it had peed itself out of sheer terror, its whole body shaking uncontrollably where it stood.

Yasushi had directed a considerable amount of his ki towards both the man and his dog, though he focused even more on the older man because he was genuinely annoyed by his behavior. Over the years, Yasushi had trained extensively in the use of his ki, guided by Nandini, and occasionally by Shiva whenever he visited, and also Hakufubuki when she was available.

While Yasushi wasn't some kind of supernatural prodigy, he had developed enough control to direct his raw ki towards other individuals, causing them to feel intense dread and unease.

Of course, he was even more skilled at using his ki to cover and enhance his own body, but he rarely did that since his physical abilities were already exceptional, and he was at the top 1% of humans even without using ki.

"This is a dog park. Many families and dog lovers come here to enjoy themselves," he said to the old man, giving him a soft yet menacing glare. "We don't need that kind of language or your bad attitude here. Do you understand?" he asked, staring intensely right into the man's eyes, making sure to get his point across.

The man, still feeling the full force of Yasushi's ki, nodded his head quickly and repeatedly, clearly wanting this terrifying experience to end as soon as possible. Yasushi had reacted so strongly because he was deeply concerned for his children, his little sister, and his mother, who were all at the park with him.

While he was worried about Yinhaie, Nandini, and Jingliu as well, he knew they were all capable of handling themselves, but it still bothered him that they were put in this situation in the first place.

"Leave," he said in a low, growling tone. "And don't ever come back here until you change that shitty attitude of yours," he added before pulling back his ki. The immense pressure he was putting on the man suddenly was gone.

The man and his dog stood frozen for another few seconds before he bent down, picked up his dog, and quickly ran away. It only took him about twenty seconds to get out of the park, into his car, and drive away at a high speed.

Yasushi stood there for a moment, hoping that they didn't drive away too fast and cause an accident before finally sighing to himself. "How annoying... at least it didn't completely ruin the day yet," he mumbled quietly, then he looked over at his group, making sure they were alright.

He turned his attention back to his family, watching his two daughters and his little sister as they ran back toward him, kicking their ball together. He also noticed that, once the old man had completely left, the other dog walkers in the park started letting their dogs off their leashes again, and the whole atmosphere in the park went back to being relaxed and calm.

Yasushi kept a watchful eye on his daughters and sister for a few minutes before he saw Jingliu waving him over to where she was standing with the others. As he walked towards them, he saw that they were all grinning, which confused him even more than before. When he arrived, Jingliu showed him a text message on her phone, which completely shocked him.

It was a message from their friend group chat, and it had come from Catherine.

"Furuya and I are getting married next year during the spring season. Please come and visit us for a small get-together before Christmas!" the message read.