A Different Approach

Now that I am in the midst of studying for the MCAT again, I have decided to reevaluate my approach and make some modifications.  Last year when I studied for this test I focused on assimilating as much information, and running through as many questions as possible.  This seemed to be an okay approach, but I still did not do as well as I wanted to.  This year I have decided to switch my approach.  Instead of trying to slam through tons of information as quickly as possible, I will do my review carefully with one thing in mind.  As I do the example questions, and practice tests I will extensively study why I have missed each problem and then categorize them into two different categories.

The first category will be for "silly" mistakes.  That label is sort of a misnomer, since any mistake technically isn't silly.  I expect to see a pattern emerge for the type of questions I miss in this category.  Most likely it will be due to a particular approach, missed conversion or not carefully reading what the question is asking. The second category will be for deficient knowledge.  These questions I will have to take, and review the particular subject matter that I am deficient on so that my knowledge base is complete going into test day.

The reason I decided to do this is because I feel like I subconsciously avoided subjects I didn't like or understand, and I rushed through many questions I missed with the simple explanation of "Oh that was dumb, I should have seen that stupid mistake.  I'll get it right next time lol."  In hindsight this is not a very good approach to studying for the MCAT, which is a test that purposely gives trick questions to test your knowledge.

I have already started this approach with my Chemistry review and after getting through 2/3 of the first chapter I am getting problems right, that used to challenge me.  This is all because I took the time to really look into why I missed the problem, and then carefully document it.  The going is slow right now, but I have a suspicion that these common "tricks" are going to keep popping up again and again.  Actually I know they will, since this will be the third time I will sit for the exam ><

I no longer believe that I am missing any of the fundamental knowledge necessary to take this exam.  Now I just need to refine my test-taking skills so that when I go into the test in May, I am ready to take the MCAT as they present it.

Medical School

This year I worked hard to make it into Medical School, but alas it did not happen.  I scored one point below my average this time on the MCAT for a 29.  I was pretty happy with that, but I think it was a naive score to "settle" for.  Over the last year I have taken more courses, and I feel like I know so much more than before.

I decided to pick up this blog again more to document my struggle to get into medical school than anything.  I have been working towards this for almost five years now, and have been extremely serious for the last two and a half years.  I wish I was more serious from the outset, but that is water under the bridge now.

It is now mid-January and I need to start studying to take the MCAT a third time.  Most people have told me that 29 is good enough and that I shouldn't "risk" taking it again.  Honestly I am not satisfied with that number and I believe I can do much, much better.  Last year I had a pretty good study schedule, but I think I will be even more aggressive this time around.  It is going to require a sacrifice of nights and weekends, but I am okay with this.

The bitterness of getting rejected this year somehow galvanized my spirit into wanting to try even harder.  I want to prove to myself that I am able.  I want to prove to everyone who thinks I am full of crap, that I am not just "talk".   I have made solid steps, but I feel like it isn't enough.  The last 2.5 years I have maintained a 4.0 GPA, but somehow I feel like it is "too little too late".  Or course that is the self doubt seeping in. 

Last year I recorded a 7 point improvement from my first MCAT.  That is a huge difference when you think about it.  I know people who have taken the test several times and each time only had a variance of one or two points.  With the hard work I have put in over the last year, I feel confident that I can push it up another seven points.  That would put me at a 36, which is a score that a lot of the top tier schools would be impressed with.  I know my GPA would keep me out of those schools, but my goal isn't ivy league.  My goal is to be in Medical School, and I think that is very attainable with what I have already done.

When I called the admissions board after my rejection I also found out that I needed to Shadow more physicians.  Somehow I thought that being a medical interpreter in a clinic was just as good as shadowing, but I was wrong.  I am probably most bitter about this "weakness" than anything else in my application.  I still find it hard to believe that interpreting between doctors and patients in a clinical environment isn't as good as or even better than simple shadowing.  Deep down, I feel like I got shafted on this aspect and I will probably go to my grave believing that this assessment was extremely obtuse and short sighted.

With that being said, I also have to be practical about the whole thing, so guess what I will be focusing on this year?  You got it!  I will be shadowing as many physicians as possible.  In my next post I want to post a tentative study schedule that I will follow, that will allow me to maximize my time usage and help me attain the highest grade possible.

Folks!  For the next 5 months I am going to be LIVING the MCAT.

Making Progress

The MCAT looms close, and as it gets closer I get more worried.  Lately I have been averaging a 30 on the practice exams.  This is a very solid score, but it is still not at my goal score of 35+.  Strangely the difference between a 30 and a 35 isn't that much.  Missing just 2 or 3 difficult questions is all it takes.  My biggest concern is coming in under the average on actual test day.  This happened to me last year, and in a big way.  I came in 4 points below the average that I was marking on the practice exams.  Even though last year I wasn't ready, and I took the test more to see how it would turn out, it is still a major concern.

As for my physical training I have stopped completely to focus on my studies.  This has been a trying decision, but I know it is the correct one.  Although I am very interested in maintaining my overall health, I believe that this short time sacrifice is necessary in order to secure a very real long term benefit.  Medical School represents and entire shift in my life.  I will be throwing everything I have been doing for the last ten years away, and starting a completely new adventure.  I am not interested in broken, failed, or half-fulfilled dreams so it makes sense to me to go all out while I still can.

My No-Dig bed with Tobacco plants

I am very interested in horticulture.  In my very limited free time I managed to put together a no-dig garden bend and plant some tobacco plants.  This may seem counter-intuitive to many of you, especially after having read my fitness and life goals, but hear me out.  For some reason I have a love affair with exotic and strange plants.  Tobacco falls into that category, especially since it just isn't grown out in my part of the country.  I decided to see if I could actually do it, and if I am successful I have several friends that just might appreciate a home-grown cigar.

I decided to make a small investment in a company called Synacor Inc. on the recommendation of a friend.  He forwarded me to the website of a company called National Inflation Association who have provided analysis on this company.  After reading their analysis I decided to take some of my "throw away" money and give it a try.  What is "throw away" money you ask?  This is a certain amount of money that I am willing to risk and if I never see it again I won't be upset.  Since I am no investment guru, and i have heard the horror stories of people dumping their life saving on a "tip from a friend" I decided on a cautious approach.  I initially invested at $12.50 and in two days the price of the stock has already gone up to $13.42.  What does this tell me?  Nothing really, because I intend to see how the stock behaves over several months.  The natural human impulse, when seeing such a magnificent increase is to drop more money in, but my rule for investing is "be not emotional", so I will stick with my "throw away" investment.  I'll provide an update on this in the near future.  At that point I may look like a total fool or a remarkable genius :)

Finally I have been stricken by an odd interest in luthiery.  What is that you may ask?  It is the construction of stringed instruments.  I have loved and played classical guitar since I was about 15 years old, but I have never owned a proper classical guitar.  I don't want to drop the serious money required for a quality instrument so I have toyed around with the idea of building one for several years.  The first time I approached it was probably 10 years ago while I was in college.  At that point in time I could not find the resources to instruct myself so I abandoned the idea.  Now the interwebs has come through in a big way and I see that this is a very doable hobby.  Immediately after the MCAT I will be diving into this and seeing what I can come up with.  I will post pictures, rants and advice accordingly.  Having spent the last year pouring MCAT related information into my brain, a monotonous non-thought provoking hobby sounds like a dream right now.

As always thanks for reading

Getting Back to It

So I have neglected my posting on this blog, but happily I haven't necessarily neglected my training. With this post I want to give a progress report, and then extend the scope of this blog. Since it won't only be about fitness, but about becoming a better person in general.

Let's start with the progress report. From that initial post back in 2010 until January of 2011, I trained hard and consistently. I did change my approach, somewhat, to avoid injuries but I saw noticeable improvement as well as a dramatic weight loss. After January, I stopped training for the rest of the year. It was against my wishes, but there were personal issues involved so I did it in the best interest of my family and our peace of mind.

I proceeded to pack on an amazing 35 pounds which was even more than I weighed before I started training the first time. After gradually hating myself more and more I decided to start up the training once again. Since December of 2011 I decided to have a regiment of running and Chen Taijiquan. The running is for my cardio and the Taijiquan is for leg strength. I will probably return to full Tri training when I have the time, but I am currently reduced to training 1.5 hours a day 3 - 4 times a week maximum. I don't always reach that goal :(

The second part of this post is to outline new goals I have set for myself and to set up a forum where I can maintain public accountability. One of the reasons my training did not go as smoothly as I wanted to is because I had made the decision to try and start Medical School...at 32 years old.

You see what I did there? I like to make huge goals for myself. I have to go big or not at all. How can I get motivated if the challenge isn't worthy enough? Anybody can buy a book and get a computer certification, but medical school. Now there is a beastly challenge that I can test myself against!

Don't get me wrong, this decision wasn't made on the spur of the moment. I might as well give you the whole story, since you asked. My undergrad degree is in EECS, which stands for "Electrical Engineering and Computer Science". I put the emphasis in CS and thought that all my worries were over when I graduated in 2003. Monetarily my worries have been over. The job pays well and has endless avenues for improvement and exploration. Unfortunately I made a grave miscalculation. I didn't realize how boring and meaningless the work in this field would be.

I look like this when I am depressed

After years of coming home unfulfilled I decided I couldn't take it anymore. I was faced with a decision. I could either let myself go insane, dragged down by the monotony of the work and the severe depression as a result of the tremendous waste my life was going to, or I could do something radical! The crux of the matter was that I could not see how my life was making a difference by pounding out code every day for some faceless corporation. That feeling was exacerbated when I realized that ALL the work I had done would be re-done in a matter of 2 years or less. So even the footprint of my body of work would disappear and no record of what I had done would even endure as a testament to my "brilliance", collaboration, or contribution.

These realizations made me start searching. At first I thought I could find peace in starting my own company so that I stood at the top of the ladder and would be able to have an impact on how the business ran and grew. It didn't take me long to realize I am not a business man. I don't think like one, I am not motivated by monetary gain enough to really push for things. I only care about a sexy idea, and once I have developed it I lose interest and want to move on to something else. This is not a good way to grow a business. I was stuck at this point, but after I started volunteering at a free medical clinic as an interpreter the light bulb suddenly flashed on. I could be a doctor! I love to help people, and making their lives better has a much greater impact than writing some faceless computer program.

Chalk it down friends! My decision was made and Medical School has become my goal. That decision was made roughly 5 years ago. This year, it is finally coming down to the wire. I have finished all of the prerequisites (by taking one night class a semester) and the MCAT is looming in July. The MCAT is my first true hurdle to getting accepted. This test is like the Triathlon of the academic world. You must take everything you have learned about Biology, Organic Chemistry, General Chemistry, and Physics and apply it one 4 hour test.

Join me as I continue to post my journey to improve both my mind and body. I will keep you updated on my fitness, and my struggles to accrue the necessary knowledge for a future career as a Physician.

Chapter 3: Airborn Tragedy

Book: Moon Demon

Author: Huang Yi

Chapter 3: Airborn Tragedy

The sound of splashing water came from the bathroom.

Ling Duyu put on a bathrobe while he waited for Zhuo Chu Yuan to finish showering. His head looked like it was covered in white dust, which was left over salt after the sea water dried. After coming ashore, he revealed his amazing heisting skills, spending little effort to jump a small car parked on the side of the street. The crafty rabbit took Zhuo Chu Yuan to another one of his lairs.

He made a long distance call to Chen Wupeng, what a pity that he had already departed. The apparent hurry to get back to the city had him lost in thought as he crossed his arms.

The bathroom door opened and Zhuo Chu Yuan walked out using a large towel to dry her luxuriant hair that was hanging down to one side. She was wearing a fancy blue japanese style night gown. The front of the robe had a deep opening revealing cleavage that only accentuated the exquisite volume of her chest, making Ling Duyu instinctively swallow.

As Zhuo Chu Yuan dried her hair to one side, at the same time she reached her hand out to grab the telephone.

Ling Duyu rushed over and slammed her hand back down.

Zhuo Chu Yuan coldly looked up saying, "Why did you do that?"

Both of them were standing nearly in the same place, Ling Duyu could feel the rush of her breath on his face. He was six feet tall, in comparison Zhuo Chu Yuan would have been petite for a model, but she was only three inches shorter than him. Standing together as a couple, they would make an extremely good match. Unfortunately, since both of them were on the verge of exploding there weren't any romantic thoughts at all.

Letting out a snort he firmly said, "If you make a call to the police, I guarantee that within one hour those commandos will be parachuting down here!"

Without yielding at all Zhuo Chu Yuan replied, "What kind of proof do you have to base that on?" She then removed her hand from underneath his.

He laughed in spite of trying not to, "Proof? Their timing in striking was flawless, they also made clever use of you by waiting for the search warrant. They were wearing your uniforms, as if they were allies. The way they finished you off so quickly, if they didn't have precise intelligence then what am I supposed to believe?"

His sarcastic way speaking only made Zhuo Chu Yuan more angry. Her face tightened and she said in a low voice, "I admit that what happened was not a coincidence, but that does not mean that the police was their information source."

Ling Duyu shrugged his broad shoulders, "This society values freedom, and as my guest you may think what you want, but you will never force me to change my mind."

She replied, "That is not an idea, it is called prejudice."

Ling Duyu respectfully replied, "That group of unwanted guests moved like thunder, and were well equipped even though they were heavily disguised. Anyone with a sharp eye could tell they were a unit sent by the government. The government is well known for their intelligence network, its possible that Interpol has a mole planted within." Narrowing his eyes while taking a look at her he said with a grin, "Maybe you are their mole and are now carrying out the clever ruse of a beautiful woman inflicting pain on herself to gain my trust."

With a frosty stare Zhuo Chu Yuan said, "Mr. Ling, please watch what you say. I have personally promised the Egyptian president that I will retrieve their priceless national treasure for them. Regardless of any tricks you try to pull I am not going to quit half-way." She took the phone without asking him and dialed a number.

The receiver transmitted the sound of a man's voice, "Zhong Yue Han."

"Superintendant Zhong, this is Zhuo Chu Yuan."

Zhong Yue Han cried out, "Director Zhuo, where are you, we sent everyone to look for you!"

Zhuo Chu Yuan wrinkled her two delicate eyebrows, she was apparently not happy with Zhong Yue Han's shouting at her, "Don't ask me that! What is the present situation?"

Suddenly comprehending he gently replied, "Ma Xiu Ming and seven plainclothes officers were hit with anaesthetic needles. Fortunately the dosage wasn't very strong. They are already awake, but we are keeping them at the hospital for observation."

"And the aggresors?"

Zhong Yue Han awkwardly sighed, "All of them were first class experts. Except for the two large holes they blew in the house, there is nothing left of them. Our demolitions expert said they used explosives that are common in the international market. There is almost no chance of tracing the original source. The investigation is still underway, but I doubt there will be any concrete results."

"Did you find anything after searching the house?"

He immediately responded to her angry voice, "Your organization sent an expert, Specialist Tan who performed as expected. He discovered a hidden compartment in Ling Duyu's study just like you said." He went on to recite a long list of firearm names.

Do not reveal my whereabouts, I will contact you again." As soon as she hung up the phone she turned around to look for Ling Duyu.

Ling Duyu noticed that she had a different glint in her eye, it seemed to him that things had taken a dark turn. He didn't know that she had just got a few helpful cards to play.

Zhuo Chu Yuan turned the tables. She took hold of the robe and pulled it up adjusting the chest, slowly and deliberately right in Ling Duyu's face as she gradually walked towards him.

He wanted to slap her, but he knew he couldn't do that.

When she stopped walking towards him, Zhuo Chu Yuan said with a charming smile, "Mr. Ling's house is luxuriously furnished, and you also have a world renowned reputation as an electronics specialist. That is why I specifically asked for an electronic specialist to come help us, and he made some huge finds. In Mr. Ling's study he discovered a hidden closet in the wall. Inside that closet he found a splendid signal interference and jamming device installed, that allowed it to evade metal detectors. It was a extremely admirable piece of work."

Ling Duyu sighed and sat down on the sofa. The arms and ammunition from his hidden closet were no doubt in the hands of the police. Possession of firearms were illegal so he was facing heavy charges. Zhuo Chu Yuan was very fierce and went straight for his weak point.

Zhuo Chu Yuan walked behind the sofa and layed her hand down while she whispered into Ling Duyu's ear, "Mr. Ling never had the intention to cooperate with us, even though we did." Her voice was extremely pleasant to hear, but Ling Duyu was not in the mood to appreciate such things.

With a wry smile he responded, "I have always been a good citizen, and I am very happy to cooperate with the police. How can Miss Zhuo say these things?"

She lightly said, "I forgot to tell you that I have also been trained as a CSI forensic investigator. This afternoon as soon as I arrived at the airport, I rushed straight to the crime scene and made a detailed inspection. I found a bunch of strange tiny objects. Maybe, as such a cooperative citizen, you can help me find a firm answer."

Astounded Ling Duyu said, "You have my undivided attention."

"The five fingertips on the right hand of Professor Xie's corpse were blemished by little blue paper fibers. Using that and paying close attention to the shape of his hand, he should have died grasping a book. I am not sure if my theory is correct."

Ling Duyu smiled, "Director Zhuo is careful and astute. Is there anything that can be hid from you? There was a journal that I removed." He was defeated by the news. He could deal with the constant attacks by escaping immediately, but he would become a wanted criminal chased by a warrant soon afterwards.

Zhuo Chu Yuan's spirit was aroused, as she fixed her eyes on him. She patiently waited for Ling Duyu to make a confession.

"Suppose I hand the journal over to you, how will that benefit me?" They had both reached a point where they could bargain for what they wanted.

With a cunning smile she said, "If you can help us find the 'magic stone', I promise that you will not be prosecuted for possessing illegal arms."

Getting angry Ling Duyu retorted, "That nuisance of a "magic stone"! This is the first time I have said it with my own mouth, how can I possibly help you find it?"

The color in Zhuo Chu Yuan's face drained, "That is your problem, first hand over the journal."

Still indignant he said, "When we fled the house I activated a destruction device. That journal is now just a heap of ashes."

Zhuo Chu Yuan anxiously asked him, "Did you read the contents?"

Seeing her anxious appearance, his heart began to cool. He leisurely said, "I saw about half before your assault interrupted my reading. All so that you could talk about things that we both already knew."

Zhuo Chu Yuan couldn't hide her disappointment, "What were the contents of that half?"

Ling Duyu noticed she wasn't still trying to coerce him with the illegal weapons charge. Feeling more at ease he said, "I can tell you everything, but I am not sure it will be very useful to you. When I was flipping through the journal I noticed that the last two pages had been torn out."

"Was anyone there before you?"

"Right now the only clue came this afternoon from Chen Wupeng. He may know something."

Zhuo Chu Yuan looked at the clock on the wall. It was just after 9:00am, the start of office hours for the airlines. She opened up the telephone book and started calling different airlines. After the seventh call the female secretary immediately responded with, "Mr. Chen Wupeng will be arriving this afternoon at 3:00pm on flight number 708"

They both sat there in astonished silence.

Zhuo Chu Yuan finally said, "Miss, how were you able to tell us Mr. Peng's flight information without looking up the passenger list?"

"You were the fourth person to call asking for his information."

"I am a police officer, can you give me more information about the three previous callers"

The secretary mumbled, "Well..."

In an authoritative voice she said, "What language were the phone calls in?"

The secretary hesitated before saying, "Of the three phone calls, two were in English and the other one was in Japanese. They were all spoken fluently, but..."

"But what?"

With lingering fear in her voice she continued, "The first English phone call the speaker had a wierd tone, almost as if he wasn't all there upstairs. After I gave him Mr. Wupeng's flight time he just repeatedly mumbled, 'Thats very good! Thats very good!' over and over. After a while I got scared and hung up the phone."

With no expression she said, "What is your surname?"

"My surname is Ma."

Zhuo Chu Yuan thanked her and hung up the phone.

Ling Duyu looked at her, she didn't want anyone to think she cared about anything. He noticed a look of concern in her eye, but he didn't hear a word of what she said.                

Zhuo Chu Yuan picked up the telephone again, dialed Zhong's number, while she said, "Are you in the mood to take a trip to the airport?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2:45pm

The autumn sun peeked into the terminal from the west.

A light breezed danced through the deep blue sky. It was a beautiful day.

Through the large glass window of the airport arrival gate, Ling Duyu watched an airplane gracefully descend to a runway that reflected blinding rays of the sun back to his eyes.

Ling Duyu hid the fact that he was attentively looking around, but the enemy was concealed very well. He couldn't spot anyone suspicious. He only noticed a few plainclothes detectives watching him from distant locations. This was Zhuo Chu Yuan's so called "protection", but they were also using him as bait to make the enemy reveal themselves. They also forced him to wear a wire-tap on his body so they could listen to anything he said. It goes without saying that he was extremely irritated.

Within the large concourse camera flashes mixed with joyous laughter. Moving around excitedly several Japanese tourist from a travel group were taking pictures of each other. If someone told him that the entire group were made up of Japanese Bunya Okono members he wouldn't be surprised. The Bunya Okono easily had that kind of power.

It was near Zhuo Chu Yuan where he first noticed three people by the telephones. One had to be a governmental spy, one had to be a Bunya Okono family member, and the third certainly had to be "M".

Ling Duyu laughed to himself, who is going to guard him, they didn't assign enough people for that, it looked like Zhuo Chu Yuan was going to be defeated by him. At this moment she was waiting on the tarmac. As soon as the plane landed Director Zhuo arranged a special deboarding so they could retrieve Chen Wupeng who would be accompanied by several special police. An elaborate escape plan had already been set up. A bullet proof car used for dignitaries, followed by two police cars and an escort of six motorcycles. In addition the honor guard was commissioned to protect Chen Wupeng as he deboarded. Even heads of state didn't receive such a welcome.

Flight 708 drew a beautiful arc in the sky as it slowly approached the airport. It turned toward the runway and began its slow descent. It was like watching a slow motion sequence in a movie.

Ling Duyu still felt at ease when suddenly his facial color made a drastic change.

He suddenly felt a dangerous premonition. This was the second time in the day. The first happened at 2:00 am while he was meditating in his office, and the second had just occurred.

He felt that a major crisis was approaching, but he didn't know what it was.

The quiet runway under the gentle sun extended out, the airplane's landing gear was lowered, like a large bird extending its wings the airplane descended toward the tarmac.

All was normal.

But Ling Duyu's hands and feet were ice cold, a shiver ran up his spine.

He knew that a horrendously terrible event was about to happen.

By now Zhuo Chu Yuan and several heavily armed airport special security officers were standing to one side of the runway near the airport terminal, they were all staring at the other end watching the jumbo 747 make its descent. On that airplane was their distinguished guest, Chen Wupeng who they were waiting for respectfully, he was possibly the only clue left in the world for this investigation.

She was holding a radio tuned to the pilot and air traffic controller's frequency.

The pilot said, "Everything is smooth, the landing gear is down, start decelerating and initiate the landing procedure, please report the runway conditions. Over."

"Runways is open, you are cleared for landing. Over"

Following the transmission there were 34 seconds of silence.

The airplane descended straight to the runway.

Zhuo Chu Yuan held her breath, the investigation was about to move on to a new stage.

So far everything had gone smoothly, but suddenly the nose of the airplane dropped from a 45 degree angle to a 75 degree angle, straight towards the runway.

Zhuo Chu Yuan's heart gave a jump as her face turned a grayish white. The people around her all began to rush to the other end of the runway.

The radio control tower shouted a trasmission, "708, what happened?!"

A sorrowful voice responded, it still sounded like the pilot but was strangely different, "Nobody can destroy me, when I have enough strength I will certainly be back." The transmission continued with wild laughter that covered up the shouting from the control tower. Then the sound of struggling mixed with a loud alarm could be heard from the airplane transmission.

The nearly vertical airplane hit the runway.

In the concourse of the airport, Ling Duyu could not believe what was happening before his eyes.

He saw the airplane hit the runway.

"BOOM", a ball of flame instantaneously spread out onto the runway, it looked like a series of continuous detonations.

Ling Duyu jumped up quickly, wildly shouting, "NO!"

The entire frame of the Jumbo 747 passenger jet disintegrated in the flames, dense clouds of smoke shot up miles into the sky. Debris was scattered all around the runway from the staggering impact.

There was another explosion and more fire.

In front of Ling Duyu the concourse windows all shattered. The force of the explosion was so strong that the glass couldn't withstand the shockwave.

The airport seemed to calm down before another explosion rocked the foundation of the building.

Following it was a deafening wave of sound. There were some people who fell down, some people were scrambling towards the exits, suddenly thousands of people were thrown into chaos.

Ling Duyu's eyes smoldered, he never thought this would be possible, but it really did happen.

What was this "Magic Stone"?

What power caused the destruction of the entire airplane?                        

The sound of fire engines surrounded the airport. Now what? Under these circumstances it would be a miracle if they could even find a complete corpse.

Murder! A despicable murder.

It took Ling Duyu a brief moment to calm down. His many years of meditation along with repeated life threatening situations allowed him to be able to quickly steel his nerves and, with an iron will, confront situations calmly. He had been the first person at Professor Xie's crime scene and now Chen Wupeng was dead, in the rush to find the 'magic stone' Ling Duyu was going to be the primary focus.

He had to go.

Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed that there were people close by all around him.

Ling Duyu shouted out loudly, borrowing some of the inner anger he had built up. He used this opportunity to melt in to the rushing human tide.

The chaos in the concourse was astonishing, ten seconds before the airplane exploded the world had never seen anything like this. Men, women, and children were all shouting frantically, it happened at the airport's busiest time, while thousands of people were crowded together. When the impact of the blast wave shattered the glass walls it caused an instant panic, fear rapidly spread to hearts of the people. There was an indiscriminate stampede as a result and a mad rush to reach the exits.

The sound of four fire engines approaching only increased the crowd's fear.

This gave Ling Duyu the perfect opportunity to escape.

Thousands of people continually rushed forward, the movement of the human tide made it even more difficult for enemies to reach him.

Ling Duyu's physical conditioning was much better than the average person, keeping his body low he drilled into the human tide and worked his way to a side door he spotted earlier.

Ten yards away from the side door an enemy appeared, a tall well built solid looking man. He was moving toward him against the rushing tide. Ling Duyu immediately noticed a glistening black pistol clutched in his hand.

Ling Duyu called out an apology while at the same time using his shoulder to hit a stranger in front of him. He knocked him forward causing him to stumble and fall towards the armed man.

The man lifted his hand up to shove the falling stranger out of his way while his other hand lifted up the pistol. He was just about to shoot, but how could have known that Ling Duyu didn't retreat. Instead he followed right behind the falling stranger.

The armed man's view was blocked, he didn't see Ling Duyu rushing forward until he finally shoved the falling man out of his way. Amazingly, Ling Duyu magically appeared and he was only three feet away.

He immediately lowered the raised pistol and took careful aim, but it was already too late.

Even though the armed foreigner was expertly trained in weapons and hand to hand combat, something already unexpected had happened. On top of that he was also dealing with Ling Duyu who was a world-class master.

He was just about to pull the trigger when Ling Duyu shot his hands out and clamped on to the right hand holding the gun. The man made a miserable sound as the pistol fell from his hand, his abdomen was immediately in severe pain because he received a simultaneous knee strike from Ling Duyu. His body bent over in pain and he was struck by a second blow to the side of his neck. Everything went black as he crumbled to the ground.

Ling Duyu defeated the opponent, but he didn't dare to delay anymore. He quickly rushed through the side door. The river of people around him continued to move at a furious pace and he moved along with them towards the concourse exit.

He squeezed himself to the right side of the passage. His goal was to quickly leave the airport, he originally wanted to take a car from the parking lot, but it was too dangerous.

The sirens from the fire trucks could be heard all around, it continually reminded the people of the terrible tragedy that just took place.

While Ling Duyu was walking he pulled off his yellow jacket, he reversed it and put it back on now a blue color. He then took out a fake beard with adhesive and put it on his face. He added a pair of thick glasses that made him look like he had a severe case myopia (near-sightedness). The new additions immediately changed him into a scholarly looking professor. The magnitude of this crucial situation forced him to use all the means at his disposal.