Chapter 337: The Decisive Battle by the Seaside
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Sunrise.
The policemen from the Tianbei Police Station were surprised to see that the nitpicky policemen from the special security detachment had arrived early to the police compound.
They competed twice and they became so obedient? The Chief Police of Tianbei City shook his head at the highest floor and smiled faintly, “I know this group of people well. They gambled on obeying orders, but what about those outside the orders? If they do not retaliate, that would be shocking! They were appreciated once, then they immediately become so obedient? Captain Qin, do you think you are a primary school teacher?”
“Bureau Chief Han, is there really no method for him to lead these nitpicky policemen? I heard that his marksmans.h.i.+p yesterday…”
“If marksmans.h.i.+p determines the commander, then the Little Gun King Yu Xiao would have already become the leader of those nitpicky policemen.” Bureau Chief Han Jing looked at Wu Hui, who walked into the building, “Be rea.s.sured quickly, soon all of you can see these guys counterattacking.”
Three minutes later…
A noisy sound rose from the top floor of the three-story building, mixed with the screams of Wu Hui and the others.
This is…? The police in the main building looked very curiously at the third floor of the annex building, which had its curtains closed. What is happening inside? These nitpicky policemen are not people who were easy to deal with, why are they screaming so much today? Are they trying to cover up the truth of something? Did they scream for help to cover up for Captain Qin?
The chaos lasted less than a minute. The third floor of the annex building was restored to its original quietness. The moans of Wu Hui and others were blocked by the wall.
Lin Feng was tied to the ground by two iron locks. He couldn’t look at the other companions. The other twenty-one people were not much better off than him. Their stomachs were against the ground, tied by brute force, and their clothes were dyed with colors.
The worst was Wu Hui. A black net from the ceiling wrapped around him. The material that was seemingly not solid was getting tighter the more he struggled. He had been tied up into a black meatball in the blink of an eye.
Unable to move, Wu Hui looked at Qin Fen. This newly appointed deputy captain had made the young bureau chief Little Gun King Yu Xiao bow to him with only one compet.i.tion involving guns. He was now using the twenty-four simplified stances of the Tai Chi Fist in this confined s.p.a.ce as if he could not see the painful expression everyone had.
Yu Xiao crawled on the sofa, covered with the same black net. After he saw Wu Hui’s fate, he chose wisely not to struggle.
Everyone fell to the ground moaning, staring at Qin Fen with a strange look. The emergence of these traps was obviously related to this newly appointed leader!
However, within the short period of one night, how could over a hundred traps be disarmed completely? And new ones were arranged? And also escaped Little Mechanism Wiz Wu Hui’s inspection successfully?
Awful! The people of the special security detachment had used mechanisms to fool others in the past. They had never been as miserable as today. In less than a minute, they were completely annihilated.
Qin Fen finished the twenty-four stance simplified Tai Chi Fist and opened his mouth slowly, “Those badly made mechanisms, who made it?”
Bad? Wu Hui really wanted to refute. Those were mechanisms that caused trouble to Bureau Chief Han and the same mechanism technique that had successfully caught two bandits alive, how could they be bad?
Ai! Wu Hui sighed and looked at the black net on his body. The ability of this black net alone exceeded the hundreds of mechanisms in the past. Today, this trap had not been detected, therefore, those mechanisms in the past were relatively bad.
“Captain, it’s me…” Wu Hui was very frustrated, “Those small gadgets were made by me alone.”
Qin Fen sat down, not rus.h.i.+ng to untie everyone, “Do you know the faults of your traps?”
Wu Hui thought about it very seriously for a long time and replied, “I don’t know.”
“They aren’t practical during battle.” Qin Fen’s finger tapped on the table, “The imagination is good, but not from a practical point of view.”
Not practical enough during battle? Wu Hui felt helpless, Losers were always in the wrong. If you say that it was not practical during battle, then it shall not be practical during battle !
“If you are interested, I can teach you.” Qin Fen got up with a wave with his fingers. Wu Hui’s complicated was untied instantly, “Go and help them out.”
Both of Wu Hui’s hands started untying his companions, but his eyes, however, never left Qin Fen for even a second. Where did this monster come from? He looks like he hasn’t even reached the age of twenty, but his power is tyrannical. His marksmans.h.i.+p is G.o.dlike, he carried four thousand catty worth of weight yet walked like he was flying, and even the traps he placed were from a different realm.
The nitpicky policemen who got out of the traps stared at Qin Fen with strange eyes. Did the young captain start learning various techniques when he was in his mother’s womb?
“Today’s first order: as a policeman, you should give a reliable feeling to others, how can you keep your long hair? I will give you an hour, go and cut them off…”
Twenty-two nitpicky policemen were stunned where they stood. Cut their hair? No one had antic.i.p.ated that the first order they received would be this.
“If you agree to gamble, you should agree to admit defeat.” Yu Xiao got up and walked out of the door first, “To deny our debts, we will never do this kind of thing.”
Wu Hui gave a salute, “Commanding officer, off we go to cut our hair.”
Forty minutes later, the Tianbei Police Station had twenty-two bald heads! Walking under the sun, almost all of their heads could reflect the sunlight!
The police in the main building stared at the twenty-two bald heads. They walked into the annex building behind the courtyard flaunting themselves, and the sound of broken gla.s.ses could be heard from one level above.
No one would have thought that these nitpicky policemen, who had taken good care of their hair, would all shave their heads!
When twenty-two bald heads stood in front of Qin Fen, Qin Fen was also shocked by this spectacular scene. These guys were really direct in their actions.
Wu Hui saw the surprise in Qin Fen’s eyes and began to grin.
In the past two days, the new deputy captain had always been leading in every aspect, making others pressured. Today, after cutting their hair, some pride was restored. It would be respectful to the hair that was being cut off.
Dong dong dong…
A gentle knock on the door could be heard, the twenty-two nitpicky policemen placed their curious gaze toward the door. What was happening these days? Usually, no one would dare to come. Yesterday a captain came, why are there people knocking again today?
Qin Fen’s ears trembled slightly. The sound of the doorknock was normal, but the rhythm was very good, each knock landed on the exact same spot. And the time gap between each knock was extremely stable.
“Excuse me, is Qin Fen here?”
The door was pushed open slowly, and the nitpicky policemen saw a gentle face. A young man who wore designer clothes with a hint of arrogance between his eyebrows stepped into the room.
Qin Fen looked at the person with a little surprise. It was a young elite whom he had fought hand to hand before in Shenyang. He was Ge Bing who used Yin Yang Electromagnetic Hand!
“Qin Fen, I haven’t seen you for a long time.” Ge Bing raised his chin slightly and the gentle aura on his face was replaced instantly by a sly battle intent, “Do you remember? I said it at that time, I will definitely find you again!”
“No.” Qin Fen shook his head, “On that day, you were hit by me and was seriously injured to the point that you fainted, it’s impossible you said anything to me.”
Ge Bing was shunned, his lips smiled with a faint self-mockery. It seemed like these words only hovered in his mind, and he had not really said it that day he was defeated.
“I came to challenge you.” The battle intent on Ge Bing’s face did not weaken, “When are you free?”
“Challenge?” Qin Fen’s eyes flashed a little surprise, “Are you still qualified?”
“Of course.” Ge Bing raised his chin slightly and gave a proud smile, “Earth Martial G.o.d would not care about the challenger’s past success or failure. Even if I lost to you last time, as long as I have the confidence to defeat you, I can challenge you again at any time.”
Wu Hui and the other’s eyes widened while they stared at Qin Fen. Captain was the Qin Fen who was rumored to have resisted Earth Martial G.o.d? Is he the Qin Fen who fought single-handedly against all the youths in the Federation and wooed Song Wendong’s granddaughter?
“Challenge me at any time?” Qin Fen squeezed out a bitter smile, “What an announcement. It really creates a headache. In the end, how can I stop others from challenging?”
“Stop?” Ge Bing smiled and said, “It’s simple! If you are eligible to receive an invitation to attend the Meeting of Heroes and emerge as champion, I believe that no one will challenge you anymore! Or…”
Ge Bing pointed his finger at the sky, “Become a master with the Divine Beast t.i.tle! Now I heard that the t.i.tle of Black Tortoise is still empty. If you can become Saturn’s Guardian Divine Beast Black Tortoise, then no one will come to challenge you.”
Qin Fen sighed. Be it being the champion of the Meeting of the Heroes or the t.i.tle of the Guardian Divine Beast, both were very distant things. These two t.i.tles were not only fought for by those in the army circle, even the people of Sacred Martial Hall will come out. Those compet.i.tions were also not constricted by age.
“Are you Yin and Yang Magnetic Hands?” Qin Fen tapped his finger on the table, “Then let’s go to the beach and duke it out, that would be the best place for you to utilize your neo martial art.”
“Good!”
Ge Bing didn’t decline, he went to the window and jumped out with the support of the windowsill!
The height of the third floor was not too high for many martial artists. Twenty-two troublesome policemen in the room also admitted they wouldn’t get hurt if they had jumped too.
However, Wu Hui and others could not do a leap like Ge Bing.
The policemen from the main building saw Ge Bing jump out of the window through their own window and gasped in admiration at once.
His body did not fall as though it was a steel scale, going directly to the ground. Instead, he was like cotton wool that flew in the air. Although unable to break away from the gravity of Earth, he still fell slowly and gently.
Qin Fen nodded. In this period of time between their meetings, Ge Bing had grown a lot. The magnetic field generated by the Yin and Yang Magnetic Hand worked in the same way as gravity did on Earth, which reduced the speed of the body falling greatly.
Jumped down from the third floor? Qin Fen shook his head again. With the weight of four thousand catty on his body… with this jump, he wondered if it would create a fountain if the groundwater level was shallow enough. If he made a pit, it would be really shameful.
Take the stairs!
Twenty-two nitpicky policemen in the room looked at each other. These young people who loved to join in on the fun made strange screams when they followed Qin Fen out of the room.
“The new captain is actually that Qin Fen?”
“It’s amazing! He is the one who dares to disobey the orders from Qilin.”
“No wonder he is so ferocious, and he never placed our brothers’ tactics in his eyes.”
“That’s right! He is not even afraid of Qilin, why would he be afraid of our tactics?”
“Interesting! Can’t believe the high-ups sent such a captain to us.”
“Aiya! Unlucky?” Lin Feng screamed and immediately got the attention of others.
“What happened, Lin Feng? What is unlucky?”
Lin Feng said bitterly, “You forgot? We bet with the captain that we will compete once every seven days with him. Although we lost yesterday, we still had a confident drink together last night. We even said that we will take three weeks to beat him. Right now…”
Twenty-one nitpicky policemen were stunned, Oh yeah! This is a big problem! If he is the young martial artist who dared to not obey Qilin’s command, does this mean there would be no chance to turn it over?
“Haha, what are you afraid of?” Yu Xiaole shouted, “The reason we don’t accept those captains, isn’t it because we don’t think they are better than us? Today, I think everyone acknowledged him. Let us see how he fights later. If he is really as ferocious as we all thought, I suppose it will be better to follow him and learn compared to learning from those trainers. Everyone, there are parts of your practice that you also don’t understand, right? I think this is an opportunity.”
The other nitpicky policemen’s frowning face turned into a sunny smile, Yes! At that time, they did not obey the leaders.h.i.+p because, apart from being playful, they felt that the leader had no real ability other than flattering the higher-ups. This might be an opportunity.
Tianbei City was a coastal city. In addition to some tourist beaches, there were many natural beaches. The sand here was usually not very delicate. Your feet would feel very uncomfortable if you ran on it barefoot.
The sea, the beach, the strong sea breeze, and the two young martial artists that looked at each other formed a beautiful view, one prettier than a painting.
Ge Bing closed his eyes and felt the tide of the sea. The sand under his feet squirmed slowly, as if there were hundreds and thousands of insects moving around rapidly under the beach.
Peaked at six-star? Qin Fen was a little disappointed. Although this opponent’s progress was not small, it was much slower than his own speed of improvement.
Qin Fen sighed in his heart. He realized unconsciously that his former opponent had already been left behind. Once upon a time, this Ge Bing was considered a strong opponent in one-on-one combat. Now he had become someone that was looked down on. It was true that only by contesting against one another, one could determine the gap between both parties.
“Qin Fen, are you sighing?” Ge Bing closed his eyes and said with a gentle tone, “I heard that you have become very strong. In rumors, you reached the strength of eight-star in the recruit tournament and had owned Creator Brooks, Little Dragon King Yang Lie, Great Emperor Caesar, and other young heroes.”
“So, do you think that me, as a six-star, is not worthy of your fight?” Ge Bing opened his eyes suddenly. It felt like there was a lightning bolt that flashed between them, “You forgot, I have the biochemical beast that was best fitted with the Neo Martial Art. Yes, my neo martial art strength has not improved at the speed of light, but don’t forget about my biochemical beast.”
Ge Bing’s eyebrows suddenly lit up a red dot. This red dot grew innumerable fine roots in an instance, which quickly rushed into his blood vessel meridians.
In just one moment, Ge Bing’s white face was covered with thousands of fine red lines. His body trembled quickly, and his neck became covered with red lines too!
Simulated meridians spread quickly all over Ge Bing’s body.
Biochemical beast level three fusion: True Materialization Fusion!
Qin Fen’s eyes became happier, the boring challenge response was very uninteresting. It seemed that Ge Bing could really surprise people today.
The increment level of biochemical beast fusion was different from the improvement in martial arts.
If the level of martial arts was raised, it would be a gentle increase. The increase in the level of a biochemical beast would be the same as a volcanic eruption.
Biochemical beast’s level three fusion ! Qin Fen still remembered that Lin Liqiang, who was an expert, called this the True Materialization Fusion.
Compared to level two of biochemical beast fusion, materialization fusion, the level three fusion of the condensed energy could form a special microwave energy s.h.i.+eld. Of course, the stronger the star-cla.s.s of martial artists and biochemical beast state, the more powerful martial artists of star-clas were.
The sand on the beach no longer crept slowly. They seem to be boiling, rolling and pulsating violently. The sand within a fifteen-meter radius of Ge Bing was jumping, as if it was summoned by something. It left the Earth’s gravity completely and began to rotate around Ge Bing at a high speed, forming a huge sand vortex.
The scene at the red villa yard in Shenyang reappeared once again!
It’s just that… this time, the power was unquestionably stronger than last time!
The golden sand interrupted the sight of the nitpicky policemen completely. They could only hear the eruption of the electric spark in the yellow whirlwind, and Ge Bing’s voice, filled with battle intent, “Qin Fen, I hope you won’t let me down.”
The yellow whirlwind which was more violent than a sandstorm stopped in an instant. The sand floating in the air also fell to the ground at this moment.
Ge Bing, who appeared again in front of everyone, was covered in metal. This time, even his eyes were covered with metal and he looked like a metal-cast iron man from the outside.
A plate-sized yin-yang Tai Chi emblem rotated on Ge Bing’s chest slowly. It was not a high-tech projection device, but an energy s.h.i.+eld that was made with yin and yang electromagnetic energy.
Qin Fen’s eyes carried a few hints of surprise, A magical biochemical beast! Usually, the biochemical beast’s morphological form appeared in the state of animals, but now, Ge Bing’s biochemical beast was as special as his martial arts.
Qin Fen nodded. Every time he fought against Ge Bing, he got a very magical feeling. His splendid martial art was filled with futuristic sense. Now, it was not only his Neo martial art that was full of the sense of the times, even his biochemical beast was amazing.
“Biochemical beast…” Qin Fen clicked his tongue twice. This Ge Bing really worked hard enough. Biochemical beasts were full of danger and hards.h.i.+p with every fusion, but he had already fused into the third level.
“Oh my G.o.d…” Wu Hui swallowed his saliva, “Where did this maniac come from? With six-star strength, his biochemical beast fusion looks very strong!”
“Yeah, look at his neo martial art.” Lin Feng shook his head again and again, “Yin and Yang electromagnetic hand! That stuff is crazy expensive.”
“And that density.” Yu Xiao wiped the gun on his waist: “I am afraid that ordinary guns wouldn’t penetrate his iron hood. A punch on the flesh and blood wouldn’t even come close. Even if it was reinforced concrete in front of him, there’d be no difference. Should we call an ambulance for captain?”
“Qin Fen!” Ge Bing clasped his fingers. The sound of the metal collision traveled for more than a hundred meters, and the smooth arm bulged with metal spikes instantly!
For a moment, the iron hood on Ge Bing was no longer just a defensive garment. It was covered with sharp spikes! Even if there was no yin and yang magnetic s.h.i.+eld, just this piece of iron shovel was also enough for people to drink a pot.
“Don’t say you are eight-star! Even if you are a nine-star, or had practiced Thirteen Fiercely Tempered Grand Guardians to its peak,” Ge Bing waved his arm and made a “Wu” in the air, “I can blast through it!” ”
Qin Fen nodded slowly, a six-star peak martial artists could kill a martial artist that completed the realm of the Thirteen Fiercely Tempered Grand Guardians after a level three biochemical beast fusion, He could even hit a person the was almost unconquerable in the nine stars realm to death. The power of this biochemical beast was indeed tyrannical. No wonder the Federation put great efforts to study biochemical beast. It was also no wonder that the descendants of the powerful family can stand at the peak of the younger generation.
Without money, how could a person buy higher grade martial arts? Without money, where could someone purchase the expensive Consolidation pill? Without money, how could a person buy the expensive Biochemical Beast that could make someone bankrupt instantly?
“Ge Bing, you brought me some surprises again, so I decided to give you some surprises in return.” Qin Fen started the stance of Hong Quan slowly, “I will give you a chance to receive three of my punches. If you can receive it, then it will be your victory.”
Three punches? Ge Bing was stunned, the nitpicky policemen in the distance were more stunned. Is this captain crazy? Where did his valor come from? How dare he bet using three punches?
“Three punches?” Ge Bing stared at Qin Fen eccentrically, “Even if I take your three punches, that is not considered as my victory! What I want is to beat you in a fair fight.”
“The current you is still not able to do so.” Qin Fen sighed, “Although you have given me a surprise, the pa.s.sage of time has widened the gap between you and me. I believe that the next time we meet, you may not even stop a punch from me.”
After speaking, Qin Fen roared!
The Dragon Elephant Prajna Art was fully activated, and the loud heartbeats sounded like the drums sound that flew through time and s.p.a.ce. The blood in the vein made flus.h.i.+ng sounds that pressured the sound of slow waves.
Ribs pulled, bones plucked, and flesh supported!
In an instant, Qin Fen became an ancient demon G.o.d incarnate once again. The day when Zeus Mark stands in front of him would be the day Zeus Mark would feel that his body is thin and weak.
Ge Bing’s eyes were shrinking rapidly. This majestic aura of power overwhelmed the raging sea! How did he practice? Nine stars! More powerful than the rumored eight-star?
With quick thinking, Qin Fen’s thick legs stomped onto the ground. The sand within five meters of him erupted like a volcano, and was sent into the sky by the tyrannical force!
Puff…
Floating in the air, the sand wall broke open. Qin Fen was like an ancient demon who broke through the seal. The sound of the body rubbing against the air was like the roar of the train running at high speed in a tunnel. The golden sand behind him went up into the air by the tyrannical force, forming a golden tail.
There was no Qin Fen in Ge Bing’s eyes. His eyes only had a huge fist, and this fist seemed to occupy his whole world! He could control the whole world with one fist!
Retreat? There was no way to retreat! Qin Fen was too fast!
The yin and yang electromagnetic s.h.i.+eld on the chest was moved to the front of Ge Bing’s double fist. The Double Dragon Out to the Sea was used as a counterattack under the reaction of the repel.
“Chariot Stopping Mantis!”
The nitpicky policemen had the same thoughts at the same time.
The yin and yang electromagnetic s.h.i.+eld that could resist the peak of the nine stars without being damaged. It was broken easily like gla.s.s when it came into contact with Qin Fen’s fist.
The three powerful punches collided together, and the air was pressured in a way it was as if the ten-faced drums were beaten at the same time with a heavy hammer. The air blew the scattered golden sand particles away.
There was no further hindrance. Qin Fen’s martial arts and Ge Bing’s double fists slammed into each other, and the tyrannical force shot the yellow sands around the two people into the sky.
Ge Bing felt his fist had not collided with the fist of Qin Fen, but rather, a huge circular roller that weighed a hundred tons impacted his body like the force of the Yangtze River.
A sharp whistling sound cut through the air. Hundreds of sparkling metal iron pieces broke through the yellow sand wall and flew in all directions.
Yin and Yang Magnetic Hand lost!
The moment the nitpicky policemen had that thought, a huge red object flew out the yellow sand wall. The high-speed light picked up a faint yellow sand trail like a car had driven through sand, bringing up a dust trail.
Ge Bing’s body was bursting with blood. His ears could hear the sound of bones in his body shatter at this moment very clearly. The tyrannical biochemical beast stopped functioning due to the brute force.
Forty meters!
A punch that achieved forty meters!
Ge Bing landed heavily on the beach and glided another five meters before stopping completely. Blood that was not able to be squirted from the mouth earlier now burst out.
Twenty-two troublesome policemen felt a chill run down their spines. The chill screamed deep into their souls. Yesterday! Just yesterday, if the two sides had really fought, then…
Twenty-two nitpicky policemen’s foreheads were filled with cold sweats, and they were fortunate that they had their captain’s mercy. Otherwise, there would be twenty-two more serious injuries in the hospital.
The sand wall fell and Qin Fen appeared.
The body of the ancient demon had returned to normal, and he grabbed the heavy lead suit that had been thrown on the ground.
Qin Fen took a long breath and jumped toward Ge Bing in the distance. At the same time, he turned his head and shouted at the nitpicky policemen in the distance, “What are you guys looking at! Call an ambulance!”
Ah? Everyone stunned, and they only recovered from the shock completely. They called quickly, “h.e.l.lo? City hospital? I am the police from the special security detachment from the Munic.i.p.al Police Department, now…”
Qin Fen came to Ge Bing’s position and moved five fingers quickly. Just three punches broke through the punch. The energy of the defensive body was shattered. This Ge Bing was indeed stronger than the nine stars martial artists who were at their peak!
“You’re really good…” Ge Bing looked at Qin Fen weakly, and with every word that left his mouth, there was blood, “Terrifying strength, I admit defeat.”
Qin Fen took out a red restoration pill from the dragon belt. Ge Bing took the fist and suffered a serious internal injury. If it was not used in time, it would be very troublesome in the future.
Ge Bing swallowed the restoration pill, and there was a hint of surprise in his eyes, “Good medicine! In my belt, there is also a green medicine, which is useful for treating bones, please help.”
Qin Fen followed his instructions and helped him, and Ge Bing said again, “To be honest, I intended to challenge you later on. It seems that I am fortunate to have come early, or I am afraid that you would have no longer been interested in me.”
Qin Fen said, “The reason you came to challenge me earlier is…?”
“Hehe… cough…” Ge Bing smiled and coughed twice before he said, “What else? I heard that Mars legend Shang Guan Chuan Qi had announced that he wants to join this challenge, and Young Netherworld King announced that he will challenge you in the near future.”
“Shang Guan Chuan Qi? Young Netherworld King?” Qin Fen nodded while he clicked his tongue, “They finally couldn’t sit still.”
“Yeah.” Ge Bing chuckled, “I was afraid that they will defeat you, and then I will have no chance. So I came.”
“Now?” Qin Fen also chuckled, “You still think I have no chance?”
Ge Bing nodded his head with difficulty, “If that was all your strength just now, your chances of winning are really small.”
“What if that was not all my strength?”
“What?” Ge Bing looked at Qin Fen’s serious expression. He had a hint of sarcasm on his face, “I can’t imagine it, I really can’t imagine it. I thought that I could have at least forced you to use all of your power. Even if it was just one punch and I lost, I would be proud. Now it seems… hehe… I am really far away from you. Right, you have not used your biochemical beast…”
“Not only…” Qin Fen smiled confidently, “Not only that I have not used biochemical beast…”
Ge Bing sighed as he closed his eyes and said, “Well, then I still think that your chances are not great. I am predicting that you will use the biochemical beast to compete with Young Netherworld King who does not use biochemical beast. Young Netherworld King is a master of the divine beast t.i.tle. He probably started receiving the help of congenital medicine before he was born. He would have received help since his birth. He would be better than the well off children like me.”
Qin Fen nodded. With such help, as long as a person was not a fool, the strength would turn out well.
“The child of the divine beast…” Ge Bing sighed, “They don’t need to go to the Sacred Martial Hall at all. This is the most terrifying thing.”
Qin Fen felt the same and nodded. He got the liquid metal ball for a short period of time. In the case of congenital deficiency, the strength entered the outbreak period. The increase in power was like a rocket, leaving behind those rich kids who spent lots of money.
The descendants of the divine beast have had advantages since young, and the time to receive guidance from the elders was naturally more! In these coming years, how terrifying would it be when they entered the outbreak period of strength growth?