Chapter 6: Skill Doesn't Lie in Age, but in Sufficiency

By the riverbank.

Shen He watched the young girl not far away pull up a fish that was almost longer than her children's fishing rod, clicking his tongue in admiration. Beside him, the fully equipped fisherman blushed and insisted, "She's just in the newbie protection phase." Then he glanced at Shen He, muttering, "Buddy, don’t you have anything better to do? Riding your e-bike here, you scared off all my fish."

Shen He glanced at the bottle of cola, nodding, "I’m just killing time. The fish in your bottle look cute, so I wanted to take a closer look."

The fisherman, instantly embarrassed and angry, grabbed the cola bottle and shoved it toward Shen He, splashing water everywhere. "Here, take it, it’s yours! Hurry up and leave. Don’t mess up my chance of catching a big one."

"Alright!" Shen He took the bottle, twisted the throttle, and sped away from the fisherman.

After he left, the fisherman occasionally craned his neck toward the little girl, then looked at his own, noticeably dry fish basket, frowning, "Is the feng shui here just terrible?"

…

Beside the trash bin.

Shen He poured the fish out of the cola bottle, tossing the bottle straight into the bin. He looked at the glowing dot that had already merged with him, then at the small fish pinched between his fingers. This creature was so tiny, yet its brightness surpassed that of the dead rat from before.

He pinched the fish with two fingers, flicked its head off with the other, and the cat that had just eaten the dead rat dashed over and swallowed the fish head in one bite. A familiar electronic voice echoed in Shen He's ears:

[Ding! Congratulations, player, for slaying a Tier-1 mutant fish. You gain +0.3 free attribute points.]

Oh ho!

This finger-sized fish gave even more than the rat had.

He tossed away the headless fish corpse and turned his gaze to the radar scan before him. At that moment, a light spot larger than the fish approached him. When the two merged, Shen He felt something rubbing against his pants leg.

He looked down—it was the stray cat he'd just fed, purring and rubbing against him.

Shen He crouched and stroked the cat's head. What a pity. He couldn’t bear to harm this little thing.

He sighed inwardly, bought two sausages from a street vendor, tossed one to the stray cat, and started eating the other himself. After eating, he patted the cat’s head and twisted the throttle to leave.

Soon, Shen He found the next light spot. Rather than a single spot, it was a cluster of densely packed dots on the radar, much like the dead rat he'd kicked before.

It was at the mouth of a narrow alley, two overflowing trash bins placed against the wall on the left.

In the shadow between the bins and the wall, roaches and rats could be seen scurrying about. The air reeked.

Shen He took one look, turned decisively, and went to a nearby supermarket to buy special cockroach and rat poison. He placed the bait in the shadows between the bins and the wall, then rode his e-bike toward the next light spot.

Before long, a string of messages appeared before his eyes:

[Ding! Congratulations, player, for slaying a mutant rat. You gain +0.2 free attribute points.]
[Ding! Congratulations, player, for slaying a mutant rat. You gain +0.2 free attribute points.]
[…]
[Ding! Congratulations, player, for slaying a mutant cockroach. You gain +0.1 free attribute points.]
[Ding! Congratulations, player, for slaying a mutant cockroach. You gain +0.1 free attribute points.]
[…]

Shen He glanced briefly—just now, the cockroach and rat poison he set out had brought him 1.8 free attribute points.

Now, his panel displayed a total of 2.3 free attribute points.

Enough to boost some of his stats.

Shen He felt a secret delight.

For the rest of the day, Shen He rode his e-bike through streets and alleys. By the time his vision faded and the radar scan disappeared, his personal panel had tallied an impressive 5.8 free attribute points.

In his rented apartment.

Shen He slumped onto the sofa, not wanting to move an inch. Three hours in total, most spent riding his e-bike around town. But whenever he stopped, it was either chasing rats or battling roaches. At times, he’d even wrestle food from the mouths of stray cats. Only through these efforts had he gathered 5.8 free attribute points.

He had to admit—the radar was truly useful. The only regret was that it didn’t show the names or stats of the light spots. Who knows if it’ll be improved in the future.

Taking a deep breath, Shen He shifted from lying down to sitting up on the sofa. He brought up his personal panel, thought carefully, then invested 1.2 points in stamina, and distributed one free point each to the remaining three stats, keeping 1.6 points in reserve.

[Player: Shen He]
[Strength: 1.0–2.0]
[Stamina: 0.8–2.0]
[Agility: 1.0–2.0]
[Mental: 1.2–2.2]
[Remaining points: 1.6]
(Evaluation: You are a healthy adult male. Years of exercise have given you a physique far superior to the average person, but you still have a long way to go before reaching Tier-1.)

…

Shen He drew a deep breath, feeling the changes within his body. The tingling sensation in his bones almost made him cry out. He sprawled across the sofa, twisting and turning like an eel hauled from the river.

After a moment, he exhaled heavily, drenched in sweat, as if thoroughly spent.

He rested for a while, then stood up from the sofa. Moving his body, he felt the surge of strength and the firmer muscles, his eyes almost glowing with vigor.

Was this what it meant to have twice the constitution of an ordinary person?

So powerful!

He walked to the full-length mirror and examined his reflection. Though still slender, his strength, endurance, and speed had all far surpassed his previous self.

Even so, according to the system’s appraisal, he was still far from Tier-1. He wondered if the requirement was a value of five, ten, or perhaps even higher.

He moved about a bit, and soon his stomach began to rumble.

Hungry—so hungry.

He grabbed some snacks he’d bought earlier and devoured them, boiling water for instant noodles. Only after finishing off the remaining snacks and even two packs of noodles did his hunger abate slightly.

Shen He opened the door to step out, intending to feast at a nearby restaurant. The hunger had only lessened somewhat; he still felt as if he could eat an entire cow. This sensation was unprecedented, like his body was utterly depleted.

He threaded through the alley, and at the end, a figure suddenly collided with him, followed by a sharp crack.

A pile of porcelain shards appeared on the ground.

The next moment, five or six burly men emerged from the shadows, surrounding Shen He.

The first man grinned, "Kid, that’s a piece from the last dynasty—worth two million, three hundred thousand. Pay up!"

Shen He looked at him, silent for a moment. Then he spoke, "Still running the thirty-year-old scam? Isn’t that a bit outdated?"

A sly, rat-faced middle-aged man grinned, "Doesn’t matter how old the trick is, as long as it works."