[Name: Wang Longhu]
[Strength: 1.15 (+)]
[Physique: 1.43 (+)]
[Spirit: 0.90 (+)]
[Skills: Basic Fitness Lv2 (60/200), Three Body Posture Lv2 (80/200), Xingyi Boxing (Beng Fist) Lv2 (0/200)]
[Potential Points: 0.05]
Walking down the street, Wang Longhu added the potential point he just got from leveling up Beng Fist to his physique as usual.
He then threw a punch, his fist moving so fast it was a mere blur, with his footwork matching the speed of his punch.
This made it impossible to see if Wang Longhu punched first then stepped, or stepped first then punched.
According to Master Chen, this was already considered a small achievement in Beng Fist. Wang Longhu just needed to practice until he could achieve the same effect with a ten-pound lead weight tied to his feet, then he could learn the other moves in the Five Elements Fist: Splitting, Drilling, Cannon, and Crossing.
In fact, over the past few days, Wang Longhu had tried searching online for videos and e-books on Xingyi Boxing to study on his own.
But, whether it was due to the martial artist's inaccurate movements in the videos or the e-books being fake, no matter how much he practiced, he couldn't unlock new skills on his panel. Feeling it was a waste of time, he had to give up.
He decided to honestly train Beng Fist to the standard required by Master Chen before learning new techniques.
"Once I move to Grandma's house, I can set up a martial arts training room, with some sandbags and dumbbells, to train my strength. The big monk said that when a martial artist has enough strength, they can gather force and strike with Ming Jin,"
"I'm only at the minor level of Ming Jin right now. To produce a crisp sound with Internal Boxing, I don't know how long I'll have to train. I might as well work on both approaches. With the help of the panel, I shouldn't be compared with ordinary people; I should be able to combine internal and external training."
Wang Longhu took out his phone, opened the Taobao app, and started searching for hanging sandbags and combination dumbbells in the mall.
This time returning to Dong County, Wang Longhu had only a savings of 40,000 yuan.
After living in Hang City for years, apart from rent, takeout, and utilities, he regularly sent 1,000 yuan back home monthly. Occasionally, for work relationships, he had to reluctantly go out with colleagues for foot massages or drinks.
Saving 40,000 yuan wasn't easy, but these days, 40,000 yuan isn't much. For someone who spends money easily, it could be gone with a new phone, some luxury clothes, and a few pairs of shoes.
In the past few days, just to gain potential points, Wang Longhu spent 2,800 yuan on groceries alone. Each meal cost him two to three hundred yuan; they were all highly nourishing items like softshell turtles, sea cucumbers, eels, and lamb kidneys, specifically mentioned by Master Chen.
If he continues like this, just eating could make him broke. And once the money runs out, with no income in Dong County currently, he can't even think of using food supplements to gain potential points.
If he loses the most convenient and efficient method of gaining potential points through food, relying solely on strenuous martial practice to improve his attributes, he's worried his body won't keep up against the pace of cancer.
"I need to think of a way to make money." Staring at the screen showing boxing bags and dumbbells costing several hundred to over a thousand each, he finally ordered the cheapest two items and couldn't help but sigh.
In Dong County, young people only have three options to make money: one is to become a civil servant, or get into a state-owned or public institution for a stable job with a modest monthly salary, but it's stable and respectable.
The second is working a job, but aside from a few local banks, insurance companies, and utility companies, other jobs pay little monthly salary with no benefits like insurance or housing funds. Most just scrape by in fruit shops, cake shops, or factories.
The third is to start their own business, but 99% of those who choose this path end up in failure.
Wang Longhu currently needs a job that pays quickly, doesn't require a strict eight-to-five schedule, so he has enough time to focus on martial arts training.
After thinking it over, he regrettably concluded that this kind of dream job doesn't exist in Dong County; it would be hard to find even in Wen City.
"Wang Longhu?"
A sweet voice suddenly pulled Wang Longhu out of his thoughts.
He turned his head and saw a girl in an apron stepping out of a seafood stall on the roadside. She looked pale and thin, with a height around 1.7 meters.
Although her outfit was somewhat plain, her slender waist and long, straight legs were hard to ignore at first glance.
"Who are you?" Wang Longhu hesitated as he looked at the girl in front of him, whose features carried a touch of handsomeness despite her delicate looks.
To be honest, he really couldn't remember who she was.
"Oh, you've actually forgotten me, and we were classmates no less." The girl took off the purple sleeves she was wearing, sounding a bit angry.
"Classmates?" Upon hearing this, Wang Longhu became even more puzzled.
He really wanted to ask this girl in front of him: Who are you, beauty?
Because in Wang Longhu's memory, from elementary through middle school, high school, and university, he had never encountered a pretty female classmate in his classes.
If this girl in front of him was really his classmate, he would definitely have a deep impression of her.
"Let me ask you, how did you get the scar at the corner of your left eye? Where did you level up your Dream Journey to the West character to level 65 as a swordsman of the Great Tang Headquarters during the summer break of eighth grade?" The girl asked these two soul-searching questions, instantly triggering Wang Longhu's memories.
He recalled that during junior high, he had a dark-skinned female deskmate with a face full of freckles and protruding front teeth.
Because the girl developed early, her height, weight, and bust size far exceeded those of her peers, earning her an unpleasant nickname given by some mischievous male classmates, something like 'Big Milk Jug.'
He remembered when the teacher rearranged the seats, Wang Longhu was placed next to that girl, and was laughed at by Ye Yuanpei and Lin Haitao in the hallway during recess for several days.
However, Wang Longhu didn't care about these things; his attitude towards other classmates was fair and consistent with his attitude towards that girl.
The two were deskmates for several months and gradually grew closer, often chatting after class.
Wang Longhu's family wasn't well-off; it was only when he entered university that his parents bought him his first computer.
Before the final exams of eighth grade, Wang Longhu happened to hear that his deskmate had a desktop computer at home, and shamelessly begged his deskmate to let him visit during the summer break.
During that era, Dream Journey to the West, QQ Speed, QQ Dance, Dungeon & Fighter, and World of Warcraft were so popular that classmates would discuss game content during class breaks.
Topics like how many hits they could make with Dragon Palace's Tornado Rain Strike, sneaking in to buy a half-year's worth of Renault which was great to drive, challenging a solo dance battle with eight keys, or finally learning Berserker's dual-handed weapons were common.
Or they'd talk about the latest installments of popular mangas like One Piece, Naruto, or Bleach. These were all things that required a computer to access, and how could a kid like Wang Longhu not be interested?
He had long been eager and itching, otherwise, he wouldn't have anything to talk about with peers.
The female deskmate was quite approachable and readily agreed to Wang Longhu's request. That summer was when Wang Longhu first touched a computer outside of school, immediately launching 'Bleach vs Naruto' on 4399 as soon as he powered it on.
Later, under the patient guidance of his deskmate, Wang Longhu registered an account and created his own Great Tang Headquarters swordsman, spending his days occupying the girl's computer to catch ghosts, run errands, and grind at the Great Wild Goose Pagoda.
…
A flood of old memories began to surface in his mind, and Wang Longhu finally remembered his female deskmate's name. He looked bewilderedly at the long-legged girl in front of him and hesitantly asked, "Lin Shanshan?"
"At least you have some conscience and didn't completely forget me." The girl snorted proudly, yet couldn't hide the smile on her lips.
"Wow, where did you go to improve yourself, doing high-tech and awesome work, changing so much." Wang Longhu still couldn't quite believe that his once dark-skinned, chubby, awkward-looking deskmate had become so stunning.
Her looks and figure could easily attract ten admirers daily on her phone, trying to chat without a good reason.
"Keep talking nonsense and I'll hit you with frozen fish. I'm a classic example of girls changing at eighteen." Lin Shanshan threw her sleeve at Wang Longhu, but he dodged it with a nimble side-step.
"Where have you been all these years? After junior high, no one could get in touch with you. We couldn't find you to invite you to the class reunion."
"I went to Ji City for high school, then study in Hang City for university, and I've been working in Hang City since then. Luckily, I uninstalled QQ early, so I didn't get any of your notifications. These days, those who join class reunions aren't usually the most proper people."
Lin Shanshan protested: "But you can't say that. We're all from the same county, and you should really come to the junior high school reunion. Sometimes, when going out, you even bump into them on the street."
"I have no money, no car, no house locally, and my work's not noteworthy. Why attend the reunion, just to listen to others brag?" Wang Longhu waved dismissively: "But if someone's covering all the expenses, definitely count me in."
Lin Shanshan laughed, "May 1st is coming, and many classmates who are outside plan to return. Our former class president Cheng Yiyi is now a web celebrity on Douyin doing live streams,
and the vice president Zhang Junnan writes online novels and became a member of the provincial writers association, they've both bought houses and settled in Hang City. They plan to host this year's class reunion, all expenses covered, do you want to come?"
"Sure, why wouldn't I come for free." Wang Longhu immediately agreed.
In his mind, he quietly noted the information about these two junior high class president and vice president.
Douyin web celebrity? Online novel author?
Neither illegal nor crossing lines, these indeed seem like feasible money-making options. But if I were to do live streams, what content should I broadcast?
Gaming or outdoor activities, I'm completely clueless.
Writing novels, on the other hand, from seventh grade I've been reading online novels.
During junior high, I read Tomato's Inch of Radiance, Coiling Dragon, Nine Cauldrons, Stellar Transformations, Dance's Heavenly King, Demon Lord, God Machine's The Tao is Tao, Dragon Snake, Chen Dong's Sacred Mausoleum, World of Immortality, Lost Leaf's Online Game: Across the Earth.
There's also Beamon Legend, Crazy God, Huang Long's Adventure in Another World, The Wicked Life of Chen Ergou, The Bodyguard, Zichuan, A Soldier's Legend, Fake Hero, Lotus Step, After Ascension, Great Zhou Dynasty, Perfect Housekeeper, Hunting Diary, and Mercenary World.
The reading experience is quite historical, but reading a lot doesn't equate to being able to write. Creating stories kills off brain cells easily, and it requires a lot of time investment.
For Wang Longhu, Douyin live streaming is more appealing. With my panel's help, creating some program effects to attract traffic, tricking viewers for 'sunglasses' and 'beer' shouldn't be too difficult.
Everyone needs to eat. To earn money for food and practice martial arts, Wang Longhu thinks that if he goes for live streaming, it wouldn't be considered beneath him.