002 A Life Lost in Confusion

This increase was rather minimal—after all, it was only a 0.06 boost in attributes. Compared to the standard score of 1 for an adult male, it amounted to merely a 6% improvement in constitution, hardly enough to turn Chen Jue into a superhuman overnight.

Still, it was a tangible enhancement. It eased his fatigue somewhat; after sitting on the small folding stool for more than ten minutes, Chen Jue finally stood up, opened his suitcase, and started organizing the belongings he’d brought home.

A laptop, a tablet, a few changes of clothes, and over twenty thousand in cash.

Before coming, Chen Jue had anticipated a stint of rural life and took it upon himself to withdraw some cash from the bank. Yet, when he saw the minivan used for deliveries and the village convenience store both displaying QR codes for payment, he couldn’t help but mock himself, “My prejudice really overshadowed my understanding.”

He rummaged through the cabinets at home, pulled out several quilts, casually spread them over the hard bed, and lay down for a while, watching the sky outside the window gradually darken.

He had once been a junior office worker in Hangzhou, earning over ten thousand each month, living comfortably enough. But with the economy in decline and the workplace becoming increasingly cutthroat, he was laid off and forced into unemployment.

The reason he returned to this old rural house was because, after years of drifting, he felt lost and weary inside.

As for his family, none remained in this world.

His grandparents had passed away back when he was in university, and his mother succumbed to cancer when he was in middle school. The family borrowed heavily for her treatment; his father went away for work to repay the debts, but met with an accident at a construction site while Chen Jue was still in high school, leaving prematurely as well.

In the end, it was deemed a workplace accident, and the foreman compensated the family with over six hundred thousand, just enough for Chen Jue to finish his education at a third-tier college. With the help of several uncles, the old house was renovated.

After graduating, Chen Jue wandered from Beijing to Hangzhou, working for over six years, but never saved enough to buy a home. Now, unemployed and dispirited, he returned to his hometown to clear his mind.

His savings amounted to less than three hundred thousand.

Hangzhou's high salaries barely scraped past ten thousand a month, but expenses were substantial—two thousand for rent alone, plus social obligations and dining out, leaving him with perhaps four or five thousand to save each month.

This was him living frugally, never courting anyone or seeking romance.

Given his own circumstances, he thought it best not to trouble any young ladies.

Even so, three hundred thousand was nowhere near enough to buy a house or car in Hangzhou, unless he was willing to settle for a cheap, commercial-residential micro-apartment.

But having left the workplace, Chen Jue no longer wished to chase after property.

A worker’s fate is to work; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t keep up with Hangzhou’s skyrocketing housing prices. Even in his hometown, Wen City, with average prices over twenty thousand per square meter, his savings wouldn’t suffice.

Unable to compete with his peers at work, Chen Jue simply gave up on the idea of buying property, deciding to follow the online trend and return home to “lie flat.”

After all, he now had this newly awakened attribute panel for company, shutting himself in to study how to develop it—his days would hardly be dull.

…

After half an hour lying on the bed, he picked up his phone and saw it was nearly seven o’clock.

Chen Jue sprang up from the bed, feeling hungry, and headed out to the village convenience store. He bought a bag of rice, a bundle of noodles, some vacuum-packed cooked meats, and a case of beer.

Life in the countryside was inconvenient; apart from the elders who grew vegetables for themselves, if you wanted a proper meal, you had to go to the market in Panlong Town.

Having just returned for less than half a day, Chen Jue didn’t think too much about it and managed to cobble together a meal to fill his stomach.

He’d been busy all day, his body worn out; only by replenishing with meat and some fat could he recover quickly.

Of course, after three days of observation, Chen Jue had discovered that the combination of “eating meat and exercising” accelerated the gain of free attribute points.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have accumulated 0.06 attribute points in just three days.

“I need to find a way to collect more free attribute points!”

“If I could boost constitution, strength, agility, and intelligence to a few whole numbers, wouldn’t I become a superhuman?” Chen Jue mused to himself.

…

After satisfying his hunger and opening a pitcher of beer, Chen Jue stepped out of the old house, drinking as he walked along the village’s concrete road towards the mountain.

After years of development, the road in Chen Village had been widened to about three lanes, with bright streetlights on both sides, connecting the upper and lower villages.

The mountain behind the village held the Chen Village Reservoir, a sizable area surrounded by mountains and blessed with beautiful scenery.

It was said to have been built in the 1960s and 70s, recently renovated for the new rural construction, aiming to create a small scenic spot to attract city residents for outings and fishing.

Busy cleaning the house during the day, Chen Jue hadn’t noticed it, but at night as he walked along the main road to the reservoir, he saw several parked sedans and SUVs—surely city folks come to fish.

Occasionally, a few elderly villagers and middle-aged residents came up for an after-dinner stroll.

Seeing Chen Jue, an unfamiliar face, they assumed he was one of the city visitors and didn’t ask much, simply continued their walk and exercise.

Beside the reservoir stood a newly built temple, grand and imposing, lit up at night, with chanting audible as he passed—though it was played over speakers, not sung live.

On a vacant lot beside the temple, fitness equipment had been erected, much like those in residential communities, but it was too late for anyone to be exercising there.

Chen Jue strolled, observing the familiar yet unfamiliar surroundings of Chen Village. After years away, he hadn’t expected his hometown to change so much.

Drinking beer, he bypassed the temple, arriving at the reservoir’s embankment.

The embankment was tall and long, with a drop of at least ten meters to the water below, newly fitted with guardrails and ground-level lighting strips. With the quiet water, deep mountains, and distant views, it held a touch of poetic charm.

On the embankment, some villagers sat enjoying the breeze and moonlight, while an old man stood alone on a vacant spot, either jumping or punching.

His movements were vigorous and nimble, but Chen Jue couldn’t recognize whether it was gymnastics or a martial art—it certainly wasn’t the Tai Chi forms seen in city parks.

“Grandpa, are you from Huang Family Village?”

“I see you practicing boxing here—what kind of martial art is this?” Chen Jue, unfamiliar with the old man’s face, couldn’t help but ask as he passed.

“Heh, you don’t recognize it, do you?”

“This is Boat Boxing! Passed down from our ancestors!” The old man smiled proudly, demonstrating a few sets of moves, occasionally emitting strange cries that piqued Chen Jue’s interest.

He took out his phone, opened the browser, and searched for Boat Boxing, actually finding information about it.

The description said it was a traditional regional martial art from the Jiangsu-Zhejiang area, with a long history, once practiced by coastal fishermen to fend off pirates.

It was called Boat Boxing because fishermen performed it on the prow of a boat or with weapons, with only the space of a square table to move about. Unlike other martial arts with expansive movements, practicing martial arts on a boat was not like on land—a single misstep could send you into the water.

Seeing Chen Jue watching for a while, the old man couldn’t resist asking, “Youngster, want to learn a move or two?”

“Sure!” With his awakened attribute panel, Chen Jue was extremely interested in this form of exercise and followed the old master’s moves for several rounds.

Soon, however, his attention was drawn by a new prompt on his attribute panel.

Player: Chen Jue

Age: 27

Strength: 0.83

Agility: 0.74

Intelligence: 1.22

Constitution: 1.04

Skills mastered: Boat Boxing Lv0 (3/100)

Free attribute points available: 0.01

“Amazing—I actually gained a new skill attribute?”