"Beep beep beep! Beep beep beep!"
The relentless beeping of his Apple alarm jolted Lin Li awake.
It was 4:30 in the morning.
The sky was a soft ink wash painting, faintly aglow. The horizon to the east was beginning to lighten, turning the black sky to a delicate blue. Unknown birds were singing, their chirps clear and sweet.
Lin Li had never imagined that 4:00 a.m. in Xiling Town could be so beautiful.
Alright, Old Prison Guard, I get it now—I've finally become a real man.
Who wouldn't be moved by such a perfect morning? How could he not seize the moment?
—To sleep five more minutes. Hell no, who the heck is getting up this early?
As everyone knows, 30 plus 5 equals 50.
At 4:50, Lin Li reluctantly climbed out of bed.
In truth, he really wanted to stay in bed until 4:59, but he was worried that his dim-witted system would only start counting from the time he actually began his workout. By the time he washed up and got downstairs, it'd already be 5:00.
Yawning, Lin Li stepped out of his building.
At 5:00 a.m., the neighborhood wasn't exactly deserted. By the time he reached the community park, quite a few people were already there.
Most were elderly, either chatting or doing morning exercises. Some middle-aged folks jogged around the park.
However, Lin Li was the only young person around, drawing a few curious glances from the older folks.
He was seeing a side of his neighborhood he'd never known existed—and it was a bit of a shock.
"Pit pit, pop pop, beat the assassin, hit the assassin—pop pop!"
In front of him, an elderly woman who looked well over sixty started beatboxing right there!
Meanwhile, another elderly man was moonwalking, gliding with devilish steps.
Where the heck am I? Is this still the homeland?
Is 6:00 a.m. the dividing line between two worlds?
Was there a secret "backstage world" in addition to the regular one?
Or were this grandma and grandpa just trendy "super seniors" with Shanghai residency?
In any case, Lin Li didn't hold back his admiration for these powerful elders. "Granny, your beatboxing skills are awesome!"
"Say what now?" If not for the questioning tone, Lin Li might have thought she was swearing at him.
"That, uh, the thing you were just doing…"
"Oh, you mean when that darn dandelion flew into my mouth! So unlucky." At the mention of it, the elderly lady angrily spit a few more times.
Lin Li: "…"
He looked over at the grandpa doing the moonwalk, starting to lose his confidence. "And you, grandpa…"
"Stepped in dog sh*t." The old man continued to scrape his shoe without even looking up.
Alright, I'm back. This is still home. Everything suddenly felt familiar again. Still, Lin Li put some distance between himself and the grandpa with the dirty shoe while paying more attention to his own steps.
Remembering his mission, Lin Li headed toward the main square of the park.
A group of elderly ladies was practicing square dancing, but with a quiet elegance—no blaring music, making it a kind of silent dance on the cutting edge of the scene.
And quite relaxing to watch.
Lin Li didn't join them but found an empty spot nearby, close to a gazebo where an elderly man in workout clothes was practicing tai chi.
Perfect, a fitting environment for some serious body training.
Lin Li secured his phone on the stand he'd brought, pulled up a tutorial for the Eight-Section Brocade on a certain Mongolian streaming site, took a deep breath, and began to follow along.
Honestly, Bilibili was full of random, sketchy stuff; why hadn't it triggered a task or something?
As for choosing to practice the Eight-Section Brocade, Lin Li had discovered from the mission description that it required "body training exercises." Running here hadn't budged the progress bar, so running alone wouldn't count.
Training exercises were definitely required, but fortunately, the cultural heritage was rich with plenty of body practices.
Once he confirmed that the progress bar was moving, Lin Li felt a wave of relief. His guess was correct—even though he was still in the "lecture phase" of his training, if he applied himself to body training, it counted toward the mission.
Now he just needed to keep it up for an hour.
The elderly man practicing tai chi had initially thought Lin Li was just going through a phase; his moves were so clumsy it was obvious he was a beginner. But seeing how diligently Lin Li was following along, moving his limbs straight and fully extending with each motion, the man began to feel a sense of admiration. No one was watching him, yet he was going all out. The boy's self-discipline and determination were remarkable. The elderly man nodded approvingly.
A future pillar of society!
Inspired by this, the man switched from his regular tai chi to martial-style moves, his clothes rippling with each punch. He couldn't let the young man show him up!
Youth!
Ah, to feel young again! Good for vitality, no added sugar!
Lin Li was oblivious to the little action-packed senior drama playing out beside him. If he knew what the old man was thinking, he'd definitely have something to say about it.
Unsupervised? Oh, please. I've got a whole-body surveillance system monitoring me at every angle!
The moment he slackened even a little, that progress bar would knock him right back into line.
The gap between focused study and serious training was much greater than Lin Li had anticipated.
Lin Li's physique…
Let's put it this way: he thought Usain Bolt wasn't all that impressive at his 9.58 seconds for the 100 meters, because Lin Li could manage 9.58 seconds without covering anywhere near 100 meters.
—In reality, Lin Li was weak enough that he needed four and a half minutes to run the 1000-meter test. His daily exercise was limited to biking to and from school.
And in the rising heat of the summer morning, as time dragged on and the temperature kept climbing, by the time his progress bar was halfway full, Lin Li was already drenched in sweat, his clothes showing dark sweat stains.
His movements became increasingly sloppy, but the good news was that the progress bar was still moving. The system could tell that Lin Li was giving it his all—he simply couldn't perform the moves perfectly anymore.
Lin Li had started his training at 5:00 a.m., but it wasn't until 6:30 that he finally sat on the ground, breathing a sigh of relief.
[Mission 1 Complete!]
[You have acquired the technique: Body Training Eight-Section Brocade.]
[Skill is not gained in a day, nor martial prowess mastered overnight! You've taken a crucial first step in the path to transformation. Yet the journey is long, and to halt now would bring nothing but regret!]
[Mission Triggered!]
[Mission 1: Rise before 5:00 a.m. daily and diligently practice the Eight-Section Brocade for at least half an hour until dawn for one week.]
[Reward: Constitution improvement - Vitality increased by 50%; System Currency x100.]
[Without real combat, one can only be a soft pillow embroidered with pretty flowers. Steeling oneself is crucial to success.]
[Beside you stands a martial youth, inspired by comparison. Why not spar a little, right here and now?]
[Timed Mission Triggered!]
[Mission 4: Within one hour, engage in a friendly match with the martial youth until one side admits defeat.]
[Mission Reward: Random martial skill related ability x1.]
"Wait, huh?"