On the cross-sea bridge, a passenger bus sped by.
Wang Longhu rested his chin on one hand, his deep gaze observing the blue ocean outside the window.
"Life and death are determined by fate, but I refuse to accept it."
Staring at the sea and mumbling to himself, Wang Longhu clenched his right fist tightly, the paper in his hand crumpling severely.
If someone were sitting next to him, they would find that the paper was actually a diagnosis from a city hospital, with the barely visible words—lung cancer.
"Panel," Wang Longhu thought to himself.
[Name: Wang Longhu]
[Strength: 0.82]
[Constitution: 0.7]
[Spirit: 0.88]
[Skills: Basic Fitness Lv1 (97/100)]
[Potential Points: 0]
Five days ago, while still working in Hang City, Wang Longhu felt some pain in his chest. He was coughing heavily at work, and occasionally coughed up blood, so he went to the hospital for a check-up.
Unexpectedly, he was diagnosed with lung cancer despite never smoking, and it was already at a late stage, making it hard for Wang Longhu to accept.
At that moment, Wang Longhu's world collapsed, knowing that no hospital could save him, and even if they could, he couldn't afford the exorbitant costs.
He might end up spending all his money for nothing, just wasting it.
It was on that day that he suddenly acquired a panel that only he could see.
If he could train his constitution to a very high level, perhaps he could cure the cancer, who knows?
This panel displaying attributes was the only straw he could cling to for survival.
So, Wang Longhu decisively quit his job, returned the rent, and took all his savings from working in Hang over the past two years back to his hometown, preparing to fight for his life.
Wang Longhu's hometown is Dong County in Wen City, a sea island with a population of less than 100,000. It isn't very developed, but it has good air quality and beautiful scenery, making it a good place for retirement and vacation.
As the bus crossed the sea bridge and drove a few hundred meters, it arrived at a coastal bus station.
Carrying his suitcase, Wang Longhu got off the bus and gazed at the cloudless blue sky with a sigh. It had been two and a half years since he last returned due to work, even celebrating Spring Festival only by video call with his family.
"Hey handsome, do you need a taxi?"
As Wang Longhu walked out of the bus station, a taxi driver parked by the roadside leaned against the car door and shouted enthusiastically.
"How much to Lingbei Community?" Wang Longhu asked in Mandarin.
"Fifteen for you, it's very cheap."
"You're trying to rip off, you unscrupulous guy." Upon hearing the price, Wang Longhu couldn't help but curse inwardly. Although he hadn't returned for over two years, he was still a local.
He knew well the distance and cost of a taxi ride from the bus station to home, and the driver was directly overcharging him by half.
Decisively, Wang Longhu spoke in his hometown dialect, "Seven."
The driver scratched his face awkwardly, "Get in the car."
As the car started, Wang Longhu sitting in the back lowered the window, enjoying the island's unique gentle sea breeze.
Dong County is a small island, where early inhabitants had to take a boat to get to Wen City before the bridge was built. Now the cross-sea bridge has largely replaced the ferry service.
Nowadays, you only need to drive 66 kilometers to reach Wen City's center from Dong County.
But due to the limitations of the island's terrain, development has been challenging for decades, with few large companies in the area.
The island's youth go to college elsewhere and rarely return, leading to an aging population over the years.
This made Wang Longhu observe deeply along the way, surprisingly finding that despite being away for more than two and a half years, the street shops still looked exactly the same as in his memory.
After a dozen minutes, Wang Longhu asked the driver to stop at a roadside barber shop, paid him, and entered a small alley with his suitcase.
Lingbei Community is located on a hill over dozens of meters high, and it takes a half-hour walk to reach the sea. It's part of Dong County's older housing area.
It's said that due to pirate attacks in Min Province's waters decades ago, many coastal residents from Min Province fled by boat, with a small portion landing on Dong County's deserted island and hiding in mountain forests away from the coast.
Most residents living here are in old houses, including Wang Longhu's home, a small two and a half-story building.
Taking out the key and opening the door, seeing the floor covered in dust, Wang Longhu breathed a sigh of relief.
Since middle school, his parents have worked away all year round, only returning for brief stays during holidays.
Growing up, he either lived in boarding schools or training classes, developing a fairly independent and reserved personality, which made him hide the lung cancer news from his parents.
There's a saying that after starting to work, you should share only good news with your mom, not your troubles. She can't help and will only worry for you every night.
Now that his parents are working elsewhere, with the house to himself free of supervision, he can freely implement his training plan.
After setting down his luggage, Wang Longhu found a broom and mop, cleaning the long-vacant house inside and out.
In the humid south, walls and ceilings often gather water droplets on a southern wind day, making clothes and bedding prone to dampness, which was more severe on the island.
Although his parents had covered the bed, sofa, and wardrobe with plastic film to prevent dampness, the sheets still had an odor, and Wang Longhu moved them to the balcony to air.
A few hours later, with cleaning finally finished, Wang Longhu relaxed. Taking a towel to wipe his sweat, he retrieved a book from his suitcase.
The cover bore four large characters—"Convict Conditioning"
In college, a friend in his dorm became passionate about muscles after watching WWE and bought this acclaimed book on Taobao, which guides building strength without equipment.
The ultimate goal of the book is to train you daily, aiming to become a muscle warrior capable of five one-arm push-ups, five single-leg squats, one one-arm pull-up, ten hanging leg raises, five bridge poses, and one handstand push-up.
This is also known as ultimate strength training.
However, after only three days of rigorous training, that friend got caught up in SKT1's victory, League of Legends free rune pages bug, among other things, and wasted it all by sneaking out nightly to the internet café.
Until the graduation night, when he and his dormmates drunkenly ordered takeout and drank deeply, that friend tearfully insisted on giving this book to Wang Longhu as a memento of their college friendship.
After graduation, Wang Longhu stored it in a box until the hospital gave him the diagnosis, reminding him of this book.
"The human body's potential is limitless; Bolt ran 9.58 seconds in the hundred-meter dash, Hafthor Bjornsson deadlifted 501 kg without equipment in his gym,
Alimihan Seyiti, aged 135, was the world's longest-living person certified by Guinness, Budimir Bud Sobot held his breath underwater for 24 minutes and 33 seconds,
These legends prove that the human body's potential far surpasses medical imagination. If I train my body to a very high level, perhaps I can eliminate the cancer cells inside me and defeat the disease."
Wang Longhu opened the first page of "Convict Conditioning," his eyes firm as he whispered to himself.