Wang Ye came to the countryside road, bracing the cold wind and fine rain, warmed up a little, and got his body warm to prevent injuries due to muscle stiffness.
He then started his watch and began running along the road.
Although the weather was very cold and gloomy, there were still a few people sparsely passing by with umbrellas.
They all looked at Wang Ye running in the cold rain with eyes of surprise.
Is he a lunatic?
People who run in this weather must have an abnormal mindset.
Moreover, Wang Ye was running at such a fast pace. Even when running uphill, his speed didn't slow down at all, and he barely gasped for breath.
Thanks to his Tai Chi background, Wang Ye's lung capacity became very strong, and the amount of oxygen he inhaled in one breath was equivalent to three or four breaths of an average person.
This is also one of the benefits brought to him by Tai Chi 'Qi Sensitivity'——
Endurance greatly increased.
...
About an hour later.
Wang Ye had already made a big loop around Longjiang District.
The cold rain had soaked his clothes completely, and visible white steam was rising from his body.
Wang Ye's breathing rhythm finally began to become chaotic, and his eyes occasionally wandered.
His unfamiliarity with the half-marathon led to a misallocation of his stamina, and his energy was very weak in the later stages. He almost had to grit his teeth to run the last few kilometers without displaying his true capability.
While running, Wang Ye tore open an Energy Gel and squeezed it into his mouth.
The rich sweet and sour taste exploded in his mouth.
Instantly refreshed him.
One Energy Gel could provide calories equivalent to a meal. In long-distance events like marathons, Energy Gel is an essential sports supplement.
Not to mention, Wang Ye's daily caloric needs for his evolution were still increasing.
A typical athlete could intake at most 5000 calories in a whole day. But Wang Ye needed to consume a minimum of 10,000 calories, or he would feel dizzy and weak.
Therefore, Energy Gel was more precious than gold to Wang Ye.
Even when he wasn't running, he would occasionally tear open an Energy Gel and squeeze it into his mouth.
The cold rain kept wetting Wang Ye's eyelids. He squinted his eyes slightly, finished the last sip of the Energy Gel, and casually threw it into a trash can by the road.
After replenishing his energy, Wang Ye increased his pace again.
Enduring the numb stiffness pain in his legs, he completed the last few kilometers.
Finally.
Wang Ye plopped down onto the deserted curb, gasping for breath. The cold wind filled his lungs, making his windpipe feel a bit sore.
Although this simulated half-marathon still felt like a damn prison,
the final result still made Wang Ye very satisfied.
This extremely challenging training brought a considerable gain in skill level.
Directly adding 15% to his running progress bar.
He's about 20% away from leveling up to lv4; another half-marathon is expected to be enough to upgrade.
Wang Ye raised his watch.
[22.2 kilometers.]
[Time: 01:20.13]
[Average pace: 3.34]
A half-marathon in one hour and twenty minutes.
Which is the standard of a national third-level athlete.
It's rare to find someone of his level in a whole half-marathon event.
With this result, getting in the top dozens shouldn't be a problem.
Moreover, there are still about four days left before the start of the race.
This time is enough to let his strength undergo another qualitative change.
As Wang Ye sat on the curb resting and browsing his phone.
Suddenly.
A message notification sound came from WeChat.
Wang Ye opened WeChat.
Only to find that the message was from his college roommate.
This roommate's name was Yi Tian, a tall, skinny guy with glasses, and an absolute homebody.
Wang Ye vaguely remembered that after graduation, he seemed to have gone to work as IT at an animation company, and it had been at least five years since they last contacted each other.
"What does he want with me? Is he going to ask to borrow money?" A sense of crisis arose in Wang Ye's heart.
It's a strong sign when a classmate who hasn't contacted you in years suddenly messages you; usually, they have strong intentions, either borrowing money or seeking assistance.
Virtually no one would suddenly want to reconnect purely for nostalgia.
Wang Ye opened Yi Tian's chat window.
Only to find that Yi Tian had forwarded his toothpick-stabbing-apple video.
[Yi Tian: Brother Ye, is this you in the video! Secretly practicing martial arts after graduating all these years?]
Wang Ye hurriedly typed a reply,
[Holy shit, how did you come across it?]
[Yi Tian: Douyin has a feature that suggests content from contacts, didn't you know? [Grinning]]
[Yi Tian: Martial arts master, please teach me Kung Fu! I don't want to try anymore. Lately, I've been losing hair from my boss's exploitation, and I really miss the days of playing games with the dorm brothers in college.]
[Wang Ye: …]
[Yi Tian: By the way, do you want us dorm buddies to hang out together one of these days?]
[Yi Tian: Recently, Brother Shan also returned to Longjiang District. It's a rare opportunity, how about we find a place and have a good drink?]
Seeing this, Wang Ye couldn't help but fall silent for a moment.
He hadn't contacted his university roommates for at least five years; Yi Tian suddenly wanting to drink with him at this time smelled fishy. If his video hadn't gone viral, Yi Tian probably wouldn't have thought of reaching out.
Wang Ye sighed.
"Whatever, I'm idle these days anyway."
He then typed a line, sent it out.
[Sure, let me know in advance when and where you decide.]
[Yi Tian: Alright! [OK]]
Wang Ye stuffed his phone back into his pants pocket, trudged home with heavy steps.
As soon as he entered the door, he took off his clothes, took a shower, washing off all the fatigue and rainwater with hot water.
After the shower, Wang Ye changed into warm pajamas, went to the kitchen, and cooked two dishes with the remaining ingredients, improving his Cooking Skill proficiency by 2%.
With the continuous enhancement of his Cooking Skill, Wang Ye's rice-cooking technique was also steadily improving.
Originally, his rice was either too dry or turned into porridge, the amount of water used was all instinct, and the texture was all down to luck.
But with the upgrade of his Cooking Skill, Wang Ye seemed to have a mature and clear process naturally forming in his mind about every detail of cooking rice. He knew how many times to rinse the rice, how much water to add, how long to cook it.
Wang Ye felt that if this continued, he might really become a rice-cooking Immortal.
After a hearty meal.
Wang Ye was about to go to bed.
Suddenly.
The message notification tone from WeChat sounded again.
[Yi Tian: Brother Ye, we've decided to meet tomorrow at six in the afternoon at Purple Gold Diner, how about it?]
[No problem.]
Wang Ye replied casually, then switched screens to browse videos.