Ten p.m.
"Here are the reports for tomorrow."
At his desk, Lin Shen hit the enter key on his laptop, sending the work he'd done overtime tonight to the group chat.
Honestly, a daily income of 1,700 was enough for anyone to quit their job.
But Lin Shen had his own reasons.
First, it was almost the end of the month. His performance had been pretty good, so he should be able to collect a decent salary before resigning.
After all, no one says no to money. Besides, Lin Shen still wasn't sure if everything that had happened tonight was just a dream.
'What if the system disappears tomorrow? Life has to go on!'
After everything he'd been through, Lin Shen had made it a habit to always leave himself an escape route.
Second, the upgrade mission for the [Sports Health] app required him to spend an hour in a gym.
So, Lin Shen planned to freeload off the company's gym.
It was free, so why not use it?
Lin Shen smiled excitedly, then covered his mouth to yawn.
The evening's strenuous exercise had just about drained all his energy. Now that he was idle, a wave of sleepiness washed over him.
So, after getting into bed, Lin Shen took out his phone, opened the [Sports Health] app, and tapped on [Sleeping Pill] and [Fatigue Recovery Potion].
Just then, a white light flashed in midair.
Immediately after, two items fell onto his bed.
One was a small, black, cube-shaped box, the kind used for rings, and the other was a plastic bottle similar to a cough syrup bottle.
Lin Shen was completely stunned by the scene before him.
'So the items aren't used in the game, they're materialized out of thin air into the real world?'
'This kind of violates the laws of physics!'
"It's pretty stupid to argue about that with a system."
Lin Shen mocked himself and decided to try the [Fatigue Recovery Potion] first, but he only took a small sip.
He was still a little apprehensive, afraid he might be drinking something poisonous.
Fortunately, everything was fine.
The [Fatigue Recovery Potion] tasted like plain water, but with a hint of sweetness.
After drinking it, Lin Shen felt an unbearable heat spread through his body, and a faint mist seemed to rise from his forehead.
The physical fatigue from his workout gradually faded, and his entire being became incredibly energized.
Feeling the strange changes in his body, Lin Shen went from initial shock and panic to slowly adapting, and finally to staring at the liquid in the bottle in disbelief.
'It's this effective?!'
Lin Shen felt he was in even better shape now than before his workout. Even the lower back pain from sitting for long periods had completely disappeared.
'What a miracle cure!'
Lin Shen carefully placed the [Fatigue Recovery Potion] in his nightstand drawer, got out of bed, took a couple of steps, and then started jumping around, his expression growing more and more excited.
However, the [Fatigue Recovery Potion] worked so well that the sleepiness he'd felt earlier was gone, replaced by full-blown insomnia!
Luckily, he still had the [Sleeping Pill].
Lin Shen went to the kitchen to pour a glass of warm water. When he opened the box, he found a solid black pill lying inside, just as he'd expected.
It was about the size of half a fingernail and had a faint, fresh scent of licorice.
With the [Fatigue Recovery Potion] as a successful test case, Lin Shen didn't hesitate much this time. He used his nail to break off a small piece of the [Sleeping Pill] and swallowed it with water.
He put down the glass, left the kitchen, and was just about to head to the bedroom for a good night's sleep when an irresistible wave of drowsiness washed over his mind.
'Whoa, hold on, buddy!'
'Wait a second!?'
Stunned, Lin Shen quickly sat on the sofa, intending to rest for a moment, and then…
There was no "and then."
When Lin Shen regained consciousness, it was already the next morning.
July 21, 2025.
Monday, six a.m. The first light of dawn was breaking.
Lin Shen slowly woke up on the sofa. He fumbled for his phone as he opened his bleary eyes, still a bit dazed.
Of course, his confusion was only about what had happened last night; physically, he felt exceptionally refreshed.
"This Sleeping Pill works a little too well," Lin Shen said, picking up the small box from the table, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
He stretched and felt like his physical condition had returned to its peak from his college days!
"Not bad!"
Lin Shen stripped off all his clothes and stepped on the scale. The number "81.6" was a pleasant surprise.
'I'd lost a full kilogram in one night?'
Even accounting for having an empty stomach in the morning, the effect was still significant.
'The 30% boost to workout effectiveness wasn't a lie after all!'
"Okay, let's set a small goal first: 75 kg!"
Lin Shen secretly cheered himself on. After getting dressed, he went to the bathroom to wash up, taking the opportunity to examine himself in the mirror.
Although his face was still a bit chubby, the dark circles under his eyes were gone, and his skin looked much better than before.
It was proof that sleeping and waking early was the best beauty treatment.
"Keep it up!"
Lin Shen got his things together and went to the entrance of his residential complex to buy breakfast.
After checking his phone, he saw that he had received a text from his bank just after midnight.
[Construction Bank: Your account ending in 7946 received a deposit of RMB 1,700 on 07/21 at 00:01. Current balance: 55,400]
"Nice!"
Lin Shen couldn't contain his delight. He was about to reward himself with a deluxe breakfast burrito with an extra sausage, but then he remembered he was on a diet.
So, he just bought two hard-boiled eggs and a cup of soy milk.
'Since I've decided to change, I have to see it through!'
Besides exercise, a healthy diet was also a key part of changing his appearance.
After a quick breakfast, Lin Shen rode his beloved little electric scooter to the subway station and clocked in at the office right at 8:30 a.m.
"Morning, Lin Shen!"
When his colleagues saw Lin Shen arrive at his desk, they all greeted him, surprised.
"You're looking pretty good!"
"Thanks."
On the surface, Lin Shen smiled and nodded in response, but inwardly, he felt nothing.
Three years of work experience had taught him that relationships with colleagues were the least necessary social connections to maintain.
It was great if you could become friends, but if not, there was no need to deliberately curry favor with anyone.
After all, if you showed even a hint of diligence and kindness, an endless amount of work would be dumped on your head.
Nice guys get taken advantage of.
'Just do your own job and that's it.'
So, Lin Shen went about his day as usual, petting cats while handling his work.
The company he worked for was called "Pet Guardian Home."
As the name suggested, it was a company specializing in the pet industry, with business operations including, but not limited to, pet companionship and breeding, as well as the manufacturing of pet supplies and food.
Therefore, in addition to the dedicated pet area on the first floor, the cats raised by the company would also occasionally appear in the second-floor office area.
Lin Shen was already used to this.
Petting the cats had become one of his motivations at work. After all, who could refuse an affectionate little kitten?
'Isn't this so much better than a girlfriend who just argues and asks for money all day?'
Lin Shen gave a self-deprecating smile, realizing his resentment towards Gu Wanting ran quite deep.
When lunchtime arrived, he ordered a light meal for delivery.
A fat-loss meal combo of broccoli, corn kernels, chicken breast, and mashed purple sweet potato.
It tasted pretty good, not as hard to swallow as Lin Shen had imagined.
Five p.m.
After finishing his work for the day, Lin Shen waved goodbye to his colleagues. However, instead of leaving, he shouldered his bag and headed to the fourth-floor gym.
Since it wasn't open to the public, the gym was relatively empty and had a relaxed atmosphere.
This was perfect for a complete beginner like Lin Shen, who was stepping into a gym for the first time.
But one thing made him extremely conflicted.
Of the whole row of treadmills, only the two at the very end were free, and they weren't even next to each other!
A woman was running on the treadmill between them, and everyone else seemed to be intentionally avoiding her.
Her high, swinging ponytail highlighted her vibrant energy, while her form-fitting sports tank top and yoga pants perfectly outlined her lush, graceful figure.
Lin Shen knew her.
Qin Yuenan.
His direct supervisor, the Marketing Director.