"Alright, stop talking nonsense. I just see Lin Rong as a sister."
Song Jian shook his head, completely oblivious to the flash of disappointment in the young woman's eyes.
"I came here for a reason. To be honest with you all, this Red Scale Fighting Club isn't as simple as it looks.
Since you've joined, take it seriously. If you can master the Fighting Technique, it will bring you many benefits in the future."
As he said this, he seemed to remember something. His eyes swept over their surroundings, and he suddenly fell silent.
No matter how his companions questioned him, he refused to say another word.
Nearby, Hu Qi raised an eyebrow, a little disappointed.
But he had no choice but to give up on eavesdropping and focus on his meal.
「Time passed quietly.」
After eating, Hu Qi ordered a milk tea at a nearby mall and sat inside, enjoying the air conditioning.
When it was about time, he got up and walked toward the Red Scale Club.
The afternoon trial class ended quickly. He checked the time; it was exactly two-thirty.
The weather was unusually stuffy, the sunlight scorching hot.
A few white clouds floated in the azure sky. Walking outside felt like approaching a blazing furnace.
The scorching heat made his skin feel tight.
The weak chirping of cicadas drifted intermittently from the trees in a distant greenbelt.
When he reached the roadside, he found that his electric scooter, which had been parked in the shade, was now fully exposed as the sun moved west. The black seat was searing hot.
Seeing this, Hu Qi twisted open the cap of his mineral water bottle and poured some on the seat. The water sizzled and evaporated in an instant.
At least it cooled down a bit.
Hu Qi then got on the electric scooter and sped off toward home.
He had spent dozens more yuan today.
Looking at the delivery box on his scooter, an idea popped into Hu Qi's head. 'Am I really going to become a food delivery driver?'
'But if I do that, my plan to learn the Fighting Technique will probably have to be postponed.'
After what he had learned over the past few days, Hu Qi's perspective had started to change.
In this world, it seemed that fighting was highly revered, even to the point of being included in national competitions.
As long as one's skill reached a certain level and they obtained certification, they could earn a monthly salary ranging from tens of thousands to over a hundred thousand.
Some top fighters could even earn prize money in the hundreds of thousands from a single match.
You could say that the speed at which you earned money was directly tied to your strength.
In other words, the stronger you were, the faster you could make money.
Although Hu Qi didn't know why the Xia Federation operated this way, it didn't stop him from making it his goal.
He could, of course, find a job, earn some money, and then use his Modification Points to improve his Culinary Skill. In the future, he might even build up a considerable family fortune.
But that wasn't what his heart truly desired.
Working a dead-end job was something he had no choice about before.
But now, with the Crimson Modifier in hand, he yearned for a different way of life.
Therefore, working for someone else was absolutely out of the question. He would never work a job like that again in this lifetime.
'If it really comes to it, I could write down the lyrics to those few songs I remember and see if I can sell them for some money… or maybe I could borrow some from the original owner's aunt…'
Just as Hu Qi was pondering his grand plan to get money, the traffic light at the intersection ahead turned red.
He squeezed the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road to wait.
At that moment, a young man with a gray messenger bag slung over his shoulder walked past on his right, head down, staring at his phone.
"Hey, have you heard? Paper Crane Pay is now Paper Crane Services! I got a credit limit of 80,000, go check yours!"
The sound of the ad, faintly audible from the phone, was very cheerful.
However, it was accompanied by the man's low curses as he walked away.
"What a stupid ad. They sound so happy, as if you don't have to pay back what you borrow. Hilarious!"
Witnessing this, Hu Qi's expression flickered as he fell into thought.
'That's right, why didn't I think of that?'
'If I don't have money, I can just borrow it, right?'
The Paper Crane app was one of the top social media applications in the Xia Federation, and the original owner of his body had an account.
At this thought, he immediately twisted the throttle and sped up.
It wasn't long before he arrived back home.
...
"Dear user, your savings card account ending in 5969 was approved by UnionPay at 4:26 AM on July 12. Your current credit limit is thirty thousand yuan. The repayment date is next month..."
Inside the rented room, the cold air from the air conditioner carried a white mist, bringing a deeply refreshing coolness.
On the bed, a smile spread across Hu Qi's face as he looked at the message confirming his newly approved credit line.
'Not bad. With these thirty thousand yuan, I can solve my most pressing problems.'
'As for repaying it next month… I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. What's the rush?'
'As long as I can increase my strength.'
'By then, getting a professional certificate and paying back this little bit of money will be a piece of cake.'
Thinking of this, he immediately got up, moved to the center of the room, cleared the clutter to one side, then stripped off his shirt, leaving his upper body bare.
With a thought, he summoned the panel.
His gaze fell upon [Mixed Martial Arts].
Instantly, information and images from Chen Wu's previous explanations flooded his mind.
This was a sort of hidden function of the Modifier.
It could record basic information about a Skill, allowing one to master it without having to practice.
However, this method was still far inferior to being taught by someone, as it might not allow for effective observation of certain movements.
Immediately, he raised his arms and assumed the starting stance for the first form of Mixed Martial Arts: Cannon Fist!
Time passed.
The golden crow sank in the west, and the afterglow of dusk slanted through the gap in the curtains, dyeing the room in its twilight hues.
HUFF...
Hu Qi gasped for breath, grabbing a tissue to wipe his face.
He was drenched in sweat, his black shorts clinging to his body. A sore, aching pain spread through him, a result of practicing Mixed Martial Arts for too long.
After he stopped, the Nourishing Essence Breathing Technique began to operate automatically. It felt as if every breath expelled the waste gases from his body, allowing him to absorb fresh oxygen from the air.
Hu Qi could clearly feel the fatigue in his body lessening.
He then began to knead his muscles, a method that could accelerate the recovery of his sore limbs.
Coupled with the Breathing Method, the two effects complemented each other.
A few minutes later, the feeling of fatigue and soreness in Hu Qi's body had completely vanished.
After a quick rinse, Hu Qi lay on his bed and ordered some takeout.
Practicing fighting consumed a huge amount of stamina, so naturally, he had to eat well.
Otherwise, if he kept this up for a long time, his body wouldn't be able to take it. He would inevitably suffer from a deficit of Qi and Blood, which would defeat the whole purpose.
While waiting for his food to arrive, Hu Qi picked up the clothes he had changed out of, preparing to wash them.
DING-DONG!
Suddenly, the phone he had placed to the side vibrated. The screen lit up automatically, and a message popped up.
Seeing this, Hu Qi shook the water from his hands and reached out to open it.
"...A wild beast is suspected to have escaped into the city, causing multiple injuries. A city-wide search has now begun.
During this time, citizens are advised to avoid going out at night and to travel in groups whenever possible to avoid any unforeseen danger.
If you have any leads, please call the police..."
Looking at the sender of the text, it was clearly some kind of official mass message.
'A wild beast?'
Hu Qi's expression flickered as he recalled the woman he had seen before being discharged from the hospital yesterday, the one who had lost a leg.