Unlike before, this power wasn't a gentle, warm current. It was a raging river, violently scouring through every one of Li Wei's blood vessels and nerves.
This immense power struck his chest like a sledgehammer, creating a powerful resonance.
The sudden surge of energy made him dizzy. His heart pounded in his chest, each beat delivering more oxygen than ever before.
A few seconds later, the dizziness slowly faded, replaced by a feeling of complete sublimation.
He tried clenching his fists.
Judging by how his clothes hadn't gotten any tighter, his physique didn't seem to have changed, but the skin on his palms felt tougher. He felt his forearm muscles; they were as taut as steel cables.
If a strength of 1.1 made him feel like a regular gym-goer with a few years of training, then 1.2 made him feel like he was starting to surpass the limits of an ordinary person.
He looked at the excavator next to him. He now felt like he could jump onto its tracks, which were over a meter high, in a single leap.
He then turned his attention to his newly acquired skill, [Berserk].
[Berserk: Upon activation, Strength, Constitution, and Agility checks are doubled for 30 seconds. No side effects.]
[Uses: 1/day]
Though he hadn't activated it yet, Li Wei had a feeling that once he did, he could even bend the thin steel rebar by his feet.
"Attendant! What are you daydreaming about!"
Don Quixote's voice pulled Li Wei back to reality. The Knight, having just "slain a dragon," was waving the construction manual, soaking wet and looking ecstatic.
"Look! The exact location of the Witch Castle is recorded in here..." He held the manual upside down with his eyes squeezed shut, then flipped it right side up to look again. "Although the runic script is a bit difficult to understand, have faith in this Knight. Give me a little time, and I will decipher it."
"Of course, Lord Knight," Li Wei said, stretching his neck. "We should head back. Tonight's spoils have been plentiful enough."
But they had only taken two steps when the beam of a flashlight hit them.
"W-who... who's there!"
A quavering voice, on the verge of tears, drifted out.
But Li Wei recognized the owner of the voice and called out, "It's me, Mr. Wang Qiang. I'm Li Wei."
"Li... Wei, you're the young man who got ripped off by that crooked merchant!"
The flashlight clicked off. Wang Qiang—the man Li Wei had met at Leon's recycling shop, who had brought his whole family to the United States of America—emerged from behind a stack of bricks.
Li Wei couldn't be bothered to explain the situation and instead looked at Wang Qiang curiously.
"Mr. Wang Qiang, what are you doing here?"
Hearing Li Wei's question, Wang Qiang's face flushed, and he waved his hands dismissively. "I... I get restless at home, so I came out to find something to do to pass the time."
But Li Wei could tell from his reflective vest that he, like Don Quixote, also worked at the construction site. It was just that one probably hauled bricks during the day while the other worked the night shift, which was why they had never met.
"Is this your uncle?" Wang Qiang asked, pointing at the armored Don Quixote. "What are you two doing on the construction site at night?"
Before Don Quixote could berate the commoner for daring to point at him, Li Wei quickly pulled him back and explained, "My uncle also works at the site during the day. He was just looking for a quiet place to rehearse for a play tonight."
"That explains it," Wang Qiang said, slapping his forehead and forcing a smile. "You gave me a scare. I thought I heard something about dragons and knights, but my English isn't very good, so I figured I must have misheard."
"Don't worry," Li Wei said, taking the manual from Don Quixote's hand and showing it to Wang Qiang. "We were just looking for a place to practice. We'll leave right away."
Wang Qiang hesitated for a moment, then finally took a step back. "Don't come here again. If the foreman finds out, I'll get my pay docked."
"I understand," Li Wei said, pulling a 20 USD bill from his pocket and pressing it into Wang Qiang's hand. "This was our fault. It won't happen again. We'll find somewhere else next time so we don't cause you any trouble."
His handling of the situation left Wang Qiang speechless. He opened his mouth but said nothing, simply watching as Li Wei and Don Quixote walked away.
Looking at the money Li Wei had pressed into his hand and thinking about how he handled things, Wang Qiang was reminded of his own son, Wang Haoran. They were both seventeen, yet Li Wei was already out in the world, taking care of business, while his own son was timid and withdrawn, constantly complaining about not wanting to go to school. 'If he could have gotten into a good university back home, why would we have gone through the trouble of bringing him to the United States of America to study?'
The more Wang Qiang thought about it, the angrier he got. He resolved to go home that weekend and give his son a good tongue-lashing to blow off some steam.
Li Wei felt a pang of regret for spending another 20 USD. He had originally intended to just give a token 10 USD, but he realized he'd pulled out the wrong bill and had to just go with it, stuffing it into Wang Qiang's hand.
The taxi ride back was even more expensive because it was later, costing a full 117 USD.
If Li Wei hadn't gained 0.3 attribute points and a new skill, he would've really felt like the trip had been a net loss.
Early the next morning, Don Quixote was puzzled about why his armor was suddenly covered in mud and dust, but Li Wei calmly explained that he'd seen it get dirty three days ago, or maybe even earlier.
In the end, a skeptical Don Quixote went off to his construction job early.
Seeing his daughter again yesterday afternoon seemed to have restored some of his humanity; he was even humming a little tune as he left today.
Li Wei, meanwhile, went back to the gym early. Luckily, Michael wasn't there this time. Otherwise, he would have undoubtedly started wailing in distress, accusing Li Wei of being on steroids or secretly using the Power of the Nine Dragons behind his back.
By the time he left the gym to head to his part-time job in the Upper East Side, he had figured out that his strength gains seemed to follow a fixed ratio.
In terms of numbers, every 0.1 increase in strength allowed him to push and lift an additional 20 to 40 kilograms.
"Wait," he muttered to himself. 'If my strength reaches 5, or even 10, does that mean I could actually flip a car with my bare hands?'
When he got out of the subway and arrived in front of Lady Delores's boutique, he found seven or eight people standing around, chattering about a large crate.
"What's going on?" Li Wei asked, walking over and greeting his colleague, Emma. "What's the situation? Why is everyone gathered here?"
"It's an art piece Lady Delores bought," Emma said, pointing to the wooden crate by the door. "But four people get in each other's way trying to lift it, and one person can't move it at all. We're waiting for a specialized moving company to come get it."
"But isn't the shop about to open?" Li Wei asked, looking at the not-so-large crate. "It's not good to have it blocking the entrance."
"Nothing we can do about it," Emma said with a shrug. "We'll just have to wait."
Just then, another dialogue box popped up in Li Wei's vision:
[New Quest: Helping Others is a Knightly Virtue]
[In a Noble Courtyard, a noblewoman seems to have run into a bit of trouble. As a Knight, you should step forward and offer your help without hesitation.]
[Quest Reward: Free Attribute Points +0.1]