It was 4:30 in the morning. The neighborhood was silent, the streetlights stood alone, and the security guard in the lobby was dozing off at his desk.

He zipped up his windbreaker, lowered his head, and ran out of the apartment building.

Turning left after leaving the complex, there was a park two kilometers away. The area where James Carter lived used to have many old residential houses and an elementary school. When he was a child, the park was lively, with elderly people exercising and strolling in the mornings and evenings, and elementary students coming to play after school. Now, the park had been taken over by middle-aged women dancing in the square, twice a day, twisting their plump bodies to energetic music—like blooming, fat peonies.

Chapter 7: James Carter and University

The two-kilometer run, with stops and starts, left James Carter exhausted. Although he didn’t like exercising, jogging two kilometers was never a big deal for him. It was clear that the system had really drained his body during the day.

The park was utterly quiet. Lush lawns, neatly trimmed shrubs, carefully cultivated flowers, and rows of silent trees stood under the orange glow of the streetlights.

James Carter sat on a park bench, gasping for breath, sweat dripping down his cheeks. His lungs felt like old bellows: “Huff, huff, huff…”

After resting for a few minutes, he got up and jogged slowly around the park. Occasionally, cars sped by on the roadside. Exercise had never been James Carter’s strong suit. He’d had a weak stomach since childhood and would always vomit after intense activity. So, except for PE class, he basically never worked out. At school, he watched the boys dominate the basketball court, with girls cheering from the sidelines. He was actually envious, but with his body and skills, he had no right to show up on the court. If he did, he’d just be a background character or an extra. So he could only sit far away on the lawn, chewing on a blade of grass, gazing at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, pretending he didn’t like basketball and didn’t care about the girls’ cheers.

He jogged for ten minutes, then walked for five, keeping this up for an hour. He tossed his windbreaker onto the bench, and his T-shirt was soaked with sweat.

“System, system… I think I need emergency care.” James Carter collapsed on the lawn, dry heaving.

“Sorry, host, the system does not have medical functions, but you can exchange for Chinese or Western medical skills from the system.”

“You can even exchange for medical skills?”

“Yes!”

“Forget it. Without a medical license, I’ll get arrested by the police.”

“Host, you’re really thick-headed. After reading so many novels, haven’t you learned anything?”

“You mean running into an old man with a sudden illness in the park, or a little girl hit by a car on the street, or… Come on, you know that’s just in novels. If you were the patient, would you let an amateur treat you? What if you died? That’s not logical at all.”

“According to the data, many old Chinese doctors and folk healers don’t have medical licenses. In the end, it’s up to the host’s own efforts.”

“I just want to save my points for your next task.” James Carter bantered with the system while catching his breath.

At 5:30, the sky was a deep blue, the night fading, and dawn was approaching.

James Carter finally recovered, stood on the park lawn, took a deep breath, and got into position. He held his hands in front of his lower abdomen, left hand pressing down, right hand lifting up. When the distance between his hands reached its limit, he slowly brought them together, then, centering on his lower abdomen, drew a large circle with his arms, knees slightly bent.

His breathing alternated between fast and slow, matching his movements, exhaling the old and inhaling the new.

James Carter closed his eyes, emptied his mind, thought of nothing, and instinctively performed the Twelve Brocades over and over. He didn’t know how much time had passed when a warm current rose from his lower abdomen, flowing through his limbs and bones, making his whole body feel comfortable. He was immersed in this state until stirring, passionate music suddenly blared, splitting into James Carter’s mind like an axe cleaving chaos. He snapped out of the strange state to find it was already broad daylight. There were more cars outside the park, and on the small square not far away, a group of middle-aged women in exercise clothes were stepping lightly—left, right, left, right… The lead dancer even held a flashy fan in her hand.

A nearby boombox was playing the most popular upbeat folk songs.

James Carter took out his phone and saw it was already 7:30. Unknowingly, he had practiced for two hours.

He picked up his windbreaker from the lawn, slung it over his shoulder, and jogged back toward the apartment complex.

Passing a breakfast shop, he bought two bowls of soy milk, two baskets of soup dumplings, and four fried dough sticks.

He took out his keys and opened the door. Baby Carter’s room was open, and the sound of running water came from the bathroom—his sister was probably showering. James Carter set the breakfast on the table, his stomach growling with hunger. Luckily, he kept his toothbrush and towel in his room; otherwise, he’d starve to death waiting for Baby Carter to finish her shower.

James Carter ate breakfast while browsing the points store. Its inventory was massive, covering all industries and all kinds of skills. It was a real treasure trove. James Carter felt he needed to quickly get the hang of using its contents, so he wouldn’t be caught off guard when a task came up.

Just then, Baby Carter came out of the shower, wearing a bathrobe, a hair clip on her forehead, her face fair and rosy.

James Carter thought his sister would look even prettier with a bun and her bangs pulled back, but Baby Carter’s sense of style made her believe straight bangs were more attractive.