Fortunately, the protective gear was very light, and even after putting it on, it didn’t weigh much. He could still jump and run, and it didn’t really affect his movements.

“Next, I just dodge your attacks?” James Carter asked.

“Yes!” Scott Miller and James Carter always conversed in English. “I’m simulating a street fight here. In a street fight, ordinary people just run around; they won’t face you head-on, making it very hard for you to hit them. In the end, it turns into a game of tag, completely different from a ring fight. Now, imagine I’m a vicious thug attacking you.”

“Alright!” James Carter nodded.

Bang!

Before he even finished speaking, he took a punch to the head.

“Ouch.” James Carter saw stars, his steps unsteady, completely losing his balance and falling to the ground. If it weren’t for the three layers of protective gear on his head, he would have been knocked out cold.

He couldn’t see at all how Scott Miller had struck; his brain and eyes just couldn’t react in time.

“So this is what a martial arts expert is like? Exactly the same as that hateful person.” Thinking this, a surge of courage welled up in James Carter’s body from who knows where, and he immediately rolled over and got up.

“Good.” Scott Miller was about to step forward to help James Carter, but didn’t expect James Carter to get up by himself. “Can you keep going?” he asked.

“Bring it on.” This time, James Carter watched Scott Miller’s movements carefully.

Scott Miller suddenly threw a punch. James Carter hurriedly dodged to the side, but didn’t expect it to be a feint—the real attack was a spinning kick, which landed on his chest and sent him flying.

James Carter hit the ground again.

The three layers of protective gear really were strong. This time, James Carter just felt a tightness in his chest, took a few deep breaths to steady himself, and observed Scott Miller’s movements again.

Just like that, James Carter kept getting knocked down and getting back up. After more than ten rounds, he summed up some experience: as long as he didn’t think about counterattacking and kept his distance from Scott Miller, running all over the place, his chances of getting hit dropped a lot.

“If it’s a street fight and the area is big, I can run far away, and it won’t be easy for the other guy to catch me. But in the ring, there’s limited space to run, so I have to be on guard against being cornered.” Gradually, James Carter started to figure out some things.

For Scott Miller, James Carter was like a moving punching bag that could run away—much more practical than just hitting a stationary bag.

Punches and kicks combined, flowing smoothly.

Gradually, Scott Miller’s training also hit its stride.

The two of them rested every five minutes and kept sparring for two hours. James Carter had no idea how many punches and kicks he’d taken, but he gained a lot from it. He felt that he was gradually no longer afraid of the attacks, unlike at the beginning when his mind went blank.

Ha!

Scott Miller threw another punch, aiming straight at James Carter’s head—a straight punch.

This punch wasn’t hard; it was just playful. After sparring for so long, he’d gotten a bit lazy, so he wasn’t putting much effort into it.

Finally, James Carter felt he could block this punch.

A flash of inspiration hit him—he remembered the posture he used when hoeing the ground and digging soil.

It was as if he was holding a hoe. Instinctively, he raised his hands, bent his waist, bent his knees, squatted down, and blocked Scott Miller’s straight punch, then followed up with a digging motion.

Both hands chopped down hard.

Smack!

That digging motion actually landed on Scott Miller’s chest.

Scott Miller was startled and instinctively stepped back, kicking out with a straight leg. He sent James Carter flying, tumbling five steps before crashing onto the ring.

Although he’d been hit, Scott Miller wasn’t hurt, because James Carter’s attack had no real force behind it.

“I actually hit you.” James Carter got up, uninjured thanks to the three layers of protective gear, and was very excited. “So this is how you use the hoeing move! I finally get it. Coach Guyang taught us how to earn money, but how to spend it, you have to figure out for yourself.”

“Not bad, not bad.” Scott Miller nodded and didn’t continue training. “Come on, let’s go back to the dorm and sleep.”

After showering, washing and hanging their clothes, they lay in bed. It wasn’t even that late—just nine o’clock—but James Carter was already exhausted, so tired he felt like he was about to die. He didn’t even have time to write his diary reflections before he collapsed into bed and fell asleep.

Loud snoring filled the room.

He slept all the way until six in the morning, waking up feeling completely refreshed.

Scott Miller was already up, practicing moves out on the playground. No one knew what he was training, but it looked a bit like the tai chi practiced by elderly people in the park—slow, flowing movements.

James Carter hurriedly brushed his teeth and washed his face, then walked out to the playground and asked Scott Miller, “What are you practicing? Tai chi? Is that stuff any good?”

Tai chi was very popular in society, and there were even many so-called “masters.” But when these “masters” faced real fighters, they were all beaten badly, sometimes even by ordinary people throwing wild punches. James Carter thought it was about the same as square dancing.