: Know When to Stop

"What did you say?"

Qiao Yuan, who had already walked out of the men's restroom, stopped and turned his head in surprise: "I remember the martial arts gym fees start at tens of thousands a month, plus ten thousand for the enhancement potion. What are you after?"

If he hadn't just met the other person once, he would have thought the other person was crazy or a scammer who cut off his kidneys. Fortunately, he knew the White Crane Martial Arts School; his high school homeroom teacher had mentioned it.

Mr. Wang coughed and said, "That's right, that's the normal fee, but the competition between martial arts schools is fierce. Alas, if a martial arts school can't recruit new students for a long time, it won't even be able to pay the rent."

"I am a teacher at Baihe Martial Arts School. Although the school has been open for many years, it has never been very popular and has always fallen short of the top ten martial arts schools in Huanxi Prefecture. Therefore, the school owner would like to invite you students who have been admitted to Galaxy University to shoot a promotional video to improve our reputation."

"Actually, this is a crooked trick, I know, but there's nothing we can do. Those big martial arts schools often invite prominent Ascension Masters to give them pointers, sigh."

Qiao Yuan listened quietly. He had heard of such things before. When Yan Baobao was specially recruited by Yu Jin, several top martial arts schools in Huanxi Prefecture invited her to attend, offering very generous rewards.

But Yan Baobao is a federal public servant, so she declined all offers and showed no interest.

Looks like I'm having really good luck today.

"That sounds good, I'll go check it out tomorrow." He finally agreed.

Why spend money if you can get it for free?

Although there are only half a month left, with the addition of the sublimation potion, he can still save 1 yuan.

He's short on money right now, and while Baby needs to avoid the situation because he's an Ember member, he doesn't.

"You have my phone number. We've recruited several people like you these past few days. How about 2 PM tomorrow?" Mr. Wang said with a smile.

"Okay," Qiao Yuan nodded, then left the Meilin Department Store area and headed towards the Moon Community.

[The current account has a total of 242432 blocks.]

Today, I spent over 2600 yuan on fresh air, air filtration agents, and nutritional meals.

But I made another 3000 yuan today.

Steady progress.

In fact, if the baby gives him back 1000, it's equivalent to him making a net profit of 1400 today.

But this speed is still very slow, because there is only half a month left, and I need to earn about four thousand a day on average to upgrade my physique to level 5 as soon as possible.

After deducting the cost of the Ascension Potion, there's still 58000 left, which is enough for tuition.

Once the future timeline is activated, he'll go to the boxing gym every day to place bets, and Kuku will make money with zero cost.

It's cool to think about.

I got home at 10 p.m.

Time flies by, and it's been very fulfilling. Looking back now, this is what a normal life should be like.

I can't work a regular job, so I just wander around and earn money through my own abilities.

Click! The sound of the door opening in the entryway signaled that Yan Baobao had come home.

"Playing games without Qiao Yuan?"

The baby, who hadn't even taken off her shoes yet, called out to him impatiently, her cheeks beaming with anticipation.

Yan Baobao rarely smiles outside, but she's completely unrestrained at home.

Qiao Yuan nodded and said, "They're here."

He originally planned to practice a little longer, but then he thought that there wasn't much time, so he decided to practice tomorrow.

Yan Baobao squinted and chuckled, "Shall we play that two-player horror game today?"

Upon hearing about the horror game, Qiao Yuan subconsciously frowned and said, "Are you sure you can handle this? Don't end up hugging me while playing and then say you're cold."

"Pah! When did you say that?" Yan Baobao pouted and huffed, "Qiao Yuan, you've changed!"

"What did I do now?"

"We used to sleep together, huh? When you were little, you would cry and hug me when you were bullied."

Qiao Yuan's lips twitched. His son was spouting nonsense again. He shook his head and said, "Don't talk nonsense, okay? I didn't understand when I was little, and I didn't think things through in the heat of the moment. Besides, weren't you ostracized by the girls' clique at the orphanage back then? Things are different now, okay?"

"You're the one talking nonsense," Yan Baobao said arrogantly, "Who dares to bully me? Just arrest them."

"Come on, let me carry you!"

Seeing Yan Baobao put on the holographic helmet, Qiao Yuan was both amused and exasperated. This girl, who was usually very aloof outside, had never been very tactful at home, especially in recent years during her adolescence.

Actually, my baby has always been brave; scary games can't frighten anyone at all!

He put on the helmet, and soon all his senses were immersed in the dark game world. With the prevalence of virtual kingdoms, the boundary between games and reality is becoming increasingly blurred, like suddenly waking up from a dream.

He didn't really like it.

Qiao Yuan, now using the male student character in overalls he created in the game, turned on his flashlight and shone it around. As the light and shadow swept across, he saw a Japanese-style room, reminiscent of the Silent Hill of yesteryear.

I remember the game was about a town shrouded in fog, starting with survival at school, surrounded by all sorts of ghosts and monsters, and even a hundred ghosts walking around at night.

At this moment, the female student who was being sculpted by the baby came to the statue and kept tapping it with her fingers.

"Another hidden item?"

"Yeah, I heard you have to knock 99 times, which symbolizes growing old together and eternal love." The baby recited earnestly, "Do you know that the backstory is about a couple in a relationship where the woman is older and the man is younger? They were so loving, but it's a pity."

Qiao Yuan leaned closer to examine it: "Really?"

"It's absolutely true, this prop is the fruit of their love, and it can drive away demons."

"Oh, hurry up." Qiao Yuan gradually looked away; he had already heard the noise outside the door.

Yan Baobao knocked for a while longer and quickly obtained the hidden item: "Here we are, let's go, Qiao Yuan."

"So fast?" Qiao Yuan asked, slightly puzzled.

He didn't even check where Yan Baobao came from; it's been 99 times, after all.

"Hmm? Come here, come here! This umbrella is amazing! It's a birthday present from your older sister, Minako, to your younger brother, Kenta. Kenta carries it with him every day..."

Along the way, Yan Baobao enthusiastically introduced him to the tragic love story behind the hidden props, and he quickly got into the game. Before he knew it, it was already past midnight. Baobao, unusually, did not scream during the game, but instead seemed to care a lot about this love story.

Girls are indeed always more thoughtful.

It was already 2 a.m. when I took off the holographic helmet; time flies.

"I'm going to sleep now. I'm going to the martial arts gym during the day," Qiao Yuan briefly explained about getting something for free.

Yan Baobao nodded and said, "About that thing about beating GG? If you don't mind, then go ahead."

As she spoke, she got up and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

……

By afternoon, Qiao Yuan woke up rubbing his head. The sun had already come out and the bright, dazzling summer sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the curtains, casting a soft glow on the white bedroom walls.

My baby goes to work early every day. Back in high school, we could go out together every day, but now we can only see each other in the evening. We've become a bit lazy.

He ate something quickly and then went out.

I'd definitely go if it's a freebie worth 10,000 yuan; it would be even better if they could provide nutritious meals.

Baihe Lingneng Martial Arts School is located below the Jinxia Commercial Hotel, diagonally opposite Jianghai Boxing School. It is not large, with only two floors. A simple pear wood plaque hangs at the entrance, giving it a classic feel.

I heard my homeroom teacher mention that Master Li was once a famous philanthropist and martial artist in Huanxi Prefecture. He was skilled in ancient martial arts and was very powerful. However, he lost his wife and was betrayed by his disciple. He fell into a slump for many years, and the martial arts school also declined.

It's quite interesting that they suddenly want to spend money to improve their image. Let's wait and see.

As he walked along the aerial walkway, he could see Mr. Wang from last night standing at the entrance of the martial arts school wiping his sweat. It was indeed hot today, like being baked in an oven. The surface of the floating building reflected large areas of light, and there was dazzling brightness everywhere.

Seeing that he had arrived, Mr. Wang, who had a very high hairline, raised his hand and waved: "Qiao Yuan, over here. Have you had lunch yet?"

Mr. Wang smiled warmly and was very enthusiastic. He even showed him the wedding ring from last night: "If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would never have found this ring again. Thank you so much."

Qiao Yuan smiled but didn't say anything, and followed Mr. Wang into the martial arts school.

Inside the door was a reception desk, where a young woman was listening to music with headphones on. At that moment, she subconsciously glanced at the handsome Qiao Yuan a couple more times.

Led by Mr. Wang, he turned right, and behind the wall was the martial arts hall, which occupied about an acre of land, quite a large area.

A black arena stands in front of the indoor hall, surrounded by young martial arts practitioners, sweating and dedicating their youth to striving for advancement.

However, most of the martial arts students' eyes were fixed on the arena, where a burly young man easily defeated a girl in a white dress and smugly said, "utterly pathetic! You school beauties are completely unsuitable for a martial arts school. Filming a promotional video? Hahaha, what a joke! Why should you?"

"If you want to film a male character, you'll have to get past me first!"

The girl in the white dress gritted her teeth, her face pale, but there was nothing she could do since she was weaker than the other girl.

A long-haired boy next to him retorted, "How dare you talk such nonsense! I'll have a go at you!" With that, he jumped onto the stage and assumed the stance of the High School Martial Arts Ape God Stance.

Qiao Yuan frowned slightly, about to ask a question, when Mr. Wang spoke first: "That's the owner's son. They had a disagreement about the publicity, and he felt that his father didn't need to waste this nearly 100,000 yuan expense."

"Don't get involved, it'll be fine."

Qiao Yuan listened quietly, but his gaze fell on the burly young man. He said thoughtfully, "His fist technique is very skillful."

Mr. Wang nodded: "That's right, those are the core ancient martial arts of our White Crane Martial Arts School, the Three Forms of the Spirit Crane. Only the headmaster can teach them, and even I don't know them."

"A personal disciple," Qiao Yuan's eyes flickered.

Seeing the gym owner's son easily defeat the long-haired boy again, he suddenly became interested.

This ancient martial arts technique is indeed remarkable. I remember my homeroom teacher also knew a few moves, which are good for improving physical fitness.

It seems worthwhile to go and learn from the past. Since we're already here, we should know when to stop!