Power Upgrade

By the time he arrived at Dolores's boutique, it was already 9 a.m.

The mysterious Madame Dolores was not in the store. Under the guidance of another female sales assistant, Li Wei changed into that expensive Dior suit, sprayed some unknown perfume that was so expensive that he didn't care about the price, and then began his part-time job for the morning.

Mrs. Dolores seems to be a very mysterious person. This boutique, located in a prime location on Madison Avenue, doesn't seem to make money by selling clothes, at least that's what Levi thinks.

Because this was his second day working part-time, he had only seen his second customer by the time the workday ended near noon.

But after seeing this customer buy a $4000 handbag as easily as buying a bottle of Coca-Cola, Levi decided not to be so curious and to continue loafing around in the store, playing the role of a wage thief.

With an hourly wage of $20, a 2% commission and tips, and only needing to work 3 hours a day and serve one customer to earn $102 after tax, where else can you find such a good job?

If he were to bring this up with Mrs. Dolores, and she did the math and realized, "Oh right, this job doesn't make any money at all," and then just fired him, he would have nowhere to complain.

After changing his clothes, Li Wei consciously avoided stepping into those restaurants that looked expensive—he had seen signs on the street that said a sandwich or salad bowl would cost him more than $70.

First, he took the subway to Times Square for a transfer. Then, Li Wei bought a large hot dog covered in Thousand Island dressing and barbecue sauce from a hot dog truck on the street for $13, which served as his lunch.

Around 2 p.m., Li Wei returned to the basement. Seeing that Don Quixote showed no sign of returning, he thought for a moment and decided to go to the gym to see if he could trigger some new missions.

The gym was much less crowded than last time I came; only a few people, big and small, were scattered around doing their workouts.

Li Wei once again refused the white, muscular man at the front desk's offer of personal training sessions. After changing his clothes, he got on the treadmill to test how much his physique had improved.

Two days ago, when the basement was leaking, he added 0.1 attribute points to his physique. He hasn't tested the athletic ability that a physique of 1.0 represents yet.

"800 meters...900 meters...1000 meters!"

After running 1000 meters at a pace of 5 minutes and 30 seconds per kilometer, Li Wei was pleasantly surprised to find that his current physical reserves were still plentiful. Both his heart rate and the feeling of soreness were much better than when his fitness level was only 0.9.

A 1.0 physique is the standard physique for a 20-year-old adult, which meant that he ran a full 3 kilometers at the same pace before finally getting off the treadmill, panting heavily.

"Hey buddy," a voice called out, "are you going to Franklin K. Lane High School?"

Li Wei, who was enjoying free bottled water at the gym, turned around with some alertness and discovered that the person speaking was a black man about his age.

"My name is Michael," the Black man said politely, extending his hand with a hint of excitement. "I saw you at school the other day. I'm in 12th grade at Franklin University."

Li Wei looked Michael up and down, then reached out and shook his hand gently.

"Did you come with your father?" Michael asked. "Why did you want to go to high school in Franklin? I've hardly ever seen any Asians go to school there."

"Don Quixote is my cousin," Li Wei shrugged. "I came to America to seek refuge with him."

"Oh! Is that so?" Michael seemed excited about making an Asian classmate. "What are you practicing today? Let's practice together."

Looking at Michael, who was a stranger just five minutes ago, now acting all familiar, Li Wei couldn't help but feel a little wary.

He had heard many stories of young drug dealers from Don Quixote.

Simply put, there are more or less some students in American public high schools who have ties to gangs, are unofficial members of gangs, and sell drugs to students in the school.

The person in front of me is highly suspicious in both skin color and behavior.

Just as he was about to refuse, he heard the system notification sound:

[Trigger Quest: Chivalry]

Adventurer Levi, you have encountered a fellow apprentice knight of equally high moral character in the training grounds. Complete the training together to receive the quest reward.

[Quest Reward: Strength +0.1]

"This is extraordinary," Li Wei thought to himself. "The system actually rated him as having the same noble character as me."

Is this an Oreo? (Dark skin, bright heart)

With the system's endorsement, Li Wei nodded.

"Let's train together then," he said. "Today I should be working on my chest and shoulders."

Logically speaking, Li Wei's strength of 0.9 should be slightly stronger than that of Michael, a teenager who is not yet an adult.

However, in actual training, he discovered that Michael, after about a year of training experience, showed a strength level that was comparable to his own.

A bench press of 60 kg is an impressive number for a normal high school student who is still growing. If Levi hadn't added 0.1 attribute points to strength when he arrived in New York, he might not have even been able to keep up with Michael's pace.

During a break between groups, Li Wei and Michael chatted and Li Wei discovered that he was indeed the kind of decent guy among African Americans.

He doesn't touch drugs, doesn't join gangs, and is a top student in Franklin High School's AP class, which means he and Li Wei will be classmates in the future.

Although he has a younger brother who is involved in gangs and is addicted to drugs, he has always hoped to save up some money and send his brother to a drug rehabilitation center to help him break free from the gang.

According to Michael himself, he comes from the Bronx neighborhood in Brooklyn, which is one of the most chaotic and violent neighborhoods in Brooklyn.

From childhood to adulthood, at least half of his classmates and friends have been imprisoned or killed by gunfire.

"I don't want my brother to go down this path," he said solemnly after defending Li Wei. "I want to be a doctor and change my social class starting with my generation. I want to buy big houses for my parents and brother."

As they finished their three sets of barbell bench presses, a voice popped into Levi's mind:

[Quest: Knightly Spirit Completed]

[You and Michael completed a standard training session exceptionally well.]

[Quest Reward: Strength +0.1]

[Strength 0.9] - [Strength 1.0]

The strength attribute has caught up with the numerical value.

A familiar warm current burst forth along my spine once more, this time even more rapidly and explosively than when I was improving my physique.

If improving one's physique is like a trickle of water nourishing a parched riverbed, transforming one's body to give it continuous regenerative abilities, then improving one's strength is like infusing molten iron into one's muscle fibers.

Li Wei felt the soreness in his pectoral muscles and anterior deltoid muscles being quickly washed away, replaced by a more refined and concentrated strength.

"Hey, Levi, are you alright?" Michael saw Levi staring blankly at the bench press and assumed he was exhausted. "I was almost done for the last few reps too. Is that enough for today?"

Li Wei looked up, touching his slightly more muscular physique, and looked at Michael with some eagerness: "Michael, do me a favor."

He stood up, walked to the barbell rack, and said, "Add another 20 kilograms for me."

"80 kilograms?" Michael rejected Levi's suggestion. "Brother, fitness is a gradual process; you can't rush it."