This is heresy! This is the devil!

"Child..." Don Quixote turned around, "Could you... wait at the door for a moment?"

Li Wei was taken aback. Then, after seeing the way José looked at Don Quixote, he nodded without saying anything and walked out, leaving the door slightly ajar.

Even though he was standing at the door, he could still hear the sounds coming from inside the room.

José's cultural knowledge was limited, and his speech was fragmented, so it took Li Wei quite a while to piece together the gist of the story.

After Don Quixote left, José continued working on the construction site.

However, because he consciously saved and was frugal in preparation for his wife's childbirth, his fellow workers inadvertently learned about his money-saving efforts.

We have no savings, we can't save any money, so how come you are the only one with savings? What if you manage to escape poverty? You deserve to die.

Then came a masked robbery, then borrowing $400 from Leto to pay for his wife's medical check-up, then working three jobs to support his family and pay back the money, then needing to buy some strange "energizers" from Leto to keep himself energized, and that's how he ended up in this predicament. And Leto is planning to raise the price of the "energizers" even higher recently.

A few minutes later, Don Quixote came out.

"Let's go, José has already agreed," he said. "I'll come back again tomorrow morning before I go to the airport, when no one is watching me, to bring José something."

"Count me in," Levi said. "I'll pay... $72."

Don Quixote nodded, and the two of them left the South Bronx before sunset.

...

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, before 5 a.m., Li Wei heard Don Quixote leaving the house.

Today is Saturday. He's going to Delaware with Susan and probably won't be back until Monday.

After washing up, Li Wei went to the boutique to continue his part-time job. Today, he planned to steal his entire day's wages.

However, when they arrived at the store, they found out that it was only open for one morning.

"Oh right, I forgot you're not a full-time employee," Emma said, slapping her forehead in annoyance. "Well... we all have things to do this afternoon."

"What's up?"

Li Wei immediately became alert. Could they really be the Russian mafia, planning to attack the Italians that night?

"Of course," Emma said excitedly, "There's a charity gala tonight that we're hosting in conjunction with LV and Christie's charity department. I might even meet some rich divorced tycoons or something."

"Hey, why do you look so disappointed?" She looked at Li Wei. "Do you want to go? I'll show you around."

"I......"

Li Weigang tried to decline, saying he had something to do that night, such as taking care of his mentally unstable, leftover old man uncle.

But then he suddenly remembered that Don Quixote had gone to Delaware with Susan that weekend, and the excuse stuck in his throat.

"You're shy, aren't you?" Emma said with a grin, pulling him into a hug. "It's alright. You'll be with your sister this afternoon, and Mrs. Dolores won't say anything."

In the afternoon, Li Wei didn't get to enjoy the pleasure of being a pay thief. Instead, Emma pulled him into the fitting room and pulled out a tuxedo from the storeroom.

"I can wear that suit," Levi said. "I'm just coming in with you to eat and drink for free, there's no need for me to wear a formal suit, is there?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Wearing a regular suit to a dinner party of this caliber is very impolite. You don't want to be mistaken for a waiter, do you?" Emma said as she pulled off his shirt and put on a pleated dress shirt. "But I must say, you have a great figure."

"That's all I'm saying," Li Wei said, "but please don't do anything."

After changing his clothes, Li Wei got into Emma's Mercedes and drove from the Upper East Side to the St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan, entering the banquet hall through the staff entrance on the side door.

At 7 p.m., before the banquet had even started, the porch was bustling with people, as a pre-ban cocktail party was underway.

"Alright," Emma patted Levi on the shoulder, "that's enough for now. I'm going to find some fun. You can stay here, eat and drink, and broaden your horizons—but don't go too far, or you might get kicked out or kidnapped."

She was clearly a regular at these kinds of events, and disappeared into the crowd in the blink of an eye.

Li Wei glanced around and noticed that most of the people who came were much older than him, mainly between 40 and 50 years old, and there were virtually no Asian faces among them.

He also saw some faces he had seen on the big screen before, probably Hollywood stars or something.

Li Wei wasn't particularly sociable. After wandering around the banquet hall and eating some food (and being refused champagne by the waiter because he looked too young), he found a seemingly empty balcony to play on his phone out of boredom.

Standing atop a high-rise in Manhattan, as night fell, the people and cars passing by on the ground floor looked like a dense swarm of ants. Li Wei suddenly understood why domineering CEOs in TV dramas always liked to live in high-rise buildings; standing in front of floor-to-ceiling windows gave them a feeling of looking down on all living beings.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, a pretty girl who was about his age or looked a little younger came onto the balcony while wearing headphones and talking on the phone.

She was extremely beautiful, but her temperament was extremely sharp. Her skin was very white, but not the dry and rough white of common white people. Instead, it was a white with a porcelain-like smoothness.

She had short, ear-length hair, the thick, jet-black strands of which contrasted sharply with her snow-white skin.

She was speaking on the phone in Russian while holding a glass of champagne.

"Dad, I really don't want to go to any homecoming dance. I really don't have anything to talk about with those boys," she complained, taking a sip of her champagne. "...This champagne is as weak as water...Can you believe that when they found out I came from Moscow, the way they tried to start a conversation with me was about the differences in writing styles between Dostoevsky and Tolstoy? What a bunch of sissies."

"...I know, I know, I know," she retorted impatiently, as if she had been lectured on the other end of the phone. "Do you know what's even more ridiculous? Last semester, a boy in my class liked me and confessed to me. I told him I only liked girls. Then, when he came back to school, he announced that he was taking birth control pills and that he was now a girl...right? Isn't that outrageous? These Americans are all a bit off their minds."

"I know I shouldn't have beaten him so badly he ended up in the hospital..." the girl continued, frowning, "but do you know what he did? He tried to come into the women's restroom with me."

When Li Wei heard this, he almost couldn't help but laugh. He quickly coughed twice to maintain his composure.

"No... there's no need to send two more Alpha Squad bodyguards. New York is still very safe," she said, turning back to give Levi a strange look. "I'm doing very well here, don't worry. Aunt Tatiana has been taking good care of me... umm, I know, I'll get along well with them."

She pinched both sides of the earpiece, hung up the phone, turned to look at Li Wei, scrutinized him from head to toe, and her displeasure eased slightly.

"Do you understand?" she asked in Russian. "You don't look Russian."

Li Wei nodded. "I understand some of it," he said.

In fact, he could already gossip with Emma in Russian a week ago. He wouldn't say it was at a native speaker level, but I heard he had no problem speaking it.

Upon learning that Li Wei could actually understand, the girl blushed slightly.

She scrutinized Li Wei carefully, then suddenly spoke:

"Are you an internet celebrity? You look kind of familiar?"

"Uh... I'm a high school football player, if that's what you're going to say," Levi paused, "you might have seen my videos before."

"Ah, I knew it!" the girl said, pulling out her phone and examining it closely. "I saw your profile picture. You're from Franklin High School, right?"

She looked at the video carefully. Li Wei glanced at it and saw that it was the same video that Arthur Vins had watched; it was a video of him jumping over people.

"Hmm..." She looked at it again, then turned to look at Li Wei, "You're a rugby player? You must be very physically strong, right?"

"It's alright, it's alright," Li Wei said modestly.

"You speak Russian very well," she said, raising her champagne glass. "A toast to you."

After saying that, she frowned and looked at Li Wei's empty hands. "You can't drink?"

"Uh... I was about to ask you that," Levi pointed to the champagne in her hand, "how did you get the drink from the waiter when you're under 21?"

"You mean this?" she said with a grin. "Watch closely."

Under Li Wei's watchful gaze, she walked domineeringly to the waiter, took two glasses of champagne from his hand, and handed one to Li Wei.

"I brought it directly," she said, beaming. "If you don't like it, then sue me. Remember to send the bill to Moscow."

After saying that, she clinked glasses with Li Wei.

"A strange country, isn't it?" She took a sip of champagne. "No drinking under 21, no drug use under 21."

Perhaps because she met peers who could speak her native dialect in a foreign land, she seemed unusually talkative.

"And they also allow homosexuality and support transgenderism," Levi shrugged, "and you can even set your own gender."

"That's right!" the girl laughed. "If this happened in Moscow, he would be arrested by the police the next day."

Her smile wasn't elegant at all, but she was much prettier than those stereotypical noblewomen.

Just as the two continued chatting, the glass door to the balcony was suddenly pushed open, and a figure walked in.

He/She looks like someone who is considered a biological male in the social sense, but wears female makeup.

"Anya, I think we need to talk," he said. "Why have you been avoiding me?"

"Please, Alex," Anya sighed, "I really don't want to break three more of your ribs."

“Oh, my dear Anya,” Alex said, “I didn’t bother you today; we just bumped into each other. And you attacked me for no reason in this setting, attacked a transgender person. Do you think this will cause trouble for you and your father?”

Another dialog box popped up in Li Wei's eyes:

[You've encountered 'heresy' for the first time]

You have received a mission: to exorcise the heretic possessed by a demon.

[Heretical! A man! Yet he claims to be a woman! He wears women's clothes and uses women's jewelry! This is heresy! This is the devil! Cast him out! Or purify him!]

Drive him away, make him leave this place, or drive the devil out of him.

[Task Reward: Maximum Attribute +0.1]

Anya frowned after hearing Alex's words and prepared to leave.

"Wait! Anya," Alex rushed forward, "I really like you. Will leaving solve the problem? I will follow you."

"You really disgust me," Anya stopped and sighed. "Honestly, I don't like sissies like you."

"Oh? I'm a sissy?" Alex sneered, looking at Levi. "So you like guys like this—big, dumb oafs?"

He originally wanted to say that Li Wei was ugly, but after seeing Li Wei's face, his lips trembled for a long time and he still couldn't say the word.

I simply can't fool myself.

“He’s way better than you, Alex,” Anya scoffed. “He’s a football player, a quarterback.”

"Is this related to me too?" Li Wei asked in surprise. "How does this have anything to do with me?"

"You're certainly big and burly, but what good is size these days?" Alex sneered. "And what good is strength?"

"He can easily break your bones and then kick you around like a ball," Anya sneered. "Unlike you, who gets punched to the ground by me and is crying for your mother, begging me not to hit your face."

Alex was completely red-faced and reached out to pounce on Levi—

Li Wei thought for a moment, took a step back, and took out a 25-cent coin from his pocket.

Activate [Berserk], [Strength 1.9] - [Strength 3.8].

Under immense force, the 25-cent coin slowly but irresistibly twisted and deformed between Levi's fingers.

He flicked the coin, and it landed on the stone slab at Alex's feet. It was no longer a circle, but rather a strange, almost 90-degree right-angled V-shape, with the corner even showing a dull metallic sheen due to the violent deformation.

“I have no intention of getting involved in your conflict, man—uh, buddy,” Levi said, unsure how to address him, “but if you’re going to fight me, I suggest you think it over carefully.”

Alex calmed down instantly. He picked up the coin and examined it closely, suspecting it might be a magic trick, but he wasn't sure.

He opened his mouth but didn't say anything. He threw the coin on the ground and hurriedly left the balcony, almost knocking over a waiter carrying champagne.

The balcony was quiet again.

Anya stepped forward and looked down at the coin that was bent out of shape.

"How did you do that?" She picked up the coin, squeezed it hard, and tapped the metal with her fingernail, but it didn't leave any mark. "You can do magic?"

[Mission: Dispelling the heretic possessed by the demon has been completed]

Constitution +0.1

[Constitution 2.8] - [Constitution 2.9]

Just one step away! Li Wei thought to himself with excitement. Just one step away from having his first level 3.0 physique!

I wonder what kind of changes my body will undergo after version 3.0.

Hearing Anya's question, he smiled and said, "Of course it's magic. How could a normal person bend a coin with their bare hands?"

"I don't believe it," Anya said, shaking her head. "If you say it's not magic, I'll think it is. If you say it's magic, I'll think it's real."

"Then take your time thinking about it," Li Wei said. "This charity gala is so boring, I'm thinking of leaving."

"Where do you live? Do you have a car?" Anya suddenly asked. "I'll take you home. Are you sure you want to take the subway back to Brooklyn now?"

"Don't feel bad," she added with a grin, "just consider it my way of thanking you for helping me get rid of Alex."

Bell Ridge was alright, but the New York subway at night was full of indescribable strange people or dangerous creatures. In the end, Levi got into Anya's Mercedes-Benz Brabus G800.

"By the way, let's get to know each other," Anya said. "My Russian name is Anna Sergeevna Volkova, but my friends and family call me Anya, and you can call me Anya too."

"Li Wei," Li Wei said, "is just Li Wei."

"Levi," Anna chewed the name in her mouth for a moment, "I'll remember you, Levi."

"Then how about giving me a bigger tip?" Li Wei said. "I work part-time at a boutique. Last time, I served a young lady who told me she remembered me, but I haven't received a single penny of tip from her since."

Anya let out a series of silvery laughs and stepped on the gas.

The 800-horsepower Mercedes-Benz Brabus G800 roared as it sped out of the underground parking garage.

On the way, Anya noticed that Li Wei in the passenger seat kept glancing at the rearview mirror and couldn't help but say:

"Don't be afraid, I'm an experienced driver," she said casually. "I've been driving since I was 15, and I'm very steady."

"Well, experienced driver," Li Wei pointed to the rearview mirror, "have you noticed that we've been speeding and encountered traffic police?"

"Oh no," Anya blushed, "I probably wasn't paying attention and was speeding."

"And are you over 18?" Li Wei asked. "If you're under 18, there needs to be an adult in the passenger seat when you drive."

"And you were driving under the influence," he added, "What are we going to do now?"

A female driver, driving under the influence of alcohol, and a minor—it's like having all the advantages combined.

"That's it," Anya made a face, "we can only wait for my dad's lawyer to bail us out."

The police car had its lights on, signaling Anya to pull over.

A portly policeman got off the bus, his hands still covered in donut crumbs.

He adjusted his belt, walked over to Anya's car window with his pregnant belly, and knocked on the window.

"Good evening, miss," he said, glancing at Anya and Li Wei beside her. "Please show me your driver's licenses, and sir, please show yours as well. Thank you."