: No. 1 in America, King

Chapter 73: #1 in America, King (Seeking first subscription)

Li Wei unsurprisingly became the number one pick in 247Sports' New York tournament and successfully earned the certification of a 5-star player, which is only natural.

In fact, his ranking is much higher than that of an average 5-star player.

Monday, Franklin High School, cafeteria.

"You're absolutely awesome, buddy!" Travis's booming voice, loud enough to make the entire Franklin K. Rhine High School know, "You're now the number one high school student in the nation! Number one in the nation!"

"Keep your voice down, Travis. The cafeteria is a public place," Levi said, but he didn't intend to shut Travis up at all. "Besides, this is just a joint ranking by several organizations, so it shouldn't be taken seriously."

"Don't take it seriously?" Travis let out a bull-like pant. "Damn, man, it's not that I'm prejudiced, it's just that you Asians are all too fucking modest."

"If I were you, I'd print this screenshot out and put it on a T-shirt," he said. "Damn, this is number one in the country!"

Because his change of topic was too abrupt and too specific, Li Wei suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Fuck, Travis," Levi said, "if you dare wear this kind of short-sleeved shirt, I swear, I'll make your ass pound against the soles of my shoes."

"Speaking of which," he continued, "has anyone seen where Coach Miller went? I haven't seen him all morning."

Before anyone else could speak, a burst of energetic East Coast rap music began to play.

Coach Miller strode in, carrying a sound system with a triumphant air. He was wearing a jacket with Levi's image on it, followed by some second-team rugby players.

Everyone in the cafeteria was drawn to the scene, while Li Wei was thinking of slipping away unnoticed.

Holy crap, that's so embarrassing.

However, as soon as he stood up, Travis and Craig grabbed his legs and lifted him up, the two of them together carrying Levi on their shoulders.

"Leeway!" Coach Miller shouted. "King! King! King!"

Gradually, the other people in the cafeteria started to join in the commotion, and some of the rugby players even jumped onto the tables, stomping their feet and clapping wildly.

It took Li Wei quite a while to escape the cafeteria.

Although he had been enrolled for a month, he still hadn't adapted to life at an American high school. These people were incredibly arrogant, which made Li Wei feel somewhat uncomfortable.

He originally intended to do a small show, just to show off, and felt ashamed if the event was any bigger.

Today, the "surprise" that Coach Miller and the other members of the football team gave him clearly exceeded his threshold of smug satisfaction, and directly soared to the point of fleeing in panic.

However, just as he left the cafeteria, Li Wei bumped into the Dean of Studies at Franklin High School, knocking him to the ground.

Li Wei had a very good impression of him, not only because he had a kind face and was gentle, but more importantly because he had taken the initiative to apply for a scholarship for Li Wei.

Although Li Wei still hasn't remembered his name.

"I'm sorry, Director," Li Wei said apologetically as he pulled him up from the ground. "I didn't mean to."

"Of course, I understand, Mr. Levi," the head of teaching, who had been looking angry, immediately became all smiles upon seeing Levi. "Coach Miller has always been, well... how should I put it, a very enthusiastic person."

"Yes," Li Wei glanced into the cafeteria, clearly still shaken, "I think I still need to adjust to the... vibrant life here."

"However, we do have some good news for you, Mr. Levi," the academic director said, crossing his arms and looking at Levi with increasing satisfaction. "The Mellon Foundation has successfully passed your evaluation, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, you will receive a scholarship of approximately $3 to cover your university expenses."

"Thank you, Head of Academic Affairs," Li Wei said happily. "By the way, there's something else I'd like to discuss with you. I'm planning to enroll in nine AP courses next year, excluding Calculus and Macroeconomics..."

77

American universities allow self-study followed by exams. Recently, because Li Wei had nothing to do at home, he finished studying several other courses that interested him.

"However, this money will be deposited into your guardian's account at a rate of $5000 per month for six months," the academic director said. "Also, if you want to take the AP exams on your own, come with me, and we'll discuss it in detail."

'

After some discussion, the head of teaching agreed to Li Wei's request.

For the entire Franklin High School, Levi is now their face; the better Levi's grades are, the happier they are.

"But can you manage it all?" the head of teaching asked casually as he registered Li Wei. "You have to train, compete, attend classes, study on your own, and also find time to do community service."

What Li Wei didn't tell him was that he didn't actually need to train; he could become infinitely stronger simply by sleepwalking with Don Quixote at night.

But can I finally leave Don Quixote and go out for a stroll tonight? I've been in New York for so long, but I haven't really explored the city's nightlife much yet.

Li Wei thought of it when he got out of school in the afternoon.

Ordinary handguns can no longer harm him, and Don Quixote's sleepwalking intervals are getting longer and longer, with rest periods of ten days to half a month at a time.

He was so lazy, so lazy, it pained Li Wei to no end.

Just don't make a mistake like the one where we drank toilet water last time.

Having mastered stealth and possessing a quarter of the Silver Body, he should be fine as long as he doesn't break into gang strongholds.

The Silver Body skill is currently stuck at 1/4, and Agility only needs a few more quests to advance again.

This feeling of being stopped made his heart pound like a cat's tickle, eager to know what incredible abilities awaited him after advancing to the next level.

Li Wei thought of this while drinking a protein shake and waiting for the bus.

But just as he was about to abandon Don Quixote and go out on his own nighttime adventures, the knight Don Quixote seemed to have returned.

Tonight, Don Quixote worked late again and didn't return home until very late, but he looked radiant.

"I'm really exhausted these days. I wasn't this tired even when I was counting cows on the Argentine plains," he said, plopping down on the sofa and opening a bottle of beer. "Bought beer again... Not bad, not bad. But remember not to buy Heineken next time. I prefer Abbey."

"The price of one bottle from the monastery can buy three bottles of Heineken," Levi said. "You don't know the cost of living until you're in charge of the household."

When questioned by his nephew, who was more than twenty years younger than him, Don Quixote simply chuckled and shrugged.

"All the damaged pipes and dangerous fixtures are fixed," he stretched lazily. "Once this group of tenants' leases expire, we can reasonably raise the rent. Well, it wasn't for nothing after these two weeks of hard work. You'd never guess what I found in the sewers..."

"7

"Are there slimes too?" Levi joked. "Is New York just a giant monster jungle?"

"6

""

It seemed that the slime's words had provoked Don Quixote. He didn't even eat dinner, waved his hand, went back to his room, and fell into a deep sleep.

"What's going on?" Levi muttered to himself as he went upstairs. "There can't really be slimes underground, can there?"

Just after midnight, Li Wei, dressed in only a light shirt, nimbly went downstairs.

This was the first time he had broken away from Don Quixote and chosen to travel alone.

After October, the chill from the sea breeze on Beiling Ridge is enough to send any night runner home, but Li Wei, wearing only a single layer of clothing, didn't feel cold at all in this weather.

When Levi passed by Mr. Maurice Stanford's house again, he found that not only had bulletproof glass and cameras been installed at the front door, but the door had also been replaced.

Seeing that the light was still on, Li Wei thought for a moment and then decided to pay a visit.

The door opened, revealing Mr. Stanford's tired face.

"Oh, it's you," he smiled when he saw Li Wei. "Where's your uncle? Didn't he come on this adventure with you?"

"It's my shift today," Li Wei replied. "I've come to see if you have any security issues that I can help with."

"This man is, after all, a citizen of Don Quixote." Last time, he triggered quite a few quests with him, and Levi wanted to see if there was any more profit to be made from him.

"There are no security issues, but there are a lot of community problems," Stanford sighed. "The renovation company we had an agreement with suddenly went out of business and disappeared overnight. We can't find them."

He suddenly noticed Li Wei, who was only wearing a thin shirt, and slapped his forehead. "Look at how careless I am! Come in, kid, don't catch a cold."

Mr. Stanford's house looked much more luxurious than Don Quixote and Livy's, with all sorts of trinkets, decorations and antiques on display, so it's no wonder that it attracted thieves.

Stanford made Levi a cup of hot tea ("Thank you, but I want to sleep tonight") and then sat down to pour out his troubles to Levi.

"This is really strange," Mr. Stanford said, scratching his thinning head. "Those Italians, though a bit lazy, are usually easy to contact. In previous years, they were in charge of the community's festival celebrations and decorations. But starting two weeks ago, their company was quickly dissolved, and all the contact persons have become unreachable."

"I do know a little about the reason," Li Wei thought calmly, "but I won't say it."

"Yes," he said calmly, "it's really strange."

"Halloween is at the end of October," Stanford said, taking a big gulp of tea from the cup in front of Levi. "I'm still looking for a suitable company to do our holiday celebrations."

Ding!

This wasn't a system notification; it was a voice Li Wei created in his head.

“My uncle happens to be a senior manager at an asset management company,” he said. “Perhaps his people can do these things?”

"Your uncle got promoted again? Congratulations!" Mr. Stanford was taken aback. "I really didn't know that. I'll talk to him about it tomorrow if I have the chance. It would be best if we could finalize this as soon as possible. It would be even better if he could take over the position."

After chatting for a while, Levi bid farewell to Mr. Stanford and continued his nighttime stroll.

Unfortunately, the security in Bell Ridge is generally quite good, much safer than the occasional sirens in Sunset Park. Li Wei wandered around for a long time without triggering any new missions, and could only reluctantly head home.

"Hmm..." he muttered to himself, glancing at the map on his phone. "South of Bell Ridge is Dyker Heights... that's probably the richest neighborhood in Brooklyn, so there's unlikely to be any missions there... To the east is Sunset Park, and further east is the Bronx. South of the Bronx is where Jose used to live; the security there is definitely terrible..."

"Next time, let's look east," he said, closing his phone. "Otherwise, having to passively wait for my uncle to trigger a mission every time is just too much."

"Attention, everyone!"

Don Quixote's booming voice sounded particularly jarring in the night, immediately capturing Livy's attention.

"I've worked so hard and diligently for half a month," Li Wei said, running quickly towards the direction of the voice without stopping, "and you're released just because I didn't check on you for one day?"

When he turned a corner, he saw Don Quixote, whom he hadn't seen for half a month, once again dressed in full armor, walking back and forth with his head held high and a row of bushes in front of him.

"Very good!" he said with his eyes closed. "You all know that I was previously cursed by a wicked witch."

The sea breeze rustled the leaves, and Don Quixote nodded in satisfaction.

"Therefore!" he declared, "I have decided that, starting today, we will embark on an expedition! We will advance onward until we vanquish the witch's true form!"

"What are you doing here?" Li Wei stepped forward and stood beside him, looking at the bushes in front of them. "Are you giving a speech to your soldiers?"

"My friend, you've come," Don Quixote recognized Livy's voice and nodded. "That wretched witch has cast a vicious curse on me. Although the holy spring water has purified me, I still feel unwell."

"So starting today," he said to himself, "I will organize an army to launch an expedition against the witches in the distance. Now, let's begin the pre-battle mobilization."

He then mumbled a long string of inspiring words into the bushes, before settling down with satisfaction. He returned to his room, removed his armor, and fell into a deep sleep once more.

Li Wei lay in bed, continuing to study Google Maps, pondering where to explore next.

"I've been to the bus stop...and explored the area around Sunset Park..." He carefully examined New York's transportation network. "It seems I haven't really triggered any subway lines yet."

Just as Li Wei was closing his phone to go to sleep, his phone screen lit up again, and a message came from someone whose profile picture was a solid black block.

Li Wei certainly knew who was behind that portrait.

News of Anya?

'