005: Marching Two Kilometers with a Heavy Load!

On this trip to the vegetable market, he bought quite a lot—meat, eggs, vegetables, as well as ready-made food, dried goods, and seafood. With both hands, he lugged over twenty pounds, packed into a large bag he got from a stall. It should last him five or six days.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have his own car. Otherwise, Chen Jue would have headed straight back to the old family house in Chen Village.

“Should I walk back again?” He glanced at his phone. It was not yet nine o’clock after shopping; the sun had only just begun to peek over the mountain.

The six or seven kilometers of walking that morning had yielded another 0.01 increase in his free attribute points, and more importantly, his agility, which had been at 0.75, rose by 0.01 to 0.76.

Double the joy!

“I heard that those Taoist monks training at Wudang get up before dawn every day to run all over the mountains, practicing light footwork as they go. I wonder if my power-walking counts as training?” Chen Jue mused.

It was a pity that the boxing teachings didn’t include any legwork or light foot techniques; otherwise, he might have gained even more attributes from this morning alone.

“Though after a long walk, my thighs are feeling a bit weak,” he thought. “My physical fitness hasn’t caught up yet. I practiced boxing last night and haven’t fully recovered.”

He shook out his arms, kicked his legs, and the soreness from waking up still lingered.

But he didn’t want to spend money on a minibus, so his gaze turned to his free attribute points.

“From last night to now, I’ve accumulated 0.08 points; let’s put them all into stamina!” He manipulated the attribute panel, and soon, his stamina, which had been at 1.06, jumped to 1.14.

A rush of heat swept through his body, easing the soreness in his muscles.

This was an increase equivalent to 8% of a standard adult’s stamina—how could Chen Jue not be thrilled!

Feeling his strength return, he hefted the heavy bag and strode quickly along the main road.

He planned to return to Chen Village early, since it was still late summer. Though the temperature wasn’t as high as the previous forty degrees, by ten o’clock it would near thirty degrees. The seafood and meat in his bag wouldn’t last long in this heat; they would spoil easily.

Having spent more than three hundred on food, Chen Jue quickened his pace.

However, he had only recently gained access to the attribute panel, and most of his body’s functions still lagged behind those of a standard adult. After nearly two kilometers of brisk walking, he was panting heavily, his hands aching.

For most modern people, carrying over twenty pounds for a hundred meters is manageable. Stretch that distance to two kilometers, and it feels like an out-of-body experience. He switched the bag from hand to hand, sometimes slinging it over his back, sweating profusely, even his glasses fogged and beaded with sweat—utter misery!

At that moment, Chen Jue wished he could find a refrigerator to stash the bag and then lie down somewhere.

But this was the countryside—bare roadsides, nothing but shade trees and dust, nowhere to rest!

Fortunately, fate intervened. After standing by the roadside to catch his breath, a long-awaited minibus slowly approached from behind.

“Hey, young man, want a ride?” The window rolled down—it was the same old man from yesterday, the one who picked up passengers at the town’s bus stop.

“To... to Chen Village...” Chen Jue, barely able to breathe, opened the door and climbed in.

He’d previously thought riding the minibus wasn’t good for training, but the moment he sat down, his pores seemed to open wide.

He stretched his legs, set down the bag, and felt utterly comfortable.

Indeed, no one escapes the law of true fragrance!

The seven-seat minibus rumbled along, and as Chen Jue watched out the window, he checked his attribute panel.

Having walked two kilometers with a twenty-pound load, his agility and strength each gained another 0.01, marked with upward arrows.

Moreover, the intense walk had earned him another 0.01 free attribute point, which he immediately added to stamina, bringing it to 1.15.

“My body is really too frail!”

“In college, I could run and jump; even a mini-marathon wasn’t this exhausting... Working life really saps you. After years on the job, my fitness has deteriorated so much.” Chen Jue sighed inwardly.

During those years, it was all overtime and socializing, with no energy left for exercise. Add in frequent late nights, excessive hair loss, and a vicious cycle lasting years—it was a miracle he hadn’t ended up in the ICU.

“Luckily, I awakened this attribute panel!”

“Otherwise, all the money I earn would go straight to the hospital.” With that thought, the minibus reached the entrance to Chen Village.

Five kilometers of mountain road—if Chen Jue had to walk it with a twenty-pound bag, it would take hours.

He’d managed to walk quickly from Chen Village to Panlong Town in the morning because it was downhill and easier.

It’s always easier going down than up!

Even with attribute points added to stamina, recovery was slow, so he shelved the idea of walking back home for now.

Once his attributes improved further, he’d try the twelve-kilometer round-trip to buy groceries again and maybe succeed.

For now, Chen Jue was in no position to compete with a car.

Five kilometers of mountain road meant just a few minutes with a bit of gas for a vehicle.

The old driver clearly had spent a long time in the area, shifting gears with skill, a veritable mountain racing legend.

Upon arrival at Chen Village, Chen Jue paid the five yuan fare and dragged his weary body home.

He packed the seafood and meat into the refrigerator to keep fresh, froze the dried goods, and soaked the vegetables in a basin to remove pesticides, ready to wash before eating.

Checking the time, it was already past ten o’clock. He collapsed for a while, regained some strength, and then went to rinse rice and set the rice cooker.

“Twelve kilometers round trip, up at six, and barely managed half. Looks like I’ll have to focus on boxing training!”

He started cooking lunch early. Feeling sticky all over, he went for a hot shower.

The heat helped his pores open and blood circulate, easing fatigue and refreshing him.

After his shower, he sat and scrolled on his phone, checked trending news, and finding his strength returned, he opened the attribute panel once more:

Player: Chen Jue
Age: 27
Strength: 0.85
Agility: 0.77
Intelligence: 1.22
Stamina: 1.15
Skills: [Boat Boxing Lv0 (56/100)]
Available free attribute points: 0.00

“Four attribute points earned this morning! At least it wasn’t in vain!”

Seeing a slight improvement in all stats, especially stamina, which had increased by 0.08 overnight, Chen Jue was delighted.

Though he had spent all the free points accumulated yesterday, the feeling of his physical fitness improving was intoxicating.

“Reading ten thousand books is no match for walking ten thousand miles! Tomorrow, I’ll power-walk again and see if I can grind out more attributes.”

With this in mind, Chen Jue dragged his slightly aching body into the kitchen to cook.