Chapter 33 - 29: Can’t Go Down a Dead-End Road

Perhaps it was because he was finally breaking free from his muddled past, on the cusp of a brand new work life.

On the way to the talent apartment, Chen Jue had a lot on his mind.

In his current situation, he could live a comfortable life in Hang City with a job that paid 20k a month.

But as he got older, continuing to burn away his youth working for someone else wasn’t a long-term solution.

Not unless the job had excellent prospects for advancement, the kind that could lead him to the executive level and a share of the profits.

But Chen Jue knew his own personality. Socially awkward and introverted, he wasn’t one to suck up to superiors. In the workplace, someone who didn’t know how to play the game had basically no hope of promotion.

As for making a living with his newly acquired Professional Level Darts Skill and earning money through competition prizes, he had to get his foot in the door first.

Chen Jue was completely unfamiliar with everything from the rules of the professional Darts industry to the process of registering for competitions.

Moreover, he had no confidence at all about whether his current strength was enough to win gold medals in a tournament, or if he could even get on stage.

After all, competitive sports were notoriously brutal.

The world of athletics had just as many unwritten rules as the corporate world; just having talent and skill didn’t guarantee you’d get to compete.

Take men’s soccer, for example. Do you believe that out of 722 million people, you can’t find 11 who know how to play?

In Chen Jue’s view, he couldn’t just abandon all his accumulated professional experience because he saw a glimmer of hope and dive headfirst into a career in Darts.

How was that any different from quitting his job to go all-in on a startup?

For a technician who worked with risk control data, he had to keep a clear head when faced with such a high risk.

He would continue working for a while and see if he could raise his Darts Skill to Lv4 or higher.

It wouldn’t be too late to make his move once he was completely confident.

...

As he was lost in thought, he arrived at Hengtong’s talent apartment.

It was a commercial-residential building next to a high-end housing complex, which Hengtong Group had converted into employee dormitories after signing a long-term lease.

It had 20 floors in total, with more than a dozen fully-furnished rooms on each floor.

The apartment was also adjacent to a park and a large shopping mall, with a commercial street right outside the door, making life very convenient.

Since he had already scouted the place out in the morning, Chen Jue borrowed a flatbed cart from the front desk and moved his luggage into the room bit by bit.

After tidying up, he saw that the environment was indeed much better than his rental in Changhe District.

The room was about 40 square meters, with a one-bedroom, one-living-room layout. It was furnished like a comfortable hotel room that costs 300 to 400 yuan a night—definitely top-tier accommodations in the eyes of a single, entry-level worker.

After making his bed and hanging up his clothes, Chen Jue took a shower and went downstairs to eat.

He had been busy moving all day. It was now past 9 p.m., and his stomach was growling loudly.

He wandered around the nearby commercial street, found a noodle shop, and ordered a bowl of Pian’er Chuan noodles. Feeling that wasn’t enough, Chen Jue also ordered fried pork ribs and a fried egg.

His activity level had increased over the past week, and with his Constitution rising to 1.00, Chen Jue found that his appetite had improved significantly.

According to Li Chaoyun, this was a normal phenomenon after exercise.

Chen Jue was still a beginner, so he could replenish his nutrients simply by eating more.

If he ever trained to the level of a beastly bodybuilder like a fitness coach, he’d probably have to start buying whey protein online.

...

Full and satisfied, Chen Jue lay down in his apartment and glanced at his attribute panel:

————

Name: Chen Jue

Strength: 0.82+

Constitution: 1.00+

Spirit: 1.08+

Skill: [Stone Skimming (Perfection)], [Darts Lv4 (12/5000)+], [Tai Chi Twelve Forms Lv1 (85/200)+]

Assignable Free Attribute Points: 0.01

(Character Evaluation: An office worker who has had a sudden awakening. Although your body is no longer in a sub-healthy state, some hidden issues remain. It is recommended to seek targeted treatment and not hide your illness for fear of treatment, lest a minor issue develop into a major one.)

——————

’Constitution and Spirit are both over 1.00.’

’Next is to build up my Strength.’

’I wonder if the evaluation will change after all three main Attributes reach 1,’ Chen Jue thought to himself.

As for the panel’s reminder to see a doctor, Chen Jue planned to find a large hospital nearby tomorrow.

He still had a few days before work started anyway. He might as well give himself a short vacation to adjust.

He opened his phone and scrolled through his Friends Circle, first liking a family photo posted by that dork Jiang Zhe.

Then he went on Douyin and Bilibili to watch short videos about Darts, fitness, and the like.

Since Lin Ling had mentioned "fancy darts" in the afternoon, Chen Jue focused on watching videos of high-difficulty dart techniques.

The panel had already issued a restriction reminder: ordinary dart practice would no longer increase his Attributes.

But the internet was truly a treasure trove of everything.

Especially with big data recommendation algorithms, the videos that popped up were all things he liked to watch.

From Flying Knives and daggers to strange everyday objects like flying nails.

With the popularization of short videos in recent years, all sorts of folk masters had attracted tens of thousands of fans by showcasing their skills in just a few seconds.

As for their online shops, they were all filled with promotional products with "999+" sales.

These uploaders and short-video influencers were already making a fortune just from advertising commissions.

Chen Jue watched for a while and felt that he could probably give it a try himself.

He didn’t necessarily have to show his face to make videos. He could set up his phone, wear a mask, film only his back, or even just keep his face out of the shot while demonstrating his Darts and Stone Skimming skills.

’Bilibili and Douyin both have creator incentive programs right now.’

’Once the view count goes up, the income will be pretty good too.’

’It could actually work as a side hustle!’

Once this idea took root, Chen Jue no longer felt like sleeping.

On a whim, he went on Taobao and bought a phone tripod, then ordered two large power banks.

Feeling that showing his face would make it easy to be recognized by acquaintances and lead to social death, he searched for masks and chose a resin-made, demonic Face Armor worn by generals on ancient battlefields.

It was full of character, absolutely unforgettable at a single glance!

It also saved him the trouble of having to mosaic his face in post-production.

Of course, to select performance material for his videos, Chen Jue also specially ordered the clay Petal Water-Drifting Stones—500 of them for a bulk discount.

He then tried to buy some Flying Knives, but a warning page popped up.

"Explicitly prohibited?"

"So it’s a banned item!"

Chen Jue’s hand trembled, and he quickly canceled the search, searching for Martial Arts Darts instead.

This time, he got results.

He asked the seller and confirmed that the products were unsharpened metal darts and weren’t restricted. He then purchased a set of the best-selling Short Sword Darts.

Made of stainless steel, they were essentially reusable as long as he didn’t throw them into water.

As for the accounts for making videos, Chen Jue already had them.

He was a level 6 veteran user on Bilibili who had been lurking for over 10 years. His profile was completely empty, with only some reposts for prize draws.

He cleared his feed, subscribed to a premium membership, and changed his name: Brother of Special Skills.

He used the same name on Douyin. The name, "Jue Huo Ge," was a pun on his own name, Chen Jue, making it catchy and easy to remember.

These days, if you didn’t have a special skill, it was really hard to attract attention on these video sites.

Of course, these initial preparations were all small expenses, totaling less than a thousand yuan.

If he wanted to produce good-looking videos without that small investment, his only option was to go back to the park and pick up rocks.

...

Having moved to a new, more comfortable environment and free from the dampness of the first-floor apartment in Changhe District, Chen Jue’s sleep quality steadily improved that night.

Although it didn’t trigger another Deep Sleep, Chen Jue woke up the next day feeling full of spirit, energetic, and exceptionally vibrant.

He glanced at his phone. It was only 6:30 a.m.

"I’m really waking up earlier and earlier!" Chen Jue couldn’t help but sigh.

He decided to go to the nearby park to practice Tai Chi Twelve Forms.

He changed into his sportswear and jogged out of the Talent Mansion.

By the time he arrived at the park, quite a few morning exercisers had already gathered.

There were people running, cycling, playing ping-pong, doing street fitness on the horizontal bars, and even cracking whips to spin tops. In short, it was a lively scene with a wide variety of activities.

Compared to the park near his old place in Changhe District, the atmosphere for exercise here was much better.

He looked around and found a group practicing Tai Chi.

It was a gem of Chinese culture; you could find fellow enthusiasts pretty much anywhere.

This time, however, Chen Jue couldn’t join in, because the leader, a middle-aged man with a full head of black hair and a ruddy complexion, was clearly teaching a class.

They were all wearing uniform training clothes, and the Tai Chi they were practicing was not the simplified Twelve Forms.

He had no choice but to find an empty spot and practice on his own.

During this time, no passing master or old grandpa appeared to give Chen Jue a few pointers. That kind of thing only happened in web novels; it was an old, tired trope meant to fool people.

In reality, where would you find so many random masters!

In any case, he practiced alone for over an hour until he was sweating and his whole body felt comfortable. Just then, a notification appeared on the panel:

——————

[DING~]

[Skill Level has reached 100%. Skill Level increased.]

[Tai Chi Twelve Forms Lv2 (200/200) → Lv3 (1/2000)]

[After a period of hard work, you have become very familiar with the movements of the Tai Chi Twelve Forms. It is now almost impossible for you to make a mistake.]

——————

[DING~]

[You have completed a qualifying aerobic exercise.]

[Free Attribute Points +0.01]

——————

"This simplified Tai Chi levels up really fast!" Chen Jue exclaimed to himself.

With only twelve movements, the difficulty was indeed not high.

It was just like when he practiced Stone Skimming; he was just repeating the same few motions over and over, so his Skill Level naturally shot up quickly.

According to Chen Jue’s estimate, since this Tai Chi Twelve Forms Skill was so simple, it would probably reach Perfection at Lv4.

But seeing that his free attribute points had accumulated a little more, Chen Jue smiled faintly, feeling that his morning’s harvest was pretty good.

Just as he was about to head back for breakfast, he saw an old man with salt-and-pepper hair on the other side of the park, training a young girl with bright eyes and a radiant smile in an extremely rare martial arts routine.

In one hand, she held a rope, and at the end of the rope hung a sharp dart resembling a spearhead. As she brandished it, it whistled through the air, and when she threw it, it struck a wooden board hung several meters away.

Her movements were powerful and vigorous, a spectacular sight to behold.

But the main thing was that the young girl practicing with the dart had a truly remarkable aura.

Her hair was tied in a ponytail, her features were strikingly heroic, and her sweat-dampened gray training clothes clung to her curvaceous figure.

She almost made the eyes of a group of old men playing chess nearby pop out of their heads!

If they stared for a couple more seconds, they’d probably have to pop some emergency heart pills and be sent to the ICU.

Of course, upon seeing this picturesque scene, Chen Jue, the repressed pervert, was also rooted to the spot. He thought, ’Is that what they call a Rope Dart?’

’The difficulty is so high! It looks very challenging!’

’If I practice that, it should also increase my Darts Skill Level, right?’