Chapter 3: Muscle Knots

Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Muscle Knots

After the barbecue, Gu Qing wanted to test his cheat again.

He played a few more games with his roommates.

[You played video games with your roommate Chen Zijie for over an hour]

[Game Skill +1]

[Reaction Speed +1]

[Reaction Speed has accumulated 100 points. You can obtain the Attribute—Lightning Reflexes]

[Current Points: 3]

Just one hour of gaming together earned him one point.

’If I can play for ten hours a day, I’ll hit 100 points in just ten days and get the Lightning Reflexes Attribute.’

’Okay, from now on, whenever I’m free, I’ll just squad up with Zijie and play games.’

As for Duole, the [Big Eater]...

’I’ll find some time tonight to buy a bunch of snacks from the supermarket to share with him.’

’Eat for ten hours a day.’

That way,

he could also get the [Devouring] Attribute in ten days.

Gu Qing silently made his plans.

Just then,

his buzz-cut roommate, Gao Fei, who had the [Basketball Player] label above his head, was changing into his basketball shoes to go play.

Seeing this, Gu Qing quickly called out,

"Gao Fei, wait up! I’ll change and go with you."

He sat down on his bed and swiftly put on his own basketball shoes.

Gao Fei, who was tall and built like a bull, turned to look at him. "I’m playing a high-level game, man. It’s packed with sports majors. A squishy college kid like you won’t last. You’ll get sent flying in minutes."

Gu Qing was unfazed. "Minor details. Worst case, I’ll just float around the perimeter and shoot threes. I’m the three-point king of Hai City University, you know. They call me Hai University Curry."

Gao Fei laughed. "You’re thinking too small. It should be Curry who’s known as the little Gu Qing of the NBA."

Chen Zijie started laughing too. "Dude, what kind of reverse-universe logic is that?"

Qian Duole added, "This is too much."

The four of them bantered back and forth.

For a moment,

the dorm was filled with laughter and good cheer.

...

[Courier]

[Kept Man]

[Gigolo]

[Plumber]

[Adult Film Director]

On the way to the basketball court,

Gu Qing observed the labels above every pedestrian’s head, finding them as bizarre as ever.

[Kept Man] and [Gigolo].

These two labels were clearly male identities, yet they appeared above the heads of two different women.

It was very strange.

’Speaking of which...’

’After seeing so many labels, have I ever seen one for a profession or identity exclusive to women?’

’What do these labels actually mean?’

Gu Qing was lost in thought.

Beside him, Gao Fei was practicing his fadeaway jumper the entire walk.

He was a die-hard Kobe fan and absolutely loved his fadeaway, thinking the move was a work of art.

"Brother Shui, one for Kobe."

When they arrived at the court, Gao Fei called out to an older man selling drinks at the entrance.

The man took out a bottle of iced tea and handed it to Gao Fei.

Gao Fei took the drink and looked at Gu Qing.

"What do you want to drink? My treat."

"I’ll have a bottle of C’estbon."

There was a high-fashion male internet celebrity who drank nothing but C’estbon instead of eating, and he had gotten as skinny as a bamboo pole.

Gu Qing had stumbled across this guy’s videos several times.

He thought it was absurdly hilarious.

And it made him curious about that brand of mineral water.

He wanted to buy a bottle to see what it tasted like.

...

After buying their water,

the two walked toward a half-court at the far end.

That was the high-level court.

Packed with sports majors.

Packed with the school’s best basketball players.

A 3v3 match was currently underway, and you could see all sorts of powerful, brutal physical contact. The intensity was extremely high.

Gu Qing glanced at the people playing on the court.

As expected, every single one of them had the [Basketball Player] label above their head.

’I wonder what kind of Attribute I’ll get after playing basketball with these experts for an hour?’

While Gu Qing was pondering this,

Gao Fei, a regular on the high-level court, had already found an acquaintance to form a team and called next game to the players on the court.

...

After waiting about ten minutes,

it was finally Gu Qing’s team’s turn to play.

Before they started,

Gao Fei said to Gu Qing,

"These three guys on the other team are all on the school team. They’re really good, and super physical. You’re on the thin side, so just defend when you can, and if you can’t, just let them go. Don’t try to force it and get yourself hurt. On offense, just hang out on the perimeter and wait for the ball to shoot threes."

"Got it."

Gu Qing agreed, inbounding the ball to Gao Fei to let him handle the first possession.

Gao Fei drove hard to the paint and, facing his defender, went for a classic Kobe fadeaway jumper. The ball clanked off the rim, and the other team got the rebound.

"Curry, you guard Owen! Just bother his shot. If he tries to drive to the paint, I’ll be here to stop him,"

Gao Fei said to Gu Qing, who was out on the three-point line, pointing at a guy on the other team wearing overalls and a center-part hairstyle.

This guy was the school team’s starting point guard.

His dribbling was insane.

They called him Hai University Owen.

The guy in overalls didn’t take Gu Qing seriously. He dribbled carelessly, contemplating whether to pass or attack.

Suddenly!

He felt his hand go light.

He looked down.

The ball was gone.

With his +3 Reaction Speed,

Gu Qing’s hands were a blur. He suddenly swiped the ball from the guy in overalls and passed it to Gao Fei.

It happened so fast that Gao Fei wasn’t ready to catch it, and the ball flew out of bounds.

"Nice, Gu Qing! You actually stole the ball from the school team’s starting point guard! You shocked me so much I wasn’t even ready to catch it. That was sick!"

Gao Fei gave Gu Qing a thumbs-up.

The guy in overalls, who had just been stripped, felt humiliated but forced a casual smile.

"Dude, you’ve got quick hands. But I wasn’t being serious just now. I’m getting serious now."

Soon,

his teammate retrieved the ball.

He inbounded it back to him.

The moment he got the ball,

the guy in overalls lowered his center of gravity and started showing off his flashy dribbling skills in front of Gu Qing.

After a few seconds,

he suddenly went into a shooting motion, about to pull up for a jumper right in Gu Qing’s face.

Seeing this, Gu Qing immediately put his hands up and jumped to block.

"You’re too green, buddy!"

The guy in overalls sneered, instantly stopping his fake shot and exploding forward into a drive to the basket.

Although he had been faked out, Gu Qing’s Reaction Speed was off the charts. The moment he landed, he whipped his hand back in a reverse swipe.

The guy in overalls was just blowing past Gu Qing, a triumphant smile on his face.

But in the next second, that smile vanished, and he froze in utter confusion.

Where’s the ball???

The guy in overalls stopped and looked back, only to see Gu Qing holding the basketball, looking back at him with a smug grin.

The ball had changed hands.

The smile had, too.

He had been stripped by Gu Qing once again.

WHOOSH—

The ball whistled through the air.

Gu Qing passed it to Gao Fei under the basket. This time, Gao Fei didn’t mess up and made an easy layup.

The same scene played out again and again.

The guy in overalls was stubborn, insisting on trying to get his pride back by dribbling in front of Gu Qing.

But he got stripped every single time, dragging his whole team down to lose five straight points and getting shut out completely.

The guy in overalls was numb, his face a mask of disbelief as he questioned his life choices.

Gao Fei was stunned too. When did his squishy college-kid roommate get so good at stealing the ball?

For the rest of the time,

thanks to Gu Qing’s uncanny ability to steal, his team defeated one strong opponent after another.

They took down team after team, dominating the court for a full hour.

Then,

a familiar text notification appeared before Gu Qing’s eyes.

[You played basketball with your roommate Gao Fei for over an hour]

[Basketball Skill +1]

[Physical Strength +1]

[Physical Strength has accumulated 100 points. You can obtain the Attribute—Muscle Knots]

[Current Points: 1]

...

PS: Holding out my bowl for monthly and recommendation tickets!