Energy Bar

"Xiu Ping's son has made something of himself—started a company these past two years, earned a lot of money, and even hired a maid at home."

"If it weren't for killing time, she wouldn't be working here."

Inside the supermarket, as if sensing Chen Feng's confusion and surprise, another employee nearby smiled and explained.

The one she called Aunt Zhang was the same middle-aged woman he'd met that morning—a bit plump, and they'd had lunch together.

"Thanks, Aunt Zhang."

Chen Feng nodded lightly, understanding now.

So that Aunt He was just here to experience life.

Feeling the gap between people, he shook his head to himself.

As for the employee shopping card placed in front of him, after a moment's thought, Chen Feng ultimately put it in the drawer, deciding not to use it.

He wasn't at the point where he couldn't afford to eat yet. Some free things were better to take sparingly.

Then, standing at the checkout counter, he quickly slipped on the red vest printed with the words "Yong Le Fu" and began to get into work mode.

Everything went smoothly. During that time, he also met another employee who came to take over Aunt Zhang's shift.

Li Hongxia, thirty-seven or thirty-eight, mainly responsible for the supermarket's cleanliness and stocking shelves.

She was a bit thin, her skin sallow, with obvious wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and many spots on her face.

"This is Xiao Feng, the new college student."

"And this is Hongxia—just call her Sister Xia."

Aunt Zhang kindly introduced them before leaving. Chen Feng thanked her and exchanged a friendly nod with Li Hongxia.

Time passed like that. Standing behind the checkout counter, customers trickled in one after another.

Elderly or children, young men or girls.

"Give me a pack of smokes, Tian Hua. Yeah, the slim ones."

A man asked for a pack of cigarettes. Chen Feng scanned the barcode and collected the payment.

"How much is this bottle of water?"

"Five yuan." Another person walked up, holding a sports drink called Arrow.

"Alright, scan it."

Beep! Account credited—five yuan!

The small supermarket kept ringing with various notification sounds. Chen Feng worked straight until ten at night before he felt the customers thin out.

Maybe because they weren't familiar with each other, he and Li Hongxia hadn't exchanged many words.

Both quietly did their own tasks. It wasn't until late at night, nearly twelve o'clock, when it seemed no one else was coming, that Chen Feng finally went to the merchandise area to buy some things he needed.

Two bundles of noodles, a carton of milk, two boxes of eggs, a large bag of bread.

Mostly food items. Along the way, he also bought a box of Superman Brand energy bars.

This was a high-nutrition food from the Chi Kingdom. It looked like a long milk bar but contained rich protein, especially suitable for people who practiced martial arts or exercised regularly.

The price wasn't low either—over five hundred yuan for a box of just twenty-four sticks.

"You can use our internal shopping card to pay. Deduct the three-hundred-yuan allowance first."

"For the rest, you can top it up yourself. The card will automatically give you an internal discount."

Li Hongxia, who was mopping the floor, kindly reminded him. Chen Feng was momentarily stunned, only then learning about this feature.

"Thanks, Sister Xia." He hugged the big box of items and expressed his gratitude.

"No need."

With a slight smile, Li Hongxia glanced at the energy bars he was holding.

A flicker of surprise passed through her eyes, and she asked curiously, "Xiao Feng, do you like working out?"

"Yeah, I practice occasionally."

Chen Feng didn't mention boxing. He didn't like to show off.

"That's good."

Li Hongxia nodded with a smile and soon finished mopping the floor.

They didn't say much more. Chen Feng followed her instructions and operated the card.

He swiped the employee card separately, first using up his free monthly allowance, then topping up another four hundred yuan.

After an 8.5% discount, there was still one hundred twenty yuan and sixty cents left on the shopping card.

"Money sure goes fast."

Shaking his head, Chen Feng glanced at the balance on his phone.

The thousand yuan Chen Yun had transferred was down to six hundred. Adding the shopping card, he only had a little over seven hundred in total.

"Should be enough to last me until payday."

"If it really doesn't work, I'll just use Fukuanbao again—no interest as long as I pay it back within a month."

Chen Feng thought to himself. He had no face left to ask Chen Yun for money again.

"I'll lock up. You go ahead."

Li Hongxia finished cleaning up, pulled the long iron hook, and yanked down the rolling shutter of the supermarket.

"It's fine, I'm not in a hurry."

Chen Feng shook his head lightly and glanced at the pitch-black sky.

He found a cardboard box, packed up everything he'd bought, and stood silently on the sidewalk outside the supermarket, watching her lock the door.

Until finally, he confirmed the rolling shutter was completely secured. Only then did he say goodbye and walk away with the large box in his arms.

Clack, clack!

Footsteps echoed. It was already past midnight, edging into the early hours.

Few pedestrians were on the street. The dim yellow streetlights cast a hazy glow over the road.

Occasionally, a couple of drunks stumbled by. The scent of grilled skewers drifted from a scattering of barbecue stalls.

Chen Feng sniffed, suppressed the saliva in his mouth, and continued toward the nearby residential area.

Clack, clack!

His steps were steady and firm. Thanks to his improved strength and physique, he didn't feel tired along the way.

A few minutes later, the old neighborhood appeared across the street.

Chen Feng stepped forward, about to pass by a dark alleyway.

"Damn it, we're all going broke."

"And Wang Jie calls himself our brother—wouldn't even lend us a couple bucks to spend."

"Brother Jin, did you look for him?"

"No shit. That bastard's hiding somewhere. If it weren't for—huh?"

Voices came from inside the alley. Chen Feng glanced sideways.

Under the faint, dim yellow light of the streetlamp, he could vaguely make out three young men standing at the alley entrance, smoking.

All of them had tattoos on their arms—clearly thugs. One of them even had dyed yellow hair.

Maybe because they saw him passing by, their chatter stopped abruptly, and they all turned to look at him.

"Alone?"

Someone muttered, deliberately putting on a fiercer expression.

Chen Feng didn't stop. He kept walking toward the neighborhood.

This was the old district of Nanjiang City—poor infrastructure, terrible surveillance.

His original self had seen these thugs around several times before. The leader was called Zhao Jin, a loafer who spent his days idle, had been locked up before, and had a long rap sheet.

There was no bad blood between them, and Chen Feng didn't want to get tangled up with hoodlums.

Clack, clack!

His steady, firm footsteps continued, quickly swallowed by the darkness.

Nothing unexpected happened. Chen Feng made it home safely.

He locked the door behind him and turned on the lights.

Gray-black floor tiles came into view. The old sofa seemed to glow faintly under the light. The TV screen remained dark.

Chen Feng quickly took the eggs and bread out of the cardboard box and put them in the fridge to keep fresh.

Finally, he went to the bathroom, stripped off his clothes, and let the hot water from the showerhead roll down his body.

Hah!

The fatigue of the day washed over him. Chen Feng let out a breath.

Drops of water slid like pebbles over his increasingly defined muscles.

Earn money. Train boxing.

These two thoughts grew sharper in his mind. He knew he still had a long road ahead.

Finally, after washing up.

He dried his hair with a towel, said nothing, and lay down on the bed.

Breathing slowly, he let the exhaustion surge over him like a tide. He didn't bother opening his phone, letting drowsiness wrap around him.

A few minutes later.

A flash of mist appeared, and the long-awaited Dream World emerged once again.