Inviting Tashigi

The car first arrived in Nanan City, and then their group gained an extra vehicle.

The car's owner was from the municipal government, and they would be present with Linlang Consulting as witnesses for this transaction.

At 5:30 PM, the three cars finally arrived in Bingxing Town.

It was too late to visit the factory now, so the group first found a four-star hotel in Bingxing Town to stay in and would depart tomorrow.

"It's been quite safe on this journey..." Zhou Qi remarked on the streets of Bingxing Town.

"Of course, it's safe. They've swept through the area multiple times to eliminate gangs. Who would dare to show their face now..." Zhou Yibing said.

"That's true, it's just a shame..." It was rare to have the power to act but no opportunity to use it, which felt quite uncomfortable.

No wonder they say heroes can break the law with their might. He wasn't even a hero yet and was already thinking about fighting. If he actually mastered it, who knows what would happen.

"Indeed, cultivate martial arts before cultivating virtue. The ancients never lied to me..." Zhou Qi shook his head and asked, "By the way, we must be hungry at this hour. Shall we find a place to eat?"

"Okay!" Zhou Yibing nodded, then saw Zhou Qi muttering in Japanese to that girl again.

He suddenly realized, wait, I'm here, aren't I just a third wheel?

"There's a Land Barbecue over there, shall we go there?" Zhou Qi turned and asked.

"Uh, my stomach suddenly hurts. I won't be going," Zhou Yibing said.

"Ah, are you okay? Should you go to the hospital?"

"No, no, it's probably just something I ate. Oh, my stomach has never been great. I'll head back, you guys eat!" Zhou Yibing said, turning around and running off, clutching his stomach.

"Uh..." Zhou Qi blinked. That speed, was he in a hurry to use the restroom?

"What's wrong with him?" Tashigi asked.

"He said he ate something bad..." Zhou Qi said helplessly, "Then let's you and I go eat!"

"Mhm..." Tashigi nodded, but seemed unenthusiastic?

"What's wrong?" Zhou Qi asked. "Aren't you happy here?"

"No!" Tashigi shook her head. "I just suddenly remembered I didn't train today."

"Uh..." Zhou Qi was stunned and then came to his senses.

Right.

Learning is like rowing upstream; if you don't advance, you fall back. Martial arts are the same; one day of not practicing will lead to regression.

The key is that after resting for one day, you'll want to rest the next, and slowly you'll become lazy.

He had only just started practicing martial arts and hadn't yet formed the habit of persistence. Today, he had also caused Tashigi to miss her training, which was truly inexcusable.

"Huh?" Zhou Qi suddenly spotted a sporting goods store at the street corner!

He grabbed Tashigi's hand, "Come with me!"

"Eh?" Tashigi quickly followed, and the two entered the store, one after the other.

The store wasn't large, just a typical street-side shop filled with all sorts of goods, with only a single-person-wide aisle for entry and exit.

The owner was sitting behind the counter eating a bowl of rice. Seeing the two enter, he didn't stop and said, "Take a look if you need anything. We have parkas, fishing rods, everything..."

He really took me for a fisherman.

"Do you have any weights, like sandbags or something?" Zhou Qi asked.

"No sandbags, those are uncomfortable to strap on, so we don't stock them anymore. But we do have weighted vests!" the owner said. "We have kids' sizes, youth sizes, adult sizes, 2 kilograms, 5 kilograms, 10 kilograms, 15 kilograms, 20 kilograms, 30 kilograms, 50 kilograms. Which kind do you want?"

"Adult sizes, four sets of each up to 50 kilograms. Do you have 100 kilograms?" Zhou Qi asked.

The owner was speechless. "100 kilograms? If you can wait, I can contact the manufacturer to make it custom for you. We don't have it in stock here..."

"Then make four sets. How much will it be in total!"

"Uh, let me calculate for you..."

While the owner was calculating, Zhou Qi picked up a 25-kilogram vest and handed it to Tashigi.

The vest was entirely black, covered in small pockets filled with metal plates. At first glance, it looked like a Level 3 armor.

"This is called a weighted vest. Wearing it while exercising will give your cells a harsher environment, just like I told you before. You'll improve very quickly. I can't say it's like training for two days in one, but it's definitely more effective than before!"

"We'll make up for the training we missed today with this!"

Tashigi curiously took the vest. Its weight made her curious. Could training really be done like this?

The people in this world were weak, but their ideas were incredibly varied.

"It's 8200 in total, I'll give it to you for 8000..." The owner finished his calculation.

"OK!" Zhou Qi nodded, scanned the QR code to transfer the money, and then asked, "How much is this little cart? I can't carry it all back!"

"Ah, where are you staying? I can deliver it for you!!" the owner said.

"Then you can leave it here for now. We're going to eat. We'll go back together later, and you can load it onto the cart for me!"

"No problem..."

Five minutes later, at the barbecue stall, the two sat down.

"Boss, lamb skewers, give me fifty to start!"

"Beer?"

"Do you drink?" Zhou Qi asked.

Tashigi shook her head, "I don't."

"Then give us two bottles of fruit beer!!" Fruit beer isn't alcohol; it contains no alcohol, it's just a drink.

Picking up the fan on the table and gently fanning herself, "My favorite time used to be after getting off work, getting paid, and then finding a barbecue stall to eat a big meal. I don't actually like barbecue, I just liked that it was cheap…"

"Aren't you a big shot in this world?" Tashigi asked, "Why do you still buy cheap things?"

After all, along the way, everyone she met either bowed and scraped or greeted her with a smile, not even needing to drive themselves.

Zhou Qi shook his head, "What big shot am I? I'm just from the bottom of the bottom, to compare it to your world, I'm like a dockworker…"

"Ah?" Tashigi was greatly surprised, how could that be!

"You don't look like it either…" Those workers didn't even have a complete set of clothes!

"That's thanks to the country. When the country is strong, even orphans can be properly settled. Even beggars on the street can earn enough money in a day to buy a nice set of clothes. Naturally, the common people of this country would look wealthy…" Zhou Qi said.

He didn't like lying. Although he could make up a grand background story, and that story could be quickly substantiated, Tashigi would have no way to verify it.

But what was the point of telling such a lie? It was only for temporary face.

But once exposed, it could cost him a true friend.

"My rise was like someone in your world suddenly getting a Devil Fruit, it was a leap to the heavens," Zhou Qi said. "Can you understand if I explain it like this?"

Tashigi nodded, "I understand, but you're different from them. Many people lose themselves once they gain power, but after you gained power, you've been thinking about how to make the country better."

Zhou Qi smiled, "It's still a long way off. Right now, I can at most improve my own life a little. But the rise and fall of the world is everyone's responsibility. In the past, I didn't have the ability, so I could only watch coldly or even lie flat."

"But now, I truly have the ability to change the world!"

He didn't care if anyone overheard his words. Not to mention the noisy surroundings, where no one could hear anyone else clearly, and he wasn't the only one shouting about wanting to change the world.

Next door, someone was planning to assassinate the leader of the Ugly Country, like the male gunslinger!

"Why are you telling me this?" Tashigi asked.

She was just slow, not stupid.

How could she not know what she had seen and heard along the way had already exceeded the scope of a factory representative?

She even felt like she was listening to a future Pirate King narrate his ideals!

Of course, this was just an analogy, but the concept was the same.

When such a concept appeared, what did it signify?

Tashigi understood.

"Are you inviting me? But I'm a Marine…"

"I'm not trying to recruit you as a pirate!" Zhou Qi laughed, "I just want to invite you to join me, and together we can make the world a better place, whether it's my country, your East Blue, or even the whole world!"

"This…" Tashigi was a little shocked, "Can I? I'm just a Corporal, I don't have any strength or ability…"

She was only seventeen!

Zhou Qi shook his head, "I'm not looking at your present, but your future. Our goal won't be achieved in a day; this is destined to be a long process, and you will grow rapidly during this process, becoming stronger and wiser."

"One day, you'll be able to stand on your own like Smoker. Will you still say you don't have the ability then?"

"This…"

"You don't have to answer me right now, you can go back and think about it…" Zhou Qi smiled.

"Mhm…" Tashigi nodded.

She really needed to think about it carefully, as she had received too much information today.