The Shameful AFK Record

Shen Qian jolted awake.

The cold wind chilled Shen Qian's skin, while he himself wore a completely bewildered expression.

Who am I? Where am I? Have I gone crazy?

Shen Qian felt that he must be dreaming, because if he was not mistaken, he was currently lying stark naked on a rooftop terrace, with his entire body aching...

Yet the abnormally real, cold touch of the ground, along with some sticky things by his hand, reminded him that this was no dream.

Shen Qian abruptly sat up, but the excessive movement nearly made him pitch forward.

This was clearly the discomfort caused by a sudden increase in Physical Strength.

Shen Qian had experienced this once before, so he still had some impression of it. But the sensation then had been nowhere near as intense as it was this time.

But... how could this be?

He looked around. His clothes had been removed and neatly folded beside him, while quite a bit of grime lay scattered across the rooftop floor, apparently expelled from his body.

Several meters away, an iron pot had been set up. The pot itself was clean, but a rather pungent medicinal smell lingered in the air.

Not only did Shen Qian's body hurt, but lingering stabs of pain remained in his mind as well. Daylight was already bright, and Shen Qian's last memory was of falling asleep at home, so...

What exactly had happened last night?

Some blurry memories surfaced. Shen Qian vaguely remembered hearing a heap of strange voices in his head, something about a system and AFK mode.

When Shen Qian thought of "system," a panel made of light and shadow suddenly appeared within his consciousness.

The panel was clearly divided into different sections, and the most conspicuous one was the "AFK Record" in the center, currently flickering with a faint glow.

When Shen Qian focused his consciousness on it, the "AFK Record" enlarged. The next moment, a row of bookshelves appeared in his mind.

The entire bookshelf was empty, with only a single folder at the far left of the top shelf.

A string of numbers was marked on the folder's surface: "22970308," which was precisely last night's date.

When Shen Qian concentrated again, the folder opened, and a line of text emerged.

Note: This AFK session yielded no Combat Experience or Training Memory. To conserve energy, aside from the "Pharmaceutical Preparation" portion, only text records have been retained for the host's review.

Shen Qian was a little dumbfounded, but his instincts told him that the reason for his changes most likely lay in the AFK Record before him, so he continued reading.

You woke up from bed (19:22)

You left home (19:23)

You took a taxi to South Gate River (19:38)

Unable to pay the fare, you were punched once and kicked once by the driver, suffering minor injuries (19:40)

...

Shen Qian: "?"

Wait, what the hell?

How did I get beaten up?

...

You jumped into South Gate River 80 meters south of Wuding Bridge (19:43)

You collected a Seven Flavors Fruit from the depths of the riverbed (Note 1) (19:47)

You arrived at Huaxia Pharmacy on Nanhe Road (19:59)

You selected Nine Flavor Rehmannia Pill, Angelica, Salvia, Red Deer Hide, and other medicinal ingredients (20:02)

Unable to pay for the medicine and failing to buy on credit, you put down the ingredients and left the pharmacy (20:05)

...

The corner of Shen Qian's mouth twitched. Did it need to keep reminding him that he was poor?

Still, Shen Qian was rather curious.

No matter what kind of potion the system had intended to concoct, judging from the changes in his body, it should have succeeded. So where had the money for the medicine come from?

Thus, Shen Qian continued reading.

...

You ran to No. 113, Haigeng Road in Chengbei (21:18)

You rang the doorbell and explained your purpose to the villa's owner (21:20)

You met Ding Yi and borrowed 2,795.6 yuan from her (21:26)

You gave a wickedly charming smile and turned to leave (21:28)

...

Shen Qian: "..."

What the hell was that "wickedly charming smile"?!

If the system had not lied to him, Shen Qian felt he might as well move to another planet.

He admitted that his skin could be a little thick at times, but it was not thick enough for something like a "wickedly charming smile"!

After steadying himself, Shen Qian decided to finish reading the AFK Record first, lest there be any more surprises.

...

You took a taxi back to Huaxia Pharmacy on Nanhe Road and paid a fare of 57.6 yuan (21:59)

You arrived at Huaxia Pharmacy, paid 2,651 yuan, and collected the medicinal ingredients (22:00)

You took a taxi back to Xingfu Residential Area and paid a fare of 23 yuan (22:14)

You spent 87 yuan at the convenience store by the entrance on water, a lighter, an electronic scale, and an iron pot, and asked the owner for some charcoal (22:18)

You arrived at the Building 3 Rooftop and began preparing the potion (22:25) (Click to obtain "Pharmaceutical Preparation" memory fragment)

Improved Stamina Potion successfully prepared (23:47)

You removed your clothes and consumed the Stamina Potion (23:51)

Your bodily functions began improving. The intense pain caused you to fall unconscious (23:52–10:11)

...

Note 1: Seven Flavors Fruit is a medicinal herb containing a large quantity of trace elements and a small amount of spiritual energy. It has mild medicinal properties and is often used in body-tempering compounds for beginner martial artists.

After reading the entire AFK Record, Shen Qian fell into deep thought once the initial excitement and embarrassment had passed.

This "Stamina Potion" did not seem to match the names of common potions he knew from the market. At the moment, he was also unsure exactly how much enhancement it had brought to his body.

Suddenly, Shen Qian thought of another question.

According to the record, did that mean it was already past ten?

He picked up his wristband and saw that the time displayed on it had indeed reached ten-thirty.

"Damn it, I still have class today!"

Shen Qian's expression changed. He had no time to savor the matter further, hastily threw on his clothes, and rushed toward school.

By the time Shen Qian arrived at school, it was already past eleven.

It was not that he had deliberately dawdled. It was just that the damn system had borrowed exactly enough money from Ding Yi to cover last night's expenses. With not a cent to his name, Shen Qian could only run with the wind.

Fortunately, Shen Qian made it in time for the final class. Unfortunately, that class was taught by his homeroom teacher, Liu Simin...

"I know you may have entered a stage of giving up on yourself, believing you have no hope in the martial arts track, but that is not a reason for you to miss an entire morning of classes..."

"Every year, the school has over a thousand graduates. How many actually get into the martial arts track? If everyone were like you, would society not need anyone else?"

"Don't think that nobody is paying attention to you, that nobody cares about you. Let me tell you..."

"That will be all for today. Thirty points deducted from your conduct score. Don't let it happen again!"

After barely enduring until Liu Simin urgently needed the restroom, Shen Qian finally let out a sigh of relief.

He found his seat and sat down. Zhou Xu, his deskmate, who was preparing to pack up and go eat, suddenly changed expression and covered his nose. "Holy shit, Shen Qian. Were you late this morning because you fell into a toilet?"

Shen Qian also realized that he did smell rather unpleasant. After all, he had expelled quite a few impurities. But he did not care and casually asked, "Wasn't the last class this morning supposed to be Basic Martial Arts Class? Why was Teacher Liu teaching instead?"

Liu Simin taught martial arts theory and World History, which was why Shen Qian asked.

Since he and Shen Qian were still on fairly good terms, Zhou Xu pinched his nose despite his disgust and explained, "Teacher Liu came to collect the registration fees."

"What registration fee?" Shen Qian froze.

"Anyone intending to take the Martial Arts College Entrance Exam has to pay an additional registration fee. You know how expensive all that equipment is."

"The registration fee is due today?" Shen Qian immediately could not sit still. "How did I not know?"

"They announced it last month. But why are you reacting so strongly? Don't tell me you want to apply for the martial arts track too?" Zhou Xu asked strangely.

There were over fifty people in the class, yet fewer than twenty would ultimately apply for the martial arts track. No matter how one looked at it, Shen Qian was not among them.

"Do you know what it means when one has been apart for three days? How much is the registration fee?"

"Five hundred."

Shen Qian could not be bothered to waste any more words on Zhou Xu. He turned around and found Wang Yangming, who was sleeping sprawled over a desk one row away, then slapped him awake.

"What is it?" Wang Yangming groggily raised his head.

"Transfer money. Five hundred."

"Oh." Wang Yangming took out his wallet, rummaged through it, then pulled out a banknote and handed it over. "Uh, after paying my registration fee, I seem to only have five yuan left."

"Damn, so poor. Does five yuan even count as money?"

Shen Qian stuffed the five yuan into his pocket, scoffed contemptuously, and slipped out of the classroom.

Only then did Wang Yangming become a little more awake. Puzzled, he asked Zhou Xu beside him, "Why does he need five hundred?"

"It seems... he wants to pay the registration fee for the Martial Arts College Entrance Exam?" Zhou Xu said uncertainly.

The two of them finally caught on and immediately stared at each other in disbelief.