A big box, containing 420 neatly stacked skipping stones.
Although each one was thin, they were still stones. After filling a whole box, Chen Jue discovered he couldn't lift such a heavy delivery.
He went to a small restaurant by the road for lunch, then borrowed a flatbed handcart from the owner of Cainiao Station and pushed it back to his cramped rental apartment.
He returned the cart first, then came back to open the box.
"These feel great!"
"No wonder those pros can get so many skips." Chen Jue picked up a skipping stone and turned it over in his hand.
They had all been machine-cut, with mirror-smooth faces and rough edges all around.
They were a good weight, and felt far better in his hand than the stones he'd picked up at the park.
He'd just finished practicing Darts that morning, so he was a little tired.
He lay down for a nap at noon.
By the time he woke up, it was already past three in the afternoon. The sun was bright outside, a gentle breeze was blowing, and the air had taken on a dry autumn crispness.
It was the perfect weather for a scenic drive to the suburbs, a hike, or a camping trip.
Unfortunately, he had neither a house nor a car, so a road trip was out of the question. The driver's license he'd earned in college had been gathering dust in his wallet ever since.
The reason he hadn't bought a car was that, after working at Taisheng Finance for four years, Chen Jue had seen too many clients fall behind on their payments and fail to repay their loans.
As soon as these clients stopped making payments, the company had to start collection proceedings. Later, the company's post-loan department would have to tow their cars away by force and have them impounded by the court.
That was to stop clients from secretly using their cars as illegal collateral for second- or third-round loans, or even forfeiting them outright, before they were eventually sold as unregistered vehicles.
The problem was, a car was a consumable. Whether new or used, the moment you took possession of one after paying the taxes, it started losing value.
After the car was towed away, the court still had to hear the auto-finance loan case, and the process of forced enforcement took time.
By the time all the procedures were complete, the car had depreciated so badly that even selling it wouldn't cover the outstanding loan and interest. The client would still have to be pursued for whatever remained.
At that point, the company would have to freeze the client's bank cards, WeChat, and Alipay accounts. It was a huge hassle.
Chen Jue didn't want to take on that repayment burden, so he kept putting off buying a car.
As far as he was concerned, wasn't it better to spend the money on Didi rides?
The driver did all the driving while he sat back, as if he'd hired a chauffeur.
Besides, he wouldn't have to spend extra money maintaining a car or making car payments. It saved both money and effort.
He dug a large backpack out of the closet and filled it with more than 150 skipping stones.
It felt heavy on his shoulders, but at least he could carry it.
He left the residential district, ordered a Didi, and went back to White Horse Lake Park.
Compared with nighttime, the park was even more full of natural life during the day.
Expanses of flower beds and greenery, neatly trimmed lawns, modern venues and a concert stage, and the clear, softly burbling river winding around them all came together on that sunny autumn afternoon to form a scene straight out of a painting.
There were still plenty of people camping on the lawn, along with quite a few who'd come to listen to the live concert.
Chen Jue had only walked a few steps with the backpack on before he set it down on a patch of grass, pulled out a stack of skipping stones, and headed for the river.
He shook out his right arm. It was still a little sore and swollen, but after hydrotherapy massage, medicated compresses, and rest over the past two days, it had improved considerably.
He clenched his fist hard, then did a few small warm-up exercises. That should be enough to let him keep skipping stones.
"Let's see if these skipping stones really are as amazing as they say!" Chen Jue took a deep breath, set the extra stones down by his feet, and assumed a stance for a spin.
He turned and swung, putting power into his arm, wrist, and fingers all at once. He sent the stone skimming downward at an angle of about twenty degrees. The round skipping stone spun through the air like a top before smacking against the water with a "plop," then zipped across the glittering river.
According to research in a paper published in Nature by a foreign scientist, the number of times a stone bounced across the water depended mainly on four parameters: initial velocity, spin, the angle between the stone and the water as it entered, and the stone's material.
By now, Chen Jue had already mastered the ideal throwing angle by imitating the experts in online videos. He'd also bought specially made skipping stones, leaving initial velocity and spin to his own ability.
Fortunately, his efforts paid off. After the specially made skipping stone left his right hand, it skimmed along the river at an extremely low height above the surface and a rapid vibration rate, darting and bouncing through the air. In an instant, it had traced a dense string of circular ripples as if it were scraping along the water!
The ripples were arranged in an arc. The centrifugal force from the stone's spin after it left his hand must have changed the straight trajectory of an ordinary stone.
What delighted Chen Jue most was that, by his estimate, this one stone had bounced at least fifty times!
It had also traveled an astonishing distance of more than fifty meters!
That number of skips and that distance were downright ridiculous!
After all, even if an ordinary person threw a bowl-sized stone with all their might, they still might not manage to send it fifty meters.
At that moment, the Attribute Panel in Chen Jue's field of vision gave him a relevant evaluation:
------ [Ping~]
[Movement meets the standard. You have completed a perfect stone-skipping throw.]
[Stone Skipping skill proficiency +5]
"My very first try got a perfect rating!"
"Just goes to show, you have to sharpen your tools before you can do good work!"
"With these specially made skipping stones, I'll rack up proficiency like crazy, right?" Chen Jue grinned from ear to ear, convinced that the 200 yuan had been well spent.
A single attempt had earned him five points of proficiency. Before this, the only time he'd seen that kind of improvement was while grinding his Darts level.
Darts could be retrieved and reused, so improving at it didn't use up resources. That was why this newly learned sport had overtaken Stone Skipping and reached level 3 first, bringing him up to amateur level.
With Monday coming tomorrow and work starting again, he wouldn't be able to come out and practice during the day. Chen Jue wanted to take advantage of his free time and level up Stone Skipping as quickly as possible!
"Plop~"
"Plop~"
"Plop~"
The round skipping stones skimmed over the river like flying saucers, sending ripples spreading across the surface again and again.
"What a steady trajectory!"
"The stone material really makes a big difference. There's no way ordinary rocks could produce skips this steady!" Chen Jue stared at the stones he'd thrown.
He'd noticed that after switching to professional skipping stones, every throw followed the same trajectory, as if they'd all been stamped from one mold.
The stones traced a dense, long path across the water!
He was still nowhere near the world-record holder he'd seen online, but he was already approaching half that guy's incredible level.
The tourists camping and admiring the scenery nearby saw this and gathered around curiously.
Some took photos, others recorded videos.
Quite a few people commented from the sidelines. "Is that stone skipping?"
"This guy's got some skill!"
"Look at all the splashes that one made!"
"Wow! It went so far, too! It's nearly at the middle of the river. That has to be at least fifty meters, right?"
Pretty much everyone had played at stone skipping, but they'd never seen anyone get such a ridiculous number of skips or throw a stone so far!
And with the Attribute Panel correcting his form, Chen Jue's throws followed an almost perfect arc every time.
Watching him for too long was addictive, and oddly relaxing!
Some adults and kids who liked to have fun even tried imitating him, picking up stones and throwing them into the water. They barely made any splashes, but managed to get water all over themselves instead, drawing laughter from the onlookers.
As for Chen Jue, watching the +4 and +5 proficiency notifications keep rolling across the panel only made him put more and more strength into his throws.
By the time his arm was so sore he couldn't lift it and just let it hang limp, he'd used up every one of the more than 150 professional skipping stones in his backpack. At last, he'd powered Stone Skipping all the way up to Lv3!
He'd gained two levels in just half an afternoon!
His Strength and Free Attribute had also increased by 0.01.
------ Character: Chen Jue
Strength: 0.81+
Constitution: 0.96+
Spirit: 1.06+
Skills: [Stone Skipping Lv3 (4/2000)+][Darts Lv3 (426/2000)+][Twelve Taiji Forms Lv1 (1/200)+]
Free Attribute Points Available: 0.01
(Character Evaluation: An office worker who is beginning to see the light. Your sub-healthy body is developing in a positive direction.)
Looking at the steadily increasing stats on his panel, Chen Jue felt like he'd had a wonderfully fulfilling and fun weekend.
Especially since he'd learned three niche skills he'd never normally come across.
They might not seem useful, but they could help Chen Jue improve his health and give him hope for life again.
As for the Free Attribute Point he'd just earned, Chen Jue immediately put it into Constitution.
He'd noticed that focusing on Constitution over the past few days had made a considerable difference to his body.
Not only had his appetite improved, but his stamina, energy, and ability to recover had all gotten much better than before.
In the past, all it took was half a day out with Jiang Zhe for Chen Jue to feel exhausted and want to lie in his rental apartment until the end of time.
But now he could do morning exercise, practice Darts in the morning, and still spend the afternoon doing such high-intensity stone skipping!
His whole day was packed, yet he felt energized, as if he were running on adrenaline.
Still, even though Chen Jue wanted to keep grinding, it was time to go back and rest.
He'd used up all the stones he'd brought, and his right arm was so sore he couldn't lift it anymore. It dangled at his side like a noodle.
He called a car back to Changhe Residential District and, on a whim, ordered a fitness meal online for dinner.
Since it was his first time trying one, Chen Jue felt as if he were chewing wax and mud.
The beef, buckwheat noodles, and eggs had all been boiled. They'd poured some sauce over them and added a little mashed potato and vegetable salad, and that was the whole meal.
It tasted bland and had not a bit of oil!
And they'd charged Chen Jue 38 yuan for it. It was so awful he could hardly choke it down.
"No wonder so many women at the company complain that losing weight is hard."
"If this is how you have to eat, anyone who can stick with it for a whole week is tough as nails." Chen Jue forced down a few bites.
He'd ordered the takeout himself, so he had to finish it, even if it brought tears to his eyes!
As he ate, he looked online at some self-discipline videos.
He found that every one of those self-discipline vloggers was a hard case. They did high-intensity workouts morning, afternoon, and evening, and ate three meals that were pretty much the same as the takeout he'd ordered that night.
He had no idea how those people managed to stick with it.
He definitely didn't have the willpower for it.
Chen Jue went to bed especially early that night.
After finishing his takeout, he took a hot shower, lay down, and fell asleep a little after eight.
He'd been very active that weekend, and on top of that, raising his stats and grinding skill proficiency had taken a lot of energy. His body was exhausted.
Chen Jue slept for more than twelve hours straight.
When he woke up right on time at eight thirty the next day, his work alarm went off too. He hurried to wash up and get dressed, then joined the stream of office workers from the nearby residential districts, dressed in his suit and tie.
Some were rushing to catch the subway; others were hurrying to grab breakfast before clocking in.
Looking at the crowds around him, all kinds of people, and his peers trudging to work after a weekend of overtime, their bodies exhausted, yawning and nearly falling asleep as they walked, Chen Jue felt as if he were looking at his past self.
"A regular sleep schedule really is better!"
"My muscles are still a little sore, but I'm not sleepy at all this morning." Chen Jue mused to himself.
He bought and ate breakfast in the cafeteria on the first floor of Huaye Building, then clocked in early on DingTalk to make sure he wouldn't lose his perfect-attendance bonus.
He scanned his face at the turnstile and squeezed into the elevator up to the twenty-third floor.
He even ran into a few acquaintances from the neighboring cosmetic surgery company on the same floor and exchanged greetings with them.
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened.
Chen Jue was just thinking about bringing his best energy to a brand-new Monday morning, while also planning how to slack off at work in a reasonable way.
But the moment he stepped out of the elevator—
He froze!
The entrance to Taisheng Finance was crowded with all sorts of people. A group of uniformed government officials had set up a cordon at the door and were keeping order.
"What's going on?"
"Did I get off on the wrong floor?" Chen Jue looked back at the floor indicator above the elevator. He was definitely on the familiar twenty-third floor.
Just then, his junior apprentice Jiang Lin, who had arrived a little earlier, appeared from somewhere and pulled him toward a less crowded area. "Brother Jue! Something huge has happened at the company!"
"Chairman Zhang and Director Wang from Finance fled overnight with the company's money!"
Second update~
This chapter's rather long, but it just about counts as two chapters. The plot needed a transition~
There probably won't be another update tonight, so everyone get some rest. We'll continue tomorrow!
And please vote for the story while you're at it~ The new book needs everyone's support!
The more votes you cast, the more motivated Pianfeng will be to write!
Before you continue