Big Dipper Long Fist

Zhang Shuai pondered a question: did this mean he would never need to eat again? If he got hungry, would charging himself be enough?

That would cut down a great deal of his living expenses. The only things he would need to pay for were clothes, rent, water, and electricity. That way, he might not even need a thousand yuan a month to live on. Based on his current monthly income of around seven thousand yuan, he could save six thousand yuan every month. After working for a few years, he would be able to buy a car.

He desperately hoped to own a car of his own, even though he did not have a driver's license yet.

Of course, he could not tell anyone about the changes in his body—not even Wang Qiang. He had no desire to be treated like a monster, much less be captured and turned into a lab rat for scientific research.

Thinking of Wang Qiang, Zhang Shuai suddenly remembered that he had not told him he had secretly left the hospital. Wang Qiang was still planning to pick him up tomorrow, so he had to let him know to keep him from making a wasted trip.

So Zhang Shuai sent Wang Qiang a WeChat message: "Wang Qiang, I've already been discharged. You don't need to come pick me up from the hospital tomorrow."

Before long, Wang Qiang replied: "Didn't the hospital tell you to stay for observation another day? Someone's paying your medical bills, so why were you in such a hurry to leave?"

Zhang Shuai replied, "It's fine. I've already recovered. I don't like the smell of hospital disinfectant. It's more comfortable living at home."

Wang Qiang replied, "Come to my place for lunch tomorrow. My wife will cook and give you a proper welcome!"

"No need. I appreciate the thought, but I want to rest at home for a few days. We can talk about it in a few days."

Zhang Shuai definitely would not go. He wanted to conduct an experiment and see whether he would get hungry after going several days without food.

After a while, Wang Qiang finally replied: "All right, then. We'll wait until you've rested for a few days."

Lying on his bed, Zhang Shuai started scrolling through videos on his phone.

Whether it was Douyin or Kuaitui, the hottest content on both major short-video platforms was currently about Big Dipper Long Fist.

Ever since the Dragon Kingdom government had announced a martial art for nationwide fitness three months ago, it had strongly encouraged citizens to practice Big Dipper Long Fist. It claimed that this style had been born from traditional Dragon Kingdom martial arts and qigong, then refined through modern mechanics. With persistent practice, it could not only strengthen the body, but those with talent might even cultivate a sense of qi and prolong their lives.

Over the past three months, governments and major media outlets at every level throughout the Dragon Kingdom had vigorously promoted Big Dipper Long Fist, setting off another wave of nationwide fitness fever.

Previously, the hottest trend in the Dragon Kingdom had been plaza dancing. But plaza dancing was no longer fashionable. Even the uncles and aunties had switched to practicing Big Dipper Long Fist. Whether on Douyin or Kuaitui, Big Dipper Long Fist was now the secret code to traffic, and countless self-media creators began publicizing the grand spectacle of nationwide practice.

There were even more instructional videos online about cultivating Big Dipper Long Fist than one could count. Over the past three months, Zhang Shuai had no idea how many videos he had seen claiming to teach the most standard version of Big Dipper Long Fist.

With such a popular fitness martial art in the Dragon Kingdom, Zhang Shuai, who had always wanted to exercise, get fit, and lose weight, naturally wanted to give it a try. Unfortunately, every previous attempt had ended in failure. Mainly because he had been too fat, he could not complete many of the movements in Big Dipper Long Fist, so he had given up.

Big Dipper Long Fist had seventy-two forms, divided into the first and last thirty-six forms. The first thirty-six were foundational and easy for ordinary people to learn. The latter thirty-six were somewhat difficult, however. Many of the movements were hard for ordinary people to complete, demanding extremely high levels of physical strength and flexibility. The forms were also rather complicated, and without several months of practice, it was difficult to perform the whole set smoothly and completely.

At present, most videos online only practiced the first thirty-six forms of Big Dipper Long Fist. For the time being, Zhang Shuai had not seen anyone online successfully perform all seventy-two forms in one continuous sequence.

Just then, a video caught Zhang Shuai's attention. It had been posted by someone whose online name was Fat Girl Who Wants to Lose Weight, documenting her successful weight loss through practicing Big Dipper Long Fist. In the video, she said that after the government released Big Dipper Long Fist three months ago, she began practicing according to the official guidelines. She persisted in practicing three sets every morning and evening, and over three months, she had successfully slimmed down from 150 jin to 110 jin.

She had lost forty jin in three months. The video also showed clear comparison photos of the girl before and after losing weight. In the earlier photos, she had been chubby and looked rather unattractive. But now that she had slimmed down, she looked much more delicate and pretty.

The girl in the video had practiced the first thirty-six forms of Big Dipper Long Fist. The video had received a great many likes—more than a hundred thousand.

Zhang Shuai became interested. Could this Big Dipper Long Fist really help people lose weight?

Obesity had plagued him for so many years that even at twenty-five, he still could not find a girlfriend. Of course, he understood that there were many reasons he could not find one. It was not just because he was fat, but also because he was poor. Besides that, there was his personality—he was introverted, did not like talking, and did not know how to sweet-talk girls.

After his grandfather passed away, he had come to Qingshui City to make his way in the world. Last month, Wang Qiang's wife, Jing Fengqin, had even introduced him to a girl. Unfortunately, after meeting him once, the girl had been very dissatisfied with him, and nothing came of it.

After watching the video, Zhang Shuai began practicing Big Dipper Long Fist form by form according to the demonstrated breakdown of the movements. After more than half an hour of practice, he was already able to complete the first thirty-six forms in one continuous flow.

This pleasantly surprised Zhang Shuai. He had not expected that movements he previously found difficult would now be so easy to complete.

Clearly, his physical condition had improved dramatically.

Zhang Shuai performed the first thirty-six forms of Big Dipper Long Fist five times in a row. The more he practiced, the smoother he became, and the more excited he grew.

Zhang Shuai discovered in amazement that each time he practiced a set of Big Dipper Long Fist, a warm current arose within his body. Like a spring breeze soothing all living things, and like a clear spring nourishing parched earth, it gave him an exhilarating, thoroughly satisfying sensation.

Before long, Zhang Shuai had broken out in quite a sweat. He also felt sticky all over, as though a great deal of grease had been expelled from his body.

It really seemed capable of helping him lose weight!

Zhang Shuai was extremely excited. If it truly could help him lose weight, then no matter how bitter or exhausting it was, he had to keep at it.

Tirelessly, Zhang Shuai continued practicing Big Dipper Long Fist. After performing several more sets, he was drenched in foul-smelling sweat. He felt lighter than ever before, and his spirits grew better and better.

But soon, Zhang Shuai's stomach suddenly let out a series of growls. He was actually hungry again.

How long had it even been? It had not been four hours since he charged himself, and he was already hungry? His battery life was far too poor, wasn't it?