Daily Life and Fragments

Over the next few days, the training routine at Kame House gradually settled into a fixed rhythm.

Every morning after daybreak, they first ran along the coastline, turning back at the white reef, for a total distance of roughly five kilometers. After the run, they returned to the shore to swim, reaching the black reef and swimming back, a distance of about eight hundred meters. After coming ashore, they rested for half an hour before starting to move stones. The stones were rearranged every day—sometimes moved from the beach to the yard, sometimes from the yard back to the beach. Their sizes also varied from day to day, and occasionally one or two rocks that were noticeably heavier than the day before would be mixed into the pile, as if someone had deliberately placed them there.

Use of the Gravity Room was scheduled after afternoon training. Lin Chen spent twenty minutes inside each day around dusk. Starting from the lowest setting, he gradually adapted, then raised it by one level on the fifth day. Once inside the Gravity Room, he could feel that his stamina drained faster than during ordinary training. However, the warm current within him would gradually restore his strength shortly after he came out, as though his body were automatically replenishing what it had expended.

[Ding! Gravity environment adaptability increased. Current training efficiency: base value ×1.2.]

[Ding! Constitution +8, Strength +6, Speed +4.]

That morning was the same as usual. The sky had only just brightened when people began moving about in Kame House's yard. Krillin was tying his shoelaces beneath the eaves. By the time Lin Chen came out of the house, he had just finished tying them. He looked up at Lin Chen, then turned and headed for the beach. Lin Chen followed behind him. Their footsteps alternated on the stone path in the early morning, forming a continuous echo near the wall. The rhythm was steady, though they occasionally overlapped, like two sets of footsteps moving at different speeds and crossing paths.

A thin layer of grayish-white mist covered the sea. The sunlight had yet to fully break through, only painting the edges of the clouds with a faint gold. Krillin stopped at the edge of the beach and began stretching. When he bent down, his fingers could not reach his toes, so he bent a little farther until his fingertips touched the ground before straightening up.

Standing beside him, Lin Chen did a set of stretches as well. As he bent down, he could feel the muscles at the backs of his calves stretching slightly. The movement was smoother than it had been a few days ago. As his bend deepened, his body did not feel the expected strain, as though he had always been capable of doing it. He did not deliberately adjust his posture. Once he was done, he straightened up, his rhythm more or less matching Krillin's.

"Let's start." As soon as Krillin spoke, he began running north along the coastline. He was not fast, but his pace was even. Every step landed beside the previous pair of footprints, like a template being stamped over and over.

After the run came the swim. The water was slightly warmer than yesterday. The morning sunlight had already raised the temperature of the surface water a little, so getting in did not bring the obvious chill of the previous few days. By the time Lin Chen reached the black reef, Krillin had already arrived. He floated beside the reef with one hand on the rock wall, only releasing it and turning back after Lin Chen drew near.

After coming ashore, they moved stones. Two rocks in today's pile were noticeably heavier than yesterday's. When he carried the first one, Lin Chen could feel that it weighed around twenty percent more than before. The load pressed more tightly on his shoulders, and he had to adjust his breathing to keep his balance. When carrying the second, he used a slightly different method of exerting force. As he bent down, he shifted his center of gravity a little farther back than before, allowing the weight to distribute more evenly along both sides of his spine when he hoisted the stone. He walked across the beach and placed it in the designated corner of the yard, his steps steadier than before.

[Ding! Picked up Strength Light Orbs ×4. Strength +12.]

[Ding! Picked up Constitution Light Orbs ×2. Constitution +6.]

At lunchtime, Goku returned from behind the house with a towel draped over him and several bits of bark clinging to his shoulders. He sat down at the table and accepted the bowl Krillin handed him. "I found a thicker tree in the woods to the north today. It's bigger than either of the last two. I'll go back this afternoon."

Master Roshi held his bowl. "No rush. Clear out that pile of broken wood in the backyard first this afternoon. It's been sitting in the corner too long, and it's attracting bugs. Once you're done, then go chop down that big tree."

Goku nodded and continued eating with his head lowered.

After afternoon training in the Gravity Room ended, Lin Chen stood in the yard and moved his arms. He could feel that the muscles in them were tighter than they had been two days ago, carrying the solid fullness of sustained use. He did not make any further movements. He merely stood in the yard, letting the evening sea breeze blow over him. The thin layer of sweat on his body was carried away by the wind, leaving behind a faint chill.

Krillin came out from behind the house holding a cup of water. Leaning against a wall some distance away, he said, "You're adapting well. You got used to it faster than I expected."

"I trained in similar basics before."

"I can tell." Krillin took a sip of water. "Your shoulders are stable when you carry stones, which means your basic strength is enough. The main issues now are endurance and adapting to continuous training."

After saying that, he did not continue the subject. Carrying his cup, he returned to the house. Lin Chen stood in the yard for a while longer. Fishing boats were returning in the distance, the flags atop their masts fluttering gently in the evening breeze as their hulls rose and fell slowly with the waves. Several martial arts uniforms hanging from the clothesline beneath the eaves were nearly dry. Their fabric swayed softly in the evening wind, still carrying the scent of sea breeze and sunlight. The wind brought that scent over, and it could be smelled even from several steps away.