0128 City Hero

"Persistence is truly effective!"

Chen Jue looked at the notification that popped up on his dashboard regarding the improvement of his visual and auditory functions, feeling that all the effort he had put in recently had not been in vain. Although he could no longer monitor the proficiency growth of the "Eye Care Exercises" and "Ear Care Exercises" now that they had reached the "Perfect" level, his daily commitment to the massage routine was still yielding results.

After the dashboard notification faded, Chen Jue felt his hearing sharpen once again. Even while inside his room, he could hear the complex, rustling sounds throughout the entire apartment complex. Those sounds were like intertwined threads; as long as he focused, he could trace them back to their sources, unraveling them one by one. His range of hearing had also expanded significantly; he could actually hear the conversations at a breakfast stall fifty meters away from the apartment building while standing inside his room. Such auditory capability clearly surpassed that of an ordinary human.

As for his vision, it was even more exaggerated. Chen Jue got out of bed, changed his clothes, and ran to the roof of the apartment building in a few quick strides. Using the vantage point of the rooftop, he looked toward the flagpole where a flag hung at the Jiangda University campus, two kilometers away. The outline of the flag, which had previously appeared somewhat blurry, was now clearly reflected in his eyes; he could finally see the flag fluttering in the wind. However, the vivid red color of the flag remained slightly distorted, and he still could not make out the individual stars on it.

"Forget it, I'll keep at it. Sooner or later, I'll be able to count the stars on it," Chen Jue said, finally letting go of his obsession after several failed attempts.

With his current eyesight, he had definitely exceeded the 5.3 upper limit of the standard E-chart visual acuity test—his vision had essentially gone off the charts. Normally, if an ordinary person had 5.3 vision, it would often indicate hyperopia, making it difficult to see nearby objects clearly. Yet, after practicing his eye exercises, Chen Jue could see clearly both near and far. It was undoubtedly some form of mutation, or perhaps a case of atavism or evolution. Since 5.3 was the limit for current vision tests, he could only gauge his progress by using the flagpole as a benchmark.

Descending from the roof, Chen Jue did not go to the park for his morning workout because the "Mild Fatigue" status was still present on his dashboard. He wouldn't be able to perform high-intensity horse stance and archery training this morning. After sending a text to Teacher Wu to let him know he wouldn't be coming over, Chen Jue took a nap in his room to recover his strength.

After waking up from his nap, the first thing he did was look up the "mechanical waves" mentioned in the dashboard notification.

"The propagation of mechanical vibration in a medium is called a mechanical wave. It is divided into transverse and longitudinal waves. Common mechanical waves include water waves, sound waves, and seismic waves."

"Is it because when I perform the 'Drumming of the Heavenly Gate,' there are sound waves of a specific frequency generated by the tapping vibration that travel through the auditory center, stimulating the nerves within it?"

"The relationship between sound, the brain, and nerves..." Chen Jue reached out to touch the acupoints behind his ears and tapped on the hard bone above. The bone-conduction headphones currently popular on the market used a similar principle of sound propagation—instead of putting the headphones into the ear canal, they are placed against the bone near the ear to hear music clearly. This method prevents damage to the ear canal and has significant advantages over traditional headphones.

This was the first time Chen Jue had encountered such a situation. Previously, he had assumed that stimulating blood circulation and metabolism in the ear area solely through acupoint massage was enough to improve his hearing. He hadn't expected it to involve such complex physical principles. This fell into the realm of physics, far exceeding the knowledge base of a student like him.

However, since he had seen it on the dashboard, Chen Jue noted down the stimulation of his visual and auditory functions by "mechanical waves," along with his preliminary hypothesis, into the data model of his "Strongest Human Training Plan," intending to study it further when he had the chance. Currently, he lacked sufficient data samples and his own knowledge was limited, making it impossible to analyze the principles on the spot.

After jotting down some online information, Chen Jue packed his things, changed into decent clothing, and headed out. He grabbed breakfast downstairs and then drove to the police station as invited.

Welcomed by Officer Sun, the liaison from the previous day, Chen Jue met the parents of the little girl he had saved.

"Mr. Chen, thank you so much!"

"If you hadn't stepped forward, we don't know what kind of danger our Tongtong would have faced!" The girl's parents were visibly emotional, thanking Chen Jue repeatedly and even bowing to him.

The little girl, Tongtong, who had likely been well-lectured the day before, wasn't acting up anymore. Encouraged by her parents, she was a bit shy at first, but after fidgeting for a moment, she looked at Chen Jue and called out sweetly, "Thank you, Uncle, for saving my life!"

Chen Jue chuckled and nodded. "As long as you're safe, that's what matters. Remember to listen to your mom and dad and be careful in the future."

After chatting with the parents in the conference room and adding them on WeChat with his secondary account, Officer Sun brought in the personnel from the publicity department as previously arranged. A reporter from the Hangzhou TV station also arrived to conduct an interview, stating that they wanted to broadcast this act of bravery on the news.

Chen Jue didn't show any resistance, as it had already been agreed upon over the phone the day before. However, seeing the TV crew setting up their equipment, Chen Jue put on the mask of the "Master of Skills," which acted like a spell-immunity shield, allowing him to ignore the camera lenses that usually made him uncomfortable.

Before arriving, the staff likely knew that their interviewee was the trending "Master of Skills" from the internet, so they didn't make much of a fuss when Chen Jue put on the mask. After all, they were professionals who had signed non-disclosure agreements and could not leak the interviewee's privacy.

On the contrary, little Tongtong, seeing Chen Jue's mysterious attire, walked over, held his hand, and asked curiously, "Uncle, why are you wearing a mask?"

"Because I'm going to save the world, so I have to keep my identity a secret. Remember to keep it a secret too, Tongtong!" Chen Jue crouched down and patted the little girl's head as he explained.

"I know! Since you can climb such high buildings, you must be a superhero from the movies!"

"I promise to keep your secret, Uncle!"

"Pinky promise, cross my heart, never change~"

The little girl extended her pinky finger, and Chen Jue hooked his own around it. Her innocent behavior brought a knowing smile to the faces of all the adults present.

Once the tedious interview process was finished and the cameras stopped rolling, the little girl's parents took out a carefully prepared silk banner from their bag. When they opened it and handed it to Chen Jue, he saw two lines of gilded characters embroidered on it: "Brave Act of Justice, Hero of the City," which warmed his heart. He felt that his actions had finally received a certain level of recognition.

However, Chen Jue did not keep the banner. After everyone had taken a group photo, he left it at the police station for Officer Sun and his colleagues. In his view, compared to himself—an occasional do-gooder who wore a mask—the police officers who patrolled the front lines and guarded the city were the ones truly worthy of the title "Hero of the City."

Because of the interview, Chen Jue spent the entire morning at the police station. At noon, he was invited by Tongtong's parents to a grand meal; he couldn't refuse, as the couple was far too enthusiastic. Like Teacher Wu, they lived in a high-end residential complex and were financially well-off; it was said that both were executives at listed companies and were usually away on business. The accident the day before had occurred because the elderly relative at home had been careless and left the little girl alone while going out to buy groceries.

The place they chose to eat was a private restaurant by West Lake that Chen Jue had never even heard of. After all, their economic levels were different, and he hadn't been exposed to that level of consumption. Originally, Tongtong's parents had intended to reward Chen Jue, but after learning that he was a popular internet personality with over 5 million followers, they dropped the idea. An influencer of that level wasn't short on money and likely earned no less than corporate executives like themselves, so they simply treated him to a generous meal instead.

After the meal, they left two business cards for Chen Jue, telling him to contact them if he ever needed help. Chen Jue didn't decline; upon seeing that the couple worked in the import and export of medical equipment, he accepted the cards and parted ways with the family after finishing the feast.

By the time Chen Jue drove back to his apartment, the news material filmed that morning had already been quickly edited by the Hangzhou TV station and released on their short-video account. Given that the buzz from his climbing rescue the day before still lingered, the news report in collaboration with the police station immediately went viral, pushing search topics related to "Climbing Brother" and "Master of Skills" to the top.

In the report, netizens were surprised to see the familiar mask of the "Master of Skills" on screen. Seeing him accept the banner of gratitude from the parents made them as excited as Sherlock Holmes solving a case. The fans of the "Master of Skills" were especially thrilled, leaving frantic comments below:

"Official confirmation is the most lethal (doge face)."

"You can't deny it three times now! Still going to say it's not you? (husky tongue out)."

"The Master of Skills' mask looks a bit unhappy; was he forced to do this business? (laughing and crying emoji)."

"The content creator I follow finally has someone with overflowing positive energy (thumbs up)."

"The 'Hero of the City' title is well-deserved (awesome)."

"Master of Skills! When is your next video coming out? Or do another livestream! I want to see your skills! Strongly urging for an update! (holding up a sign)."

"Urging for an update +1."