You cannot blindly persist down a single path to the end.

Perhaps it was the relief of having escaped the muddled haze of yesterday, or the anticipation of embarking on a new chapter of work and life. On the drive to the talent apartment, Chen Jue found himself deep in thought.

Given his current circumstances, a job with a monthly salary of 20,000 yuan could afford him a comfortable existence in Hangzhou. Yet as age crept up, he knew that squandering his youth working for others was hardly a sustainable path. Unless the position offered real prospects for advancement—up to the company’s upper echelons and profit sharing—he’d simply be trading time for money. But Chen Jue was well aware of his own temperament: socially anxious, introverted, not one for flattery or office politics, which almost guaranteed his promotion prospects were nil.

As for relying on his newly acquired professional-level dart skills to make a living—winning prize money through competitions—that avenue was still uncertain. He was unfamiliar with the rules of the dart industry and the process for entering tournaments. Not to mention, he had no confidence whether his current abilities would even allow him to compete, let alone win. Sports competitions, after all, were famously unforgiving.

The world of sports was rife with unwritten rules, no less than the workplace; technical skill alone didn’t guarantee a spot on the field. Take men's football as an example: can you believe that out of 722 million, you might not find eleven who can play? Chen Jue believed it would be reckless to abandon his accumulated professional experience just because a glimmer of hope appeared, and dive headfirst into a dart career.

It would be no different from quitting his job on a whim and gambling everything on a startup. For a technical specialist in risk control and data, facing such high uncertainty, he needed to keep a clear head.

He decided to keep working for a while longer, and see if he could raise his Dart skill to level 4 or above. Once he was sure of his abilities, it wouldn’t be too late to make a move.

...

Lost in thought, Chen Jue arrived at the Hengtong talent apartment. The building was a mixed-use commercial residence beside a high-end complex, leased long-term by Hengtong Group and converted into staff dormitories. Twenty floors, with a dozen or so rooms per floor, fully equipped inside. Next door were a park and a large shopping mall, and stepping outside brought you straight into a bustling commercial district—life here was exceedingly convenient.

Having scouted the place in the morning, Chen Jue borrowed a trolley from the apartment front desk and gradually moved his luggage into his room. After tidying up, he found the environment vastly superior to his old rental at Changhe Community. The room was about forty square meters, a one-bedroom layout decorated like a comfortable hotel costing three or four hundred yuan a night—a top-tier setup for a single worker at the grassroots level.

He made up the bed, hung his clothes, took a shower, and headed downstairs for dinner. Busy relocating, it was past nine at night, and his stomach was rumbling with hunger.

He wandered the nearby commercial street, found a noodle shop, and ordered a bowl of Pian’er Chuan noodles. Still hungry, Chen Jue added a plate of fried pork chops and a fried egg. A week of increased exercise, combined with his constitution rising to 1.00, had noticeably improved his appetite. According to Li Chaoqun, this was a normal effect after working out.

Since he was still a beginner, food alone could basically replenish his nutritional needs. But if he ever trained up to a fitness coach’s level—a muscular powerhouse—he’d probably have to buy whey protein online.

...

Full and content, he returned to the apartment and stretched out, glancing at his attribute panel:

————
Name: Chen Jue
Strength: 0.82+
Constitution: 1.00+
Spirit: 1.08+
Skills: [Skipping Stones (Mastered)] [Darts Lv4 (12/5000)+] [Tai Chi Twelve Forms Lv1 (85/200)+]
Free attribute points: 0.01

(Character evaluation: Awakened office worker. Though your body has escaped sub-health, some hidden risks remain. Targeted treatment is advised to avoid minor ailments developing into serious illness.)
——————
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"Both Constitution and Spirit have reached 1 point," he mused. "Next is to strengthen my Strength. I wonder if the overall evaluation will change once all three attributes hit 1."

As for the panel’s reminder to see a doctor, Chen Jue decided to visit a nearby major hospital tomorrow. With several days left before work started, he could give himself a mini vacation to adjust.

He scrolled through his phone, liking the family photo posted by Jiang Zhe, that fool. Then he went on TikTok and Bilibili, watching short clips about darts and fitness. Since Lin Ling had mentioned "fancy dart tricks" that afternoon, he focused on videos showcasing advanced dart techniques.

The panel still showed a restriction: regular dart training no longer increased his attributes. But the internet was a treasure trove. Especially with big data recommendation algorithms, every video refreshed was tailored to his interests.

From throwing knives and daggers to tossing nails and other unusual everyday objects—the recent boom in short videos had propelled countless folk experts into the limelight with just seconds of footage, attracting tens of thousands of fans. Their storefronts were filled with products boasting sales in the thousands.

With ad commissions alone, these content creators made a tidy profit. Chen Jue watched for a while and thought, maybe he could try it himself. Making videos didn’t require showing his face; he could set up a phone, wear a mask, or just film his back, demonstrating his dart and skipping stone skills.

"Bilibili and TikTok both offer incentives for uploads lately," he thought. "If the views take off, the income could be decent. It’d make a good side hustle!"

With that idea, sleep was momentarily out of the question. On impulse, he bought a phone tripod on Taobao, plus two large power banks. Concerned that showing his face might lead to social embarrassment if acquaintances recognized him, he searched for masks and chose a resin demon mask styled after an ancient battlefield general—unique and unforgettable at a glance! It would also save him post-editing time blurring his face.

Of course, to select props for his videos, Chen Jue also ordered a batch of clay petal skipping stones—five hundred in total for a bulk discount. He considered buying throwing knives, but a warning page popped up.

"Strictly prohibited?" he muttered. "So they're banned goods!"

Startled, he quickly cancelled the search and looked up martial arts darts instead. This time, results appeared. He asked the seller and learned these were blunt-edged metal darts, unrestricted, so he ordered a set of popular short sword darts. Made of stainless steel, they could be reused as long as he didn’t toss them into water.

As for video accounts, Chen Jue already had them. He was a level six veteran on Bilibili, lurking for over ten years, with only a few reposts for giveaways. He cleared out his posts, purchased a premium membership, and changed his username to “Skill Brother.” He took the same name on TikTok, which happened to be a homonym of his own—catchy and easy to remember.

These days, you needed a unique skill to stand out on video platforms. Of course, these early investments were small—less than a thousand yuan altogether. Without even this much input, making attractive videos would mean going back to the park to pick up stones.

...

Having moved to a comfortable new environment, free from the dampness of the ground floor at Changhe Community, Chen Jue's sleep quality improved noticeably. Though he didn’t trigger another bout of "deep sleep" like last time, he woke up the next day feeling refreshed, energetic, and ready to take on the world.

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A glance at his phone revealed it was only 6:30 a.m.

"I'm getting up earlier and earlier!" Chen Jue couldn't help but sigh.

He planned to practice Tai Chi Twelve Forms in the nearby park. Changing into workout clothes, he jogged out of the talent apartment. By the time he reached the park, a crowd had already gathered for morning exercise. Joggers, cyclists, table tennis players, street fitness enthusiasts on the bars, whip-crackers spinning tops—so many activities, the atmosphere was vibrant and lively.

Compared to Changhe Community, this park was far more conducive to exercise. Looking around, he found a group practicing Tai Chi—a national treasure, and wherever you went, you’d find fellow enthusiasts.

But he couldn’t join them this time, as the leader—a middle-aged man with thick black hair and a healthy complexion—was clearly teaching a class. They all wore matching uniforms and practiced a more complex form of Tai Chi, not the simplified Twelve Forms.

Left with no choice, Chen Jue found an empty spot and practiced solo. He didn’t encounter any passing master grandfathers offering pointers—the stuff of Internet novels, just old tropes meant to fool readers. In reality, there weren’t nearly as many mysterious experts.

So he practiced alone for over an hour, working up a sweat and feeling rejuvenated. At that moment, his panel displayed a notification:

——————

[Ding~]
[Proficiency reached 100%, skill level increased.]
[Tai Chi Twelve Forms Lv2 (200/200) → Lv3 (1/2000)]
[After a period of diligent practice, you are now thoroughly familiar with the movements of Tai Chi Twelve Forms and are unlikely to make any mistakes.]

——————

[Ding~]
[Completed a qualifying aerobic exercise.]
[Free attribute point +0.01]

——————

"This simplified Tai Chi really upgrades quickly!" Chen Jue mused. With only twelve movements, the difficulty was indeed low. Just like with skipping stones, repeating the same gestures made it easy to accumulate proficiency.

He estimated that this Tai Chi Twelve Forms, being so straightforward, would likely max out at level 4. Seeing his free attribute points accumulate just a bit more, Chen Jue smiled, satisfied with his morning’s progress.

Just as he was about to head back for breakfast, he noticed, on the other side of the park, an elderly man with silver hair leading a bright-eyed young girl through an exceptionally rare martial arts routine.

Holding a rope with a sharp dart attached—like the tip of a spear—she whipped it through the air, the dart whistling as it flew and striking a wooden board several meters away with precision. Her movements were vigorous and powerful, an impressive and pleasing sight.

But most striking of all was the girl herself, radiating charisma. Her ponytail accentuated her bold features, and her sweat-soaked training uniform clung to her shapely figure, drawing the gaze of a group of old men playing chess nearby—their eyes nearly glazed over! Any more and they’d need heart medicine and a trip to the ICU.

Of course, witnessing such a picturesque scene, Chen Jue, a reserved connoisseur of beauty, found himself unable to look away, thinking, "That must be rope dart, isn't it?"

"So difficult! Quite a challenge!"

"If I practice this, it should also help improve my Dart proficiency, right?"

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