The image of an expert that does not quite fit.

At half past eight, Chen Jue left the park and leisurely ate breakfast at a roadside cafe.

Watching the increasing traffic outside, knowing he was about to face the morning rush hour, Chen Jue felt no urgency. After all, yesterday’s team leader Li Mo had told him that this week’s work arrangements were purely adaptive—no risk control responsibilities, only some clients assigned in the afternoon for practice. Even if he was late in the morning, at most he’d lose a few hundred yuan from his attendance bonus; for someone pulling in a twenty-thousand salary and coasting through office life, that bonus meant little.

Moreover, the closer it got to nine o’clock, the less congested the roads became. The peak had already passed; those still on the road were either bosses or people who, like Chen Jue, thought, “Since I’m already late, why rush?”

But then something miraculous happened.

When Chen Jue drove smoothly to Hengtong Tower, he punched in right at 8:59, perfectly on time. The drive had taken only seven minutes, far easier than yesterday when he left half an hour early.

Parking his car and slinging his small bag, he started climbing the stairs. This time, the ventilation fans in the stairwell were running, sending fresh air through the halls. It smelled much less stale than yesterday, making the ascent more comfortable.

Having experienced it once already, Chen Jue now approached the climb with some strategy, pacing himself and ascending steadily. After reaching the eighth floor, he switched to using both hands and feet, gripping the railing for support, and rhythmically lifting his legs—never pausing for rest, reaching the seventeenth floor in one stretch.

Standing at the door of the risk control department, he checked the time: only nine minutes had passed, a significant improvement over yesterday!

And his panel popped up with a prompt:

———

[Ding~]
[Skill progress reached 100%]
[Climbing Lv0 (100/100) → Lv1 (1/200)]
[You have gained a basic understanding of climbing, begun to learn how to allocate your stamina, improved your posture, and coordinated your balance and sense of direction.]

———

[Ding~]
[You completed a high-intensity aerobic exercise. Your leg muscles have been trained, your cardiovascular functions improved, and your muscle endurance has increased slightly.]
[Free attribute +0.01]

———

Though he hadn’t triggered the critical hit like yesterday, seeing the attribute gain still made Chen Jue very happy.

Especially since climbing had reached level one, granting him a strange new muscle memory. He believed that with another climb tomorrow morning, he could further improve his time to the seventeenth floor.

……

Under the surprised gazes of his new colleagues, Chen Jue ambled to his workstation.

Across the office, Team Leader Li Mo glanced at the time, frowned, and sent Chen Jue a message: “Don’t be late tomorrow!”

“I wasn’t late, boss (grinning)—the elevator queue just took a while,” Chen Jue replied instantly, attaching his punch-in record.

Li Mo saw the near-miss punch-in time and remembered Chen Jue had apparently been hired through a VP’s backdoor, with significant connections—so much so that even General Manager Luo had personally checked in. So, after thinking it over, he replied, “As long as you’re not late. Still, try to arrive earlier next time; it doesn’t look good.”

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“(OjbK)” Chen Jue sent back a meme and went to the bathroom to change clothes.

Unexpectedly, as he entered, he saw the chubby Shen Shikun emerge red-faced from within—clearly having fought a fierce battle in there first thing. The two seasoned slackers exchanged a knowing smile, passed each other without a word. From Shen Shikun’s limping gait, it was obvious he’d been stuck in there for a while.

Chen Jue himself had hemorrhoids; he’d often suffered constipation while working at Taisheng Financial. Long hours at a desk, reduced bowel movement—no one escapes the awkward curse of constipation.

But since awakening his panel, exercising more, and regulating his routine, Chen Jue had mostly resolved his morning needs after eye exercises. Drinking plenty of water beforehand, his bowel movements were smooth—one minute and done, a bonus aside from improved eyesight.

As for hemorrhoids, Chen Jue had researched them in the past days. The mechanism isn’t fully understood—like hair loss, there’s no solution yet. Some say it’s caused by venous swelling and thrombosis, others blame rectal tissue displacement. Mainstream treatments are surgical or, more conservatively, topical medication.

Chen Jue had been using ointment since his last physical, but with little effect. He planned to try pelvic floor exercises during work hours, as recommended online. Whether they worked, only time would tell.

……

After changing, Chen Jue sat at his workstation and glanced at Shen Shikun.

The chubby man, fresh from the bathroom, had swapped his flushed look for pallor, his head nodding as he dozed—like a chick pecking at grains, clearly sleep-deprived from last night.

“Paid bathroom break and now back to napping,” Chen Jue mused, “This guy’s slacking skills are better than mine!” He opened his computer, picked up his grip trainer, and began his thirty-minute hand workout.

His strength attribute was still weak—so he decided to reinforce it during office hours.

Just as he finished one round, netting 0.01 in strength, the phone on his desk rang.

He answered, surprised to hear the group’s reception desk: two police officers were here to see him. Chen Jue was stunned.

“What did I do now?” he wondered, thinking the dog rescue incident hadn’t been settled. He notified Li Mo and went down to the group’s reception room.

Inside, Officer Liu and the assistant officer Xiao Li were sipping hot tea brought by the receptionist, both inwardly amazed—these finance types really played the part! Suited professionals by day, yet by night they became urban hunters, hunting rodents in garbage heaps for the thrill.

To find Chen Jue, the “suspect,” the two had spent the night combing through university district surveillance footage. The darkness and Chen Jue’s trash-diving meant most spots were blind zones, but they finally identified his black SUV with temporary plates, traced it to Hengtong Group’s vehicle registration.

Once office hours began, they made a special trip to retrieve employee records, aiming to nab Chen Jue directly.

But after a few questions, both Officer Liu and Assistant Li were dumbfounded.

“You didn’t use a homemade crossbow or airgun?”

“Just threw nails by hand?”

Assistant Li’s voice rose in disbelief as he looked Chen Jue over—a refined finance worker, sharp-eyed but otherwise unremarkable. Was this really the kind of person who could kill a rat with a thrown nail?

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“Yes, just by hand—none of those crossbows or airguns you mentioned,” Chen Jue shrugged, innocent.

So it was his wild hunting causing all this trouble!

“Mr. Chen, could you describe the scene when you threw the nail?”

“The surveillance footage is unclear, so we made a special trip to confirm with you,” Officer Liu asked, still skeptical.

After all, last night’s twenty-plus rats all died the same way—one nail, instant kill. Apart from a specialized nail-firing device, he couldn’t imagine anyone doing such damage by hand.

“I just found a good angle, waited until the rats were still, about ten meters away, and threw…” Chen Jue scratched his head.

“Ten meters? Are you sure?”

Li’s handwriting faltered, feeling as if he’d met a supernatural being.

Li had only recently graduated from the police academy and remembered barely passing the fifteen-meter marksmanship test with a handgun. Ten meters—never mind using a nail, even using a gun it’d be tough to hit such a small, moving target.

“Forget it, I’ll demonstrate for you. I have nails in my car.”

Chen Jue started to explain, but realized his level five “Throwing Weapons” skill was quite unbelievable.

So he led the two skeptical officers down to the parking garage, retrieved a box of nails from his trunk.

Officer Liu checked the trunk carefully, finding no contraband.

Chen Jue grabbed a bottle of mineral water, set it up in the garage corridor, stepped back about ten meters, and with a swift motion, threw a nail—piercing the bottle instantly, water spraying everywhere, the bottle sent tumbling by the impact.

Seeing this astonishing display, Officer Liu and Assistant Li, recording the whole thing, were utterly stupefied, finally convinced Chen Jue had told the truth.

……

Misunderstanding resolved, the two officers left Hengtong Tower, still reeling.

On the way, Officer Liu checked Chen Jue’s identity, seeing the dart-throwing license and a recent case record, and burst out laughing: “Turns out this guy was the folk expert who killed that dog last week! No wonder he’s so good with nails!”

“Ten meters out, he can nail a rat, so killing a dog with a dart isn’t difficult.”

“Huh? You mean Chen Jue took down that pit bull last week?” Xiao Li exclaimed, driving.

Last week’s vicious dog incident had caused a stir in Hangzhou. Although online attention focused on Teacher Wu, colleagues at the precinct often discussed it, analyzing it as a case.

Besides speculation, Li and his coworkers wondered about the true skill of the dart expert who hadn’t shown his face.

Unexpectedly, a routine call led them to the real man.

But recalling Chen Jue’s ordinary white-collar appearance, Li’s fantasy of the dart master was instantly shattered.

“Why doesn’t Chen Jue become an internet celebrity, since he’s so skilled?” Li muttered. “He’d make more money than working in an office!”

Officer Liu patted Li’s shoulder, hinting he should focus on driving, and earnestly advised: “You’re still young—don’t let your imagination run wild!”

“There are always people with odd temperaments in this world. Not everyone wants to step into the spotlight and become famous.”

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