What isn’t flying, if not this?

Strictly speaking, Chen Jue should have bought a tungsten block, which is very close to gold in terms of atomic weight—183.84 amu, nearly identical to gold. However, pure tungsten is expensive online, mostly sold in laboratory-grade blocks. He asked a few sellers, and if he wanted a custom mold cast and processed, the price was even higher! Factoring in the custom processing cost, it would be impossible to get it for less than ten thousand yuan—not worthwhile at all.

As for brass, Chen Jue had a vivid impression of it! In the financial pawn industry, it's nicknamed “fake gold.” In earlier years, many pawnshops faced scams involving gold-plated brass—a matryoshka doll trick. There were even cases where jewelry stores colluded with pawnshops to defraud banks, pretending to pawn goods to raise funds but actually targeting the bank's principal. Some large-scale cases involved tens or even hundreds of billions.

When he was young and living in the countryside, Chen Jue had also encountered similar fake gold scams. Those itinerant gold dealers who traveled to rural areas loved using brass to fool villagers. The elderly in the countryside didn’t know any chemistry, only the old saying, “real gold fears no fire.” After burning, brass looks almost indistinguishable from gold to the naked eye—one scam, one success.

...

After ordering the fake gold bar online, Chen Jue didn’t fuss further and went straight to bed. His left hand’s muscle injury needed rest, and staying up late would only hinder recovery. Perhaps last night’s silver bar challenge pushed him past his limits, because when he woke up the next day, his left hand hurt even more, the pain having intensified. From his hand up to his forearm, the area was swollen and red like a steamed bun, with some bluish bruises visible. Even lifting it hurt badly, so he let it hang limp, keeping it as still as possible.

He glanced out the window—the sky was gray and rainy, no sunrise to be seen, so he couldn't go to the park for morning exercise. He had no choice but to burrow back under the covers for a bit more sleep.

When he woke again, it was past nine; he was already late for work. Chen Jue applied for a half-day sick leave on DingTalk and informed his team leader, Li Mo, via WeChat.

Li Mo had no objections, since Chen Jue was still in his probationary adaptation period this week and his work wasn’t tied to risk-control performance metrics. The few A-class clients he reviewed each afternoon were already under his supervision, so a half-day leave was no issue. What’s more, for these office-bound financial workers, aside from a rare few who exercised regularly, most had mediocre health. Taking sick leave for minor injuries or illnesses was perfectly normal.

So Li Mo quickly approved the sick leave on DingTalk, only asking Chen Jue to provide a medical note later.

He went downstairs for breakfast, and since his left hand was injured and couldn’t be moved around, driving was unsafe, so he took a taxi to a nearby major hospital and registered for an appointment.

The surgeon diagnosed him with a soft tissue contusion and a mild muscle strain. Muscle strains are generally divided into three grades: Grade 1 is mild, Grade 2 moderate, and Grade 3 severe—requiring surgery to repair. Chen Jue’s was a Grade 1 mild strain, with only a tiny portion of muscle fibers slightly torn. The doctor prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication for aseptic inflammation and a topical Chinese herbal ointment, advising him to rest and recover for a week or two.

“Looks like I’ll have to let my left hand be for a few days,” Chen Jue muttered to himself.

Most of his current exercise skills were focused on specific limbs—if his left hand was injured, he could still train his right hand and both legs. It would just be less efficient, but it wouldn’t stop him from grinding attribute points.

...

Carrying a bag of medicine, he had lunch outside and took a taxi to Hengtong during his lunch break.

His current salary was calculated per workday, already reaching 900 yuan a day—a high income for an average person. Taking half a day off in the morning instantly cost him 450 yuan—enough for half a visit to Jingtanghui—so he had to make the most of the afternoon.

At his desk, he took anti-inflammatories while applying ointment to his left hand. A cool sensation seeped into his skin, and after a short while, the lactic acid buildup and pain in his left arm eased considerably.

“Prescription medicine from hospitals really is stronger than what you get at regular pharmacies!” Chen Jue couldn’t help but marvel.

The small pharmacies along the street aimed to maximize profit, often recommending off-brand drugs from small manufacturers with high margins and rebates. Their efficacy couldn’t compare to hospital prescriptions, and sometimes their prices were absurdly high.

...

So whenever he had a cold or mild illness, other than toughing it out, Chen Jue rarely bought medicine from street pharmacies. If he really couldn’t take it, he’d go to a big hospital for a checkup—his employee insurance made a hospital visit cheaper than the pharmacy, if he had the time.

This was a lesson Chen Jue learned over years of drifting alone in Hangzhou.

...

The afternoon passed quickly. Because of his “illness,” Chen Jue wasn’t assigned any A-class clients—all were handled by his teammates. He sat at his desk, working a grip strengthener with his right hand, occasionally squatting, tensing his perineum, and doing other small exercises that didn’t involve his left hand.

To his surprise, he gained 0.02 free attribute points in one afternoon, all of which he put into his Constitution, raising it to 1.25. A warm current flowed through his body, and Chen Jue found his left-hand injury seemed to be healing faster, the soreness lessening.

“These attribute points are truly miraculous!” he thought. “More effective than any miracle drug!”

His Strength attribute also rose by 0.01 through grip training, now at 0.91—getting close to a full point.

“Feels like this 30 kg endurance training is too easy. I’ll set it to 35 kg starting tomorrow.”

After adjusting the grip strengthener’s resistance, he checked the time—it was nearly time to leave work. He scheduled auto clock-out on DingTalk and prepared to go.

At that moment, his neighboring colleague, Shen Shikun, outpaced him by shutting down his computer first.

“It’s Thursday today, tomorrow’s Friday~” he sang. “Hold out one more day, then Sunday~”

“No work on Sunday, sleep till afternoon—that’s my perfect lazy day~”

Passing Chen Jue’s desk, Shen Shikun slowed and leaned over, “How’s your hand, Jue? Tomorrow night our group’s holding a welcome party for you—can’t have the guest of honor missing!”

“Tomorrow night? As long as it’s just dinner, I’m good—it won’t interfere,” Chen Jue replied, suddenly recalling the group chat’s earlier messages.

Since he was new, the Risk Control Team 5 colleagues had arranged an offline welcome dinner at a nice nearby restaurant to build camaraderie.

To keep floating along in the workplace, some socializing was necessary. Chen Jue didn’t refuse—the event was AA, and each person wouldn’t spend much. He’d treat it as a way to relax after intense training.

...

Walking downstairs with the chubby Shen, Chen Jue took a taxi back to his talent apartment.

For dinner, he ordered some light porridge via delivery—it was raining, and going out was inconvenient. Besides, the doctor had advised avoiding greasy, heavy food while inflamed, as it would hinder recovery.

After dinner, he watched a few episodes of anime and TV series on his computer, but soon felt bored. He found that nowadays, especially with these so-called big productions and IPs, the more he watched, the less he liked. He didn’t know if he was getting older or if his taste had improved, but he quickly lost interest. It was either brainless aesthetics favoring pale, thin, and effeminate types, or endless fan service; the special effects looked fake, the acting was subpar. He found short, interesting videos more relaxing.

...

He couldn’t practice with the darts or nails in his room for now, since throwing darts required full-body force, which could strain his left hand and hinder recovery.

Playing games with friends wasn’t an option either; using only one hand would affect his performance and get him flamed for dragging his team down.

After thinking it over, Chen Jue couldn’t find any way to amuse himself.

He went to his favorite gaming forum and made a post: “Left hand injured—what can I do with just my right hand to kill time?”

Within a minute, replies flooded in!

“First post offering up the thread!”

“That’s easy! Just open your D drive collection—”

“@Moderator, I’ve welded the car door shut; second post incoming, better send them to the ‘dark room’ for a few days (dog emoji)”

“Try single-player games—Minesweeper, Pinball, Solitaire—just don’t mess with teammates!”

“+1 for Solitaire. I get through my workday with that—play a few rounds and you’ll get sleepy, very effective.”

...

Chen Jue hadn’t expected his casual post to blow up so quickly. In just a few minutes, dozens of people replied, and a moderator even featured the thread—more attention than his skill videos ever got.

“Solitaire?”

He glanced at the most liked reply, then looked at his still usable right hand.

He opened his computer’s single-player games and played a few rounds of Solitaire and Minesweeper. These were his childhood favorites—easy to pick up, good for the mind.

After just ten minutes, a thought struck him: “Could playing cards be used as hidden weapons? If flowers and leaves can hurt, why not a card?”

The idea fired him up. He went down to the apartment’s first-floor convenience store and bought a deck of playing cards for ten yuan.

Opening the box, he took out a brand-new card and felt its strength. Then, holding it between two fingers of his right hand, he snapped his wrist, using explosive force to fling the card at a pile of delivery boxes in the corner of his room.

With a thud, the card spun at high speed through the air, then, like a sharpened blade, embedded itself in the box.

And just then, a new system prompt appeared:

———

[Ding~]
[You have completed a qualified hidden weapon throw. Your right hand muscle group has been exercised.]
[Hidden Weapon Throw Proficiency +1]