Volume One, Chapter Thirteen: Shen Youyu

"Deal!" Black Egg hurriedly stood up. "I'll head home now and ask my grandma for the bow. If she won't give it to me, I'll just steal it for you!"

"That's the spirit," Lin Hu praised, then suddenly remembered the issue of arrows. He added, "Hey, don't forget to bring the quiver when you come!"

"Got it," Black Egg replied over his shoulder, then ran quickly towards home.

Lin Hu smiled, then urgently opened his personal panel to take a look.

[Awakened: Lin Hu]
[Talent Skills: 4]
[Arm Strength (Beginner 0.1%)]
[Hunting Traps (Uninitiated 41%)]
[Spirit Tempering (Beginner 1.6%)]
[Precision (Beginner 0.2%)]
...

"Already three skills at beginner level. Excellent."

"Now that I've got some free time, I'll practice the precision skill a bit. Shoot more sparrows for Black Egg, give him a proper meal!"

As Lin Hu thought about hunting sparrows, he realized it would also help level up his Spirit Tempering skill.

So he entered a frenzied mode.

...

Unnoticed, a pile of sparrows had accumulated on the grass. If not a hundred, then at least eighty.

Just as Lin Hu was still excited, chasing sparrows, a prompt sounded in his mind.

[The proficiency limit for beginner-level species has been reached today. No additional proficiency gained.]

"Hmm?"

"What's going on?"

Seeing the prompt, Lin Hu instantly lost motivation and paused.

He thought it over carefully.

"So that's it."

"Sparrows are beginner-level creatures, and there's a daily cap on proficiency gained from them. To keep leveling up, I'll need to hunt higher-level animals."

"Makes sense."

"If there were no cap, I'd grind endlessly and soar to the heavens, wouldn't I?"

Looking around, Lin Hu saw no other birds worth hunting.

"Guess I'll take a break."

"Heaven has already favored me greatly—I shouldn't be too greedy."

Having calmed down, Lin Hu accepted this unexpected situation.

"The prompt says today's limit is reached. Does that mean it resets tomorrow?"

"That would be nice."

"So, does the push-up routine have a cap as well?"

"I need to test it."

With a new goal in mind,

Lin Hu started doing standard push-ups right where he stood.

[You completed a standard push-up, gaining +4 proficiency for the Arm Strength skill!]
...

The sun was setting, casting shadows. The trench felt stuffy as a steam box.

Sweat trickled down Lin Hu's back, following the groove of his spine. But among the fourteen hundred million people in the country, how many get a second chance at life?

Heaven granted him a chance to start over. Shooting a slingshot, doing some push-ups—what are those compared to the hardships endured to rise above others?

...

Fifty-six, fifty-seven... one hundred and one!

After finishing 101 push-ups, he once again heard the prompt: proficiency for beginner-level actions has reached the limit.

This time, he didn't falter.

He felt no exhaustion.

He easily completed all 100 push-ups!

"This extra hundred kilos of strength is incredible!"

"Push-ups feel effortless now—not tiring at all!"

Drenched in sweat, Lin Hu slowly sat down.

"So it's true."

"Push-ups are a basic action. After earning 100 proficiency, I've capped out again."

"Looks like I'll need to find new methods to increase proficiency."

Having confirmed his theory,

Lin Hu summarized the pattern.

But he still couldn't be sure if there was a way to break the daily proficiency limit.

"I'll look into it later. I can't let myself be restricted—the faster I develop, the better!"

He glanced at the animal traps in the distance.

He had intended to reset the traps and bird snares, practicing them repeatedly.

But suddenly, he felt ravenously hungry.

"Grrr..."

Clutching his stomach, he muttered, "Even though Spirit Tempering gives me enduring stamina after leveling up, it's no match for all this exertion."

He looked at the sparrows, thinking about roasting them, but decided against it.

"Better rest a bit and wait for Black Egg to arrive so we can do it together."

Lin Hu sprawled in the wild grass, basking in the warm sun.

"The same thing," he mused, "if you repeat it, summarize the patterns, you'll get positive feedback."

"So fulfilling..."

He recalled shooting the slingshot and doing push-ups earlier.

At first, he was clumsy, but gradually he became adept. The coordination between his limbs improved, reaction speed and agility increased noticeably.

"It seems the real benefits of these basic skills aren't just their literal effects—it's an overall enhancement of my abilities!"

Thinking these thoughts,

Lin Hu drifted off, exhausted, and fell asleep without realizing it.

He didn't know how much time had passed.

Suddenly, a commotion woke him.

...

"Ah..."

"Little Fish, you're really something—even when you're catching fish, you can't help showing off, sticking your hips out like that... Today, just spend some time with me and I'll wipe out the hundred and fifty-two yuan you owe, okay?"

"Ah... Wang Er Gou, let me go."

"I'll pay you back by the end of the year, don't... ah..."

"Damn it, I give you face and you don't appreciate it. You haven't settled your debt in two years."

"Today you must pay. If you're a virgin, the debt's paid as a fee for popping your cherry. If not, then one yuan per time... Let me have you for half a year and we're even!"

"Wu wu~ Get lost, if you keep this up I'll call for help."

Slap—

"Damn!"

"You won't pay, and you won't let me have you? You think I'm Wang Er Gou, a fool?"

"Wu wu~ Help..."

Slap—

"Still shouting!"

"I'll shut you up for good..."

"Wu wu wu~ ah..."

...

Lin Hu's eyes snapped open.

He thought he was imagining things, but listened carefully, then looked upstream.

On the riverbank, by the deep water, a man was bullying a young girl.

"Damn..."

"Isn't that Wang Er Gou from the supply and marketing cooperative?"

The other, her clothes in disarray and her head forced into the water, was the pitiful Shen Little Fish.

Wang Er Gou was the second son of Wang De Fa, the brigade leader of their village. After the production team dissolved, his family used their connections and resources to buy the supply and marketing cooperative.

Shen Little Fish's background was tragic. Her mother died in childbirth. Her father was a rusticated intellectual, who vanished after returning to the city. She lived with her grandmother and uncle's family.

Her uncle and aunt always saw her as a burden and, at eighteen, were trying to find her a husband.

As for the debt at the cooperative, Lin Hu had an inkling; her uncle usually sent her to buy on credit, claiming she should contribute to the family after all these years.

"Damn!"

"Wang Er Gou is obviously using this to take advantage of Little Fish."

He sprang up.

Aimed his slingshot at Wang Er Gou's backside and fired!

Whoosh—

Bang!

Howl—

Wang Er Gou howled like a dog, his eyes bulging, clutching his rear in pain.

Ah!

Shen Little Fish struggled out of the water, sitting in it dazed.

"??"

She looked at Wang Er Gou in disbelief, even forgetting her own danger and feeling a twinge of sympathy.

What could have bitten him to cause such pain that he couldn't even speak human language, frozen in place, thighs clenched, afraid to move?

"It must hurt terribly!"