Chapter Twenty-Two: Training

0.5 points lower than his old man... I suppose this is the inherent gap between genders?

Li Xia took off the glasses and stored them in his inventory; the device was quite bulky and rather eye-catching to wear.

Looking around the shop, Old Liu was slumped on the floor like a man whose bones had been pulled out, sobbing silently without a word.

Yan Ya was frantically making phone calls, likely trying to claw back his money. Most banks have a freeze period for large transfers, so it shouldn't be too difficult. Yan Yi, having just experienced such an ordeal, was likely still suffering from an adrenaline rush and was currently slumped in the boss's chair, trying to collect herself.

A flicker of gloom crossed Li Xia’s mind.

To be able to pinpoint his location via surveillance, trace the mining firm behind Old Liu within the twenty minutes between his arrival and the bank transfer, and pull enough strings to have him killed... to be capable of such things here in the country, how powerful must this organization be?

It was fortunate that this happened domestically. If he were abroad, Li Xia suspected that armored vehicles and helicopters might have appeared before him instead.

He couldn't go head-to-head with them for now; evasion was the priority until he grew stronger. Time was on his side.

With that thought, Li Xia stood up and said, "Boss Yan, I’m leaving now. Call me if we’re continuing tonight."

Yan Ya was busy trying to freeze the money he had just transferred. Luck was on his side; the funds were still within the thirty-minute freeze window, and the money had been recovered. In high spirits, he put down his phone. "Sure, let's continue tonight. Thanks a lot for your help, young man. I’ll bring you the five hundred thousand in cash tonight, and I’ll waive the service fee."

Not bad, he was a man of his word. Li Xia nodded at Yan Ya and slipped away with his suitcase.

As he passed Old Liu, he delivered a clean kick that sent him flying quite a distance. Although he didn’t know how Yan Ya would handle him, it was clear he wouldn't have an easy time of it.

...

Exiting the alley, he emerged into the bustling Xinjiekou district. Checking the time, it was still early for the evening, so Li Xia found a private cinema.

He initially thought about renting a room, but hesitated at the requirement to provide his ID. Many of these networks were internal, and the difficulty of hacking them lay in how to gain access to the intranet. For many critical networks, any unauthorized external connection would be flagged by headquarters almost instantly. Scott, after all, was merely a combat support system, not a highly intelligent digital life form.

The receptionist at the private cinema asked quite suggestively if he wanted to add a "viewing companion." It wasn't cheap—388 per film.

How laughable. Li Xia wouldn't dream of paying that. What kind of quality could possibly justify a 388 fee?

In the dim room, the flickering light from the projector cast strange, shifting shadows across his face. He randomly selected a film to play and pulled the detector from his coat. He hadn’t thought much of it when he first got it, but looking at it now, it was indeed eye-catching. The key was that it was simply too famous—so famous that the "Power Level Five" scouter was known in almost every corner of the world.

With a thought, Li Xia posed a question to the Temple:

"Temple, can I hide my equipment?"

[Respected Crowned One, equipment cannot be hidden, but the 'Illusion' function can be activated.]

Illusion function? That works!

[According to basic rules, equipment can only be transformed into similar types. Please choose one from the following options.]

[Eye patch]
[Monocular night vision device]
[Monocular microscope]
[Monocle]
...

Li Xia scanned the list of illusions. They were either incredibly "chuunibyou," like the eye patch, which looked exactly like something out of a teen anime, or overly ostentatious, like the night vision device or the microscope.

In the end, only the [Monocle] was simple and understated. There was no helping it; a monocle it is. Cosplaying as Amon was better than cosplaying as a "Wicked Eye" wielder.

After selecting the illusion, the Scott Type I in his hand emitted a faint white glow. As the light faded, a monocle lay silently in his palm.

The eyewear was exquisite, featuring half a bridge for the nose and a thin gold chain dangling from the frame like a golden silk thread. Overall, it perfectly fit the temperament of a "first-generation gentleman" and "Prince Xia." Putting on the Scott, he looked in the mirror.

Hmm... incredibly pretentious.

Lying on the soft sofa, his thoughts naturally began to wander. He had a rough idea for the basic attributes in his plan, but there was still the matter of skill-based training like marksmanship.

Marksmanship... how to put it? The provincial sports training team had air rifles, but as for those commercial shooting ranges, forget it. With .22 caliber bullets and heavy chains binding his movements, Li Xia felt they wouldn't be of any use for practicing real marksmanship skills. He planned to save that skill for his trip to Russia in the final few days; that place had everything and was a great place to practice.

That left the final item.

He connected the Scott to the projector, magnifying the image across the screen, and began searching for information related to martial arts.

He first searched for "real kung fu" on a popular video app, but the results were all for a fast-food chain.

Li Xia: ...

After searching for a while, the results were either ads for courses or kung fu movie stars. In short, if there was anything useful, it was negligible. However, a Wudang Daoist priest appeared quite frequently. After hesitating for a moment, he added him to his shortlist.

He didn't know how long he had been scrolling when his eyes lit up. He watched the video several times over. It seemed... there might be some real substance here?

"Help me find the contact information and address for Qi Guanjun."

A moment later, Li Xia frowned. "Hong Kong?"

That was troublesome. If he had to go to Hong Kong, his plans would require significant adjustments. Furthermore, he had intended to just throw money at the problem to learn the techniques. Qi Guanjun was already a fairly well-known martial arts actor with some career success; he wasn't sure if his three million would be enough.

However... Hong Kong was a financial hub. He wondered if he could use the Scott to siphon some money from the banking systems there? He would likely need to find someone very familiar with banking operations.

The runtime of the film passed by in a flash. He received an invitation message from Yan Ya on his phone, complete with the restaurant address and private room number.

Seeing that it was time, Li Xia packed up and prepared to attend the banquet. Success would depend on the effectiveness of his training!

...

The restaurant didn't look particularly upscale, but it was packed with diners, suggesting the food was quite good. Sometimes, unless it was a formal business banquet where one needed to show off, most people preferred to eat at familiar places with good flavor.

Li Xia pushed open the door to the private room. Boss Yan and his daughter were already waiting, along with a few men in sportswear sitting at a small square table playing cards.

"Oh, Brother Li is here?"

Boss Yan didn't seem to be having much luck; he immediately gathered his cards and stood up to greet him. "The guest of honor is here. Want to join a few rounds?"

Li Xia waved his hand. With his luck stat at zero, he preferred to stay far away from such activities to avoid unnecessary misery. Instead, he sat quietly to the side and watched them play.

When the meal finally began, everyone introduced themselves. The three coaches were Coach Wang (sprinting), Coach Fang (freestyle combat), and Coach Song (weightlifting).

They were all men, and after a few drinks, they grew much more familiar with one another. Since Boss Yan was on good terms with the three of them, and those in sports often carried a sense of camaraderie, they hit it off quickly. Plus, the pay was generous, and the three coaches slapped their chests, promising to do their absolute best over the next month to train Brother Li well.

They even found a dormitory for Li Xia directly within the provincial sports training team, ensuring he could start training the moment he opened his eyes.

...

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the month came to an end.

Li Xia packed his things and hosted a farewell dinner specifically for the three coaches, as they had truly given their all. If nothing else, he had become quite familiar with the team's physical therapists.

After everyone had left, tipsy, Li Xia felt a strange sense of reluctance in the training team's dorm. That feeling of having nothing to worry about and focusing solely on training was incredibly comfortable.

But soon, this subtle emotion was washed away by the joy of his attribute gains.

With an excited look on his face, Li Xia opened his personal panel. Now was the time to tally his gains!