Chapter 99 - 78: Learning by Analogy

Seeing the immense lethality of his [Hidden Weapon Throwing] at the Perfection level, Chen Jue’s mind suddenly flooded with new ideas.

He first went to the university cafeteria for lunch, then took advantage of his lunch break to drive to the nearby Celestial Street.

He didn’t just wander around. Instead, he went to a DJI store to ask a clerk some professional questions about filming, and ended up buying a professional drone and an anti-shake gimbal mount, spending 12,000 yuan in total.

The 8,888 yuan event reward he’d just received this morning wasn’t even warm in his pocket yet, and Chen Jue had already added some of his own money to the purchase.

Now that his main job as a risk controller was gone, and those offline challenge events that could earn him ten thousand or so in one go weren’t a daily occurrence, the only thing that could provide Chen Jue with a stable income was his side hustle of making videos as "Brother of Special Skills."

To make his videos good, interesting, and exciting, investing in professional equipment was essential.

This was what they called, "A craftsman must first sharpen his tools!"

Thanks to the hype that had been building up recently, plus this morning’s "jungle" livestream, the popularity of the Brother of Special Skills account had skyrocketed.

Opening his creator dashboard, he saw his total followers across all platforms had reached over 100,000, and the total views for his previous few "special skill" videos had broken the 3 million mark.

The accumulated video revenue was already over 6,000 yuan, which he could withdraw at any time. This gave Chen Jue a significant confidence boost.

’You really have to ride the wave to make money!’

’The golden age of short videos is almost over, and I’m still getting this much income. What was I even doing all those years ago?’ Chen Jue grumbled to himself, feeling like he hadn’t kept up with the times and had wasted the prime of his youth on mindless, mechanical work.

...

Back at Wangyang Apartment, he spent some time getting familiar with the two new pieces of professional filming equipment he’d bought. The drone, in particular, was like the ultimate big boy’s toy.

He flew it for several laps from the rooftop until the drone’s built-in battery died. Only then did Chen Jue, still wanting more, take it back to his room to charge.

Since it was still early in the afternoon, Chen Jue left the apartment, kicked off a wall to launch himself up, hooked the top with one hand, and vaulted over. In less than 3 seconds, he had cleanly cleared the retaining wall that blocked his path.

Seeing the Skill Level notification pop up on his panel for [Climbing] +5, Chen Jue smiled faintly.

After consistently practicing pull-ups for the past few days, his [Climbing] Skill Level had been increasing rapidly, and his movements for vaulting over this 2.5-meter wall were becoming more and more proficient.

The atrophied palmaris longus muscle he’d heard about in class was becoming more prominent with his continuous training. Whenever he clenched his fist with his fingers together, the muscle would bulge visibly on his forearm.

’Climbing can train the atrophied palmaris longus muscle.’

’Horse Stance, Squeezing Valley Dao, and Tai Chi Pile Skill can stimulate the tailbone.’

’Ear Health Exercises stimulate the auricular muscle.’

’So what parts do Hidden Weapon Throwing, Tai Chi, and Eye Health Exercises stimulate?’

Seeing this, Chen Jue began to speculate. Perhaps the skills triggered by the panel were intricately linked to the atrophied organs and muscle tissues in the human body.

It was just that Chen Jue’s current knowledge of human anatomy was too limited. He would have to continue studying it in depth.

...

He took some time to jog to the track and field, and by the time he reached the equipment area, his body had already completed a preliminary warm-up.

This time, however, he didn’t see any members of the Self-Discipline Club. It was probably the weekend, so the students were either holed up in their dorms catching up on sleep or grinding ranks in video games, or they were out on dates or studying in the library.

There weren’t many students on either of the two adjacent athletic fields.

After all, university students led colorful lives. They weren’t like Chen Jue, who, after getting a strange Attribute panel, threw himself into training day and night.

He first tried a set of 50 standard push-ups to thoroughly warm up his upper body.

Then he grabbed the pull-up bar and started doing Hannibal Pull-ups.

These Street Fitness movements were extremely effective for training the body’s core. After just five sets of ten Hannibal Pull-ups, a notification for [Strength] +0.01 popped up on his panel.

’Extreme fitness is tiring, but it’s so efficient!’

After finishing the last set of pull-ups, Chen Jue let go of the bar. Sweat was pouring off him like rain, with large beads soaking his sportswear. His core, back, and arm muscles began to ache and burn intensely.

While taking a break and strolling along the track, Chen Jue slowly added 0.01 of his free attribute points to his [Constitution] Attribute.

A gentle warmth spread throughout his body, and his skin flushed slightly. Chen Jue could feel the symptoms of lactic acid buildup from the high-intensity workout easing a bit, and some of his stamina returned.

’These free attribute points are truly amazing!’

’I wonder what the specific principle behind them is.’

’Does it enhance hematopoietic function? Or strengthen the body’s metabolism?’ Chen Jue muttered to himself. With no one around to guide him, he delved into it himself, paying close attention to the changes in the panel’s notifications.

During his break, he went to the small concession stand by the track and bought a bottle of mineral water and a sports drink.

This was because after sweating from exercise, the body continues to generate heat and sweat, leading to a loss of water and electrolytes.

Drinking only mineral water just replenishes fluids. Sports drinks contain professionally balanced proteins, polypeptides, amino acids, and large amounts of electrolytes, which are very helpful for maintaining fluid balance after a workout.

When he was in school, Chen Jue loved watching NBA games. Whenever the basketball stars went to the bench to rest and recover, they would almost always ladle drinks from the large Gatorade coolers on the sidelines, and they would chug them down.

He didn’t have professional coaches or nutritionists to guide him, so he could only learn by observing these top athletes and using them as case studies.

...

After finishing the sports drink, Chen Jue strolled on the track to recover his stamina. As his muscles slowly relaxed and his body rehydrated, he added another 0.01 free attribute point to [Constitution].

This time, he found that the recovery effect from adding a point to Constitution was even more pronounced.

Not only did the muscle soreness significantly decrease, but even the dry-mouthed feeling from just finishing his workout had vanished.

’Is this accelerating my absorption of water and electrolytes?’ Chen Jue wondered.

Just as he was pondering this, a whistle blew from the far side of the track.

A few students in track and field uniforms ran over. "Hey, senior! We’re about to start javelin practice. This area will be a bit dangerous, so could you please move to a safer spot? Sorry about this!"

Javelin, discus, and hammer throw—these field events where brute force works wonders all carried a certain degree of danger.

Some time ago, during a sports meet in Hang City, he had even seen on the news that an unlucky referee got hit by a javelin or a hammer throw and was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment on the spot.

Seeing that these students looked unfamiliar, likely being upperclassmen who were recruited for sports, Chen Jue nodded and headed towards the equipment area on the other side.

He did a few more sets of Hannibal Pull-ups, and his mood brightened when he saw his Strength Attribute jump by another 0.01.

During his rest break, he watched from a distance as the student-athletes practiced throwing the javelin.

The run-up, the forward push, the upward swing of the arm—the entire sequence of stretching and throwing was executed in one smooth motion. The long, white javelin traced a distant arc through the air before, SWOOSH, it plunged into the soccer field’s turf in the middle of the track, kicking up a spray of dirt and grass.

By his estimate, a single throw covered at least 50 or 60 meters!

These upperclassmen were probably at the level of National First-Class Athletes.

’That looks pretty interesting,’ Chen Jue muttered. Feeling that just doing Street Fitness was a bit boring, he cautiously approached them from behind.

"Mind if I give it a try?" Chen Jue asked, pointing to a pile of javelins in a cart nearby while the student-athletes were sitting down and resting after a few sets.

"Sure, senior, but be careful!"

"Just try not to hurt yourself," one of them kindly reminded him.

As athletes who trained in track and field events, they had come to the field often enough to encounter people wanting to borrow their equipment to try something new, which was why they usually chose to practice in the afternoon or early in the morning when there were fewer people around.

This was partly to prevent accidents and partly to avoid being disturbed by outsiders.

Seeing as Chen Jue, an older-looking senior, was approaching, the student-athletes didn’t really mind. After all, he had been very cooperative just now and cleared the area for them.

Lending him a javelin to play with wouldn’t interfere with their break.

"Thanks!"

Seeing that the student-athletes had agreed, Chen Jue went to the cart and pulled out a javelin.

He first used the techniques from his Perfection-level [Hidden Weapon Throwing] to get a feel for the javelin’s specifications and size.

It felt heavy in his hand, heavier than any Hidden Weapon he had ever used. It was also very long—standing it upright, it was a good bit taller than the wall he had vaulted over.

’Something this big can’t be considered a Hidden Weapon, can it?’

’An Obvious Weapon?’

Chen Jue muttered to himself as he deftly twirled the javelin in his right hand. Then, mimicking the posture of the student-athletes, he held the javelin in his palm, raised it over his shoulder, pulled it back, took a running start, and threw with all his might.

The explosive force made the muscles in Chen Jue’s entire arm bulge and ripple.

After leaving his hand, the javelin flew through the air in an almost perfect parabola, soaring over more than half the field before plunging heavily into the soccer turf.

This sudden scene made the student-athletes, who had been sitting on the sidelines resting and chatting, stare with wide eyes, their mouths hanging open in an "O" shape.

Just a moment ago, they had been laughing and talking, not paying Chen Jue much mind.

In the eyes of these professional athletes, Chen Jue was just an ordinary senior. Even if he had done some difficult Street Fitness moves over in the equipment area, at most he was just a slightly stronger-than-average person.

Who would have thought that with one throw, he would completely stun them, the professional athletes!

"Holy shit! That cleared the 50-meter line, didn’t it?"

"Is he at the level of a Second-Class Athlete?"

"Xiaogao! Go get the measuring tape and check it!"

The upperclassmen couldn’t sit still any longer. They all shot up from the grass, one going to measure the javelin’s landing distance with a tape measure while the others crowded around Chen Jue, peppering him with curious questions.

As for Chen Jue, he was staring blankly at his Attribute panel. Because at the exact moment the javelin left his hand, a new notification had appeared:

——————

[DING~]

[Completed a standard, complex, multi-axial rotational limb movement.]

[Skill Activated: Hunting Throwing]