People in America: My Uncle Don Quixote

The bus stop signs on Madison Avenue are not much different from those in China, but they look at least ten thousand times cleaner than the bus stop signs on 8th Avenue in Brooklyn.

Without graffiti from various gangs, homeless people at the bus stop, or urine stains under the bus stop sign, Levi quickly found the route he needed to take: first, take the bus south from Madison Avenue, any line from M1 to M4 would do, then get off between blocks 42 and 59, and then take the cross-traffic bus M34 to the vicinity of 8th Avenue.

only--

"A bus every 20 minutes on average?" Li Wei looked at the timetable with some surprise. "But considering that a bus ride only costs $3, a bus every 20 minutes doesn't seem unacceptable."

With a taxi fare of $120 already paid, Li Wei began to think that taking a bus for $3 wasn't such a luxury.

But in reality, the timetables on bus stop signs are like a woman's mouth—not a single word is true.

Li Wei waited at the bus stop for almost half an hour before a listless yellow bus finally arrived.

It was fortunate that he was on Madison Avenue, a street frequented by the wealthy; if he were on 8th Avenue, he certainly wouldn't have lingered in a public place for so long.

After boarding the bus and paying $2.9 with his phone, Li Wei looked around with his bag in hand and sat down in the corner of the last row.

There were only a few Black or White people on the bus, around his age, who looked like they worked in the neighborhood.

According to the map, this bus journey will take him nearly an hour and a half, which he can use to preview his high school courses.

The instant he sat down, the moment his bottom touched the seat, a voice popped into his mind:

[Task: First reading of the ancient stone tablet completed]

[You have successfully deciphered the obscure ancient stone tablet and unlocked its mysteries. The Magic Council should inscribe your achievement in the annals of history.]

[Reward: +0.1 Free Attribute Point]

Actually, he didn't have such great achievements, Li Wei thought to himself, touching his nose.

He took out an AP Macroeconomics textbook that he had received in the school's basement and started flipping through it from beginning to end.

"Oh... the Real Estate Transaction Commission?"

After watching for a while, Li Wei turned his gaze to the window.

He now understood why New York's streets were numbered like Avenue X, or Block X. Because in the 1811 Commission Plan, to facilitate the sale of land in standardized units, Manhattan was divided into standard rectangles. Furthermore, for efficiency, New York also used numerical designations for easy management and expansion.

Slowly following the yellow bus, swaying all the way from 5th Avenue to 8th Avenue, an hour later, after writing his letter, Li Wei reflected again:

"Wait a minute," he muttered to himself, "when was the committee's plan released again?"

[Spirit 1.0] - [Spirit 1.1]

[Mental Upgrade Detected] — [Changes Detected in Poor Eloquence Skills]

[Effect: You have a 50% chance of persuading a greedy person with weak willpower.] — [Effect: You have a 60% chance of persuading a greedy person with weak willpower.]

When Li Wei first broke through the limits of ordinary people in one of his attributes, the whole world and his memories underwent incredible changes in his eyes.

It's hard to describe this feeling precisely in words. If I had to use an analogy, it would be like an old computer that used to run slowly and had many processes running in the background, suddenly having its memory cleared and a brand new solid-state drive installed.

In the past, when Li Wei read books, the words would enter his eyes and then have to "turn" around in his brain first, requiring him to painstakingly chew and understand them before they could become short-term memories.

But when his [Spirit] attribute jumped from 1.0 to 1.1, the world seemed to change for a moment from frosted glass to clear glass.

The page containing the text about the 1811 committee's plan resurfaced and was deeply etched into his memory.

It's not just about memory.

The hum of the air conditioning on the bus, the sound of the two black men in front of him discussing last night's NBA game, the feel of the tires rolling over the road... these background noises that were originally mixed together and annoyed him, now sounded distinct to his ears.

He can easily focus his attention on any sound, or choose to block them out and concentrate on the textbook in his hands.

Is this what it feels like to be a prodigy? Li Wei was somewhat captivated by the changes brought about by this improvement. However, this didn't last long. After about half an hour, the excitement from this boost in mental strength, coupled with the harshness of the surrounding environment, caused his concentration to decline. Nevertheless, when Li Wei got off the bus and returned to Sunset Park, he could still clearly feel that his memory and concentration had improved dramatically.

Back in Brooklyn, the air on 8th Avenue was once again filled with the familiar, comforting yet unpleasant smells of cooking oil, leaves, and seafood. This time, Levi didn't go straight back to the basement; instead, he turned into a Chinese-owned fresh food supermarket.

Now that he had earned some money, he would no longer eat discounted bread or free relief food.

He picked and chose in the meat section, finally buying two large, thick-cut cuts of beef hind leg—although hind leg has less fat than ribeye and sirloin for steaks, it's high in protein and cheap. He then bought a large family-sized tub of skim milk and a bag of rice.

When Li Wei got home, he pushed open the door and was greeted by a familiar musty smell.

Don Quixote was unusually quiet today. He had been working day and night for the past few days, carrying bricks and washing dishes, and seemed truly exhausted. At this moment, he lay on that tattered mattress, still clutching the half-damp chivalric novel in his hand, snoring loudly, showing no signs of waking up.

Li Wei shook his head, walked to the makeshift gas stove in the corner (thankfully it wasn't ruined by water), and started heating oil in a pan.

The cheap beef shank sizzled in the pan, the aroma from the Maillard reaction quickly overpowering the musty smell of the basement. Levi sprinkled only a pinch of black pepper, cooked it to medium-rare, and then took it out.

After leaving a portion for Don Quixote, Livy wolfed down his own, feeling the heat and protein dissolve in his stomach and flow to his limbs.

He wasn't sure if it was due to the system's upgrade, but he could eat a lot more since arriving in New York. The improvement in his physique might have also led to an increase in his appetite; he could now eat a full 500g of steak and other ingredients in one sitting.

Back in his cubicle, Li Wei quickly immersed himself in reading and began to study diligently.

His time is precious. He not only needs to improve his data within two weeks, successfully change jobs, and receive the reward to move out, but he also needs to pass the entrance test and be selected for the rugby team a month later.