Lu Mingfei: Don't call me a loser, call me a hero.

"We've been staking out all night, and all we got was Lu Mingfei, you loser!"

While Lu Mingfei was being persecuted by the game, the few thugs blocking his way finally saw the first destined person they had met that night.

Unfortunately, the destined person was not as fortunate as the one with the right energy.

Anyone who frequents internet cafes knows that Lu Mingfei is notoriously poor but addicted to internet access. He either tries to rip off internet fees or tries to save money. Getting a five-yuan bill out of his pocket is considered a huge stroke of luck.

So when the thugs saw it was him, they all lost interest in extorting him.

"Hey, what are you muttering about? Are you talking behind our backs?"

"No, absolutely not!" Danger was imminent, and Lu Mingfei couldn't care less about the game anymore; he quickly stood at attention.

"Brother Dao, don't misunderstand. I was just saying, what if my family is angry and won't let me in the door if I go home so late!"

Lu Mingfei was relieved to see clearly now that the alley was too dark, but as he got closer, he realized he wouldn't get beaten up today.

He recognized these people; they were all hooligans from another school. The leader was called Liang Wendao, known in the underworld as Brother Dao.

He used to frequently cause trouble at Shilan Middle School, but somehow he ended up offending Chu Zihang.

No one knows exactly what happened, but they never dared to approach the school gate again after that.

However, if he encounters a lone student off-campus, he still can't help but try to extort money from him.

Lu Mingfei was also blocked by them several times, and the internet fees he had painstakingly saved were completely searched out.

However, because I was good at the game, I helped them with a few grudge matches for free, so we could barely be considered to have some relationship, and I was put on their whitelist.

Sometimes, when they were enjoying a good meal, Lu Mingfei would watch longingly from the sidelines, and if he felt sorry for them, he would share some with them.

"Get lost, get lost! I get angry just looking at your pathetic self. Get out of here!" Dao Ge waved his hand impatiently.

Before Lu Mingfei went to the internet cafe, he could have bought sausages for his buddies, but now he definitely doesn't even have enough for the bus fare.

"Alright, alright, I'm leaving now!" Lu Mingfei chuckled and quickly turned to run away, afraid they would change their minds.

As soon as he ran out of the alley, the open-world adventure game in the ditch popped up a dialog box again:

Congratulations to the "hero" for defeating the wild delinquents!

[Mission Evaluation: Subduing the enemy without fighting!]

[Mission Reward: Skill "Turtle Fist"]

Having inexplicably completed the game's assigned task, Lu Mingfei felt no joy whatsoever.

After all, the essence of "turtle fist" is to throw punches randomly without any rules, just like a turtle being held down and swinging its arms and legs.

Back in the day, Lu Mingfei was a master of unorthodox martial arts, but unfortunately he was forced to abandon martial arts and pursue a career in literature, becoming a useless person with no strength to even kill a chicken.

"Hey, don't most games give out newbie gift packs and basic gear when they launch? Why didn't I get one?"

You're right, but Dragon Raja is a brand new open-world adventure game developed with the sponsorship of the High Observer...

Lu Mingfei: "Forget it, just shut up. I'll think about it slowly later."

Humans have varying degrees of adaptability, and Lu Mingfei clearly has an exceptional talent in this regard, always able to find the optimal position to lie down in an instant.

Since there's no way to escape this open-world adventure game, we just have to accept it.

Moreover, it provided tangible benefits; Lu Mingfei genuinely gained some insights into the art of "turtle fist"—

[Skill: Unrestrained Fist (Fighting with attitude, taunts with restraint, kicks with speed, punches with power!)]

Clenching his fist, Lu Mingfei felt that if he went back to the alley now, he could at least stand as a roly-poly toy for three seconds!

If you can achieve this much by outsmarting a few thugs, wouldn't the rewards be even greater if it were someone else?

If he does it a few more times, Lu Mingfei might just become a campus celebrity like Zhao Menghua.

He even won Chen Wenwen's heart and successfully confessed his feelings on graduation day!

Just as he began to fantasize about being selected for the "Deserving of Death" list at Shilan Middle School and marrying Chen Wenwen, the voices of several thugs cursing and swearing suddenly came from the alley:

"Damn it, we're making money way too slowly. We haven't even figured out how to pay for the whole night yet."

"Boss, let's find another place to squat. There are really no customers coming in here."

"Yeah, we're just small fry. What those uncle and aunt from Shameless Road did was a real robbery!"

The speaker has no intention, the listener has the heart.

Lu Mingfei, who had just been fantasizing about marrying a rich and beautiful woman and reaching the pinnacle of life, froze on his face. He looked like a deflated balloon, his energy and spirit visibly waning.

His shoulders and head slumped, and his steps as he left were slightly stiff, as if he had learned the true essence of the "turtle fist" style.

Walking down the bustling street, Lu Mingfei felt incredibly lonely. The aroma of cooking oil had turned into a greasy, hot breeze that no longer whetted his appetite.

He recalled a time during a literary society event when Zhao Menghua made a rather pretentious remark:

"Death is not scary; death is like a cool summer night, allowing one to sleep peacefully without worry."

At this moment, Lu Mingfei wanted nothing more than to collapse onto the bed, shrink into the covers, and confront the world with silence.

But it didn't work; Chen Wenwen hadn't replied to his message yet!

The thought of Chen Wenwen immediately banished any lingering melancholy that Lu Mingfei felt.

Although his aunt treated him unfairly, at least his uncle cared about him.

Moreover, there was Chen Wenwen, the embodiment of goodness and beauty, and the first female idol in his life.

She wouldn't look down on him, nor would she care about the "class divide" between them.

She would take the initiative to talk to him, smile at him, and lend him a helping hand when everyone else thought he was a fool.

This kind of kindness is devastating to a loser who has been stuck at the bottom of the social food chain for years.

Lu Mingfei once lay in bed and seriously pondered what the greatest happiness in the world was.

After thinking about it for half the night, the final answer I came up with was—to marry Chen Wenwen!

Therefore, he must not embrace Xia Ye before he marries Chen Wenwen!

His strong adaptability allowed him to recover quickly from the setback and head back with high hopes.

Maybe Chen Wenwen will be online when he gets back.

Fifteen minutes later, Lu Mingfei stood at the door of his uncle's house and listened intently for a moment, but there was no sound.

Did your uncle and aunt go out for a walk?

Lu Mingfei raised an eyebrow and immediately became arrogant. He took out his key, opened the door, turned on the light with one hand, and threw his schoolbag like a hidden weapon onto the living room sofa with the other.

"Snapped!"

The backpack bumped into a shelf on the coffee table during the flight, and something fell to the ground.

At the same time, the bedroom door shared by Lu Mingfei and his cousin was pushed open, and a chubby boy with a face full of acne poked his head out.

He looked displeased, as if his good time had been interrupted.

Lu Mingze was about to reprimand him when he noticed that Lu Mingfei's expression was a bit off, as if he had caused some serious trouble.

Following his gaze, the chubby boy discovered that his father's favorite plum blossom watch was lying quietly on the ground.

Upon closer inspection, I discovered that the watch hands had stopped turning.

Upon seeing this, a malicious smile immediately appeared on Lu Mingze's pockmarked, chubby face, which instantly transformed into a stern, righteous expression the moment he turned away.

"Lu Mingfei, you're finished! I'm going to tell my mom you broke Dad's watch!"