Chapter 21: Bountiful Harvest, Perfect Ten

Chapter 21: Bountiful Harvest, Perfect Ten

"I've called the police; they'll be here soon," reassured Lu Yuan to the girl.

Contemplating whether to return to the house, Lu Yuan pondered the unknown presence of other accomplices or potential undiscovered victims.

The girl, clinging tightly to him, portrayed a lack of security after emerging from the house.

To avoid triggering her emotions, Lu Yuan refrained from attempting to free himself, opting instead to abandon the idea of going back.

The police were on their way, and Lu Yuan, holding the girl, squatted at the shop entrance, watching the rainy scene unfold.

Before ten o'clock, the streets emptied, leaving only the two of them in a desolate world.

Finally, the distant sound of police sirens reached Lu Yuan's ears. Gently loosening the girl's gradually relaxing grip, he stood up.

"Don't tell the police I saved you," Lu Yuan earnestly instructed the girl, concerned about his parents discovering his late-night struggle with armed men in the alley.

"Here, take this." Lu Yuan handed a pink hairpin to the girl, then disappeared into the rain before the police arrived.

The girl remained silent, holding the hairpin, staring at Lu Yuan's departing figure for a long time.

"On a rainy night like this, even if there were surveillance, they probably wouldn't see my face. Moreover, those people wouldn't be amateur enough to neglect surveillance," Lu Yuan thought.

Arriving home, Lu Yuan found the shop door still open. His mother, Zheng Qiuling, stood at the entrance, a plastic fan in hand, scanning the surroundings.

Lu Yuan's abrupt entrance startled her. "Where were you? And what happened to your face?"

"I slipped on the wet road due to heavy rain," Lu Yuan hastily fabricated an excuse.

"Slipped? Could a slip cause this?" Zheng Qiuling, agitated, waved the plastic fan.

"Did you get into a fight?" she pressed on, but Lu Yuan remained silent, standing with his head down.

"Ah!" Zheng Qiuling slapped her thigh, dropping the fan, and hurriedly ran into the house.

Returning with a towel, she exclaimed, "Why would you get into a fight?!" as she wiped the water stains from Lu Yuan's body, continuing her interrogation.

This time, Lu Yuan opened up, "They... bullies."

"Bullies? Did they bully you? Who are they?!" Zheng Qiuling's tone shifted from anger to concern.

"Some... thugs."

"You've really grown up!" She playfully rubbed Lu Yuan's head, mixing a hint of annoyance.

After hearing Lu Yuan's suppressed groan, she softened, "Wipe yourself; I'll get some rubbing alcohol."

Before heading upstairs, she rushed to close the shop door, as if fearing the mentioned "thugs" might suddenly appear.

After a series of commotions, when Lu Yuan finished showering, applying alcohol, and endured his mother's scolding, it was almost midnight.

"Hiss—" Lu Yuan gently pressed his left rib's outer side, the pain making him inhale sharply.

The most significant injuries were his left rib, kicked by the middle-aged man, and his back, struck with a stick.

Other areas had minor bruises and scrapes.

While applying the ointment, his mother, seeing him endure the pain, wiped away tears discreetly.

"That guy was strong, a skilled fighter for sure. Thankfully, I managed to overpower him when he wasn't expecting it, or escaping might have been impossible," Lu Yuan reflected.

What he felt most fortunate about was the absence of firearms among the thugs. If any of them had a gun, a sudden attack like that could have proven fatal.

In hindsight, the danger was apparent. If faced with a similar situation again, Lu Yuan wasn't sure he'd have the courage to charge into that alley.

"Before gaining enough real combat experience, I can't afford to land myself in such perilous situations again."

After this intense battle, Lu Yuan fully grasped the gap between himself and a true "fighter."

All the skills listed on his professional panel were just impressive data without sufficient practical testing.

With these thoughts in mind, Lu Yuan decided to check his professional panel.

Focusing his mind, a flurry of messages appeared.

- [Your basic boxing skill has improved, experience +12]

- [Your basic kicking skill has improved, experience +8]

- [Your basic footwork skill has improved, experience +7]

- [You experienced a battle, career experience +57]

- [Congratulations, your [Fighter] career level has increased!]

- [Congratulations, your basic boxing skill level has increased!]

- [Congratulations, your basic kicking skill level has increased!]

- [Congratulations, your basic footwork skill level has increased!]

Excitedly scrolling down, he reached the bottom.

- [You've gained 1 attribute point and 3 skill points]

- [Fighter: Level 4 (8/800)]

- [Basic career skills: Novice body forging level 4 (36/800), Basic boxing level 4 (66/800), Basic kicking level 4 (49/800), Basic footwork level 4 (23/800), Basic grappling level 2 (65/200)]

- [Attribute points: 1]

- [Skill points: 3]

All three basic skills—boxing, kicking, and footwork—had reached level 4. The Fighter career had advanced to level 4, catching up with the Student career.

This intense battle had provided Lu Yuan with a whopping 57 career experience and hundreds of skill experience points—a significant boost equivalent to a day of intense training or 40 to 50 sessions with Cheng Peng.

"It seems like Fighters really need to grow through battles. Combat is the best fertilizer for improvement!"

The attribute point he temporarily used in agility earlier was now back in his possession.

Reviewing his stats, Lu Yuan noticed his agility had unknowingly reached 9.

"It must be due to reaching the threshold, plus the increased basic footwork level from the battle," Lu Yuan speculated.

Blinking, he quickly understood the reason.

Despite the increase in agility, Lu Yuan chose to add this attribute point to agility again.

"Let's get everything above ten first, then think about specialization."

Adding 1 point to agility, his attribute changed to:

- [Strength: 11]

- [Agility: 10]

- [Constitution: 10]

- [Intelligence: 10]