Chapter 1

In Zhengyang City, at four in the afternoon, the sky, which should have been bright and sunny, was instead shrouded in thick, dark clouds, as if night had fallen.

Accompanying the dark clouds were fierce gusts of wind and distant thunder and lightning, as if it were the end of the world.

Feng Jun sat in the employee dormitory, staring blankly out the window. He slammed the beer bottle in his hand onto the table and sighed heavily, "What the hell... which Daoist friend is transcending the tribulation?"

Feng Jun was not a cultivator; he was just a fan of web novels. His current complaint was simply because he was in a very bad mood.

He was about to quit his job.

Feng Jun was twenty-four years old, a graduate of Jiangxia University with a double degree in Chinese and Business Administration.

Although the number of undergraduate students in cities had increased to the point where they outnumbered dogs, it was still quite an achievement to obtain a double degree from a 985 university in four years. Clearly, he could be considered one of the elite.

However, graduation meant unemployment. He first struggled for two years in the southern city where his girlfriend lived, then came to Zhengyang City alone with a wealth of experience.

The company he currently worked for—though it might be more accurate to call it a company rather than an organization—was Hongjie Culture and Entertainment Co., Ltd.

Who knew why a fitness club would be named with "culture"? Perhaps it was the legendary combination of culture and sports?

Indeed, Feng Jun was currently employed at Hongjie Fitness Club.

Not as the legendary fitness coach with countless romantic encounters, but as a junior staff member responsible for reception, errands, and cleaning.

To be a fitness coach, one needed a certificate. Hongjie Fitness Club was not a roadside shack; it had a significant reputation in Zhengyang.

Feng Jun managed to secure the job for two reasons: first, there was a shortage of young and strong labor in the market, and second, he had a good appearance, a rugged face, and a relatively muscular build. While he wasn't exactly a fresh-faced young man, he could勉强 be described as "fit and strong."

However, after being hired, he found out that to be a fitness coach, one needed a certificate!

This was truly a sad piece of news.

So, a proud double-degree holder ended up as a junior staff member at a fitness club.

Of course, even a junior staff member could have his moments. In the three months he had been there, a few middle-aged women had shown interest in him, hoping to receive "private training." However, Feng Jun shook his head— their intentions were not so pure.

The key was that they were too unattractive, and some had body odors and aggressive attitudes that were hard to tolerate.

Some fitness coaches mocked him for his old-fashioned values— "Graduate students are really poor but proud."

Damn, a double degree and a graduate degree are not the same thing, okay?

Regardless, Feng Jun was a bit of an oddity at Hongjie Fitness Club. Not only did he have a high education but a low position, he also had a bit of youthful pride, which was not encouraged in the service industry.

Customers wouldn't like this pride, and his colleagues would look down on him.

Today, Feng Jun's business was taken away by a colleague.

In the morning, four young and beautiful girls walked into the club. They were not members but had come to work out on a whim. One of them was particularly stunning.

Feng Jun was responsible for receiving them. If he could convince them to sign up for a membership during their workout, he would earn a commission.

To be honest, Feng Jun wasn't very optimistic. The girls looked like college students, and there weren't many universities nearby.

Moreover, students, being young and energetic, didn't have a high demand for long-term fitness, and their wallets weren't thick enough to spend much on it.

But even this small reception task was taken away by someone else. Fitness coach Liu Shuming stepped forward, offering to provide relevant consultations and services.

When Liu Shuming approached, he made a shooing gesture at Feng Jun, "Go away... I'll handle it!"

Feng Jun was quite upset, not just because of the commission but also because of the other's attitude— "Is it so hard to look at me when you talk to me?"

But he couldn't say anything. In a fitness club, fitness coaches naturally had priority over junior staff.

Then... something happened. Liu Shuming was hit by the girls.

Liu Shuming, as a fitness coach, had a muscular and fit body, but two of the girls were quite capable, so he was no match for four hands.

The general manager was alerted and found out that the girls had initially said they just wanted to work out casually and didn't need a coach. But Liu Shuming insisted on explaining and touching them, which finally made the girls angry.

However, Liu Shuming claimed: "I just wanted to provide some guidance and win their membership through enthusiastic service."

The general manager, Guo Yueling, knew Liu Shuming's schemes—this guy had a varied appetite.

To make money, Liu Shuming would provide various services to wealthy but unattractive women, both legal and not so legal, and he was also willing to flirt with young and pretty girls, even playing friendly matches.

Guo Yueling first apologized to the customers, waived their fees, and sent them away with kind words, then began to investigate the responsibility.

Strangely, she aimed her criticism at an unexpected direction.

"Feng Jun, since you were responsible for receiving them, why didn't you follow up? The customers clearly said they didn't need a coach!"

Liu Shuming also glared at Feng Jun with anger, "If you had taken over the service, I wouldn't have ended up like this!"

Feng Jun's pride wasn't just a legend. Hearing this, he threw the cloth in his hand to the ground and coldly looked at Guo Yueling, "I didn't ask Liu Shuming to take over. When he shooed me away, he didn't even look at me... Is it reasonable to take my business?"

"What attitude is this?" Guo Yueling's voice became shrill, "Is this how you talk to your superiors?"

Feng Jun turned and walked out, "I'm not feeling well, I need to rest!"

At that moment, he had made up his mind to leave this place.

Then, he bought a case of beer and slowly drank it in the dormitory, thinking: Where should I go after quitting?

Although Zhengyang was a quasi-sub-provincial city, finding a job there wasn't easy. Service jobs, junior staff positions, and laborer roles were easier to find, but jobs suitable for his double degree were hard to come by.

He had wandered around Zhengyang for over half a month without finding a suitable job, which was why he had chosen the fitness club.

Of course, going back to his hometown was an option. His hometown was a small county, and his parents ran a small business with some local connections, making it not too difficult to find a job. If all else failed, he could take over the family business.

However, as a double-degree holder from a 985 university, how could Feng Jun go back? He couldn't bear to leave the prosperity of a big city or lose face.

While watching the apocalyptic scene outside, he pondered whether to quit now or wait until he got paid.

Over the past two years, he hadn't saved much money. Even with the money his parents had sent him for job hunting, he only had about ten thousand yuan in his bank account. His phone, which was given as a gift with a phone plan, was essentially a feature phone, though it was called a smartphone.

At some point, large raindrops began to fall, hitting the window with a "bang."

The lightning grew brighter, and the thunder was continuous and deafening.

Feng Jun finished the remaining half bottle of white wine and drank seven or eight bottles of beer. As the alcohol took effect, he wanted to call a friend. Picking up his feature phone, he found it had only three percent battery left.

He plugged in the phone and fell into a deep sleep on the bed. Before sleeping, he made sure to hold the phone in his hand, as losing things was common in such a low-level dormitory— he had lost money more than once. In areas with a high turnover of people, short-term behavior was inevitable.

The daily life of a low-level worker was truly tough, and there were many tears to shed...

He didn't know how long he had slept when a sudden flash of lightning outside the window made him unable to open his eyes. At the same time, an electric arc traveled along the charger's wire to the old smartphone.

Feng Jun was awakened by the thunder, which sounded as if it were right next to his ear, so loud that it seemed the world was collapsing. Even half-asleep, he sat up abruptly, his hair standing on end.

Looking around in shock, he noticed a crack in the center of the window glass, "No way, the lightning... is less than three hundred meters away?"

Then, he felt a sharp pain in his hand. Looking down, he saw the feature phone in his hand, but the charging cable... why was it black?

Sniffing, he smelled the scent of burnt rubber...

Before he could react, a cry came from the next room.

"Damn, the TV is smoking, this thunder is too strong!"

"What the hell, does this building not have a lightning rod?"

Feng Jun's dormitory was in a four-story barrack-style building, which, though old, had a lightning rod.

However, the thunder was too strong and too close. The lightning rod wasn't foolproof, and this strike damaged at least fifty TVs, nearly a hundred landline phones, routers, and Wi-Fi devices in the surrounding area.

Feng Jun wasn't very interested in the external damage; he was more concerned about whether his phone was damaged.

The old phone, though slow, was still convenient for making calls. With the neighbor's Wi-Fi, he could still go online. Most importantly, it contained his contact list.

He pressed the home button on the bottom of the phone and found that it not only lit up but also responded normally—slowly but steadily.

Maybe I should make a call to test the call quality? Feng Jun thought as he glanced at the phone screen.

Then he froze: It's eight o'clock in the evening?

Well, eight o'clock isn't strange, considering he had fallen asleep around six.

But why... is the phone's battery already at one hundred percent?

(New book finally uploaded, calling for favorites and recommendations.)

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends