Chapter 2

Lu Yuan's father is named Lu Xinghua.

The small shop sells grains and oils, and also sells cigarettes, snacks, drinks, and daily necessities.

Lu Yuan found it hard to accurately describe the nature of their family business.

When Lu Yuan arrived at the shop's entrance, he saw his mother, Zheng Qiuling, watching TV while the fan blew.

He glanced at the TV screen, which was showing an old family drama.

He called out, "Mom," and then took a bottle of the cheapest drink from the upright refrigerator at the entrance.

"Back already."

Seeing Lu Yuan, his mother smiled.

Just as she was about to speak to him, a customer came to buy cigarettes.

So she hurriedly said, "I've prepared your lunch upstairs, go up and eat it."

"Got it."

Lu Yuan responded, walked into the shop, and passed through the stacks of rice, the neatly arranged barrels of cooking oil, and the shelves of snacks and condiments, then went out through the back door of the shop.

There was a staircase leading up, and next to it, a passage with a few bicycles and electric scooters. At the end of the passage was a small courtyard.

The building was quite old, with the handrails of the staircase covered in rust and spider webs in the corners.

The building had a total of five floors.

The first floor was rented for the shop, and the second floor was bought by the Lu family.

Lu Yuan climbed the stairs step by step.

When he reached the door to his home, he took out the key and opened it.

The living room was not very large, and the dining area was visible from the entrance, with old-fashioned decor.

The house was quiet, and despite it being lunchtime, no one was home.

Lu Yuan silently changed his shoes and entered.

After washing his hands, he sat down at the dining table.

There were three simple dishes and a soup on the table: stir-fried bitter melon, braised pork, cucumber salad, and a bowl of winter melon and pork rib soup.

Lu Yuan served himself and began to eat quietly.

He had already gotten used to eating alone at the table.

His mother, Zheng Qiuling, had to stay in the shop almost all day, from when it opened at seven in the morning until it closed at nine or ten at night.

Her meals were brought to her by family members, and she had to use the restroom during breaks when no one was around.

His father, Lu Xinghua, had been at the hospital taking care of his grandfather for the past few days.

Lu Yuan guessed that his father had prepared the lunch, as he could recognize the taste.

As for his sister, Lu Jing,

She was studying archaeology in college and had gone on a mission with an archaeological team a few days ago and hadn't returned yet.

She had called via video a couple of days ago, saying she was in a place called Xisu, which was full of deserts and戈壁 (Gobi).

Lu Yuan looked up the map and found that Xisu was over 3,000 kilometers away from Jiaoyan City, almost reaching the border of Xia Country, which was indeed quite far.

Lu Yuan quickly finished his meal.

He ate a lot of the bitter melon and braised pork but didn't touch the pork rib soup, which he took down to his mother.

He watched TV on the sofa for a while.

Holding the remote control, he flipped through the channels, his eyes fixed on the screen, but his mind was still thinking about the interest classes.

It wasn't that he hadn't given up on the martial arts class.

Lu Yuan was considering telling his parents that he wouldn't sign up for any interest classes for now.

He thought he could sign up for one later when things at home settled down.

He also planned to take out all the money he had saved.

"I'll talk to Dad when I go to the hospital to see Grandpa this afternoon."

Lu Yuan finally made up his mind.

With that thought, he quickly turned off the TV and went to the kitchen to wash the accumulated dishes in the sink, neatly placing them on the draining rack.

He then entered his room.

He pulled down the blinds, turned on the air conditioner, and sat at his desk.

Lu Yuan picked up his phone and checked the time.

12:05 PM.

"Finish the battle before 3:00 PM!"

[Remember the domain name of this site]

He set a two-and-a-half-hour alarm, took a deep breath, and stared at the pile of test papers and homework in front of him, his eyes becoming calm and sharp, like a seasoned warrior.

"Activate—[Absolute Focus]!"

Lu Yuan silently chanted in his mind.

Instantly, all the noise around him faded away.

The occasional car horns on the street, the loud voices downstairs, and the hum of the air conditioner in the room—

All of it disappeared in that moment.

Lu Yuan seemed to enter a private space, with only the stack of books and test papers in front of him remaining in his sight.

"Beep—"

The shrill alarm on his phone rang, the device vibrating and the screen lighting up to show 2:35 PM.

Hearing the sound, Lu Yuan, who had been sitting straight at his desk and writing furiously, slumped down like a deflated balloon, collapsing into his chair.

"Phew—"

Lu Yuan exhaled deeply.

His face was pale, and he was enveloped in a thick sense of fatigue.

He struggled to lift his hand, opened the drawer of his desk, and took out a box of gold-wrapped chocolates.

He popped one into his mouth, washed it down with water he had prepared, and swallowed it without chewing.

After eating four or five pieces of chocolate, Lu Yuan finally felt better.

He straightened up slightly, pressing his hands to his temples and rubbing them slowly.

In front of him, a series of messages only he could see quickly appeared.

[You have focused on studying for ten minutes, +1 to career experience]

[Your math skill has improved, +2 to experience]

[Your physics skill has improved, +4 to experience]

[You have focused on studying for ten minutes, +1 to career experience]

"Two and a half hours, +9 experience in math, +12 experience in physics, +15 career experience.

Almost all the homework assigned by the school is done, not bad."

Lu Yuan smiled in satisfaction, his eyes flashing, and a light blue virtual screen appeared in front of him.

[Name: Lu Yuan]

[Age: 17]

[Career: Student Level 3 (233/400)]

[Strength: 7]

[Agility: 8]

[Constitution: 7]

[Intelligence: 10]

[Career Basic Skills: Language Level 3 (203/400)

Math Level 3 (329/400)

Physics Level 3 (209/400)

Chemistry Level 3 (224/400)

Biology Level 3 (150/400)

History Level 3 (78/400)

Geography Level 3 (137/400)

Information Technology Level 3 (238/400)]

[Career Core Skill: Absolute Focus Level 1 (Active)]

[Attribute Points: 0]

[Skill Points: 0]

The virtual screen had a simple style, similar to a character panel in an online game.

This was Lu Yuan's golden finger.

When he first saw this virtual panel after being transported to this world, he thought it was a common auxiliary device for everyone in this world.

After all, the technology in this world was much more advanced than in his previous life.

After some time and repeated confirmation, he realized it was something unique to him.

The ability of this career panel, as its name suggests, was to enhance one's career skills.