In every person's journey of growth, there are always a few acquaintances who bully you to some extent. They don't necessarily hit or curse you all day long, but they always seem to hold a position above you—always pressing you down, often playing a helplessly frustrating role in your life. What's worse, they're often not your enemies, but your so-called "friends."
Che Dong was never good to Xu Bin. But since Xu Bin had always feared him, they were never true enemies either. Back in the day, Che Dong would have Xu Bin do free labor with no return. Even after Xu Bin started his own business, he still had to "pay tribute" by handing over a few jobs to Che Dong each month—jobs Che Dong would never finish. Most of the time, when a client arrived, Che Dong simply wouldn't show up, and the job would be voided. No split earnings for Xu Bin, of course. Whether the job was really done or not wasn't hard to trace: when customers had issues with repairs, they still called Xu Bin. That's where Che Dong's shamelessness showed—he never left his own number after the job, just took the money and ran. When things went south, Xu Bin had to clean up his mess.
Che Dong always made the most money, but was the stingiest of them all. His fellow apprentices were fed up with him, but childhood traumas left a lingering shadow. Back when they were apprentices, Che Dong bullied everyone. His domineering attitude left people both irritated and fearful.
In every workplace and group, there's someone like Che Dong. He might not be the toughest or the most dangerous, but he's the best at playing the part. And the ordinary folks who don't like trouble and avoid conflict? They naturally become targets.
Drinking in the early morning, Che Dong had clearly come just to pick on Xu Bin. After being rejected once before, his pride was bruised. He'd talked about finding someone to teach Xu Bin a lesson, but let's be real—who in his limited circle would bother? He didn't want to spend money, and the thought of hiring someone over a guy like Xu Bin felt beneath him. So he got drunk early, puffing himself up with liquid courage, thinking a few scary words would send Xu Bin running.
"Heart of Courage."
Even if the system hadn't issued this main quest, Xu Bin wouldn't have backed down. If you're too kind, you get walked on. Making money is already hard. Now that fate had finally smiled on him, given him a shot to rise above—this might be his only chance in life. Anyone trying to take that away? Unless they stepped over his corpse, he wasn't backing off.
He opened the door and nodded at Che Dong. Without another word, Xu Bin began moving the refrigerator into the store.
"Don't bother," Che Dong slurred, patting the fridge. "I'm taking all this with me in a bit."
Xu Bin gave a short hum and mentally calculated, "Senior, I'll need 2,000 yuan for these."
Che Dong lazily rolled his eyes and muttered, "Yeah, just put it on hold. I'll pay after I sell them."
Xu Bin knew this was the trigger point. If he backed down now, there'd be no end to it. Who knew how much he'd actually get—or when. Worse yet, Che Dong would only get bolder, eventually trampling him entirely.
Resolved, Xu Bin lowered his head and calmly lit a cigarette to cover his nervousness and a flicker of fear. He was ready for a fight. Growing up, Xu Bin wasn't a troublemaker, nor was he used to fighting. Besides a few childhood scuffles, he'd never been in a real fight. His build and height made him timid before any fight even started. Like many teens, he got fired up watching gangster movies from Hong Kong, but it was all theory, no action. If not for his 20kg strength boost and physical enhancements from the system, he wouldn't have dared stand up to Che Dong now.
"Senior, I just rented this storefront. I don't have extra cash lying around. I can only earn as I go—sell some, buy some. Please don't ask for credit. If you don't have money, I'll sell to someone else. My stuff sells itself."
Che Dong scoffed, eyes narrowing. "I've got no cash, but I'm still taking the goods. You think we don't know what you're up to? Got yourself some fancy refurbishing tricks and suddenly think you're somebody? Let me tell you—if you wanna survive in this trade, you better learn to share. Otherwise, you won't last."
Xu Bin didn't get angry. With the cigarette between his lips, he calmly said through clenched teeth: "No money, no goods."
"What the hell did you say?!"
Clenching his jaw, Xu Bin yanked the cigarette from his mouth and slammed it to the ground. That you could take his goods at below-market prices was already a compromise. But to push further? No way.
"I said, if you don't want to earn this money, there are others lining up for the chance."
"You little punk! Fuck you!"
Fueled by booze, Che Dong lunged at Xu Bin with a slap aimed at his head. But Xu Bin was ready—he blocked it. Che Dong kicked him in the stomach, causing both to stagger. Xu Bin fell to the dirty ground. Che Dong, swearing, charged in again with his fists raised.
Storeowners nearby rushed out at the commotion. Shoppers on the pedestrian street turned to look. Some, rather than call the police or intervene, pulled out phones to record from afar.
Staring at Che Dong's oncoming fist, Xu Bin froze—his lack of fighting experience betrayed him. He took a heavy punch to the left side of his face and crumpled to the ground, pain exploding through his brain.
"You cocky brat! You think I can't deal with you? Acting tough in front of me—who the hell do you think you are?!"
But Xu Bin, though inexperienced, was full of rage and youthful fury. Wiping the blood from his mouth, he pushed himself up and threw a punch straight into Che Dong's shoulder with all his might. The hit sent Che Dong stumbling back.
Xu Bin charged forward, fists swinging wildly. He wasn't thinking about style or technique—just pure chaos, like some old slapstick sketch. No sense of combo moves, no real stance. Just raw aggression and strength. But recently, Xu Bin had been eating well and putting on some weight. While fat might seem like dead weight, when your whole body's moving, it can become an advantage.
Up close, he pummeled with wild fists. As the saying goes, "The master fears the reckless youth." Even if Che Dong had bluster, he wasn't a trained fighter. Faced with Xu Bin's frenzy, he was quickly overwhelmed, knocked to the ground, and pinned. Xu Bin sat on top and kept swinging, oblivious to the chaos. Not until mall security dragged him off did it finally stop.
Che Dong lay there like a bloody mess, arms over his face, nose bleeding, moaning helplessly. His head was covered in lumps. Honestly, it was lucky Xu Bin had no real skill—otherwise, with his 50kg-force punches, Che Dong might've been knocked out cold in two hits. Instead, he had taken a dozen mostly off-target ones.
Just then, Zhong Yu had finally woken up. Seeing Xu Bin being pulled away, face smeared with blood, dirt, and snot, and seeing Che Dong groaning on the ground, she burst out laughing. She grabbed a towel, dampened it, and wiped his face: "Young guy like you getting into fights—what a mess."
Xu Bin grumbled, still glaring in Che Dong's direction. A strange feeling rose in his chest—Che Dong wasn't so scary after all. Just another bully. Xu Bin had been intimidated for over a year—and now he realized it had all been on him.
The law of the jungle. The wolf-like rules of survival. Everything from the past few days proved it: if you want to survive, you must be tougher, bolder. Even with a cheat code like the system, without the heart to match, it's useless.
I've only got one life—why should I be afraid? See? Che Dong's nothing but a coward. Got beaten and ran. If you never fight back, bullies will torment you forever.
"Ow, ow—easy!"
Zhong Yu chuckled and tossed him the towel: "Go clean yourself up. What, you want a medal or something?"
Even so, she still ran to a nearby pharmacy, bought some bandages and herbal salve, and helped patch him up. She told him to call the police in case Che Dong came back for revenge.
Xu Bin shook his head. The savage glint in his eyes had been replaced with something else—an excited fire, the kind a lamb feels when it realizes it's actually a wolf.
Who wouldn't feel the same in this moment?
Because the main quest was complete.
And the reward? It stunned Xu Bin for a full few minutes.
All the previous strength boosts, height increases, phones, money—none of it compared to this.
This skill was 100% tailored to him.
"Congratulations, Host. Main Quest Complete. Reward: Skill – Divine Selection.
Matches your combat instincts, psychological profile, life environment, national laws... Fully personalized."