"You say, what's the point of living? Little Lin."
This was the second time Lin Li heard this question today.
But this time, the question didn't come from a patient with Yu Yu syndrome, nor from a guest at the chicken farm, but from the driver who was driving him.
And immediately after, the car beneath him accelerated.
Damn it.
"Uncle, please don't do this, I'm scared," Lin Li said quietly, fastening his seatbelt in the back seat.
What is this? Is this still a police car? This is more like a hearse!
He was just curious about the profession of a Demon Suppression Officer, so he asked a few questions about the salary, overtime, promotion prospects, how easy it was to write work reports, how simple the disputes were to handle, and so on—just a few dozen questions. It shouldn't have caused such a sudden change in mood, right…
The mental resilience is worrying.
Yang Liang glanced deeply at Lin Li through the rearview mirror. "If you're scared, then shut up."
In the previous conversation, Yang Liang had mentioned that he was already off work and heading home, but had been called out for some overtime.
Yet, Lin Li had asked why.
Why? Isn't it obvious who the 'culprit' of the overtime is?
Lin Li stopped talking, looking out of the window at the retreating streets, while actually checking the system.
The second mission hadn't been marked as completed yet, but Lin Li thought for a moment, believing the reason might be that the Demon Suppression Division still needed to follow up.
After all, there were still some Hehuan demons at home who hadn't been captured yet, and the 'cleansing' hadn't met the required standard.
Hopefully, that's the case.
In any case, he had done everything he could, but still felt a bit disappointed and frustrated. He had thought it would be completed right away.
He sighed softly.
"So this is the neighborhood, right? Get out and hurry home. Don't let your parents wait for you. Also, tell them I said hi, and by the way, practice a little on your trumpet. You, kid, are completely useless now." Yang Liang slowly parked the car and, after unlocking the door, joked with Lin Li.
"Thanks, Uncle, but don't worry. My dad's already gone, and my mom works outside. I'm the only one at home, so no one will be waiting. As for practicing trumpet, that's even more impossible." Lin Li said, and quickly jogged toward home.
Though it was barely nine o'clock, he had to get up early tomorrow. Plus, he still had some materials to look up for the first chapter of his Eight-Dan Bodybuilding technique, so he was quite busy.
Yang Liang, who was preparing to relax with a cigarette, suddenly trembled as his hand shook, causing the cigarette to fall to the ground.
He then reached out his trembling hand to put the cigarette in his mouth, fumbled to take out the lighter, but couldn't get it lit after several tries.
His ears still rang with Lin Li's response, and in front of him, the image of Lin Li's disappointed and dejected face lingered.
Before this, he had never seen such an expression on Lin Li's face.
So sad, so sorrowful.
He turned his head to look at the solitary figure of Lin Li, who was already far away, walking silently toward the neighborhood. His lips moved, but no words came out.
Three seconds later.
"Slap!"
Yang Liang slapped himself across the face. "I'm such a damn idiot!"
The look on the kid's face just now, that smile that was always on his lips, where did it go? Clearly, his words had struck a sore spot!
Yang Liang suddenly realized something. The abstract nature was probably not Lin Li's true intention; it was just the kid's way of protecting his fragile inner self by building a false shield!
He was just a poor kid hiding behind a smile.
Damn it, what had he said to this kid?
As a policeman, how could he hurt a kid like that!
I'm such a damn idiot!
…
Completely unaware that his perfectly normal statement had been misunderstood, Lin Li, who was naturally abstract, was now eagerly perfecting his modern version of the Eight-Dan Bodybuilding technique.
Thanks to his efforts earlier in the day, it didn't take much time.
Later, Lin Li officially practiced the first chapter of the Eight-Dan Bodybuilding technique in his living room—he couldn't be reading paper while practicing tomorrow, so he needed to memorize the content first.
The translation was correct.
This time, there was no spray head above him, no desire to urinate, and no hot feeling, but Lin Li genuinely felt a mysterious change in his body, as if his muscles and bones were being opened.
It wasn't that the effect was so exaggerated that it worked with just one round; in fact, the technique itself said that it required time and sweat to accumulate.
More than that, it was a mysterious and indescribable feeling of something to look forward to in the future. His body seemed to express pleasure—Tyson, the boxing king? Eventually, even he might not compare!
Practice 800 times a day, and maybe he could become Saitama.
After taking a shower and a simple video call with his mom, Lin Li prepared to sleep.
…
10:20 PM
Lin Li looked at the ceiling.
Damn it, it's been 40 minutes and I still haven't fallen asleep.
Although he was pretty tired this morning, after enjoying 40 minutes at the massage parlor, he wasn't as tired anymore.
Today's experience had been quite new, and with the ability to practice a technique that wasn't from Earth, Lin Li's mind was a little too excited.
It was the weekend, and his biological clock didn't seem to allow him to sleep right now.
Lin Li sighed. "Let's count sheep."
…
10:40 PM
"Five hundred sixty-two sheep, five hundred sixty-four sheep, five hundred sixty-five… five hundred… Damn it, how many sheep was that just now!" Lin Li suddenly sat up, full of energy.
He lazily picked up his phone.
Their usual gaming group chat was still on voice call, so he curiously joined in.
The voice chat was filled with a lively atmosphere, everyone laughing and joking, but Lin Li could also hear something about someone's mother.
Apart from "mother," there were classic phrases like "useless thing," "even the chicken played better than you," and "are you even human?" echoing in the conversation.
Lin Li discerned that only Bai Bufan, of the five people, remained calm and silent.
The case was solved. It was definitely directed at him.
And the attack came in full force, making an unforgivable mistake.
Otherwise, Bai Bufan would never stay quiet.
A good opportunity! Lin Li mixed in and, amidst the noise, got in a few insults of his own.
"Lin Li, what are you doing here?" Bai Bufan, the target of the insults, noticed Lin Li immediately.
"Quick, quick, quick! Lin Li, get online and take over for that beast Bai Bufan. We can't stand him anymore; he's the highest wall on our road to victory." Others hurriedly said.
"Don't try to mock me. My favorite player once said, there's no such thing as a wall in League of Legends, so don't comment if you don't understand the game." Bai Bufan replied stubbornly.
"No thanks, I have to get up early tomorrow. But I couldn't sleep right now, and I don't have any melatonin at home. I didn't know what to do, so I came to check on you guys. Seeing you all like this makes me feel much better." Lin Li refused.
"Are you still a Tieba person? You need to ask about this kind of thing? If you can't decide what to do, go expand your territory—fight some side battles."
Suddenly, Lin Li had an epiphany!
Could it be that, after such an exciting day, it wasn't his brain that was excited, but his cerebellum?!
Lin Li immediately hung up the voice call and headed for the bathroom.
He entered a website.
www.____.com.
…
Bai Bufan is a great doctor.
Lin Li was feeling sleepy.
Yawning, he lay down on his bed and closed his eyes.
…
3:20 AM
Lin Li…
Lin Li, of course, had fallen asleep. He had been sleeping soundly for almost five hours, and his alarm would go off soon.
However, someone was still wide awake.
A few kilometers away, a woman who had gotten up in the night noticed her husband was not in bed. Rubbing her eyes, she found him on the balcony, smoking.
With a puzzled look on her face, she asked,
"Yang Liang, what are you doing? It's so late, why aren't you asleep? Didn't we say we'd take the kid to the amusement park tomorrow?"
Yang Liang turned to look at his wife with a weary expression.
"I want to go downstairs."
But it seemed he didn't intend to take the stairs or the elevator.
The woman was startled by Yang Liang's strange behavior and quickly asked, "What's wrong?"
Yang Liang slapped himself across the face.
"I'm such a damn idiot!"