Chapter 122: Totally Different

Bai Lang couldn't even remember when he last played this kind of game...... He felt it was just yesterday, yet also seemed like some day far, far in the past. But after he dropped a coin, those memories came back. Bai Lang controlled his strength, moving the joystick, pressing the buttons——once again fully confirming the fact that he was all thumbs. He could now barely beat the computer......

He could still clear the first two stages, but the third had the computer ganging up on him three‑to‑one, utterly humiliating. Bai Lang wouldn't get angry from losing—being mad at the computer is pointless, and it's not a versus match where he could threaten the opponent. If such behavior really happened, it would truly be despicable, worse than hogging the arcade machine for points. Bai Lang quickly got up and switched machines, and in the end sadly realized he really was all thumbs.

"Whether it's fighting or shooting, from vertical‑scroll 194X to horizontal‑scroll side‑scrollers, I've completely become a cripple! I can't even play the shooting simulation—truly a loser!" Junior Guardian Bai, though agile as a tiger and victorious in every battle formation, is nevertheless a total newcomer when faced with a 34‑inch arcade screen.

After wasting fifty yuan on a token, the weak Bai Lang left the arcade with his mood still fairly calm—by the end he seemed to have regained a bit of skill, the key being that the arcade was nowhere near as crowded as before, so with no onlookers there was no one to mock him, allowing Bai Lang to finally keep his peace of mind. "Liang Yu, you brat! Your old man's back!" Bai Lang shouted the name of that despicable dormmate and kicked the door open.

Having a punching bag in the dorm is good for body and mind—as long as you lend him money, this despicable guy can keep reviving at full health. Upon seeing Bai Lang, Liang Yu immediately rushed over, making a move to hug his thigh. "Bai Lang Dad, I heard you joined the Martial Arts Club and became an official member! Give me a thigh‑hair hug! Sponsor me!"

Bai Lang looked at this sliding‑over‑to‑hug‑his‑thigh guy and spat. Whether Liang Yu's words were sincere or not, the point is his daily performance art has become part of life—at least Bai Lang thinks masturbating in broad daylight couldn't be a normal person's routine, especially in a bustling male dormitory. He smacked the guy's head: "Sure, you're a good dog. How about this—I'll let you train martial arts—once you master the divine art, you'll have everything!"

Then Bai Lang pulled out a handwritten manual and shoved it into Liang Yu's hand—this is the fist manual he wrote daily to reinforce his memory, a method that can cultivate Internal Force from the outside in. At that moment, Bai Lang's phone lit up......

He picked up his phone and saw that the friend‑add notification in WeChat was flashing, with many messages sent to him. "Oh, right. I did delete that so‑called 'goddess', thinking she wouldn't remember my WeChat ID—after all, I'm just a love‑sick dog......" Then came lots of congratulatory messages from other classmates; it seems the news that he joined the Martial Arts Club and became an official member has spread.

Being an official member means having grasped Qi, and cultivating Internal Force is just a step away—some have already developed it. Such students have very bright prospects ahead—although most government departments don't require Internal Force training, in the military, police, and legal sectors, achieving anything definitely requires cultivated Internal Force. The military is fine; it mainly relies on modern weapons, so personal combat skill isn't paramount. But in police and other security bureaus, a martial artist with accomplished Internal Force is quite promising.

With Internal Force, joining the police brings fast promotions and high pay; even subsidies are several grades higher than those of same‑rank officers lacking Internal Force, and virtually all political‑legal high officials come from this kind of "practical‑experience" police background. One can then move into the four leading bodies to become a municipal Party committee member or even leave the police to serve as a mayor's secretary, etc.... Moreover, under equal conditions, a martial artist with Internal Force can indeed go farther on the political path—simply because his body is healthier and he doesn't need to scheme to find someone to help clear his Internal Force.

This makes it harder to resort to corruption in order to achieve one's goals......

In short, Bai Lang's prospects are vast, and well‑informed people can also tell he's not bad among the official members, because he has cultivated Internal Force—if a detector shows consecutive light dots and the reading reaches a certain value, that means Internal Force is accomplished. Bai Lang is exactly that. So now the goddess...... or rather the class belle, the school belle Tian Li, is sending him a WeChat message......

I doubt even this goddess imagined that one day she'd be removed from a love‑sick dog's friend list, and that when she sends a message a red exclamation mark would pop up—a notice visible only to the sender, not the recipient. So she sent a friend request, and not just one; it's quite persistent. Bai Lang picked up his phone; to be honest, he hardly remembers anyone who sent those congratulatory messages, and as for the goddess, he only just learned her name is Tian Li.

"Approved, approved." Bai Lang casually tapped agree. It seems the other party had been watching WeChat; right after Bai Lang agreed, they immediately sent a voice message. Bai Lang tapped it and heard, "Wow, this soft, coquettish voice is completely different from the icy tone in those previous records." Now it's Bai Lang's turn to reply with "Oh, uh, got it" three times in a row.

In WeChat, the goddess actively invited him to her birthday party, and Bai Lang also got his first look at her Moments—basically just her chasing internet celebrities or luxury brands elsewhere...... Bai Lang checked the date; if it's a regular evening, it seems fine. He's spent so much money on this woman, so Bai Lang plans to give her a cup and then drain her wallet, hoping to recoup some cost.

But before that, I need to stop the dorm's puppy Liang Yu from clinging to me—beating him to death isn't realistic. However, it seems the fist manual I tossed out is actually somewhat useful; Liang Yu's eyes lit up as he grabbed it to train—who the hell would still study hard if they could become an Internal Force martial artist?

Bai Lang circulated Internal Force through the Golden Bell Cover again; sure enough, it's not easy to emit outward, but when running just beneath the skin its strength doesn't diminish at all. "Just practicing on various sports fields probably won't cut it—luckily the Martial Arts Club has its own training ground, where I should be able to drill the Black Tiger Fist techniques." This sort of combat‑oriented style ultimately yields a little new insight each day of training; not practicing for three days makes you rusty—more than just a saying.

Since Bai Lang doesn't want to hone his martial skills in life‑and‑death fights, he'll train in his daily practice instead, while stepping up collection of so‑called martial arts secret manuals to find techniques he can actually use.