Chapter 411: Yet Another Special Attribute

Chapter 411: Yet Another Special Attribute

Returning to the hotel to begin the evening’s comic creation, the effect of aesthetics was tangibly reflected in the strokes of his pen. If imagination allowed Meng Fan to compose virtual images directly in his mind, and his godlike drawing skills could transfer those mental images onto paper, then aesthetics gave him the selectivity to decide what to bring forth and what to omit, not limited to the beauty of scenes and characters but also enhancing expressive power.

Meng Fan had even compared a previous page he redrew; the changes were minor, but the visual effect was noticeably improved.

Compared to aesthetics—a trait not particularly outstanding but indeed omnipresent with a subtle influence—the sudden increase of 6 points in night-owl endurance was truly terrifying.

By the time he worked professionally past 4 a.m., Meng Fan not only felt no drowsiness but was also energetic, and his brain activity showed no sign of diminishing, completely unaffected during the creative process of drawing comics.

After dawn, his spirit remained high, with no trace of having stayed up all night.

To be honest, Meng Fan was curious how long his current night-owl endurance could keep him awake without sleep, but it was just curiosity—he dared not challenge it. Even if this endurance was indeed extraordinary, capable of supporting ten sleepless days without issue, or even longer, he still wouldn’t dare. What if, after staying awake for a long time without any problems, he lay down and never woke up? That thought was somewhat frightening.

So, after 5 a.m., Meng Fan forced himself to lie down and sleep for an hour, getting up at 6. Whether he slept or not made no difference, but it gave him peace of mind.

At 6 a.m., he went downstairs for a run, then had breakfast, and afterward rushed to the airport for the next destination.

During this period, Meng Fan’s running volume was certainly less than before, but he had completed the tenth stage of [Swift Courier] quite early, reaching the 2000-kilometer requirement and earning a reward of +2000 points and +3 strength.

Currently, Meng Fan’s total running distance was over 2200 kilometers. The eleventh stage required 2500 kilometers and an additional half-marathon, with rewards of +2500 points and +3 speed. Given his current volume, he was still far off.

After increasing observation by 4 points to +10, the effect quickly manifested during the next stop’s exchange. To exaggerate a bit, observation +10 felt like it had given Meng Fan a cheat that revealed opponents’ weaknesses.

For provincial-level athletes, Meng Fan could analyze their strengths and weaknesses just by looking. From head to toe, they appeared in his eyes as dense “red dots,” each one allowing him to deliver a “one-hit kill.” Well, these “red dots” weren’t provided by the system, nor were they projected; they were imagined by Meng Fan based on his observation.

In other words, he could see flaws just by looking, and during a fight, he would certainly spot even more.

For athletes in wrestling and judo, Meng Fan could directly discern their technical and tactical traits and weaknesses, knowing which techniques they mastered, to what degree, and which tactics suited them best.

As for athletes above the provincial level—national, international, or world-class—how many “red dots” would appear in Meng Fan’s eyes remained to be seen.

“Your footwork is agile. I suggest you practice more combination techniques of uchi-mata and osoto-gari.”

“Good strength, but poor movement continuity. Strengthen your basics.”

“Everything is decent, but you’re too impatient. I suggest you work as a sparring partner for a while.”

“Try not to take the fight to the ground.”

“Next.”

Meng Fan, as before, instructed while grappling. For these athletes, most initially approached with curiosity, or perhaps under pressure. In the end, they all gained something, more or less. Meng Fan’s comprehensive techniques and sharp insight hit the nail on the head, pointing out their flaws and weaknesses or suggesting areas to focus on. As for the subsequent results, that depended on the individual.

After all, even if they sincerely accepted Meng Fan’s advice, not everyone could persist. Even provincial-level athletes weren’t free from laziness.

There were quite a few combat athletes at provincial sports institutes and teams, with wrestling and judo teams having a decent number. The male athletes ranged from fifty or sixty at most to twenty or thirty at least. Meng Fan’s efficiency in racking up experience was decent. As for whether he could encounter other combat athletes, like boxers, taekwondo practitioners, or martial artists, that truly depended on the situation. It made sense for him to guide wrestlers and judokas, but it would be excessive to challenge others. Sometimes he could, sometimes he wasn’t so lucky.

Hmm—the stop with the most experience was Shanghai. Besides the Shanghai Sports Institute, Meng Fan also visited Wu Ji’s mixed martial arts gym, earning over a hundred experience points in one go.

Leaving Changsha for Chongqing, then Chengdu, and looping around to Fuzhou, by June he finally maxed out [Thousand Cuts], earning 1 point of killing intent and 10,000 points for the third stage, along with the title [Thousand Cuts] (killing intent +3, fertility +1).

With 4 new points of killing intent, his total reached +6. As for killing intent, Meng Fan had never exchanged points for it before—not because this other mystical trait was hard to control, but because he really didn’t have many points. This time, with the new 10,000 points plus the 2,000 from completing the ninth stage of [Swift Courier], his total points were now over 14,000, so he could consider adding some.

As for fertility, it was another special attribute, not exchangeable with points. As for its effect, ahem.

“Go back?”

“Aren’t there still Nanchang and Hefei?”

When the team heard Meng Fan suddenly propose returning, they confirmed with a question.

Meng Fan nodded. “I’ve found what I was looking for.”

The team was baffled. What had he found?

An epiphany?

Alright, if he wanted to go back, they’d go back. After this tour, they were exhausted too—two days per province, sometimes three days for two provinces, with various arrangements upon landing. It was truly not human work. They certainly didn’t have Meng Fan’s stamina.

“You’re back?!”

Director Zhan, knowing Meng Fan had returned to Hangzhou, immediately went to the dormitory where Meng Fan’s team stayed—his team lived at Zhejiang Sports Institute daily, and all of Meng Fan’s daily needs were handled by the institute. Meng Fan’s trip had made Director Zhan the most anxious person.

He certainly knew what Meng Fan had been doing—wrestling and judo exchanges had nothing to do with weightlifting!

“Where is he?”

“What’s his current state?”

“Did he say when he’d resume normal training?”

“Do you know when he’ll go to Fengji?”

“...”

“Director Zhan, um, could you let us get a good night’s sleep first?”

The team had barely lain down for an hour when Director Zhan woke them up. Their mood was terrible, but they understood his feelings—well, they didn’t dare talk back.

“Why don’t you call Meng Fan and ask?”

“I already did, but couldn’t reach him.”

“Oh, Director Zhan, he’s been out for so long; he must need rest too, right? Don’t disturb him today. And, um, better not disturb us either—we really need to catch up on sleep!”

“Alright, alright, sleep then.”

Director Zhan had no choice. He knew he was being impatient, but who wouldn’t be? This trip had set back weightlifting training so much!

In fact, Meng Fan hadn’t neglected weightlifting during this trip. He still had the [Lift with Ease] task to complete, training both day and night.

As for the task progress, no matter how much Meng Fan trained, it couldn’t speed up much, since he had to lift a total of ten thousand tons!

So far, Meng Fan had only barely passed 3,000 tons, still far from completion.

The next day, Meng Fan went to the sports institute for a urine test before heading home—at this critical moment, urine tests were very important. It wasn’t purely to study the effect of “fertility”; there was also the effect of aesthetics to explore. The more he studied, the more beautiful Wu Tong seemed. At this point, aesthetics felt very real.

Of course, he didn’t stay home all the time. He had to make up for the shopping he’d missed these days, and naturally, they went together to pet the big cat.

After petting the big cat, Meng Fan and Wu Tong went to Damei Studio. As soon as they got out of the car, they heard shouts from inside.

“Marry him!”

“Marry him!”

Curious, Meng Fan and Wu Tong hurried over and saw Xiang Ping—the online writer known as Flathead—kneeling on one knee, holding a ring box, facing Senior Yan Xixi, who had one hand holding flowers and the other covering her mouth.

A proposal!

Meng Fan’s eyes lit up. He had known these two since they met and got together, but he hadn’t expected things to progress so quickly, to the point of a proposal. Counting on his fingers, they had known each other for... seven, eight, nine months... not that short, actually.

“Mm!”

Yan Xixi nodded heavily while crying.

She really hadn’t expected Xiang Ping to propose today. It was her birthday, and she had dinner with Xiang Ping. Because of studio work, she rushed back after the meal, only to find that Xiang Ping and the studio staff had secretly arranged a very romantic proposal scene after she left.

“She agreed! Hurry up and put the ring on! What are you waiting for?”

Xiang Ping was also nervous. Reminded by those around him, he snapped out of it and quickly took out the ring to slip onto Yan Xixi’s finger. Although there was no amusing mistake of putting it on the wrong finger, everyone could see his hands shaking badly!

Hmm—and they could also see the large, sparkling diamond on the ring. It was at least two carats! Matching the brand, it would cost no less than 300,000!

“Kiss! Kiss!”

Meng Fan and Wu Tong joined the cheering crowd. Several girls nearby were crying, probably unable to handle such a proposal scene.

“Congratulations, congratulations!”

Meng Fan and the others all congratulated the soon-to-be newlyweds. Yan Xixi blushed crimson, and Xiang Ping was not much better; aside from smiling, he truly knew no other expression.

After a group of women gathered around the beaming Yan Xixi to admire her diamond ring, Meng Fan lightly punched Pingtou in the chest and said with a laugh, "When will you hold the wedding banquet? Remember to invite me."

Pingtou nodded repeatedly. "Of course, of course! Come to think of it, you could be considered our matchmaker."

From the side, Zhang Zhouwei chimed in, "People with the surname Meng are the most professional in the country at this line of work."

(End of this chapter)