Chapter 62: Lost a Thousand, Won Ten Thousand

At noon, in front of a certain residential development of Blue Garden.

Shen He held a cup of iced cola, sipping as he walked straight toward the security booth.

Inside the booth, a middle-aged man in his forties was eating his boxed lunch. Suddenly, he seemed to sense a surge of hostility. He set his meal down on the desk, stood up, and flung open the booth door in an instant, shouting angrily at someone not far away, “No food deliveries allowed inside! Come here to register and make a call!”

His figure shot out as he grabbed the backseat of an electric scooter, lifting it with one hand. The delivery man grumbled, “Damn it, Old Zhang, out of all these people you just have to hassle me? Am I the only delivery guy in the whole city of Xiangxiang? Why do you always pick on your old buddy? If I wasn’t about to be late, I’d show you why the flowers are so red.”

Zhang Qiang scratched his ear with a free hand. “Say whatever you want, but deliveries aren’t allowed inside. That family wrestling of yours might work on others, but you’re not on my level.”

Hearing this, the delivery man deflated, jumped off his scooter, and with a swift kick, knocked off the foot pedal. In a flash, he snatched a meal from the rear box and dashed into the community, vaulting the fence with ease and still having time to send a message on his phone.

Zhang Qiang didn’t seem to mind, just sat on the scooter, waiting.

Shen He approached and asked, “He’s already rushed in. Aren’t you going to stop him?”

Zhang Qiang shrugged. “Stop him? With what? I get paid three or four thousand a month—you think I’m risking my life for that? If I really tried to stop him and he got angry and broke the fence, wouldn’t that be a bigger loss?”

Shen He replied, “If he breaks the fence, just make him pay for it.”

Zhang Qiang shook his head vigorously. “No way, that guy is a real rascal. Even if he breaks the fence, he won’t pay. In the end, they’ll just deduct it from my wages. If I don’t let him go, he’ll probably kneel down and let someone film it. Not only will they dock my pay, but I’ll get flamed online as well…”

Suddenly, he turned around. “Hey! You’re not one of our residents, are you? Visiting family or friends? You have to register, just saying.”

Shen He cupped his hands politely. “Neither. My name is Shen He. I heard you practice military grappling, so I’ve come to spar.”

Zhang Qiang snorted. “Sparring? What era do you think this is? I don’t have time to play pretend with young folks like you.”

Shen He raised a finger. “One match. If you win, I’ll give you ten thousand. If you lose, you still get a thousand.”

Zhang Qiang’s eyes lit up at his words. He looked Shen He up and down, hesitating. “You aren’t here to scam me, are you? I really do know military grappling, and I can’t always control my strength. If I hurt you, you might try to blackmail me. I don’t have much money—don’t even think about it.”

Shen He paused, then said, “Show me your payment code. I’ll transfer you a thousand in advance and note it as a sparring fee. If anything happens like you said, this will serve as proof.”

Zhang Qiang stroked his chin, glanced at Shen He, and said, “Alright, I like how straightforward you young people are.” As he spoke, he displayed his payment code.

Shen He wasted no time, transferring a thousand with the note ‘sparring fee.’

After Zhang Qiang received the money and pocketed his phone, he rubbed his hands together a bit sheepishly. “Kid, I used to be the best in the whole company at grappling. If you want to spar, you’d better be careful.”

Shen He gestured invitingly.

Zhang Qiang’s expression grew serious, and with a shout, he lunged toward Shen He. In the next second, he was thrown to the ground.

Not far away, the delivery man, Li Niu, had just finished his delivery and, seeing this, shouted, “Damn! Who’s this kid daring to mess with my brother?”

As Li Niu charged, Shen He simply raised a foot and sent him sprawling to the pavement.

Zhang Qiang hurriedly said, “It’s a misunderstanding, Old Li. This guy is just sparring with me—he gave me a thousand as a sparring fee.”

Li Niu, still on the ground, was stunned. Grimacing from the pain in his chest, he grumbled, “Why didn’t you say so earlier? I took that kick for nothing.”

Zhang Qiang quickly got up and helped Li Niu to his feet. “It wasn’t for nothing. Tonight, dinner’s on me—anything you want, as long as it’s under five hundred.”

At that, Li Niu looked a little less aggrieved.

Shen He glanced at the two of them. Above their heads, he saw one labeled as a Second-Tier Martial Artist and the other as Third-Tier Martial Artist—both promising talents for the future.

Before his eyes, small words appeared again:

[Defeated so far: Boxer Li Ding, Kicker Liu Mu, Grappler Zhang Qiang, Weapons Specialist Lin Helu]
[Progress: 80%]
[…]

He cupped his hands to the two men. “Sorry, I was a bit rough.”

Zhang Qiang straightened up, wincing. “Kid, that wasn’t grappling at all! Just brute force.”

Shen He paused. “I said you could use grappling, not that I would.”

Zhang Qiang: “…”

Li Niu: “…”

What he said made so much sense, we were left speechless.

Shen He continued, “We agreed: a thousand if you lost, ten thousand if you won. I’ve already transferred the money, so we’re settled.”

With that, he walked toward the parking lot.

Li Niu turned to Zhang Qiang, incredulous. “Wait—so you lost and got a thousand? That wasn’t just a sparring fee?”

Zhang Qiang scratched his head awkwardly. “I couldn’t beat him, could I?”

…

Shen He got into his car and started it up. This time things went even smoother than he’d expected. With time to spare, he might as well go ask Li Ding at the training center where the guy who practices Bajiquan in the city is.

Maybe he could finish his class change quest in one go.

He was curious about what the ‘Martial Arts Compendium: Beginner’s Edition’ really was. And what would happen once he succeeded in changing classes.

Soon, Shen He arrived at Li Ding’s Sanda training center and walked right in.

Today, Li Jiaojiao was at the front desk. When she saw Shen He, her eyes lit up. “Why are you here? Weren’t you back home learning weapons from Brother Lin and the others?”

Shen He replied, “I’ve learned it all—finished training early, you could say.”

Li Jiaojiao was about to retort, but then remembered what her brother Li Ding had told her before. She hesitated. “You really finished? You’re sure you’ve learned everything?”

Shen He nodded. “Of course. Where’s your brother?”

Li Jiaojiao sighed. “He’s inside teaching the trainees. I’ll take you to him.”

She led the way, bringing Shen He to Li Ding’s private training room. Standing outside, she knocked. “Bro, Shen He’s back—he wants to see you.”