After a few minutes of excitement, Lin Shen still felt a dreamlike sense of unreality.
He didn't really think he'd become some chosen protagonist; after all, if there was going to be a system, the best time for it to appear would have been when he first entered the workforce.
Years had passed, and after enduring the harsh grind of work, the sharpness and pride deep within Lin Shen had long been worn smooth by life.
For the system to appear now, it really felt a bit late.
But then again, it wasn't too late.
Lin Shen silently did the math.
His current salary was eight thousand yuan a month.
Adding the cash reward from [PayReceiver], it rounded up to roughly thirty thousand yuan a month!
What did thirty thousand even mean?
This income level surpassed 90% of the country's population!
It was enough to support a family of three comfortably!
"Woohoo!"
Unable to contain his inner joy, Lin Shen let out another cheer, then opened his phone to check the item obtained from [PayReceiver].
[Use "Low-Level Random Crack Card"?]
[Yes]
[No]
Faced with the choice, Lin Shen decisively tapped Yes.
The phone screen suddenly jumped back to the home screen.
Then, next to the [FitnessTracker] app in the corner, a similarly designed app appeared and started running.
[FitnessTracker Lv.1]
[Cracked Effect: Exercise effectiveness increased by 20% and will not degrade (Increases based on FitnessTracker level)]
[Level-Up Quest: Run five kilometers]
[Congratulations on successfully activating a cracked app (2/20)! PayReceiver's cracked effect has doubled!]
[Current Main Quest Progress: 10%]
[PayReceiver Cracked Effect: RMB 700/day → RMB 1,400/day]
Fourteen hundred a day?!
Lin Shen's eyes widened, his gaze burning.
He had originally thought earning thirty thousand a month was already satisfying enough, but the system doubled it again!
A monthly income of forty-two thousand could completely cover daily living expenses, with plenty left over!
"FitnessTracker, huh."
Lin Shen looked down and patted his large belly, then sighed softly.
Actually, he had a good foundation during college, even had several abs.
But under prolonged work pressure, they had merged into one.
Add to that the occasional social drinking and late-night overtime.
This led Lin Shen to feel that, at 25, his physical fitness and mental state were worse than the old men playing on the horizontal bars in the park.
Therefore, he was actually quite glad to have the cracked [FitnessTracker] app pushing him to exercise.
After all, health is something money can't buy.
Besides, its most insane feature wasn't the "exercise effectiveness increased by 20%".
It was the "will not degrade"!
You see, many people can stick to exercising, even dieting to lose weight.
But under external influences, very few can manage to maintain healthy eating habits year after year after losing weight.
Therefore, this "will not degrade" feature truly made Lin Shen inwardly restless.
With it, did it mean that after losing weight, he wouldn't have to worry about regaining it?
"No time like the present!"
Lin Shen was a man of action; once he had an idea, he implemented it immediately.
He dug out his long-unused quick-dry shirt, quick-dry shorts, and running shoes from the wardrobe and shoe cabinet, put on his headphones and watch.
Once everything was ready, he went downstairs, warmed up at the building entrance, and then started running around the residential complex.
Five kilometers isn't difficult for someone who exercises regularly.
But for Lin Shen, who suffered from a sedentary lifestyle, the first time was sheer hell!
The first kilometer was okay; he managed to push through thanks to the upbeat music from his headphones.
But from the second to the fourth kilometer, the only thing keeping Lin Shen running was willpower.
The willpower to earn money.
Lin Shen believed that completing the task would definitely bring better rewards!
So, he kept swallowing saliva that tasted faintly of blood.
As for the last kilometer, Lin Shen couldn't even remember how he managed to endure it.
Anyway, after finishing, he felt so oxygen-deprived that he almost couldn't catch his breath.
"Five kilometers completed. Time: 38 minutes 32 seconds."
Hearing the finishing alert from his watch, Lin Shen lay on the grass, gasping for air.
His throat felt scalded by his burning breath, and he occasionally felt the urge to gag.
After resting for a long time, he finally managed to pull out his phone to check the task status.
[Level-Up Quest: Run five kilometers (Completed)]
[Reward: FitnessTracker Lv.1 → Lv.2]
[Exercise Effectiveness Increased 20% → 25%]
[Item: Deep Sleep Pill*1 (Significantly improves sleep quality and relieves mental fatigue after consumption)]
[Level-Up Quest: 100 Push-ups.]
Deep Sleep Pill?
"This name sounds a bit strange…"
Lin Shen licked his dry lips and immediately rolled over to start doing push-ups on the grass.
With the item reward and the boost in exercise effectiveness, he felt quite motivated to work out.
But some things clearly couldn't be sustained by willpower alone.
For someone like Lin Shen, weighing over 160 jin (approx. 176 lbs / 80 kg), perhaps only push-ups were more torturous than running.
After just over twenty, his arms already started aching and feeling weak, flapping like butterfly wings.
He had no choice but to lie flat on the grass for a short rest.
Lin Shen felt that, dripping with sweat, he must look particularly pathetic right now, yet he felt incredibly exhilarated inside.
According to studies, after a certain stage of aerobic exercise, the body releases large amounts of dopamine and endorphins, which stimulate feelings of physical and mental pleasure.
That's exactly how Lin Shen felt now.
One word—Awesome!
After a brief rest, Lin Shen got up and continued.
Actually, to complete the task, he could have increased the count by doing non-standard push-ups.
But Lin Shen didn't want to cheat himself.
Although he hated to admit it, Gu Wanting's departure did have some effect on him.
They say when a guy suddenly starts losing weight, it's either because he found love or lost it.
Lin Shen didn't want to win anything back; he just wanted to ensure he wouldn't be looked down upon by others in the future.
Whether it was money or appearance!
Therefore, even if it meant taking more breaks, Lin Shen tried his best to make every single push-up standard.
After one hundred reps, he felt like his arms were almost numb.
"Probably going to wake up aching like hell tomorrow morning."
Lin Shen lay on the grass, gazing blankly at the countless stars in the night sky.
[Level-Up Quest: 100 Push-ups (Completed)]
[Reward: FitnessTracker Lv.2 → Lv.3]
[Congratulations on reaching Lv.3! Triggered Bonus Reward: RMB 10,000 Fitness Subsidy.]
[Exercise Effectiveness Increased 25% → 30%]
[Item: Fatigue Recovery Agent*1 (Relieves all bodily fatigue after consumption, restoring condition to optimal)]
[Level-Up Quest: Spend one hour at the gym.]
「China Construction Bank: Your account ending in 7946 received RMB 10,000 on 07/20 at 21:17. Current balance: 53,700」
[Level-Up Quest: Total Assets exceed RMB 50,000 (Completed).]
[Reward: PayReceiver Lv.2 → Lv.3]
[RMB 1,400/day → RMB 1,700/day]
[Reward Item: Image Makeover Card*1 (Please use the RMB 50,000 budget to change your clothing style and image. The system will provide a rebate based on the final charisma value)]
[Level-Up Quest: Total Assets exceed RMB 100,000 (53,700/100,000).]
A ten-thousand-yuan fitness subsidy?
This bonus reward was quite a pleasant surprise for Lin Shen.
With it, the [PayReceiver] quest was completed instantly, and he also got an [Image Makeover Card] as a bonus.
This was exactly what Lin Shen was planning to do.
Of course, the other surprise was the [Fatigue Recovery Agent].
Was this stuff really as good as it claimed?
Lin Shen couldn't wait to find out.
After going upstairs, he drank water in small sips several times, soaked his sweat-drenched quick-dry clothes in a basin, and quickly stripped down for a shower.
Seeing the various women's toiletries and the couple's toothbrush holder in the bathroom, Lin Shen felt slightly dazed under the running water.
He wasn't sad because Gu Wanting left, but rather because the relationship he had painstakingly nurtured for three years ended so anticlimactically.
It didn't even have a proper "breakup" Bad Ending (BE); it just ended confusingly like this.
Slap!
Lin Shen slapped his own face hard, then resolutely threw everything related to Gu Wanting into the trash bin.
The old was gone.
Now, he had to face a new life