Doug Feng quietly made a mental note: That steel theft—I've got just a few days to stop it. He closed his textbook, still reeling from the nightmare that had lit a fire in his chest, only to be interrupted by the irresistible smell of fried egg wafting in from the kitchen.
After scarfing down a delicious breakfast courtesy of his mom and sending his dad off to work, Doug slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed out the door.
On the way to school, his mind kept circling back to one thing: the Favorability System.
How do I make this thing work for me? If I can master it, I won't just change my own life—I'll make sure Mom and Dad live the kind of life they deserve too.
Just then, a voice broke through his thoughts.
"I told you to stop bothering me, Lin Yi! The college entrance exam is coming up. I just want to study and get into a good university—I'm not interested in anything else!"
Doug looked up and immediately recognized the voice—it was Linda. Class rep, school belle, and currently trapped in a corner by a group of guys. At the head of them was a tall, slick-haired student with an unmistakably smug aura.
Lin Yi. Son of the deputy mayor. Big fish in a small pond, swimming in privilege. Doug remembered him well: popular, arrogant, and the kind of guy teachers never dared discipline.
"Come on, Linda. We've been in the same school since middle school. Six years! How long do you want me to wait?" Lin Yi's tone was dramatic, almost laughably so. "Look, college's around the corner. I just want us to be in the same city—maybe even the same university. That way we won't have to suffer this awful long-distance thing."
Linda yanked her arm away, glaring up at him. "You think I don't know what kind of guy you are? My mom already warned me to stay away from you. You've played enough girls in this school."
"Hey now, that's not fair!" one of Lin Yi's cronies jumped in. "Those girls were the ones throwing themselves at him! They were never serious relationships. But Lin Shao's feelings for you? Totally real."
"Yeah! For real, for real!"
The other cronies parroted the sentiment like bad backup singers. Lin Yi, pleased by their performance, tried once again to grab Linda's hand.
That was the last straw for Doug.
If this were the "old" Doug—timid, invisible, constantly afraid of stepping on powerful toes—he would've turned around and walked the other way. But not this time. Not after getting a second chance at life.
He stepped forward and shoved Lin Yi aside, placing himself squarely between him and Linda. "Let go of her, Lin Yi."
The commotion caught the attention of Lin Yi's cronies. One of them, with bleached hair and a smirk that screamed "wannabe thug," stepped forward.
"Hey hey, look who we've got here. Isn't this that loser from our class? Yo, Doug Feng, you seriously think you can play hero now?"
Lin Yi's eyes narrowed. "Doug Feng? Huh, been a while since someone pushed me like that."
At his subtle signal, three guys closed in. Before Doug could react, he was grabbed and slammed face-first into the pavement, limbs pinned down.
"Doug!" Linda gasped and tried to intervene, but Lin Yi blocked her path with a smug grin.
"Relax, I'm not gonna do anything that bad," he sneered. "I just want to teach our little hero here a lesson. Doug, buddy, I'll let you off the hook… on one condition."
He squatted down beside Doug's pinned body. "Crawl under my legs in front of everyone here. Or…" He turned to Linda with a mock-innocent smile. "You agree to be my girlfriend. Either way, someone walks away with their pride shattered."
"Never!" Linda snapped, teeth clenched, fury burning in her eyes.
At that moment, the crowd grew larger. Students gathering for school stopped to gawk. Among them, Doug spotted the school's disciplinary director, Mr. Qiu, making rounds near the gate.
"Mr. Qiu!" Linda shouted. "Over here! Someone's getting beat up!"
Qiu Guohua glanced their way—his eyes flicked over Lin Yi—and then he turned and walked in the opposite direction like he'd seen nothing at all.
"Ha! See that?" Lin Yi laughed. "In this school, I do what I want. That old fossil Qiu? He's been sucking up to my dad for years, hoping for a promotion. You think he's going to risk that for a nobody like Doug?"
Doug gritted his teeth. His limbs ached. His pride burned. He wasn't even mad at the humiliation—he was furious at how powerless he still was.
"Damn it… I can't move. I'm too weak…"
The crowd was now jeering. One of the cronies, Yang Shunping, sneered as he kept Doug's arm pinned. "Still trying to act brave, Doug? Just crawl and be done with it."
"Yeah! Crawl! Crawl!"
The chants stung more than the gravel digging into his cheek. He felt like his very soul was being crushed.
That was when Doug heard the mechanical chime in his head.
Ding! Favorability Points available: 5
Current Skill Tree: [Physical Enhancements]
Unlock 'Basic Body Enhancement' — Cost: 5 Points
"Fine," Doug whispered through gritted teeth. "You asked for it."
System, I want to exchange all my points. Activate Basic Body Enhancement!
Ding! Enhancement in progress…
Muscular strength +25%
Reflexes +30%
Pain resistance +40%
Duration: 10 minutes
Power surged through his limbs like a lightning strike.
And Doug Feng… was done playing nice.
(To be continued…)