Seeing that all were in agreement, Zhenhao smiled proudly.
"If someone makes a similar contribution, they too will receive the same treatment!"
"We know that, boss! Just give the money already!"
"Right! Right!"
Cough!
"One by one, take your money. No dishonesty!"
"Don't worry boss, we won't dare deceive you."
…
Standing behind his father, Li Hao eagerly waited for the award ceremony to end. His hands were holding a bag containing twenty taels of silver and three gold ingots.
Looking at the line of bandits, he realized it might take some time. Therefore, he decided to use the panel right here!
His eyes shifted focus, and a transparent panel appeared near his vision. Fortunately, it seems to appear according to his mental will; otherwise, constantly having something near his vision would make him very uncomfortable.
[Name: Li Hao
Age: 17 (Life Span: 55)
Physique: Mortal (Malnourished)
Balance: 3 Taels of silver (Money Detected! Wanna add? Yes/No)
Life simulation: 0 (Requires 10 taels of silver) [Use? Yes/No] (Warning! Insufficient balance!)]
'Oh, it works this way.'
Once he has money in his possession, it can be added to the panel. But would he have to hold the money every time? That would certainly be a problem in the future.
He stared at the wanna add option.
'If I said yes, would all the money disappear from reality?'
He was in proximity to his father and other bandits; they would surely notice if all his money suddenly disappeared.
'Add only seven taels for now.'
This is a test to check whether there could be some flexibility in the addition option. He neither agreed nor disagreed.
'Let's see.'
After waiting for a few seconds, there were some changes!
'Hmm?'
The bag he was holding suddenly felt lighter! Immediately, his eyes focused on the panel screen.
[Name: Li Hao
Age: 17 (Life Span: 55)
Physique: Mortal (Malnourished)
Balance: 10 Taels of silver (Money Detected! Wanna add? Yes/No)
Life simulation: 1 (Requires 10 taels of silver) [Use? Yes/No] (Sufficient balance!]
Shuu!!!
'It works!"
Li Hao breathed in heavily due to excitement! Now, staring at the yes/no option, he immediately said yes!
'Ho! Ho! Begin the simulation, baby! This marks the beginning of my future greatness!'
[Life Simulation Begins!]
[Age 17: Narrowly avoided death and acquired money from the loot. Rewarded with twenty taels of silver and three gold ingots! Fearing potential retaliation, your father decided to go into hiding.]
[Age 18: You, along with your father and some close brothers, went undercover into the Clear Spring village. One day, while training, your father broke through a major realm! With newfound confidence, he wanted to come out of hiding, but you advised against it, reasoning that Father should first stabilise his realm.]
[Age 19: With your modern world knowledge, you easily got along well with the villagers, helping them with sanitation and overall health improvement, providing you a good reputation within the village.]
[Age 20: Your father had stabilised his realm, and after the passage of three years, most of you had already let go of all worries. Hence, with another newfound confidence, all of you decide to come out of hiding!
[Upon arriving at the old hideout location, you notice a girl standing there. After closer inspection, you realize that the girl is Emma, whom you took hostage three years ago. She smiles adorably at you. Everyone, including you, died.]
[Simulation Ends!]
[During the simulation, your whole life was spent hiding, without any significant influence over the world. Though you did help a village understand more about sanitation and a healthy lifestyle, helping them acquire knowledge of the future! You managed to influence the lifestyle improvement of a few villagers!]
[Your suggestion to your father that he should first stabilise his realm, provided one extra year of survival for the Golden Eagle Brotherhood!]
[Calculating Simulation Points…]
[Total Points Awarded: 9]
'Damn! Is this my future?'
Was he going to be killed by Emma? But how is this possible? She is so weak right now!
Just then, a thought suddenly struck Li Hao. He recalled the young mother named Mae, who appeared delicate at first but turned into a ghostly entity at the end. If not for his timely attack on Emma, he would have died right then and there.
'Would her future abilities be related to that ghostly apparition? Just what exactly is that thing?'
Till before, Li Hao had only thought of this world as a martial world, the level of which he would have had to determine, but after the encounter with that ghostly entity, he started believing that there was something more to this world than what meets the eye.
But so what?
Would he willingly approach Emma and die at her hands? No way! Without his golden finger, he might have been ignorant and died at any time, but since he happens to have a panel, why would he wish to die at the mercy of others? Why would he not aim for something greater?
With this mindset, he shifted his focus to the panel information, noticing some changes to it.
[Name: Li Hao
Age: 17 (Life Span: 55)
Physique: Mortal (Malnourished) +
Balance: 0 Taels of silver (Money Detected! Wanna add? Yes/No)
Life simulation: 0 (Requires 10 taels of silver) [Use? Yes/No] (Warning! Insufficient balance!)
Points: 9]
There was an additional entry into the panel. According to it, he currently has nine simulation points, which he can use to enhance his physique.
Seeing the plus sign beside physique, Li Hao, being familiar with the game panel, mentally ordered for the points to be allocated to his physique!
The nine points went into his physique, instantly making him feel hot all over his body! His body gained a few kilograms of weight! Li Hao started feeling a sensation that his core, hands, legs, shoulders, back, and even his private parts all became extremely healthy and full of vigor!
Such changes were fortunately not noticed by his father and other bandits. Everyone was busy discussing their recent loot.
Sensing that significant changes had taken place, Li Hao quickly looked at his information on the panel.
[Name: Li Hao
Age: 17 (Life Span: 90)
Physique: Mortal (Strengthened Body)
Balance: 0 Taels of silver (Money Detected! Wanna add? Yes/No)
Life simulation: 0 (Requires 50 taels of silver) [Use? Yes/No] (Warning! Insufficient balance!)
Points: 0]
'I feel heavy…And Strong.'
His gaze remained on the new description beside the physique column. 'Strengthened body?'
Li Hao only knew that after adding points to the physique, his body would get stronger. He was unfamiliar with the remark written beside mortal on the panel information.
Looking up, there was his father, Zhenhao, and other bandits discussing jubilantly.
'They will probably notice the changes later.'
Having a golden finger is something to feel excited about, but the downside for Li Hao is that now he has to find a suitable excuse for the sudden power-up.
….
Time passed, and soon night approached.
Golden Eagle Brotherhood, Hideout, Bandit leader's private room. Inside, two men were having a private conversation.
"Really? You want to practise martial arts?"
"Yes, Father."
"You should have started way before, but now is fine as well."
Zhenhao calmly looked at his son. Though, inside, he felt happy over the fact that his son was finally thinking in the right direction.
"It seems the recent incident has brought you to your senses. In Great Qin, one is nothing without power!"
The two happened to be Li Hao and Zhenhao, the father and son duo, who survived a recent life-threatening situation.
"Tch Tch. Look at your physical condition, it's too weak. Martial arts should be practised from an early age."
After saying his piece, Zhenhao focused his eyes on Li Hao. Just one concentrated look, and he became dumbstruck.
"What!? When did your physique become like this!?"
In his eyes, the current Li Hao had a well-developed physique. Although he was wearing loose-fitting clothes, one could easily notice the sturdy shoulders.
Zhenhao rubbed his eyes, wondering whether he had seen wrong.
'Did he always have such a physique?'
As his eyes darted around, Zhenhao soon noticed the size expansion around Li Hao's neck.
He suddenly stood up from his chair and approached Li Hao, lifting his hand and assessing his hands.
After a few minutes of silence, he started muttering something.
"How could this be? There must be something wrong with my eyes!"
While saying so, he kept staring hard at Li Hao's hand, his eyes turning red due to prolonged air contact; he never blinked them once.
"...Body Strengthening Realm."
A few more minutes passed, and finally, with complete assurance, the bloody-eyed bandit leader uttered three words, making Li Hao curious about his findings.
Although he knew that it was something related to the changes concerning his physique, and he even had an appropriate reason for any queries, he was just waiting for Zhenhao to ask him
The son with his own thoughts, the father with his own. After confirming his judgment, Zhenhao sat back on his chair, massaging his temples with closed eyes.
After resting for a few seconds, Zhenhao stared at his son as if he were looking at a stranger.
"When and how did you become a Body Strengthening Realm Martial Artist?"
'It's here! The question, good thing I am prepared.'
Initially, Li Hao had thought of various ideas on how he would be able to avoid suspicion from his father. After numerous rounds of elimination, he had settled on one idea that might actually work.
Hence, calmly but with a bit of acting as if unsure, Li Hao responded to Zhenhao.
"I am not sure myself, but today, while sleeping in my room, I felt hot all over, and suddenly, I felt powerful, hence I approached you. I think, maybe it is time for me to start practicing martial arts."
After saying all this, he looked innocently at his father. "I thought, maybe it happens when one reaches an appropriate age for martial arts. Did it not happen to you, father?"