Generally speaking, half an hour of sunbathing a day is enough.
Any more than that and you're just drying salted fish.
But Victor was different; he needed to charge up quickly—they couldn't possibly let him get sunburnt to a crisp, could they?
Every day, he would wake up early before sunrise, lie on the open-air balcony, and practice using his telekinesis.
Around noon, he would drive to the beach to continue sunbathing, his mind not idle, checking for information and thinking about what bargains he could… ahem, what goods he could acquire.
Three days passed.
His skin, naturally, wasn't sunburned; even his complexion remained as fair as before.
On the contrary, Katie, the beautiful waitress who accompanied him for three days, despite later using a parasol, inevitably tanned six shades darker, becoming thoroughly bronzed.
However, Katie didn't care about any of that; the commission she earned in three days was more than two months of her salary.
On the afternoon of the third day, Victor's body transformation was finally complete; he no longer felt that burning sensation all over, and the multiplier increase in his telekinesis was also significantly weakened.
Without the 'Steel Body' being a major consumer, there was no longer a need for direct sun exposure; the light energy absorbed and converted by the super cells indoors was enough to sustain his body's activities.
As for storing light energy for future superhuman ability modifications, there was no rush for that.
Three days had been delayed; if the plan wasn't executed soon, he would miss the good show.
Before leaving.
Victor gave his expensive suit to Katie, asked her to buy him a cheap tracksuit to change into, and then, accompanied by Katie, prepared to check out.
In the guest elevator going downstairs.
Katie, who had unexpectedly received an expensive suit, subtly hinted at a "farewell souvenir" to Victor.
Victor smiled faintly, not responding.
Giving the suit to Katie was simply because, no matter what clothes he wore to the place he was going next, they would definitely be discarded afterward.
So, he might as well give it to Katie; he found her quite pleasing to the eye.
Katie was shy; when her overture received no response, she blushed and said nothing more.
The lobby manager at the front desk was a white man who had been at Victor's beck and call for the past three days.
Seeing Victor in a cheap tracksuit, the lobby manager's professional smile visibly twitched, his voice slightly trembling as he said, "Mr. Chen, how may I help you?"
After speaking, the lobby manager subtly glanced at Katie, with a look full of warning and arrogance.
He didn't know what he was imagining, but it was certainly not good.
Victor waved his hand and said, "Do your job, check me out."
The lobby manager breathed a slight sigh of relief and respectfully led the way: "Mr. Chen, I'll handle your checkout."
The process was quick.
The expenses for these three days totaled 63,400 US dollars.
The room fee was only a small part; the main expense was the three-day, all-day sunbathing service.
Victor didn't bat an eye when swiping his card.
Anyway, as long as the plan succeeded, he would have plenty of cash to repay his credit card.
If it failed... well, there was still Alice, wasn't there?
Escorted by the lobby manager, Victor left the hotel. The private car Katie had booked was already waiting, and the doorman bent down to open the back passenger door for Victor.
Ignoring the lobby manager's polite farewells, Victor nodded to Katie, who had followed him, and then got into the car.
"To Las Vegas."
After giving the address, Victor closed his eyes directly, indicating he didn't want to talk.
For the next destination, he needed to adjust his mindset properly.
Otherwise, he feared he might chicken out.
The driver was a Black man; seeing Victor's demeanor in the rearview mirror, he was tactful enough not to disturb him.
Among the locations Alice provided, after three days of screening, Las Vegas was finally chosen—according to the analysis, his plan had the highest success rate in this city.
It was America's largest den of iniquity.
But where there is light, there is darkness; there, one could find America's darkest side.
For a journey of 240 kilometers, flying would be a better option, taking only 1 hour.
Unfortunately, his birth date on his ID was 1994, and no one would believe it if he showed it.
A 14-year-old child, no matter how many hormones they took, couldn't grow this big, and be this handsome.
As for hotel registration, he used his Centurion Black Card as a substitute, but the airport wouldn't accept that.
(Cough, plot needs, please be gentle with the criticism~)
He could only choose to drive, which would take about 4 hours.
Before long, the car left the commercial center and entered a residential area.
One could see rows of detached houses along the road, mostly one or two-story villas, with three-story ones being rare.
These wooden houses lacked brightly colored exterior wall tiles; most had white or gray exteriors, looking as simple as rural bungalows.
But inside, they were a different world, luxuriously decorated, with comfortable spaces, some even featuring private swimming pools.
In America, houses are almost a non-essential item that every normal family can afford.
Moreover, the roads here are well-connected, clean and tidy, and every household plants flowers and trees.
It looked quite nice, it seemed.
But once they drove out of the city and onto the highway, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.
Along the way, there were only trees withered from lack of water, no guardrails, and the stone walls were of varying heights, offering no protective capability whatsoever.
This was the real America; as long as public facilities weren't completely broken, a quick repair could make them last for a few more years.
Heading east.
Victor opened the car window, letting the sunlight shine directly on him. Although he no longer felt that warm, drowsy sensation, his body was still slightly warm, which was very comfortable.
His telekinesis was still steadily growing, seemingly without end.
Last night, his telekinesis could already lift him a few centimeters off the ground, but only for three seconds.
However, the children in the movies could fly freely in the sky; there was no reason he, having enhanced an F-grade "Superman Bloodline," would be weaker than them.
Getting stronger was only a matter of time—this time, he didn't even need to sunbathe; just breathing would make him stronger.
During the idle time on the journey, Victor naturally wouldn't actually sleep through it. He continued to recall the details of Marvel movies stored in his mind, re-evaluating whether they held any value.
According to his understanding of this world over the past three days, he could confirm that this was the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
As he sifted through various pieces of information in his mind, four hours quickly passed.
The Black driver spoke for the first time, asking, "Sir, are you going directly to the casino city, or would you like to find a hotel first?"
Victor opened his eyes, glanced at the distant bustling cityscape, and said, "Just go straight for now."
Next.
Under Alice's guidance, the car weaved through Las Vegas.
Past the bustling casino city, past the lively entertainment districts, past the extravagant shopping centers, past the magnificent hotels.
Finally.
It stopped at a location that severely contradicted Las Vegas's reputation.
The usually quiet Black driver, seeing this, couldn't help but remind him, "Sir, are you sure you haven't made a mistake? This place is..."
"The place is correct. This is your fare, and the rest is a tip."
Victor calmly handed over a stack of US dollars, a full 200 dollars—plane tickets for the two locations were just over 100 dollars.
Having received the money.
Although the Black driver was very confused, the customer had given him nearly double the fare, so he could only obediently shut up.
Who knew what these rich people were thinking? Now that he looked closely, his clothes didn't even seem as good as his own.
After Victor got out of the car, the Black driver quickly stepped on the accelerator, turned around, and left.
Staying in this kind of place for too long was truly bad luck!