Chapter 27: Your Endurance Is Lacking

Zhou Shu walked forward, pondering profound philosophical questions as he went. At first, it was manageable—even with a backpack weighed down by several books, stacks of test papers, and a jumble of miscellaneous items, his steps were light, and he had the leisure to admire the scenery along the way.

Now and then, he checked his phone’s navigation to make sure he hadn’t lost his way. Bus routes were convoluted, after all, and he couldn’t simply follow them on foot; he needed his phone to guide him along a suitable walking path.

He mused that extracting “experience” from the virtual battlefield required source energy, but surely exercising his own body didn’t. Indeed, as he walked, fatigue crept in—he was starting to feel the effects of the workout.

His legs grew heavy, the backpack pressed down harder and harder, and the straps began to dig into his shoulders.

“Huff... huff...” He panted, no longer able to keep up the pretense. Finding a place to sit, he muttered, “Damn, is my body really this weak?”

[Yes, but your source energy reserves are currently sufficient. Please improve any attributes that haven’t reached their upper limit as soon as possible.]

“I can’t afford to boost them right now, huff...” He caught his breath and continued, “We may have enough for now, but we can’t focus only on the short term—we need a long-term plan. We only have 1.37 units of source energy; we can’t squander it carelessly.”

There weren’t many people around, so Zhou Shu felt at ease speaking out loud. This wasn’t some monster-infested, shell-ridden death beach—here, in a safe environment, he could relax.

Besides, in today’s society, was it really so strange for someone to talk to themselves while walking? More likely than not, people would assume he was using a Bluetooth headset rather than losing his mind.

[Actually, you could allocate points selectively—endurance, for example. It doesn’t require much energy to enhance, and your endurance is indeed lacking.]

The Hunter system offered its friendly advice.

Zhou Shu was silent.

That earnest tone was, truthfully, rather hurtful.

The worst part was, the Hunter was right—his endurance was low. He clenched his fists in frustration.

Now he was fired up; he stood and continued on his way, determined to walk all the way home today. If he could persevere on the virtual battlefield, there was no reason he couldn’t manage in the real world.

The sky grew dark as he walked.

He had never walked to school before; as a child, his family had always taken him, and once he was older, he took the bus himself. Now, not only had he overestimated his ability to walk such a distance with a heavy load, but he had also underestimated the actual distance between the two places.

He was at a loss for words. He’d seen news reports about the declining physical fitness of students, about mass faintings during university military training, and even sudden deaths during runs, but he’d never taken them seriously.

He’d always thought his body was fine—not strong, but not frail either. The data supported this; he was average for his age.

Logically, with better nutrition these days, everyone should be getting stronger. For instance, he was 1.75 meters tall; his father had told him that, at seventeen, that would have been considered tall in his day. Now, in Zhou Shu’s class, he was near the front of the line when students lined up by height.

But when it came to other aspects, why did it feel like people were becoming weaker?

As he trudged on, he truly felt his own weakness.

But perhaps the environment played a role. In the virtual battlefield, surrounded by foreign soldiers, his competitive spirit kept him going. During PE class, everyone was equally matched, so no one stood out.

But alone, walking like this, he found himself questioning his existence with every step.

And there were all sorts of temptations along the way.

For instance, as he passed a small restaurant, the delicious aroma stopped him in his tracks.

His stomach growled.

Well, he reasoned, he’d probably end up ordering takeout anyway, so he might as well eat here.

And, for the record, it wasn’t because he was too exhausted to walk further and needed a break—it was simply mealtime, and he needed to eat.

By the time he finished, night had settled in. The daylight scenery had vanished, replaced by city lights: streetlamps, neon signs, billboards, shop signs, and indoor lighting transformed the city into a landscape reserved for the night.

Sated, Zhou Shu walked with a spring in his step once more.

Soon, he stopped beside a sports park.

Under the night sky, the sports park was ablaze with light. The main square was filled with elderly folks dancing, middle-aged workers played with their children on the slides and swings, teenagers and young adults jogged around the track, and the ping-pong courts boasted the greatest range of ages.

As for the young and vigorous, they filled the roller rink, skate park, basketball courts, and seven-a-side and five-a-side soccer pitches.

He had stopped because of a suggestion from the Hunter system.

It wasn’t that he’d spotted a monster or gained a new source energy income; it was because the people here spanned a wide range of ages and professions. Compared to his high school, this was a far more comprehensive site for data collection.

He’d never walked this way before, but since he was here, he might as well gather some data on human physique.

Looking out over the square, his efforts were immediately rewarded.

“The actual data for children is a bit higher than our calculations—nutrition really is good these days,” he commented. “The elderly, on the other hand, are a bit below our estimates; various ailments are tough on the aged.”

For adolescents and adults, there were no major discrepancies. The average adult was around 0.8, but those exercising on the fields generally exceeded that figure.

As Zhou Shu walked along the edge of the courts, watching the heat radiate from the players, he noticed that if he focused on someone for more than ten seconds, a data set would appear beside them.

These were the estimates provided by Little Hunter after observing their athletic performance.

This method wasn’t as accurate as close-range scanning, but it didn’t require proximity. The subject did have to be moving—the more intense the activity, the better.

For someone like Zhou Shu, who used energy to directly modify his body, the process involved a comprehensive data sweep—this was the most precise.

Scanning from within a meter yielded data nearly as accurate, both in terms of precision and accuracy.

From farther away, the data was more of a general estimate, calculated from various factors.

For example, there was a particularly lively player on the basketball court. Zhou Shu couldn’t just stand beside him—unless he joined the game and specifically defended him.

So he remained on the sidelines while Little Hunter collected data on jumping, sprinting, stopping, stealing, physical contests, and dribbling, finally estimating that player’s agility at between 0.83 and 0.88.

However, this method had another limitation: it could only display strength, agility, and endurance. Mental attributes were elusive—even close-range scanning didn’t reveal them, let alone distant observation.

As for constitution, unless you shot someone on the spot and observed their wound recovery, there was no way to measure it.

After watching the parkour practitioners on the adjacent field, Zhou Shu prepared to leave.

“That’s enough for now. There’s only so much to see here—one day, we should collect data at a professional sports event.”

[Understood. Human Attribute Mapping version 0.3 updated. Looking forward to the next update.]

[Wait, please focus on this individual.]

Zhou Shu had just turned to go when words flashed before his eyes, along with a red frame at the edge of his vision.

He stopped and looked toward the red frame—it was the same parkour area as before.

Moments earlier, everyone had been bounding about, but now all had paused. The person highlighted—if Zhou Shu remembered correctly—had barely moved before, but now was darting swiftly through the obstacles.

Their speed was astonishing, but above all, their movements were seamless and effortless.

“Amazing, a true expert...” he murmured.

Before he could finish, the system presented its analysis.

[Strength: 0.93–0.97; Agility: 0.95–0.98; Endurance: 0.92–0.96]

“Whoa—”

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