Section 39: Each More Perverted Than the Last

Zhou Lingri understood the sequence of events perfectly. She laughed until her stomach ached. Since Cha Guanghui and Yang Yang had jumped out of the mold of "Tracks in the Snowy Forest" to earn such amusing nicknames, she did not want to let Sima off the hook either. After much deliberation, she realized that "Sima" itself sounded like a nickname, and there was no more fitting alternative. When only the two of them were left in the office, Zhou Lingri teased him. Sima recounted the story of the "Sima, Sikong, Situ, Sikou, and Sinong" titles again, and then told her that her own name, "Zhou Lingri," also concealed a mystery.

Zhou Lingri did not believe him. Her name was given to her by her parents and she had used it her whole life; surely she would know if there were any "mystery" to it? She insisted that Sima explain. Sima took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and said that in astronomy, there is a term called "Transit of Venus." Venus orbits inside the Earth's orbit, and at certain rare moments, when the Earth, Venus, and the Sun align in a straight line, Venus can be seen from Earth as a small black dot slowly moving across the surface of the Sun. This is the "Transit of Venus," also known as a "mini solar eclipse," which is divided into five stages: external contact at ingress, internal contact at ingress, greatest transit, internal contact at egress, and external contact at egress... Zhou Lingri’s heart skipped a beat. Her biological father’s name was Zhou Qiming, and her biological mother’s name was Ling Shen. She interrupted Sima, demanding he get straight to the conclusion.

Sima spoke slowly: "The celestial body that transits the sun is Venus. Venus is the Roman goddess of love and beauty, so the name carries a beautiful blessing."

After a moment of silence, Zhou Lingri said, "My parents were college classmates, one studied astronomy and the other studied Chinese literature. Perhaps that’s it. They never mentioned it..."

Sima remarked casually, "You can ask them when you go back."

Zhou Lingri glanced at him and said calmly, "They have already passed away. I was raised by my maternal grandparents. When I eventually reach the underworld, I will ask them then..."

Sima wanted to say "I'm sorry," but after looking at her expression, he felt it was better to remain silent. For the rest of the day, Zhou Lingri’s mood was low. She reverted to her previous cold and aloof demeanor, and the air in the office felt almost stagnant, suffocatingly oppressive. She felt foolish for not knowing about the "Transit of Venus" and needing Sima to point out the "mystery" in her own name. Over the years, she had been tormented into obsessive-compulsive disorder by the parasite, making no real progress; she felt as though she had wasted her years in vain.

After lunch and a short rest, Sima said goodbye to Zhou Lingri and headed to Baichuan Gym to continue his physical training. His training ended early that day. Coach Cui was teaching Sima combinations—straight punches, hooks, and uppercuts, chained together in two, three, and four-punch combinations, incorporating power, distance, angle, and footwork to build muscle memory. Sima practiced diligently. Compared to sprinting, boxing required much more technique and could not be mastered overnight; the twelve-week training period was not overly generous. However, Sima had one advantage: his stamina was exceptional, and he seemed never to tire. The intensity of his ninety-minute sessions was equivalent to double that of others. Coach Cui took note of this without being overly surprised; the "monsters" in the Second Division were all equally extreme, and Sima was not even the most outstanding.

Being sufficiently excellent but not the most outstanding was a persona Sima intentionally cultivated; in fact, he was holding back. The food from the "special stove" was just like Zhou Lingri’s name—containing hidden secrets. With a constant supply of vital energy, the "Psychic Parasite" grew rapidly, continuously feeding energy back into his system, and Sima felt his body improving every day. He was curious about what his "combat power" rating actually was. According to Yang Zirong, Tyson’s combat power was 20, which meant a bench press of 132 kg, a squat of 463 kg, a hundred-meter dash of about 11.7 seconds, a left-hand punch of about 500 kg, and a right-hand punch of about 800 kg. Currently, his bench press was 100 kg, his squat 200 kg, and his hundred-meter time was about 10.5 seconds. He had never measured his punch force, but he estimated his combat power might touch 10. However, he was very skeptical of the Tyson data—a 132 kg bench press was plausible, as he could achieve that with effort, but a 463 kg squat was truly exaggerated, and an 800 kg punch force exceeded the theoretical limit of human muscle power. It was likely hearsay with little truth to it.

The parasite’s feedback improved the host’s physique most effectively at the beginning, with diminishing returns over time, a phenomenon known as the "law of diminishing marginal utility." Sima estimated that he would never reach the legendary level of Tyson. Ultimately, only "combat-type" parasites could provide significant combat bonuses, and he was merely an "auxiliary-type" parasite master. Once the "Psychic Parasite" fully matured, he would become the "ears" and "eyes" of other masters, providing timely intelligence on the enemy—knowing yourself and the enemy ensures victory in every battle... However, no matter how good the support was, it would only ever earn a fraction of the glory. It was like football: the strikers were always the highest earners because they scored the goals that decided the game. Sima did not want to toil for others' benefit, but with a parasite that lacked combat prowess, he had no choice. He had considered "switching parasites"—that is, removing his current one and implanting another—but the risks were immense, potentially causing fundamental damage, and without access to a powerful parasite, it would be a futile effort.

But those were future concerns. For now, he needed to establish a firm footing and secure a place in the Second Division. Bian Yaoshun had leaked a secret: the "White Dove" was protective of her own. He needed to cling to that powerful figure, and the opportunity was right in front of him; whether he could seize it depended on his own efforts. After much thought, Sima decided to make his move through "practical combat." Through Zhao Ronghua, he learned that Tu Yifeng, a boxing coach at Beizhi Sports University, had a background in martial arts. In his youth, he had fought his way across Beizhi City and was known as "Tu the Madman" before turning over a new leaf to teach boxing. He asked Zhao Ronghua to put in a good word for him, expressing his keen interest in boxing and his dissatisfaction with the current level of his private lessons at the gym, hoping to get guidance from Coach Tu. Out of respect for Zhao Ronghua, Tu Yifeng agreed and told him to bring his gear and come to the Pingxi Boxing Gym over the weekend so he could assess his situation.

The owner of the Pingxi Boxing Gym, Ji Liang, was a student of Tu Yifeng and a heavyweight amateur boxer. However, "amateur boxing" here referred to Olympic or World Championship standards—with strict safety measures, shorter bouts, and wider weight class intervals, which did not imply a lack of skill. Tu Yifeng held shares in the Pingxi Boxing Gym and visited regularly. Opening a boxing gym in Beizhi was no easy feat; without his backing, Ji Liang could never have stood his ground in this territory.

Tu Yifeng did not take it too seriously at first, telling Ji Liang to have one of his students test Sima’s mettle. You don't know if a horse is a stallion or a mule until you take it out for a ride; practical combat in the ring was the only way to tell. Boxing was a high-intensity combat sport. Sima’s training time was short, and his gloves, hand wraps, shoes, and mouthguard were all brand new. Fearing Sima might get injured, Ji Liang specifically told his student to hold back. A match typically consisted of four two-minute rounds with one-minute breaks. Ji Liang estimated Sima wouldn't last four rounds and planned to act as the referee himself, intending to call it off if things took a bad turn.