"You're beautiful." Faced with Xenia's persistent questioning, Jake had no choice but to respond.
It wasn't Jake's attempt to appease Xenia or intentionally make her happy. In fact, Xenia was indeed more beautiful than Zora, and she had a more enticing charm.
"You're quite the smooth talker," Xenia was satisfied with Jake's answer. "But with your good physique and appearance, how could your classmate not be interested in you?"
Since he gained the ability to teleport, Jake's appearance and demeanor had been constantly changing. The transformation process was gradual, and the changes each day were subtle. As a result, most people couldn't notice the difference. Of course, this transformation wasn't "cosmetic surgery" per se; it simply made Jake's features more three-dimensional and better suited to each other. However, even this minor adjustment significantly enhanced Jake's appearance and aura.
Jake was aware of this transformation and explained, "I didn't look like this when I was in college."
"It's only been a year. How much could you change?" Xenia wasn't entirely convinced, and Jake didn't bother explaining further.
"How about I be your girlfriend?" Xenia suggested, "Your classmate had no taste; I'm nothing like her."
"Here we go again," Jake chuckled wryly, "Don't make that joke."
"Who said I'm joking? I'm serious," Xenia insisted.
"Oh, there seems to be someone over there not following the correct swimming technique. I'll go take a look," Jake said and, ignoring Xenia, headed straight to the poolside. With a light leap, he dove into the water.
Xenia found Jake's departure amusing yet intriguing. After the physical education class ended, Jake didn't return to the office. Instead, he left the school and went to the "StarryMoon" archery club. Having just gained a new skill last night, Jake was itching to practice more.
"Snap!" Jake released an arrow, which accurately hit the bullseye. "Snap!" Another arrow flew, once again hitting the center.
Subsequent arrows followed, and all hit the bullseye. Only the fifth arrow deviated slightly from the center. However, it was just a minor deviation.
The coach next to him looked at Jake with astonishment. "You've made great progress."
Just yesterday, Jake hadn't reached this level. While he could hit the target, getting a bullseye was only an occasional occurrence. Yet now, he could easily hit the bullseye consistently. How could he improve so much overnight?
"That's thanks to your coaching," Jake said with a smile while stringing his bow and nocking an arrow. "Snap!" Another arrow hit the bullseye accurately.
"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I'd think you've been practicing for months," the coach marveled.
Jake was well aware of his starting point just a few days ago. However, within such a short time, he had reached this level. If the coach hadn't witnessed it firsthand, he wouldn't believe it.
Jake smiled. Practicing for months? He was still at the basic level of archery. Once his archery skill reached intermediate level, he'd probably be on par with people who had trained for years.
"Coach, let's switch to a farther target," Jake suggested after hitting the bullseye again. He noticed that the bullseye on the target ten meters away was already filled with arrows. He knew that this ten-meter distance wouldn't challenge him anymore.
The coach looked at the target at ten meters, the bullseye pierced with arrows. He understood that the ten-meter target no longer met Jake's requirements. He nodded and said, "Sure."
The two of them moved to the eighteen-meter archery range and began a new practice session. With the increased distance, the difficulty of archery naturally increased as well. Although Jake could still hit the bullseye, the likelihood of hitting it was slightly lower compared to before.
Jake spent three hours at the archery club before leaving.
In the evening, Jake's business remained booming. After the barbecue stall owners left, no one dared to set up a barbecue business near Jake. Even the established barbecue restaurants in the vicinity had some of their business taken by Jake.
However, those stall owners had no intention of picking a fight with Jake. After all, they had witnessed how Jake had dealt with Hanson and the others before. They didn't want to end up like the few forced-out stall owners, unable to do business. As a result, Jake's barbecue stall became the most popular one on the street.
But Jake clearly wasn't satisfied with this situation. In the past, he would have been ecstatic if his business were this good. However, things were different now. With the resources he possessed, settling for running a small stall felt inadequate. Moreover, barbecue business was greatly affected by the seasons. Once summer passed, even if Jake had exceptional skills, maintaining such good business would become difficult. Therefore, he needed to do something more, like the restaurant he had been contemplating.
"I wonder if Amy will be able to repay the debt in time," Jake mused as he walked home alone after bidding farewell to Alan. He was pondering over financial matters. "Even if she can repay it, it'll be two months from now. I can't wait that long. I'll have to come up with something from the game world."
In the game world, Jake was currently in a military camp and was about to set off to transport supplies. Finding opportunities to earn money wouldn't be easy.
While Jake was thinking about money, he suddenly noticed someone in front of him, blocking his path.
"Excuse me, could you please move?" Jake said. He was carrying barbecue items, which made it a bit awkward to move.
"Are you Jake?" The person in front didn't budge and instead asked Jake a question in return.
"I am. Who are you?" Jake asked, feeling that trouble might be brewing.
"If you're Jake, that's all that matters." The person said, "I want your hand and one of your legs. Will you do it yourself, or should I do it for you?"
Jake furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"It's simple: I'm going to break your limbs," the person replied.
"You're insane!" Jake cursed.
"It seems you've chosen to let me do it." The person's tone turned somewhat sinister. "If I do it, you might feel even more pain."
Jake became alert. The person didn't seem like a lunatic and wasn't joking either.
Suddenly, the person moved. Though he had been about three or four meters away from Jake, in the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Jake. He aimed a palm strike at Jake.
Jake was startled and tried to evade, but it was already too late. The person's palm struck him squarely.