Howie dropped his backpack with a loud thud, cracked his knuckles, and spat to the side. Then, like he was in a street brawl from a gangster movie, he jabbed a finger right at Lin Yi's nose.
"Listen here, punk. I've had it with you. Your buddy Howie's been sick of your face for months. And today? Today's the day I finally get to loosen up your bones for you!"
His sudden aggression wasn't impulsive—it was all part of the plan. There were too many thugs on Lin Yi's side. Even if Doug and Howie were good at throwing hands, they couldn't take on the whole group head-on. The smart move? Take down the leader first.
And while Howie looked like your average chubby class clown, he stood a solid six feet tall—easily taller and beefier than Lin Yi, who barely hit five-nine on a good day. That bulk wasn't just for show either.
WHAM!
With a sudden lunge, Howie threw both meaty arms around Lin Yi's neck and locked him into a tight headlock.
"Fatass! You—you dare attack me first?!" Lin Yi stammered, caught off guard by the sheer force.
"Heh," Howie grinned, tightening his grip. "Tell your little minions to back off unless you wanna see how far I'll go. I'm still underage, you know. If I accidentally choke you out, what's a few years in juvie?"
Doug knew this side of Howie well. Sure, he usually sat in class looking like a chubby Buddha, quietly flipping through textbooks—but once things got real, Howie didn't care about rules or consequences. He was ride-or-die for his friends, full stop.
"You'll regret this! All of you—attack them! Get these losers off me!" Lin Yi shouted, struggling and elbowing wildly into Howie's gut.
Unfortunately for him, Howie's flabby midsection might as well have been a marshmallow shield. Lin Yi's elbows sank in with little effect. His only option left was to yell for help.
"Let go of Young Master Lin!"
"You're dead meat, fatty!"
The gang of dyed-hair punks finally recovered from their shock and surged forward, wielding steel pipes with menacing glee. They closed in around Howie and Doug like a swarm of angry bees.
"Yo! Careful with the swinging, boys. Wouldn't wanna bruise your delicate young master, now would we?" Howie taunted, still using Lin Yi like a human shield as he twisted and dodged between blows. The thugs hesitated—none of them dared go full force while Lin Yi was still in Howie's grasp.
Meanwhile, Doug found himself surrounded by five or six thugs, all armed and circling like vultures.
"Doug, watch out!" Howie called out, glancing over with concern.
Doug didn't flinch. "Watch out? For these guys? Please."
From Doug's perspective, everything had slowed down. The swinging pipes came at him like they were stuck in molasses. His eyes scanned for openings—there were plenty.
He dipped his left shoulder, avoiding one swing. Tilted his head back, dodged another. Then—bam!—he lashed out with a brutal sidekick that sent one thug flying like a ragdoll.
He spun, ducked another swing, and landed three quick punches to three different jaws.
BAM. BAM. BAM.
It was like watching a martial arts movie in real life. Every move was fluid, every attack precise. The punks didn't even know what hit them. They staggered back, clutching their chests, gasping for breath.
Even Howie was stunned. "Dude… when the hell did you turn into Jackie Chan?"
He'd known Doug since they were toddlers. They'd pulled pranks together, skipped school together, even fought together a few times—but never, not once, had he seen Doug fight like this.
Doug didn't answer. Instead, he strolled up to Lin Yi, who was still struggling in Howie's grip.
"Didn't you want to teach me a lesson?" Doug asked calmly, cracking his knuckles. "Didn't you want me crawling under your legs?"
He leaned in closer, eyes cold. "Well? Who's crawling now?"
Lin Yi froze. All his bravado, his threats, his smug confidence—it evaporated in an instant. The fear in his eyes was real.
He had paid good money to hire these street thugs. He even pulled some strings through his dad's secretary. And yet here he was, helpless in a headlock, while Doug Feng wiped the floor with his hired muscle like it was nothing.
"What… what are you going to do?" Lin Yi asked, voice trembling.
Before Doug could answer, a sudden wave of dizziness hit him. His vision blurred, and his body turned to jelly. His knees almost gave out as he clutched at his temples.
"Doug? You okay?" Howie asked, loosening his hold on Lin Yi just a little.
"I'm fine," Doug said through gritted teeth. "Let him go. We're done here. But Lin Yi—if you come after me again, I swear I'll make you wish you'd never been born."
Howie looked reluctant, but finally dropped the wheezing Lin Yi to the ground with a satisfying thud. "Tch. Should've hit him a few more times. My fists are still itching."
"Let it go, Howie," Doug said, picking up his backpack. He slung an arm over Howie's shoulder, grinning. "We're not here to start a gang war."
But in his mind, Doug was anything but relaxed.
"The body enhancement wore off?"
A glance at the system confirmed his fears. The Beginner Body Enhancement ability had vanished. It hadn't been permanent after all.
Everything he'd used—his reflexes, his strength, his inhuman reaction time—it had all been fueled by "Favor Points." And now, he was running on empty.
Once the points ran out, the abilities vanished. Worse still, they had cooldown periods before they could be activated again. The Beginner Body Enhancement had cost 5 favor points and came with a 5-day cooldown.
And it got worse.
Even though the system had options like "Interstellar Spaceship," Doug couldn't directly summon one. He'd only receive the technical blueprints—and those would live in his brain temporarily. Once time ran out, poof, gone.
Higher-tier knowledge came with shorter time limits. The more powerful the tech or skill, the less time he had to use it.
"So this system isn't all-powerful. It's got rules… limits."
Doug sighed. Favor points didn't grow on trees. He could earn a bit daily, but it wasn't enough to go wild with constant upgrades.
"I'll save the rest for the exam tomorrow," he thought. "Can't afford to lose. I need that first place… or I'll never live it down."