2: Chapter 2: You can exchange learning for experience points?!

Chen Zhen gradually slowed his pace.

He switched from a jog to a stroll.

His wildly pounding heart slowly began to settle.

Chen Zhen took deep breaths.

Sweat had already soaked the front and back of his sportswear, clinging coldly to his skin.

Yet, he felt a warmth inside his body.

It was a very comfortable state, just like having just drunk a cup of warm water.

He walked to the railing at the Riverside and leaned on his knees, panting.

It felt... this run was better than any previous one.

To put it in perspective, if he had run for this long in the past, he would have probably shouted "I'm not running anymore, I'm not running anymore" over fifty times.

But during today's run, he only shouted it in his heart about a dozen times.

It could be called a huge change!

It was like cheating... well, it actually was cheating.

The river breeze blew over, carrying a fishy scent.

Just then, the system panel popped up another message:

[Suggestion: Perform 5 minutes of stretching to promote recovery]

[Estimated Reward: Health Dimension experience + 0.2]

Chen Zhen followed the instructions.

He did leg stretches, arm stretches, and waist twists.

Every time he finished a movement, the system panel would display a "+ 0.05" prompt.

It was really just like playing a game.

It was much more interesting than just running.

After stretching, he walked back.

When passing by The Old Man who had been practicing Tai Chi earlier, the old gentleman had already finished his set and was drinking water from a thermos.

Seeing Chen Zhen, he squinted his eyes again.

Suddenly, he spoke: "Young man, have you trained before?"

Chen Zhen was stunned: "Huh? Just... running normally."

"Running is running." The Old Man put down his cup.

He walked over with his hands behind his back, "Your running style and the way you breathe have some substance to them."

"Who did you learn it from?"

"Just running on my own." Chen Zhen replied vaguely.

The Old Man stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed.

"Alright, running on your own is fine too."

"But remember, whatever you train in, you must proceed step by step; don't be greedy for speed."

These words were abrupt and lacked context, so Chen Zhen just nodded in agreement.

"I'll remember that, thank you, sir."

After walking a few steps, he heard The Old Man muttering to himself behind him:

"Kids these days... they're remarkable."

Chen Zhen didn't turn back.

He thought as he walked.

This Old Man who exercises here every day is extraordinary...

He had just undergone his Awakening of the System, and The Old Man already noticed something unusual about him.

But in the real world, there actually is a System.

Things like in novels, he actually encountered.

Moreover, what he awakened was a Displacement System.

He returned home.

His mother was setting the table.

Seeing him come in soaked in sweat, she frowned:

"Go take a shower quickly, you smell like sweat."

Chen Zhen responded and ducked into the bathroom.

As the hot water poured down, he closed his eyes.

The system panel remained clear in his dark field of vision:

[Exercise cycle complete]

[Total gained: Cultivation + 0.15, Health Dimension experience + 1.7]

[Health Dimension progress: 8/100]

[Unlock preview: When Health Dimension reaches Lv.1, you will gain the basic ability [Full of Energy]]

"Full of Energy..." Chen Zhen silently repeated the term.

It should be a pretty good ability.

He just didn't know what the specific effect would be.

With this ability, perhaps he could maintain high efficiency even when doing several things in a row.

Or maybe his rest time would be short, or even unnecessary.

If it were the latter, wouldn't that be equivalent to having much more time than others?

Chen Zhen speculated as he came out after his shower.

Lunch was already set.

"White porridge, fried egg, and a small dish of pickled vegetables."

"Is lunch so light today?" Chen Zhen asked his mother with a hint of confusion in his tone.

"It's summer vacation, your mind has flown away, and you stayed up late, so just eat something light first."

"That's true." Chen Zhen agreed.

His mother sat opposite him, holding her bowl and looking at him.

"What made you think of running today?" she asked.

"Just... wanted to move around." Chen Zhen shoveled a mouthful of porridge.

His mother looked at him for a while, then suddenly said:

"It's a good thing you want to move around, but don't do it half-heartedly."

"If you want to persist, then persist properly; don't run for two days and then nest back in front of the computer."

"I know."

"Also," his mother picked up a piece of fried egg and put it in his bowl, "your cousin is coming over this afternoon."

"She said there's no one at home, so she's coming to our place for the day. You keep her company, don't always lock yourself in your room."

Chen Zhen paused: "Xiao Shu? Where are her parents?"

"On a business trip, for three days."

His mother sighed: "You have to wonder about that couple, the child is only in eighth grade, and they dare to leave her home alone for three days..."

"Hmm... eighth grade, it's probably fine at this age."

His cousin, Zhou Shu, was three years younger than him, and her personality was even quieter than his.

When she arrived, she would probably just nest in the room reading books and doing homework, not needing much company.

After finishing the meal, his mother cleared the dishes.

Chen Zhen returned to his room.

His summer vacation homework was spread out on the desk.

Math, Physics, Chemistry, more than half of each subject remained.

He casually flipped open his math paper and looked at two problems.

Both were content from the second semester of the second year of high school, sequences and derivatives.

They weren't difficult, but they required a calm mind to calculate.

He picked up his pen.

The tip of his pen had just touched the paper when the system panel suddenly popped up:

[Entering learning state]

[Current behavior detected: Solving math problems]

[Meets conditions for "Learning Dimension" conversion]

[Note: Conversion efficiency is positively correlated with focus]

Chen Zhen's pen paused.

He took a deep breath and began to read the question.

The first question was to find the general term of a sequence.

After reading the problem statement, the method naturally surfaced.

Transform the recurrence relation, construct an arithmetic or geometric sequence.

He calculated six or seven lines on the draft paper, and the answer came out.

[Completed a medium-difficulty math problem]

[Learning Dimension experience + 0.5]

[Cultivation + 0.03]

The second question was an application of derivatives, finding extreme values.

The calculation volume was slightly larger, and he calculated for ten minutes.

[Completed a medium-high difficulty math problem]

[Learning Dimension experience + 0.8]

[Cultivation + 0.05]

Chen Zhen stared at the jumping numbers on the system panel, suddenly feeling a sense of absurd reality.

So studying could really turn into experience points, into Cultivation...

Could studying actually be converted into experience points and Cultivation!

The surprises brought to him since he woke up this morning were endless.

A System in reality, increasing Cultivation in reality.

This was even more addictive than playing games!

After all, playing games is fake.

But this was a solid, tangible improvement of himself.

He could actually cultivate immortality; who would believe that if he said it out loud?

If he were a bystander, he would be dying of envy.

But he wasn't a bystander; he was the lucky one himself!

Thinking this, he looked up at the time, two o'clock.

The cicadas outside were chirping loudly and boisterously.

He lowered his head again.

Continue, continue, continue accumulating experience.

The tip of his pen scratched against the paper with a rustling sound.

One problem, then another.

The prompt on the system panel would pop up every few minutes.

Experience points accumulated bit by bit.

Cultivation also slowly climbed from 2.35 to 2.45, 2.52, 2.60...

The world suddenly quieted down, leaving only the sound of paper and pen rubbing against each other.

And the sound of his own breathing.

Until his mother called from outside the door: "Chen Zhen! Xiao Shu is here!"

Zhou Shu stood at the doorway with a backpack on her back, wearing a middle school uniform, her ponytail tied meticulously.

Seeing Chen Zhen, she called out "Brother" in a soft voice.

"Come in."

Chen Zhen stepped aside to let her enter, "Have you eaten?"

"Yes."

Zhou Shu changed her shoes, her movements orderly and proper.

His mother came out of the guest room: "Xiao Shu is here! The room is all tidied up for you, it's right next to Chen Zhen's."

"What do you want to eat tonight? Auntie will make it for you."

"Anything is fine." Zhou Shu's voice was still very soft.

"This child," his mother shook her head, "well, you two go ahead and play, I'm going to buy the groceries for dinner."

After the door closed, only the two of them were left in the living room.

Zhou Shu stood there holding her schoolbag.

Chen Zhen scratched his head: "Are you... going to do homework?"

"Yes." Zhou Shu nodded.

"Then go write in my room, my desk is bigger."

Zhou Shu followed him into the room and sat down at the desk.

She took her textbooks and workbooks out of her schoolbag.

Eighth-grade material, Chinese, Math, English, and Physics, four subjects.

She opened her math workbook and started doing problems.

Chen Zhen sat at the table and glanced at the system panel.

No prompt.

It seemed that only his own learning behavior would be converted by the System.

He thought for a moment, then opened his own homework and continued writing.

However, just after opening it, he suddenly thought.

This system panel... should only be visible to him, right?

"Xiao Shu."

"Hmm?" Zhou Shu looked up at him.

"Can you see anything in front of me?" Chen Zhen asked softly.

"... The table."

Zhou Shu tilted her head slightly, appearing confused by Chen Zhen's question.

"Okay, never mind, continue writing."

As he said this, Chen Zhen turned his gaze back to his homework.

He understood.

Indeed, only he could see this system panel.

However, were there others who, like him, had unlocked this System?