5: Chapter 5 triggers the "social dimension"

The Riverside walkway in the early morning was quieter than usual.

There seemed to be fewer early risers on the weekend than on weekdays.

Only a few familiar faces were around.

The middle-aged man walking his dog.

The Old Man practicing Tai Chi.

And an auntie who always wore a fluorescent green tracksuit.

The Old Man wasn't practicing his boxing today.

Instead, he stood by the Riverside with his hands behind his back, staring blankly at the water.

Chen Zhen was running as he had for the past few days, and just as he ran past him,

The Old Man suddenly spoke: "It's the seventh day."

Chen Zhen paused his steps and turned his head. "Uh... yes."

This Old Man seems to be paying some attention to me.

A socially extroverted Old Man?

The Old Man also turned his head, but his expression remained plain.

"You've kept it up for a week. Not bad."

"Right. You actually remembered?"

"I'm here every day."

"I hadn't seen you before. You suddenly popped up and ran for seven consecutive days; it would be hard not to remember."

That's true...

He really didn't run much before.

Mostly because he was lazy whenever school was out; sometimes he didn't even want to leave his room.

Let alone come out for a run.

Chen Zhen didn't know what to reply.

So he nodded, feigning an expression that said, "You're right."

The Old Man looked him over a few times and suddenly asked: "When you run, who did you learn your breathing from?"

?

Why is this question so familiar?

It seems like The Old Man asked him this on his first day of running.

"I just figured it out myself; I didn't learn it from anyone."

He was telling the truth; he really was running on his own.

It was just that the System would give him real-time suggestions.

"You figured it out quite well." The Old Man nodded, a hint of a smile appearing on his face.

"Three steps for an inhale, three steps for an exhale. The rhythm is steady, and the exhalation is clean."

"It's just that your feet are a bit heavy, and the sound of your landing is too loud."

Hearing The Old Man's words, Chen Zhen looked down at his feet.

It seems... that is true.

"Try landing on the balls of your feet."

The Old Man demonstrated by lightly stepping in place, making almost no sound.

"Don't slam with your heels; keep your knees relaxed, like springs."

Chen Zhen listened to what The Old Man said and tried to adjust his posture.

...It feels a bit awkward.

It's like he's deliberately running on his tiptoes; he feels like the person in the idiom about blindly imitating others.

The more he tried to learn, the less he knew how to run.

However, after a few dozen meters, he gradually adapted.

The sound of his footsteps was indeed lighter, and the vibration in his legs had lessened.

At this moment, the system panel popped up a notification:

[Running posture optimized / Consumption reduced by 5%]

[Health Dimension experience + 0.3]

!

A pleasant surprise.

"Thank you, sir!" Chen Zhen turned his head to thank The Old Man.

It was like meeting an expert in a game, receiving a casual piece of advice that had miraculous effects.

Chen Zhen continued running forward.

After adjusting his posture, when he finished his three-kilometer run,

the fatigue was noticeably less than in the previous few days.

Chen Zhen began to stretch.

The system panel popped up again:

[Today's morning run consumption decreased by 12% compared to yesterday; efficiency increased]

Thanks to The Old Man.

On the way home, Chen Zhen passed the breakfast stall at the entrance of the residential compound.

He bought three servings of soy milk and fried dough sticks—one for himself, one for his mother, and one for Zhou Shu.

His cousin's fever had long since completely broken, but his mother was worried, feeling that her parents didn't know how to take care of a child.

So she let her stay for two more days.

Zhou Shu didn't object either; she just quietly did her homework and read books in her room.

When Chen Zhen paid, the system panel popped up a new notification:

[Hidden action completed: Bought breakfast for family]

[Meets "Social Dimension" conversion criteria]

[Current Social Dimension: 47/100]

[Note: Social Dimension needs to be unlocked through interpersonal interaction]

There really are surprises everywhere in daily life.

Buying breakfast actually triggered the Social Dimension.

Chen Zhen carried the breakfast bag and walked home.

Pondering this "Social Dimension."

To increase the Social Dimension, one must...

Help others? Or resolve conflicts?

Or increase affinity with others? Promote relationships?

He returned home and pushed open the door.

His mother was hanging clothes on the balcony, and Zhou Shu was sitting at the dining table reading.

His mother saw Chen Zhen's breakfast: "Oh my, getting up early is good; you even know to bring us breakfast."

"The sun is really rising from the west these days."

His mother chuckled.

Chen Zhen scratched his head and smiled: "That's just because I usually only get up at this time."

"Oh, I'm just teasing you. You usually work hard at school, getting up early and staying up late; how could we need you to buy breakfast."

This tone... why does it sound a bit like she's using Yin and Yang on him?

His mother brought out the porridge and pickled vegetables and sat down.

Chen Zhen handed the soy milk to his mother and Zhou Shu.

Zhou Shu whispered her thanks, took the soy milk, and drank it in small sips.

The breakfast was eaten very quietly.

His mother occasionally asked Zhou Shu a few things about school, and Zhou Shu answered briefly.

Chen Zhen buried his head in eating fried dough sticks and drinking soy milk.

The system panel quietly displayed the time at the edge of his vision.

After finishing breakfast, the time reached 7:40 AM.

According to the rhythm of these past few days,

he usually starts studying at eight o'clock.

Chen Zhen sat down at his desk.

Let's do Math and Physics first.

These two subjects require a clear head.

In the afternoon, he would do Chinese and English.

He would leave reading extracurricular books for the evening.

Chen Zhen finished planning these.

He couldn't help but sigh.

He was really quite self-disciplined; this level of self-discipline didn't feel like summer vacation at all.

Staying up all night was clearly just something from last week.

But, Chen Zhen accepted it well.

The System likes regularity; continuously completing the same task provides bonuses.

A stable daily routine also provides extra rewards.

Even drinking two liters of water every day would pop up a [Health Habit +1].

It's even stricter than his homeroom teacher.

What needed to be handled today was the Physics test paper, specifically the electromagnetic induction section.

Chen Zhen spread out the test paper and picked up his pen.

The system panel popped up:

[Entered focused learning state]

[Current subject: Physics]

[Suggestion: From easy to difficult, rest for 3 minutes after completing every 5 questions]

[Learning Dimension conversion efficiency: Base value 0.1/hour, focus bonus up to 50%]

Chen Zhen took a breath, letting his brain enter the state.

He started reading the questions.

Question 1.

Basic application of Faraday's Law of Induction.

After reading the question stem.

The formula automatically appeared in his mind.

Substituting the numbers, calculating.

[Completed basic physics question]

[Learning Dimension experience + 0.3]

[Cultivation + 0.02]

Question 2.

Examining Lenz's Law related concepts.

[Completed intermediate physics question]

[Learning Dimension experience + 0.5]

[Cultivation + 0.03]

One question after another.

Just like passing through checkpoints and slaying generals.

In the room, there was only the rustling sound of the pen tip scratching against the paper.

And the occasional light sound of turning pages.

Time was carved into small chunks, each defined by a question.

Every time he finished one, the system panel would pop up a tiny numerical reward.

When Chen Zhen reached the eighth question, he got stuck.

It was a comprehensive problem: a conductor rod moving in a magnetic field.

It required considering induced electromotive force, Ampere's force, Newton's second law, and finally asked for energy conversion efficiency.

The problem included a diagram, and the illustration was very simple.

He needed to find the implied conditions within it.

Chen Zhen carefully read the question stem twice.

He listed the System of equations on his scratch paper.

Five unknowns, four equations, and one condition was still missing.

Hiss...

Chen Zhen pondered, his pen tip unconsciously drawing circles on the paper.

[Detected: Dao problem-solving obstructed]

[Suggestion: Break down the problem, analyze step-by-step]

[Step 1: Determine the magnetic flux change function during the motion of the conductor rod]

[Step 2: Calculate the change in induced electromotive force over time]

[Step 3: ...]