Chapter15-Hidden Dangers? Rapidly advancing powers!

Daniel chose to buyback the drink through the system.

The drink in his glass, under Sophia's watch, disappeared into thin air.

Sophia was instantly dumbfounded, "Am... am I drunk?"

She patted her numb cheeks.

After downing two drinks quickly, it was indeed easy to get intoxicated.

Sophia considered her tolerance for alcohol and accepted the explanation that she was slightly tipsy.

Yet, she showed no signs of stopping, urging, "The second drink, keep going."

Daniel took the drink from the bartender and downed it in one gulp.

The third drink, which had been prepared in advance, went down just as quickly.

His speedy drinking rate earned him a thumbs-up from the bartender.

"You downed five martinis in less than two minutes, mate. That's not how you woo a lady," the bartender warned.

"With your drinking style, once the alcohol hits you, you'll be sleeping in no time. How then, will you spend the night with this beautiful woman?"

Hearing this, Sophia's face grew even more flushed.

She even began to imagine certain scenarios, making her feel hot and flustered.

"Spend the night? We're just old friends who haven't seen each other for a long time," she retorted, her face still flushed.

The bartender simply chuckled, offering no further comments.

Sophia turned back towards Daniel, somewhat reproachful, "Can you handle it? If you pass out, I can't carry you."

Daniel, get drunk?

His eyes held a strange gleam as he tasted the residual martini in his mouth and pondered.

The martinis here were probably about 45 degrees, roughly two ounces each.

Having consumed five martinis, it was akin to downing a pint of low-degree liquor.

Most people would have already collapsed or even blacked out from this quantity, yet he felt nothing at all.

Under the system's enhancement, his alcohol tolerance had truly soared.

He raised his refilled glass, clinking it with Sophia's, "Don't worry, I won't pass out before you do." With that, he drained his glass once again.

Somewhat defiant, Sophia also raised her glass and downed its contents.

They continued their merry drinking, and before long, several more glasses were emptied.

The bartender looked at the two with a strange expression.

He'd seen heavy drinkers before, but never ones who drank as if they were courting death.

In less than half an hour, the pair hadn't put their glasses down once.

While the man could hold his liquor, the woman seemed to have an even greater capacity.

Of course, in the end, it was Sophia who succumbed, collapsing on the table.

As Daniel nonchalantly got up, paid the bill, hoisted Sophia over his shoulder, and headed out, the bartender couldn't help but sigh, "Another poor soul is in for a rough night."

Daniel hadn't taken more than a few steps away from the bar when several burly men blocked his path.

Seeing the malicious intent on their faces, Daniel felt a sense of foreboding.

Sure enough, the tallest of them suggested, "Buddy, you've had quite a bit to drink. How about we help you get her home?"

As he spoke, one of the men reached out.

Daniel retreated a couple of steps, dodging the hand.

He gave them a cold look and said, "If you don't want to spend the night in a police station, I suggest you step aside."

Hearing this, the men showed no reaction.

The tall man retorted, "We're just trying to help, the police have no business here." Daniel hoisted Sophia a bit higher and with his free hand pulled out his phone from his pocket.

Seeing this, one of the men lunged forward to snatch it.

Daniel backed off a few steps until he bumped into the bar.

It was clear he wasn't going to get away easily.

Four against one, Daniel was definitely at a disadvantage.

With Sophia still unconscious, engaging these men in a fight didn't seem like a good idea.

He glanced back at the bartender, who was also the owner of the bar, John.

"Are you just going to stand by and let a regular customer get bullied in your bar?" Daniel challenged.

John shook his head with resignation, bending down to pull out a shotgun from under the bar.

With a click, he loaded it and aimed the dark barrel at the four men. "If you don't want your brains blown out, get out now!"

The four men threw their hands up, shooting resentful glances at John before beating a hasty retreat.

Daniel picked up Sophia once again and said, "Thanks."

John sighed, "They hang around this area a lot, things like tonight will happen again."

Daniel waved his hand dismissively and left with Sophia without looking back.

He had initially intended to send Sophia home, but she had drunk far too much to be woken.

With no other options, Daniel took her to his rental house.

After leaving her in the bedroom, Daniel took a shower and settled on the living room sofa to watch TV.

Thinking back on the night's events, he felt a shiver of unease.

If it hadn't been for John's intervention, he could only imagine what would have happened.

While he could handle himself getting hurt, the potential danger to Sophia was far greater. And such incidents could happen again.

Thinking of John's last words, Daniel furrowed his brow.

It was high time he got himself a gun.

Libertopia was a country with the loosest gun control regulations in the world, bar none.

When he had first arrived, Daniel had considered buying a gun for self-defense, but both the gun permit and the firearm itself required a significant amount of money.

But for him now, that was not an issue.

Leaning back on the sofa, Daniel's eyes fell on the skateboard tossed aside by the door.

An idea popped into his head.

Would the system accept this?

He got up and picked up the skateboard.

The next moment, a familiar voice rang in his ear.

[Skateboard detected (slightly worn). Would you like to buyback?]

It could indeed buyback! Daniel smiled and promptly chose to buyback.

Instantly, he received a system reward of ten StellarCoins.

As well as ability rewards.

[Reward received: Doubled strength!]

[Reward received: Master level skateboard skills!]

[Reward received: Doubled reaction speed!]

A triple reward again!

One item with three rewards was a rare occurrence.

Daniel felt a wave of warmth engulf his body, and muscles all over his body trembled to varying degrees.

He felt a surge of power coursing through him.

"Should I test it on something?" Daniel looked around his rental house but couldn't find anything suitable.

Finally, he stood in front of the refrigerator, his legs apart and arms wrapped around it.

With a shout, he yelled, "Lift!"

The three-door refrigerator had a sticker that indicated it weighed 150 kg.

Daniel lifted the refrigerator off the ground effortlessly.

300 kilograms!

He set the fridge back down, a grin spreading across his face.

He could lift something weighing 300 kilograms with ease.

He wasn't even panting, indicating that his strength was far above 300 kilograms, probably between 350 and 400 kilograms!

With this kind of strength, he could easily rival world-class weightlifters.

He clenched his fist, admiring the perfectly lined muscles on his arm, "If I run into those four punks again, one punch each would do the trick."

As for his reaction speed, Daniel picked up a pair of chopsticks given to him at a Serenalia feast and quickly ran downstairs.

Standing next to a street light, he watched the insects flying under the light and swiftly made his move.

Swoosh!

With one swift chopstick motion, he caught a flying insect.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

Every move was a hit. His reaction speed was off the charts!

"Hahaha!" Daniel couldn't help but laugh heartily, earning strange looks from passersby.

He sheepishly apologized, "Sorry, sorry."

He then rushed back upstairs, scouring his rental house, hoping to find more items the system could buyback and possibly give ability rewards.

But he didn't usually work out, so he didn't own any exercise equipment.

Finally, he sat on the sofa, pulling out his phone.

If he didn't have anything, he'd just buy some!

Hand grippers, arm strength trainers, barbells... Treadmills, dumbbells, punching bags... He picked out the best of each and placed his orders.

Over a dozen pieces of gym equipment cost him more than 50,000 StellarCoins.

If he hadn't had more than 50 million in his bank account, he wouldn't be able to afford this spending spree.

Closing his phone, Daniel rinsed off quickly and fell asleep on the sofa.

The next morning, Daniel was roused from sleep by a pleasant scent.

Opening his eyes, he saw Sophia carrying a tray of food from the kitchen.

Seeing him awake, Sophia smiled slightly, "You're up. You drank a lot last night. Come and have some hangover soup I made."

Daniel got up and looked at the soup, "Wow, hot and sour shredded pork soup?"

This dish was a popular one in Serenalia.

It was sour and spicy, a favorite among many.

Due to its strong flavor, it was known to have a certain hangover-curing effect.

Daniel quickly washed up and sat down to enjoy his meal.