About to change careers

"Ah, my precious!" After the shop owner landed, he ignored the pain in his body and quickly scrambled to his feet. He opened the package and what he saw made him collapse instantly.

Jake's guess was correct. The package contained items that were previously displayed on the stall for sale. Among them was the porcelain plate that almost fooled Old Man Bob, as well as the genuine folding fan that Jake had spotted.

The outcome was that all these items had been crushed. The porcelain turned into fragments, the folding fan was flattened and scratched by the porcelain shards, and several other items were all ruined. Not a single thing had been spared.

"My plate, my fan, my Buddhist beads... Ah..." The shop owner's voice quivered as he was on the verge of tears.

Although most of the items were replicas, there were still one or two genuine ones that could have fetched a good price. Even the replicas could have been sold for money, especially to someone like Old Man Bob. But now, they were all gone.

Jake stood by, watching with detachment. He had done this deliberately, both as a lesson to the shop owner and to prevent him from deceiving others in the future.

"It's all your fault!" Holding porcelain fragments in his hand, the shop owner pointed at Jake angrily. "All because of you! You owe me for these items!"

"Why should I owe you?" Jake calmly replied, "You were the ones who attacked first, and I only defended myself. Moreover, you're the one who broke those items. What does that have to do with me? Besides, most of what you had were fakes. Do you have the nerve to ask for compensation?"

"These are all genuine!" the shop owner roared.

"Do you even believe that yourself?" Jake said nonchalantly.

"I don't care. You must compensate me, or you won't leave here." The shop owner insisted.

"You think you can stop me from leaving?" Jake asked.

"Don't even think about leaving!" The shop owner seemed to be driven by agitation and forgot about Jake's capabilities. He charged towards Jake.

Jake didn't hold back either. He swiftly turned and kicked, knocking the shop owner to the ground. Looking down at him coldly, Jake said, "You wanted to break my leg, and I only gave you a taste of your own medicine. I'm already being quite merciful. If you dare to provoke me again, don't blame me for being impolite."

The shop owner, witnessing Jake's aura of hostility, instinctively moved back a few steps on the ground, feeling a shiver down his spine. In that moment, he suddenly realized that Jake wasn't just threatening him; he was capable of carrying out his threats.

After all, Jake had taken lives in the game world, and a faint air of lethality surrounded him. While others might not usually sense it, when he truly got angry, this aura could become palpable.

Seeing the fear in the shop owner's eyes, Jake eased off his intensity, retracted his aura, and without sparing a glance, turned and left. The shop owner, still on the ground, opened his mouth to say something but couldn't muster any words. He was truly frightened by Jake's demeanor.

Jake didn't dwell too much on this incident. While the shop owner did suffer some losses, Jake had no qualms about teaching a lesson to someone who would deceive and harm others.

After leaving WY Street, Jake headed to the "Star Moon" archery club to continue practicing archery. He had been practicing archery consistently, both in the real world and the game world. His proficiency had gradually increased from beginner to intermediate, and now he was making his way towards the advanced level.

Of course, due to the effect of the White Crane Jade Pendant, Jake's archery skill was effectively at the advanced level. As a result, his skill surpassed Eli's and even the coach at the Star Moon Club. However, he was cautious about revealing his true abilities, fearing it might startle others.

However, even so, both Eli and the coach were amazed by Jake's progress in archery. They never expected that Jake could improve so quickly. In the shooting club, Jake's practice range had already extended from ten meters to eighteen meters. Even at eighteen meters, Jake could ensure a perfect score with every shot. In fact, he could hit the bullseye with every arrow if he wanted to. Therefore, in these past few days, Jake had increased the distance of his archery practice range once again.

The coach from the Star Moon Club watched Jake practicing on a fifty-meter range, filled with emotion. He had been with Jake since the beginning, so he knew firsthand how terrifying Jake's growth in archery had been. From struggling to hit the bullseye at five meters initially, to effortlessly hitting it at fifty meters now, Jake had achieved this progress in just a little over a week. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed that someone could improve their archery skills so rapidly. The pace of improvement was truly astonishing.

The coach had nothing left to teach Jake at this point. He mostly just watched, curious to see what level Jake would eventually reach.

Unaware of the coach's astonishment and emotions, Jake himself was quite satisfied with his improvement in archery. The money he spent had finally paid off. After finishing his training, Jake went to buy ingredients for a barbecue in the evening.

Due to the influence of the painting " Farewell to a Guest," Jake estimated that his career in barbecuing was coming to an end. At this moment, he surprisingly felt a bit reluctant. After all, this job had supported him for a long time. Furthermore, it was during his time selling barbecue that he obtained the ring that could change his life. Now that he knew he was about to change careers, Jake naturally had mixed feelings.

In the evening, Jake's business was still booming. Students from nearby schools and passing tourists became his customers. He and Alan didn't even have time to take a break from start to finish. In the end, even with his physical fitness, Jake's arms felt slightly sore. As for Alan, his situation was even worse. By the end, his face had turned somewhat pale from exhaustion.

"If everything goes well, I should be able to resolve the funding issue for the shop in a few days," Jake mentioned to Alan on the way back.

"Really? That's great!" Alan exclaimed in delight, suddenly feeling a surge of energy throughout his body. The exhaustion he had felt earlier had completely disappeared.

"Yeah," Jake nodded. "It won't take too long, just a few more days. Then, you can return to the kitchen."

Honestly, having a skilled chef like Alan doing barbecue was quite a unique arrangement. His battlefield should be in the kitchen, not on the street.