Chapter 3 Supermarket Shopping

He discovered that under his panel, the skill [Cycling] had unexpectedly appeared.

Li Ang quickly understood that it seemed only the skills added after obtaining the panel were counted.

At the same time he acquired the skill, Li Ang felt that the bicycle beneath him suddenly became more in tune with him.

It was as if he had become familiar with every part of it, and his control over the bike had become much more adept.

He also noticed that his Constitution points had actually increased by 0.03 since leaving home, and his Strength had increased by 0.01.

"Can riding to such an extent really enhance the body this much under normal circumstances?" he wondered.

Li Ang was somewhat surprised, but since it was his own strength increasing, naturally the more the better.

After being rejected, Sheila pursed her lips, her gaze lingering on him for several seconds before nodding. Her habit was to respect everyone's choices.

"Remember to contact me if you need anything," she said.

The mature and charming woman made a phone gesture to Li Ang, then stepped on the gas, and the Ford Raptor she was driving roared away, quickly disappearing from sight.

After resting for a while and solidifying [Cycling] as his own skill, Li Ang's bicycle resumed its initial speed, and even became faster.

He could feel the efficiency of his pedaling had improved, and it wasn't as exhausting as it had been earlier.

About thirty minutes later, Li Ang finally arrived at a large supermarket in Hillsboro.

This little twenty-kilometer journey might just be a warm-up for those enthusiasts with professional gear and road bikes.

But for the current Li Ang, it was incredibly challenging, taking up nearly 50 minutes of his time.

He parked his bicycle and enjoyed the air conditioning outside the supermarket doors before entering.

The large supermarkets in America gave Li Ang one impression, vastness.

This applied to the area, the shelves, and the quantity of goods.

Correspondingly, the layout and arrangement were a bit more rough compared to back home.

The main reason for this was that America is sparsely populated with vast land, rarely having supermarkets or food markets right outside one's doorstep.

Therefore, when families go shopping, they usually buy at least ten days to half a month's worth of supplies.

It's the norm for each household to have a car, and the high ownership rate of pickup trucks is also due to this reason.

Li Ang bypassed the snacks and beverages and headed straight for the fresh food area.

His budget was limited now, so naturally it was best to focus on home-cooked meals, which are not only healthier but also reduce costs significantly.

The beef on the shelves, a bright red, was only $5.9 per pound.

He even particularly pondered how much a pound was; converted to the units back home, roughly 1 pound equals 0.9 kg.

Li Ang picked a large piece for just over twenty dollars.

In the realm of body training, beef, with its high-quality protein, is definitely a major consumer.

If prepared as stir-fry, these beef pieces could last quite a few meals.

But if used for frying or grilling, they actually wouldn't last very long.

Sixty large eggs for $11.99, he could take two cartons.

There's no need to elaborate on eggs—aside from being nutritionally rich and cheap, they're delicious no matter how they're cooked.

For $2.99, one gallon of pure milk—that's 3.78 liters—could easily be drunk like water, so he got two jugs.

He didn't give much thought to the pork and skipped over it.

Many kinds of pork overseas are quite a different story in taste because the pigs aren't castrated.

Moreover, the price of beef wasn't much more expensive than pork, so the main focus of consumption was still on beef.

The price of vegetables, in comparison to back home, was a bit more expensive.

Especially those labeled "organic," which were sometimes even more expensive than some meats.

Li Ang, following the principles of nutrition and health, picked out some broccoli, carrots, spinach, and other vegetables, and also selected some seasonings.

After hesitating for a moment, he still bought some cola, chips, ice cream, chocolate, and other "junk food."

Indulging in pleasure was secondary; mainly, he wanted to test whether the Breakthrough Points earned from different foods would vary.

In addition to that, there were some household items and daily clothing which Li Ang also took care of.

When he arrived at the checkout counter, his shopping cart was packed to the brim. After settling the bill, he had spent nearly three hundred dollars.

After paying, his savings plummeted below the three-thousand mark.

However, Li Ang knew that these expenses were necessary, like having to invest some capital when starting a business, right?

Once he had the ability, this amount of money would be nothing but small change.

Li Ang carried three of the largest shopping bags, standing at the supermarket entrance, looking at his old bicycle with a touch of melancholy.

On the way back, with at least forty pounds of extra weight, he wondered who would give out first, him or his bicycle.

The added weight increased the resistance while cycling, not to mention those two bags made the handlebars especially heavy.

By the time he got home, the sun had already set.

When he set out, Li Ang felt a bit full, but now he was ravenous.

He grabbed a piece of chocolate and stuffed it into his mouth, washing it down with a large glass of milk, which finally curbed his hunger.

He wasn't sure if it was because he was so hungry or because his Constitution had increased, but he noticed that his appetite seemed to have grown as well.

According to his original self's small appetite, this large glass of milk would have made him at least sixty to seventy percent full, and with an additional piece of chocolate, he could have even skipped dinner for the day.

But now, he was at most forty percent full, and he could definitely eat a giant burger without any problem.

[You've earned 0.03 Breakthrough Points]

The points he earned from this meal were a bit more than he had anticipated, but this time, Li Ang didn't use the Breakthrough Points on Constitution. Instead, he looked at the Skills he had acquired that afternoon.

Skills:

[Cycling] 39/100 (Beginner)

During the ride back, [Cycling] had increased by 34 points in proficiency, and considering the distance covered, he could gain about two points in proficiency for every kilometer ridden.

Under Li Ang's mental command, the Breakthrough Points decreased by 0.01, and correspondingly, his proficiency in [Cycling] increased by 5 points.

"Not a great deal!"

Li Ang shook his head, not continuing with the experiment, and allocated the remaining Breakthrough Points to [Physique].

Although Constitution could be improved through exercise, as of now, the higher his [Physique], the easier it was to earn Breakthrough Points, so [Physique] was still the most important attribute.

Tonight's dinner consisted of boiled broccoli, pan-seared beef, and two poached eggs.

If it were made as a fitness meal with less salt and oil, the taste probably wouldn't be great.

Unfortunately, while others practiced natural fitness, Li Ang was into leveled-up fitness, so he ate whatever tasted good.

After dinner, Li Ang continued to do aerobics for an hour, making room in his stomach, and before going to bed, he downed another glass of milk and two eggs.

This whole series of actions contributed a total of 0.08 Breakthrough Points and naturally increased his Constitution by 0.02.

The most noticeable change from the increase in Constitution was that the large, purplish bump on his head had turned into a dark purple mark, and the swollen area had completely subsided.

From his experience, the recovery speed for an average person definitely wouldn't be this fast.

This only showed that, as he raised his Constitution's upper limit, his body also recovered in the process.

Li Ang hadn't got out of bed by dawn, but his younger brother had already woken up.

This made him somewhat emotional inside; he was back, everything was back to how it used to be.

Just as he was getting dressed, Li Ang suddenly heard someone calling his name from outside the window.