Chapter 178: Chapter 115: Strength 2.9, One Step Away

The sound was faint. The new house had such good soundproofing that you probably wouldn’t hear it if someone died next door. If Li Wei’s constitution hadn’t been enhanced to 3.0, he likely wouldn’t have heard the noise coming from Don Quixote on the second floor.

Li Wei hopped out of bed, grabbed the key card from his desk, and opened the door. He headed downstairs to the second floor.

Once he reached the second floor, he carefully sidestepped the various cardboard boxes near the door to avoid making too much noise.

The move had been a bit rushed, so a lot of their things were still not properly put away. For instance, Lily’s pile of toys was still crammed into boxes, and Don Quixote’s and Li Wei’s clothes were supposed to be in their respective closets.

But that’s just how it is with men raising a kid.

In Li Wei’s own walk-in closet, he had already hung up his suits—clothes that needed to stay crisp for appearances—but most of his other athletic wear was haphazardly stuffed into the closet or thrown on chairs. He planned on tidying up whenever he found the time, or maybe an hour before Anya came over.

Hearing the noise from Don Quixote’s room, he carefully pushed open Lily’s door to peek inside. The little girl was sprawled out on her large princess bed, letting out soft snores with her blanket kicked aside. She had put in a lot of effort during the move, too.

Li Wei didn’t bother covering her up. The house’s climate control and ventilation system kept the rooms at a constant 79 degrees Fahrenheit, so Lily wouldn’t catch a cold from kicking off her blanket.

He closed Lily’s door and listened to the rustling coming from Don Quixote’s room. After a moment’s thought, he pulled on his jacket.

Don Quixote pushed his door open and came out, just as Li Wei approached.

"Knight Li Wei," Don Quixote said with some surprise. "I didn’t expect to meet you here."

’?’

"Uh, yeah, what a coincidence," he said, playing along. "What brings you here, Knight Don Quixote?"

"I’m here in the Royal City Inner City for a while to report the results of our expedition to the Duke," Don Quixote said cheerfully. "We cleared out the Goblin Kingdom and the Demon Forest, did we not?"

"Indeed," Li Wei chimed in at the perfect moment. "Knight Don Quixote, this is my first time in the Inner City. I was wondering if you might have time to show me around?"

"Of course," Don Quixote declared proudly. "I know this place like the back of my hand. Follow me."

[You have arrived at the Royal Capital: Royal City Inner City.]

[This is the home of the Kingdom’s ministers, the heads of various guilds, and representatives from every race. Beneath a veneer of peace, desire and greed churn like a raging storm. Power plays and political intrigue are everywhere; one wrong move could send you plunging into an endless abyss.]

’Is it really that dramatic?’ Li Wei suspected the system was bullshitting again. ’The "political intrigue" it’s talking about is probably just a bunch of noblewomen competing to see whose dog has a cuter grooming style.’

[Quest Received: Explore the Inner City with Knight Don Quixote]

[Reward: +0.1 Free Attribute Points]

As Don Quixote was about to head out the door, he paused. He pulled a long-handled umbrella from a stand nearby, then thought for a moment before turning to Li Wei.

"We probably don’t need to carry longswords in the Inner City, right?"

"I agree," Li Wei nodded. "The Inner City should be quite safe."

"Right..." Don Quixote muttered. "Those Dark Elves shouldn’t show up in the Royal Capital’s Inner City."

He slid the umbrella back into the stand, and Li Wei took the chance to open the heavy double doors for him.

Outside, they followed a cobblestone path for a short distance and soon arrived at the apartment building’s lobby.

It was already past 2:30 in the morning. A middle-aged doorman wearing a suit and an earpiece was sitting at the reception desk, scrolling through TikTok.

"Guard Captain!" The moment Don Quixote ’saw’ the doorman, he bellowed, "Why are you so lax in your duties! Can you not hear the roars of the demonic beasts beyond the city walls?"

The doorman, who had been engrossed in some risqué videos, was so startled by the sudden shouting that he nearly dropped his phone.

He looked up to see a middle-aged man wearing a suit of armor over his pajamas. The man’s eyes were closed, but he was facing the doorman’s direction, looking furious.

Beside him stood a handsome young man in a long down jacket, also over pajamas, who looked like a model or a movie star.

’What... What demonic beasts?’ The doorman wondered if he was hallucinating from scrolling so much. ’I don’t do drugs... How could I be seeing such a bizarre pair?’

"Demonic beasts!" Don Quixote strode forward. "Did you not hear that rumbling outside?"

"That’s... that’s the garbage truck, sir," the doorman said, removing an earbud. "Tuesday night is trash night."

Li Wei quickly stepped forward, pressed a 20 USD bill into the doorman’s hand, and whispered, "He’s sleepwalking. He thinks he’s a Knight, and you’re the Guard Captain. Just play along."

The doorman glanced down at the bill in his hand, cleared his throat, and instantly got into character. "Oh, right! Yes, my lord! Do not worry about the beasts outside the walls. The barrier at the gate remains secure."

"Tell me, Guard Captain," Don Quixote said with a satisfied nod, "have you been diligent in your patrols today?"

’Should I say yes... or no?’

Just as the doorman was about to answer, Don Quixote looked at his suit and shook his head in pity.

"Poor Guard Captain. To think the lord is so miserly," he said. "He hasn’t even issued you a proper suit of Chain Armor. The Royal Capital’s Minister of Finance must be a corrupt official."

"You’re right, sir, absolutely right!" the doorman exclaimed, slapping his thigh. "That’s so true! I also think those sons of bitches in property management... I mean, the Minister of Finance, are totally corrupt! They didn’t even give me my bonus for working the Christmas shift."

"But the Royal Capital’s Inner City cannot fall," Don Quixote declared with passion. "You’ve worked hard, Guard Captain. When I have an audience with the King tomorrow, I will demand justice on your behalf! Here, take this. It is the military pay you’ve earned."

He reached into his pajama pocket, fumbled around for a moment, then pulled out a handful of air and placed it solemnly in the doorman’s palm.

"Accept this Gold Coin," he said. "After we make one more patrol, go buy yourself some strong spirits at the tavern to warm your bones."

The doorman stared at his empty palm, his mouth agape as he looked at Don Quixote.

With a deadpan expression, Li Wei stuffed another 20 USD bill into his hand.

"Thank you for your generosity, Lord Knight," the doorman said, immediately pocketing the money. He added respectfully, "I will join you on patrol at once."

The three of them walked out of the warm lobby and were immediately blasted by the frigid 2:30 a.m. wind blowing off the Hudson River.

’This damn weather,’ the doorman cursed inwardly, but the 40 USD clutched in his pocket kept him feeling warm inside.

Li Wei followed silently behind them, leisurely observing his surroundings. Battery Park City was serenely quiet late at night. There wasn’t a speck of dirt or snow to be seen, and the plants all seemed to be hardy varieties that kept their leaves even in winter.

’You get what you pay for,’ was all Li Wei could think.

Along the way, Don Quixote rambled on, telling the doorman all sorts of odd things. To the doorman, it was as if the man could see, yet couldn’t. He pointed to the dozens of luxury yachts at the North Bay Yacht Pier, calling them the Kingdom’s invincible armada. He pointed to the palm trees in the Winter Garden, claiming they were Trees of Life, transplanted by the High Elves to maintain their alliance with humanity.

Perhaps it was because this was the first time he’d had company other than Li Wei, or perhaps it was because they were in a brand new location, but Don Quixote seemed especially talkative.

They wandered around for over half an hour before a dialog box popped up in Li Wei’s vision.

[Quest Complete: Explore the Inner City with Knight Don Quixote]

[Reward: +0.1 Free Attribute Points]

By the time they completed their circuit and returned, it was already past 3:00 in the morning.

Li Wei slipped the doorman another 50 USD, telling him to keep up the act as the Guard Captain of the Royal City Inner City if he ever saw Don Quixote sleepwalking again.

"Yes, sir," the doorman said, giving Li Wei a small salute. "I understand."

’Getting paid 90 USD for an hour of roleplaying with Don Quixote every night? There’s no better side gig than this.’

’I gave him a little too much money tonight,’ Li Wei thought instinctively.

But he quickly shook his head. He reminded himself that he was a wealthy man now and needed to stop thinking with the same frugal mindset he’d had when he was in debt.

Back when he first got the system, he’d even fill his water bottle at the gym just to save a little extra, pinching about 1.98 USD a day.

’I don’t need to do that anymore,’ Li Wei thought to himself. ’I’ve paid off all my debts. I’m a millionaire now.’

He supported Don Quixote, who was gradually becoming more lethargic, as he allocated the 0.1 attribute points he had just earned to Strength.

[Strength: 2.8] -> [Strength: 2.9]

’So close! Just 0.1 more attribute points and I can get my Strength to 3.0!’

[Milestone Reward 3: Reach 3.0 in three attributes. Reward: +0.3 Free Attribute Points, Knight: Bronze Body (Extraordinary) will evolve.]

[Upon reaching 3.0 in four attributes, the next stage of the Knight’s Path will be unlocked.]

He pulled up the advancement quest details again to double-check, confirming that he only needed three attributes at 3.0 to evolve his Knight: Bronze Body (Extraordinary).

’But my body is currently at Silver Body (2/4),’ he thought. ’I wonder if this evolution will advance it to 3/4, or if it will complete the Silver Body quest outright.’

Reaching 3.0 in both Constitution and Agility had granted him a related Extraordinary ability. He wondered what kind of power he would receive when his Strength hit 3.0.

Plus, there was another advancement after Silver Knight; he was really looking forward to the next stage of the Knight’s Path.

He helped Don Quixote back to his bedroom. He watched as the man, still with his eyes closed, skillfully removed his armor and set it aside. Li Wei couldn’t help but marvel once again, wondering if this was the divine power of the system or simply the force of habit from sleepwalking.

Don Quixote crawled back into bed, and within seconds, his breathing evened out into a steady snore.

Li Wei opened Lily’s door one more time to check on her. He saw that Bubu, the calico cat they had taken in, had jumped into Lily’s arms at some point. The two of them, girl and cat, were fast asleep. Relieved, Li Wei returned to his room.

...

「The next day」

Don Quixote drove Lily to school in the Cadillac Escalade, while Li Wei headed to New Haven in his Porsche 911.

A copy of his contract lay in a bag on the passenger seat; he was on his way to discuss some final details with the admissions office at Yale University.