Meng Fan could now easily run 5 kilometers, with each kilometer taking less than 8 minutes. After receiving +1 speed for finis.h.i.+ng task phase 3, he ran another two kilometers.
Although he couldn"t compare his current physique, his 6th kilometer was smoothly finished under 7 minutes and 50 seconds. The final kilometer only took him 7 minutes and 30 seconds. This was his best time yet.
Huff huff huff.
Meng Fan gasped for air as he walked a lap and began to stretch.
"Keep working hard, and you"ll soon reach the pace of a regular person."
Meng Fan understood that running was a game of perseverance. At his weight, he was already quite satisfied with his lap time.
Even with the help of the System, he would not become an avid runner.
To this day, he didn"t even hope to become an avid runner.
If he can lose the fat that covered his body, he would be beyond grateful.
Of course, not that much weight had been visibly lost over the last couple of days, but Meng Fan as a whole was in a better state, and that he could feel.
For example, his dozing problem. If this had been before, in this weather, without the help of video games and Overwatch, he would be continuously yawning for hours.
Now, he could stay focused even after drawing for three or four hours.
After recognizing the benefits of exercise, Meng Fan genuinely believed that even without the rewards, he will still continue to run.
When running, it would burn fat and evaporate sweat, and from time to time he would gain inspiration. This kind of inspiration had only come to him once when he was taking a shower.
That was not the case anymore, for the character"s figures and styles for his new book had already begun appearing.
Meng Fan arrived at the dormitory, just in time to see Chen Da Qiang returning from buying Meng Fan dinner. Comfortably, he showered and ate; this was almost too comfy.
Chen Da Qiang had eaten already and changed his clothes to go out. "Fatty, you want to go to the homecoming show?"
"Not this time, I"ve got to stream."
Meng Fan said casually. Suddenly, he froze.
After the show had ended, Chen Da Qiang was beaten over some conflict with another person!
This memory flashed inside Meng Fan"s head.
This wasn"t foresight, this... really happened.
Strictly speaking, it had happened on this day, before he was reincarnated.
His time had been short, only three months, and because of the System, the confession craze, the running, the streams... So many things have changed since he came back; he almost forgot about his own rebirth.
If anything important had happened during these three months, Chen Da Qiang"s beating could definitely be counted as one.
He was not seriously hurt, but it had left a large dent on him psychologically. Since the incident happened, he seemed depressed and lifeless.
"Da Qiang, wait."
Even if his recent doings had tipped the b.u.t.terfly effect and caused a slight change, Meng Fan still felt he had to find a way to stop it.
Only, how should he put it?
It was unlikely he wouldn"t go. Meng Fan remembered Da Qiang had planned to watch it with a female student who was his junior.
Chen Da Qiang turned to Meng Fan, who suddenly stopped talking. "What"s up?" He asked.
"Oh right. Didn"t you plan to watch it with a girl from the second year?" Meng Fan finally dug up the information from his memories.
A second-year girl, she didn"t have to perform, so there was really no need for her to be at the show.
"How did you know?"
Chen Da Qiang"s eyes widened. He hadn"t told anyone about the soph.o.m.ore girl he was trying to pursue.
Meng Fan could only fake a mysterious smile as if everything was under control. "Great! I made a reservation at Mu Shang restaurant. I even pre-ordered the dishes and paid the bill. I just saw my phone notification and remembered. I have to stream tonight so I can"t go. Why don"t you guys go instead of going to the party? Go eat it for me. I ordered more than enough for both of you. If not, you"d be letting Zhang Zhou Wei and w.a.n.g Ya Nan get away too easily."
"Mu Shang? For real?"
When Da Qiang heard that, his eyes lit up immediately.
Taking a girl to Mu Shang was much cla.s.sier than watching the homecoming show!
Only, Chen Da Qiang was still hesitant. It cost about 1000 HXB at least for one meal at Mu Shang; this deal sounded too good to be true...
"Hurry up and tell her to change places, I reserved for 7:30, if you call a cab now you"ll make it." Meng Fan began to urge him.
Chen Da Qiang pondered for a moment and grinned. "Okay. Thanks, man! When I get my tutoring money, I"ll pay you back!"
"Lock her down and have her introduce some cute girls to me, and we"ll call it even! Hurry and go, I"m gonna eat first and call the restaurant."
Meng Fan watched Da Qiang exit the door and let out a sigh of relief.
He scarfed down his dinner. He pulled out his phone and called his female cousin who worked at Mu Shang to reserve a table and for her to order dishes suitable for two people.
Not long after, Meng Fan"s cousin replied with the menu which graciously also provided two c.o.c.ktails, a dessert, and a violin performance. After applying the discount, the total was 1200 HXB.
Meng Fan transferred the money and was pleasantly surprised to see [Wealth Distribution Cherub] go up in progress.
Helping others can help myself!
Bee was very committed to Meng Fan"s ill.u.s.tration job for "Rampage and Repair the world". He compiled a vast amount of information, mostly regarding the descriptions of various characters. He also gathered the descriptions for costumes and weapons and went lengths to get help from two other novel chatrooms.
FlatHeadBro had already written three novels prior to this one, adding up to more than seven million characters written. His rating and popularity were both good, and he had a steady following. Bee only knew of a dozen fan clubs alone, which was over ten thousand people combined, without repeat. He himself was in seven clubs and was also a moderator for one of the livelier ones.
After sending the organized resources to Meng Fan, Bee also greeted the other moderators of the chatrooms. He sent a few ill.u.s.trations in the group chat, then followed up with a link saying—This streamer will be live broadcasting character ill.u.s.trations for "Rampage and Repair the world" with incredible talent and drawing speed. If you"re interested, drop by and take a look.
Meng Fan entered the studio and searched around for a good-looking figure. Disappointed, he settled into his familiar corner. He hadn"t seen the speedy girl on the track field for several days now, and the famous traditional Chinese art department"s G.o.ddess was nowhere to be found in the studio either. It had been a while since he saw Wu Tong.
Once he was ready, he logged onto his channel and changed the announcement:
"I don"t know when, but tomorrow I will be streaming for sure." to "I took a job ill.u.s.trating for a web novel, so today will be Web Novel Special. Drawing anime takes time and brainpower, so today I will try to draw 10. The first five will be cla.s.sic characters from my memory; the last five will be for my work."
He then changed the temporary name of the channel to [Rampage and Repair the World].
He sent out a message in the group chat and went live.
The first drawing, Meng Fan didn"t draw a task, but a scene.
Out of all the fantasy novels he read, this scene was the most amazing and shocking one he had seen.
Shortly after, Meng Fan had sketched out the figure of a dragon. An ancient Chinese dragon, majestic and powerful and full of mystery.
Closely another one followed.
"666! This dragon drawing speed is super smooth!"
"So fierce!"
"Six dragons!"
"Seven, and he"s still going!"
"Nine dragons! Nine princes fighting for the throne?"
"No, this dragon looks a little shady and scary. It shouldn"t be related to battling for imperial power, right?"
"A chain!"
"Every dragon was dragging a chain, this is..."