Chapter 37: Coping
"What a bunch of wimps." Wei Jun openly, or more like bluntly commented as he sat at the dinner table along with five more individuals who were slumped on the dining table like all air had been sucked out of them. The worst ones were Xiao Heiling and Quan Li, who had never exercised that much before.
They were so tired that even though Wei Jun had openly insulted them, none of them said anything. Even Xia Lu laboriously focused on her own food. But she was more concerned about one more thing. The dinner consisted of nothing but meat. Beef at that, the heaviest of meats.
"You…" She said in a tired and croaky voice, "Do you want me to get fat?" She was having trouble wording each word but she managed to get it out because getting fat was worse.
"If you want to survive the routine I have set for all of you, you will need nutrients to survive. So shut it and eat." Wei Jun replied as he finished his food which was enough for easily twenty people and stood up.
"After you're done eating, sleep. You all have to wake up at dawn which is at 4 am, sharp." Wei Jun said and left but he didn't leave for his room but in the direction of the gym.
"What a monster." Xia Lu lightly commented. Everyone at the table heard that and they couldn't help but agree. They had only done fifty pushups in the span of one hour yet Wei Jun had done so much more that they couldn't even count, with additional weight at that. Needless to say, they were all witnessing that the rumors regarding Wei Jun were false to a great extent.
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"How pathetic." Wei Jun once again commented as he finished his after-dinner workout. He was alone in the gym and just like every day, the fact that he was in another body, plucked away from his usual life was crashing down on him.
[Shouldn't you get used to it by now, host?]
"The more you say that, the angrier I become. How could anyone be comfortable with this? With this idea of weakness." Wei Jun calmly spoke, the anger he spoke of, nowhere to be found. But the system would rather have Wei Jun screaming than be so calm right now. His calmness was terrifying.
"You know; I was always raised with the idea of being the best. I took control of my first company when I was just eleven. My father created a company for me and handed it to me. "Survive," he said. And I did. The hyenas who came for me, I plucked the life out of them and became the sole ruler of that company.
And then another, then another." He paused as he walked over to the wooden targets and got into a stance.
"But here, I have to work so much to keep one company afloat. I have to prove myself to others." He said as he delivered a kick to a wooden figure, shaking it entirely.
"I have to worry about someone behind the scenes, wait and prepare for them to strike so I can counterattack." He once again delivered a devastating strike.
"Here, I'm nothing but powerless. Bound by the view of others. It's sickening. This feeling of helplessness, just waiting for things to happen instead of being able to do something about them on my own." A flurry of attacks landed on the target as his move became faster with each passing word.
"So, no. I can't get used to it. I will never get used to it. From the beginning, the problem wasn't living another life, it was this weakness, this helplessness. THIS FEELING THAT MAKE ME WANT TO DESTROY EVERYTHING!!!" He finally delivered a blow that broke the wooden figure, splinters everywhere.
[Strength 14]
[Stamina 17]
[Agility 16]
The system didn't say anything to all that. It remained quiet. It knew that it was Wei Jun's way of dealing with the current circumstances.
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At dawn, the actors dragged their tired bodies to the gym. They didn't want to wake up and do all this but Wei Jun had barged into their rooms and made a fuss that the entire house heard.
"Take these pills." Wei Jun while handing the acting teams the stamina pills for each of them.
"What are these?" Xia Lu suspiciously asked.
"Just take them. Today you have to do more than yesterday." A shiver ran through everyone when they heard that but they didn't have the energy to complain. That was until they took the pills though. A warm current passed through them as if they had all soaked in warm water and it was soothing to their senses.
"Now that you're all feeling better, drop and give me fifty. The last one to do it would get special personal training from me." Wei Jun didn't wait for them to revel in the feeling and said, snapping them out of it and hearing the horrifying words he was saying. They were so terrified that they even forgot to ask about the magical pill which was not even at the disposal of cultivators.
Of course, only Xia Lu knew that but she was too preoccupied with the thought of working out, and not in a good way.
It wasn't any better than yesterday, although they did complete the exercise, they were so tired by the end of it that they couldn't even move. Wei Jun handed them another pill which they took graciously, and hurriedly.
"Today you will all be working on the lines of your first scenes. The first scene would be Xia Lu solo capturing some criminals. Then the scene would shift to the police station where she and Quan Kui's scene would be. The third and final scene of the day would be the police captain informing them of a case. For now, just focus on that." The actors nodded while they ate at the dining table.
"Except for Xia Lu and Quan Kui who will both remain here today and practice their scenes, the rest will follow me to the office to practice and also do the office work. I will have some additional tasks for you as well." Wei Jun said while getting up from his seat. Concerned parties nodded and the breakfast was concluded.
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"What's the report on the police?" Wei Jun asked the intelligence team leader, black haired woman, Li Wei.
"According to your instructions, we have been keeping an eye on what data they hold about you. So far, they only hold circumstantial evidence against you even which is mostly made of hunches and nothing else. So far, they have nothing against you. Nothing concrete at least." She reported everything she knew, summarizing it in a simple report.
"I see. And the data that I required?" Wei Jun asked.
"The woman Chen Na, also known as the young lady of the Na family, a subsidiary of the Tian family, is indeed holding a party in a few weeks." Li Wei replied.
"Hmm… I don't suppose I'm on the invitation list?" Wei Jun asked.
"The invitation list hasn't been finalized yet however, considering the relations the Ruan family have with the Tian family, makes it very difficult for any of the Ruan family members to be invited." She reported to which Wei Jun chuckled.
"I see. Then I'm sure you know of a way to get me in. Even if for a few minutes." Wei Jun said.
"Everything is online these days. People input data and then forget about it. They have to check it again to remember and sometimes, even if they read wrong, that information is indeed true." Li Wei said in a roundabout way.
"Which means if my name miraculously appeared on the list, I would be invited even if the hosts themselves don't know of it." Wei Jun replied.
"I suppose." Li Wei replied with a smile. Wei Jun nodded with a smile which was her signal to put the plans in motion.
"I'm sure you can get your hands on a fingerprint scanner." Wei Jun said, moving to the next agenda.
"It isn't difficult to get it but such an item is extremely expensive since it is strictly banned." Li Wei replied.
"How much?" Wei Jun asked, somewhat dreading the answer given his diminishing funds.
"About five to six million." Li Wei replied.
Wei Jun smiled in turn but inwardly, he was cursing very loudly, 'If only you had things I really needed in the shop.'
[The system almost has everything]
[Related to cultivation]
'What the fu*k would I do with this when I need that.'
Wei Jun replied while pointing at a certain item that induced hormonal reactions in human bodies.
[…]
[I have nothing to say, host]
[Sometimes, hosts can be quite perverted hence the stuff]
'Shut it useless.'
[Yes host]
"See if you can get it in a week or so." Wei Jun replied.
"Okay. Oh, and did you find the stuff you needed?" Li Wei asked, remembering the favor Wei Jun had asked.
"He will have the untraceable stuff in a few days." Wei Jun simply replied, keeping it vague.
"I see. But you can trust him, he's good. He can get you anything you need. Even custom stuff." Li Wei said while preparing to leave.
"I see." Wei Jun made sure to keep this information in mind.