parentshiftbook Chapter 7 Upgrade
Chapter 7 Upgrade
As Li Ang walked briskly down the street, he was also reviewing the magic trick he had just performed in the grocery store.
The [Suggestion] technique, which requires physical contact to be used, seemed somewhat ineffective against Martin.
Finally, there were even faint signs that it was being broken.
"A zero-ring trick is still a bit lacking."
"I'll try to grind out 20 biology experience points before the weekend."
"Completing the system task this way will raise the creature to level 1."
"I'm taking advantage of the weekend to go to Ioria without bringing anything. Meeting Ryan in Maple Leaf Town is secondary; my main goal is to see if I can learn any first-circle magic. According to what I remember, after reaching a certain level of mental strength, a wizarding apprentice can attempt to imprint a first-circle spell into their soul in order to have a chance of becoming a full-fledged wizard..."
It takes more than an hour to commute from the youth hostel where Li Ang is currently staying to the Danube Clinic, but he has no plans to move to a long-term rental apartment for the time being.
A regular apartment costs $100 a month, and those in safer neighborhoods cost even more. In comparison, he can only afford a hotel room for $5 a day.
He wanted to use the remaining money to buy books.
……
"Chemical Systems," "Chemistry: An Experimental Science," "BSCS Biology Blue Edition," etc.
Upon finding the bookstore, Li Ang spent $42 to buy eight biology and chemistry textbooks.
The textbooks are mostly aimed at high school students, with a small portion also intended for university students.
Carrying a large stack of books, Li Ang left under the watchful eyes of the bookstore clerk.
Most biology and chemistry textbooks have colorful illustrations, making them significantly more expensive than other textbooks or books.
Therefore, Li Ang's "generous" purchase of eight books at once, all of which were related to people in the field of biochemistry, naturally attracted a lot of attention.
Li Ang didn't care about this at all.
He was still thinking that if he ever became rich, he would definitely build a huge private library in America and store all kinds of books in it, so as not to let down his wizard identity and his academic superpower system.
Back in his hotel room, Li Ang opened a book and began to study diligently.
[Your hard work has earned you +1 Biology experience]
[Your hard work has earned you +1 Biology experience]
The night passed in the blink of an eye.
The next morning, Li Ang arrived at Danube Clinic on time for work.
He followed Nicole very attentively, assisting her in carrying out the dissection.
Li Ang's first day at work went smoothly until 6 p.m.
He also gained an additional 4 points of biological experience.
"If all goes well, I should be able to complete the system task and level up Biology to level 1 before I leave work tomorrow."
As Li Ang made his plans, Nicole handed him a $15 bill and reminded him, "This is your pay for today, but I want to remind you to pay your taxes on time."
"what?"
"Based on current state tax laws, Illinois tax policies, and your daily wage, you will need to pay approximately $150 in federal personal income tax and approximately $112 in Social Security tax at the end of the year."
"The good news is that Illinois doesn't have a state income tax, and Chicago doesn't have a municipal income tax on payroll, so both are zero... Ultimately, you'll have to calculate it yourself at the end of the year and pay it to the tax office."
"No refunds for excess amounts. You must be careful about this yourself, otherwise you could end up in jail for it."
Li Ang remarked, "It's quite troublesome."
Nicole nodded in agreement. "Of course, if you're good at math, you can do it yourself... or you can hire an actuary to help you; they charge around $40 an hour in the market."
Actuary...
Nicole's last words did remind Li Ang.
Like the protagonist in "The Shawshank Redemption," working as an actuary in America to calculate taxes is a quick way to make money.
Li Ang felt that if he leveled up his biology skills, he could try to develop in the fields of finance and statistics while studying mathematics.
With that thought in mind, Li Ang shook his head. "I can't afford $40 an hour. I'm leaving. See you later."
"See you later."
The Danube Clinic closed around 6 p.m.
However, considering that there's basically nothing to do during the day except deal with bodies that haven't been claimed for seven days, Li Ang can understand.
Perhaps Nikki's teacher didn't open this clinic to make money in the first place.
Li Ang walked home alone, passing by Chen Ji's shop as usual.
"Working in a clinic? That sounds good."
Old Chen, wearing an apron and preparing the dishes, remarked in Chinese.
Li Ang had dined at Chen's restaurant several times, and the two were fairly familiar with each other.
Li Ang casually asked, "Uncle Chen, you run a restaurant here, but the locals probably don't like the food, right? Why don't you try it in South Chinatown?"
In terms of business alone, Li Ang felt that Chen's was even worse than Danube Clinic.
The Cantonese food is delicious, and Old Chen's cooking skills are not bad either, but there are still not many people coming.
It just goes to show that Americans don't understand food.
Old Chen wiped his hands on his apron, sat down on the stool opposite Li Ang, and said with a smile, "I didn't expect you to know about South Chinatown. Chinatown is indeed a good place. But the infighting there is too fierce. Although my business is a little better there, overall it's not as safe as here..."
Old Chen seemed to have opened a floodgate of words, talking in front of Li Ang about everything from the Chinatown CCBA to the On Leong Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Hip Shing Association, and even the Hung Mun Chee Kung Tong.
He could list out all the different gangs and factions in great detail.
Although Li Ang had no intention of joining a gang in Chinatown, he found it quite enjoyable to listen to Old Chen tell stories of the struggles between gangs in Mandarin during dinner.
After finishing dinner and reminiscing about the delicious flavors of his hometown, Li Ang went out and walked back to the hotel through the increasingly familiar streets.
What followed was the same routine as yesterday: studying, sleeping, going to work, and performing autopsies.
Finally, before leaving get off work the next day, Li Ang saw the system notification.
[Your hard work has earned you +1 Biology experience]
[Task: Study hard and accumulate 20 points of Biology experience. Completed]
[Reward: Attribute Points +0.1, Subject Experience +20, Learning Coins +20]
Overjoyed, Li Ang subtly moved his mind, and a semi-transparent panel appeared before his eyes.
Name: Li Ang
Mathematics: Level 1 (110/200)
Physics: Level 0 (71/100)
Chemistry: Level 0 (61/100)
[Biology: Level 0 (71/100)]
Informatics: Level 0 (49/100)
【Intelligence: 1.1】
Physical Strength: 0.5
[Learning Coins: 121]
[Attribute points to be assigned: 0.1]
[Experience points to be assigned: 30]
[Skills: Travel between worlds, mental focus]
Without hesitation, Li Ang added the 0.1 attribute points he had just gained to Intelligence, and the 29 subject experience points to Biology.
【Intelligence: 1.2】
A warm current enveloped his entire body, and a familiar sensation appeared. Li Ang felt that his five senses had become more acute.
Before I could examine it carefully, a series of prompts popped up on the panel.
[Biology: Level 1 (100/200)]
[Reward: 20% increase in learning efficiency]
[Reward: Attribute Points +0.1]
[Reward: All skills increased by 20%]
[Skills: Interdimensional Travel (20%), Mental Focus (20%)]
Biology has been upgraded!
Li Ang was very pleased; his two days of studying from dawn till dusk had not been in vain.
A 20% increase in learning efficiency is clearly a passive skill that can cover all subjects. With it, Li Ang can become more adept at learning mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and informatics.
As for the attribute points +0.1, there's not much more to say.
With another thought, Li Ang added 0.1 attribute points to Intelligence.
【Intelligence: 1.3】
In addition, the two active skills, [Interdimensional Travel] and [Mental Focus], have now added upgrade progress bars.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that these two skills are the foundation of Li Ang's career, making his future very promising.
Furthermore, considering that there are no magical elements in the air in America, the improvement of intelligence and knowledge level may correspond to even greater changes on the continent of Ioria.
Li Ang can only say that the value of studying hard is still increasing.