In the 90s, you could acquire max-level skills every 14 days.

the next day.

As dawn broke, the smell of coal stoves wafted from the windows of every house, mingling with the aroma of someone cooking scrambled eggs with onions.

Zhang Yong was woken up by the knocking on the door.

"Brother Yong! Brother Yong! Are you up yet!"

It's Chen Yang.

Zhang Yong glanced at the alarm clock on the wall; it was only 6:10.

He glanced at the panel subconsciously.

[Writing Lv.4: Progress 37% (Fixed) (33x Speed)]

[Driving Lv.6: Progress 6% (fixed)]

[Auto Repair Lv.4: Progress 99% (AFK... 30x speed)]

99%.

I was just one step away from breaking through.

Zhang Yong put on a T-shirt and opened the door.

Chen Yang stood at the door, a towel draped around his neck, his face flushed.

"Brother Yong! I cleaned your motorcycle thoroughly! I wiped the gas tank three times! I didn't even dare to peel off the plastic film on the rearview mirror!"

"I've finished my essay too!"

Zhang Yong looked at the kid, who was covered in sweat.

What time did you get up?

"Five o'clock!" Chen Yang puffed out his chest. "I told my grandpa, I'll watch over this car for you from now on! Nobody's going to touch it!"

Zhang Yong patted him on the head.

"Let's go down and take a look."

The two went downstairs and walked to the bicycle shed.

Chen Yang had indeed cleaned it thoroughly. There wasn't a speck of dust on the fuel tank, and he had even wiped the spokes of the wheel hub with a damp cloth.

Zhang Yong got into the car and turned the key.

Step on the start lever.

Click.

There was no sound.

Step on it again.

Click click.

The engine made a dull thud, and then fell silent.

Chen Yang's smile froze.

"Why...why can't I hit it?"

Zhang Yong remained silent.

He closed his eyes.

The panel flickered at the edge of my field of vision.

【Ding】

[Auto Repair Level 4 upgraded to Level 5.]

【Automotive Repair Lv.5 Perception Activation——】

[Anomaly 1: The primary lead of the ignition coil is broken. The break is clean and not due to natural wear; it was caused by external shearing.]

[Anomaly 2: There is a foreign object blocking the end of the exhaust pipe, made of cotton fabric, with a blockage rate of approximately 85%.]

Zhang Yong opened his eyes.

He slowly turned his head and looked around the yard.

In the morning light, the window of the Sun family's house on the fourth floor was half open, and the curtains were half drawn, through which a figure could be vaguely seen.

Keep reading—

On the steps at the entrance of the apartment building, Sun Jian's wife was sitting on a small stool with an enamel basin in front of her and a bunch of chives in her hand, slowly picking off the leaves.

I went out to pick chives at six o'clock in the morning.

This was the first time Zhang Yong had met him.

Sun Jian's wife looked up, her gaze passing over the vegetable basin, and met Zhang Yong's eyes.

She smiled, a completely at ease.

"Hey, test driving so early in the morning? The new motorcycle won't start? This big motorcycle is no good, what a waste of money."

She lowered her head and continued picking chives, muttering something under her breath.

"I don't know who's got a brain full of mush, treating a broken-down car like it's a treasure."

Zhang Yong ignored her.

He turned to look at Chen Yang.

"Xiaoyang, go to your grandfather's gatehouse and find me two things."

"What?"

"Find some thick iron wire, and see if you can find any black electrical tape."

Chen Yang took off running.

He ran back in less than half a minute, clutching a piece of wire and half a roll of black tape in his hand.

Zhang Yong took it and squatted down beside the car.

He did not remove the fairing or the casing.

With my left hand, I reached down along the bottom edge of the fuel tank and gently pinched the two ends of the broken wire with my fingers.

I touched it, and the break was neat.

Cut.

He broke off a small section of the wire, twisted the two ends together, made three turns, and then tore off a piece of black tape and wrapped it with two layers.

Wiring complete.

The entire process takes no more than three minutes.

Chen Yang squatted down beside him, his eyes wide open.

"Brother Yong, you didn't even look! You just touched it and you knew where it broke?"

Zhang Yong did not answer.

He stood up and walked to the back of the car.

Squat down and stick your fingers into the exhaust pipe.

I bumped into something soft and fluffy.

He grabbed one corner and pulled it outwards.

A grayish-white rag was pulled out.

The rag was covered in black ash and oil stains, and one side was almost unrecognizable.

On the slightly cleaner side, there are six blue characters printed on it.

Chaoyang District Education Bureau.

Zhang Yong stood up, clutching a rag.

There were already people in the courtyard. Aunt Liu was hanging clothes out to dry at the window upstairs, and Sister Zhao was carrying a thermos and coming out of the water room, heading towards Zhang Yong.

He got back on the motorcycle.

Step on the start lever.

boom--

The engine exploded.

A thick cloud of black smoke billowed from the exhaust pipe, containing a few wisps of unburnt cotton wool that tumbled twice in the morning light before dissipating.

Chen Yang jumped up with joy.

"It hit! It hit! Yong-ge, you're amazing!"

Aunt Liu poked her head out of the third-floor window.

"Hey, it's lit now. That motorcycle sound is really powerful."

Sister Zhao stopped and placed the thermos on the ground.

"Wasn't it impossible to hit just now? It's fixed in no time?"

"What's wrong with you?"

Zhang Yong turned off the engine, got out of the car, and was still clutching the rag in his hand.

"Aunt Zhao, look, someone has stuffed this into my exhaust pipe."

He unfolded the rag, turned it inside out, and showed the words to Sister Zhao.

"Who's so mean? Let me see... Chaoyang District... Education Bureau? This... belongs to Sun Jian's family!?"

The chive leaves in Sun Jian's wife's hand had long since fallen to the ground.

Her face went from red to white, and then from white to ashen.

He opened his mouth twice, but no sound came out.

Zhang Yong took the rag and stood in front of her.

The courtyard fell silent, with only the crackling of the coal fire in the stove remaining.

He held the rag up in front of Sun Jian's wife, turning it around to show her, making sure everyone could see the words.

"Auntie."

Zhang Yong's voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the courtyard was listening intently.

"Did your dishcloth grow wings? Why is it crawling into my exhaust pipe in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"

Sun Jian's wife's vegetable bowl slid off her knees.

The enamel basin crashed onto the cement floor with a loud clang, scattering chives all over the ground.

The window on the fourth floor slammed shut with a loud bang.

Behind the curtains, Sun Lei's face looked even worse than his mother's.

Zhang Yong folded the rag twice and gently placed it on the armrest of the stool next to Sun Jian's wife.

"Also, the ignition wire was cut with scissors. The cut is clean, not ground or torn. I've repaired several cars, so I can tell the difference between new and old."

He crouched down, bringing his eye level with Sun Jian's wife.

"Auntie, I'm not one to hold grudges. If you say something sarcastic behind my back, I'll just pretend I didn't hear it."

"But tampering with things and causing damage is a different story."

He pointed to the carport, his voice eerily calm.

"If the motorcycle's ignition coil short-circuits and sparks, the fuel tank is right next to it. Next to the bike shed is the guardhouse, where Grandpa Chen sleeps every night."

Upon hearing this, Grandpa Chen's expression changed, and he gripped the jar in his hand even tighter.

"To put it mildly, this is called damaging other people's property. To put it more seriously—" Zhang Yong paused for a moment.

"This is arson. Should I call the police station to come and check the scene?"

Sun Jian's wife huddled on the stool, her fingers gripping the corner of her apron, her knuckles turning white.

Her lips trembled twice before she finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"I...I don't know anything about rags...it has nothing to do with me..."

"Auntie." Zhang Yong stood up and patted the dust off his knees.

"Your family is the only one in the entire neighborhood that has the Education Bureau's cleaning cloths."

"Why don't we go to Uncle Sun's workplace and ask which year's uniforms these rags were made from, and if their names are on the register?"

……