Chapter Twenty-Seven: Self-Quantification

Ma Dongmei stayed in the capital for only two days before hastily returning to Jinling. She didn’t even have time to catch a performance of “Charlotte’s Troubles.” Wang Lei, however, remained in the capital; he needed to stay at least another one or two months.

The theater was gradually settling into rhythm, the result of collective effort from Wang Lei and his companions. The new play was a hit, stirring excitement in everyone’s hearts. Though the money earned was modest, many believed this play would finally open the doors of the performing arts world for them.

Wang Lei’s daily routine involved wandering through the theater and meeting with representatives from various film companies. “Charlotte’s Troubles” had taken the internet by storm, prompting major film studios to pay attention to this once obscure, “three-no” stage production.

Yet Wang Lei was in no rush to sell the rights. Money was secondary; his main concern was finding a suitable path for those steadfast “Beijing drifters” in the theater who never gave up.

He directly licensed “Just Once” to Ke Dong for a copyright fee, while the theme song “Charlotte's Troubles” proved much more complicated. But Wang Lei didn’t trouble himself with these details. Since Old Zhang had volunteered for the task, Wang Lei simply handed it over to him.

With these matters settled, Wang Lei seemed to have nothing left to do. He could become a homebody, rest, and avoid the autumn heat of the capital. Truth be told, September in the capital was far from cool. Alleyways and roadsides were filled with men baring their chests or lifting their shirts to sun their bellies.

Wang Lei embraced the life of a recluse, staying at home every day, rarely stepping out. Aside from calling Ma Dongmei, he returned to the state he’d been in two years ago. No one knew what he was doing.

In fact, Wang Lei was conducting an experiment at home—an experiment concerning the changes in his own body.

Ever since his resurrection, Wang Lei had summarized the experiences from both timelines, but he had yet to truly investigate the physical changes in his body.

He was aware of certain remarkable alterations: the ability to sense his own physical state, to detect short-term changes in his body, and even, after prolonged contact, to gain a general understanding of others' physical conditions.

Wang Lei was like a character in an online game whose perception stat had been maxed out. However, his perception was only a vague sense; he couldn't analyze himself or others as a set of data.

These days, his goal was to attempt a quantification of his own body.

He valued his physical condition, not least because he hoped to spend a lifetime with Ma Dongmei. His body appeared to be in good shape—maybe not at the peak of his athletic career, but certainly robust compared to ordinary people.

This was thanks to his “perception” talent, which allowed him to control his exercise and nutritional intake precisely, maintaining muscle growth and replenishment without harming his body.

It sounded simple, but was actually quite extraordinary. In today’s society, countless people try to lose weight; how many succeed or keep the results long-term? Most either give up early or overexert themselves, causing physical harm—sometimes invisible, only showing up as their bodies age. That’s why so many professional athletes end up paralyzed or plagued by illness in old age.

Wang Lei’s perception gave him clear insight into his own body—when to rest, when to exercise. He possessed a keen sensitivity to make such decisions.

Now, he wanted to simulate a quantification of his physical attributes—not to enter the world of adaptive sports, but perhaps to help Ma Dongmei in the future.

He knew Ma Dongmei harbored a champion’s dream: to stand atop the Olympic podium like her mother and predecessors.

Though the nation’s women’s volleyball team had been on the rise in recent years, they had suffered through painful transitions, and while they’d had some success in tournaments, world-class titles had eluded them.

Wang Lei wanted to help his beloved realize her dream—perhaps it was his own dream as well. As an athlete, his days on the court were over, but maybe he could contribute in other ways.

The process of quantification was tedious. Wang Lei started by analyzing his own physical traits, like strength. How to quantify strength—by bench press, or simply upper body force? He experimented and kept statistics.

He finally decided to use bench press as the basis. For example, he could bench one hundred kilograms a maximum of fourteen times, so he defined his strength attribute as 14. The strength stat could be further refined—lower body, core, etc.—and he devised his own definitions and calculations.

As the pioneer of his own quantification, Wang Lei used his current attributes as a standard for comparison and set his calculation formulas accordingly.

His clear understanding of his physical state ensured the tests went smoothly. Though he couldn’t understand the exact origin of his abilities, he suspected it was related to the merging of two souls. He had no desire to delve into the profundities; his focus was to be a good person, a good boyfriend, and future husband to Ma Dongmei.

Once he’d defined his physical attributes, he faced a problem: his left leg was impaired, so he couldn’t properly complete agility tests. Still, he formulated the calculation method, planning to have Ma Dongmei help him with the tests in the future.

His quantification could only assess visible attributes—strength, speed, agility, and so on. He wanted to measure intelligence, but couldn’t find a suitable method. For other advanced traits—sensitivity, flexibility, potential—he established standards based on his own body, creating formulas for calculation and comparison. All measurements used Wang Lei’s attributes as the benchmark.