CHAPTER 50: CH 50: HEALTH CHECK - PART 2

"Just keep running for 5 more minutes. Good, work those muscles."

Cane ran as the doctor instructed him to. His lungs burned at the intense activity, but he was more shocked at the fact that he could keep running for so long.

He had been running for about 20 minutes already at medium speed on the treadmill, but he had not started to feel tired.

"Can you keep going?"

The doctor asked, and Cane instantly replied with a "yeah." It caused the doctor to jot down something on his board before he put it away and signalled for Cane to stop.

Cane slowly came to a halt as the machine stopped moving, and he gave the doctor a searching look.

"Alright, I think we are done for now. The result of your blood test will take a few hours to make. We will send you the report as well as how to get it. As for your physical exam, it ended up being even better than expected. Have you started working out?"

The doctor asked, and Cane immediately shook his head.

"Doctor, I am a streamer who spends 90% of his time in the online game. Do you think I have time to work out regularly?"

Cane asked, and the doctor just gave him a dirty look.

"Stop taking out your aggression on me, young man. I was just asking you a simple question. Still, I wonder what caused your report to improve so much...could it be the game?"

The doctor asked, and Cane gave him a blank stare, which caused the doctor to raise his brow.

"I mean, the game is linked to your mind. There might be some beneficial side effects no one looks at. I’m just saying..."

The doctor told Cane as he gave him some glances, hoping he would talk more. But there was truly nothing Cane could think about that could have improved his fitness other than the game.

He left the doctor’s office to finish his other paperwork, and then came the most difficult part of his routine—the tax filing.

The sheet itself was not that problematic to write about. All his expenses were online, and he could easily type them out. But the real headache was finding the right way to file it all.

Streaming was how Cane made his money, but it was also a gray area that not many people knew what to do with or which category to file it under.

Depending on the region that handled the taxes, he could get rejected for the "business" category that he usually filed these things under.

And that was why he decided to take some legal advice in the matter and get a CA involved to file his taxes. The money he paid was a little too much, but it felt worth it for the ease of his mind.

Had Cane’s mother been here, she would surely have had a lot to say about him spending like that. She would have smacked him and then told him to find a cheaper CA.

However, there was something she did not understand, and that was quality service. Cane was not going to take any risks when it came to taxes.

By the time he got back home from all this and shopping for groceries, the sun was already setting. For the first time in forever, Cane decided to sleep in his own bed and relax his body...and not the gaming type.

He closed his eyes and waited for sleep to claim him, but it refused to come. Cane was wide awake once more, his eyes looking up but not seeing much.

’Go to sleep. He needs to go to sleep...’

Cane reminded himself. But when he closed his eyes, he was not able to fall asleep. His mind kept reminding him to go back to the game.

In the end, the pull was too much and Cane went back to his game. The VR set closed over his head, and when he opened his eyes, he was back in the game.

The roof of his temporary house greeted him, and he felt a sudden weight on his arm. He turned to look at who or what that weight was, only to see her curling against him.

"What is she—"

Thinking back, he recalled the villagers telling him that they were going to give him and Ai the same room for some time. He had agreed because he had not expected to be back so soon...not that it felt uncomfortable or anything.

Cane actually felt comfortable around Ai, and his body relaxed with her weight at his side.

He had never been someone who craved human warmth or presence, but having Ai at his side did feel a little comfortable. The sleep had been peaceful as well, and Cane woke up feeling refreshed...and looking into someone’s eyes.

"You are back? Should I bring your food here for you?"

Ai asked with slight concern in her voice, and Cane just nodded. The female quickly left the room and brought back a huge plate of food for him to finish.

Just looking at that mountain of food was enough to tell Cane he wouldn’t be able to finish it. So he turned toward Ai.

"Have you had breakfast yet?"

He asked, and Ai shook her head. Cane extended his hand toward her, and she hesitantly took it.

"Good. Then come and eat with me. Help me finish all this food."

Cane asked, and Ai looked at the food and then at Cane and then back at the food before she sighed and dug in as well.

As expected, the food was too much, even for the two of them to finish, and most of it ended up getting...put to good use.

The duo made their way back to the chief’s hut after that. It was time for Cane to get a head start on the third quest and hit level 50 as well. That way, he could start his own guild and get some protection in this world.