Sam found this device next to the highway during past spring and since then has treated his walks as more than just a necessity for survival.

He began to go further and further, run more often and even climb trees, trying to improve his performance a little.

For him it was a kind of game, unfortunately the only game that was available to him in the current conditions.

But even so this gadget may have to be taken to a pawn shop or given to Frank next winter.

At least thanks to this gadget living the next winter will be much easier than the previous one.

His parameters have also grown a little since the gadget was received. Perhaps if this toy had not been there, he would hardly have noticed it or attached any importance to his own health.

Only his stamina was a little lagging behind, Sam suspected that this was due to the fact that he had been smoking since his youth and finally gave up on it only when he found himself at the bottom and did not even have money for food.

While he had at least some money, it was extremely difficult to quit smoking.

But when you're down to your last five bucks and starving, cigarettes suddenly lose their appeal.

Sam was no longer that young and had various health problems, fortunately nothing serious.

What’s also surprising is that he hasn’t been sick at all since he was left homeless. Before that, he always had some kind of cold at least once every two years.

In general, if this continues, he will eventually become a real athlete.

Previously, he felt weak and helpless. Just being alive was already felt kind of success.

But from the moment he received pulse and saw and felt his progress with his own eyes, his mentality changed a little.

He no longer felt like a weak and helpless product of modern society.

If this country distributed such gadgets to people, perhaps there would be more people willing to fight. Well most likely this is not the case however the health of the nation would definitely improve.

Of course, these were just dreams, this thing was not cheap, and the state will not give you even a piece of bread for free.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Rather they will take away the bread and cripple you for daring to eat without permission.

Moreover as far as Sam remembered, such devices usually came with many additional functions such as an additional screen, Internet access, and so on.

But his pulse was clearly of some old model, perhaps one of the early ones. He had never seen anything like it on the Internet before.

Strictly limited functionality, minimalistic screen made of unknown material. There were no abbreviations or time/date of production.

One year later.

Although Sam initially thought about selling the pulse, he ultimately decided not to.

First of all, he had no idea about the real value of this version of the pulse.

And secondly, this thing literally changed his miserable life and gave it meaning, how could he do this?

Sam

Physique - 1.175

Agility 1.245

Endurance 1.08

Durability 0.883

Condition - good.

Looking at his improvements a year later, Sam was very pleased.

It must be understood that he was not getting any younger, however the numbers clearly did not lie. He felt better than ever despite his miserable lifestyle in the wasteland.

Durability was seriously lagging behind.

As stated, the parameter demonstrated the resilience of a person. For example if Sam kicks a tree with a certain force he could be seriously injured, or at least suffer from pain.

At the same time, a Thai fighter could deliver powerful blows again and again without serious consequences for himself.

Something like this could only be achieved through years of training to the point of self-harm.

Considering that Sam didn't have much access to medications he never tried to focus on improving this parameter, a mistake would be too costly.

He still remembered how he tried to climb a tree for the first time when he found himself in the wasteland.

It was extremely difficult for him to lift the weight of his body; from the efforts made, the muscles quickly lost stability and he almost crippled himself by falling to the ground.

Now everything was different.

Now he sat comfortably on a thick branch of one of the trees and examined the wasteland.

In the far distance, one could vaguely see the few tall buildings of this city, about ten floors high.

A little closer there was an invisible edge. Although some garages were still visible there, beyond that there were only dirty puddles and the occasional abandoned buildings.

He noticed a car that was slowly moving towards him. It was an old-style minibus without identification marks.

Initially, he did not attach much importance to this. Although people rarely came to the wasteland, he still met people from time to time. But usually they just ignored each other.

However soon he noticed a man was running in front of the car along a muddy road.

Although it is difficult to call it running, he was rather walked at a fast pace moving his legs with difficulty.

Taking a closer look, Sam realized that this guy’s face was covered in blood, although it was difficult to tell for sure from here, but apparently he had been beaten.

The car drove slowly behind him, as if mocking his efforts. Gradually they all approached Sam position.

A man in a military uniform with a mask on his face got out of the car and having caught up with the guy took off the mask and began to tell him something unintelligible, laughing at the same time.