Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 368 "Endogenous Furnace"

Commercial buildings, especially older ones with a podium, can actually hide a lot of things, but most people can only see the floor facing the street.

After parking his car, Zhai Da couldn't find the entrance for a while. Finally, he took out the Pure Gold Secret Staff and found out where the stairs were.

Upon reaching the third floor, one finds a narrow corridor without windows, which is dimly lit at night and could even be described as smoky and chaotic.

Nail salons, tattoo parlors, and offices whose purpose is unclear—all with neon signs—created a surprisingly vibrant, bustling atmosphere in the small corridor.

In this very place, there's a barbershop that advertises "hair wash 80".

Is this a serious head?
Wearing a mask, Zhai Da walked inside and finally stopped at a corner, glancing at the photos on the wall.

"Nomi Private Fitness Club".

What the hell
You can work out in a club? Won't that just make you worse?
Zhai Da pushed open the door. The receptionist was a young woman who probably hadn't expected anyone to come at this hour and was engrossed in playing on her phone.

Moreover, the screen looked very familiar to Zhai Da; it was actually his own mini-game, "Angry Pigeon."

The other party's phone was actually a Meizu P9, which is currently being scalped to the skies and Huang Zhang is being vilified.

This means the other person is either very lucky or very rich.

Zhai Da didn't disturb him and just watched for a while until the other party got stuck before he spoke up, "Excuse me."

The girl was startled, but quickly recovered: "Hello, do you have an appointment?"

Zhai Da glanced inside but didn't see the target equipment: "I live upstairs. I just came to check if this is a gym?"

"We are a private fitness club."

"To be more specific, what's the difference?"

The girl thought the only differences were that it was more expensive, smaller, and the coach was better looking. But that's not the whole story.

"We offer one-on-one personal training sessions to create a fitness plan that perfectly matches your needs and track your body data over the long term."

Zhai Da nodded: "Take me a look."

As they walked inside, Zhai Da casually asked, "Was that game fun?"

Girl: "Oh? It's pretty fun, but it gets harder as you go on."

Zhai Da kindly reminded him, "You can use paid items; spending money will make you stronger and happier."

The girl shook her head: "Playing games doesn't cost money! It's okay if it's a computer game, but mobile games are just plain stupid."

Zhai Da:
"You even bought such an expensive phone?"

“That’s different. The phone was a gift from my godfather.”

Well, the market still needs education, and the booming mobile internet industry needs more commercial applications to change people's habit of holding onto their wallets.

Furthermore, the fact that he could calmly utter the words "godfather" also indirectly proves that the era has not yet passed.

Standing at a high position, Zhai Da sometimes forgets
09 was actually quite eventful!
Actually, this so-called private club is more like a private gym. There's not much to say about it. It's only a few dozen square meters, with very few pieces of equipment that look cheap, and they might even be secondhand.

There was only one customer and one private trainer inside.

A female personal instructor wearing yoga pants is instructing a middle-aged man on how to use a yoga ball. The scene is rather bizarre.

Although the limitations of the era have resulted in a somewhat sloppy appearance, it is clear that the owner here has grasped the real pain points of users.

While listening absentmindedly to the female shop assistant's introduction, Zhai Da glanced around and sure enough, he spotted his target by the window.

"Congratulations, host! We have discovered a pair of white-colored equipment: [Ambiguous Dumbbell Plates]: Don't ask what the mottled patches are; many things are red~"

Ownership: Not owned, not activated.

"Equipment Effect 1: Fitness Police → When holding this item, if any irregular or uncivilized training behavior occurs within a 10-meter radius, it will generate a strong desire to intervene."

"Equipment Effect 2: Ambiguous → The dumbbell plates have long been worn away from all markings, and the material and weight are no longer verifiable. They are roughly 10KG each, but according to the user's psychological perception, the perceived weight will fluctuate by about 1-1.5 times (the effect does not change the quality, it only deceives the body)."

"Note: Muscular men may not be good at fighting, but they can definitely kill people by swinging irons. The bad news is silent in the community, they just keep working out."

These are two worn-out dumbbell plates. Just like the system said, they feel like they weigh 10kg each. They're covered in scratches; the electroplating is worn out, and there are indescribable red marks. A quick scratch on the hand will result in a 600-degree puncture.

Of course, at present, those red patches may be even more unsettling than rust.

It's normal for gym equipment to change hands five, six, seven, or eight times. I don't know where its story came from, but it's currently stuck on a dumbbell bar and sitting quietly to the side.

It's obvious that what Zhai Da saw from downstairs, going up and down on the zigzag line, was someone holding it up by the window.

The equipment is just... ridiculous.

It could even be said that this greatly disappointed Zhai Da.

He had initially thought that a dumbbell plate might be related to health and physical well-being, and he even hoped it could help improve the teacher's lifespan.
But what is all this stuff? Every single ability seems completely random.

Especially the first one, isn't that purely a negative effect?
He would have a strong urge to intervene if someone trained improperly within ten meters.

Girl, that's not how you train your pelvic floor muscles! Can you feel it? You should be engaging your muscles here!

Oh no. He doesn't know how to train his pelvic floor muscles either, and his training knowledge is only at a basic level. In other words, he might want to help, but he can't manage it effectively.

Well, looks like another hidden gem. Maybe I can try to synthesize it after I get it.

Just as I was speechless, the young woman who was showing me around continued to introduce herself: "We have 12 private trainers here, six men and six women. If you are interested, you can schedule a trial class."

He then brought over a booklet containing coach information.

Zhai Da flipped through the book absentmindedly. This coaching manual was quite impressive; all the men were muscular hunks, and all the women were wearing yoga pants and sports bras and were described as "not eating cilantro."

The price is 249 per lesson. If you pay less, you can imagine how much it would cost. In Harbin in 09, that would be tantamount to robbing a bank downstairs.

The key issue is that the equipment is incredibly basic; the only redeeming feature is that the personal trainers' yoga pants are extremely tight.
Zhai Da stroked his chin, and finally decided to go straight to the point: "Can I buy your stuff and practice at home?"

This is something the young lady doesn't know how to do.
"Sir, our proper gym does not offer this service."

She even felt that Zhai Da was giving her a hint.
Zhai Da picked up the ambiguous dumbbell plates and put them back on the dumbbell rack. There were about a dozen of them of different sizes.
"I've bought them myself several times, but they're just not as convenient as the ones from the gym. Money isn't an issue, for example..."

Zhai Da patted the shelf: "Sell all of these to me for 2000 yuan."

He's not short of money right now, so there's no need to haggle over a few cents. He directly offered a price that he felt was irresistible.

After hesitating for a while, the young woman decided to call her boss.

After a while, he returned and said, "We don't sell equipment in principle."

"You have to pay more!"

In the end, Zhai Da bought more than a dozen old dumbbells for 2500 yuan, including the one with peeling paint.

He thought that was the end of it; he had only gained a useless piece of equipment. As for the extra ordinary dumbbells, he could just keep them at home and lift them whenever he had nothing to do.

But after he successfully swiped his card to pay, he unexpectedly received a series of system notifications.

"Congratulations, host, you have activated the blue set [Endogenous Furnace] (3/7)."

“Component Enhancement → [Ambiguous Dumbbell Plates]: Now its 'feeling weight' fluctuation range has been expanded to 1-5 times, and it can be evenly distributed throughout the body.”

“Component Enhancement → [Ultimate Bracers]: Now, not only sunlight can enhance oxygenation, but moonlight can also enhance mental recovery.”

“Component Enhancement → [Victory Water Bottle]: The recovery effect no longer requires a full mouthful; swallowing liquid once is sufficient to take effect.”

"Set Effect 1: Self-Protection → Significantly reduces the probability of injury during physical exercise and activities, including but not limited to joints, soft tissues, ligaments, bones, etc. External forces and intentional damage are not included. (If you're bad, don't tell me about wearing down your knees!)"

"Set Effect 2: Training Master → You possess an almost instinctive understanding of physical training. Through observation and practice, you easily discover the correct methods, and your muscle memory develops much faster than the average person. (I think this is the best way to train!)"

"Package Effect 3: Hormone Stabilization → All your hormone secretion will be healthy and stable, and will not be imbalanced due to negative factors such as sleep, fatigue, age, non-organic damage, chemicals, radiation, etc."

(This doesn't mean you won't experience emotional fluctuations, nor does it mean you can withstand radiation, but it truly means you can have a longer and higher quality youth.)
"Set bonuses are permanent and are not related to whether you own the equipment; they are only related to the ownership of the equipment."

"Note: Now you know, the ultimate effect of the set is very powerful, go find it!"

(End of this chapter)