Start with push-ups to gain experience

Chapter 336 Master-level Pull-up, Special Effect "Absolute Control"!
Chen Chen paced back to the leather executive chair and slowly sat down.

"I will provide the assassin with the details of Scorpion's abilities and hiding place as agreed."

He frowned slightly, tapping his index finger on the expensive mahogany tabletop, making a "tap-tap" sound.

"Let Noah's organization send a high-ranking 8th-level cadre to test the true quality of this 'expert' for us."

"If he's not good enough and dies there, then it's just bad luck for him. We'll just pretend nothing happened."

But what if…

Chen Chen abruptly changed the subject, his eyes suddenly flashing with a sharp light.

"He managed to succeed and emerge alive from the scorpion's lair..."

"That's enough to prove that he is very likely the real culprit in the port warehouse massacre, or even the killer who wiped out Noah's entire hunting team!"

"If he has that ability, he is fully qualified to sit at the same table as us and discuss a bigger deal!"

Upon hearing this, Secretary Liu's eyes lit up behind his glasses, and his tense nerves relaxed slightly.

Then he exclaimed with genuine admiration:

"Chairman, you are brilliant! This plan achieves two goals at once, no, it achieves three goals at once!"

After the flattery, he reverted to his usual caution and offered the following advice:
"Then we'd better prepare some contingency plans in secret, so that if things develop in a way that exceeds our expectations, we can extricate ourselves in time and avoid being implicated."

"I'll leave this matter to you."

Chen Chen waved his hand, appearing quite calm.

"Yes."

Secretary Liu bowed and accepted the order, then quietly left the office.

The heavy soundproof door was closed again, leaving Chen Chen alone in the large office.

He slowly turned his executive chair, facing the financial center district outside the window, a symbol of wealth and power.

His eyes, however, became incredibly deep.

He wasn't born a traitor who intended to betray his master.

It was those arrogant bastards, Noah, who forced him to rebel!
Most importantly, a while ago, through a secret channel, Chen Chen learned some shocking news that made him restless and determined to make a decision.

Noah's human experimentation project seems to involve a higher level of power struggle, with risks far exceeding his previous imagination.

In particular, some of the secret projects carried out in the Xia Kingdom region have already been exposed by the special investigation team.

Once the anger from above subsides, he, the leader of the Red Tiger Gang who was in charge of peripheral chores and also lost an important specimen, will definitely be pushed out as the scapegoat immediately.

He knew Noah's style all too well.

If they have no use to you, discard them without hesitation; they devour people without spitting out the bones.

Following Noah will eventually lead to being treated like a dirty rag and thrown away.

Just like the "Union of Youth Gang," which was notorious in the underworld many years ago.

Back then, they were incredibly powerful, putting immense pressure on many established gangs and doing countless dirty jobs for Noah.

It was even several times stronger than the current Red Tiger Gang.

Finally?

It was all because they touched some taboo that they were uprooted overnight, with the gang leader and core members vanishing without a trace, as if they had never existed.

Chen Chen did not want to become the next leader of the United Youth Gang.

What he wanted was to truly establish himself in high society and firmly grasp his own destiny in his own hands.

And that mysterious master was the first lever he had been searching for, the one that would set the wheel of fate in motion!
Last time, Chen Chen made a special trip to the Lu family, a long-established local family, seeking refuge, but was turned away.

The seemingly powerful Lu family was actually on the verge of collapse, riddled with internal problems, and simply unable to accept a triad boss with such a sensitive identity.

Chen Chen had no choice but to find another way out.

Just a few days earlier, he had learned that the Eastern Capital branch had suffered heavy losses in an operation codenamed "Demon Hunter".

During the incident, dozens of members were arrested, and several senior officials died on the spot.

The target of the operation was the perpetrators of the two massacres at the dock warehouse and the waste treatment plant.

This "mysterious expert" who repeatedly thwarted Noah's plans was undoubtedly a highly tempting partner.

Because they share common interests and common enemies, and at the same time, they can provide each other with value.

Chen Chen is a very shrewd and calculating person.

When Wu Shih-hao's gang was destroyed and the experimental subjects were lost, he deliberately ignored and concealed many minor details of the whole incident.

For example, the seemingly insignificant traitor named Xiaosa may actually have some connection with the murderer.

Chen Chen suspected that the man who took down the flour mill with Ma Donghe was actually the mysterious assassin who came and went without a trace.

At the very least, they should be members of the same organization or faction.

Therefore, the most direct purpose of this negotiation with Xiaosa was to test the other party's background and verify my own suspicions.

After all, that was a super expert who wiped out Noah's entire elite team of pursuers!
If we can win over such a powerful ally, or even further establish contact with the forces behind him, we can get on the good side of him.

When danger comes in the future, you'll have an extra trump card to save your life.

Even breaking free from Noah's control is just around the corner.

Chen Chen gazed out the floor-to-ceiling window, sitting there for a long time, staring at the city view.

The sun gradually rose, shining brightly on this steel forest.

The glass curtain walls of countless skyscrapers reflected dazzling light, making the entire sky shine brilliantly.

The traffic below flows into endless rivers, silently showcasing the city's prosperity and vitality.

Chen Chen's eyes grew increasingly gloomy.

I've worked so hard for so many years to get to where I am today.

How could I possibly be willing to become a pawn that someone else can discard at will, and lose everything in the process?
....................................

Two days later, just after six in the morning.

The sky was still hazy, and only the outlines of the interior furnishings could be roughly sketched out.

The newly renovated room was filled with a faint smell of latex paint.

The light blue walls and sports flooring surround the entire space, creating a tranquil atmosphere reminiscent of being in the deep sea.

It seemed to form a subtle contrast with the gradually awakening, dim city view outside the window.

Beside the floor-to-ceiling window, a red and black roly-poly standing sandbag stands quietly, like a silent sparring partner.

Several dumbbells of different weights were casually piled up against the wall, along with a stack of identical iron blocks.

In the dim morning light, it gleamed with a cold, metallic luster.

"Crunch... crunch..."

A rhythmic, heavy metallic scraping sound broke the silence in the living room.

Below the ceiling, steel beams and iron frames crisscrossed, with a huge black sandbag hanging from them.

The sound was coming from next to the sandbag.

The horizontal bar, which had only been installed a few days ago, was now enduring astonishing abuse.

A muscular, naked figure hangs from the wall, performing astonishing weighted pull-ups.

He wore a thick lumbar support belt around his waist.

At the lower end of the lumbar support belt, ten pure steel painted barbell plates are suspended by a specially made load-bearing chain.

Each barbell plate is clearly marked with the words "25KG".

Ten of them together would weigh a full 250 kilograms, or 500 pounds—a terrifying load. The man was extremely strong.

The latissimus dorsi muscles bulged and jutted out like mountains, the deltoid muscles in the shoulders resembled two hard rocks, and the biceps and forearm muscles in the arms were bulging as if about to burst.

With the strength of a single arm, he pulled himself and the heavy load upwards until his chin was above the lever.

As it falls, it controls its speed, allowing its body to sink slowly, as if it is focusing on feeling the traction and stretching of every muscle fiber.

The barbells hanging from his waist swayed gently with his movements, making a "clinking" metallic sound.

This added a powerful beat to the repetitive and monotonous morning exercise routine.

Sweat rolled down his angular face and dripped down his resolute jawline.

On the light blue sports floor, a small dark wet patch has already appeared.

But he remained calm, his breathing was even and deep, and his movements were standard and smooth, showing no sign of strain.

"call--"

With a long exhale, the figure, carrying heavy barbell plates, jumped down from the horizontal bar.

My feet are firmly planted on the PVC sports floor.

The immense impact of the foot pressing down even caused the floor to sink slightly, producing a muffled thud.

"Before I knew it, it was already past 6 o'clock..."

Fang Cheng twisted his neck and glanced at the phone screen lying to the side.

As he muttered to himself, he felt a faint soreness emanating from the muscles in his arms and shoulders.

He then raised his hand and casually wiped his sweaty face.

This is my fifth set, and my 500th pull-up with a 250-kilogram weight on one arm.

In addition, there were five other fitness skill exercises of similar intensity that were completed previously.

This level of training intensity was unprecedented, even for him.

With a slight thought, Fang Cheng's mind moved, and the panel quietly appeared before his eyes.

Pull-ups lv2 (449/500)

The skill bar experience points remained at 449, unable to break through the final bottleneck.

There seems to be some kind of invisible constraint.

Speaking of which, Fang Cheng's physical fitness has now reached a terrifying level.

My physique has broken through the 50-point mark, and my strength attribute is also approaching 50 points.

To ensure that regular physical training continues to produce significant results, the effort and sweat required will naturally be far greater than before.

Fang Cheng pondered for a moment but did not remove the weight plates from his waist.

Instead, he looked up and gazed at a pair of gymnastic rings hanging on the iron frame next to him.

The next moment, he suddenly exerted force with both legs, and his whole body instantly rose from the ground.

In mid-air, his right hand reached out precisely and hooked one of the rings firmly with just his index finger.

Then, after a brief pause, the entire body was steadily pulled upwards by that seemingly fragile finger.

The ten barbells hanging on his body swayed slightly, making a clanging sound.

Then, the rhythmic beat of "ding-dong" rang out again.

One finger, 250 kilograms weight, pull-up!

Fang Cheng, suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder, decided to use this even more perverse, almost self-destructive training method to break through the final shackles in one go.

"1."

His index finger joint was under immense pressure, almost like it was being torn apart, but his movements remained precise as he steadily pulled his body up to his jaw and through the loop.

"2."

Sweat seeped from his forehead again, trickling down his taut muscles.

"3."

"4."

"..."

Fang Cheng silently counted in his mind, his breathing deep and long.

Using one arm, one continuously pulls the body upwards and downwards.

Feel the roar of the muscles from your fingers to your wrists, then to your shoulders, and even your entire spine under extreme pressure.

This monstrous level of physical ability is enough to make any so-called fitness enthusiast deeply question their existence.

Just then, the first real ray of sunlight finally broke free from the horizon.

A bright red sun is rising vigorously from the sea.

It first spread a dazzling golden path of light across the shimmering sea in the distance.

Then, the light crossed the low breakwater and spread over the sleeping beach.

Finally, the morning light pierced through the narrow gaps between the city's skyscrapers and found this huge floor-to-ceiling window.

In an instant, golden sunlight poured in like a thawing waterfall.

It perfectly enveloped the figure sweating profusely on the rings, giving him a sacred and masculine aura.

"16."

"17..."

When Fang Cheng did it for the seventeenth time in a row.

Suddenly, the panel in front of me burst forth with a light more dazzling than the rising sun outside the window.

A surge of warmth rose from the tailbone, instantly flowing through the spine, into the arms, and finally reaching the fingertips.

The fitness skill of pull-ups, under near-limit physical exertion, finally broke through its original limit and was successfully promoted.

Fang Cheng did not stop immediately. He gritted his teeth and completed three more actions, making a total of twenty.

Then he jumped down from the rings again.

Fang Cheng wiped the sweat streaming down his face and stared intently at the gleaming attribute panel.

With a hint of anticipation in his eyes, he looked at the notification message brought by the skill upgrade.

Congratulations! Through extraordinary effort and perseverance, your skills have successfully broken through to the Grandmaster level.

Pull-ups lv3 (0/1000)

[Receive enhancement rewards, skill effect "Absolute Control"]

Looking at the gleaming panel, an indescribable sense of joy and satisfaction welled up from the depths of Fang Cheng's heart.

It instantly dispelled the fatigue and soreness in the body's muscles caused by extreme training.

Then, he focused intently on the specific description of the "Absolute Control" skill effect.

[Absolute Control: You have achieved an incredible level of control over the muscles in your hands, shoulders, and back, and can instantly increase your grip strength by 150% without any preparation.]

Your climbing ability has been specialized, increasing the friction per unit area between your fingertips and objects by 1000%.

Therefore, you don't need a grip point in the conventional sense. Any tiny protrusion, even just a few millimeters high, can be used as a support point. The smooth exterior walls of skyscrapers and steep vertical cliffs will all feel like flat ground to you.

[Note: Once your Strength attribute exceeds 70 points, this skill will undergo a new change, unlocking a hidden effect.]

(End of this chapter)