I was a top student in America.

Tae-Sean was still wearing that red and black school team jacket.

He pushed open the iron gate and walked in, casually tossing his gym bag onto the bench next to the front desk. His gaze swept around the equipment area before finally settling on Li Ao.

"Is everything ready?"

Li Ao pulled out a stack of bound A4 papers from the side pocket of his backpack and handed them over.

List of core courses, GPA recalculation instructions, plus course descriptions required by Clearinghouse.

He only formatted and organized all of these last night.

Ty Shawn took it and casually flipped through a couple of pages, his gaze lingering on the middle form for a few seconds.

"Will this thing even work?"

"I can't guarantee anything just because your GPA is 0.1 below par," Li Ao said, "but your core course scores are good. When Clearinghouse recalculates, they have this document to show that you have a pretty good chance of passing the first round of screening."

Taishun didn't ask any more questions, stuffed the materials into his bag, and zipped it up with a "whoosh".

"If you pass, I'll give you a hundred dollars."

After saying that, he went straight to the squat rack, did a few simple warm-up sets, and then increased the weight to 275 pounds.

It was so heavy that Li Aoguang found it difficult to even carry it off the shelf.

Not only does Taishan squat extremely deep, but his core remains completely still when he stands up, and his rest between sets is less than a minute.

The enormous power disparity was laid bare before our eyes.

However, after figuring out the gap between himself and the school team, Li Ao felt much more at ease.

He picked up the weight plates and got back on the bar to continue his deadlift.

Tayshaun's explosiveness and core control largely benefit from his Black genes; his training is merely icing on the cake.

Li Ao's physical foundation is too weak; it's a pipe dream to think he can close the gap at the starting line in just a few weeks.

But next week is the tryout, and being too weak will put us at a huge disadvantage in physical contests, plus Coach Durant prefers physically strong players.

To get into the school team, you have to be presentable.

The most practical thing to do right now is to do everything possible to push our strength forward.

For the next half hour or so, Li Ao helped the customers move the film and wipe the equipment, while also sneaking in a set of deadlifts whenever he could.

They work for a while, practice a set of exercises, and then go back to work. There's not even a moment to sit down and catch their breath.

Another deadlift was finished, and the barbell had just hit the ground when the panel suddenly popped up.

[Continuing strength training... Strength +0.1]

[Attribute breaks through integer value! Strength reaches 100.0 - Unlocked attribute]

[Entry: Explosive Power]

[Effect: You can unleash power far exceeding normal levels for a short period of time.]

"Strength has reached 100?"

Li Ao was slightly taken aback.

I was so focused on the difference between TySean's training volume and my own that I completely forgot my strength was nearing its limit. I only realized it when I suddenly saw the panel.

He controlled his expression and glanced at TySean out of the corner of his eye—the big black guy was stretching with his back to him, not looking in his direction at all.

After confirming that no one was paying attention, Li Ao then focused his attention on the entry.

"explosive force."

With a tryout looming, what he lacks most is a trump card for physical confrontation, and this is a godsend.

He knew very well that sustained power determines "how long you can endure", while explosive power determines "how fierce you are in that instant".

The jump to grab a rebound on the basketball court, the positioning to block someone, the push-off when breaking through with a change of direction—all rely on explosive power.

You don't need to endure for ten seconds; you just need to be ruthless enough for that one moment.

The practical value of this term should be far greater than its literal meaning.

Even if you can't compete with a talent monster like TySean in terms of basic skills, as long as you can unleash your full potential in crucial rounds, you won't be knocked away like a piece of paper.

However, panel data is one thing, but physical mortal beings are another.

His true strength is still at the level of an ordinary person. Whether he can follow up with subsequent actions after that explosion remains to be seen.

While the equipment was being put away, Li Ao went around to the back of the squat rack against the wall in the gym—

This is a dead corner; hardly anyone comes here usually.

His usual deadlift limit is just over 100 pounds, and even then he pulls with a grimacing expression.

This time, he gritted his teeth and stuffed a large piece into each end, piling it up to 150 pounds.

If it were yesterday, he wouldn't have even considered this weight.

Grab the bar, lower your waist, and take a deep breath.

A sudden burst of power!

He pulled the barbell all the way to the top with a "whoosh".

too fast!

It happened so fast that even Li Ao was stunned.

Normally, it would take me ages to pull a hundred pounds, but now that I've gained fifty pounds, my calves feel like they're springy when I push off the ground, and a surge of brute force seems to flow into my body out of nowhere.

The entire movement was clean and efficient, without any hesitation or slackness.

Unfortunately, this display of power only lasted for a second.

After the instantaneous burst of strength, the grip collapsed on the spot, and a tingling and numb sensation shot straight to the head, while the lower back felt weak.

The barbell swayed violently in his hand. Li Ao didn't dare to take the hit head-on and quickly slammed it back onto the floor mat.

He took a few seconds to catch his breath, panting heavily, and then, still not believing it, pulled it out a second time.

The truth was revealed – the 150-pound iron lump barely lifted two inches off the ground before it could no longer be pulled.

"This thing even comes with a CD...?"

He smiled bitterly.

After confirming the condition of his upper limbs, he rested for a while, then retreated to the corner and tried a standing vertical jump.

The moment he bent his knees and pushed off the ground, his thigh muscles bulged, and he was launched into the air at an astonishing height.

However, before it even reached its peak, the core had already lost its momentum.

My waist and abdomen couldn't hold up at all, and my body floated in the air like a kite with a broken string. When I landed, my knees buckled and I almost knelt on the floor.

Li Ao leaned against the wall, grimacing as he swung his aching thighs.

The problem is exactly the same: the initial burst of energy is as fierce as a tiger, but the rest of the body is severely disconnected. Once that initial burst of energy is over, the person feels as weak as if their bones have been removed.

After these two trials, he has thoroughly grasped the concept of "explosive power".

This thing is a double-edged sword: it's absolutely a killer weapon for rebounding, boxing out, and accelerating with the first step.

But think you can use it to fight a protracted war? No way.

Moreover, the backlash from the explosion was even more severe in the few seconds afterward than usual.

However, it's sufficient for handling tryout.

During the selection process, it's impossible to play the entire game; the coach wants to see the highlights.

A one-off deal suited him perfectly.

After removing the extra barbell plates from their original positions, Li Ao strolled back to the equipment area to continue working as a cleaning lady.

Just as I grabbed the rag, a dull thud came from the bench press area.

"Clang!"

It turns out that the fat sidekick next to TySean was stuck on the bench press with the barbell.

Li Ao threw down the rag and rushed over, only then seeing the situation clearly.

It was probably during the last set that he reached exhaustion; the fat man's arms gave out, and he couldn't lock the barbell back onto the rack.

The heavy iron bar crashed down, landing squarely on his chest.

The worst part is that the safety catches were stuck at both ends of the pole, so the old trick of tipping over to remove the plates couldn't be used to save itself.

The fat man was already exhausted, his arms were still flailing wildly in despair, his face was a deep purplish-red, and he was barely breathing.

The skinny follower panicked and scrambled over to get closer, bending over and desperately trying to pry the barbell up from the front.

He strained so hard that the veins on his neck bulged, but the iron bar remained completely still.

The angle of the bench press rack is extremely tricky. When you lift it from the front, your waist and legs can't get any leverage, and you can't lift such a heavy weight by relying solely on your arms.

"TaiSean! Come lend a hand!"

The skinny man's voice cracked with anxiety as he turned and roared.

Hearing the sound, TySean, who was in the distance, also stood up from the exercise bench and strode over.

Li Ao, who was closer, had already rushed to the shelf first.

He had just lowered his shoulder to get a hand when the skinny man grabbed his arm.

"Don't mess around! If you smash it, someone will die!" The skinny man's eyes were bloodshot.

His meaning was clear: if a frail handyman like you slips and causes secondary injury, no one can afford to take responsibility.

Li Ao ignored him completely. In just a few seconds, the fat man's face turned from purple to blue, the whites of his eyes rolled upwards, and his chest heaved almost imperceptibly.

This is no longer just a crush injury, it's suffocation!

He roughly shoved the skinny man aside and firmly gripped the knurled iron bar with both hands.

With feet firmly planted and center of gravity lowered, the newly unlocked [Explosive Power] attribute was instantly activated.

Up!

Push off the ground, tighten your abs, and exert force—

With a low growl, that brute force that appeared out of nowhere surged into his arms once more.

He actually managed to pull the heavy barbell right off the fat man's chest!

As the oppressive feeling eased, the fat man slid off the shelf like a dying fish, using both his hands and feet.

Once he was sure the person was safe, Li Ao let the barbell slam back onto the hook as if all his strength had left him.

Then he suddenly lost all his energy.

Immediately afterwards, the familiar feeling of exhaustion surged in like a tide.

Li Ao gripped the equipment rack with both hands, his chest heaving violently, his forearms flaring uncontrollably.

Taishaun barely managed to get two steps away.

The big, dark-skinned man stopped and looked at Li Ao with a rather strange expression.

In the huge weightlifting area, everyone who had been lifting weights stopped and all eyes turned to look at it...

……