To read the next chapters of the book, please visit *patreon.com/Tengri02*
Inside Mr. KING's apartment, silence reigned.
Only The Strongest Man on Earth's heart-wrenching wail of regret echoed through the room for a long time.
"My perfect save file, with all CGs, all bonds, and all hidden storylines—!"
Lin Mo slumped dejectedly into his newly bought ergonomic gaming chair, his eyes vacant as he stared at the cold, bright red characters on the TV screen, which seemed to mock him—
[GAME OVER]
In the center of the screen, Lili Jiang, the heroine of xin dong jie mei (heartbeat sisters) whom he had meticulously cultivated and was about to achieve a lover's ending with, looked at him from outside the screen with a disappointed gaze that seemed to say, "How could you be so bad?" Then her figure transformed into pixel fragments and vanished with the wind.
The world seemed to lose its color at this moment.
What was being an S-Class Hero, ranked seventh? What was the enormous prize money of thirty million yen? In front of the perfect clear save file that he had painstakingly fought for two days and two nights to achieve, all of it seemed so pale, hollow, and meaningless.
He felt his soul had been hollowed out, and the grief welling up in his heart was even more real than when he faced Vaccine Man directly.
Just as he was immersed in immense sorrow, contemplating whether to delete his account and start over for another three days and three nights, an urgent, piercing phone ring suddenly echoed in the room, slightly alleviating Lin Mo's sadness.
Lin Mo irritably scratched his slightly greasy hair, which hadn't been washed in days, and reluctantly moved from the gaming chair to answer the phone.
"Hello?" His voice was filled with annoyance at being disturbed.
"Is this The Strongest Man on Earth, Mr. KING?! Oh my god, I actually got through!"
A highly excited, almost breaking voice of a young man came from the other end of the phone, causing Lin Mo to frown slightly.
"I'm Jimmy, the ace reporter from 'Hero Fanatic Weekly'! What exactly were you thinking when you single-handedly annihilated the Dragon-level Monster, Vaccine Man?"
"According to the vague testimonies of eyewitnesses and the most popular analysis posts online, did you use the rumored ultimate killer move, 'Purgatory Matchless Exploding Heat Wave Cannon,' at that time? Or the even more mysterious 'Emperor Dimensional Slash'?!"
"..." A vein popped on Lin Mo's forehead.
What kind of bizarre move names were those? They sounded even more unreliable than the Emperor Engine.
"Beep." He hung up the phone expressionlessly.
However, this call seemed to stir up a hornet's nest. As soon as the ringing stopped, it immediately began to ring again with even greater frequency than before.
Lin Mo took a deep breath and answered again.
"Mr. KING! Hello! I am the chairman of the National Martial Arts Federation! Everyone in our federation holds you in utmost reverence! We have already created a brand new modern martial art based on your heroic posture when you defeated Vaccine Man, named 'KING Style · Annihilation Fist'!"
"We sincerely hope that you can serve as the lifelong honorary chairman of this federation and authorize us to promote this divine skill, allowing your martial spirit to flourish—"
"Beep." Lin Mo hung up again, feeling his blood pressure soaring.
The phone rang a third time, this time with a somewhat fawning voice.
"Hello... I'm your elementary school classmate, the one who sat behind you, do you still remember me? The one who often borrowed your eraser... Well, I recently started a company, and I'm a bit tight on funds, do you think you could..."
"Beep!"
This time, Lin Mo was truly exasperated. Ever since he became thoroughly famous, all sorts of random people started contacting him, trying to get benefits from him.
Lin Mo decisively blacklisted these people and turned on airplane mode.
The world was finally completely quiet.
He leaned against the wall, his chest heaving violently, gasping for breath.
He felt that dealing with these irrationally fanatical fans and various shady characters was more mentally exhausting than facing a Dragon-level Monster.
Only then did he realize, belatedly, that the title of "strongest man on earth (title/epithet)" brought with it a torrent of energy points, but also endless trouble.
"I have to adapt..."
He rubbed his throbbing temples, his arms dropping weakly, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over his clenched fist.
And at that moment, he froze.
Wait... this feeling... something's not right.
He slowly opened his right palm and examined it carefully.
He had seen this hand countless times since he transmigrated, but never before had it given him such a strong sense of unfamiliarity as it did today.
The muscles in his palm were full and firm, his knuckles distinct and full of explosive power, and the blood vessels beneath his skin lay dormant like coiling dragons. With every heartbeat, he could feel a surge of blood rushing through them.
This was definitely not the hand of an ordinary person who spent most of his time playing games at home!
Because all his attention had been focused on the tragic save file and the annoying phone calls, he had completely overlooked the earth-shattering changes his body had undergone after absorbing nearly ten thousand energy points.
Strength, speed, physique, all attributes at 50 points!
What kind of concept was this exactly? In the Hero Association's ranking, what level would this be considered?
Instantly casting aside all previous matters, Lin Mo found it hard to suppress his inner excitement.
He stood up straight and walked to the empty space in the center of the living room, mimicking the movements of a character in a fighting game. He took a deep breath, then slowly assumed a standard straight punch stance.
He didn't use his full strength, not even half of it. Merely by instinct, he engaged the muscles in his arm and core, throwing a punch towards the wall in front of him.
"Whoosh—!!!"
With a loud bang, the decorative painting on the wall was blown off by a strong gust of wind, and fine cracks appeared on the sturdy reinforced concrete load-bearing wall.
Lin Mo stared blankly at his fist, then at the wall, his mind a complete blank.
This... this was me who did this? I just... casually swung it like I was doing calisthenics! If I used all my strength... wouldn't I be able to punch someone's skull open?!
He incredulously raised his leg again, wanting to test his 50 points of speed.
This time he was mentally prepared, only intending to take a quick step forward to feel the explosive power of his body.
"Swish—!"
However, he severely underestimated the concept of 50 points of speed.
The moment his thought moved, his body transformed into an afterimage, almost instantly crossing several meters and charging straight towards the opposite wall!
"Oh no!" Lin Mo's heart leaped.
But just a split second before his forehead was about to make intimate contact with the wall, his enhanced reaction nerves also kicked in.
Everything around him seemed to enter slow motion; the texture of the concrete on the wall was clearly visible.
His feet subtly shifted on the ground, his waist exerted force, and his entire body miraculously stopped half an inch from the wall at an incredible angle.
The entire process was fluid and effortless, without the slightest hesitation or strain.
The strong wind he generated ruffled his hair, but his body remained as steady as a mountain.
"Monster... I'm... a little monster now too..."
Lin Mo muttered to himself as he slowly retreated.
In his heart, shock and bewilderment intertwined, followed by an irrepressible surge of ecstasy.
No matter what... this was definitely a good thing!