In martial arts, it is often said that a sound worth a thousand gold cannot be bought.
This sound is the sound of the air exploding.
At least, that's how Wang Jian, this academic underachiever, understood it.
"Just now, you?" Wang Jian was choked by the smoke, coughing several times.
Feng Mu didn't expect to make the air explode, but he knew that his sound was not the same as the one mentioned by martial arts coaches.
Rubbing his sore wrist, Feng Mu explained, "I didn't concentrate my entire strength into one point. My force is still scattered. I just had a lot of power in my punch just now."
Wang Jian understood Feng Mu's meaning and was even more astonished.
What do you mean just a lot of power?
Your explanation is even scarier, come on~
Wang Jian didn't get it, "It's not, with your strength, your martial arts shouldn't be at the bottom of the class. If I had your strength, I wouldn't give up on the citizenship exam. What if I passed?"
Feng Mu frowned and forced a bitter smile, "You think I don't want to? But I can't. I'm just strong, but my body is weak. That punch I threw, I could only punch once. If I punch again, my hand would be useless."
Feng Mu pulled up his sleeve, and Wang Jian saw the dark bruising extending from his arm to his wrist at a glance.
Feng Mu let out a long sigh, wearing a mournful expression, "The martial exam isn't just about throwing one punch. If I could only punch once, wouldn't I definitely be at the bottom?"
Wang Jian wanted to say something but eventually didn't know how to comfort him. He could only sigh along: "Ah, your strength is going to waste."
Feng Mu sighed deeply in his heart, thinking, "Managed to fool Wang Jian. I can't practice boxing in front of him anymore. A student at the bottom suddenly displaying extraordinary talent in front of familiar classmates indeed raises suspicion."
Feng Mu stopped practicing boxing, squatted down on the steps, and fiddled with the folding knife in his hand out of boredom to pass the time.
In his mind, he was still savoring the punch just now: "Because of iron consumption, my bones have become ironized, leading to a surge in strength. But the ironization is temporarily only covering my chest and spine, not my whole body, so my arms can't handle the strength and get injured?"
"When the ironization covers my entire skeleton, will I be able to use this power without getting injured?"
"I remember two months ago in the martial arts mock exam, my fist power was level 0.7. What's my fist power now?"
"It must have reached level 1, maybe even level 2. After all, I can make the air explode with sheer brute force. Could it be level 3?"
"Zhao Chong's fist power was supposedly level 2.9 during the 47th school's mock exam. Could I surpass him purely in strength? No way~"
Feng Mu's mind was swirling with thoughts, considering testing his fist power on a machine once the ironization covers his entire skeleton.
7:00 PM, clocked out right on time.
After parting with Wang Jian at the door, Feng Mu mounted his bicycle, pedaling so hard it seemed like he was about to take off.
"Boss, I'd like 10 pounds of small iron beads."
Feng Mu went to another hardware store.
Feng Mu calculated in his mind: "Based on previous progress, consuming all 10 pounds of iron beads should increase my edibility by about 30%, which should cover my entire skeleton by then."
It took just over an hour to cycle from the incineration plant to home.
Feng Mu didn't even break a sweat. The continuous days of intense Body Forging Exercise had unknowingly enhanced his stamina.
Returning home, he ate three bowls of rice, filling half his stomach, and reserved the other half for consuming iron in his bedroom.
Basic Body Forging Exercise, begin.
One, two, three, four...
After practicing for a while, his skill proficiency had improved, and Feng Mu tried turning up the playback speed a bit, and his body could barely keep up.
Practiced through the night until four in the morning.
Having half his stomach filled with rice inevitably slowed the growth of his edibility, but not by much, as the carbohydrates were dissolved and absorbed within an hour.
End of day score summary:
[Iron Eater: Stage One]
[Edible Iron Types: 1]
[Extractable Metal Traits: 1]
[Currently detected edible iron type — Ordinary Pig Iron, edibility 28.1%.]
[Extracted Traits: ??]
—— Edibility increased by 2.6%.
Feng Mu closed his eyes and went to sleep.
The breathing on the bed was even yet faint, while the heart rate monitor beside ticked away.
The door was gently pushed open.
A figure wearing a mask crept into the room, slowly approaching the bed, took out a folding knife from the hand, flicked it around, and then suddenly stabbed down.
Blood splattered, dyeing the white bedsheet red, and the heart rate monitor issued a rapid alarm.
In the corridor, a nurse yawned and leisurely pushed the door open, her face slightly changing when she saw the blood on the bed.
"Nurse Li, should we call the doctor?" said another intern nurse who came running over, asking with a touch of panic in her voice.
Nurse Li took a glance around the room, not seeing the murderer, she judged that the murderer must have jumped out the window, then she walked to the bedside.
The heart rate on the monitor had already become a steady, straight line.
She indifferently withdrew her gaze and glanced at the registration information beside the bed number.
Wang Fang
Female
46 years old
Citizen Level: Blank Person
Nurse Li said calmly, "It's the middle of the night, the person is already dead, why bother waking the doctor, it's just a Blank Person, alive or dead, it's a waste of air."
The intern nurse showed a bit of hesitation on her face.
Nurse Li glanced at the latter's expression and frowned: "Medical resources are extremely precious, rather than wasting it on a valueless Blank Person, it's better to make room for someone more worthy, don't you think?"
The intern nurse obediently nodded.
Only then did Nurse Li feel satisfied and instructed, "Notify the patient's family to come and claim the body."
The intern nurse took out the book of records, checked it, and shook her head saying, "The patient only had a daughter, who died a couple of days ago."
Nurse Li wondered, "Then where was the patient sent from?"
The intern nurse answered, "Sent from the Patrol Office."
Nurse Li smirked with annoyance and said, "Then notify the Patrol Office, have them send someone to collect the body. Tell them even though the patient is dead, they're still occupying a bed, and the hourly charges still apply, so they better hurry up."
The intern nurse nodded and turned to make the call.
On the warm bed sheets, a blood-drained face stared with eyes wide open, the blood flowing from the neck continued to drip and splatter on the tile floor with time.
Drip.
Drip.
Though deceased, the bed was still accumulating charges; perhaps this was the most valuable moment in Wang Fang's life.
Li Shang received the phone call while in bed.
Being woken up in the middle of the night, his expression was very grim, and after listening to what was said on the phone, his face became even sourer.
"Send the body to the incineration plant for burning." Li Shang instructed over the phone, this method of disposal was the cheapest and most cost-effective.
On the other end of the line, Chang Erbing acknowledged, yet he still asked, "We're not bringing it back to the office for an autopsy?"
"Everyone in the bureau is focusing on the West City, where's the manpower? Bringing the body back will just let it rot, burn it. Anyway, the victim's already dead, there's no one watching this case anymore."
Li Shang paused after speaking, then chuckled coldly,
"Are there any traces left by the murderer at the scene? If not, just pin it on the Cyan Wolf Gang."
Chang Erbing got the hint, replying, "Understood, I'll take a couple of people to the Cyan Wolf Gang in the morning to search for the perpetrator."
Li Shang hung up the phone, his drowsiness faded as he lit a cigarette and took a puff.
The woman beside him was also awakened, slightly worried as she asked, "The Cyan Wolf Gang seems a bit powerful, can you just claim they're the culprits with no evidence?"
Li Shang impatiently glared at the woman, and she instantly went silent, not daring to speak again.
Li Shang took another couple of drags before explaining, "For ordinary people, gang members might be intimidating, but not in front of my official position, they're useless."
His tone was disdainful, "I'm the officer, they're the criminals. It's like a cat catching a mouse, if he knows what's good for him, I bite a chunk out of him; if he doesn't, I bite him to death."
Reaching the end, his voice carried a vicious murderous intent.
Over the years, Li Shang had developed a method in solving cases.
Because, to him, the truth of a case has never been important, what matters is what the case can bring him.
So,
What could the Cyan Wolf Gang offer him...?