The gym didn't explode in panic.
Instead.
A wave of relief washed over the crowd.
Shoulders relaxed.
Breaths were released.
Most of the survivors here were elite.
Soldiers. Athletes. Awakened.
"Three times body weight?"
"Hard."
"But possible."
"Adrenaline will carry us."
"Better than fighting a ghost."
"It's just gravity."
Elena looked at Chen Shi.
Her eyes full of worry.
"Chen Shi..."
"Amy and I are Awakened."
"Our stats are boosted."
"But you..."
"You are unawakened."
She glanced down at his waistband.
Then back up to his eyes.
Blushing slightly.
"I know you are... strong... in one specific area."
"But squatting 260kg requires more than just... a third leg."
"Can you handle it?"
Chen Shi smiled.
"Don't worry."
"I never skip leg day."
Internally, he was calculating.
My base strength was average above.
But with +150% All Stats...
And the nutrition from Annie...
260kg?
That's a warm-up.
But...
If I lift it like a feather...
Those rats in the shadows will know I'm a threat.
I need to act.
Struggle.
Shake.
Make them think I'm at my limit.
Deception is the key to survival.
Lady Cecilia waved her hand.
Boom.
Dozens of heavy squat racks slammed onto the floor.
"Choose your station."
"Load your destiny."
"Begin!"
The players rushed to the racks.
Chen Shi walked slowly to his.
He reached for the bar.
Ready to put on his Oscar-worthy performance of "The Weakling".
Suddenly.
A sharp voice cut through the air.
"Wait!"
"Lady Cecilia!"
"I have a report!"
Viper stepped out from the shadows.
His finger pointing at Chen Shi.
"He is cheating!"
"He is violating your sacred rules!"
"Look at him!"
"Under his jacket!"
"That hard, protruding object pressed against his stomach!"
"It's a mechanical support!"
"He knows he's too weak to squat!"
"So he brought a tool to lift the weight for him!"
The gym fell silent.
The temperature dropped instantly.
Lady Cecilia stopped.
She turned slowly.
Her massive shadow engulfing Chen Shi.
Her red eyes glowing with fury.
"A tool?"
"In my holy temple of flesh?"
"Unforgivable."
Elena and Amy exchanged a glance.
Both faces filled with pure confusion.
"A tool?"
Elena blinked, her face flushing red again.
"Does he think..."
"That thing is a machine?"
"I mean..."
"It looked mechanical..."
"But that's just biology!"
The Dragon Country live stream was dumbfounded.
[?????]
[Wait... hold on...]
[Is Viper talking about...]
[The Dragon Root?!]
[HAHAHAHA!]
[Oh my god! He thinks Brother Chen is hiding a jack!]
[Technically... it IS a tool for drilling!]
[But it's not a tool~]
Suddenly.
Foreign IPs flooded the chat.
Barking like mad dogs.
[Cheater!]
[Caught red-handed!]
[I knew it!]
[How can a skinny guy attempt to squat 3x weight?]
[Hydraulics!]
[Enjoy your death, Dragon Clown!]
[Pop the champagne! Again!]
Dragon Country Command Center.
The General stared at the screen.
His eyes locked on Chen Shi's crotch.
"General..."
The Chief of Staff whispered, voice trembling.
"Do they..."
"Do they really think our Hero's reproductive organ is a contraband item?"
The General rubbed his temples.
"To be fair..."
"From that angle..."
"It does look like a steel pipe."
In the shadows of the gym.
Viper and Fatty were grinning maliciously.
"It doesn't matter if it's a tool or not."
Viper adjusted his glasses.
"The moment Lady Cecilia gets close..."
"Her S+ Aura will crush him."
"He survived Annie..."
"But Annie is a magic-type ghost."
"Lady Cecilia is a pure physical powerhouse."
"Her gravity field will turn his bones to dust before he can even explain!"
BOOM.
A shockwave exploded from Lady Cecilia.
"Move."
Elena and Amy were blasted sideways.
Sliding across the floor like hockey pucks.
Leaving a wide, empty path.
Straight to Chen Shi.
Lady Cecilia walked forward.
Thud. Thud.
The floor cracked with every step.
Her face was a mask of thunderous rage.
A heavy, intoxicating scent filled the air.
Peaches and orange.
Sweet.
Suffocating.
The smell of over-ripened flesh and danger.
She stopped in front of Chen Shi.
Her shadow completely swallowing him.
She looked down at the bulge under his jacket.
Her red eyes narrowed.
"You dare bring a foreign object into my Gym?"
"You dare insult my iron?"
She pointed a finger at his stomach.
Her voice shaking the walls.
"TAKE IT OUT!"
"NOW!"
"Show me your 'Tool'!"
BOOM.
A shockwave of crimson energy exploded from Lady Cecilia's body.
Like a nuclear detonation.
The sheer pressure was ten times stronger than what crushed Jason.
The air itself turned into red, boiling heavy water.
Crackle.
The obsidian floor around her turned to dust instantly.
Elena and Amy, even from a distance, felt their lungs collapse.
They clutched their throats.
Gasping for air.
"S+ Rank..."
"Catastrophe..."
"No human can stand in that..."
But in the center of the storm.
Chen Shi blinked.
He didn't feel gravity.
He didn't feel pain.
Instead.
He took a deep breath.
Sniff.
"Mmm..."
"Ripe peaches."
"And... sweet oranges?"
The terrifying murderous aura...
Felt like a warm, fragrant spring breeze against his skin.
He looked up at the towering giantess.
Her angry face, distorted by rage...
To him, looked even more stunning.
Like a fierce Valkyrie.
"Beautiful..."
He muttered subconsciously.
Then he realized the situation.
He raised his hands innocently.
"Tool?"
"Lady Cecilia, there must be a misunderstanding."
"I swear on my life."
"I am not carrying any external tools."
"I am 100% natural."
"Organic."
The gym fell into a deathly silence again.
The surviving players stared at him.
Their eyes popping out of their sockets.
"He..."
"He's speaking?"
"He's standing?!"
"Jason could hardly move even with shield!"
"He's taking a bath in S+ Aura and complimenting her perfume?!"
"Is he a monster?!"
Dragon Country Command Center let out a massive sigh of relief.
Cheers erupted.
[He did it!]
[The Legend is true!]
[He is immune to Ghost Aura!]
[The Chosen One!]
[Look at him! He's enjoying it!]
[Brother Chen: This sauna is a bit hot, but the view is nice!]
But in the shadows.
Viper's face twisted in disbelief.
"Impossible..."
"How can a unawakened trash withstand that?"
"He must have a high-level defensive item!"
"That 'tool' in his pants must be an artifact!"
He gritted his teeth.
Refusing to accept defeat.
"Doesn't matter!"
"Immunity doesn't prove innocence!"
The foreign live stream latched onto this cope immediately.
[Cheater!]
[He's definitely cheating!]
[That Aura didn't kill him because the 'Tool' protected him!]
[It's a defensive shield!]
[Make him take it out!]
[If he refuses, he's guilty!]
[Show us the tool!]
[We demand to see the hardware!]
Lady Cecilia narrowed her eyes.
The red light intensified.
She didn't believe him.
Not with that obvious ridge pushing against his jacket.
"Liar."
"You say you have no tool?"
"Then what is That?"
She pointed at the furious bulge in his waistband.
"Hard."
"Straight."
"It hasn't softened even under my pressure."
"That is clearly a metal rod."
"Take. It. Out."
"Or I will rip it out myself."