Chapter 36

[Maybe let's not. It's like a cockroach crawling into your bed. Just thinking about it gives me the creeps. Your tastes don't have to be that unique.]

[I seriously suspect that if Qin Su actually lifts No. 36, Plague God will lose his mind and do everything he can to grind the Lizard Viper's bones to dust.]

[Lizard Viper: ? Feed me peanuts!]

Noticing Qin Su's movements, He Muzhi patted the shoulders of the classmates holding him up, and they quickly put him down.

Under everyone's expectant, uncertain gazes, Qin Su walked expressionlessly past the crowd, which had been joking around but had now fallen silent.

Not once did his gaze linger on No. 36 or He Muzhi, whom his classmates had put down.

He had no prejudice against He Muzhi.

On the contrary, he admired him greatly.

He didn't look purely because his persona couldn't spare a glance for anything.

[Let me translate baby 1's behavior: a cold rejection.]

[No. 37, because he has to be on top of He Muzhi.]

[I get it: bitter unrequited love, a BE ending, savoring it for the rest of his life, dreaming of it at midnight, heartbroken, yet accepting it gladly, becoming obsessed, going mad and harming himself.]

[(Drooling) Here's a pen.]

Because the various Zerg came in different sizes, there was a long distance between No. 36 and No. 37.

At a normal walking pace, it would take twenty seconds.

With the "audience" staring fixedly at him, Qin Su set off toward his target at an unhurried pace.

Every "mark" he passed was one he had already identified as an ideal position while in the rest area, based on the Zerg corpses secured on either side and where the students were standing.

Throughout the walk, Qin Su kept himself in a focal position resembling "the middle of a runway."

That ensured the composition would be balanced and beautiful in both "camera" He Muzhi's and "camera" He Wenyuan's shots.

Qin Su knew he was being really strong, but he brainwashed himself into continuing the performance with the mindset that "as long as I'm not embarrassed, everyone else will be."

On the comic pages being updated in real time:

In the vast, silent space, where a pin drop could be heard, enormous, fearsome creatures of various shapes stood quietly on either side of a wide aisle.

In the middle of the aisle, a tall, slender man in a gray-and-black training uniform walked straight down the center, his gaze cool and indifferent, his eyes fixed ahead and his steps steady.

His long, slender silhouette, viewed from the side as he slowly passed between the giant bugs, exuded an extraordinary air.

Whether it was the terrifying behemoths on either side or the crowd gathered together, their gazes uniformly fixed on Qin Su, all became his backdrop at that moment.

His handsome face, his indifferent expression... Every step seemed to carry the force of a thousand tons, leaving people breathless.

Walking alone, he conveyed a sense of bleak "fate."

A god-tier image of exceptional quality swept over them.

Whether outside the screen or at the scene, everyone forgot what they had originally wanted to do in that instant, their minds going blank. From the moment Qin Su rose and drew everyone's eyes, they became immersed in the world he had created, their emotions stirred, unable to pull themselves away...

Qin Su stopped, and everyone instinctively wondered, Why did he stop? Having been cut off before they'd seen enough, they subconsciously frowned in dissatisfaction.

That was also why, wondering What exactly stopped Qin Su in his tracks? they saw the sign bearing the number No. 37 beside him.

Only then did everyone come back to their senses.

Ah... number 37... Right, the point was weightlifting! Not Qin Su walking!

"How can someone make me stare in a daze just by walking...?"

"To be honest, me too... But when I remember it's Qin Su, all I can think is, 'Oh, it's Qin Su. Never mind, that's only natural.'"

"Can't argue with that. It's a fact."

Through observation and quiet murmurs, everyone soon realized they weren't the only ones who had spaced out, and all at once they felt less embarrassed.

Qin Su had stopped in front of No. 37, and the question everyone was curious about was answered.

The students: "..."

It wasn't No. 36, but No. 37... a Zerg called Mutian Tuo, a whole size bigger than No. 36.

But that was normal. Although they didn't know Qin Su's pheromone level, ever since classes began, he had never been on the same "level" as anyone in their class.

Mutian Tuo was matte, creamy white all over, with a central body that rose section by section, resembling a gigantic human spine.

From each vertebra, horns spread outward in all directions. Like rhino horns, they were irregular, curving and hooking in different directions, broad at the base and pointed at the tip.

From head to tail, its entire body was as hard as stone.

Mutian Tuo's coloring was so pure that, no matter what light it bathed in, its whole body displayed a kind of "sacred" beauty.

But on the battlefield, Mutian Tuo charged straight into the fray, rampaging and rolling into crowds. With corpses strewn everywhere, every sharp horn on its body hung with streams of crimson blood, staining its white form red. It looked anything but sacred.

This Mutian Tuo hadn't been captured either. It had died naturally and been transported here.

When Mutian Tuo was alive, people avoided it wherever possible, regardless of the planet.

[Hiss... (secretly wipes away drool) What was I trying to see just now? Oh, right, I wanted to know which number Boss 1 would choose to lift. So it's No. 37, but that's not important anymore.]

[Fuck, as expected of Qin Su. He really commands authority. Every inch of him from head to toe, even his breathing, exudes a "formidable" air.]

[I finally understand why a "boss" absolutely needs good looks, temperament, presence, and an imposing aura. None of them can be missing.]

[Boss 1 breathes. Me: going me!]

[Damn, that presence. Even a hater like me can't deny he's a real boss.]

[I can't help it anymore. I'm turning into a werewolf for Boss Su!]

[What's the point of transforming? Waste of time. I'm pouncing straight at him like a starving tiger!]

[Though his stance is unclear and I don't know whether he's friend or foe, he's just too enticing. Switching sides for a second.]

As Qin Su walked past everyone, he noticed their breathing had grown much quieter than normal and knew his "careful calculations" had paid off.

He had successfully used his "disguise" to capture everyone's attention. The first step of his plan was a complete success.

Now it was time for the second step: injecting the K-110.

From injection until the effects wore off, the K-110 lasted only three short minutes.

With no experience using it, Qin Su didn't know when it would reach its maximum effect after injection, so he hadn't injected it while walking over.

Under everyone's eyes, Qin Su turned around swiftly, his expression cold.

Facing No. 37, Qin Su habitually spread his legs and raised his hands to loosen his wrists naturally.

Using the perfectly reasonable motion of loosening up before exercise, Qin Su gripped his right wrist with his left hand, rotating the bones in his right hand and moving the muscles in his arm.

As his arm drew close to his upper arm and his muscles pressed together, Qin Su felt a slight prick where the K-110 was attached inside his clothes.

Feeling the liquid successfully inject into the surface of his skin, Qin Su lowered his wrist with apparent composure, though his heart was still in his throat.

Until he actually lifted No. 37, a Zerg that looked to weigh over a thousand kilograms, he didn't dare relax.

More importantly, less than a second after the K-110 entered his body, Qin Su felt his body undergoing a noticeable change.

His heart began beating rapidly. Something invisible seemed to be racing through his limbs with his blood, and his head even seemed to explode with a sudden buzz, leaving him dazed. His eyes instantly went blank, as though his soul had left his body...

His entire body felt as light as his soul.

Fortunately, Qin Su had remained absolutely calm before injecting the K-110. When he felt that strange sensation of "ascending to heaven," he didn't hesitate. Having seemingly finished loosening up, but in truth finished injecting the drug, he quickly lowered his eyes to conceal the strange look in them, then naturally placed his hands on the Mutian Tuo before him, which gave off a white halo under the light.

Thump, thump, thump...

Inside his light body, his heart was still pounding wildly.

Qin Su was glad he had moved away from the crowd. Otherwise, even if nothing showed on his face, his rapid heartbeat, far too fast to be normal for a human, would have exposed his body's abnormal state.

With his reason nearly on the verge of collapse, Qin Su struggled to steady his mind and pull his "departed" soul back into his body.

Then, as planned, he didn't do as He Muzhi had with the Lizard Viper, inspecting and feeling around it before attempting the lift.

Instead, he placed his hands directly on the "best" lifting points he had identified as soon as he realized he had no choice but to make No. 37 his target, combining what he had previously learned about Mutian Tuo with his observations of it here.

The tips of the two outward-spreading horns on the bottommost vertebra of Mutian Tuo's central spine.

His confident, assured manner was meant to reinforce two impressions in everyone's minds: "He knows Mutian Tuo so well that he placed his hands at the best lifting points without hesitation," and "This isn't his first encounter with a Mutian Tuo."

Beneath his "unruffled" exterior, Qin Su knew full well that he was now nothing more than a "vessel" mechanically carrying out his original plan.

He was like a bow drawn to its limit, with an arrow nocked that had to be loosed, like a dam holding back a torrent that desperately needed its gates opened.

The taut string in his mind was about to snap. If he didn't lift something heavy to keep his nearly "floating" self down, Qin Su felt he might go mad.

Seeing Qin Su place both hands on the Mutian Tuo without hesitation, He Muzhi went, "...???"

The one Qin Su wanted to lift wasn't No. 36 at all. Had he misunderstood his look? The one Qin Su wanted to lift was...

He Muzhi looked at the Mutian Tuo in front of Qin Su, and his whole body hurt even more.

There was no other reason. He had strained himself and nearly died just to lift No. 36, while No. 37 was nearly twice the size of No. 26.

In other words, even if he lifted himself to death, there was no chance he could raise it as he was now.

He Muzhi: "..."

A profound sense of powerlessness swept over him, and the joy he had felt not long ago at lifting No. 36 had all but vanished.

[Such practiced movements, without any testing. Sure enough, this isn't our baby Su's first time facing a Mutian Tuo. Seeing how calm and confident he is, I even suspect it isn't his first time lifting one!]

[Well... won't he reconsider? If that towering thing falls on him, it really could flatten him into a slice of meat. (Worried)]

Qin Su, who had lowered his eyes and was struggling to "tether" his reason while pretending to be calm: "..."

Thanks, but he wasn't reconsidering. "Fate" hadn't given him a chance to consider it at all.

After silently thanking the netizens worried about him, Qin Su secretly took a deep breath in his heart and prepared to put strength into his arms, using the lift to vent the power that had suddenly surged through his body.

Just then, Raymond's voice rang out. "Wait..."

Holding the Alpha Pheromone Isolation Shield He Muzhi had removed not long ago, Raymond thought Qin Su had forgotten it. With good intentions, he belatedly raised his voice to remind the bareheaded Qin Su, "You're not wearing a Pheromone Isolation Shield!"

They really were curious what it would look like if Qin Su released his pheromones freely without restraint. They had imagined it more than once in private, on the forum and in private group chats.

They always reached the same conclusion: "No survivors."

They didn't want to wind up in the hospital as a group again just from attending class.

He Wenyuan's pheromones had sent a small number of people in class 7 to the hospital for examinations. Qin Su's pheromones... would wipe them all out.

Raymond's voice was like a sudden clap of thunder, throwing everyone into an uproar.

Only then did everyone belatedly remember that, ever since He Muzhi had finished lifting, Qin Su had made no move to get a pheromone-blocking hood.

Kaixier also realized it and quickly turned toward the machine.

How could he possibly lift a Mutian Tuo weighing seventeen hundred kilograms without using pheromones?

Either she had gone mad or Qin Su had.

But Qin Su hadn't even torn off the pheromone-blocking patch on the back of his neck. Qin Su had forgotten... no, no, no.

How could someone like Qin Su, who "planned for everything" and was accustomed to having an extraordinary grasp of everything, forget something so important?

Could Qin Su really lift a seventeen-hundred-kilogram Zerg through sheer strength without relying on pheromones? Her thoughts in a jumble and unable to make sense of it, Kaixier quickened her pace...

Raymond had already spoken up. If Qin Su needed to use pheromones, he would surely wait for her.

[Qin Su... didn't get an Alpha pheromone-blocking hood!!! Did he forget?]

[How could Qin Su forget something like that? He obviously thinks deep down that "there's no need to get one."]

[Lifting a Zerg weighing over a thousand kilograms without pheromones?! Do people in the interstellar age really go this far? Or are all Alphas with pheromones this reckless? Does he have a death wish?]

"..."

The dazed Qin Su came slightly to his senses because of the comments.

If he didn't lift it, that was when he would really lose his life.

Raymond's voice had been loud, and he had indeed heard what Raymond said.

But invisible power was racing through his body. Qin Su was already on the verge of losing his reason, and he wouldn't and simply couldn't stop.

The tiny bit of awareness the comments had brought back vanished in an instant.

Qin Su had understood perfectly from beginning to end that he "had no way back." The moment the string called reason snapped completely, he no longer had the presence of mind to think about anything else. Making a "desperate gamble," Qin Su suddenly exerted himself as though throwing caution to the wind...

To the spectators, Qin Su didn't spare so much as a glance for Raymond's words or Kaixier's actions.

As Raymond's words fell, Qin Su's hands didn't pause for even a second. Expressionless, he lifted the Mutian Tuo, which weighed well over a thousand kilograms, in an instant...

At the same time, Kaixier, who had just retrieved the Alpha pheromone-blocking hood, quickly turned around and said, "Qin..."

"Su!!!"

When she saw the scene in the distance, the second syllable was forced into a shrill, cracking pitch by her shock.

The entire space was already very quiet because of Qin Su's actions, and Kaixier's piercing voice reached everyone's ears in an instant.

It also reached Qin Su. With the weight pressing on him and giving his strength an outlet, it brought back the reason he had just lost.

After a brief lapse lasting less than a second, Qin Su came to his senses again and saw that both his hands had already lifted No. 37, the Mutian Tuo, off the platform it had rested on.

What was more...

His arms felt only a little pressure. It didn't seem very heavy.

Qin Su: "..."

Terrifying!

No wonder Mom had said the "K" meant "three-minute King." It lived up to its name.

The instant he realized this important fact, Qin Su didn't do as He Muzhi had with No. 36, lifting it just off the ground for a second before putting it down. Instead, once he understood what level his strength had reached after injecting the K-110, he smoothly and naturally raised the Mutian Tuo higher, without the slightest hitch or any slowness...

As he lifted it higher and higher, the pressure on his body grew heavier, and Qin Su could clearly feel his wandering reason returning.

Just as he had judged, after taking the K-110, he needed to expend his strength to maintain his sanity.

If he weren't worried that the movement wouldn't look "aesthetic" to the "audience," Qin Su felt that, in his current peak condition, he could play around lifting the Mutian Tuo up and down with one hand.

Qin Su: "..."

Come to think of it, he really was an ordinary little naming genius. Renaming it K-110 had been a stroke of genius; when faced with him after he had injected the K-110, his opponents really ought to dial 110 and ask for help locking themselves up so he couldn't find them.

They watched with their own eyes as Qin Su lifted the enormous Mutian Tuo in his well-defined hands as lightly as a feather, without changing expression.

The entire room was frighteningly silent. Many students' jaws dropped lower and lower as Qin Su raised the Mutian Tuo higher and higher, their pupils widening.

This...

Was this terrifying strength something a human could possess?!

Qin Su hadn't even...

Used Alpha pheromones!!!

The gigantic Mutian Tuo, its entire body glowing with sacred light, was lifted effortlessly above the head of the handsome man, who remained perfectly composed...

If they remembered correctly... when people lifted a terrifying giant like this, it counted as a lift as long as it cleared the platform. But Qin Su... had lifted it above his head without batting an eye... above his head???!

The astonishing sight before them left everyone dumbfounded.

Some held up their own jaws, some rubbed their eyes furiously, and some snapped photos with their Optical Brains, click after click. Others pinched their friends' arms like crazy, and some even thought they were dreaming and slapped themselves across the face...

Could it be that Mutian Tuo only looked intimidating, but was actually light as a feather? Could it be lifted without even using pheromones? Once Qin Su left, they had to try it!

On the comic's update page, countless shocked comments appeared amid a screen full of exclamation marks and question marks.

[Holy shit!!! This is insane, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! Is this real?! He didn't even use pheromones, just lifted it with raw strength. How can he be this heaven-defying!]

[Ahhh, Qin Su isn't human!!! (Disclaimer: I mean that as a compliment.) He's practically my god!]

[Are Qin Su's arms mechanical exoskeleton arms?]

[Look at those smooth muscle lines. How could they be? Even haters need to stick to some basic logic.]

[I also think Qin Su's arms have been specially modified. There's a good chance he has an exoskeleton hidden under his clothes. To prove it... he'd have to take them off and let us judge for ourselves. (Dog head)]

[And there's the dagger at the end of the map. Your abacus is so loud I can hear it all the way in Cloud City.]

[That'd be impossible for an Earthling, but my dear friends, don't forget that Boss 1 is from the interstellar age! He's already got a built-in cheat like pheromones, so what's impossible? You don't really think it's like the takeout we eat, do you? All technology and chemical wizardry.]

As the three-minute limit drew closer and Qin Su's reason gradually returned, he was speechless.

He didn't have mechanical arms, but the K-110 he'd injected was also a product of technology and chemical wizardry.

Kaixier took several deep breaths, striving to calm her soaring excitement, then silently lowered the Alpha pheromone barrier.

Sure enough, Qin Su had been certain he could lift Mutian Tuo without using any pheromones at all.

Now that she'd confirmed the truth, Qin Su wasn't the one who had lost his mind. She was the one who'd lost hers, overthinking things and actually daring to distrust and doubt him!

It had been fifteen seconds in all, from lifting it to holding it up for display. That was about long enough; it was time to change the way he held it.

For the sake of the picture and the stereotype of a "steady" big shot, he couldn't "lively" pump Mutian Tuo up and down to expend his strength, but he could "hold it up with one hand."

Silently timing the seconds in his head, Qin Su casually adjusted Mutian Tuo's point of balance on his hands while the "audience" was still swallowing.

When Mutian Tuo's weight was all resting on his right hand and his left was free, Qin Su used the motion to turn and face the crowd.

This change sent the emotions of the audience both on and off the screen surging to another climax.

Everyone: "..."

From that day forward, they would not allow anyone to question or "defy" anything Qin Su did ever again!

[!!!]

[He can do that too??? Being handsome and strong has taken tangible form at this moment.]

[It's just my knees, right? (Kneels) I offer them to you!]

[That was so satisfying!]

[Boss 1 is telling everyone not to use our shallow understanding to speculate about anything concerning him. We know nothing about his strength!]

Qin Su: "..."

There was no need for that. He was only trying to keep Mutian Tuo's weight on him longer so he could vent his strength.

Feeling that the strength in his body was no longer affecting his reason, Qin Su acted as if he hadn't seen the shock in everyone's eyes. His calm, low, cold voice rang out in the eerily quiet space.

Qin Su: "Enough?"