The four of them decisively drove away before the police and firefighters arrived.
Back at the villa, Li Congxin immediately backed up the contents of the flash drive that the damned reporter had used to store his evidence. Then Hawkeye and Li Congxin drove the original flash drive and Mindy to Marcus's place.
After tossing and turning all night, the three of them reached Marcus's home in the early hours of the morning and even mooched a breakfast while they were at it.
Mindy was only eleven years old, so both legally and emotionally, she needed a guardian. Marcus was the only suitable candidate.
On the way back, Hawkeye, who had already removed his disguise, couldn't help asking curiously, "Actually, I still don't quite understand why you insisted on personally retrieving that evidence and secretly keeping a backup. Wouldn't it have been better to hand the matter directly over to the police?"
After a slight pause, he added with a faint sneer at the corner of his mouth, "Or do you also think, like I do, that the police simply can't punish those vicious criminals, and don't have what it takes to send them to prison?"
Li Congxin merely shook his head at Hawkeye's words and replied, "Big Brother Yi Long definitely wouldn't ask me a question like that."
The cultural differences between them were simply too great, and Li Congxin couldn't be bothered to explain himself.
Now that he had decided to take revenge, how could he possibly allow his opponent to stay in prison and breathe fresh air?
After returning home, Li Congxin opened the so-called evidence on the flash drive again. There were written documents, photographs, and various pieces of data.
From this stuff, Li Congxin couldn't even tell who the criminal was, let alone find any evidence.
At best, it could only be considered a collection of clues.
That was precisely why, after obtaining the material, Li Congxin had immediately handed it over to Marcus.
Investigating the truth and all that was better left to professionals.
As a future superhero, all he needed to do was ask Old Pi to occasionally hack into the police network. Once the other side found something, he could simply bring his team along to swoop in and claim the kill.
He was already busy enough as it was. He didn't want to play Conan and investigate some supposed singular truth.
Being a detective had no future.
As it turned out, even if two Sherlock Holmes joined forces and brought along a huge group of helpers, they would still get completely crushed by Thanos!
To avoid being crushed by Thanos, and to avoid disgracing his big and second brothers who were locked in a love-hate struggle next door in the DC universe, Li Congxin didn't dare slack off in his daily training for even a moment.
Even so, as his body drew ever closer to the limits of human physical ability, his progress slowed from rapid to gradual. Around Christmas, it had completely ground to a halt. No matter how hard he worked, he could no longer increase his strength by even the slightest amount.
At present, when exerting himself to the fullest, Li Congxin's maximum punching power could reach 1,000 pounds, enough to send a 300-jin sandbag flying more than ten meters!
His kicking power was even more terrifying, reaching 2,000 pounds and sending a 600-jin sandbag flying thirty meters!
He could throw twelve punches per second and deliver eight kicks per second!
Since his hundred-meter sprint had only just reached its peak, Old Pi, who was responsible for recording his figures, decided to raise the standard to two hundred meters.
The result was that Li Congxin completed two hundred meters in only 9.58 seconds!
That left a psychological scar!
At Li Congxin's strong insistence, Old Pi still changed the speed test to one hundred meters with an amused smile, then divided the result by two before entering it.
Only then could Li Congxin be said to have truly reached the combat power of one Black Widow. His previous claim of one Black Widow had merely been rounded up. Although he could fight Black Widow, his chances of victory weren't very high.
In the training ground behind the villa, Li Congxin calmed his mind and steadied his breathing, holding a specially made piece of black cloth two meters long and one meter wide.
The biting cold wind swept past, whipping the black cloth in his hand through the air with a whooshing sound.
Around him hung four two-ton sandbags, suspended from a tall iron frame and positioned in front of, behind, and to either side of him.
Suddenly, Li Congxin moved.
His wrist flicked rapidly, and the special black cloth instantly coiled into a cloth staff more than two meters long. The cloth staff then seemed to come alive in Li Congxin's hands, dancing up and down with his movements. Rubbing against the air, it produced sharp, ear-piercing whistles.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The cloth staff lashed against the sandbags, producing a series of muffled impacts. The two-ton sandbags swung wildly, and even the special metal frame securing them let out a teeth-grating creak.
Crash!
After enduring several strikes from Li Congxin's cloth staff, one of the sandbags finally reached its limit and burst apart. The iron sand inside scattered across the ground in an instant.
Once the first had fallen, the second, third, and fourth followed in quick succession!
By the time he finished performing the staff technique, all four sandbags around him had been destroyed and were no longer usable.
This was precisely the highest realm of the Four Gates Staff Technique.
A cloth staff!
Using cloth as a staff and softness to overcome hardness, its power surpassed even that of a steel staff!
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Seeing Li Congxin perform such an astonishing set of the Four Gates Staff Technique, the two people watching from the side simultaneously applauded him in encouragement.
Yi Long was the first to speak. "Congxin's talent for martial arts is something I've never seen in my life. In just a few short months, his strength is already no weaker than mine was before I received the serum."
On the other side, Nalan Long nodded in satisfaction. "Congxin has now trained the cloth staff to its peak. I never expected my family's Four Gates Staff Technique to flourish in his hands, and in such a short time, too. Counting every day, how long has it actually been since he began practicing martial arts?"
As he rolled up and put away the special black cloth, Li Congxin walked toward the two of them and asked with a smile, "Uncle Nalan, Big Brother A Qing should have recovered by now, right? When does the elite class at the martial arts school plan to resume?"
"The elite class at the martial arts school won't be reopening." Nalan Long shook his head. "After A Qing's injury this time, I thought about many things. Besides checking your progress in martial arts, I came here today to say goodbye."
"Say goodbye?"
Nalan Long nodded. "Fallen leaves must eventually return to their roots. I plan to take A Qing and A Hong back home and have A Qing marry and start a family there, continuing our Nalan family's bloodline. As for Xiao Bai, she'll have to stay behind and continue her studies. If she runs into trouble in the future, I'll have to ask you to look after her."
Li Congxin immediately patted his chest and promised, "Don't worry, Uncle Nalan. From now on, Xiao Bai's affairs are my affairs. Whoever dares bully her, I'll make them regret ever being born!"
"With those words from you, I can rest easy." Nalan Long nodded in satisfaction, then continued, "If you have any other questions about martial arts, ask them now. After today, I'm afraid I won't have many opportunities to guide you again."
Yi Long also spoke up. "I'm leaving as well. According to Mr. Hank's examination and my experiences over the past few days, my problem should have been completely resolved. If I don't go home and take a look, my heart simply won't be at ease."
Li Congxin couldn't help smiling bitterly. "I feel that my physical abilities have reached a bottleneck. Although my strength has improved somewhat recently, most of that improvement has been in martial techniques. Do you know how I should proceed from here, Uncle Nalan? Big Brother Yi Long?"
Yi Long pondered for a moment before finally smiling bitterly. "Your body has already reached the limits of human physical ability. Breaking through further is incredibly difficult. Even I needed the serum to break through. What qualifications do I have to guide you?"
Nalan Long, however, suddenly seemed to think of something. "I do know one method that can allow a martial artist to unleash power beyond the limits of the human body."
Li Congxin froze. "What method?"
"Qi!"
Before you continue