Extreme Strength

For the next few days, Lin Yuan continued his routine of practicing martial arts at home.

Until one evening, Officer Li called him, saying that the "Award for Bravery" he had applied for last time had arrived and asked him to come pick it up, along with a bonus of twenty thousand yuan.

The next morning, after breakfast, Lin Yuan prepared to head to the city.

"A Yuan, take some wild boar meat to your grandma."

Li Xiuqing handed him the pre-prepared wild boar meat.

Lin Yuan had just stepped out the door but suddenly turned back.

Li Xiuqing looked at him, thinking he had forgotten something.

Lin Yuan said, "Mom, could you get me some more wild boar meat?"

"It's enough, this much will be plenty for your grandparents."

"I plan to give some to my friends."

"Friends? Right, you should also give some to your classmates in the city."

Li Xiuqing took out some more from the house, put it in a bag, and handed it to Lin Yuan.

Carrying two bags of wild boar meat, Lin Yuan quickly left.

Seeing that he didn't take his electric scooter keys, Li Xiuqing hurried out. She watched Lin Yuan's retreating figure, intending to call him back, but eventually returned to the yard.

This time, Lin Yuan was not only wearing weighted gear but also carrying two large bags of wild boar meat.

Songping Township to the city is about 20 kilometers. Last time, he took 56 minutes.

He wanted to see how long it would take him this time.

Lin Yuan ran all the way, barely slowing down. The moment he arrived in the city, Lin Yuan checked his watch: 35 minutes and 24 seconds.

He knew what this result meant, but it was just that. For him, there was nothing surprising about it.

Lin Yuan's grandmother lived on the west side of the city, no more than 5 kilometers from his current location.

When he was in high school, because his school was in the city, he often ate at his grandmother's house. His grandmother had always treated him very well.

He could say that without his grandmother during his school years, he might have become much more introverted.

Just as he was about to head towards his grandmother's house, a newly opened gym not far away caught his attention.

"Grand Opening! Free trial for the first three days. Top-notch fitness equipment to sculpt your perfect body."

A striking advertisement poster hung on the glass wall outside the gym.

Looking at the date on it, today was the last day of the free trial.

"Why not go take a look?"

It was free, so he might as well go.

Thus, Lin Yuan, carrying the two large bags of wild boar meat, strode over.

As soon as he entered, he saw quite a few people working out inside.

Indeed, although this was a small county town, there were still many people who needed to exercise.

The gym manager, seeing a new customer, immediately started his sales pitch.

"Handsome guy, want to sign up? New store discounts, monthly pass 20% off, annual pass 50% off, and various fitness classes."

"I'll just look around first. I can still get a free trial today, right?"

"Yes, yes, today is indeed the last day."

"That's all I need to hear. Where can I put my things?"

The manager glanced at the things Lin Yuan was carrying, two large bags. They wouldn't fit in the lockers, so he asked him to leave them at the front desk first.

After putting down the two bags of wild boar meat, Lin Yuan wandered around the gym.

The reason he wanted to come in was not to work out, but to test his maximum strength.

Soon, he found a bench press machine, but seeing that the maximum weight was only 150 kilograms, he gave up the idea.

Wandering around, he finally looked at the weightlifting area, but the barbells there were all too light.

Just as Lin Yuan was about to leave, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of barbell plates stacked in a corner.

Looking at the weight markings on the edges, each was 150 kilograms, and there were twelve of them.

Generally, there wouldn't be such heavy barbell plates in a gym, because no lifter would use such heavy equipment.

Lin Yuan didn't know that these were here simply because the owner of the gym was a weightlifting enthusiast and had collected these 150-kilogram plates.

Lin Yuan picked up a barbell without any plates and squatted down to pick up one of the plates, weighing it. It did have some heft.

So, he put six plates on first, totaling 900 kilograms.

Lin Yuan first tried with one hand. He bent his legs into a horse stance and exerted all his strength to lift it. The barbell slowly left the ground.

It lifted about half a meter before Lin Yuan put it down.

Feeling the strength involved, Lin Yuan had a rough idea. He probably couldn't lift it with one hand, only raise it.

Next, he switched to using both hands, also lifting them to about half a meter before lowering them.

He was confident he could lift them with both hands, but he didn't because he didn't want to draw attention.

So, he continued to increase the weight, adding two more plates for a total of 1200 kilograms.

This time, lifting with one hand was very strenuous. If he could lift 900 kilograms and hold it so his forearm and arm formed a 90-degree angle, with 1200 kilograms, he could only lift it off the ground.

When he used both hands, he didn't just lift and lower it like before. It felt like he had reached his limit, and he wasn't sure if he could actually lift it.

So, while no one was paying attention, he exerted all his effort and lifted it up.

Feeling the oppressive force of the 1200 kilograms, Lin Yuan held it above his head for about three seconds before slowly lowering it.

"The limit for lifting with both arms is around this much."

Weightlifting tests aren't just about arm strength; they also test the waist, legs, and grip.

The results are considered a measure of a person's overall strength.

As for punching power, that's different and even more complex.

It involves muscle strength, body coordination, explosive power, waist, legs, and many other factors.

Lin Yuan glanced around again. Unfortunately, there was no punching power testing machine, otherwise, he could have measured the force of his strongest punch.

Having achieved his goal, Lin Yuan didn't linger.

He went to the front desk to pick up his two bags of Wild Boar Meat and then left.

The store manager, returning from another area, came to the front desk and asked, "Did that person sign up for a membership?"

"No, they just left with their stuff."

"Damn it, another freeloader," the store manager grumbled.

"What was he doing just now?"

"It looked like... he went over there for a while."

Hearing the uncertain reply, the store manager couldn't help but scold, "You're just playing on your phone while you're supposed to be working."

The front desk employee immediately retorted, "Boss, I only get paid two thousand a month, what do you expect me to do? Besides, there are cameras, it's not like the old days where I have to watch everything manually, right?"

"Alright, alright, I can't even say a word to you. These post-2000s kids really have no work ethic."

He then walked in the direction the employee pointed, not noticing anything out of the ordinary.

But when he turned the corner into the weightlifting area, he was stunned by the eight 150-kilogram Barbell Plates stacked on the wall.

"Who the hell put those there?"

Could it be the boss?

He quickly dismissed the thought. No way. He knew his boss's limits; one plate was already a lot. Eight plates? Even a world champion would shake their head.

The store manager hurried back to the front desk. "Pull up the surveillance footage for that area."

"Here, look for yourself."

"Why isn't there footage from that corner?"

"Ask me? Who am I supposed to ask? You didn't install a camera there."

"Pull up the footage from all the areas next to this one."

Then, two different screens appeared on the computer.

In these recordings, one showed Lin Yuan walking towards that corner with a barbell bar.

"It was indeed that kid."

Even though he knew it was him, the store manager didn't believe he could actually lift the 1200-kilogram barbell. He thought Lin Yuan was playing a prank, just stacking the plates onto the bar.

"That little brat, he doesn't sign up for a membership or buy any classes, and he just causes trouble for me."