Want to play in the water?

The wreckage of the second strength testing machine emitted wisps of smoke, a silent mockery that stung Karl Johnson and the members of his "Beast Strength" team, while igniting the passion and pride of all the Chinese present in the "Li Wang" club!

After the deathly silence, a fervent cheer and roar erupted like a volcanic eruption!

"Gong Shifu! Awesome!!"

"See that! Foreign devil! This is the real Chinese power!"

"Sick man of East Asia? Bah! Who's useless now?!"

The roar of voices nearly shook the club's roof off. Every face was flushed with excitement and triumphant pride, their gazes filled with fervent admiration for Gong Gong.

Karl's face turned a shade of liver-red, veins bulging on his forehead, a mix of immense humiliation and an inexplicable fear churning within him. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The mangled state of the strength tester replayed endlessly in his mind, reminding him that the seemingly burly Eastern giant before him possessed a terrifying power beyond his comprehension.

"First round, you lost," Gong Gong's voice was like cold rock, shattering Karl's last shred of hope. His bloodshot eyes swept over Karl and the equally pale-faced team members behind him with undisguised contempt. "What's next? Arm wrestling? Or straight to that stage?"

He pointed to the arm wrestling table and the fighting ring in the center.

The translator trembled as he relayed Gong Gong's words.

Karl gritted his teeth, forcing down the turmoil in his heart. The punch strength test could be attributed to machine malfunction or some unknown technique used by the opponent (though he didn't believe it himself), but arm wrestling and fighting were pure physical confrontations! He refused to believe that in the face of absolute strength and extensive combat experience, this Easterner could pull off any more tricks!

"Arm wrestling!" Karl almost growled, wanting to salvage his honor in his strongest suit! He believed that even if the opponent's punching power was astonishing, in terms of pure core static strength, he, as a world-class strongman, would never lose!

Soon, a specially made arm wrestling table, capable of withstanding immense force, was brought to the center. Its thick metal frame and solid surface spoke to the seriousness of the contest.

Karl and Gong Gong took their seats on opposite sides of the table.

Karl took a deep breath, removed his jacket, revealing a chiseled upper body like rock. He flexed his incredibly thick arms and shoulders, firmly planted his elbow on the table's padding, and extended the hand that could crush bricks.

Gong Gong, however, remained nonchalant, even yawning. He slowly extended his right hand. His hand was a full size larger than Karl's, his knuckles thick, his skin a bronze hue, appearing rough yet possessing a subtle, contained sheen.

Two disproportionately large hands clasped together tightly.

"Begin!" Qin Tian, acting as a temporary referee, commanded sternly.

Almost the instant the word fell, Karl unleashed all his strength! His muscles tensed instantly, veins like coiled dragons bulging on his skin. A low roar escaped his throat as he attempted to crush Gong Gong's arm with thunderous force! This was his usual tactic: a swift victory with explosive power!

However, he felt as if he wasn't gripping a hand, but an ancient, immovable mountain! An unfathomably deep ocean! No matter how much power he channeled, wave after wave crashing against it, Gong Gong's arm didn't budge! Not even his muscles seemed to tense significantly!

Gong Gong's hand remained firmly in place, as if Karl's strength, capable of flipping a car, was merely a gentle breeze.

The color drained from Karl's face, his eyes filled with disbelief and horror! This was impossible! His strength ranked among the best in the world, how could he not even make the opponent's arm waver?!

Gong Gong looked at Karl's contorted face, strained from exertion, and pouted, seeming bored. "Is that all the strength you have? It's less pressure than that hunk of metal (the strength tester) gave me earlier."

Before he finished speaking, he began to slowly, unyieldingly press down on Karl's hand!

No explosion, no roar, just a straightforward, absolute control as he pressed Karl's thick arm down towards the table, inch by inch, irresistibly!

Karl's face turned crimson, veins bulging on his neck. He used all his might, even gripping the table's edge with his other hand, his feet digging into the floor, causing it to creak. Yet, he couldn't stop the slow, desperate downward pressure!

He felt like he was fighting the planet's gravity! The absolute disparity in strength sent shivers of despair through his very soul!

"Thump!"

A dull thud.

Karl's arm was pinned flat against the table's padding, a completely one-sided defeat.

Silence descended once more, but this time, it was filled with suppressed excitement and satisfaction.

Karl slumped in his chair, gasping for air, his eyes vacant, as if his soul had departed. His pride in his strength was laughably insignificant before the opponent.

"Second round, you lost again," Gong Gong released his grip, as if brushing off dust. "Now, only that stage remains."

He stood up, his gaze fixed on the fighting ring in the center, his eyes like a primordial beast spotting prey to be brutally ravaged.

Karl's head snapped up. Looking into Gong Gong's cold eyes, a chill shot from his feet to the crown of his head! Step onto the ring? Fight this monster? What was the difference between that and suicide?! He had no doubt that the opponent could turn him into a corpse with a single punch!

Fear, like a cold tide, instantly drowned all his pride and fighting spirit.

"No... No more! I forfeit! I forfeit!" Karl shouted in English, his voice filled with terror, waving his hands repeatedly, his body instinctively recoiling.

The translator, pale-faced, relayed his words.

He forfeited?

The world-class strongman, faced with strength and combat, lost his nerve before the fight even began and directly forfeited?

A moment of silence fell over the club, followed by even louder laughter and scornful jeers.

"Scared? You're backing down already?"

"Weren't you arrogant just now? Talking about the sick man of East Asia?"

"Go back! Foreign trash!"

The immense humiliation made Karl and his team members wish the ground would swallow them whole.

Gong Gong frowned, seemingly displeased with Karl's surrender. He hadn't even warmed up yet. He strode forward, closing in on Karl, his voice icy. "Forfeit? Fine. Kneel, kowtow, and apologize."

He remembered their prior agreement.

Karl looked at Gong Gong, who loomed over him like a mountain, his soul scattered. All his previous arrogance was gone. Faced with absolute power and the threat of death, dignity and pride were fragile things. He scrambled off the chair, almost crawling, and fell to his knees with a thud. Facing Gong Gong, and the furious Chinese surrounding them, he stammered in broken Chinese:

"I... I'm sorry! I was wrong! I shouldn't have... shouldn't have said those things! You are not sick men! I am! I am trash! Please... let me go!"

As he spoke, he repeatedly kowtowed, his forehead hitting the ground with dull thuds.

The team members he brought also lowered their proud heads, their faces ashen.

Watching "Bear" Karl, who had been arrogant moments ago, now kneeling and begging for mercy like a stray dog, everyone in the club felt complex emotions: satisfaction, vindication, and an indescribable sense of melancholy.

Gong Gong looked at Karl, who was kowtowing like pounding garlic, and the coldness and anger in his eyes finally subsided slightly. He snorted coldly, "Scram! Don't let me see you again!"

Karl, as if granted a great pardon, was helped up by his team members and fled the club in utter disarray, drawing cheers and mockery from behind.

The disturbance subsided, and Gong Gong once again became the center of everyone's attention, enjoying heroic treatment. Manager Wang excitedly announced that all expenses tonight would be discounted, and the club's atmosphere reached a fever pitch.

However, the unease in Lin Fan's heart grew stronger. The more inhuman the power Gong Gong displayed, the more dangerous the attention it attracted. Today's challengers were only those in the open; what about the forces lurking in the shadows, watching like venomous snakes? And who was behind the mysterious person who recorded Gong Gong's fight with a miniature camera earlier?

He walked to the window and looked down at the convoy of cars carrying Karl and his group making their hasty escape, his gaze heavy.

Just then, his phone vibrated, and he received a text message from an unknown number. The content was short, but it made his pupils contract sharply:

"Splendid performance. 'Sample' value has increased again. 'Recovery' plan, countdown initiated."

Lin Fan suddenly looked up, scanning his surroundings vigilantly. The club was bustling with noise, everyone's face beaming with excitement, showing no sign of anything unusual.

But he knew that the eyes hidden in the dark had never left.

And what they didn't know was that in an office building diagonally opposite the "Beast Strength" club, a figure in a black trench coat, their face hidden by a hood, was quietly observing everything in the club through high-powered binoculars. When they saw Gong Gong's inhuman strength and Karl kneeling in supplication, the corner of their mouth under the hood curved into a cold, predatory smile.

They whispered into their earpiece:

"Target 'Giant Strength' confirmed to possess extremely high research value and threat level. Recommend increasing 'Recovery' priority. Simultaneously, detected close association with two other high-risk targets (referring to Tong Tian and Nüwa). Requesting authorization for deep penetration reconnaissance of 'Shelter'."

A hoarse response came through the earpiece:

"Authorization granted. Deploy 'Dark Shadow', proceed with caution, avoid alerting them. We need... more detailed data."

The figure in the trench coat put away the binoculars and, like a ghost, merged into the shadows behind them, disappearing.

Potential threats were quietly gathering like dark clouds. Gong Gong and Lin Fan, who had just resolved an external provocation, were completely unaware of this. Beneath the club's revelry, the undercurrents surged.