An Unexpected Windfall

County outskirts.

City Light Car Rental.

"Uncle Li, aren't you afraid I'll rent the car and just run off with it?"

Xu Qing sat in a jeep and asked the rental shop owner with a grin.

"Run off? My cars come with tracking. Do you think the Smart Brain on my wrist is just for show?"

The owner laughed heartily and raised the blue wristwatch on his arm.

"Smart Brain?!" Xu Qing was instantly stunned. "A real Smart Brain?"

It was said that this thing could replace all electronic devices, including phones and computers.

It possessed powerful artificial intelligence.

It was a technological weapon of the era.

And it was expensive!

Only the extremely wealthy or highly influential could afford one.

"Of course," Li Chengguang said proudly. "Back in my younger days, Uncle Li here used to run around Moon Upper City. If it weren't for my old lady, I never would've come back to this dump of a Blue Star."

"Wow, you're incredible! If I have even half your experience by the time I'm your age, I'll die without regrets." Xu Qing spoke with genuine admiration.

"Hahaha, you sure know how to talk, kid. I said the same thing to that kid surnamed Zhao from your company last time, and the brat didn't even give me the time of day. What an idiot."

Li Chengguang laughed and patted the car door.

"Alright, you can get going. Oh, right, do you even have a driver's license?"

Xu Qing grinned smugly. "Hehe, Uncle Li, did you forget? Our company organized the lessons and exams for us."

"Damn," Li Chengguang said, smacking his forehead. "I nearly forgot. Zhou Yu, that nouveau riche, really is loaded."

Xu Qing grinned but said nothing.

"Alright, go on. Be careful on the road. Things haven't been peaceful around here lately. I heard some organization is making noise about starting an uprising, overthrowing the Solar System Alliance, and making Blue Star autonomous. What a bunch of idiots."

Li Chengguang turned and headed back inside.

Xu Qing thanked him gratefully, stepped on the accelerator, and sped away.

Of course, it was called an accelerator.

But cars now actually ran on hydrogen energy.

Watching the car speed away, Li Chengguang sat at the entrance of the rental shop, fiddling with his Smart Brain. With one leg crossed over the other, he rocked in his chair, his face full of envy.

"Being young is great."

"This kid really is far better than that dimwit surnamed Zhao. His physical condition has improved so quickly."

"A Liya, those robbers who were killed... did he do it?"

A soft female voice immediately sounded by Li Chengguang's ear. "Master, the data I was able to find is rather fragmented.

However, based on calculations, there is a 37% chance that Xu Qing was responsible. The probability for anyone else is lower than that."

Li Chengguang raised his brows. "Could it really have been the kid? Heh, interesting. Hahaha, our little place has finally produced an interesting child."

The soft female voice spoke again. "Master, do you need me to monitor him?"

Li Chengguang waved a hand. "No. Leave people some secrets. Besides, using a cosmic-grade optical brain like you to monitor a child would be beneath you."

"Understood."

0121 County.

Silver Sparrow Warehouse Storage Company.

Xu Qing's first stop upon arriving in 0121 County was this place.

He had specifically taken the day off today to get a closer look at the auction house.

And to buy some Gene Potions.

Looking at the Silver Card in his hand, he was in no hurry.

Sitting in the car, Xu Qing had already waited for nearly an hour.

At the moment, his car was only one street away from that cluster of warehouses.

Yet from this angle, he could see everyone entering and leaving the warehouse.

The warehouse was fairly well hidden, and there were surprisingly no surveillance cameras in the surrounding area.

Other than a warehouse administrator at the entrance, there appeared to be no other security measures.

And it seemed that anyone holding an access card could enter the warehouse area directly.

There was no need to show any identification at all.

It appeared to be a place that recognized cards, not people.

That suited Xu Qing's needs perfectly.

After watching for a while and confirming that it was probably safe,

Xu Qing put on a hat and mask and entered the warehouse area.

"Access card!" The guard at the entrance was cold and stiff.

Only then did Xu Qing notice that the guard was not a living person at all, but a robot!

Though surprised, he showed his access card as required.

The robotic guard extended a hand and swiped it over the card. A green light immediately emerged from its palm, after which it nodded at Xu Qing. "Please enter."

Xu Qing walked straight into the warehouse area.

That was all it took to get in?

Looking at the rows of warehouse units around him, which resembled shipping containers, Xu Qing scratched his head. He had not expected it to be so easy.

He flipped the card over and examined it carefully.

On the back of the access card was a code: C0148.

Looking at the "A0001" written on the metal combination door of a warehouse nearby,

Xu Qing understood. This should be the code of the warehouse assigned to the access card.

"C0148?" Xu Qing searched all the way until he finally found a warehouse that appeared quite small.

He pressed the access card against the card reader on the combination door.

Following a beep, the combination door, like a garage's metal shutter, slowly rose.

A warehouse of nearly a hundred square meters appeared before Xu Qing.

"Click." He turned on all the lights in the warehouse.

"Whoa, it looks small from outside, but it's this big inside?"

Xu Qing walked into the warehouse in surprise and closed the door behind him.

Looking at the somewhat empty warehouse before him, Xu Qing curiously surveyed it.

The warehouse was divided into three areas.

One area held a variety of miscellaneous items.

There were paintings, porcelain, some strange electronic products, and even an ornate-looking coffin.

These were probably the valuables the robbers had stolen.

Another area contained several bunk beds and was clearly a living area.

It seemed to be where the robbers occasionally stayed.

But the area that drew Xu Qing's attention the most was the last one.

Besides some fitness equipment, it contained a tall, old-looking machine.

"Punch Strength Testing Machine!!"

Seeing the various details inscribed on the metal plate on the side of the machine, Xu Qing cried out in surprise.

"Damn, so this is what a Punch Strength Testing Machine looks like. Where the hell did these people get something like this?"

Xu Qing was immediately excited.

He had previously wanted to find somewhere to test his physical stats.

He never expected to stumble upon such an unexpected windfall in this warehouse!

So Xu Qing quickly circled the machine and studied it.

He discovered that although it was over a hundred and fifty years old, it was still intact. As long as it was connected to a power source, it could be used directly.

A century-old item with such great quality. Incredible.

Once he discovered that it worked, Xu Qing could no longer hold himself back.

He looked around, then finally took off his shirt and stood bare-chested before the Punch Strength Testing Machine.

Before him was the machine's punching target.

It was cylindrical, roughly thirty centimeters thick.

It stood upright on the ground.

All he had to do was strike the target, and the machine's display would show his strength data.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Qing casually threw a punch at the target first without using much force.

A line of data immediately appeared on the machine.

Strength: 30.2 kg
Classification: Ordinary Person

"Hm? Ordinary person? It can even classify strength? But this thing was made a hundred and fifty years ago. Could its strength classifications also be from over a century ago?"

Xu Qing thought about it, then chuckled and took half a step back, adjusting his stance.

This time, he would use thirty percent of his strength.

Crushing Fist!

Bang!

Beep!

Following a crisp notification sound,

another line of data appeared on the machine.

Strength: 1622.2 kg
Classification: Elementary Warrior

Xu Qing was instantly delighted. It seemed the machine was not broken.

He had been worried that he might use too much force and smash the machine with one punch.

After all, it was a century-old relic. It practically counted as an antique.

"Thirty percent of my strength is already an Elementary Warrior? Uncle Luo said that this old classification is actually no different from the current nine ranks. An Elementary Warrior is a First Order Martial Artist!"

"Let's try full strength!"

This time, Xu Qing adjusted his breathing slightly and took two steps back.

Facing the Punch Strength Testing Machine, every muscle in his body suddenly trembled. His entire body tensed like a great bow drawn taut.

At a certain moment, that great bow reached Perfection.

Xu Qing slammed his right foot down, and his entire body shot forward!

Cannon Fist!

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