Alex, The Limit of the Human Body

Central City.

Central City is located in the state of Missouri, situated at the confluence of the Missouri River and adjacent to Keystone City.

Years ago, Central City's development was quite remarkable. It ranked at the forefront in both economy and culture, serving as a hub for American commerce, architecture, and art. It was known as the "Jewel of the Midwest" and earned the moniker "The Gem City."

However, with the opening of Keystone City, a vast number of factories and commercial activities shifted there, and Keystone City's development gradually surpassed that of Central City. Nevertheless, Central City still possesses irreplaceable advantages. For instance, Central University is one of the best universities in the world, on par with the likes of Oxford and Cambridge. The Central City Medical School further enhances the city's prestige, having produced several Nobel Prize winners in Medicine. Numerous medical research, architectural, artistic, commercial, and industrial institutions are located in Central City, and an important branch of S.T.A.R. Labs also occupies a significant place within the city.

At dawn, the morning sunlight pierces through the cold, icy mist, shining upon this quiet, warm city.

It is late autumn. The red maples on both sides of Alman Street are already bare, leaving behind cool, crisp branches, while red maple leaves fall like fire onto the asphalt road.

A cold autumn breeze sweeps through the morning, swirling the fiery red leaves. The dancing leaves add a touch of intensity to the chill of late autumn.

Behind the red maple trees lies a cluster of small wooden villas, occupying a large area in a quiet, secluded environment.

In one of the sky-blue wooden villas, one can smell the aroma of fried eggs and bacon wafting through the house.

In the backyard, there is a patch of grass.

The grass underfoot is already bare; after long periods of training, the turf in this area has long since ceased to grow.

A slender figure, wearing black shorts and exposing a muscular, sculpture-like upper body, stands rooted to the spot like a benchmark.

The man is lean with fair skin. His eyes are closed, and as he breathes slowly, his pectoral and abdominal muscles rhythmically contract, outlining a dynamic aesthetic that radiates a unique luster in the cold morning sun.

His appearance is particularly striking: a mixed heritage of East and West, yet leaning toward the marble-sculpted, chiseled features of the East. His nose is straight, his brow ridge high, and his forehead broad. His face exudes a sharp, cold, and rugged handsomeness, yet a tear mole at the corner of his left eye adds a touch of allure.

Alex slowly opens his eyes and exhales a puff of white mist.

When his eyes open, the dark, deep pupils, combined with the charm of the tear mole, shimmer with a captivating hue, as if his gaze is constantly conveying a fascinating temperament that leaves one intoxicated.

The next moment.

His figure suddenly erupts into motion. His muscles tense, and a force rises from his heels, surging through his thighs and tailbone. His spine straightens like a dragon, and his momentum rises like a soaring giant.

Bang...

A violent whistling sound suddenly erupts from where he stands. He continues his daily martial arts practice, his movements grand and imposing, as if he were facing a tidal wave. His fists strike out, turning into phantoms, unleashing a thousand layers of force. The explosive sound of his strikes pierces the air, and his feet seem to vanish from sight. His movements are violent, swift, and majestic, as if he were battling nature itself atop a mountain peak.

A moment later, Alex stops. His entire body is covered in beads of sweat, his taut muscles radiating a faint heat. His body is fired up, and his heart pumps with a surging, turbulent, and fiery blood. He holds a steel spear weighing 50 kilograms, a head taller than himself, the tip gleaming with a cold metallic light in the sun.

Suddenly, he sweeps the spear horizontally. His arms swing, scattering hot sweat into the air, which sparkles with vitality under the sun as wisps of steam rise from his muscles.

He appears as if he were on a battlefield of ten thousand troops, sweeping across the ranks with his steel spear. His movements are wide and open, slicing through the air with sharp whistles. The phantom images of the spear swirl like a fan, whipping up layers of wind and thunderous, rumbling momentum, as shocking and terrifying as a stampede of ten thousand horses.

More than ten meters away, the fallen red maple leaves are swept up. As Alex controls the wind and waves with his spear, a single red maple leaf drifts alone in front of him.

Alex retracts the spear, and the world falls silent in an instant. The air currents fly outward, and the red maple leaves on the ground roll away for over ten meters like a sea of fire.

He holds the steel spear at his waist, standing perfectly still like a statue. His body is drenched in sweat, his solid muscles glistening in the sunlight with a magnificent, sculptural beauty.

The maple leaf drifts and flutters before him.

His deep, dark eyes narrow, focusing with the sharpness of an eagle hunting its prey. The falling leaf seems to slow down; time itself appears to decelerate in his eyes. He can clearly see the texture of the leaf, the varying thickness of the veins, and the intricate, tiny network formed by their intersection.

Alex's arm, holding the steel spear, twists with great force, thrusting out from his waist. The tip pierces the air with a sharp point.

A point of cold light arrives first.

The world seems to lose its color, leaving only this point of cold light, which touches the red maple leaf.

Though the momentum is fierce and violent, when the cold light touches the leaf, it is as gentle as a wife using a needle to mend clothing—the technique is incredibly sophisticated and fluid.

The leaf is "gently" tapped by the sharp point, and a tiny piece of the leaf is pushed out from the network of veins.

This red maple leaf has lost most of its moisture and is extremely fragile; an ordinary person would crush it and destroy its veins just by picking it up, let alone using a spear to extract a piece without damaging the surrounding structure.

This is even more impressive than the level of Li Shuwen, who could pierce a fly without damaging the mirror it rested on, because Alex had already reached that level years ago, and he has since advanced several steps further.

The next instant, the cold light flashes like a torrential rainstorm. Alex's arm holding the spear has turned into a blur. The spear pours out thousands of starlights, each point dazzling and blinding.

The red maple leaf, caught in the endless points of cold light, is like a small boat in the ocean facing a storm, swaying and drifting amidst the thousands of starlights, unable to escape the surrounding cage.

With every point of light that appears, a piece of the red maple leaf is flicked out by the spear tip.

Starting from the base of the leaf, Alex deliberately uses the tip to carve and tap. In an instant, the leaf is peeled away piece by piece, as if turning the pages of a book.

In the blink of an eye, the entire leaf is dismantled by the starlight of the spear, scattering into the air.

Whoosh...

With a sound, the spear is retracted, shifting from extreme motion to absolute stillness. Alex stands tall, his eyes as sharp and cold as an eagle's, his muscles glistening with sweat and rising heat, displaying an ultimate, artistic beauty under the sun.

A transparent red maple leaf, now nothing more than an undamaged network of veins, drifts slowly down in front of Alex.

The veins of the maple leaf are incredibly beautiful, possessing a transparent outline and a unique, artistic quality—a masterpiece of nature's craftsmanship.

Alex reaches out with two fingers of his left hand and gently pinches the falling leaf veins.

"Sigh..."

He gently crushes the beautiful, transparent leaf between his fingers, and the pulverized veins turn into dust. Alex furrows his thick, sword-like brows and cannot help but let out a sigh.

As early as two years ago, he had already reached the limits of human strength and physique.

Yet now, after two years of devoted introspection, triggering his body's danger warnings, excavating his own power, and refining his control to the most minute detail, he is still just a little bit away from truly breaking through the limits of humanity.

That little bit is as difficult as ascending to heaven.

He could feel his physical body—the magnetic field of his entire being, his strength, bones, blood, and the force field within his inner vision—all just a hair's breadth away from coalescing. He was so close to breaking through the limits of humanity, to transcending the human boundary.

Yet, there was still something missing, something that made it impossible for him to take that final step.

Alex was utterly baffled, deep in thought, when suddenly, an electronic voice resonated inside his head.

"Super System binding..."

"Binding mission issued: Become friends with The Flash. Time limit: 24 hours."

"Mission completion reward: Super System."

"Failure: Eradication."

Alex furrowed his brows, sensing that things were not as simple as they seemed!