Smith's Book-Writing Plan

You performed 312 weighted squats in total...

Repeat 21 times to increase the Strength cap by 0.1.

Repeat 5 times to increase the Constitution cap by 0.1.

Repeat 19 times to increase the Spirit cap by 0.1.

At ten o'clock that night, Bai Ye wiped the sweat streaming down his forehead, set down the three-hundred-plus-pound weight beside him, and looked at the information panel.

With an additional 0.2 boost to his Strength, his training efficiency was indeed several times faster than before. After training for merely four or five hours that evening, he was already nearly at the point of leveling up.

"That's enough for today." Bai Ye straightened up and turned to Smith.

Smith's expression had already gone numb from shock. Hearing Bai Ye's words, he asked, "You're not training anymore? Only five hours today?"

"It's fine. You'll be getting off work soon anyway. I'll go back and keep training on my own. I'll come over after school tomorrow, same as today."

Bai Ye spoke as he threw on his clothes. Soaked in sweat, he could not be bothered to shower in the gym. He would keep sweating once he got home and resumed training anyway, so he might as well wash up later. He turned and headed home directly.

Watching Bai Ye leave the gym, Smith withdrew his gaze. He was already looking forward to Bai Ye's arrival tomorrow.

He was looking forward to seeing whether Bai Ye would surprise him again as he had today, whether a night of training would raise his physical abilities another notch.

Smith felt both delighted and worried. As Bai Ye's fitness coach, watching his client grow sturdier by the day, he had begun to feel that Bai Ye was no ordinary man. One day, he would surely soar into the sky and shake the Nine Heavens.

But whether that soaring and sky-shaking would lead somewhere good or somewhere bad was hard to say.

Given the current public hostility toward mutants, and considering that his client did not seem easy to get along with, there was an eighty-percent chance Bai Ye would eventually join the Mutant Brotherhood, the terrorist organization founded by mutants.

Of course, Smith did not want things to develop that way. He was hoping that, since he was being so dedicated, Bai Ye would take him along once he made it big. He had even started keeping a diary these past few days.

That way, no matter how Bai Ye's story ended, he could use those diaries to write a book and make money.

If Bai Ye joined the Brotherhood in the future, he would write a book titled "My Mutant Client," analyzing Bai Ye's inner world in detail and explaining how he had gone bad.

If Bai Ye joined an official organization, he could change the title to "My Mutant Brother" and lavish Bai Ye with praise throughout the book.

No matter which path Bai Ye took, it would be Qin Shi Huang looking in a mirror—a win-win.

Leaving Smith to his fantasies, Bai Ye returned home without incident and prepared to begin training. Tonight, he intended to raise his Constitution to 1.5 and break through the limits of the human body.

According to the information panel, any long-term injury could be completely healed once Constitution reached 1.5. His healing ability would likely undergo a qualitative leap after reaching that threshold.

Casually taking off his shirt and hanging it to one side, Bai Ye raised the wardrobe with both hands just as he was about to train when the phone beside him suddenly rang.

He gently set down the wardrobe in confusion, walked over to the table, and saw an unfamiliar number on the screen. With a certain suspicion in mind, he answered the call.

"A Bai, are you short on cash lately? I'm planning another big job here. If we pull it off, I'll make the call and give you ten percent of the profits." A raspy yet hearty voice came from the other end.

Hearing the voice, Bai Ye fell silent for a moment before replying apologetically, "Sorry, Li Shu. I already told you, I'm done with the underworld."

The other end paused, seemingly considering something, before asking again, "A Bai, are you sure you're really quitting? You were born for this line of work. Ever since you left, none of those boys have amounted to anything. I was even thinking of having you take over for me someday."

Hearing that, Bai Ye remained firm. "Li Shu, I'm really sorry. I already said it before. I just want to study properly now."

"You really won't reconsider? What's so good about reading those useless books? Running with us is much more comfortable. One job earns you more than a year of working."

The voice on the other end became incomparably regretful.

"After your gambling-addict parents died, if I hadn't taken you in, you would've been sold to a nightclub as a male prostitute long ago. Though with that figure of yours, you'd have had a brighter future as one than by studying."

"I've thought it through, Li Shu. I'll hang up now. I still have things to do." Expressionless, Bai Ye ended the call and sneered.

He knew perfectly well that his parents had once been doing fairly well in New York. The reason they had become addicted to gambling and borrowed from loan sharks was because Li Shu, their fellow Chinatown native, had set them up.

And if Bai Ye had not been clever enough, his fate would indeed have been as Li Shu said. Young, alone, without family or assets, and with only his looks left, he would absolutely have been sold off as a male prostitute.

It was just that the person selling him off and counting the money behind the scenes would also have been Li Shu, the man on the other end of the call.

Over the years, by doing dirty work for him, Bai Ye had gradually paid off the loans his parents had owed and finally freed himself from that situation.

As for why he wanted to get out, even before recovering the memories of his previous life, he had seen things clearly enough.

In a place where mutants were everywhere, continuing to run with the underworld meant that if he provoked some truly ruthless person, having his whole family slaughtered would take no time at all.

After hanging up, Bai Ye did not immediately resume training. Instead, he began considering how to launder the money he had taken from the robbers.

Originally, he had planned to use Li Shu's connections to launder the money directly. Bai Ye would get the money, while Li Shu would take roughly a ten-percent commission.

But Bai Ye had not expected Li Shu to call first and ask him to get involved with the underworld again. Having refused, he naturally could not ask him to launder the money anymore.

It was not because he felt awkward about it. He simply doubted the man's morals and feared that Li Shu would launder every last cent of his hard-earned money away. Then Bai Ye would either have to swallow the loss or return to working under him for the sake of the money.

Bai Ye sighed softly. Since that method would not work, he could only find another one. Money was tight right now, and he needed to dispose of all that cash as soon as possible.

With a new problem on his mind, Bai Ye lifted the wardrobe again and resumed training. Improving himself was more reliable than any plan. He would give up cultivating the Purple Mist Divine Skill tonight.

As long as he could raise his Constitution to 1.5 before tomorrow, the training time saved by the improvement in aptitude from increased Constitution should easily make up for the cultivation time delayed tonight.