Just a Fitness Enthusiast

Outside the bank, Chief George was caught in a dilemma.

On one side, he could agree to the robbers' demands, compromise with them, let them leave, and then rescue the remaining hostages.

On the other, he could take a hard-line approach and storm the bank directly, potentially causing enormous casualties.

But no matter which method he chose, the final result would be a massive blow to the New York Police Department's prestige.

He personally leaned toward the first option, as it would best preserve the hostages' lives.

As for the robbers, George knew the forces behind this bank and had no doubt about what awaited them.

However, his superiors had directly ordered him over the phone to take a hard-line stance against the robbers and not give them even an inch.

After several minutes of deliberation, before he could make a decision, a rapid series of gunshots rang out from inside the bank, making George tense up.

Because the robbers had destroyed all the cameras inside, he had no idea what was happening. He thought the robbers had grown impatient and were pressuring him.

The belated negotiation expert was now holding a loudspeaker and shouting toward the bank, "Listen up, people inside! We're preparing your demands. Don't hurt the hostages. Whatever the problem is, we can talk."

Inside, Bai Ye, covered in blood, listened to the voice from the loudspeaker outside and calmly waited for customer service to finish counting the cash in his suitcase and officially credit it to the account. Once the money was formally under the bank's management, whatever happened afterward would have nothing to do with him.

Once that was settled, Bai Ye finally breathed a sigh of relief. He wiped the blood from his face, walked to the sink and briefly washed the blood from his hands, then calmly pushed open the bank doors and walked outside.

The officers waiting anxiously outside had long since grown impatient. When they saw someone emerge, they all looked over, only to discover that it was still that Asian young man.

But compared to his previously spotless black-and-white checkered shirt, Bai Ye's white clothing was now covered in broad swathes of crimson. From head to toe, he looked as if he had just walked out of a battlefield of carnage.

George's heart immediately skipped a beat. He had practically concluded that the robbers had massacred the hostages, but Bai Ye raised the phone in his hand and slowly said, "Officer, it's over. All the robbers have been killed. You can come in now."

"What do you mean?" George listened to the voice over the radio, suspecting that he had misheard.

"You were too slow. I killed the robbers already. You can come over and wrap things up," Bai Ye repeated.

"Killed by y-you?" Every officer beside the radio froze.

"I think I killed most of them. One is still alive with a gunshot wound and has lost the ability to resist, so I didn't touch him," Bai Ye said, choosing his words more carefully.

After saying that, he casually tossed aside the phone and walked toward the police. As he approached, the stench of blood hit them head-on, making the nearby officers frown.

Though they were utterly bewildered, George still stepped forward to meet Bai Ye. Officers quickly came over to support him, but Bai Ye stopped them. "No need. I'm not injured."

And that was indeed true. Before, his bones and muscles might have fractured under the strain of his excessive strength.

But just before the fight began, he had put all 0.2 Attribute Points into his Constitution, balancing his strength and defense.

Bai Ye's status panel was now:

Name: Bai Ye

Lifespan: 18/400

Strength: 1.5+0.2

Constitution: 1.5+0.2

Spirit: 1.5+

Charm: 1.4+

Unused Attribute Points: 0.1

"Holy shit!!!"

"Wang De Fa???"

"Oh my god..."

At that moment, the officers who had rushed into the bank and seen the bloody blossoms bursting everywhere let out shocked cries.

Hearing the sounds from inside, George thought they were overreacting and walked in as well. The next instant, he could not stop himself from sucking in a sharp breath.

Scattered corpses, spilled brains, caved-in faces, severed bodies, and hostages huddled in the corners—weak, pitiful, and helpless.

Every human organ one could imagine lay scattered across the floor.

George's face turned pale as he backed out of the bank. After ordering the officers to seal off the scene and bar all media from entering, he looked sternly at Bai Ye. "Did you really kill all those people inside? Are you a mutant?"

"No. I'm just a fitness enthusiast." Bai Ye did not go along with the explanation, because when these people investigated later, they would definitely perform a physical examination and blood test. That lie would be exposed immediately.

"What kind of joke is that? What fitness enthusiast can tear someone in half with their bare hands?"

"Chief, I'm the victim here. Isn't your tone of questioning a little inappropriate?" Bai Ye looked up and asked, "In this situation, as long as it was self-defense, even if I chopped them into mincemeat, there wouldn't be a problem, right?"

George was left speechless by Bai Ye's words. After all, Bai Ye was right. Judging from the scene, Bai Ye had no connection to the robbery, and his actions really did count as self-defense.

Under such circumstances, they could at most conduct some questioning and interrogation. They could not overly restrict his personal freedom.

While Bai Ye squatted on a chair and reflected on his bad luck that day, the reporters who had been watching outside for so long could no longer sit still. One after another, they rushed over with cameras and microphones.

Looking at the countless reporters crowding around him and their cameras, Bai Ye smiled gently. "Could you ask me questions one at a time? I can't answer everyone's questions at once."

"I'm a reporter from the Daily Bugle. I'd like to know what happened inside the bank. Why did you come out covered in blood?"

"The blood on me all came from the robbers. In fact, the situation just now was extremely dangerous. Faced with the robbers' coercion, I was forced to fight back. Only after narrowly escaping death did I barely manage to kill them all," Bai Ye explained.

In a situation like this, he had to establish the narrative in public opinion. Otherwise, who knew what it would turn into in the end.

"You? Killed all the robbers? And then walked out of there completely unharmed?" The reporter, along with the viewers watching the live broadcast, were all dumbfounded.

"Yes. The whole process was incredibly dangerous. One moment of carelessness, and I would've been riddled with bullets."

"Sorry to interrupt, but are you a mutant?" the reporter asked, raising a hand in confusion.

"Of course not. I'm human. The only reason I'm this strong is because I have a habit of working out," Bai Ye said.

"Are you sure an ordinary human can kill several armed robbers alone without so much as a scratch just by working out?"

"Of course. As long as you add a few proper training methods, you can reach my level too."

George had a bit of a headache as he stepped in front of Bai Ye to block the reporters. He used official-sounding platitudes to fend off their questions while having the other officers take Bai Ye away for a statement and physical examination.

At a hospital in downtown New York City, Matthew lay leisurely on his bed when he heard Amy's footsteps outside the corridor—she had only just left his room.

What's going on? Why is Amy back again? Matthew wondered. Amy threw open the door and said excitedly, "Hey, Matthew, they found that passerby we talked about yesterday."

"Yesterday?"

"You know, that super handsome young guy in your friend's drawing. I'm telling you, he looks even better in person than in that picture," Amy said excitedly.

The moment she said that, Matthew remembered. Wasn't that the guy who had shot both his arms and legs to pieces? "Where did you see him?"

"On TV."

Matthew froze. "Huh? On TV?"

"Yeah. I heard he just wiped out an entire robbery gang by himself."

Matthew: ...