Fitness Equipment

At seven on Thursday morning, Peter Parker awoke from his slumber. He rubbed his blond hair and felt every muscle in his body brimming with strength.

What's going on? My physique looks like those bodybuilders'... Peter stared in astonishment at the muscular upper body reflected in the mirror.

Somewhat awkwardly, he assumed a boxing stance and threw two punches into the air with his right hand. The airflow stirred up by his fists even made the full-length mirror before him tremble slightly.

Though he had no idea what had caused his physical abilities to improve, he still excitedly familiarized himself with his newly strengthened body.

Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, New York, Director George had only just arrived at work when his expression turned grave at the sight of three corpses crushed and mangled beneath an iron gate, along with a huge letter S written on the ground in blood.

They had entered through the villa's front gate and discovered that nearly everyone in the entire villa had been slaughtered. The only survivor was the trembling blonde woman beside them.

"Can you tell me exactly what happened yesterday?" While the other officers pulled up surveillance footage, George looked at the villa's sole survivor.

From the blonde woman's halting account, George learned that the attacker had been a terrifying man with scars all over his head. Judging by the way he had acted, he was undoubtedly superpowered and was preliminarily identified as a mutant.

At that moment, an investigating officer came over and handed him a laptop containing surveillance footage retrieved from the surrounding area.

George opened the laptop and began reviewing it. Sure enough, he saw a disfigured man in black brazenly storm through the front entrance and kill everyone who stood in his way.

With his extraordinary speed and strength, the man had been exceptionally decisive. From bodyguards to hunting dogs, none had managed any meaningful resistance before dying.

"George, any thoughts?" Deputy Director Maud arrived at the scene and asked when he saw George reviewing the footage.

George watched the footage as he spoke. "The victims were gangsters. We can't rule out the possibility that a rival gang hired someone to kill them. Haven't they been clashing with the AK Party recently? I was planning to use that chance to crack down on them, so let's start our investigation there."

"At the same time, the killer's face was completely disfigured. He may have been someone persecuted by the gang who suddenly awakened mutant powers and came back for revenge. We can investigate that angle as well."

"Lastly, see whether the killer left behind fingerprints or anything else in the villa. Check the victims' call records from recent months too." George laid out his suggestions.

Maud nodded, then asked, "By the way, the mayor told you to recruit that young man. Have you made a move?"

George shook his head. "I asked him, but he refused. Looks like I have no hope of being reappointed for another term as director. Work hard."

"You're giving up just like that? You're not even going to fight for it?" The deputy director looked utterly speechless. "From what I can tell, you only asked once. You didn't make any real effort at all. Let me help you. Put some pressure on his school and make joining the police academy a graduation requirement. If he refuses, he can forget about graduating smoothly. Then he'll naturally agree."

Hearing Maud say that, George paused the footage, turned around, and said solemnly, "I only found out yesterday that my daughter likes him. I may not think much of that kid, but I can't exactly put obstacles in my daughter's love life."

"Uh... so what are you saying?"

"New York is a mess right now. Who knows when a police officer might die? It's fine for me to step down as New York's director. Your seniority and achievements over the years are enough. No matter who the next mayor is, you'll most likely be the next director," George said.

Seeing the sincerity in George's eyes, Maud could only abandon the idea of continuing to pursue Bai Ye. He said helplessly, "I was just thinking that after recruiting that kid, I could hand this case over to him."

George laughed when he heard that. "That's exactly why I don't want him joining the police department. New York is getting more chaotic by the day. If he really becomes my son-in-law, I don't want my daughter becoming a widow while she's still so young."

As the two chatted and laughed, an officer hurried over in a panic. "Director, we just received word that another massacre has occurred not far from here."

"What?" George's expression changed. "Who are the victims?"

"The leader of the JK Party, Linge Morui." After the officer spoke, the two men got up and prepared to head to the crime scene.

Inside the club, Bai Ye examined himself in the mirror. After recovering overnight, his face, which had been burned by sulfuric acid, had returned to perfection. Even his eyebrows and hair had grown back.

It had to be said that destroying two gang hideouts in one night had been a bit rushed for Bai Ye.

Although the description stated that he would fully recover in three hours, after two hours, Bai Ye's face had already begun to take on a human shape. He had been forced to race against time to complete his task before the disfigurement buff expired.

But after going around in such a big circle, no one should connect that Murder Demon to me, right? Bai Ye thought.

As long as he wiped out the families of ten or so gang leaders across New York, then mixed Li Shu's family neatly among them, with the disfigured identity on top of that, no one would ever suspect that he had gone to all this trouble just for Li Shu. Perfect!

"Click!" Just as Bai Ye was studying himself in the mirror, the gym door behind him opened, and Smith, who had risen early, walked in.

"Bai, the custom fitness equipment you asked me to order last night has arrived. It's outside now," Smith said.

"Oh, take me there." Bai Ye's eyes lit up. He turned around and went outside with Smith, where he saw several lumps of pig iron loaded onto a forklift.

At the very front were two cubes with sides of roughly half a meter and a weight of one ton each. At the top of each cube was a handle modeled after a stone lock, allowing someone to grip and lift it with one hand.

These were the custom fitness tools Bai Ye had specifically asked Smith to have a foundry make yesterday. Since their design was extremely simple, they had easily been completed and delivered within a day after he paid extra.

These iron blocks, each weighing over a ton, were now perfectly suited to his current level of progress, allowing him to train with one in each hand.

And when his physical abilities improved again, there would be no need to worry. He only needed to make a larger hollow iron block and fit this one inside it to continue training.

With these tools, he would not have to worry about his training equipment falling behind for quite some time.

Bending down, Bai Ye grabbed the two iron blocks before him and felt their heavy weight in his hands. After greeting Smith, he walked into the gym.