Physique Enhancement

Near the abandoned shipyard stood a hidden bar called "Sunset Fence," Scorpion Baring's hideout.

Hydra had ample funding and many properties in office buildings along major commercial streets, but Baring, the regional head, seemed unimpressed by such lavish surroundings.

Being from Texas, he was more accustomed to a cowboy's life—taming wild horses across vast ranches and battling wind and sand by day, then gathering in dimly lit bars at night, measuring the boundaries between freedom and loneliness with whiskey and stories.

At that moment, he was bragging to his men about his own cleverness:

"I never liked the look of that kid. Dangerous jobs like this are perfect for yellow monkeys~

Hahaha~"

The scorpion tattoo on the two-meter giant's face grew increasingly savage with his laughter.

Baring's words set off roaring laughter among more than a dozen agents, including several Asians.

The smoke-filled bar was filled with merriment.

"Bang!"

The wooden door tore free from its frame and landed not far in front of Baring, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The bar fell silent. Everyone stared toward the entrance, their expressions gradually turning grim as their fingers slowly reached for the guns on the tables.

Su Ming's slightly casual voice drifted in:

"Dear Mr. Baring! May I ask when I, who had been diligently completing my mission, became a traitor to the organization?"

A few minutes earlier.

Su Ming had roughly browsed the system shop in the taxi.

The blonde woman kicking his arm clean off still bothered him—his regenerative ability might have been strong, but his body was still far too weak...

If only there were something that could improve physical attributes...

He found it!

[Physique Enhancement → Permanently increases stamina by 2 points, $20,000]

Although the blonde woman's equipment had exchanged for quite a bit of money—more than ten thousand dollars, in fact.

It still was not enough to exchange for the Physique Enhancement talent!

Just then, the taxi slowly came to a stop in a remote area.

The driver twisted his fat body around, and a pitch-black gun barrel pointed at Su Ming as well.

"Don't move! This is a robbery!"

A taxi driver?

Robbery?

Su Ming raised his head and looked at the driver and the revolver in his hand in confusion.

A prompt appeared before his eyes:

[Used Ruger GP100 Revolver (with 6 bullets) → Valued at $180]

"Mr. Driver, what did you say?"

It was as if he had not heard the driver clearly.

"I said, hand over all the money and valuables on you!"

The driver waved the handgun threateningly.

"Oh~~~"

Seeing the thick layer of dust on the meter, Su Ming suddenly understood—what use was a meter compared to a gun barrel?

He smiled at the driver.

"Sir, there's a saying in China—what goes around comes around!"

While the driver was distracted, Su Ming kicked him in the face, shattering his nose and sending several teeth flying.

He then dragged the driver out of the car and gave him an unforgettable lesson in practical social education.

Only after the driver fainted and indicated that he was willing to pay tuition did Su Ming decide class was over.

Looking at the nearly new taxi before him, data appeared in his vision:

[Used Ford Explorer Hybrid → Valued at $31,000]

"Exchangeable item detected!"

The mechanical prompt rang in his mind.

"Exchange?"

"Wait a second!"

With that, he picked up the revolver beside the unconscious driver, tossed it into the car, and clapped his hands.

"Exchange everything!"

The taxi vaporized and vanished before his eyes, and his account balance surged by more than thirty thousand dollars.

[Account balance: $41,380. Exchange for Physique Enhancement?]

"Exchange!"

Su Ming's somewhat oversized suit and overly long pants gradually became fitted after a dozen seconds.

Even the slightest movement that pulled on his muscles made them incomparably firm.

Congratulations, his body had been comprehensively strengthened.

He opened his attribute panel, and a holographic interface appeared before him:

[Name: Su Ming]

[Age: 28]

[Stamina: 9]

[Current account: $1,380]

[Existing talents: Sub-Wolverine-Level Recovery, Dynamic Vision Lv.1, Jeet Kune Do Mastery, Physique Enhancement Lv.1 (2/5 stacks)]

Huh?

His stamina had actually increased by 4 points!

That was beyond Su Ming's expectations. He had thought spending twenty thousand dollars would simply increase his base stamina by 2 points. It could stack?

2/5 stacks? Did that mean it could only stack five times at most?

It was currently Level 1. What about Level 2? Level 3?

Taking a closer look:

[Physique Enhancement Lv.1 → Physique Enhancement Lv.2, permanently increases stamina by 20 points. $2,000,000]

[Physique Enhancement Lv.2 → Physique Enhancement Lv.3, permanently increases stamina by 200 points. $20,000,000]

[Physique Enhancement Lv.3 → Physique Enhancement Lv.4, permanently increases stamina by 2,000 points. $200,000,000]

Su Ming remained expressionless. He had thought the stamina cap was only 10 and had been rather pleased with himself for reaching 9, only to discover that stamina had no upper limit...

Then he considered the world he was in and quickly accepted it...

"Damn it!"

Su Ming suddenly realized that he had run into that damned robbery before even reaching his destination—and had lost the taxi as a result.

He casually kicked the driver.

"Annoying bastard!"

"Whoosh... Bang!"

The driver's fat body spun along the ground and flew more than ten meters, crashing straight into a tree across the road. His pants had even been ground open, exposing his pale, hairy thigh.

"This...?"

Su Ming looked at his leg in disbelief. He clearly had not used much force, so how had it produced such power?

Was Physique Enhancement really this absurd?

Excitement flickered in his eyes. Recalling the direction of the abandoned shipyard, he broke into a run...

The howling wind by his ears grew louder and louder. For the first time, Su Ming experienced what it felt like to be free of his body's limits.

In one word—he simply would not get tired!

The swift figure soon vanished at the end of the road, while an excited cry beneath the night sky startled sleeping birds awake.

"Yahoo~"

Sunset Fence Bar.

The Hydra agents had risen to their feet the moment the door hit the ground, racking their guns as they stared intently at the entrance.

If anyone dared cause trouble here, they would not hesitate to pull the trigger and turn him into a sieve—they swore it!

Scorpion Baring recognized Su Ming's voice, and the wariness on his face turned to disdain.

He shot a look at the person beside him, signaling him to prepare to fire, then called out loudly:

"Long live Hydra!

Ming~ my brother, did you complete the mission?!

Come over~ let's have a drink."

Yet inwardly, he was puzzled. He had clearly arranged for someone to take care of him, so how was this kid still alive?

The intelligence on the Vibranium deal had already been obtained through other channels. Su Ming was now a discarded pawn.

All his painstaking effort had gone to waste...

Where were the bounty hunters? Those idiots who claimed to have the best reputation had taken the money without doing the job! Damn it.

Hearing Baring's warm greeting, Su Ming gave no response. He slowly walked into the bar, raising the thing Baring had personally handed him earlier—a sealed envelope.

"Dear Mr. Baring, I'm curious. What exactly could make a low-ranking agent like me hunted by both the organization and bounty hunters?"

As he slowly tore open the envelope, Su Ming recalled Baring patting his shoulder two days ago and warning him: never open the envelope.

Baring's expression turned somewhat ugly. Su Ming's actions were no different from slapping him across the face in public.

But the contents of the envelope could not be revealed to others yet. Too many people were watching him, and it would give them leverage.

"Ming~ my brother, listen to me. Your mission does not permit you to open it. Otherwise, it is betrayal."

Seeing Su Ming's hand about to pull out the letter, Baring tried to stop him.

At the same time, the gun beneath the table was slowly cocked.

With an easy smile, Su Ming looked at the agents in the room—they were all Level Two agents, second only to Baring in status.

He waved the letter in his hand.

"Gentlemen, are you curious about what's written inside?"

Although he received no response, the flickering looks in the agents' eyes revealed their thoughts.

"Very well! Then let me..."

"Bang!"

Before Su Ming could finish speaking, a gunshot suddenly rang out.