Exercise with Every Sinew Severed

As he entered the tiny house, his mother, Yao Jinying, was reheating food on the impossibly small gas stove.

Yao Jinying was around forty, in an era where genetic drugs could extend lifespans and preserve youth.

Yet there was not a trace of youthful vigor on her face. It was weathered by hardship, with fine lines already gathering at the corners of her eyes.

Although she had always seemed to be in good spirits, Fu Junlin knew she had no choice but to be.

After all, she had raised two sons by herself.

And she had done it in the Subspecies District.

By the little round table sat a handsome round-faced boy, cross-legged as he did his homework.

He was Fu Junlin's younger brother, Fu Junting.

Fu Junting was already thirteen. He looked seventy or eighty percent like Fu Junlin, though he was more childish—and, of course, more mischievous.

"You're back so early today."

Yao Jinying turned around and asked in confusion.

"Oh, the factory got a new technical director today. He improved the product, so production was suspended for the day."

As he spoke, Fu Junlin pounced on Fu Junting, hugged him, and vigorously ruffled his hair.

Fu Junting was no pushover either. He immediately bit him, and the two began roughhousing.

Yao Jinying finished heating the food and brought it to the table.

It was a large plate of food, but it was obvious that several leftovers had been mixed together.

That was because Yao Jinying worked at a restaurant.

Being able to bring back leftovers that were still reasonably clean was already no easy thing.

As for finding them dirty, that was out of the question. This job was the only reason Yao Jinying had been able to raise the two boys with adequate nutrition.

It had even allowed her to save a little money for Fu Junlin's university education.

Fu Junlin and his brother had eaten this way since childhood, so they were long used to it.

As the three ate, Fu Junlin took out the money from his pocket: eighty-six yuan, in a mix of bills and loose change.

Yao Jinying beamed. She wiped the oil from her hands and happily accepted the money.

Then she took out more than forty yuan from her own pocket. She did not even continue eating, instead stacking it all together and happily counting the money.

"I told you, education matters! My son can earn more from a part-time job than I make in two days! Hmph, I'm going to make those old biddies mad tomorrow!"

She muttered gleefully as she counted.

Fu Junting looked as though he wanted to say something, but his little face was full of hesitation.

Just as he was about to speak, Fu Junlin nudged him with his elbow.

Fu Junlin had been through it himself, so he naturally knew that with the semester ending, his brother wanted to ask their mother which high school was her Intent for him to attend.

But given the family's financial situation, they could not afford to send him to a very good high school.

Their mother was happy right now. This was not a good time to bring it up.

Fu Junting grasped the Intent. He could only purse his lips and lower his head to shovel down his food.

Yao Jinying stroked Fu Junlin's cheek and gave him a thumbs-up.

Then she pulled aside the bedding beside her to reveal the wall behind it, took out a little iron box, carefully placed the money inside, and hid it away again.

Only then did she happily continue eating.

Through the gap when the iron box had opened, Fu Junlin caught a glimpse inside.

Although there was a thick stack of money, there were barely any large bills.

He estimated that there was only four or five thousand yuan in total.

Even if they took all of it out, it would only cover the first installment of tuition for the lowest-tier high school.

There was not even any reserve for the usual consumption of energy crystals.

And Fu Junting's entrance exams were right around the corner.

Looking at his mother's forced smile, Fu Junlin's heart clenched painfully.

At night, their mother slept in the inner room. Fu Junlin and Fu Junting sometimes studied late, so they would lie near the door and open the large gap beneath it.

That way, the red light outside could shine in.

Fu Junting read.

Meanwhile, Fu Junlin rapidly sketched on paper with a pen, hand-drawing a circuit diagram for a Battle Flag Crystal Block.

Just as he was engrossed in studying it,

the muscles in his leg suddenly spasmed, as if someone had viciously pulled his thigh muscle apart before slowly putting it back.

It felt like a cramp.

The pain made Fu Junlin hiss.

Fu Junting looked at him in confusion.

"What's wrong with you? Did a snake bite you?"

"Get lost. Are you hoping I'll die?" Fu Junlin snapped irritably.

Fu Junting rolled his eyes, muttered something under his breath, and continued reading.

Fu Junlin, meanwhile, shouted at Big Black inside his body.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm helping you train your muscles!"

Big Black said it as though it were only natural.

"What?"

"Your body is so weak. What if I can't use it properly when I need it later?"

Big Black said helplessly.

"What do you mean, when you need it? This is my body. Don't even think about using it in the future! It's already generous enough of me to let you stay!"

Fu Junlin immediately flared up. So this thing had still been thinking about taking control of his body.

"Huh? Don't be like that! What's the difference between this and prison? Aren't you keeping a beauty locked in a golden cage? You have to let me move around."

"Beauty my ass! Don't even think about it!"

Fu Junlin said crossly.

"It's fine. Even if I can't control your body, I can still forcibly control your muscles every now and then.

I'll keep training them, and there's nothing you can do about it. You'll beg me at a critical moment, hehehe..."

As he spoke, Big Black controlled Fu Junlin's pectoral muscles and made them contract violently.

An unusually sore pain swept through him, like he had overexerted himself lifting a thirty-kilogram dumbbell while working out.

The pain made Fu Junlin suddenly clench his fist.

"I'll never give my Intent to your demands, even if it kills me!"

Fu Junlin gritted his teeth.

He absolutely could not let this bastard control his body. Otherwise, it would keep pushing its luck and demanding control. What would he do then?

Fu Junlin no longer had the mood to study the circuit diagram. He lay down and focused on fighting Big Black.

About every ten seconds, one large muscle group would be tugged by Big Black.

The intensity was high, and the force kept increasing.

Most importantly, it followed a pattern.

First came the pectorals, then the latissimus dorsi, the shoulder deltoids, the abdominal muscles, the quadriceps, the gluteus maximus, and the calf muscles.

Then came the smaller muscle groups: the biceps and triceps.

One cycle took three minutes.

"Are you done playing yet? I fucking need to sleep!"

After resisting Big Black for more than an hour, Fu Junlin's entire body ached as though it were about to explode. He gritted his teeth as he spoke.

"You sleep your way, and I'll play mine. We'll each hold our ground."

"Hold your mother... If you butcher our idioms again, I'll fight you to the death."

Fu Junlin gritted his teeth, his body twitching as he spoke.

But clearly, there was nothing he could do to Big Black.

Sure enough, Big Black had no intention of stopping.

Fortunately, Fu Junlin soon found a rhythm for resisting it. Once he got used to it, the Intent to sleep came over him, and he could no longer hold on. He fell into a deep sleep.

Before going to bed, Fu Junting glanced at his already sleeping brother.

He discovered that his brother's arms and legs twitched every now and then in his sleep. It was extremely strange.

It was like he was having a nightmare, but also like he was suffering from some illness.

"Wow, he's developed a new problem even while sleeping... He won't die, will he?"

He frowned and pondered it for a moment. Then he let out a hungry burp, shut the little opening beneath the door, and went straight to sleep.

Early the next morning,

when Fu Junlin woke up, it was already broad daylight. His mother had probably gone to work.

His younger brother had gone to school too.

This was the first time Fu Junlin had been the last one to wake up. Usually, he was the first.

But Fu Junlin quickly learned why.

"Fuck!... I... am I paralyzed??"

He vaguely felt an intense pain throughout his entire body. Every muscle burned with scorching pain.

It seemed he could not even move a finger.

It was as though every muscle in his body had been torn apart.

No, not torn apart. It was as if someone had chopped them into mince, then beaten them with a rolling pin all night until they became pulp.

"How could you be paralyzed? If you were paralyzed, where would I go?"

Big Black's somewhat exhausted voice emerged.

"It was you!?"

Fu Junlin instantly found the culprit.

"You don't need to thank me. Muscles grow through cellular destruction and reconstruction. Look at how thoroughly I destroyed yours! This is practically breaking the cauldrons and sinking the boats!

Now you need to consume a lot of protein to maximize my contribution."

Fu Junlin was almost in tears.

I'll fucking maximize your contribution...