"If we're going to train, we first need to know what kind of physical condition Hela is in right now." Liu Xiaogang took a dumbbell off the equipment rack and set it in front of Hela.
"This one's five kilograms. Give it a try first."
Hela nodded, then bent down and grabbed the dumbbell.
"Come on, Hela, you can do it!" Xing Lan began cheering her on.
Hela picked up the dumbbell with ease, without the slightest strain, then looked at Liu Xiaogang.
Liu Xiaogang nodded and picked up a heavier dumbbell. "This one's ten kilograms. Most girls can't even lift it, so don't push yourself, Hela," Liu Xiaogang cautioned her.
Hela nodded, put down the five-kilogram dumbbell in her hand, and reached for the ten-kilogram one.
She lifted it easily as well.
"Huh? Something's not right. How are you so strong?" Liu Xiaogang was starting to get confused. He knew that Hela had previously had albinism, so by all rights, she should have been weaker than an ordinary person. Even if she was a Symbiote, this was a little unreasonable.
Before Liu Xiaogang could think it over, Xing Lan came over with heavy steps, carrying a huge barbell.
"Come on, Hela, let's see what you can do." With that, she put the barbell down in front of Hela.
The huge barbell landed on the floor, making the ground tremble slightly.
"Hey, you can't do that!" Liu Xiaogang stepped in to stop her. "That barbell weighs at least a hundred kilograms. She could easily get hurt!"
Xing Lan clapped her hands and looked at Hela with complete confidence. "I believe in her!"
"It's not a question of whether you believe in her. She really could get hurt lifting that much weight."
Xing Lan shrugged. "It doesn't seem like anything much would happen if Hela got hurt. Even if her hand were severed, she could grow it back."
Liu Xiaogang was speechless for a moment. Xing Lan seemed to have a point.
"All right, Hela, hurry up and try it! I believe you're definitely no ordinary girl!" Hela nodded.
Liu Xiaogang had no choice but to agree. "You can try, but you have to let me help."
"Okay!
"All right, Hela, go for it!"
Liu Xiaogang crouched in front of the dumbbell and gripped both sides of the barbell's bar, then Hela bent down and grabbed it too.
"Don't push yourself," Liu Xiaogang reminded her again, his cheeks a little red. It was his first time being so close to Hela, and the distinctive, delicate fragrance that wafted over him sent the little deer in his heart bounding wildly.
"Go, Hela! Go, Hela!"
Encouraged by Xing Lan, Hela suddenly strained with all her might...
The barbell didn't budge.
"..." Xing Lan's expression froze. Why wasn't this going the way she'd imagined?
"See? I told you a hundred kilograms was too heavy. There was no way Hela could lift it." Liu Xiaogang let go.
Xing Lan was somewhat discouraged.
"That's why we have to take it step by step. I'll go get a few slightly heavier dumbbells and see how strong Hela is."
Xing Lan nodded slightly, but Hela didn't seem ready to give up. She was still trying to lift the barbell.
"All right, Hela, don't waste your strength. Let's..." Xing Lan was only halfway through her sentence when the sight before her stunned her.
Muscles began to grow on Hela's once-slender arms at a speed visible to the naked eye, but they quickly disappeared again, and she slowly lifted the entire barbell.
Xing Lan watched it all excitedly, stars appearing in her eyes again before she knew it.
"All right, I got a fifteen-kilogram one. This should... Ah!"
Startled, Liu Xiaogang dropped the dumbbell in his hand, and it crashed heavily to the floor.
He stared dumbfounded at Hela, who had already raised the barbell over her head.
"See? See? I knew Hela could do it!" Xing Lan excitedly pointed at Hela and spoke to Liu Xiaogang, stars shining in her eyes.
Liu Xiaogang nodded stiffly, then held out his hands and walked over cautiously. "Hela, put it down slowly. Be careful not to hurt your back."
Hela blinked, then casually put the barbell down again, as though what she held wasn't a hundred-kilogram barbell but an ordinary little wooden stick.
Liu Xiaogang jumped again. "All right, it looks like the abilities [HeLa Cell] gives you aren't limited to regeneration..."
Liu Xiaogang lifted the barbell with one hand and put it back in its place, then cleared his throat twice.
"That's it for the strength test. Next, let's test Hela's speed."
Liu Xiaogang and Xing Lan brought Hela to a running track.
"Let's make it a hundred meters. I'll time Hela and see how fast she can run." Liu Xiaogang picked up the stopwatch and starting pistol lying nearby and stood at the finish line.
Xing Lan brought Hela to the starting line. "It's okay, Hela, don't be nervous. With your regeneration and strength, you can just be a fighter who goes head-to-head with the enemy!
"And when you hear the gunshot, run. Keep running until you reach Xiaogang, then stop. Got it?"
Hela nodded, seeming to understand but not quite.
"On your marks-
"Get set-"
Bang! Liu Xiaogang pulled the trigger, and a crisp gunshot rang out.
Hela heard the gunshot and immediately ran forward.
It was just that... her running posture was a little...
Bizarre.
?!
Xing Lan and Liu Xiaogang watched Hela running down the track on all fours and both fell into thought.
Hela finished "running" the hundred meters, and Liu Xiaogang stopped the timer. The time read 15.71 seconds.
Hela walked over and looked at Liu Xiaogang with her peach-red eyes, as if asking how she had done.
Liu Xiaogang fell into thought.
"Hela! That's not how you run!" Xing Lan rushed over, looking utterly distraught, her expression as though she had seen something indescribable.
Liu Xiaogang was much the same. At that moment, he hardly knew how to face Hela.
"You have to run on two legs! Like me. You can't run by crawling on all fours!" Xing Lan demonstrated for Hela, who nodded.
"Again! We have to do it again!"
Liu Xiaogang nodded in agreement. Although Hela's time was pretty good, she had run it on all fours, so it definitely didn't count.
Hela stood at the starting line again and, under Xing Lan's guidance, assumed a proper starting stance.
"On your marks-
"Get set-"
Bang! The crisp gunshot rang out again. This time, Hela's running posture was normal.
Hela quickly ran the full distance, passing Liu Xiaogang.
The wind she stirred up sent the hem of Liu Xiaogang's clothes fluttering incessantly.
He pressed the timer. "9.66 seconds. Not bad! That's only three seconds slower than me."
Xing Lan came over and took a look. "Of course! My Hela is the best!" Xing Lan planted her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest, her face full of pride.
Hela looked at Xing Lan, then copied her, planting her hands on her hips and puffing out her chest, which was a little smaller than Xing Lan's, with a proud look on her face.
Xing Lan: ( ｀▽´ )
Hela: ( ¯▽¯ )
Liu Xiaogang's cheeks reddened slightly. He cleared his throat twice. "Well, uh, Hela's basic physical abilities are pretty good. What she lacks most now is fighting skills and the like. After all, she's never been in a fight."
Xing Lan immediately nodded at that and threw her arms around Hela. "I think so too. Leave that kind of work to me!"
"Hmm... Forget it. I'd better do it. Your fighting skills aren't even as good as mine," Director Liu Xiaogang said somewhat disdainfully.
"Hmph, I don't care! I'm teaching her anyway. If it comes to it, we can both teach her." Xing Lan buried her head in Hela's neck.
Liu Xiaogang sighed helplessly and had no choice but to compromise.