Chapter 72 – Muscle Control

“Playing the Riddler again.”

Lu Yuan muttered to himself as he glanced at his mobile phone, yet the frustration in his chest eased considerably with Ge Wenjun’s call.

From the news on TV, the information Ge Wenjun disclosed, and the two shuttles he saw a few days ago, it seemed clear.

The people sent from “higher-ups” were probably already taking action against the forces or organizations lurking behind the Missing persons case.

And they should have made some progress.

Once they are done with that, the next step would be to deal with the Ratman issue.

After enduring constant, ever-increasing anxiety for so long, it seemed like these days were finally coming to an end.

“Just a few more days. Hopefully, the next call from Ge Wenjun will be to ask me to the police station to identify Ratman’s corpse.”

Lu Yuan prayed silently in his heart.

“Xiao Yuan.”

“Yes!”

At this moment, Zheng Qiuling walked in with a broad smile, speaking softly, “I’ll give you some money. How about going on a trip with your classmates? You’ve been studying so hard these past months and practicing martial arts too. You’ve gotten thinner; you should go and have some fun.”

As she spoke, Zheng Qiuling tugged at his clothes, looking a bit distressed.

Lu Yuan’s mouth twitched slightly.

He was now strong enough to take down a bull, and even concrete blocks couldn’t withstand his punches. How did Mom see him as thinner?

Was it because his agility points increased by one recently, making his physique more balanced?

“No need, I don’t want to go out these days.”

Lu Yuan decisively declined Zheng Qiuling’s kind offer, greeted her, and quickly went upstairs.

Watching his retreating figure, Zheng Qiuling felt a bit annoyed, “This kid, how come he’s getting quieter after practicing martial arts?”

“Xiao Yuan has grown up; he has his own ideas. Just let him be.”

Lu Yueping remarked casually from the side, taking off his reading glasses and carefully placing the report card on the table in front of him.

Zheng Qiuling sighed softly, then suddenly remembered something and eagerly took out her mobile phone.

“I forgot to call Xinghua to tell him that Xiao Yuan got first in his grade. He should be happy too.”

Lu Yuan spent most of his mornings and afternoons practicing the crane stance.

His current focus in his training was singular elevate his crane stance to Level 4 as soon as possible to boost his constitution points.

Without improving his constitution, he couldn’t freely use the second professional core skill of a [martial artist].

The thought of having such a powerful skill but being unable to use it kept Lu Yuan tossing and turning in bed at night.

However, what frustrated Lu Yuan was that despite his diligent practice, the progress of his crane stance was pitifully slow.

After reaching Level 3, completing all eighteen moves of the crane stance only earned him two or three experience points.

Training from morning to night would only net him a few dozen experience points.

At this rate, it would take him at least ten days to push the crane stance to Level 4.

“I’m afraid it also has to do with my constitution points increasing as well. The crane stance has upgraded twice, adding 2 points to my constitution. The same moves naturally have a diminished training effect on my body. I even suspect that in the future, leveling up the crane stance might not provide an additional constitution attribute point.”

Thinking ahead, Lu Yuan decided that once the Ratman issue was resolved, he would immediately consult Lin Zhiqin about the auxiliary secret ointment.

He practiced until 6 PM, when Lu Yueping knocked on his door, calling him to dinner.

Tonight, Lu Yuan received extremely special treatment.

The dining table was laden with twelve different dishes.

Zheng Qiuling had even temporarily closed her shop and joined them to celebrate his achievement of being first in grade in his final exams.

Lu Xinghua, who arrived home just in time for dinner, wore a rare smile. He not only praised Lu Yuan generously but also gave him two thousand yuan as a reward.

Lu Yuan looked at the beaming faces of Zheng Qiuling and Lu Yueping, and at Lu Xinghua, whose shirt was slightly yellowed with sweat, smelling of smoke, and who appeared thin and tanned.

After some thought, he took two hundred yuan from the two thousand on the table and left the rest.

“When I receive the scholarship from school, I’ll give the money I’ve saved away. Which piece of clothing did grandfather hide the money in last time?”

As he shoveled food into his mouth, Lu Yuan pondered at the dinner table.

“Roar!”

The red-eyed, robust Ratman bellowed loudly.

Its tail, as thick as two fingers, whipped through the air, striking the ground and shattering large chunks of concrete.

The ferocious and violent aura it emitted was like boiling water, filling the entire alley.

But this terrifying aura, like boiling water, was forcibly suppressed by two monstrous, inhuman hands.

Veins bulged across two arms as thick as an adult’s thigh, their skin and flesh swollen to a dark red. These arms, one on each side, gripped the Ratman’s shoulders, pinning it down firmly.

Suddenly, the ten fingers, thick and veined like they were wearing grotesque gloves, dug into the flesh beneath them.

“Crack, crack—”

The Ratman’s shoulder blades were crushed like dough.

The Ratman opened its bloody mouth wide, lunging forward to bite. But those monstrous hands gripping its shoulders pulled in opposite directions.

“Creak, creak—rip—”

Accompanied by the sickening sound of tearing and cracking.

“Crash—”

The nearly two-meter-tall, robust Ratman was torn in half, its foul, filthy organs and blood splattering everywhere.

Lu Yuan released his grip, and the two halves of the Ratman’s corpse fell to the ground with a thud.

He looked at his own arms.

From his fingertips to his shoulders, his skin was torn, veins ruptured, and the underlying mangled fascia and bones were visible.

His chest, waist, and thighs also bore varying degrees of injury.

Lu Yuan looked as if he had been run over by a heavy plow.

It was a miserable sight.

Yet, “How satisfying!”

Lu Yuan glanced at the still-twitching remains of the Ratman at his feet and fell backward with a look of contentment.

In reality, Lu Yuan opened his eyes, still carrying a hint of lingering excitement on his face.

In reality, he couldn’t use [special exertion], but he had indulged in it plenty in the Consciousness Space over the past few days.

Tearing apart transformed Ratman was child’s play.

He had even used this technique to clash head-on with Qin Feng on the second floor of the martial arts gym.

Of course, it was just one move.

And the outcome was even more disastrous than just now.

“The ‘more than double’ mentioned in the [special exertion] skill description must refer to a certain lower limit.”

Lu Yuan stared at the text description of [special exertion] on his professional panel, his fingertips rhythmically tapping the table.

“The lower limit is double, but the upper limit is related to my constitution and the degree of control I have over my muscles.”

Lu Yuan extended his right hand, watching the muscles under his skin ripple lightly like waves.

He hadn’t activated [special exertion]; this was just an added benefit from the skill.

Lu Yuan hadn’t been practicing in vain these past few days. He had been pondering and researching this small muscle control technique.

“If I can master muscle control, I can make small changes to my physique and facial features. Maybe when my strength points increase and I turn into a muscle-bound guy, I can add some agility points and revert back.”

Lost in thought, Lu Yuan was about to enter the Consciousness Space to spar with Lin Zhiqin and Qin Feng again.

Suddenly, he heard a commotion of voices coming from the living room outside his room.