Chapter 16: The Four Friends

Tang Mu again woke up late, at around ten, the following morning. As usual, he enjoyed a homemade breakfast in his room before taking the lift and heading to the gym in the basement.

"Brother Tang Mu! You're late again." Ning'er called out as soon as he walked through the gym's door. She had been busy working out on one of the treadmills but stopped when her eyes landed on Tang Mu.

Tang Mu smiled and walked towards the small girl. "Good morning, Ning'er! You look even cuter after breaking through to the pseudo-rank-one."

Ning'er had donned pink gym tights and a cute top with a teddy bear on the front that day. Her long black hair, tied into a high ponytail, flawlessly enhanced her charm. Her adorable face glistened with sweat, making her look like the perfect next-door younger sister working out.

"Brother Tang Mu, you have become cheeky these days." Hu Ning's adorable lips lifted when she heard Tang Mu's compliment. She pouted and continued, "But just know I'm not buying you lunch even if you compliment me hundreds of times today."

Tang Mu contorted his face, his expression turning a bit comical. "Ning'er, do you take me for such a person? Do you take me for one who will only compliment you with the hidden agenda of receiving free meals?"

"Of course, you're such a person, Tang Mu," a familiar voice jeered from the side before Ning'er could reply. "I can't even count the times you have coerced Ning'er into buying you free meals. I'm really in awe of your gigolo skills, Mr. Stick Man."

Ning'er let out a soft chuckle on hearing the voice.

Tang Mu turned to look and noticed that the person who had just spoken was Huang An, his other friend.

As usual, Huang An had that typical look of a professional bodybuilder sporting a vest and gym shorts about him. His chest, arms, and shoulders, laden with muscles, plus his tall physique, could make one wonder whether he was a true-blue descendant of a giant.

"Dumb Orangutan!" Tang Mu snickered, using Huang An's nickname. "Let's agree that I'm a gigolo. At least I have a cute face that can wow thousands of women. But what about you? What advantage do you have over me?"

Huang An laughed heartily and struck a professional bodybuilder's pose. "Look at these perfect muscles," he said. "Look at these biceps. Look at this chest. Can your bamboo arms and chopstick legs compare? Remember, no woman would choose a pretty face over a stronger man in the intergalactic era."

"Tsk... tsk," Tang Mu snickered again. "You're talking as if big muscles represent power. Isn't Ning'er almost a third of your size? Prove yourself by challenging her to a duel."

"Shameless... Do you want me to challenge a pseudo-rank-one just to prove myself? Why don't I challenge you instead?"

"Huang An, are you showing off your muscles again?" Another voice chimed in just before Tang Mu could reply.

The voice belonged to Gong Qing, a tall girl with short blue hair who happened to be another friend of Tang Mu. She was also in tights and sweating — all tell-tale signs that she had already begun her day's workout in the gym.

"How are you guys? How's your training going?" Gong Qing continued without giving anyone else a chance to speak.

The others, including Tang Mu, responded to her greetings, one after another. After that, the atmosphere turned much more harmonious as the friends started discussing other matters.

They stood around the treadmill, conversing about some trivial stuff until Gong Qing chose to steer the dialogue toward the upcoming Psionic Society assessment.

"I'm worried that I may not pass the assessment," Gong Qing sighed audibly and made a self-deprecating remark. "I have worked hard over the past month. But my fist force and leg power attributes have not improved even by a single kilogram of force. I wonder whether I'm doing anything wrong!"

Tang Mu chose to remain quiet.

Huang An creased his brows and said, "You must have hit a bottleneck. Your body must have already reached its current genetic limit. You need a catalyst like a gene activation elixir to push past the bottleneck."

Gong Qing frowned and sighed. "A genetic activation elixir costs millions of Earth dollars. There's no way I can afford it. Does this mean I won't make any other improvements before the assessment?"

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Huang An sighed and remained quiet.

Tang Mu also looked at Gong Qing for a moment and sighed. The tall girl had met a misfortune two years back. An underworld organization had kidnapped her and used her as a test subject for some freshly manufactured experimental elixirs.

Luckily, the police managed to rescue her from the underworld gang within a few days. But by then, the experimental elixirs had already damaged her body and destroyed her potential as a potential psionic.

After the incident, many thought Gong Qing would lose her drive to live and train. But surprisingly, she overcame the tragic experience quickly. She then continued persevering and working hard in order to fulfill her dream of becoming a true-blue psionic.

"Sister Qing'er!" Tang Mu said after organizing his thoughts. "Isn't your fist force and leg power already above 500 kg and 800 kg, respectively?"

"Yes, that's the case," Gong Qing said. "At the moment, I can unleash 510 kg with my fist and 809 kg with each of my legs. Of course, this is not because of my own talent but due to utilizing the genetic activation elixir I received as compensation from the police after the incident back then."

"Then, you should put your worries aside for now and concentrate on passing the Psionic Society's assessment," Tang Mu said. "I heard that no one asks whether you have ever used a genetic elixir during the assessment."

"The assessors will only examine your willpower and fitness attributes, including strength, stamina, and agility. As long as those aspects meet the mark, you'll pass the assessment, no other questions asked."

"After passing the assessment and joining a good university, you can start thinking about rectifying the problem with your body," Tang Mu continued. "I once read about a miracle drug that can heal all sorts of injuries and increase one's potential. If you keep on persevering, maybe you'll eventually chance upon means to obtain it."

"Big sister Qing'er!" Hu Ning chipped in. "Brother Tang Mu is right. Just focus on passing the Psionic Society's assessment for now. Then, you can look for means to recover your potential in the future."

Gong Qing sighed again and nodded. She remained quiet for a few seconds before asking, "Did you guys make any progress in your training last night?"

Tang Mu shook his head, choosing not to disclose that he had already sensed his first chakra and became a pseudo-rank-one psionic. He didn't want to make his friend feel down by flaunting his progress.

Hu Ning shook her head and said, "I haven't made any other remarkable progress since becoming a pseudo-rank-one. At the moment, I'm just trying my best to stabilize my realm."

"What about you, Huang An?" Gong Qing asked.

"This..." Huang An's eyes shifted. He seemed at a loss for words.

"You don't need to worry that I'll feel down after hearing about your progress," Gong Qing said. "Rather than that, I'll feel more motivated to continue persevering after knowing that my friends are progressing in their training."

Tang Mu raised a brow on hearing that. But he still chose not to respond.

On the other hand, Huang An, the musclehead, didn't detect anything weird and laughed. "Guys! I'm not as talented as Ning'er. I am still far from sensing my first chakra and becoming a pseudo-rank-one. But even then, my fitness has not stopped growing with every training session. I can now exert 720 kg of force with a punch and 1011 kg with a single kick."

"Oh, my!" Gong Qing exclaimed. "You're almost reaching the threshold of becoming a pseudo-rank-one psionic even before sensing your chakra. I guess congratulations are in order."

Huang An laughed again on hearing that.

Tang Mu, on his part, also congratulated the musclehead with a smile. But on the inside, he was a bit puzzled.

He had been observing Gong Qing and noticed a glimmer of an unnatural expression on her face when she heard the news of Huang An's progress. She didn't appear melancholy and a bit down, as she should, considering her tragic experiences. Instead, signs of anticipation and joy had appeared on her face for just a second or two.

Moreover, what was weirder was that she had changed that countenance again within another second and then put on the same solemn and sad look she always wore. All these were not the normal reactions a girl who had lost her potential should have after hearing that an acquaintance had made rapid progress.

Tang Mu was a bit suspicious of Gong Qing for a moment. But he soon cast the thought to the back of his mind as he continued conversing with his three friends.

Soon, the topic of their discussion turned from the Psionic Society's assessment to the alien ship that crashed in Asia Metropolitan Region's 4th district. At that moment, Tang Mu once again chose to stay silent while listening to his friends discuss.

"The Flaming Phoenix Special Ops' spokesman has already given an official statement on global television," Hu Ning said. "He claimed that the Vegroid ship had intended to target the psionic reactor just off the coast near Xiamen. So, they chose to take it down before it could create a disaster. Aside from that, he also apologized on behalf of his regiment for causing the loss of lives in a civilian district before promising to compensate all the victims and the families of those who died."

"There will be compensation!" Huang An exclaimed and glanced at Tang Mu. "Stickman! Weren't you also a victim of the Vegroid ship disaster the other day? You should hurry up and claim your compensation. Don't forget to take us out after that."

"Who are you calling Stickman?" Tang Mu scoffed at the muscle head. "And aren't you taking the government so lightly? They said they would compensate the victims, not the people who survived the disaster, without suffering any injuries. So, what right do I have to go and claim money from them?"

"That seems to be true." Huang An laughed. "And here I was, thinking you were about to escape poverty and make it rich. It seems I got excited for nothing."

Tang Mu glanced at the musclehead and chose to ignore him. Even if he got the entitlement to receive the compensation money, he would still not head to the police bureau to claim it. He didn't want to go on the radar of the police, especially after he had claimed the star orb from the fallen Vegroid for himself.