Chapter 48 Physical Skill Test (1)

The weaklings at the bottom of the training ground’s food chain shivered in the distance. Double gravity, three hundred pounds! And this was just the warm-up! It would have been impressive if those weaklings could push that weight under normal gravity conditions. Silver Eagle was even more satisfied. Why did he enjoy training? Of course, it was to show off... no, of course, it was to maintain his condition and continuously improve! Silver Eagle easily completed six sets, then increased the weight to five hundred pounds and performed three more. A light sheen of sweat appeared on his body. The surrounding weaklings trembled, practically drooling at the sight of Silver Eagle’s muscles. They all secretly marveled, "As expected of a Professional from the Special Service Unit. His strength is terrifying!" Silver Eagle, appearing nonchalant and not giving them a sideways glance, had already taken in all the expressions of admiration and envy with his peripheral vision. He then waved his hand dismissively. "Alright, that was just a bit of fun. I have other things to do." He pointed at Chen Gu and said to a few muscular men, "The new guy from the admin team..." Upon hearing "admin team," the muscular men’s faces filled with disdain. Weakling +1. "He’s with me!" Silver Eagle emphasized, displeased. The muscular men’s attitudes changed immediately. "Don’t worry, Eagle! If you’re not around, we’ll look after him for you!" Silver Eagle nodded in satisfaction. But when he turned his head, he saw Chen Gu looking calm, showing neither heartfelt gratitude for his patronage nor even a perfunctory word of thanks. This immediately displeased him. Chen Gu was also annoyed. Thank *you*? Damn it, you’re using me, the Film Emperor, as a prop for your showboating! "Alright then." Since Chen Gu showed no gratitude, Silver Eagle didn’t bother to say more. "Let’s move on to the physical skills test." Just need to complete the task the Director assigned. For someone so unappreciative, Silver Eagle, the self-proclaimed aloof Prince, couldn’t be bothered to utter another word. "We’ll do it! We’ll do it! Eagle, you rest," a few muscular men volunteered eagerly. The physical skills test wasn’t complicated, mainly covering four aspects: strength, speed, flexibility, and reaction. Strength had three main benchmarks: bench press, squat, and deadlift. Seeing one of the muscular men about to adjust the double gravity back to normal, Chen Gu stopped him. "No need, this is fine." The muscular man looked at him and said, "Kid, don’t bite off more than you can chew. You only see Eagle doing it easily because you don’t know how strong he really is." Chen Gu smiled sheepishly, his desire to perform flaring. "My physical skill scores are decent. I’d like to give it a try." The muscular man looked at Silver Eagle, who curled his lip. Letting this kid learn a lesson the hard way wouldn’t be bad. The muscular man didn’t adjust the gravity but was about to reduce the five-hundred-pound barbell to one hundred pounds when Chen Gu stopped him again. "No need to adjust it; this weight is perfect for warming up." "This weight? For a warm-up?" the muscular man asked, his eyes bulging. He said ’adjust’, not ’add’... but warming up with *this*? The surrounding weaklings swarmed over. Finally! We’re not at the bottom of the training ground’s food chain anymore! A new guy has arrived who’s not only a weakling but also arrogant. For a long time to come, this guy is destined to be buried in the basement of the food chain. The heavens have eyes! We finally have someone we can look down on! Look at this kid, he’s so endearing right now! Just stay weak and arrogant like this; please don’t suddenly get smart! Chen Gu nodded. "This is how I warmed up in school." Muscle Man A looked at Chen Gu’s unremarkable physique and couldn’t help but sneer. "Kid, did you major in Bragging Studies at school?" Chen Gu smiled shyly and innocently. "I’m still in high school. But I’m preparing for the university entrance exams next year; I plan to attend Tiangong Military Division." Right, Muscle Man A thought. You’ve probably already been specially recruited by the Tiangong Military Division’s Department of Epic Bragging—the one where the bullshit flies sky-high. "Fine, try it yourself then," Muscle Man A said, clearly displeased. Anyway, the equipment had automatic safety features, so there was no risk of injury. Chen Gu stepped in, lay down, adjusted his position, and then, with one effort, pushed the barbell up. SSS—! The weaklings all gasped in unison. All the muscular men stared, their eyes wide. Silver Eagle’s hand twitched; he almost failed to maintain his "aloof Prince" persona and nearly revealed a dumbfounded expression. Then, amid everyone’s silence, Chen Gu effortlessly and cheerfully pushed out thirty-six reps. He then racked the barbell, got up, and stretched. "A bit lacking, but it’ll do." "Let’s start the test," Chen Gu said, personally increasing the weight on the barbell to eight hundred pounds. The newcomer test at the Bureau of Mystic Security was divided into three levels: normal gravity, double gravity, and triple gravity. Normal gravity was the simplest: a one-hundred-and-fifty-pound bench press. For clerical staff, pushing up one rep was considered a pass. The Clean-up Team had a higher requirement: three reps to pass. The Combat Unit required even more: eight reps for a pass. The requirements for the Special Service Unit were at the second level: double gravity, five hundred pounds. One rep was a pass, three was good, and eight was excellent. Only very rarely would those Professionals inherently focused on strength—like Abyssal Blacksmiths, Hell Titans, or Star Battle Instructors—attempt the third-level difficulty. What Chen Gu had just done, warming up with five hundred pounds for thirty-six reps at double gravity, was already far beyond the most outstanding result for the Special Service Unit’s test. Chen Gu ignored their astonished gazes and returned to the machine. At double gravity, he smoothly knocked out another thirty-six reps with eight hundred pounds. Muscle Man A reached out to steady his companion. "Help me out, my knees suddenly feel like they want to give way." As Muscle Man A leaned on him, his companion promptly buckled, kneeling on the ground with a THUD. Beat you to it, the companion thought. Chen Gu got off the machine again, lips pursed as if it still wasn’t satisfying enough. He went over to examine the Gravity System—this equipment was a bit different from what he used at school. Everyone, Silver Eagle included, watched him in a daze, unsure of what this guy was planning next. Haven’t you seen all the jaws on the floor? What more do you want to stir up?! BEEP! Chen Gu finally set the gravity to triple, smiled with satisfaction, then got back under the bar. The moment he pushed up eight hundred pounds under triple gravity, aside from Silver Eagle, there wasn’t a single person left standing in the entire training field. The weaklings were in tears. The training ground’s food chain has indeed changed. It’s just that we’re still at the very bottom, the most despised. The newcomer has trampled everyone else to reach the top! Chen Gu completed thirty-six reps, a little out of breath, a layer of sweat coating his body. He got out again and asked, "Is this result okay?" For a good while, no one answered him. He asked again. Muscle Man A scrambled up from the floor. "Okay? It’s way more than okay! I’ll record your score right now!" He simply couldn’t accept it. "Are you really just a high school student?" Chen Gu spread his hands. "I told you my physical skills were alright!" "Alright"...? "Alright" my ass! The muscle men felt like ten thousand frustrated voices were roaring in their heads: Damn it, these results are heaven-defying! Modesty helps one progress, but excessive modesty is just criminal-level showboating! Don’t you know that?! Chen Gu looked at Silver Eagle, who was silently covering his watch with his sleeve, and felt a wave of satisfaction. Serves you right for treating me like a mere tool! Now, this Film Emperor, with my superlative natural performance, has turned *you* into the pretentious tool!