"Now, it's my turn to warm up."
When Xiang Lie uttered those words, no one present had yet grasped the full gravity of the situation. They believed it was merely the boastful declaration of a strong individual, made after a breakthrough in dire straits, meant to boost morale.
However, the next few hours taught them a profound lesson: what it meant to be a "perpetual motion machine," and what it truly meant to experience "utter despair."
The training ground transformed into an endless, one-sided chase.
Xiang Lie had gone completely mad. He abandoned all semblance of swordsmanship, even bothering to parry. The longblade in his hand became nothing more than a balancing rod, while he himself transformed into a tireless, bright-eyed prehistoric beast. His sole objective: to catch Flash!
*BANG! BANG! BANG!*
Paint projectiles relentlessly struck him from every angle, accurately hitting his body. At first, Flash could toy with him effortlessly. But soon, her smile vanished. Because she discovered that no matter how many times those paint projectiles burst against Xiang Lie, no matter how immense his apparent exhaustion, the next second, this monster would always charge back at her in peak condition! His speed showed no signs of diminishing; his explosiveness even grew stronger as he gradually adapted to his new power!
"Waaaah—! Sister Ling! Help me!"
An hour later, the girl partnered with Flash, who had transformed into a sniper rifle, was the first to break down. In her armed form, the endless chase terrified her into outright sobbing.
Two hours later, Flash was on the verge of tears herself. She felt her legs were about to give out, yet the multi-colored monster behind her, like a moving paint bucket, remained perfectly energetic, green light blazing in his eyes.
"He… he has no skill! He's just cheating!" Flash wailed, pleading to Ling outside the arena while still running. "If these were real bullets, he'd be riddled like a sieve by now!"
However, Ling had long since locked the training room door, charmingly claiming it was to prevent Xiang Lie from "deserting" due to high-intensity training. The girls watching from outside, who had started by cheering, were now wide-eyed, then finally looked on with expressions of profound pity at their two sisters, trapped and utterly cornered within the arena. This was no special training; this was a brutal, inhumane public execution for a speed-type combatant!
Three hours later, when Xiang Lie finally, in a corner, with an utterly clumsy, starved-tiger pounce, seized Flash's ankle, the entire training ground fell silent.
Xiang Lie himself was unrecognizable. Various colors of dye covered every surface of his body, making him look like a perfectly muscled… rainbow man who had climbed out of an abstract painting.
Just then, the training room door creaked open, finally. Ling, in her wheelchair, slowly glided in. Flash and her partner, seeing Ling, rushed towards her as if she were their savior, stumbling and weeping.
"Sister Ling! He cheated! He's a bully!"
Ling looked at the rainbow-colored man in the arena, then at his still overflowing vitality. Even she couldn't help but twitch at the corner of her mouth. She admitted she had underestimated the sheer, shameless persistence of this "perpetual motion machine." While she admired Xiang Lie's unyielding determination, this three-hour, indiscriminate chase was indeed… a bit much.
"Alright, today's training ends here." Ling cleared her throat, calling a halt to the farce.
Xiang Lie clambered up from the floor, wiping the paint from his face, a brilliantly radiant smile on his face as he excitedly asked: "Hahaha! I won, didn't I? Did I outrun her?"
Everyone: "…" A moment of speechless silence. Enduring attacks that would have riddled anyone else, relying purely on infinite stamina, chasing for three hours straight, even calmly jogging to the storage cabinet mid-chase to devour several raw potatoes for carbs… such a victory was utterly shameless!
"Hmph! I want three bites!" Flash stomped over, pouting. As the day's biggest victim, she felt entitled to compensation.
"Me too!" her partner chimed in.
"Me too," Mo murmured softly from the sidelines, seemingly taking her sisters' side.
"Big guy, you're a cheat!"
"My apologies, my apologies." Xiang Lie scratched his head, his face full of contrition. "Um… go ahead. By the way, who wants to try my legs? I feel my legs are quite chewy now too."
"Your legs are activated as well?" Ling keenly picked up on the key detail.
Xiang Lie nodded, his expression completely matter-of-fact. "Yes, I can feel it."
"Incredible!" Ling exclaimed with genuine admiration, then rapidly logged the new data onto her tablet.
…
Tomorrow was the day of departure.
Night had fallen. Xiang Lie had just finished washing up and was preparing for his final "Throne" philosophical consolidation before bed when a soft knock sounded on his door.
It was Mo.
She had changed into a clean, casual outfit, holding a neatly folded garment in her arms, and walked in with her head bowed. In the dim light of night, she seemed even quieter than during the day, and more… subdued.
"Xiang Lie… this is for you," she said, walking to the bedside and offering the clothes she held.
Xiang Lie took it. It was a black, specially made training top. What was most distinctive was its collar, which was designed to be unusually wide, almost exaggerated.
"This is…"
"I… I saw your old clothes, they always seemed to get stuck around your neck… so… so I tried to modify one myself…" Mo's voice was very soft, but Xiang Lie heard every word clearly.
Xiang Lie's heart felt as if it had been gently touched by something warm. "Thank you, I really like it," he said sincerely.
They sat side by side on the edge of the bed, neither speaking. The atmosphere suddenly grew quiet, and a little… intimate.
Just then, Mo seemed to remember something. Her pale face flushed crimson, as if the familiar steam of CPU overload was rising from her head again.
*Thump-thump-thump.*
Another knock on the door interrupted the delicate atmosphere.
The door opened, and Xiao Lin peered in. When she saw Xiang Lie and Mo sitting side by side on the bed, she first froze, then a knowing look spread across her face. She quickly waved her hands. "Ah, I'm sorry, I… did I interrupt you two? I didn't see anything, carry on!"
"No, it's alright, Sister Xiao Lin, come in!" Xiang Lie quickly interjected; he felt Mo was about to faint on the spot if he didn't speak. Xiao Lin then awkwardly stepped inside, a small gift box also in her hand.
The three of them sat together in extreme embarrassment, looking at each other.
*Thump-thump-thump.*
"Um… I heard Sister Xiao Lin was over here…"
From outside the door came Jing's cool voice.
…
Ten minutes later, Xiang Lie's room had completely transformed into a tea party for the Ark's girls. Most of the girls who had fought alongside him in the special training had arrived. They crowded into the not-so-large room, chattering away, making the hardcore space that had belonged to a stoic straight man, for the first time, fragrant and vibrant with girlish charm.