Lu Yang didn't pay much attention to the viral video.
What he cared about far more was the Physical Mission tied to climbing the railing.
This mission wasn't just about earning physical attributes—it determined whether he could continue extending his lifespan at all.
According to the system's rules, if he failed to complete this Physical Mission, he wouldn't be able to trigger the next Life Mission.
And time waited for no one.
Early that morning, Lu Yang got out of bed and began his targeted training.
After leaving the Longjing convenience store, he followed the familiar downhill road with practiced ease. Halfway down the mountain, he finally spotted his destination.
A stone tablet stood there, engraved with three large words:
"Mid-Mountain Park."
Before he even entered the park, Lu Yang could already hear loud, energetic voices coming from inside.
The moment he stepped in, the scene before him made him doubt his own eyes.
A group of elderly men had practically occupied every piece of exercise equipment. Some were doing pull-ups on the horizontal bars, others were working their arms on the parallel bars. One old man was even repeatedly slamming his body into a thick tree.
Judging by the clear dents left on the trunk, he'd been at it for quite some time.
But that wasn't what shocked Lu Yang the most.
All of these elderly men were shirtless—and every single one of them was ripped.
Muscles bulged, pecs and abs sharply defined, their physiques putting young men to shame.
Lu Yang subconsciously rubbed his own soft belly, suddenly wondering where all his youth had gone.
Snapping out of his shock, he calmed himself and walked deeper into the park. He stopped in front of the parallel bars, reached out to feel them, and nodded.
The size was almost identical to the bars beside the rooftop at Congao High School.
After loosening up his limbs, Lu Yang placed both hands on the bars, hoisted himself up, and climbed onto them.
This was the entire reason he'd come to the park so early—to practice walking the bars.
He valued his life too much to attempt the rooftop mission without confidence.
Spreading his arms, Lu Yang tried to maintain his balance. His movements were stiff and uncoordinated, his legs trembling slightly.
From the moment he entered the park, Lu Yang had already attracted plenty of attention. Young people willing to wake up early were rare enough—let alone ones who came to the park to exercise.
At this hour, he was the only young man in the entire mid-mountain park.
At first, the elderly men were merely curious. But once they saw Lu Yang climbing onto the parallel bars to walk across them, their expressions turned strange.
They'd never seen anyone train like that before.
Beside the bars, a shirtless, bald old man frowned deeply.
He'd just finished using the equipment and had been resting nearby. Seeing a young man come to train had initially made him happy.
But the moment he saw Lu Yang stepping onto the bars with his feet, his mood soured.
The bald old man puffed out his chest and walked over, planning to give this reckless youngster a proper lecture.
But just as he opened his mouth—
Lu Yang's legs slipped.
He had no experience walking the bars. Before he could even finish one attempt, he slid straight off.
Falling wasn't the problem.
The problem was that his legs slipped outward—right onto the bar.
Between the bars.
A chill ran through his groin.
Oh shit.
Crack!
Lu Yang's lower body slammed violently into the bar.
The instant the elderly men witnessed the scene, they all felt it in their souls. One by one, they clamped their legs together, faces contorting in pain.
The bald old man suffered the worst.
He'd been standing right beside the bars. The image of that 'little brother' colliding with steel played out vividly before his eyes.
He clenched his teeth, overwhelmed by secondhand agony.
Yet when he looked back at Lu Yang, he froze.
The young man who had just suffered a devastating blow wore a calm expression—as if nothing had happened.
"Uncle, did you need something?" Lu Yang asked calmly as he climbed back onto the bars, turning to look at the bald old man.
He vaguely remembered that this uncle had wanted to say something earlier.
"Oh—uh—nothing, nothing. Take care… take care…" The bald old man muttered sympathetically, then turned around and walked out of the park.
His spirit had taken a massive blow this morning. He needed to leave and recover.
Watching the bald old man stagger away, Lu Yang didn't think much of it and continued practicing.
That earlier impact had injured him. His groin still ached faintly.
But he knew he had Healing Missions.
Even if his little brother was injured, it would recover eventually—so he didn't worry too much.
Lu Yang focused completely on walking the bars. Being unfamiliar with the technique, he kept slipping off repeatedly.
It didn't matter much to him.
But to the elderly men watching from the side, it mattered a lot.
Scene after scene like this was pure hell for any man with dignity.
"Ahem… my grandson should be waking up. I'll head back to hold him," one elderly man said, unable to watch any longer, waving to his friends as he left.
"That's not right, Old Sun—don't you have a granddaughter?" another man questioned.
"Cough, cough… my son should be waking up. I'll go hold him," another elderly man hastily retreated.
"Wait, Old Wang—your son is over forty, isn't he?"
One by one, the elderly men fled the park.
To them, the mid-mountain park had become a living hell for men.
Meanwhile, Lu Yang—still on the bars—noticed none of this. His full attention remained on his training.
Time passed quickly.
The morning mist evaporated under the rising sun, and sweat soaked through Lu Yang's T-shirt.
His lower body had long gone numb.
Finally satisfied, he climbed down from the bars and limped uphill toward the mountaintop.
Today was the weekend, so there was no school.
But for Lu Yang, even weekends weren't for play.
The convenience store at the summit needed someone watching it.
When he finally reached the top, he found the Longjing convenience store already open.
Not only that—the usually deserted storefront was unusually lively today. Several road bikes were parked outside, and a few cyclists were drinking beverages, chatting animatedly with Lu Qiangqian at the door.
By the time Lu Yang arrived, the cyclists mounted their bikes and sped downhill.
"You didn't open the shop early and ran off somewhere instead. If I hadn't opened it, we'd have missed so much business," Lu Qiangqian said, eyeing him with mild annoyance.
"Ah, I went to exercise. Business good today?" Lu Yang wiped the sweat from his face.
"Yeah. A bunch of road cyclists came as soon as I opened. We sold a lot of drinks," Lu Qiangqian said smugly, her eyebrows lifting as her ponytails practically perked up with pride.
Lu Yang smiled and gently rubbed her head.
"Why don't you go out and have fun with your classmates today? I'll watch the shop."
He knew how much effort his sister had put into the store—and he hoped she could enjoy a weekend just like other students.