Thank you, Leader of the "Book Friends 20180906125016289".
All was silent.
As Huai Shi spoke, the music stalled. Numerous muscular men turned around in astonishment; even the smile on Luo Lao's face froze for an instant.
Such an ingenious train of thought was truly something he had never encountered before.
Huai Shi calmed down, his expression resolute.
This Old Turtle wants to cheat me out of my money!
Clutching his wallet, a surge of infinite courage suddenly welled up in the young man's heart, as if he were no longer afraid of the deafening music or the crowd of brawny men.
He would stand firm on his principles, never waver.
After voicing his refusal, Huai Shi stood up, straightened his collar in front of them, then popped open a can of ice-cold cola and drained it. This demonstrated his determination while also clearly drawing a line between them.
This Happy Water is such good stuff, and yet some people don't drink it? They must be crazy!
Then he turned and left.
So breezy and carefree.
It wasn't until the old man behind him spat a thick glob of phlegm on the ground and asked disdainfully, "Don't even dare to fight? Are you even a man? With your effeminate looks, is that stubble glued on? Hmm, perhaps you indulged a bit too much with those rich older women when you were a Cowherd..."
TSK.
Huai Shi's steps halted. His eyebrows furrowed as he slowly turned back.
"Old man, you're getting on in years; you shouldn't speak so carelessly..."
"Huh?"
Luo Lao played dumb, tilting his head to look at him. "What careless things did I say? Wasn't it all true?"
As he spoke, he flexed his arm. The densely packed muscles rippled like a tide as he provoked Huai Shi, "Come on, Little Brag! If you're not happy, then hit me!"
"Are you sure?" Huai Shi asked coldly. "The last old man who spoke to me like that still owes me forty bucks for a performance fee. You're not trying to scam me, are you?"
"HAHAHA, Little Brag, you've certainly got some ideas."
Luo Lao grinned, the short white stubble on his face bristling like steel needles. His smile grew increasingly ferocious, as if muscles were bulging even within his grin. "If you can kill me, you might even collect a bounty of a few hundred million. Why would you need to worry about someone scamming you?"
"I'm not afraid, but the problem is..."
Huai Shi looked past Luo Lao and jerked his chin.
Just as the old man turned back in confusion, Huai Shi drew a pistol from the holster at his back, flicked off the safety, and aimed at his bald nape.
His movements were as smooth as flowing clouds and water, completing the action in one fluid motion.
He pulled the trigger.
BANG!
At the deafening blast from the muzzle, Huai Shi was taken aback.
In that instant, as he activated his lightning reflexes, he glimpsed a blur of motion.
The moment he pulled the trigger, just when the shot seemed impossible to dodge, the old man's head bizarrely rotated a full three hundred and sixty degrees on his neck, returning to its original position.
The muscles in his right arm swelled instantly, taking on a steely blue hue. In a flash, his arm lashed out towards the muzzle of the gun like a whip.
The crisp crack of the Space Break and the roar of the gunshot overlapped, making them nearly indistinguishable.
A twisted bullet had already fallen from Luo Lao's hand to the ground.
HISS.
Huai Shi gasped, his disbelief giving way to an indescribable shock. This Old Turtle... he's a bit gay, sure, but he might actually be an unworldly expert...
Although he had already concluded that bullets posed no threat to Luo Lao, the old man's reaction still filled him with a chilling fear.
He had heard it perfectly clearly.
The sound that burst from Luo Lao's arm as it whipped down wasn't singular, but six distinct cracks.
In that brief interval, imperceptible to the naked eye and ordinary senses, the robust arm had whipped forward with boneless flexibility to meet the red-hot bullet.
But what had truly made contact were his five fingers, moving as if plucking instrument strings.
With a momentary, gentle caress, they had counteracted the spin imparted by the rifling, plucking the bullet from its trajectory and sending it into the dust.
Nearly terrifying Power, speed invisible to the naked eye, and astounding Talent were all fused in that single strike.
"How about that? Was that display to your satisfaction, Little Brag?"
Luo Lao wasn't angry about Huai Shi shooting him from behind; rather, he seemed somewhat pleased by such a despicable and shameless act. He grinned, tiny muscles rippling beneath the skin of his face.
A purple, blood-like energy suffused his bald head.
He walked out from behind the long table, slowly moving his body as if warming up. The sound of metal grinding against metal echoed intermittently, and a terrifying heat emanated from his frame.
With his heart pounding like a drum, his muscles spasmed violently. Yet, they didn't bulge; instead, they slowly contracted until, finally, they returned to the size of an average person. As he gradually bent over, his muscles, now tinged blue, gave him the appearance of an upright ape-man forged from steel.
The music came to an abrupt stop. Everyone scrambled to the sides, avoiding the excited coach, terrified of being dragged into this brutal training session.
"You're pretty good."