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nShi Lang and Carole stood up to salute Gamma. The lady said, “The rest of the crew has been called over, they will assemble soon and we will be on the roll soon. Better save the chit-chat and make a run to the tempering room.”

nShi Lang asked, “May I ask what sort of mission is it?”

nGamma said, “You will know when the rest are here.”

nWith those words, the lady went back into her room. Carole said, “Do not mind her, this is her usual mode. Let us go try one round in the tempering room. I want to see your skills in battle.”

nShi Lang nodded and the two people left the villa and came to the central area of the town. There were a lot of other soldiers in the area. Carole seemed to know almost everyone and they all would smile and greet her with friendly gestures.

nShi Lang could not help but say, “You seem like a celebrity here.”

nCarole chuckled and said, “Well, we did win the inter-division games last time and I happened to have garnered a lot of attention in the jeep race. Let me check if any room is free for us.”

nThe people gathered here were all those who were on rest. The size of the secret division was quite larger than what Shi Lang expected it to be. The mood around the square was not strict, after all, they were all here for rest and fun.

nAs Shi Lang was looking around the square, Carole came back and tapped on his shoulder, “Rookie, come along. I will bring you to the tempering room.”

nShi Lang chuckled and followed her. They came inside a building where a lot of rooms were built in a circular formation. Carole said, “The rooms all use an artificial gravity generation system. It is embedded in the floor. They can increase the gravitational pull by twenty folds than the original. Ready?”

nThe boy nodded and the two entered a room Carole had registered under their names. The space inside the room was as big as thirty feet. Carole said, “Hand-to-hand?”

nShi Lang did not waste another second and took a standard boxing stance. His fists below his chin and his elbows stuck to his torso. His feet were placed one ahead of the other and his shoulders moved sideways slowly. Carole chuckled and said, “Start the gravitational field and increase the pressure by one time every ten minutes.”

nAs she finished speaking Carole moved forward without any intention of holding back. The boy also did not hold back or underestimate her in the slightest. He unleashed his full strength and ability right from the start as he faced the incoming attack.

nCarole had shown a stance to punch him while as she approached close to him, she ducked and delivered a kick to his waist. Shi Lang did not waste much time, his reaction was quite fast, he took one step back and as the kick passed the void, he advanced and in a quick motion, a combination of punches was delivered to Carole’s face.

nThe attack shunned her off and the lady was shocked to see that the boy could land an attack on her. The reason behind this attack landing successfully on the mark was that the boy had impeccable execution timing. The next thing was him stepping in diagonally, he stuck close to Carole’s body and grappled her waist.

nHe lifted her overhead and bent his back to form an arch parallel to the ground and Carole, who was stunned by two jabs at her chin was dropped in a guillotine with a bang on the ground. Shi Lang did not engage her anymore but moved to back to open up space between them

nAlthough his attacks landed, the resilience of a six-star Terran did not disappoint him. Carole flipped back up on her feet and said, “Not bad, rookie. You do have a skill or two.”

nThen she charged forward and the boy also attacked back at her. The two people were exchanging blows and Shi Lang did not shirk back. He was using the high-intensity attacks as a means of tempering. His hands and ribs already had shallow bruises. Carole did not have any effects but she was surprised by his speed and skills.

nCarole had her forehead covered with a thin layer of sweat. Suddenly, Shi Lang’s attack lagged and she instinctively kicked his ribs. However, this lag was intentional, and as the kick landed, the boy clasped her leg under his arm and flung her through the void like a sack.

nBOOM

nCarole hit the wall and her posture was anything but elegant. It has been only five minutes since they began to fight. The two people had no problem moving normally. Carole quickly got back on her feet and they broke out in a fight again.

nPunches and kicks flew around in the room, dull thumps and thuds were creating a rhythm of their own. As soon as ten minutes passed, a mechanical voice sounded, “Two-fold gravity.”

nCarole became faster or rather, Shi Lang became slower. The attacks lost the power behind them as well. Shi Lang took the defensive strategy and began to dodge the attacks. Carole was also a veteran and did not lose her cool, she patiently followed her rhythm and did not leave him any room to counter her. She was not someone who believed in tricking the weaker opponent.

nThe boy was two realms lower than her and he did not push her that far just yet. Carole was surprised by this whole sparring session. This boy was quick in attacks, sharp in tricking the opponent and he was able to keep up with her flow of attacks. Usual people would become slower in a two-fold gravity and the other thing that surprised her was his resilience to keep going.

nShe could see him panting and his bruised arms. She was sure that his chest was also filled with bruises and a couple of her kicks did manage to leave traces on his ribcage. However, he still stood tall and kept coming at her.

n…

nAnother ten minutes passed, and the mechanical voice sounded again, “Three-fold Gravity.”

nCarole moved a little slower and her punch landed through the gap in his arms on his diaphragm. The blow left Shi Lang out of breath. His lungs were as if they inhaled fire. Yet he did not give up, only his shoulders dropped slightly.

nCarole opened her eyes wide and said, “How are you still standing? Do you not feel pain?”

nShi Lang said in a weak voice, “I do, but once you feel it too often, you get used to it.”

nCarole sighed and said, “Good, let us stop here, the rest of the time will be used to temper the body slowly.”

nShi Lang nodded and stood up in a horse stance. The gravity affected all his limbs and muscles and the boy slowly cultivated. Carole sat on the ground with her legs bent as she cultivated. She did not know what the boy was doing and she left him to his own means.

n…

nAfter twenty more minutes before the mechanical voice could sound, Carole said, “Cancel the artificial gravity.”

nA ding sounded and the pressure acting on them resided. Carole stood up and said, “Lang, do you want to stay more? I am done, I would like to go out.”

nShi Lang nodded and said, “I am tired, I would like to go out as well.”

nIt was not that he has reached his limit but he did not wish to waste time here. His body has changed since the day he consumed that pill. He did not need such hard training anymore, the level or potential had increased and he could excel more with ease.

nThe two people came out of the room and Carole asked, “What did you have to face to develop such terrifying skill?”

nShi Lang smiled and did not reply. Carole did not push him any further as well. She was aware that not everything shall be asked. The two mingled around with the people for a few minutes and Carole introduced Shi Lang to some friends before they made their way back to the villa.

nWhen they reached home, the rest of the crew was already present. The people were all sitting in the lounge and Stephan raised his head to smile at them. He said, “Seems like Carole gave you a good beating.”

nShi Lang smiled and said, “How was your rest?”

nThe man winked and said, “Fantastic.”

nShi Lang took his hint and shook his head. He also saw the faces of the three other people. Just when they were about to get into the details Gamma walked over in her black uniform.

nEveryone stood up and saluted her. Gamma said, “We have orders. Assassination target, space pirates. Are you all ready?”

nThe team replied in a loud voice, “YES, MA’AM.”

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