What kind of max-level human is this!

With the unexpected attribute gains from the cod liver oil, Chen Jue began to look forward to the effects of the subsequent ginseng slices. After a nap of over forty minutes, he woke feeling refreshed and clear-headed. He pulled out his phone and saw several notifications of parcel deliveries.

He went downstairs to retrieve them; besides the hundred decks of playing cards he’d bought, even the twenty-five-kilogram fake gold brick had arrived! Carrying a heap of packages upstairs, Chen Jue excitedly tore open the boxes. He tossed the large case of playing cards aside and glanced at the fake gold brick. Its size and shape were identical to those in the "Gold Brick Challenge" videos.

Just by looking, it was hard to tell it was made of “fake gold.” He hefted it in his hands; apart from its weight, he noticed the brick's surface was exceptionally smooth, polished to perfection.

"That three thousand was well spent," he thought. "Such a big chunk—even if it isn’t real gold, it would be impressive enough to show off." Chen Jue tried gripping the underside with his right hand. Just like that night when he played the silver brick challenge, the trapezoidal underside allowed his fingers to grasp the edge of the brick, combining wrist and forearm strength to lift it.

But switching to the top side, the slippery, polished trapezoidal surface offered no purchase at all. When he tried harder, his five fingers slid right off the brick. Not only was it impossible to lift the fake gold brick, it was hard to even budge it!

"If I wore nylon gloves, wouldn’t it be like grabbing a mudfish?" He clicked his tongue, realizing there was still a considerable gap between his current grip strength and the million-dollar gold brick challenge.

He instinctively glanced at his attribute panel:

——————
Name: Chen Jue
Strength: 0.94
Constitution: 1.30
Spirit: 1.10
Skills: [Hidden Weapon Throwing Lv5] [Climbing Lv1] [Thirteen Stances of Tai Chi Lv1] [Horse Stance Lv1] [Pinch Grip Lv1] …
Free Attribute: 0.00
(Character evaluation: omitted)
————————

"Strength is still a bit low."

"Let’s set a small goal first—get strength above 1.5!"

"Then I’ll try grabbing this fake gold brick from the top without gloves," Chen Jue resolved inwardly.

He knew he wasn’t cut out for making big money, nor did he have the entrepreneurial mind of Jiang Zhe. If he hoped to achieve financial freedom, aside from his not-yet-popular video side hustle, he could only dream of someday taking home the million-dollar gold brick from the Gold Museum.

…

After fiddling with the fake gold brick, Chen Jue began his usual Saturday afternoon routine: horse stance, pinch grip, and grip trainer exercises. Practicing at his workstation was tricky; sometimes coworkers would pass by on their way to the restroom, and Chen Jue had to be vigilant to avoid any embarrassment.

With others nearby, he always felt somewhat constrained. Back in his own room, training was free from such worries.

After two hours, he was drenched in sweat. Besides a marked increase in proficiency for [Horse Stance] and [Pinch Grip], his strength and free attribute both improved by 0.01.

He allocated the free attribute point to [Constitution], easing his fatigue.

After a brief rest, once his right hand recovered, Chen Jue tried the grip trainer again. He found he could now set the resistance to 75KG—a full fifteen kilograms higher than when he started.

"I wonder how much grip strength Yu Jie has," he mused. "Those professional climbers make one-finger pull-ups look easy! They’d be much quicker at reverse-gripping this gold brick than me." He recalled the flamboyant college student who had introduced him to the sport.

Since he hadn’t visited the club recently, Chen Jue hadn’t contacted Yu Jie after adding him on WeChat. Next time they met, he’d have to treat him to a meal. If not for Yu Jie’s suggestion, Chen Jue never would have realized he could squeeze exercise into idle moments at work.

A true master of time management, was he not?

…

With his afternoon workout done, Chen Jue took advantage of the sunset to stretch on the rooftop of his apartment, letting the evening glow bathe his eyes and skin.

Sunbathing, apart from the special red light therapy that boosts retinal mitochondrial production, also promotes the body’s synthesis of vitamin D. Higher levels of vitamin D not only aid the absorption of calcium and phosphorus in the intestines, but also foster bone growth.

Chen Jue was now strengthening his body through intensive exercise, and apart from muscle growth, bone fortitude was essential. While basking in the sunlight, he ordered some calcium tablets online, and then casually checked the back-end of two video platforms. He was stunned.

The video he’d posted that morning—[Secret Skill: King Bomb]—already had over 100,000 views, and the comments and likes were off the charts. It even trended on Bilibili’s daily hot search!

The comment section and bullet chats were ablaze; netizens and jokesters alike were adding their bits of joy and wit to the secret skill video.

"High-energy warning at the progress bar ending!"

"OHHHH~"

"Is this a pair of king bombs? My eyes are dazzled!"

"This short clip feels like a blockbuster (worship)"

"I came in bewildered, left bewildered (can’t make sense of it)"

"He even threw two darts with one hand (thinking); if he used both, could he string together four Aces? (crying)"

"In dart throwing, I’d call you the strongest!"

"Seeing the two Jokers nailed to the tree at the end, I feel like a clown myself"

"Kneeling to the master (worship)—what kind of max-level human is this!"

"…"

Chen Jue browsed through the stats and comments; his video had truly gone viral. Though not yet a nationwide sensation, the views had far surpassed expectations, and even the platform was pushing more traffic his way.

At this rate, breaking a million views in a few days was no longer a dream!

Moreover, new viewers were subscribing and urging updates, so his follower count was climbing by the second every time he refreshed.

This delighted Chen Jue; finally, his video side hustle had seen a major breakthrough.

"I wonder how much revenue all these views will bring."

"Let’s wait—when the earnings stats appear tomorrow, I’ll check!" Chen Jue happily closed the back-end, planning to treat himself to a good dinner that night.

He also sent the news of the video hitting the hot search to Wu Fang.

Without Teacher Wu’s one-take camera work, this single-shot secret skill video might not have achieved such stellar traffic.