Sorry, No Parking Here
The man crawled away from Xu Mo in terror.
In his eyes, the person before him wasn't human—he was a devil.
Xu Mo looked at the officer's horrified face and smiled warmly.
"Officer, why the expression? I'm a good person."
He bent down, his voice laced with mockery.
"Lying in the middle of the road like this… what if a speeding car comes by? Better I help you back to your own."
Without hesitation, Xu Mo gripped the officer by the neck and lifted him effortlessly, shoving him into the police cruiser. For Xu Mo—whose strength now exceeded a ton—this was nothing.
The officer realized what was about to happen. His eyes bulged in panic.
"N-No! Please! I'll give the money back!"
With trembling hands, he pulled out the bundle of U.S. dollars he had extorted from Xu Mo earlier. Fear and despair twisted his face, tears and mucus streaking with the blood already smeared across his skin.
Xu Mo looked down at him in disgust. Instead of taking the money, he flicked open a lighter and set the bills in the man's hand aflame.
"You like dollars so much? Then keep them with you."
He shut the car door with a cold finality.
"Sorry, officer—no parking here."
With a single kick, Xu Mo struck the cruiser. The vehicle—already perched precariously on the cliff's edge—lurched, tilted, and tumbled over the side.
"Boom!"
The explosion below lit the night sky. Xu Mo dusted his hands and walked calmly back to his own car.
The system's cold prompts chimed in his mind:
+30 points!
+40 points!
As he expected, the system judged villains based on their actions. The points varied depending on each target's balance of good and evil.
---
A Week Later – In the Villa's Gym
Xu Mo's fist slammed into the heavy sandbag.
Boom!
The bag burst open under the sheer force of the blow, sand scattering across the floor.
The Super Soldier Serum he had taken was now fully absorbed into his body.
"System—open properties panel!"
A transparent screen appeared before his eyes:
[Name]: Xu Mo
Age: 20
Strength: 4620 kg
Speed: 68 m/s
[Ability]: None
[Points]: 512
Four and a half tons of force.
The serum he had received wasn't the unstable, experimental version from the 1940s—it had been improved, stripped of its side effects, yet its enhancements rivaled the original. By comparison, Steve Rogers—Captain America himself—should have been in roughly the same range of power.
As for points, Xu Mo had already accumulated plenty. Sauron and his men had stirred up countless fights in Hell's Kitchen, and the scum crushed in those brawls had added generously to his tally. That, along with the two corrupt officers, made for a healthy sum.
The deaths of those officers had been neatly buried. Xu Mo's "contributions" to New York's politicians had ensured that.
---
Beginning Cultivation
Seated cross-legged on the floor, Xu Mo summoned the secret technique that had appeared in his consciousness: the method of cultivating genetic energy.
He had surpassed the 900 kg threshold long ago—the requirement to begin. Still, he had waited. The first cultivation granted explosive growth, and the stronger one was before beginning, the greater the leap.
In this world, natural training could take one only so far. Without genetic energy, the human body capped at roughly a ton of strength. The serum had vaulted him to the realm of an advanced soldier. Now, it was time to step further.
He reviewed the system's classification:
Apprentice: three stages – Warrior, General, God of War.
Each divided into Elementary, Intermediate, Advanced.
A beginner warrior's punch: 900 kg.
An intermediate's: 2000 kg.
Advanced: over 4000 kg of force, speed exceeding 60 m/s.
By every metric, Xu Mo had already entered the advanced ranks. But cultivation could push him even further.
He steadied his breathing, recalling the text of the secret method. The essence was simple: draw in free energy from the universe, integrate it into the body.
He lay in the five-hearts-to-the-sky posture, eyes closed. For half an hour, nothing. No sensation, no energy. But Xu Mo did not panic. The manual warned beginners that the first contact with cosmic energy could take weeks.
At the one-hour mark, something shifted. A subtle vibration in the air, a whisper of power surrounding him.
I feel it.
Excitement jolted him from the state, breaking the connection. He grimaced, then refocused.
This time, he guided the energy inward. Wisps of it seeped into his body, dispersing into his cells, which hungrily drank it in. Warmth spread through him, blissful and heavy, like rain on parched soil.
So intoxicating was the sensation that Xu Mo nearly drifted into sleep.
---
Outside the Gym
In the corridor, a figure hurried forward—Wanda Maximoff.
Her face was pale, filled with panic. Yet when she reached the gym door, she froze. Xu Mo had forbidden interruption while he was inside.
She clenched her hands, torn.
After a long moment, she chose to wait, pacing anxiously outside.