58: Article 58

September 16, North Sea.

After the typhoon, the cliffs at Cape Khoboy returned to their usual tranquility.

The lake surface turned back into a deep blue, with only the waterline marks remaining on the rocks at the base of the cliffs, scoured by the giant waves.

Chen Mo completed a round of training, climbed up the cliff, and sat at the entrance of the cave.

For the past few days, his training rhythm had not been interrupted by the typhoon.

The power of that disaster had given him quite a shock, but after the shock, the intensity of his training had actually increased by another notch.

He leaned against the rock wall and suddenly thought of someone.

Cheng Jian.

It had been a month and a half since he handed over the Human Breathing Method.

He had not paid attention to Cheng Jian's situation since; he had already done what needed to be done.

The manual was handed to the right person, the video provided the evidence, and the rest of the path was for Cheng Jian to walk himself.

He knew the effects of the Human Breathing Method better than anyone else.

It was something he had compiled himself; every movement and every breathing rhythm had been verified by his own body.

But the upper limit of the effect varied from person to person. The efficiency of ordinary people passively absorbing the scattered Spiritual Qi was inherently low. The Human Breathing Method could increase this efficiency tenfold, but with a low base, it remained limited even after a tenfold increase.

The better the foundation of the body and the greater the training volume, the more it could absorb.

It was an amplifier, not an engine for Infinite Growth.

The only thing that truly had no upper limit was his own system panel ability.

Infinite Growth.

Any exercise produced permanent, stackable enhancements with no degradation in effect.

Added to the recovery assistance from the Human Breathing Method, the combination of the two had created his current strength.

Cheng Jian had received an amplifier, but the engine was his own level of diligence.

Chen Mo pulled back his thoughts, stood up, walked to the edge of the cliff, and leaped into the lake once more.

Meanwhile, in Yi City.

When Cheng Jian completed his last set of basic Force Multiplier training, it was already past eleven o'clock at night.

He leaned against the dormitory wall, panting heavily, his training clothes so soaked with sweat that water could be wrung out of them.

Ever since he received that notebook, he had insisted on practicing the basic movements of the first part every night.

Every movement and posture was executed strictly according to the standards in the manual, from shoulders and back to waist and abdomen, and then to the lower limbs, set after set, practicing until exhaustion every day.

After a month and a half, the muscle definition on his body was more distinct than before, and his Force Multiplier had increased from zero to 1.2 times.

This speed of progress was not because the manual had shortcuts.

The training in the manual was harder than any physical training he had ever experienced.

The reason he could progress so fast was that his own foundation was among the best in the Armed Police Detachment, and added to the influence of the passively scattered Spiritual Qi after the Spiritual Energy Revival, the two combined to push him to his current height.

The changes brought about by the improvement in force exertion were comprehensive.

Before the Spiritual Energy Revival, his personal best for the 100-meter dash was around 11.7 seconds.

After the Spiritual Energy Revival, the influence of the passively scattered Spiritual Qi made his recovery ability stronger, and his time naturally improved to 10.9 seconds.

And after this month and a half of force exertion training and the improvement in his Force Multiplier, he had now run the 100-meter dash in 9.1 seconds.

9.1 seconds.

This number had already surpassed the current world record.

The current world record was 9.24 seconds, set by a United States sprinter at the end of August after the Spiritual Energy Revival.

At that time, the entire internet was in an uproar, saying that the limits of humanity were being redefined.

Yet, on the playground of the Armed Police Detachment, without any calibrated timing equipment, Cheng Jian had run a 9.1-second time on a manual stopwatch.

He had pressed the stopwatch at that moment and stared at the numbers for several seconds.

Stunned on the spot.

He was only just beginning.

Cheng Jian took off his training uniform, washed and wrung it out, and hung it by the window.

Outside the dormitory window, the night sky of Yi City was tinted slightly red by the city lights.

In the western suburbs in the distance, new resettlement housing was still under construction throughout the night.

He stood at the window, thought for a moment, then took out his phone and scrolled to a contact.

Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua.

Old Company Commander.

Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua was the first company commander he was assigned to when he first enlisted.

Back then, Cheng Jian was young and trained recklessly; the whole company knew there was a recruit who added extra training for himself every day.

Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua valued this drive in him, not only guiding him in training but also looking after him in his daily life.

Later, because Cheng Jian was injured during a competition, an old knee injury prevented him from staying in his original unit, and he had to choose to retire.

Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua could not bear to see him go and helped him secure a position at the Yi City Armed Police Detachment, allowing him to stay within the system.

The two had stayed in contact over the years, exchanging messages during holidays and occasionally talking on the phone.

Now, Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua was forty years old and had become a Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff. A graduate of a military academy, with solid capabilities and having received numerous commendations, he was the most upright officer Cheng Jian had ever met.

Furthermore, Cheng Jian had heard that the Old Company Commander's father also held a position in the military region, and it was not a low-ranking one.

If he wanted to pass the Human Breathing Method up the chain, Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua was the most suitable person he could think of.

He trusted Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua, and Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua's capabilities were sufficient to ensure this manual would be taken seriously.

More importantly, Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua's channels could deliver the manual to the higher-ups, the upper echelons of the entire military.

Cheng Jian put down his phone and sat on the edge of the bed.

What he had to do now was not a routine report; bringing a handwritten notebook and a memory card to tell an Advanced officer, this matter would be treated as madness if it were even half a step off.

But this matter was a fact.

The 9.1-second 100-meter dash on the stopwatch.

The precise design of every movement in that notebook.

And the footage on that memory card, of that stranger punching through a fir tree as thick as a man could embrace.

He believed the Old Company Commander would give him a chance to explain clearly.

But before speaking, he needed a reason that would also put his own mind at ease.

Whether to believe or not depends on the person standing behind it.

The Old Company Commander trusted him, so he had to live up to that trust.

The next morning, Cheng Jian dialed Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua's number.

The phone rang a few times before it was answered.

Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua's voice was the same as before, steady, with the brevity typical of a busy person: "Cheng Jian? It's rare for you to call me on your own initiative. What's the matter?"

"Old Company Commander," Cheng Jian said without pleasantries, "I have something very important that I must tell you in person. It is about the Spiritual Energy Revival."

There was a pause on the other end of the line for a second.

Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua did not press for details, nor did he hesitate.

His understanding of Cheng Jian required no unnecessary preamble.

"I understand. You are in Yi City? I will have a car pick you up. Come straight in when you arrive; I will wait for you in my office."

"Yes."

Cheng Jian hung up the phone, took the handwritten notebook and the memory card from the safe, and tucked them close to his body.

More than an hour later, an official vehicle with military license plates stopped at the gate of the Armed Police Detachment.

Cheng Jian got into the car, and it drove north, out of Yi City, passed through the newly built isolation zone on the edge of the city, and entered the military region base.

The sentries at the base entrance let them through immediately after seeing the license plate.

The car drove across the parade ground and office buildings, stopping in front of a gray-white building.

Cheng Jian got out of the car, and the guard at the entrance signaled for him to go straight upstairs.

Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua's office was on the fourth floor.

The door was half-open, and the white light of a fluorescent lamp shone from within.

Cheng Jian walked to the door and knocked.

"Come in."

Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua was sitting behind the desk with several documents spread out in front of him.

Seeing Cheng Jian enter, he closed the documents and stood up.

At forty years old, he kept his figure well, broad-shouldered and straight-waisted, his hair cut extremely short, with a few strands of gray at his temples.

The office was very tidy; a bird's-eye view of the military region base hung on the wall, and in addition to military books, there were several textbooks on sports training stacked in the bookcase.

Cheng Jian stood at attention and saluted.

"Old Company Commander."

Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua returned the salute and glanced at him, his gaze pausing for a moment on the muscle definition of his shoulders and arms.

Cheng Jian's body was thicker and more solid than the last time they met.

With leaner and more compact muscle groups, the contours of his shoulders, back, and arms could be seen beneath his clothes.

"Your physique," Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua gestured for him to sit, "have you been training even harder than before?"

"I have been training all along."

Cheng Jian sat down, his body held straight.

He did not beat around the bush and took the handwritten notebook and memory card directly from his inner pocket, placing them on the desktop.

Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua took a look.

The notebook had an old-fashioned hard cover, and the memory card was an ordinary piece of black plastic.

The two items placed on the desk were completely out of place with his fountain pen, porcelain cup, and official red-headed documents.

"Old Company Commander," Cheng Jian's voice was very low, "everything I am about to say is true. I have verified it personally."

Senior Colonel and Chief of Staff Su Hua did not interrupt him.

Cheng Jian pushed the notebook forward.