Chapter 48: One Sit-up an Afternoon

In the end, Beast and the others did not report the matter to the police; they simply informed security. When the security guards heard that someone was up to such things, they hurried over to check, and soon apprehended the culprit. Afterwards, the guards found a lighter on the man, and from his own confession, also learned where he had hidden the gasoline.

“It’s fortunate you have sharp eyes. If you hadn’t spotted this, it could have turned into a tragedy,” the landlady said, her face filled with relief as they exited the shop.

She said this because the man had intended to commit arson. If he had succeeded, everyone on that floor would have had to run downstairs to escape. But if he had removed the sign marking the emergency exit, who would have known where it was? At that point, the consequences could have been disastrous.

Afterwards, the landlady took Beast back with her. To be honest, Beast didn’t quite understand why the landlady had come all the way here to eat, only to return so far again. But after thinking about it, he figured it was probably because, as a Digital Beast, he couldn’t fully grasp the ways of humans.

On the way back, Beast picked up a package. Judging by its size, it was likely the fitness equipment he had ordered. Then, Beast returned to his room and gathered his belongings. Of course, the most important thing was to take the gaming helmet with him.

Truthfully, Wang Jie was probably very poor, so there weren’t as many possessions as one might imagine. Before Beast came, all Wang Jie had was two sets of clothes for changing, plus the set he was wearing—just three sets in total.

Given how things had come to this, it was no wonder Beast had looked the way he did when he first arrived in this world. Once everything was ready, Beast followed the landlady to a rather unremarkable apartment complex.

If the city were divided into rings, with the first ring at its very center and the city center within the third ring, then this complex was in the fifth ring. It was, one could say, quite close to downtown.

What’s more, just a few meters from the complex was a vegetable market, making grocery shopping very convenient. Nearby, there was also a bus stop, so public transport was easily accessible, and the surrounding environment was quite pleasant.

In fact, just speaking of the location alone—if the landlady hadn’t lowered the rent, he probably wouldn’t have come here at all.

“Your room is on the fifth floor of Building C, unit 5A. Here’s the key,” the landlady said as she led Beast to the door of his new room. After unlocking the door, she handed him the key.

The room was spacious, with one bedroom and one living room, plus a kitchen and a bathroom. Just the living room alone was several times larger than his previous room. This place was roomy enough for two, let alone one.

Beast nodded in satisfaction. “This place is very nice…”

Even though he was a Digital Beast and didn’t care much about his surroundings, he was not like those Snot Beasts or Poop Beasts who truly lived in filth. If his environment was pleasant, he could certainly appreciate it.

“As long as you like it, that’s all that matters,” the landlady said, glancing around the room. She lowered her head slightly, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks, then turned and said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going.”

“Alright,” Beast replied, and promptly closed the door behind her.

For a moment, the landlady stood frozen outside. Usually, when she said those words, whether intentionally or not, people would at least try to keep her for a while. She had even planned it out: when Beast tried to persuade her to stay, she would go along and sit inside for a while. But unexpectedly, Beast, as if afflicted with a case of terminal obliviousness, simply shut the door.

She stood at the doorway, hand half-raised to knock, but hesitated, unable to bring herself to do it. After all, she was still a young woman.

At last, her expression complicated, she glanced at the door as though her eyes could pierce through it and see the scene inside. Finally, with a soft, reluctant sigh, she turned and left.

Once inside, Beast dropped his things on the floor and lay down on the sofa. The place was already fully furnished, the kind where you could move in with just your bags.

After resting for a while, Beast took the gaming helmet out of the package, only to find that he still couldn’t log into the game. He wasn’t sure what the current situation in the game was.

“Forget it…” Beast sighed, choosing not to dwell on it. It was almost time for his scheduled workout anyway. He opened the other package and assembled a sit-up bench.

This was a compact piece of home fitness equipment, small enough to fit in his old room, let alone this spacious new one.

As for the larger machines, not only could Beast not afford them, but even if he could, there would be nowhere to put them. If he truly wanted to use such equipment, he might as well go to a gym.

Once the sit-up bench was assembled, Beast began his workout. Wang Jie’s body was truly in poor shape; after just a few minutes, he was already gasping for breath, and hadn’t even managed a single sit-up.

Luckily, the one now in control was Beast. He might have nothing left, but his will—tempered through countless ages and battles—was likely unmatched in this world.

And so, Beast spent the entire afternoon just to complete a single sit-up, after which he collapsed on the bench, unable to rise. It wasn’t for lack of will, but because Wang Jie’s body was simply too weak.

After a long time, Beast finally felt his strength return and slowly struggled to his feet. Just as he was about to continue exercising, his stomach voiced a loud protest.