Chapter 129 - 93: Donning the Mask of Pain

Chen Jue withdrew his accumulated earnings from his various video app accounts to his bank card.

The short-video industry was quite mature now, so there weren’t many restrictions on withdrawing earnings. The funds were typically deposited instantly.

However, when the tax deduction notification popped up, Chen Jue couldn’t help but wince.

The tax amount was quite high, as it used a progressive system. Earnings between 800 and 20,000 yuan were taxed at 20% for personal income, from 20,000 to 50,000 was 30%, and anything over 50,000 was taxed at 40%.

He saw that he had accumulated over 40,000 yuan, but after taxes, he was left with just a little over 30,000.

Fortunately, he could get some of it back during the annual tax reconciliation next year, which made him feel a bit better.

He went to the front desk and signed up for the cheapest rehabilitation package at 12,000 yuan. After filling out the necessary forms and providing his information, Chen Jue officially became a new member of the Tianyu Sports Rehabilitation Center.

As he walked past the reception area and into the main part of the rehabilitation center, a warm, fresh current of air washed over him.

Compared to the increasingly damp and cold night outside, where autumn was turning into winter, the temperature inside the center was perfectly comfortable.

He could tell at a glance that they had spent a fortune installing a complete climate control system that maintained constant temperature and humidity. This kind of setup was far more advanced than regular central air conditioning; it was the type usually found in server rooms that required a 24/7 power supply.

In a residential setting, it would also need to be paired with a professional fresh air system and underfloor heating.

Back when Chen Jue worked at Taisheng, he had once visited the new villa of the chairman who had since absconded, and he had been blown away by this very same kind of climate control system.

A custom installation for a single villa would cost hundreds of thousands of yuan, and the maintenance was even more expensive, with the annual electricity bill running into the tens of thousands.

To say nothing of implementing this climate control system across a rehabilitation center of this size... the annual operating cost had to be at least several million yuan.

’People in the health industry are so damn rich!’ Chen Jue marveled internally.

He felt his membership fee was well worth it, and this was just for an intangible perk he could feel but not see.

If they paid this much attention to detail, he could only imagine how good the other services at the center must be.

Sure enough, after changing into the complimentary athletic wear in the locker room, Chen Jue took a stroll through the dining hall. The exquisitely prepared buffet was on par with the cafeterias at Jiang University or even a five-star hotel.

While it wasn’t so extravagant as to serve lobster or king crab, there was a well-balanced selection of meat and vegetable dishes, all made with the freshest ingredients.

Chen Jue was exhausted from his workout, and since it was dinnertime, he took the opportunity to have a hearty meal right there in the center’s dining hall.

...

After finishing his meal and resting for a bit, Chen Jue headed into the sports rehabilitation area. As he approached, he heard several bloodcurdling screams coming from within.

"G-Gentler... please!"

"OW, OW, OW, OW! HISS~"

Hearing the screams from inside, Chen Jue shuddered. He’d heard the physical education students in his sports massage class say that the pain from these stretch-massages was comparable to one of the worst tortures imaginable.

But now that he was about to experience it firsthand, the reality of it hit him hard.

He walked into the room and saw a row of a dozen or so leather massage beds. A huge, muscular man was lying on one, being worked over by a uniformed therapist.

As he got closer, he realized that the big guy being put through the wringer was, surprisingly, an acquaintance!

"Coach Li Chaoyun! You’re here for a massage too?" Chen Jue went over to say hello, then found an empty massage bed nearby and lay down.

Li Chaoyun, who had been on the verge of breaking down from the massage, looked a bit stunned to see Chen Jue. His mind was probably a bit fried, as he couldn’t seem to place him at first.

"Oh... right! I remember now!"

"You’re President Chen!"

"It’s been a while! The last time I saw you, President Chen, was after your trial class. You never came back to our Yi Lian Fitness. Did you sign up somewhere else?" Li Chaoyun struggled to place him for a moment before finally recognizing the man from his slightly thinning hair.

"I’m not a president of anything. Just call me by my name, Coach Li."

"I’ve been working out on my own lately, so I haven’t joined a gym," Chen Jue replied with a faint smile, striking up a conversation with Li Chaoyun.

He had a vivid memory of the coach who had guided him during his first session.

He especially remembered the man’s thick, powerful legs, which could press 400 pounds. It was obvious he was a master of strength training.

"You haven’t joined a gym?"

"President Chen, you haven’t been taking L-carnitine, have you?"

"How did you lose weight so fast!" Li Chaoyun’s face was a mask of surprise when he heard Chen Jue hadn’t been training at a gym.

It had only been a little over a month, yet Chen Jue looked like a completely different person.

Li Chaoyun had been the one to conduct Chen Jue’s initial fitness assessment, so he could tell with a single glance just how much weight he had lost.

"Taking L-carnitine?"

"What’s that?" Chen Jue asked, a bit puzzled. It was the first time he had ever heard the term.

"L-carnitine is a weight-loss supplement. It works with exercise to accelerate fat oxidation. Seeing how fast you lost weight, President Chen, and all on your own, I just assumed you were taking something," Li Chaoyun explained, his eyes still filled with a trace of disbelief.

"A weight-loss supplement? I see." Chen Jue didn’t bother to explain further.

After all, the speed of his body’s transformation, aided by his panel, was truly incredible. An ordinary person would never be able to comprehend it.

...

Lying there, Chen Jue chatted with Li Chaoyun for a bit and learned that the coach was preparing for an upcoming competitive bodybuilding competition. He had been overtraining in his daily prep and had come to the rehabilitation center because his muscles were feeling sore and strained.

He was a long-time member of Tianyu, having been coming here for several years.

Through his casual conversation with Li Chaoyun, Chen Jue also learned about many of the unwritten rules and behind-the-scenes risks of bodybuilding competitions.

Because bodybuilding competitions place a huge emphasis on muscle "dryness," it’s very different from traditional fitness.

Bodybuilders competing in events like Mr. Olympia don’t just focus on strength training; they also have strict control over their muscle mass, body fat, and even their water levels. To an ordinary person like Chen Jue, it was an almost pathological pursuit of aesthetics.

To achieve high scores and top rankings, bodybuilding competitors put in "efforts" that an ordinary person could never imagine.

High-intensity training was only part of it. Competitors with less natural talent also had to resort to long-term injections of steroids to stimulate skeletal muscle growth.

According to what Li Chaoyun revealed, most fitness coaches like him participate in bodybuilding or physique competitions to earn some extra income.

Once you stepped into that circle, you were on the path of "juicing," and there was no turning back.

If you wanted to increase the size of your arms, legs, or shoulders, pure training wasn’t enough. You had to "juice."

The problem was that these steroids came with extremely high risks and were addictive. They didn’t just cause nerve damage and suppress natural hormone production; they also placed a heavy burden on the internal organs.

Many bodybuilders who relied on "juicing" even faced the risk of organ failure, significantly shortening their lives.

Chen Jue was a bit shocked to hear these explosive industry secrets.

To sacrifice your health in pursuit of such a morbid muscular aesthetic... what was "healthy" or "beautiful" about that?

’No wonder Li Chaoyun asked if I was on something the moment he saw me.’

’It’s true that losing this much weight in such a short time without using supplements would be difficult,’ Chen Jue thought, feeling grateful that his panel had set him on the right path for training.

...

After he finished chatting with Li Chaoyun, Chen Jue watched him finish his massage, change his clothes, and leave. Afterward, Chen Jue fell silent.

The man’s physique was certainly impressive, and he was incredibly strong.

But after learning that those unnatural proportions were fueled by chemistry and dirty tricks, Chen Jue’s earlier envy vanished.

The middle-aged therapist who had worked on Li Chaoyun watched Chen Jue take off his outer shirt, revealing a set of well-proportioned muscles. The therapist nodded in approval. "These muscles of yours are pure Nature, much better than that last kid."

Chen Jue laughed. "In that case, you’d better go easy on me!"

"Massage isn’t about going light or hard; it’s about getting results. With athletes like you, if I don’t put some force into it, I won’t be able to stimulate the deep fascia," the therapist said with a mischievous grin, and began by giving Chen Jue a full-body massage with just his hands.

At first, Chen Jue could tolerate the pain from the natural stretching and massage, but then the therapist brought out a fascia blade.

After applying a special, milky-white ointment, the therapist began to gently scrape and knead his calf. Chen Jue immediately sucked in a sharp breath!

"Fuck!"

"That hurts too much!"

Chen Jue’s eyes flew open, his face contorting into a mask of agony, and he couldn’t stop a few curses from slipping out.

Now he finally understood what they meant by it being one of the worst tortures.

The areas the fascia blade scraped over felt like they were being stabbed by a thousand of the thickest IV needles. And the pain wasn’t a one-time thing; it was like standing in the healing fountain of a video game, constantly regenerating mana to cast a non-stop pain skill on him.

"If you can’t take it, just scream."

"This is a level 9 on the pain scale, just one step below childbirth, which is a 10!"

"Your leg muscles are clearly overtrained. They’re knotted up in a lot of places."

"Have you been doing long-distance running recently?" the therapist asked as he continued to scrape, trying to get information about Chen Jue’s training regimen.

Chen Jue nodded, and between yelps of pain, he told the therapist about some of his recent workouts.

It was just like a visit to the doctor; you had to tell them where it hurt so they could find the right treatment.

Upon learning that Chen Jue trained his upper body and core in addition to his legs, the therapist took the fascia blade and went over his entire body, section by section.

After that, the sports massage room was filled with Chen Jue’s unending screams.

The more satisfying the workout had been, the greater the price he paid for it now.

Once the full-body massage and stretching session was over and the pain subsided, Chen Jue’s entire body felt as blissfully relaxed as if he’d soaked in a hot medicinal bath ten times over.

And just then, a notification popped up on his panel:

——————

[Ding!]

[You have completed a high-standard massage and stretch. Under the stimulation of professional tools, your muscle groups contracted. The muscle and soft tissue were separated and shifted, promoting sliding between fascial layers and increasing the breakdown of hyaluronic acid in the deep fascia. Your blood circulation and metabolism have accelerated, and muscle adhesions have been effectively relieved.]

[Under the stimulation of the instrument, your muscle groups sustained minor, artificial damage. This has prompted your body to initiate an inflammatory response and begin a deep self-repair process.]

[You have undergone a sustained pain-stimulation experience. Your spirit and will have increased, and your pain threshold has risen slightly.]

[Constitution Attribute +0.01]

[Spirit Attribute +0.01]

[Free Attribute +0.01]