[The Real World, Side Story Broadcast Day, 8:00 PM, Platform 13(China forum)]
Amidst the excited anticipation of countless dimensional viewers, the Stars side story titled "Innate Strength 2" began!
As the familiar opening song faded and the screen lit up, the dimensional viewers saw neither the familiar Ember Base nor some brutal battlefield littered with Star Energy.
Instead, they saw an ordinary, sun-drenched elementary school playground, and a small figure sitting alone in the center of the field.
It was Tendo in his youth, his cheeks still pink with baby fat.
His black eyes, not yet having undergone the Star Core surgery, were as clear as a washed sky, leaving a deep impression.
But as the camera zoomed in and focused on Tendo, the dimensional viewers immediately sensed a unique aura about him that made him stand out from his peers.
They were a pair of calm eyes, so tranquil that they showed no hint of childhood innocence or naivety, but rather an icy indifference.
It was as if, even at this age, Tendo felt he and everyone else were fundamentally not living in the same world.
This sense of isolation, of pushing the whole world away, immediately conveyed the child's unusual nature to the dimensional viewers.
Ding-a-ling!
Accompanying the ringing of the dismissal bell, large numbers of elementary students were picked up by their parents.
Only Tendo was different; he left the school alone.
However, just as Tendo was passing a park next to the school, trouble emerged.
Three delinquents with ridiculously dyed hair were leaning against the slide, cigarettes of unknown origin dangling from their mouths.
Seeing Tendo alone, the ringleader, a guy with yellow hair, extinguished his cigarette and walked over with a sinister smile.
He deliberately blocked Tendo's path and whistled lazily.
"Hey, little kid. Got any cash in your pocket? My bros and I are a little short on money lately. How about lending us some to spend?"
At the same time, the other two immediately closed in, their laughter filled with malice.
An ordinary child would have already turned pale and trembled nervously at the sight.
But Tendo was different.
Facing the three who suddenly blocked his way, Tendo calmly stopped, then looked up at the clock at the park entrance. The second hand pointed to 17:57.
"Three minutes left."
Tendo suddenly spoke. His voice still carried a childlike softness but conveyed an inexplicable coldness.
The yellow-haired guy was startled at first, then sneered.
He lit another cigarette, put it in his mouth, and then bent down, hands in his pockets, to lean close to Tendo, blowing a cloud of thick smoke into Tendo's face.
"Huh? What did you say? Three minutes? You little brat must be scared stiff..."
He was met not with an explanation from Tendo, but with a small yet powerful fist.
There were no flashy moves. With a dull thud, the arrogance on the yellow-haired guy's face instantly froze.
His cheek visibly dented. He staggered backward as if struck by a heavy hammer, clutching his mouth, unable to speak for a long time.
Before the other two delinquents could react, Tendo moved again.
Although he was much smaller than them, he displayed a calmness far exceeding his age, as well as an almost exaggerated fighting instinct.
Facing the punch swung toward him, Tendo merely shifted his body slightly, perfectly dodging the blow while simultaneously landing a precise punch on the opponent's elbow joint.
With a slight crack, the delinquent immediately cried out and clutched his arm in pain.
The scene then switched to Tendo's first-person perspective, allowing the dimensional viewers to clearly see the 'world' through his eyes.
Aided by 'Overclocked Computation', the world in Tendo's eyes was not only slowed down, but the delinquents' movements, breathing rhythm, and muscle contraction trajectories were all clearly presented in his mind.
Facing this overwhelming amount of information, Tendo didn't need to think; he instantly executed the optimal solution.
When the second delinquent lifted his leg to kick, Tendo immediately stepped on his knee, simultaneously suppressing him and using the force to leap up, landing a punch squarely on the opponent's chin.
The force of the punch wasn't huge, but it precisely struck an area dense with nerves, causing the guy's eyes to roll back. He immediately collapsed to the ground, completely incapacitated.
Seeing this, the yellow-haired guy, who had just recovered from Tendo's first punch, was terrified.
Without hesitation, the yellow-haired guy turned to run.
But Tendo seemed to have anticipated his move, quickly grabbing his arm.
In the next second, Tendo's small body used the momentum to execute a clean, textbook-perfect shoulder throw, slamming the guy onto the hard concrete.
The entire process was smooth and fluid, without a single wasted motion.
The yellow-haired guy lay on the ground, his eyes wide with fear as he looked up at Tendo, who was staring down at him.
This was no harmless elementary school student; this was clearly a monster wearing human skin!
Ignoring what the guy was thinking, Tendo dusted off his hands and looked up at the clock at the park entrance again.
Less than half a minute had passed since he made his first move.
At this moment, Tendo finally gave his explanation for the 'three minutes'.
"I'm going to be late for cram school."
As Tendo spoke, he felt a warmth at his nose.
He expertly pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away the nosebleed, seemingly already accustomed to it.
After all, this was merely the overload on his brain caused by 'Overclocked Computation', a 'cost' Tendo had long known about.
After a brief rest, Tendo pulled a simply wrapped milk chocolate bar from the side pocket of his school bag, peeled the wrapper, and popped it into his mouth.
The rich sweetness melted on his tongue, and his small face, which had been pale from the Overclocked Computation, recovered its color visibly.
'Some are born with divine strength, others with supernatural intellect, and Tendo is just as his name suggests—the darling of his lineage. Every excellent quality can be found in him.'
'No Star Core, no Star Source, just pure physical strength and brainpower to take down three delinquents? Tendo is truly worthy of the title [Born Strong].'
'No wonder the Doctor had to seal his Overclocked Computation later. His current body can't handle this intensity.'
As the dimensional comments scrolled, Tendo ignored the three people groaning on the ground behind him and walked toward cram school, chewing his chocolate.
The setting sun stretched his shadow long. The small figure walked steadily on the sidewalk, as if the conflict just moments ago was nothing more than brushing dust off his shoulder.
However, just as Tendo reached the building of the cram school, he suddenly stopped.
Even though class was about to start, Tendo wasn't in a rush to go in.
He slowly tilted his head back, gazing at the city skyline in the distance.
The bloody sunset was slowly swallowing the sky, dyeing the clouds a burning crimson.
A few crows cawed as they circled the utility pole, the sound of their wings cutting through the air carrying an inexplicable sense of oppression.
The wind swept around the street corner, lifting a few fallen leaves, bringing with it a subtle, out-of-place stillness that didn't belong to the twilight hour.
It was clearly a sign that a storm was brewing.
Tendo frowned, a seriousness inappropriate for his age flashing in his black eyes.
He gently sniffed the air, as if trying to catch something.
Moments later, Tendo spoke softly in a voice only he could hear: "The scent of the wind... has changed."
Hearing this, the comments section on Platform 13 instantly fell into a brief silence.
The dimensional viewers looked at the small figure standing in the twilight and were reminded once again of the side story's title—"Innate Strength 2".
Whether it was his composed counter-attack in childhood or his keen perception of danger now, the Stars production team was clearly using this side story to illustrate one point.
Tendo's strength was never a miracle granted to him later in life, but an instinct that flowed through his very blood from the moment of his birth.
Some people are simply born extraordinary, and the legend of Tendo had quietly begun long before he even arrived at the Ember Base.
As Tendo stepped into the cram school entrance, the camera didn't follow him in.
Instead, it shifted to a dark, garbage-strewn alleyway next to the cram school.
Inside the alley, a manhole cover suddenly rattled, as if something was about to climb out from beneath it...
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