“Let him go, Thompson.”
Unfortunately, Peter’s words had no effect whatsoever.
Flash continued tormenting Gordon, while the students cheering him on only became more excited.
They kept urging Peter to grab his camera and take a picture of Flash and Gordon.
“Take a picture of us, Peter!”
Flash repeated himself.
This time, his tone was noticeably more serious, carrying an unmistakable warning.
Peter still refused to back down.
“Put him down, Thompson!”
After repeating himself several times, Peter’s anger finally began to rise.
This time, he raised his voice.
“Put him down, Eugene!”
For someone like Peter, who normally endured everything in silence, speaking so firmly already required considerable courage.
And to Flash, being addressed directly by his first name sounded like an open challenge.
This time, he finally released Gordon.
But instead of setting him down gently, Flash hurled him onto the concrete beside them.
He hit the ground with a heavy thud that sounded painful even to those watching.
Peter hurried over to check on him.
“Hey, man.
Are you okay?”
What Peter never expected was for Flash to seize the opening and swing a fist directly at him.
The punch came too quickly for Peter to dodge.
He instinctively closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact.
But the expected pain never came.
All he heard was a dull collision.
Immediately afterward, the noisy crowd around them suddenly fell completely silent.
The abrupt silence was almost eerie.
It took Peter two full seconds before he slowly opened his eyes. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
What he saw was something he could hardly believe.
And he wasn’t the only one.
Aside from Jonathan himself, virtually everyone present stared in disbelief.
Jonathan stood there casually.
With only one hand, he had caught Flash’s fist and stopped it cold.
Flash’s face had turned red, and the veins along his arm bulged as he continued pouring more strength into the punch.
Yet Jonathan’s hand didn’t budge in the slightest, and his expression barely changed.
Meanwhile, Jonathan was rapidly evaluating his newfound abilities.
It seemed the Coordinator genetics had enhanced more than just his neural reflexes and dynamic vision.
His physical strength had increased as well.
Flash was already using every ounce of strength he possessed, yet Jonathan could barely feel it.
A moment later, Flash gritted his teeth and suddenly exerted even more force.
This time, Jonathan finally felt a little pressure.
Deciding he had played along long enough, Jonathan abruptly released his fist.
Flash had been pushing forward with all his strength.
The moment Jonathan let go, his body lost its support, and he toppled backward.
He landed flat on his backside with a heavy thump.
The area remained silent for half a second.
Then the surrounding students burst into laughter.
Several pointed at Flash, laughing so hard that they doubled over.
Sitting on the ground covered in dust, Flash’s expression turned thunderous.
Every laugh felt like a needle stabbing into his chest.
Humiliation and fury surged through him at once, turning his entire face crimson.
“Hale!
You asked for this!”
Since Jonathan was the reason he had embarrassed himself, Flash naturally directed all his anger toward him.
Relying on his larger build, Flash roared and charged at Jonathan again.
Watching movements that appeared laughably slow to him, Jonathan almost sighed.
He had already gained a decent understanding of the difference in their strength.
Continuing to toy with an ordinary school bully simply didn’t interest him.
But avoiding him only infuriated Flash further.
Consumed by anger, he failed to realize just how enormous the gap between them had become.
In his mind, Jonathan was still the same pushover anyone could trample.
What followed was almost comical.
Flash kept lunging at him.
Jonathan kept dodging.
Back and forth they went, with Jonathan making Flash look like a performing monkey.
After avoiding him several more times, even Jonathan began to lose patience.
At this rate, they might still be standing here after dark.
He glanced up at the sky, remembering something far more important.
Judging by the time, Gwen’s mother, Helen, had probably already started preparing dinner.
If this dragged on any longer, the food would be cold by the time they arrived.
With that thought, Jonathan stopped holding back.
When Flash charged again, Jonathan stepped aside and casually drove a fist into his stomach.
There was nothing flashy about the punch.
But it was extremely effective.
Flash’s expression instantly twisted in pain.
His body folded like a shrimp, and he collapsed while clutching his stomach.
“Everyone saw that!”
Jonathan immediately raised his voice so the entire crowd could hear him.
“He wouldn’t stop coming after me.
That was self-defense!”
His perfectly serious yet slightly mischievous expression made Gwen burst out laughing.
“Pfft—”
Her shoulders trembled lightly as she laughed.
The other students, however, were far more shocked.
None of them had expected Jonathan, who didn’t even look particularly strong, to floor the school bully with a single punch.