Chapter 56: Seeking Vengeance

Ten seconds passed.

Adam watched intently, calculating countless possibilities in his mind. For now, Xia Yan’s performance was fairly standard, without any remarkable surprises.

The stalemate in the battle was evident.

Twenty seconds passed.

Adam furrowed his brow. Xia Yan still hadn’t fallen behind; in fact, there were faint signs he might be gaining the upper hand. This was unusual because, according to Adam’s estimates, Xia Yan’s strength should only hold out for at most one minute and thirty seconds.

Some people start with strong combat power but weaken considerably as the fight drags on. If Xia Yan was that type, it would make sense.

He decided to observe a little longer—perhaps another ten seconds would yield a conclusion.

Thirty seconds passed.

Adam’s expression grew increasingly peculiar.

A junior assistant approached, noticing Adam’s demeanor and quickly asked, “Boss Adam, is something wrong?”

“There are some issues,” Adam replied cautiously. “He’s still holding the upper hand, albeit just barely—too small to be significant.”

Thirty-five seconds passed.

“He’s lost the upper hand now and is being suppressed. But this level of endurance is definitely beyond one minute and thirty seconds. Is there something off about this person?” Adam remained uncertain, but his gaze sharpened as if trying to see through Xia Yan down to his very soul.

There was absolutely no way he would overlook a suspicious individual. This was a critical phase of the operation, and Adam had been undercover for twenty-two years for this very moment.

Forty seconds passed.

Adam continued to watch attentively.

Fifty seconds passed.

Adam’s expression became exceedingly strange; he stared at Xia Yan in disbelief.

Sixty seconds passed.

Seventy seconds passed.

Adam clenched his fists tightly. This person—something was wrong. Extremely wrong.

Eighty seconds passed.

Ninety seconds passed.

At ninety seconds, it was time. Adam’s gaze turned cold as suspicion fully settled over him. This man’s identity was ninety percent likely to be problematic—absolutely so.

“Let’s wait and see how long he can hold out. No matter what, we must thoroughly verify all his background information,” he thought.

Xia Yan still held on, surpassing Adam’s expected limit.

One hundred seconds.

One hundred and twenty seconds.

One hundred and fifty seconds.

Two and a half minutes had passed.

Adam’s eyes were tense; he wanted to see how long this man could endure. If he surpassed three minutes, he would pass the test—although it was just a cover story in their jargon.

So this man’s goal was to reach three minutes.

He was clever, enduring with great difficulty, but still holding on.

So the target was three minutes?

Two minutes and thirty-five seconds.

Two minutes and thirty-six seconds.

Two minutes and thirty-seven seconds.

Xia Yan’s versatile blade finally dropped to the ground. His throat was pressed against a sword held by his opponent.

“I admit defeat,” Xia Yan said through gritted teeth, his expression filled with unwillingness. “Just a little more—about twenty seconds. Such a pity.”

Adam’s expression was somewhat strange. After hesitating, he walked over.

“Morris, what exactly is your ability? It doesn’t seem to match the intelligence reports. Tell me the truth now!”

“Yes, sir,” Xia Yan immediately replied. “My primary ability is to amplify a certain amount of strength, so my power exceeds that of a normal person.”

“This Morris is suspicious,” Adam thought. Based solely on Morris’s strength amplification, he should not have lasted two minutes and thirty-seven seconds—at most one minute and twenty seconds, as expected.

“My second ability is to amplify speed,” Xia Yan added promptly.

Adam’s expression stiffened. “You’re saying... you’ve developed a second ability?”

“Yes, sir. Just a few days ago, I was fortunate enough to develop a second ability,” Xia Yan said quickly. “Because my brain domain development hadn’t reached the standard, I consider myself quite lucky.”

“Wait, what is your brain domain development level?” Adam cross-checked the intelligence data. The report showed Morris’s brain domain development at twenty-nine percent.

“A few days ago, I just barely reached thirty percent, and within the following days, I developed the second ability,” Morris said, feeling fortunate.

Normally, intelligence updates were monthly, so Xia Yan’s claim was plausible; his latest information hadn’t yet been recorded.

Adam fell into deep thought.

As for Xia Yan, he had to consider these factors to pass the test. Don’t think Xia Yan was unaware of the intelligence; thanks to Xia Ling, he had access to more information than the average candidate.

If he held out for too short a time—less than two minutes—it would be nearly impossible to pass. Less than two and a half minutes left some doubt, but exceeding three minutes would invite intense scrutiny and risk exposing his identity.

The ideal time was between two minutes thirty seconds and two minutes forty seconds. And with a second ability developed, Morris had the capability to endure that long.

Adam hesitated. In that case, he should reassess Morris. If the data confirmed a second ability, the previous evaluation was incorrect.

That meant Morris’s endurance should fall between two minutes and thirty seconds and three minutes. Having held out for two minutes and thirty-seven seconds, he was fully qualified.

Adam shook his head. This person’s identity was not problematic.

He sighed softly, realizing he had been overly sensitive. Perhaps it was fear of his own fading life that clouded his judgment. People always have emotions—no matter how resolute their hearts, none can escape the dread of death.

Finally, Adam marked a large check next to Morris’s name.

He had passed the test.

Xia Yan successfully infiltrated the research base as a security guard. The base was heavily guarded, with long shifts. The security personnel worked in three shifts, maintaining 24-hour protection of the facility.

Three days after entering, Xia Yan confirmed relevant information about Ke Quan—his daily work hours, rest times, hobbies, and so forth.

That day, Xia Yan prepared to act: to kill Ke Quan and extract the necessary intelligence.

Ke Quan lived in a residential area in the southeast of Domino City. His rank wasn’t high enough to warrant bodyguards. Notably, Ke Quan was an ordinary person, not an ability user.

“Xia Yan, you can’t act recklessly,” Xia Ling warned. “Ke Quan is an important researcher. If he dies, the higher-ups might become alert.”

“Then what do you want me to do?” Xia Yan frowned.

Given his nature, Xia Yan would never blindly obey the demons’ orders.