Chapter 55: Gunsmoke

Adam was uncertain, but he decided to proceed with the assessment first. Regardless of whether the candidate passed, he insisted on a rigorous identity verification; he could not allow anyone with ulterior motives to infiltrate the research base.

"Two minutes. This person’s brain development hasn't even reached thirty percent; he can last two minutes at most. Anything over two and a half minutes indicates a problem," Adam confirmed to himself.

The young man was wielding a common long-bladed knife. He stood up against one of the white-clad guards, engaging in a display of pure close-combat ability.

However, the flow of the battle made Adam’s eyes widen.

"How is this possible?" Adam’s expression froze. "He has completely suppressed the guard. Although it isn't overtly obvious, if this continues, he will win within three minutes. No, this is definitely not right. His identity is suspicious; there is absolutely something wrong."

Adam scrutinized the youth closely. The more he observed, the grimmer his expression became. Finally, he was one hundred percent certain that the man was hiding something—he was not who he claimed to be.

Adam signaled to the guard captain, Xiao Er, who quickly approached.

"Xiao Er, this man’s identity is questionable. Use an excuse to bring him to the isolation chamber, inject him with a truth serum, and force a confession."

Xiao Er looked puzzled. "Boss Adam, he seems perfectly normal to me. I don't see any issues."

"Shut up! I said there’s a problem, so there is. We cannot afford any negligence," Adam said with urgent intensity.

"Understood," Xiao Er nodded. "Boss, are you implying a synthetic mask?"

"Nobody dares to use a synthetic mask here; most psychics can easily detect their presence. He wouldn't be that foolish," Adam shook his head. "Perhaps it is an ability, or maybe it’s advanced makeup. It’s hard to say for now."

"Understood."

The battle continued, with the young man maintaining the upper hand. His combat techniques were sharp, forcing the white-clad guard to retreat repeatedly in a sorry state.

Three minutes passed, and the youth emerged victorious.

After his win, the youth acted with exaggerated flair, raising his arms and cheering loudly, seemingly celebrating his entry into the core area.

Moments later, Captain Xiao Er approached and whispered a few words to him.

The youth’s expression shifted slightly, and he asked, "What? Go with you alone? What does that mean?"

"Why do you ask so many questions!" Xiao Er replied, clearly displeased.

"That won't do." The youth grew anxious, sweat beading on his forehead. "I... I have other matters to attend to. Since the assessment is over, I should be going."

With that, he turned to leave.

"Stop!" Xiao Er sneered. "Your identity is under suspicion. Come with us at once."

"My... my identity? What could possibly be wrong with it?"

Xia Yan watched the commotion, remaining calm and composed. He was the final candidate for the assessment.

The examiner, Adam, was someone he had read about in the intelligence database and whom Xiao Ling had described in detail. This man, who had been loyal to the Wilbur family for twenty-two years, was certainly no amateur. Xia Yan had to be extremely careful; if any flaws were exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Yoshu, come with us for verification!" Xiao Er growled.

"I... I was wrong," the youth stammered, drenched in sweat. "I am his older brother, Yodu. I... I just wanted to take the assessment in my brother’s place. I didn't mean to commit fraud."

"Take him down," Xiao Er ordered, leading the man away.

As expected, verification proved the youth’s identity was highly problematic. The real Yoshu did not possess such strength. Xia Yan, however, could not have predicted how Yodu would be exposed; he hadn't realized that exceeding performance expectations would trigger Adam’s suspicion.

Under normal circumstances, one might think that a slight improvement in a candidate's skills wouldn't be strange, but Xia Yan had fallen into a trap of logic.

If the examiner had been anyone else, it might have been fine, but Adam was a spy of twenty-two years—cautious to a fault. He would never let such details slide. Even if his judgment was sometimes wrong, caution was always safer. If he made a mistake, so be it; it was better than letting a hidden threat slip through.

It had to be said that Adam was a formidable individual; otherwise, he would not have been entrusted with such heavy responsibilities by human high command and managed to remain undercover for twenty-two years.

"Alright, the last one. Mr. Morris, begin your assessment." Adam looked at Xia Yan, his expression devoid of emotion.

He carefully reviewed Morris’s file and quickly reached a conclusion.

"Perhaps he can last one minute, but it is impossible for him to exceed one minute and thirty seconds. Anything more, and there is a problem," Adam mused, his instincts sharp. "With this level of strength, he shouldn't be able to join the core area; he is too weak. However, there should be no issues with his loyalty. He is a veteran who has served in the outer regions for several years."

Adam weighed his options. Such a man’s loyalty was indeed unquestionable, but his strength was slightly lacking. By standard logic, he should not enter the core area.

This "Morris" had already been relegated to the cold bench by Adam. If he couldn't last one minute and thirty seconds, he would fail the assessment. If he lasted longer, Adam would conduct a strict identity verification.

For Xia Yan, this was essentially a death trap; there was no way to pass Adam’s test.

Xia Yan still carried his "Versatile Blade," as Morris was also known as a blade user, so this weapon would not raise suspicions.

His opponent was a black-clad guard in his thirties. To Xia Yan’s trained eye, the strength of these guards was relatively uniform.

The battle began.

Xia Yan moved with steady, measured steps, swinging his blade in a slash. The guard reacted swiftly, parrying with his own sword.

The opponent did not seem inclined to use special abilities, and the Morris persona Xia Yan had adopted possessed only one ability: strength amplification.

His strength appeared slightly greater than that of the black-clad guard, but only marginally so.

Adam’s gaze was piercing as he watched every movement Xia Yan made, guarding against any anomalies. If there was even the slightest hint of something off, Xia Yan would be subjected to layers of interrogation, forced to spill every secret he harbored.

It was a high-stakes gamble. If he lost, he wouldn't even have the qualification to remain in the game.

Although Xia Yan wasn't paying close attention to Adam at that moment, and Adam viewed Xia Yan merely as an ordinary candidate, their real battle had already begun.

This was not a contest of physical strength, but a battle of wits.

If Xia Yan lost, he would be out immediately. Trapped here, he would struggle even to escape with his life.

For Xia Yan, this challenge was even more grueling because if he persisted for too short a time, he would be judged as having failed the assessment.

Adam watched the combat in the arena. Every second felt agonizingly slow, for he was watching with meticulous, unrelenting scrutiny.