Chapter Forty-Two: Ultra-Thin?

Chapter Forty-Two: Earning Money for Retirement?!

Chen Xiao glanced instinctively at the antique sword on the counter—its value was well over ten million dollars. Then there were all those gold bars and diamonds stashed in the upstairs safe...

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry—was this what they called earning money for retirement? These people probably had more wealth than most tycoons!

Zhurong shrugged and sighed, “What can you do... financial crisis, economic downturn, inflation, gas prices rising, even pork has gone up—it hurts just to want a bite of meat! How is anyone supposed to live like this? If you don’t make some extra money on the side, are you supposed to just wait to starve? Hmph, that deadbeat at home can’t earn a living to support me either. None of us are any good at business, we don’t know anything about stocks or real estate, the only thing we’re good at is this talent. Robbing banks is beneath us; being bodyguards is too humiliating. After thinking it over, this was the line of work we stuck with.”

Chen Xiao almost burst out laughing in exasperation.

You people are complaining about being poor? Is there any justice left in the world...

But still, he shook his head, stepped back, and avoided Zhurong’s arm. “I won’t do it! I don’t want to get involved in anything this complicated. You’re superhuman, I’m not! I’m not like you!”

Zhurong laughed and pointed at his nose. “Who says you’re different from us? Kid, don’t you know your own abilities? I could see right through you at a glance.”

She narrowed her eyes, fixing him with a knowing smile. “I spotted it as soon as I walked in today—you’re an ‘enhanced physique’ type, aren’t you? A B-class strength user, not bad at all, that’s entry level. But it’s still unstable, right? Kid, if you work hard, once your abilities improve, you might get recruited into the organization. For someone as young as you to have awakened, when you reach forty, you could become a regional director.”

Enhanced physique? B-class? Regional director?

Zhurong glanced at Uncle Tian, and they exchanged a look—You or me?

Uncle Tian shook his head slightly. Zhurong sighed and muttered, “I always get stuck with the rookies.”

With that, her eyes widened suddenly. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a tiny, sophisticated earpiece, attached to a single-lens monocle.

“Put it on.” Zhurong held out the little device on her fingertip.

Chen Xiao hesitated for a heartbeat. Zhurong grew impatient, grabbed him, and pressed it to his face. This woman was incredibly strong! Chen Xiao wasn’t weak himself—he’d trained—but under her grip, he had no strength to resist. Her slender arm felt like an iron clamp.

Without giving him a chance to object, she fitted the earpiece and lens onto his face, then quickly pressed a button on the earpiece... Chen Xiao dared not struggle any further, for fear this brute of a woman would poke his eye out!

He staggered back two steps, rubbed his face hard, and looked up—immediately—

“Huh?!”

Chen Xiao was dumbfounded!

Before his left eye, a transparent window appeared, like a computer interface. Strings of cursors and characters raced across the display, and as he looked around, it really was—

Just like the robotic vision effects in a sci-fi film!

His gaze swept idly around, and when it landed on the smiling Uncle Tian, the transparent window instantly flickered with changing symbols, crackling streams of data flashing by. Several cursors locked onto Uncle Tian’s outline, scanning him from head to toe.

Then, at the bottom, a string of text and numbers flashed up!

“Target analysis: Enhanced combat-type ability user.
Real-time analysis:
Intelligence: Unknown (insufficient data)
Strength: C-class (Human maximum, muscle scan predicts max load twice body weight)
Speed: C-class (Above average, muscle scan predicts max speed under 200 km/h)
Endurance: C-class (Enhanced, shows reinforcement effects)
Energy: C-class (Detected internal energy source, estimated can release a short-range energy burst)
Combat skills: S-class! (Mastery of two or more advanced fighting arts)
All data real-time, composite combat index: 470.
Potential enhancements: Unknown...”

Chen Xiao stared in shock, watching the display as the system instantly analyzed all of Uncle Tian’s data, his jaw hanging open for a full ten seconds before he finally blurted out a cry of alarm.

“Ah!!”

He leapt back, instinctively covering his left eye.

The first thought in his mind—was this science fiction?!

What kind of glasses were these?!

Seeing Chen Xiao’s horrified expression, Zhurong smiled and walked over. Before he could glance at her, she quickly pinched his face and deftly removed the earpiece and lens, chuckling, “Now you see how powerful it is, huh, kid? Heh... Hmph, this is the latest model. You know, most of the regular field agents in the agency are still using those old external detectors—huge and ugly, like wearing a little mask, totally unstylish. This one is the newest model in the organization; only senior operatives with real connections can get one. It’s not even standard issue yet.”

E-earpiece...

Chen Xiao wasn’t stupid. He immediately remembered the other agency people he’d met—Red Seven, Black Seven, and Black Three—all seemed to be wearing something like this earpiece!

As he stared at the thin lens and the tiny add-on, even smaller than a radio earpiece, Chen Xiao swallowed hard.

This... this was just too unbelievable!

How could such a sophisticated device fit into something so tiny? Where were the circuit boards? The wiring? The data processors? Good lord, was this alien technology?!

Compared to this thing, all those so-called “ultra-thin laptops” on the market—what a joke...

“You say you’re different from us, but you’re wrong, kid.” Zhurong grinned. “The moment I walked in, my scanner picked you up: your other stats are normal, your combat skills are C-class—that means you’ve had some basic martial arts training, a bit better than the average person. But surprise: your strength is B-class! Higher than Old Tian! By our standards, B-class means: beyond the human limit! You may look like a bookworm, but you’ve got quite the strength...”

Strength... not small...

Chen Xiao gave a wry smile.

Suddenly, he remembered... he’d flipped a car? So it really was him who did that!!!

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