The world was fair. While Xia Fei could reach his maximum potential after completely unlocking his seventh brain region, he had also lost the opportunity to naturally cultivate and improve his special ability.
To become a true expert, Xia Fei needed to constantly take various drugs to improve his rank and bear the side effects of ingesting them.
Pain! Intense pain!
It was as if his stomach had a high-horsepower propeller churning inside him continuously that twisted all his internal organs together before tying them all up in a knot, unable to be untied again.
Xia Fei bent over, using his two hands to grip the ground as his body shook violently. He clenched his teeth tightly, so much so that traces of blood flowed endlessly from his gums.
Sweat droplets of the size of soybeans were shedding from his forehead, dripping freely on the ground like a loose tap. Soon, a small river of his sweat formed on the ground that slowly flowed in all directions.
Phantom's medicine formula was extremely powerful, but it was excruciatingly painful as well.
The process he underwent to increase his rank every time was always like a baptism, as Xia Fei struggled on the cusp of life and death.
However, Xia Fei did not let out any sound throughout this ordeal, silently enduring everything.
Endure! Persevere! Never give up!
This was Xia Fei's creed, and it was also the only path to become a true expert!
It was as the saying goes, if you wanted to acquire stronger power, you must pay an equal price!
No one could reap benefits without putting in hard work, and no one would be able to have a life of constant smooth sailing.
Behind every true expert was a journey filled with sweat and bitterness.
Phantom was standing in the corner with a look of admiration in his eyes. He was not admiring him being tortured but admiring the process of Xia Fei's struggle with the pain.
Time passed as Xia Fei's anguish began to slowly diminish, and he was finally able to get up from the ground by the time sunset came around.
He walked into the bathroom and washed his face with cold water. Xia Fei felt that was still insufficient and decided to just run the taps and have himself a cold bath.
The icy cold water stimulated his skin and cleared his mind as his muscles slowly relaxed.
Walking out the bathroom, Xia Fei donned on his Windshade Mark IV combat suit and wore both his Wind Eye Ring and spatial ring before making his way downstairs.
Dusk had descended as the street lamps were lighting up the street. It just so happened to be the rush hour for those getting off work, so the stream of people was hurrying about, vibrant and boisterous.
Xia Fei stretched his body and started jogging down the street as a warm-up.
About a minute later, Xia Fei's physical state gradually entered its peak condition as he rapidly increased his speed.
30 meters. 50 meters. 80 meters. 100 meters!
There were plenty of people on the street, as Xia Fei passed through the crowd like a gust of wind.
An 18-year old-teenager wearing a miniskirt, her handphones stuck to her ear with a grey plaid handbag slung across her body, was strolling leisurely on the sidewalk.
All of a sudden, a violent squall cut through that lifted her skirt up, revealing her pristine white panties. She panicked and quickly covered her skirt down with one hand as she ran her other hand through her now messy hair.
Her face flushed red and angrily looked all around her, but she couldn't even catch a glimpse of Xia Fei's figure. There were only pairs of leery eyes staring at this boundless sight.
The crowded streets made it difficult for Xia Fei to unleash his full power, as Xia Fei took a turn and dashed into the Second Ring Road that was only accessible to cars.
Xia Fei's two legs suddenly pumped as he ran at his full speed!
In a blink of an eye, Xia Fei reached the critical point of his sonic boom, and in that very moment, Xia Fei first felt an inexplicable pressure, but the second he broke through the speed of sound, that inexplicable pressure disappeared as he could feel his legs become relaxed.
It was like climbing a mountain. Only by reaching to the top of a mountain would someone actually get a completely different scenery.
"Phantom, how's my speed?" Xia Fei asked as he continued running.
"It's not too bad. Your top speed is around 370 m/s, and you've already successfully broken through the sound barrier, the standard for an Intermediate Star Base ranked user," Phantom said matter-of-factly.
370 m/s!
Xia Fei's former speed had only been 185 m/s, but he had actually doubled it this time!
The speed for sound to propagate in the air was around 340 m/s. Now that Xia Fei had broken this speed, he had essentially promoted to the Intermediate Star Base rank!
Xia Fei had taken the gene optimization fluid around April, and in just seven months, he had soared through five ranks and had actually achieved the standard of an Intermediate Star Base rank!
On average, that meant it took a little over a month for him to raise his rank. This kind of progress speed was far too shocking!
His figure sped through like a bolt of lightning. His brain swiftly analyzed the street's situation like a computer as he picked the most optimal path, easily evading cars.
A middle-aged man in his thirties was driving his car while making a phone call.
*Whoosh!*
Xia Fei quickly passed by him, as the car abruptly shuddered.
The middle-aged man subconsciously stepped on the brakes, causing his tires to screech as four distinct and long black imprints were left on the road.
"Old Zhou, what's going on? What was that sound?" The voice on the other end asked, confused.
The man wiped the sweat from his forehead as he answered with fear still lingering in his voice, "I have no idea, but it seemed like something just passed me."
"What is it?"
"I couldn't see it clearly. Its speed was simply too fast like it was a jet plane."
Fortunately, Xia Fei was wearing his combat suit and did not create a sonic boom. Otherwise, the huge sound waves would have overturned people and their cars, not merely just caused them to shudder a little.
According to the traffic police department's report, on the evening of November 29, 2019, five traffic accidents occurred simultaneously on Second Ring Road, causing a series of rear-end collisions involving 31 vehicles. The ensuing traffic jam that happened there lasted until midnight before it returned to normal.
Afterward, hundreds of drivers claimed that a black figure had run past their vehicles that possessed a speed even faster than an airplane, and the strange shudder that all the vehicles experienced after.
The traffic police launched a full investigation of this incident, even alarming the famous Federal X-files Bureau, an investigative bureau specializing in the supernatural.
Of course, the result of the investigation was inconclusive. The investigation report for this case file was numbered 11,094, never to be mentioned again, along with the over ten thousand other cases were all archived in the Federal X-files Bureau's secret vault on subterranean level 13.
…
Australia, the temporary office for the Adjudicator Union's Crisis grade Assessment.
The location of the assessment was in a stretch of desolate rain shadow. Since the Adjudicator Union was unable to construct an office building in time, they had directly parked several spaceships right in the heart of the rain shadow, turning it into the accommodation and office grounds for both candidates and staff.
This was a good way to kill two birds with one stone, solving the issue of feeding and housing several tens of thousands of people without wasting funds on a one-time building since the spaceships could just take off and leave for space once the assessment was over.
Xiao Haili was seated in his office, keeping himself in an unending string of communication with his colleagues from the various departments. The day of assessment was the day after tomorrow. Spaceships from afar had been landing on the temporary tarmac non-stop at the assessment venue.
Countless candidates were arriving at the same time, putting quite the pressure on the assessment center.
Every candidate needed to be briefed about the schedule for the assessment arrangements and had their accommodations and food sorted. Furthermore, plenty of these candidates did not come alone. Many descendants of influential families and clans had been escorted in family spaceships, bringing along teams of bodyguards and servants to Earth.
The number of candidates for this assessment was around 100,000, yet the number of people around the assessment venue was most definitely not under 500,000!
The Adjudicator Union had no other options but to continuously send more examiners and staff beyond that first batch of 2,500 to keep things under control, already sending a total of four more batches to date.
Prior to this, every assessment had been alternatively held in succession between the seven major territories of the Endaro Star Region. These powerful territories could mobilize hundreds of thousands of security officers and civilians for assistance, so the Adjudicator Union would only have to send out examiners, reducing much of these unnecessary hassles.
But this time, they were on a planet that was completely incapable of providing any sort of help as the Earth Federation lacked any ability to assist with the assessment this time around. Instead, it was Earth itself that needed the Adjudicator Union's help with the influx of extraterrestrials.
As a result, the Adjudicator Union was now under even greater pressure. Aside from the over ten thousand examiners and staff they had sent, they even had to have their 5th Fleet orbiting the planetary space, in position to deal with any unexpected scenario at any time.
As an outstanding leader of the younger generation in the Union, Xiao Haili had been entrusted with an important responsibility for this assessment this time. This was both an opportunity and a test to Xiao Haili, and the success or failure of the assessment would directly affect his future in the Union, which was why he had given his all toward his job here.
*Bang bang bang!*
A series of knocks suddenly came from the door.
"Come in!" Xiao Haili did not even lift his head from his work as he called out.
Just as he finished saying this, an approximately 24-year old young woman opened the door and walked in.
She was tall and had a perfectly symmetrical face with a head of luscious blonde hair. Especially her two long and well-toned legs, who knew just how many souls had been entranced by them.
It was just that she appeared to be rather cold, like an icy river. A very beautiful and enchanting icy river.
"Chief umpire, the 3,400 senior cadets of Heaven Execution Training Camp have already arrived, awaiting your instructions." The blonde woman loudly declared.
Xiao Haili was stunned for a good moment before looking up with an intimate smile, "Xiaohan! Why are you here?"
Quickly shutting off the communications system, Xiao Haili stood up and eagerly came over to Ye Xiaohan's side. "Quick, take a seat. I've checked the volunteers' list before and did not see your name anywhere on it."
Ye Xiaohan gracefully sat down on the sofa with her two slender legs crossed.
"Reporting to the chief umpire: the head instructor had suddenly fallen ill, so I was tasked to take his place and lead the people over at the last minute. May I ask how you would want this group of volunteers to be arranged?" Ye Xiaohan said emotionlessly.
Ye Xiaohan's attitude of intentionally keeping her distance from him made Xiao Haili feel very unhappy deep down, but he put on a cordial face and said, "The command room will be in charge of delegating work to those cadets. As for you, I'm completely exhausted from the busy work. I wonder if you can come to my office and help me process some files?"
He was intentionally trying to keep Ye Xiaohan near, hoping to give her some light work to get close to her. Unfortunately, Ye Xiaohan completely ignored his goodwill and continued to speak formally, "As an instructor of Star Execution Training Camp, I should be together with the cadets. May the chief umpire please also arrange for me to be at the frontlines?"
Xiao Haili sighed and bitterly asked, "Xiaohan, why don't you appreciate the extent of my goodwill and kind intentions?"
Ye Xiaohan knitted her eyebrows, "We are merely colleagues, I hope the chief examiner could show some self-respect."
Xiao Haili's complexion turned very ugly. He had not been wooing the ice queen Ye Xiaohan for a day or two, yet her attitude toward him was still as stand-offish and abstruse as ever.
Actually, Lady Ye Xiaohan was not that difficult to get along with in private, it was just that she would become a completely different person when it came to her work, just like a workaholic maintaining an uptight persona the entire time and always treating everyone in a business-like manner.
"Fine then, Xiaohan. You can go and work on the frontlines with your cadets, but you have to watch out for your own safety," Xiao Haili was powerless and had to agree to her request.
"Understood! I'll bring my cadets to report over to the command room right away," Ye Xiaohan stood up and turned round to leave, not even looking back once.
*Bang!*
The door slammed shut.
Xiao Haili was hugging his head with both his arms, tearing at his hair viciously for a while. His eyes were already bloodshot as his hands shook incessantly.
"Don't think that you can disregard me just because you are the daughter of Ye Jingshan! One of these days, I'll have you prostate under my feet!" Xiao Haili deliberately suppressed his rage as he growled under his breath.
"Hmph!" Xiao Hail coldly harrumphed as he made his way to the mirror to tidy his uniform and hair, before forming a kind smile to his reflection.
The frustrated Xiao Haili disappeared as he turned back to the look of a young and promising talent that everyone was familiar with.
He walked to the desk and took Queiroz's call, asking with a laugh, "Little third brother, how are things on your end? Busy till you're fried, I suppose?"
"But of course, Brother Hai! I think you're better off sending someone to replace me. I would rather not be a deputy examiner than suffer this punishment. My God, did you know that my hands are swelling just from signing all the documents alone?" Queiroz was complaining unceasingly over the phone.
"Little brother, this is a chance! If we were to manage this assessment successfully, it would be of great help to our position in the Union in the future, so just bear with it for now. I won't feel at ease if I get someone else to replace you," Xiao Haili said hypocritically.
"Oh, well! I'm only doing this for you, Brother Hai. Otherwise, I would not have cared if it were anyone else! Relax, your bro here is going to do a great job with this assessment for you even if it's going to cost me my life. But I'm gonna say it now, you will need to approve me a month-long sabbatical once this matter is over."
"No problem. You can rest assure I'll do just that. Oh right, how goes the investigation on that thing before? Just who exactly bought that Windshade Mark IV?" Xiao Haili pretended to have suddenly recalled this and asked, his eyes radiating sinister intent.