Chapter 411: Duan Fei Cannot Be Spared

Even though they were both Second-level Superpower Users, Triss knew he was far stronger than the others.

It could even be said that he was second only to the All-Knowing, and could hold his own against any other Superpower User.

This was because, unlike ordinary Superpower Users, he possessed as many as thirteen Second-level Superpowers.

What was even more remarkable was that these Superpowers didn’t conflict with one another. They could even work in tandem, allowing them to produce special effects.

A Superpower that turned his body into alloy…

A Superpower that planted psychological suggestions in others…

A Superpower for rapid stamina recovery…

A Superpower that granted immunity to toxins…

A Superpower for rapid wound healing…

…

But unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to finish off Jinghong.

From the start, Jinghong’s objective had been clear.

After their initial clash with her Yo-Yo, Jinghong had confirmed that her opponent was incredibly strong. It would take at least three of her to take him down.

Besides, they were inside the enemy’s base. A drawn-out battle would only create more complications, so it was better to stick to hit-and-run tactics.

So, after drawing Triss’s attention, she began to keep him occupied until her stamina slowly ran out.

Sensing Jinghong retreat into the distance, Triss realized he couldn’t stop her. He could only climb out of the ground and head for his office.

The battle had been so intense that his clothes were in tatters, revealing the solid muscle beneath.

He was about to order his men to continue the search for Duan Fei’s group, but as he stepped inside the base, he was confronted by a truly cringe-worthy sight.

Cadets in high-cut swimsuits were training outdoors. The skin-tight garments left so little to the imagination that Triss felt an overwhelming urge to claw his own eyes out.

It wasn’t just the cadets; his own staff members were dressed the same way.

Worse still, they were performing some sort of strange ritual, endlessly muttering phrases that sounded like the whispers of an Evil God or the dream-talk of an Ancient God.

He called his secretary over, looking at the man in confusion. “What in the world is going on?”

“Someone impersonating you came earlier and issued strange orders,” the secretary said with a runny nose.

Triss opened his computer in confusion. When he saw the bizarre orders issued in his name, his face immediately flushed with rage.

He whipped his head around to face his secretary. “Why didn’t you stop them?”

“You told me not to interfere with anything.”

“I did say that… but… All right, I should have seen this coming.”

With a sigh, Triss prepared to rescind the orders, but the office door was suddenly pushed open. The base’s Chief Financial Officer strode in.

Triss stared at him in confusion, but before he could speak, the CFO said, “The first payment has arrived. I’m here to give you your cut. You’d better turn off the surveillance cameras.”

“…What money?”

“Kickbacks from the apparel supplier. The high-cut swimsuits are far cheaper than the standard uniforms, so I’ve already procured ten thousand units. I took a commission of about two million US Dollars from the deal. As per our agreement, here is your one million US Dollars.”

He tipped twenty bundles of five-hundred-dollar bills out of his briefcase. The cash reeked of the musty smell of old money, enough to startle even Triss, a man who wasn’t particularly materialistic.

After dumping the cash, the Chief Financial Officer said with admiration, “Sir, I have misjudged you.”

“…What do you mean?”

“I thought you were making everyone change into swimsuits to satisfy some despicable fetish. But now I see that’s clearly not the case.”

“Then what in the hell do you mean!”

“At first, we thought you were a Saint. But now, it’s clear you just wanted to make money through legitimate channels. We’ve already contacted some LGBTQ organizations. They think promoting gender equality at our base is a wonderful idea.”

“This is a military base! What damn use is the LGBTQ community here?! Wait… on second thought, maybe the only thing they’re good for *is* ass!”

“Calm down. I know you don’t like them; I don’t either. But as long as they’ve got money, it’s fine. Besides, when they heard we were writing a special screenplay, they got very interested. They called it ‘an excellent screenplay for shattering gender stereotypes’ and are preparing to increase their investment!”

“…Oh my god.”

“Your wisdom is truly remarkable. Please, continue. By the way, I’ve already paid off my mortgage. You should come see my villa next time you have a day off.”

Triss stared blankly as the man left, utterly speechless.

The parasitized secretary standing beside him asked curiously, “I don’t get it. Why was that fat guy in the high-cut swimsuit thanking you?”

“I don’t get it either,” Triss replied, shaking his head in a daze.

Because of these two orders, the base staff began to unscrupulously enrich themselves, but the cadets felt quite differently.

They had been forced to change clothes and perform cheek-kiss greetings. A group of staff members had even started filming them, claiming the footage would be sent to the LGBTQ team to secure more support.

Previously, Triss had taken extensive measures to maintain the standards of Lord Angel’s cafeteria, effectively curbing the staff’s greed.

But with Duan Fei fanning the flames, the cadets began to complain and the staff began to graft. The entire atmosphere of the base was corrupted overnight, and there was no telling how long it would take to fix.

Just as Triss was pondering how to salvage the situation, a second piece of bad news arrived.

An explosion had occurred in the underground training area. More than a dozen of the abominations were dead.

Rushing to a deeper subterranean level, Triss found that a massive explosion had torn through the laboratory there.

Abominations caught in the blast lay in pools of blood, their massive heads incinerated to ash.

But the cause of death wasn’t the explosion—it was the flames.

The abominations’ bodies had been shattered and then incinerated. All the Heart-devouring Worms nesting inside them were destroyed, taking their hosts with them.

The laboratory had been raided. A large amount of critical data was stolen, and the ongoing experiments had been forcibly interrupted. There was no telling how long it would take to restart them.

According to Triss’s plan, these abominations represented the next stage of human evolution. The Heart-devouring Worms were meant to further unlock human potential, while an awakening of the Spirit would make their physical forms more versatile.

Very few humans could evolve to this stage, so having more than a dozen of them eliminated at once was a devastating blow for Triss.

He wasn’t sure how Duan Fei had found out about this place, but he knew one thing for certain: there was no longer any chance of reconciliation between them.

“Notify Lord Angel. Tell him it’s time we acted together,” Triss said to his secretary. “That bastard can’t be allowed to live.”