Feng Bao, though equally bewildered by the current situation, never expected the woman to drag him into the fire.
This was the perplexing part—unlike Adam, whose actions often trampled over all societal rules on a whim, Feng Bao was the most composed and rational among the five-member team. That was precisely why the company had sent him alongside Adam this time—as a failsafe in case Adam lost control again.
But when it came down to it, this rescue mission held little personal stake for him. So while he found the situation baffling, he didn’t react with the same fury as Adam.
Hearing her claim that he would stop Adam, Feng Bao chuckled. "Adam is our captain. Under normal circumstances, his will takes precedence."
"So while I’d rather not trouble an ordinary person, since our carefully selected mission has failed, I must ask you to cooperate with our investigation, Miss."
Shen Ying glanced at Feng Bao from behind Adam’s arm, her smile laced with meaning. "Oh, you will."
"Check your pocket."
The amusement faded from Feng Bao’s face. Hesitantly, he reached into his inner pocket—and pulled out a small slip of paper.
No larger than a palm, this note had somehow found its way into his pocket unnoticed. The mere fact made his pupils constrict.
Feng Bao suffered from severe OCD and mysophobia. He personally maintained his hero suit daily, ensuring no stray items like this could possibly remain.
But when he read the words on the note, he realized the situation was far graver than he’d imagined.
It bore only a string of numbers—meaningless to outsiders, but to Feng Bao, it was a sequence he’d never forget, not even in death.
Then his phone rang. During missions, their devices were always on silent—except for one person whose calls bypassed all restrictions.
The company’s highest authority. Their boss.
Feng Bao looked at the woman, who said, "Answer it. At this hour, it must be urgent."
Unconsciously, the rhythm of the encounter had shifted to her control—despite the two superhumans holding absolute physical dominance.
One of whom was hailed as the most powerful being in history.
Adam, meanwhile, frowned at Feng Bao’s unexpected reaction.
Feng Bao answered the call. A calm, aged male voice spoke—the tone of a seasoned leader accustomed to authority.
"Let the woman go."
Feng Bao didn’t put the call on speaker, but Adam’s superhuman hearing caught every word.
Immediately, Adam snapped, "This is my mission, Pierce. Don’t interfere while I’m working."
The voice on the other end dripped with sarcasm. "If your mission performance matched even half of your arrogance, I wouldn’t need to interfere."
"Unfortunately, this mission’s failure rests on you—again. You underestimated a critical variable. This is on you, Adam."
Adam smirked coldly, his gaze flicking to Shen Ying. "True. So I’m doing my best to rectify that oversight."
Pierce remained unmoved. "Unnecessary. I can guess what you plan to do to that woman."
"Your methods are always brutish, childish, and reckless. But know this: if you insist on this path, I will immediately remove you from the team and revoke your hero license."
Adam’s expression froze. His blue-green eyes turned glacial, but beneath the surface, frustration and disbelief churned.
He stared at Shen Ying—this unremarkable woman in plain office attire—and found it absurd.
They were threatening to expel him over some insignificant insect?
Did these fools not realize the team revolved around him? The others were replaceable.
As long as he remained, the team would stay the world’s strongest.
They knew. Yet they still wielded expulsion as a threat.
Which meant, in the old man’s eyes, forcibly detaining this woman would cost them more than losing him?
How?
Adam’s glare burned into Shen Ying, as if trying to see through her.
The call had already ended. Only now did Adam seem to process it.
He opened his mouth, but Feng Bao cut in hastily, "Adam, the situation outside is under control. The police will be here soon."
"We need to lea—"
Before he could finish, Adam hurled him across the room. Feng Bao crashed into the vault’s alloy door, denting the thick metal.
Bruised, Feng Bao looked up to see Adam’s darkened expression.
"What dirt does she have on you and Pierce?"
"Look at you—one of the five, groveling before a bug."
Feng Bao’s pulse spiked. Adam had severe personality flaws, but he wasn’t stupid.
Of course he’d pick up on some things.
When Feng Bao stayed silent, Adam’s rage flared hotter. Then Shen Ying’s voice cut in, ill-timed as ever.
"Wow, workplace bullying? And here I thought the world’s brightest superstar would at least preserve some illusions for us ordinary folks."
Adam turned slowly. His striking eyes—now glowing like twin suns—locked onto Shen Ying.
A single beam from them would reduce her to ashes.
Yet faced with this near-unstoppable force, she showed no fear.
Instead, she arched a brow, her gaze dripping with disdain.
She didn’t even look at Adam anymore, addressing Feng Bao instead.
"What a shame. A trillion-dollar empire, crumbling because of one fool’s temper tantrum."
"My condolences for what’s coming your way."
Feng Bao’s blood ran cold. In the next instant, he teleported in front of Shen Ying, taking the full brunt of Adam’s laser blast.
Among superhumans, Feng Bao ranked in the top tier. His wide-range offense was formidable, and his defense was no slouch either.
Even against molten-hot beams that could melt alloy instantly, he held his ground—for now.
Blocking the attack, he shouted, "Enough! Don’t make this irreparable."
"Pierce called for a reason. This isn’t a joke."
Shen Ying chimed in, "Exactly. It’s not easy packaging a hothead like you as humanity’s beacon."
"Can’t have hundreds of people constantly cleaning up your messes."
Adam’s fury spiked. Never had he been so provoked.
This was just a bug he could crush with a finger—yet Feng Bao and Pierce kept getting in his way.
In the end, even Adam wouldn’t risk such extreme fallout over a nobody.
He cut off the laser and strode to Feng Bao.
With the gentle smile he reserved for the public, he patted Feng Bao’s shoulder approvingly.
"Well done. For someone so skilled at self-preservation, this is the first time you’ve dared stand against me."
"It seems they're really desperate to stop me."
His gaze swept over Shen Ying once more, his voice sending a chill down Storm's spine: "I look forward to hearing your explanation."
Without another glance at the mess left behind, he flew away through the hole he had made earlier.
Storm then turned around, giving Shen Ying a deep, scrutinizing look: "I don’t know who you are, or how you got hold of those secrets."
"Regardless, I’ve already paid the price for keeping quiet. Good luck to you from here on out."
Shen Ying smiled faintly, accepting his well-wishes: "Appreciate the thought."
Not long after Storm left, the police arrived.
Given that the supervisor was too shaken to speak coherently, Shen Ying had to briefly recount what had happened.
According to her account, the robbers, overwhelmed by the pressure from Adam and Storm, had turned on each other—two died from poisoning, and one went into anaphylactic shock.
As for whether the surviving robber or the supervisor would contradict her testimony—that was out of the question.
After all, the company’s PR team was the most trustworthy thing in this world.
Shen Ying got what she wanted: a blanket, a hot cup of coffee, and the chance to sit openly in a police car outside the bank to rest.
The system’s voice was tinged with complexity: [I thought you wouldn’t use the skill card.]
Shen Ying chuckled softly. "Come on, that’s a bit much, don’t you think?"
"Sure, in the last world, I had strong personal combat abilities, but at least I was given a relatively advantageous identity and comparable talents."
"This world gave me nothing—not even the script. What’s the plan? To ambush and take me out?"
Someone like Adam was the protagonist, his fate woven with the threads of destiny, making him ten thousand times harder to manipulate than an ordinary person. And as a superhuman, even if she tried to alter his fate, he had enough leeway to react.
His destiny wasn’t entirely unchangeable, but it was impossible to micromanage his every move to her advantage. Simply put, he existed beyond the controllable scope of ordinary humans.
For example, Shen Ying could easily arrange an "accident" to eliminate an average person—but what kind of accident could take down Adam?
So, in her view, using the rebirth skill card here didn’t count as cheating.
It was within the bounds of her own pride.
The system hesitated. The company had intended for this, but even with the rebirth skill, Shen Ying’s terrifying capabilities couldn’t be underestimated.
For someone like Adam—whose strength rivaled that of a god—most people would use the skill card just to avoid danger or test the waters.
But Shen Ying wasn’t like most people. She used it to confront him head-on—and even gained the upper hand.
Once the police had wrapped up their investigation, Shen Ying declined psychological counseling and went straight home.
Fortunately, the afternoon’s events didn’t stop her paycheck from being deposited.
With a bit of money in her account, she felt slightly less financially strained.
Her first move was to pack some essentials from her rented apartment and check into a high-end hotel nearby.
Her funds only covered three nights in the luxury suite, but Shen Ying wasn’t worried in the slightest.
She didn’t even bother with dinner.
Right on schedule, as evening approached, two burly men in sharp suits knocked on her door.
"Miss Shen? Our boss would like to meet you."
Shen Ying nodded. "Let’s go. Tell them to prepare dinner for me."
The men exchanged a glance, but one made a quick call.
After a moment, he turned back to her. "It’s been arranged, Miss Shen. Any particular requests?"
Shen Ying smiled. "Nothing too extravagant. I’d be happy with anything Gordon Ramsay personally prepares."
It was a blatant demand for a world-renowned chef to cook for her—yet, astonishingly, the request was approved.
The two men grew even more deferential.
The car pulled up to a towering, iconic skyscraper—the kind often seen in superhero movies.
This was the headquarters of the company Adam and the others belonged to.
Shen Ying was escorted directly into a private elevator, ascending to the 80th floor.
When the doors opened, she saw Adam leaning against the hallway wall, arms crossed.
At the sight of her, genuine surprise flickered across his face.
"Pierce actually invited you here instead of having you quietly disposed of."
Shen Ying smirked. "Your boss is far more mature than you are. He knows how to assess a situation and handle it properly."
"He wouldn’t do something that stupid. At least, not yet."
Adam caught the underlying implication, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
After a beat, he scoffed. "Oh? Sounds like you know him well."
"Mind telling me what dirt you’ve got on him?"
His tone turned almost playful by the end.
Shen Ying shrugged. "I could, but I’ll need to see what your boss is offering first before deciding whether to share it with a third party."
Adam’s grin widened as he followed her into Pierce’s office.
This woman clearly had the wrong idea about Pierce. That ruthless old man—did she really think a polite invitation meant he was here to negotiate?
All he’d do was assess the risk she posed firsthand, then ensure she—and whatever secrets she’d uncovered—were buried in the most brutal way possible.
Adam was certain of it.
The door opened, and the elderly man behind the desk swiveled to face them, greeting Shen Ying with a warm smile.
"Miss Shen, your composure and decisiveness during the crisis were remarkable."
"The company would like to extend an offer—how would you feel about becoming Adam’s new manager?"
Adam: "…"
