Adam's smile froze on his face.
He stared at Pierce, and after confirming the man wasn’t joking, he felt an unfamiliar sting of humiliation for the first time in his life.
Just a second ago, he had been confidently throwing out threats, only for the old man to turn around and offer the woman a position as his superior.
Of course, given Adam’s unparalleled abilities and status, a mere manager couldn’t truly be considered his boss.
Typically, the managers assigned to their five-member team were little more than glorified assistants, handling their messes and never daring to give them orders.
But standard hero managers were different. These professionals needed formidable connections and skills to navigate the complex world of hero activities, making precise, ahead-of-the-curve judgments to steer public perception.
Most importantly, they had to deal with governments and military forces—far from the typical duties of a celebrity agent.
An exceptional manager was often more valuable than most ordinary heroes.
After all, popular heroes cycled out every few years, while a truly skilled manager was a rare find.
The industry’s general structure placed managers above the heroes they supervised.
A top-tier hero like Adam could easily overshadow their manager, but even the mere title was enough to make his blood boil.
His expression darkened as he glared at Pierce, a storm brewing in his eyes.
But Pierce ignored him entirely, instead focusing on Shen Ying with genuine interest.
Shen Ying wasn’t surprised by the offer. She simply smiled and asked, "What’s the annual salary for a manager?"
Pierce replied, "A base of three million, plus a cut from hero activities. At minimum, twenty million a year."
"Of course, that’s not the most important part. As the manager for the five-member team, exceptional performance would open up unlimited career advancement."
"Adam and his team are the strongest heroes in history. They’re young—they’ll dominate the industry for at least another thirty years."
"In that time, the experience you accumulate could even position you to take over my role someday."
Adam scoffed. "Pierce, why don’t you just hand her your position right now?"
The old man’s desperation must be worse than he thought if he was willing to spout such nonsense.
Pierce frowned at Adam. "You think this is just a temporary ploy to win Shen Ying over?"
"No. I genuinely believe she has the capability to excel in this role—and the potential to succeed me."
"To be frank, we’ve already conducted a thorough background check on Shen Ying in the past few hours."
"Her records are unremarkable. No signs of extraordinary abilities, no possible exposure to company secrets."
"And yet, this ordinary woman single-handedly derailed your operation."
"She resolved the hostage situation before you even arrived." Pierce turned to Adam. "If this were a competition, you lost."
Adam’s face darkened. "What kind of joke is this?"
Pierce remained serious. "If you’d bothered to check, you’d find the mission debrief already in your inbox."
"Shen Ying had already cornered the three robbers before you and Storm made your grand entrance. By the time you got there, the outcome was decided."
Adam’s eyes flickered. He quickly pulled up his work email, where a report with an attached video confirmed Pierce’s words.
The bank’s high-definition cameras had captured everything—the long walk to the vault, the robbers’ infighting, and the way Shen Ying had even calmed them down.
At one point, she pulled a chocolate bar from her pocket and handed it to the most panicked robber, who then obeyed her like a trained dog. The other hostage had been cowering in a corner the whole time.
And then Adam had burst through the wall, his dramatic entrance rendered utterly ridiculous in hindsight.
Adam gritted his teeth. "...What did you feed him?"
He was referring to the chocolate bar Shen Ying had given the robber.
Shen Ying smiled. "Nut chocolate."
Pierce added, "The allergic robber survived. He has a severe nut allergy."
Adam’s suspicion flared. "Is she working with them?"
Pierce shook his head. "No. Shen Ying’s background is clean."
"But our psychic heroes interrogated the surviving robber. He was cooperative."
Pierce looked at Shen Ying. "He called her a witch. Said she knew their deepest secrets—things no outsider could possibly know."
"She predicted your arrival down to the last word. In their desperation, they followed her orders."
His gaze shifted back to Adam, accusatory. "The real problem here is your arrogance."
"If you’d bothered to scout ahead, this wouldn’t have been such a disaster."
That was only half-true. Adam’s abilities made it effortless to assess any situation before stepping in.
But he was too powerful—so powerful that nothing in the world could challenge him.
Since becoming a hero, he’d never faced a mission he considered difficult.
Instead, his recklessness had caused more collateral damage than any operation warranted.
Why would someone like him bother with reconnaissance, even if it took no effort at all?
Adam took a deep breath, his voice dripping with mockery. "So? After all your digging, this is the conclusion? That she just happened to outplay trained criminals?"
"Since when is the company this incompetent?"
He believed Pierce about Shen Ying not having powers. The company’s influence had integrated superhuman detection into standard blood tests.
Anyone with a medical record would’ve been flagged.
But if she wasn’t superhuman, then the company’s failure to uncover her connection to the robbers was just incompetence.
Adam wasn’t buying it.
Pierce, however, shared his curiosity. "I’ll admit, the report made me question our capabilities too."
"So I’ll ask you directly, Shen Ying—how did you know so much?"
Shen Ying smiled. "I taught myself some profiling techniques."
Pierce nearly laughed. That was a blatant lie.
The company’s investigation had dug deeper than she realized. She had no background in profiling.
And even if she did, did she really think real-world profilers could pull off something this absurd?
But he hadn’t expected the other party to answer truthfully, and Pierce didn’t mind, smiling as he said, “Then the folks at the FBI really ought to reflect on themselves.”
Returning to the original topic, he continued, “So, what do you think about the job offer, Ms. Shen?”
Shen Ying replied, “Twenty million a year? That’s a bit stingy of you, Mr. Pierce.”
“I thought you’d be willing to pay at least five billion to keep these secrets under wraps.”
Adam was startled. When they’d first entered, she’d mentioned that she’d decide whether to leak the secrets to a third party based on Pierce’s offer.
But he hadn’t expected it to be such an astronomical sum.
Pierce’s expression stiffened momentarily, but he quickly regained his composure.
“I don’t believe that’s a rational price. Someone as intelligent as you, Ms. Shen, should understand that this cost far exceeds the standard expenditure for crisis management.”
Shen Ying countered, “Compared to the value of your company—or even the stability of your country—I’d say this price is quite fair.”
Her gaze then shifted to Adam, who furrowed his brows and glanced at Pierce, surprisingly staying silent for once.
Then Shen Ying added, “Besides, the Bear and the Dragon would be more than happy to strike a deal with me.”
“Of course, Mr. Pierce, with all the capable people under your command, a single word from you might mean I never leave this room alive.”
“But I trust that until you’ve uncovered every possible leak I’ve prepared, you won’t make that move.”
The smile vanished from Pierce’s face. Storm had just informed him that a note containing keywords related to his secrets had been slipped into his uniform.
They’d investigated—it was Storm’s personal assistant who’d done it, claiming he’d received a threatening call that morning and was forced to scribble a string of numbers into Storm’s pocket.
He didn’t even know who the caller was, but the company had traced it back to Shen Ying’s number.
She hadn’t even bothered to hide it.
Someone who’d planned even such a minor detail in advance wouldn’t have overlooked the possibility of them silencing her.
If they acted recklessly now, the consequences would be disastrous.
Pierce forced a smile. “Since Ms. Shen’s price is reasonable, we wouldn’t dare refuse.”
“We’ll complete the transaction as soon as possible. But are you truly not interested in the job?”
“I still extend my sincerest invitation for you to join us.”
Shen Ying waved a hand dismissively. “I have no interest in babysitting idiots.”
Adam’s composure cracked, his expression twisting as he glared at her. “What did you just say?”
Pierce quickly interjected, “Enough. You may leave.”
Turning back to Shen Ying, he said, “You haven’t had dinner yet, have you? Mr. Ramsay is already preparing a meal for you.”
Pierce clearly had no intention of joining her—probably off somewhere nursing his frustration.
Shen Ying couldn’t care less. Dining with an old man would’ve ruined her appetite anyway.
She was led to the dining room, where an exquisite appetizer awaited her, accompanied by a fine bottle of wine.
Outside, the city glittered with lights, and from the high-rise restaurant, she could take in the breathtaking view of this dream-chasing metropolis that countless people yearned for.
The vantage point here was even better than her hotel’s.
As Shen Ying savored the dinner personally prepared by Gordon Ramsay, she leisurely admired the nightscape.
Then, in the next second—
A flash of blue electricity crackled before her eyes, and a figure materialized in front of her.
The man had short, ice-blue hair and strikingly handsome features.
But his first words were: “Enjoying your meal? I think I just saw Pierce’s people slip something into it.”
