Xia Zhen was completely unfamiliar with the appearances of these two people. She had been coming and going from the headquarters of superpowers for more than two years and knew almost everyone in the headquarters, but she had never seen this middle-aged man and that young man before. They were probably colleagues who had just returned from missions outside. This was very likely, as most formal superpower users were away from home for many years to carry out missions assigned by the headquarters. Some of these missions were extremely difficult, and it was common for them not to return for several years.
However, regardless of the circumstances, using missiles within headquarters would be considered a weapon of mass destruction and is absolutely prohibited by the rules. Moreover, missiles have no eyes and could potentially damage public facilities within headquarters. Based on these two points alone, it already falls under the rules that prohibit such actions. If these two individuals were long-time employees of headquarters, they would certainly know the rules.
Upon hearing Xia Zhen's question, the young man's face immediately turned cold, quickly shifting from surprise to gloom. He angrily shouted, "Who are you calling ignorant of the rules? I'd say you're blind! Didn't you see that my brother and I were testing the missile's performance? We did this with the team leader's permission. What rules have we violated? Don't spout nonsense!"
"Team leader?" Xia Zhen sneered. It seemed this guy really didn't understand the rules. "Don't even mention the team leader, even the instructors wouldn't break the rules. The fact that you said that shows you don't understand the rules at all. I don't care who your team leader is, I'm going to complain to the instructor in charge at headquarters about this. You'll be punished according to the triggering clauses of the rules. You'll be in for a beating!"
The young girl was furious. After saying those words, she couldn't help but curse them under her breath. She'd been at the Superpower Headquarters for over two years and had never seen such unreasonable people. Where did these two even come from? She had to teach them a lesson. Although Xia Zhen was usually gentle and kind, she could be as fiery as a little chili pepper when she got angry. Especially since the missile had almost hurt Ling Yun, it had enraged her. If Ling Yun had been injured, Xia Zhen might have charged in and fought to the death.
Ling Yun was also angry, but being new to the area, he didn't understand what was going on. He left everything to Xia Zhen, while he stood cautiously to the side, carefully observing the middle-aged man and the young man. The data transmitted through the Eye of Illusion and the copy indicated that the two were far stronger than the trainee ability users he had encountered on the outskirts. Moreover, they possessed a calm demeanor and imposing figures, clearly skilled ability users, probably official ability users from the ability headquarters. However, their arrogant manner and behavior were undeniably repulsive.
The middle-aged man kept looking at Xia Zhen and Ling Yun, especially Ling Yun. This boy who had frozen the missile left a very deep impression on him. He pondered for a moment and realized that when he left the headquarters of superpowers three years ago to carry out a mission, there were no two young people in the headquarters. Judging from their age, they should be new recruits that the headquarters had recruited in the last two years.
Thinking this, the middle-aged man immediately felt relieved. As a formally recognized superhuman, he was well aware of the importance of the rules. If someone were injured due to the two's unauthorized missile testing, even unintentionally, they would certainly face severe punishment from headquarters. Therefore, when he saw two people suddenly appear in the direction the missile had been launched, the middle-aged man broke out in a cold sweat; this was a matter of life and death, not something to be taken lightly.
Actually, this missile was a high-tech portable missile system that the two had acquired by chance during a mission. Both were fond of military weapons and, excited by its appearance, decided to try it out upon their return. With their team leader's tacit approval, they found a secluded spot to practice. However, the young man, who had never handled such advanced equipment before, accidentally pressed the launch button while randomly pressing buttons, sending the missile flying. The two were stunned when, just then, Xia Zhen and Ling Yun suddenly appeared in front of the missile through a barrier passage, nearly causing a major accident.
However, upon seeing that Ling Yun and Xia Zhen were unharmed, and vaguely guessing that they were newcomers, the middle-aged man began to consider how to suppress the matter. Newcomers are often quite passive when they first arrive at the Supernatural Abilities Headquarters, and in terms of seniority, they are certainly not as experienced as the veterans. Moreover, this girl and this boy didn't seem to be anything special. If he offered them something, perhaps they would be fine.
Chapter 159 Rogue
The young man, Yunhai, was naturally hot-tempered and impulsive. Seeing a girl several years younger than him dare to rebuke him to his face, how could he suppress his anger? He even forgot the little bit of guilt he had felt for almost hurting her earlier, and was about to shout back. The middle-aged man immediately reached out to stop him, signaling him not to act rashly.
Yunhai said angrily, "Brother Fang Yu, why did you stop me? This little girl is so rude. I don't know who she hangs out with. If I don't teach her a lesson today, she won't even respect us."
Xia Zhen retorted angrily, "You're so unreasonable. You broke the rules first, and not only do you not know you're wrong, you're also so arrogant. I really don't know how you got into the Superpower Headquarters. You're a disgrace to the headquarters."
The middle-aged man, Fang Yu, stopped Yun Hai, smiled slightly, and said to Xia Zhen in a gentler tone, "Young lady, I'm sorry, my brother Yun Hai has a bit of a temper. If I offended you with my words, please don't take offense. My name is Fang Yu, and my brother's name is Yun Hai. We are both official staff members of headquarters, but we have been on missions outside for a long time and only returned a few days ago. We haven't had a chance to ask who you and this young man are yet?"
Xia Zhen raised her beautiful eyebrows, thinking that he was a regular staff member who was away from home for a long time. No wonder she had never seen him before. She said coldly, "I am Xia Zhen, the leader of the trainee ability user group. This is Ling Yun. He is a new ability user that I recommended to prepare for the trainee program."
Yunhai snorted coldly: "So you're just a trainee!" His tone revealed a hint of arrogance and disdain befitting someone in a superior position.
Xia Zhen coldly replied, "Even a trainee is better than an old man who doesn't know the rules." Her disdain was even stronger. The young man was so angry that veins bulged on his forehead, and his face turned bright red. Ling Yun looked at Xia Zhen with some surprise. When did this little girl become so eloquent? Sure enough, three days without studying makes one less worthy of Xia Zhen's sharp tongue.
Fang Yu was puzzled when she saw that Xia Zhen showed no respect whatsoever after learning about her and Yun Hai's identities. According to past practice, newcomers to supernatural abilities should at least show respect in their demeanor and actions when meeting experienced individuals. Why did this young woman seem so indifferent?
Little did he know that Xia Zhen came from the most prestigious family of superhumans. Having seen many powerful individuals, she was naturally unfazed. Moreover, Xia Zhen's father and uncle were retired instructors from headquarters. Having been exposed to such things from a young age, her mindset was naturally different from that of a new superhuman with no background, who was cautious and treading on thin ice upon arrival. Besides, Xia Zhen had already passed the assessment and become a formal superhuman, it was just that the news hadn't been announced yet. Her status was equivalent to Fang Yu and Yun Hai, so what was there to be respectful of?
Ling Yun had no concept of seniority whatsoever, especially since he was a disciple of Xiu Jie, a once invincible and supreme expert. In terms of both vision and courage, Ling Yun far surpassed others. Let alone two ordinary ability users, even if the head instructor from headquarters were standing there, Ling Yun would remain composed and confident without being nervous.
When the two of them didn't react after hearing his identity, Fang Yu couldn't help but feel annoyed, thinking that the newcomers didn't take him seriously: "Xia Zhen, I think this is a misunderstanding. Fortunately, you and this young brother Ling Yun are both fine. For my sake, let's just let this matter go. Let's be friends. If you need anything in the future, you can come to me, Fang Yu, or this senior brother Yun Hai. I will definitely help you solve it."
Ling Yun's expression immediately turned strange. He wondered who this guy was and how arrogant he was. He had almost hurt someone and not only did he not apologize, but he also dismissed it as a misunderstanding, as if they were the ones in the wrong.
As he was thinking, Xia Zhen was already furious: "Fang Yu, you're older than me, so I respectfully call you Brother Fang, but you really think too highly of yourself. Ling Yun and I are fine not because you showed mercy, but because Ling Yun blocked the missile. Not only did you not apologize, but you also want to use your status as a senior ability user to suppress us? Don't say I don't know you and don't give you face; even if I did, do you think you can just let by calling it a misunderstanding and let your violation of the rules go? Impossible! Let me tell you, I'm definitely going to file a complaint about what happened today. I believe the instructor will give us a fair explanation. Ling Yun, let's go! Let's not go to register yet; come with me to file a complaint and clarify this matter!"
The little girl grabbed Ling Yun's arm and was about to walk inside when Fang Yu immediately stepped forward and stopped her. Xia Zhen's eyebrows furrowed: "What? You dare to forcibly keep me here?"
Fang Yu smiled slightly: "Xia Zhen, don't be so impulsive. Think about what I'm saying first. After all, you are new trainees. Let alone whether you can pass the headquarters' assessment, even if you do, it's not certain which group you will be assigned to. If possible, I can apply to be your teacher when you and Brother Ling Yun are assessed for becoming full-fledged employees. After you become full-fledged employees, I can also apply to the group leader to transfer you here. Then we will become colleagues, and I can take better care of you when carrying out missions. What do you think?"
His words were a mix of soft and hard. On the surface, they were meant to persuade Xia Zhen not to complain, but they also implied another meaning: Aren't you an apprentice ability user? Then you must want to pass the assessment to become a full-fledged one. If I apply to be an assessment instructor, whether you pass or not will depend on my mood. And even if you pass the assessment, if I transfer you here through the team leader, assigning you any difficult tasks will be making things difficult for you.
Xia Zhen, being incredibly intelligent, easily discerned the underlying meaning in his words. She glanced at Fang Yu with disdain: "Thank you for your consideration, but firstly, I've already passed the assessment and am a formal ability user; the news just hasn't been released yet. Secondly, my job assignment is already planned; I definitely won't be in your group, so please don't worry about it. Besides, even if Ling Yun is only an intern, I'll apply for someone else to be his assessment teacher; it certainly won't be your turn, so please don't be so enthusiastic."
Fang Yu's expression changed: "Xia Zhen, are you really not going to give me this face? The two of us tested the missile with the team leader's permission. If you complain, not only will you not get anything, but you will also completely offend our team leader Ye Feng. Have you thought about the consequences? If you don't complain, Yun Hai and I will compensate you with some things. This will benefit everyone, so why fight to the death!"
Xia Zhen smiled contemptuously: "So what if he's Ye Feng? My sister is Xia Lan, and she's always been keeping him firmly under control. I joined headquarters to improve my cultivation. Don't talk to me about benefits or compensation. I come from the Xia family; I've never had any benefits. Fang Yu, just wait to be complained about. Let's go, Ling Yun!"
Fang Yu narrowed her eyes: "So you're Xia Lan's sister. No wonder you look so familiar. Heh, Xia Zhen, it won't be so easy for you to complain about me. I, Fang Yu, am not someone to be trifled with."
It turns out that Xia Lan was the deputy leader of Group One in the Superpower Headquarters, while Ye Feng was the deputy leader of Group Two. Both of them were exceptionally talented and proud young men. Being of similar age, they naturally had a competitive spirit. Since the official leaders of each group were only nominal senior superpower users and rarely took charge of the group's work, Xia Lan and Ye Feng, the two first deputy leaders, became the real leaders. They competed fiercely when carrying out missions. However, Xia Lan came from a prestigious family and was known as one of the few genius superpower users in the Xia family over the past few hundred years. She had abundant resources and was extremely capable. Therefore, she always steadily suppressed Ye Feng of Group Two, which made Ye Feng very resentful.
With both group leaders behaving this way, the group members naturally followed suit, resulting in a tense atmosphere in their gazes towards each other. The instructors didn't deliberately try to smooth out this competition; in fact, they sometimes even intentionally created a competitive atmosphere at headquarters, because they believed it was a good thing for the young group members. Ultimately, the Superpower Headquarters was still a combat department, and superpowered individuals were, in essence, warriors. Even in peacetime, they might be tasked with dangerous missions at any time. Therefore, combat strength was the most important and only standard for evaluating the headquarters. If this competition could improve the strength of the superpowered individuals, the instructors were naturally happy to do so.
Unfortunately, this brought a side effect: the relationships between the various groups of superhumans weren't very harmonious. It was common for them to dislike each other, and finding excuses to compete had become the norm. This was completely unlike other organizations where everyone was peaceful and harmless. Everything has two sides, and the instructors were helpless. Besides, fostering competition was a long-standing tradition at the Superhuman Headquarters, and as long as there were no major casualties, the instructors turned a blind eye.
Xia Zhen didn't even glance at Fang Yu, and was about to leave.
Fang Yu smiled dismissively, reached out and waved his hand in the air. The missile that Ling Yun had frozen in mid-air floated towards him. After taking it and handing it to Yun Hai behind him, Fang Yu said leisurely to Xia Zhen and Ling Yun's backs, "Xia Zhen, if you complain, I'll complain too. I'll say you're framing me. I never tested weapons of mass destruction in headquarters."
Xia Zhen froze, turned around and glared at Fang Yu hatefully: "You want to play dirty? It's a fact that you launched missiles at us! How can you cover that up?"
Fang Yu smiled slyly, watching Yun Hai put the missile back into the launcher and shrug: "We didn't launch the missile at all. It's perfectly fine inside the launcher now, isn't it? How can you prove we violated the rules?"
"You!" Xia Zhen was shocked and furious at the same time. She pointed at Fang Yu but didn't know what to say.
Chapter 160 Fang Yu's Sneak Attack
Seeing Xia Zhen speechless with anger, Fang Yu smiled smugly: "Xia Zhen, you forced me into this. Unless you have evidence that I used a missile, your accusation is blatant slander. If I were to file a complaint against you, who knows who would get punished! So, what I said still stands. Anyway, neither of you were harmed. Let's let this matter rest, and I'll let you off this time. How about we call it quits?"
Yunhai looked coldly at Xia Zhen and said in a low voice, "Brother Fang Yu, isn't it too easy for them to give up like this? Two newbies can climb all over us and boss us around. If we don't teach them a lesson, they probably won't take us seriously in the future."
Fang Yu's smile remained unchanged, but she said in a low, cold voice, "Alright, Yunhai, if the missile hadn't been blocked by that Ling Yun, we wouldn't have been able to cover up the truth. We'll have plenty of opportunities to deal with them later, so don't worry." Yunhai nodded and retreated behind Fang Yu with a sullen face.
Although Xia Zhen was intelligent, she was still young and inexperienced. When faced with a cunning and shrewd guy like Fang Yu, she was at a loss and turned to look at Ling Yun, as if this younger boy was the real backbone.
Ling Yun smiled at her, patted Xia Zhen on the shoulder and said, "Watch me." He then took a step forward and stretched out his index finger to draw in the air.
Fang Yu and Yun Hai had no idea what the young man was up to, so they stared wide-eyed. Xia Zhen was also puzzled, but she had always trusted Ling Yun, so she stood silently to the side and watched curiously.
As Ling Yun moved his finger, a rectangle composed of silver light slowly appeared in the air, approximately two meters in length and width, resembling a picture frame before the image was set in. Once the rectangle was complete, Ling Yun gently tapped its center, causing ripples to spread through the air within, as if it were not air, but a pool of clear water.
After the ripples subsided, the rectangular background gradually darkened, the transparent air transformed into a pale white light curtain, and after a layer of silver light flashed, a vivid image began to appear on the light curtain, gradually becoming clearer.
On the screen, Yunhai accidentally pressed the missile launch button, while Fang Yu screamed in panic beside him; Fang Yu's voice could even be clearly heard on the screen. Then the scene shifted, as if in slow motion, showing the missile hurtling towards Ling Yun and Xia Zhen at twice the speed of sound, before being frozen in mid-air by Ling Yun's telekinesis.
Ling Yun smiled coldly, pointed his index finger again, and the image vanished into thin air. "I wonder if this counts as evidence?" the young man said calmly.