Chapter 238: The Spy Couple

On the day of the proficiency examination, many living people came to the police station, presenting an extremely rare sight.

In the past, there were only a few civilian workers in the police station, while the rest were all Mechguard units, but on this day, several government officials and quite a few examination participants were present.

Adam and the others were naturally among these participants.

During the proficiency examination, all of the participants would have sparring matches against one another to avoid cheating. Of course, these sparring matches were far less brutal than the arena matches held in Shadow City.

There was no killing or infliction of major injuries allowed, and it was a spar in the truest sense of the word.

Through the footage that was being broadcast, Adam was able to determine that most of these participants were roughly comparable in power with level two anomalies, which Adam had deemed to be the standard for mature adapters.

This was about the level of combat proficiency that one would expect out of an adapter who had studied at an academy under the Psychic Church or received some practical combat training outside of that.

Powerful adapters were always in the minority.

Adam's first psychic battle was against an adapter of that caliber.

Inside the psychic world, Adam was confronted by what appeared to be a female spy.

She was holding a toolbox, which she opened to reveal a collection of weapons commonly used by spies.

After entering the psychic world, she quickly pulled out a small submachine gun, which she aimed directly at Adam.

"Your reactions are too slow. If this were a true psychic battle, you would already be dead," the woman declared. "Surrender. You aren't prepared for battle at all. This isn't a sparring match that only begins when a teacher at your academy tells you that you can begin. The battle began as soon as we entered the psychic world, and you've already lost."

A derisive sneer appeared on Adam's face at the sight of the woman.

"What are you saying? I can't hear you."

"Don't make me shoot." The woman raised her gun slightly so that it was aimed at Adam's head. "I'm a very sharp shooter."

"As an adapter, it's good to have confidence, but if you know nothing about the outside world, and your confidence far exceeds your ability, then that confidence is nothing more than stupidity," Adam cackled in his high-pitched clown voice. "You remind me of those idiots from the Psychic Church. I knew someone who was just as confident as you. What was her name again? I think it was Orster or something like that.

“For pampered idiots like yourselves, I'd advise against joining the special psychic police force. Even if you assemble a full team of adapters like yourself, you'll still be nothing more than cannon fodder when you encounter a serious psychic criminal. Do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because you're too stupid for your own good!"

As Adam was speaking, the woman felt a cold sensation against her neck. As it turned out, a clone of Adam's had already snuck up on her and was resting the blade of its dagger against her throat.

"That's cheating!"

"Cheating? Do you have any idea how pathetic and naive you sound right now? Learn to accept your losses."

Adam shrugged before departing from the psychic world.

"These examinations are so pointless."

As soon as he returned to the real world, he was immediately greeted by the sound of Diana's grumbling voice.

"What happened to her?" Adam asked as he turned to Rabbit.

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Her opponent had a mental breakdown as soon as their match began."

"How did that happen?"

"It was some weak adapter who appeared to have next to no practical combat experience. What do you think would happen when he goes up against a massive black dragon?" Rabbit replied while pacing back and forth as a means to relieve pressure, much like the agitated zoo animals prowling their enclosures. "This place sucks! There's not a single strong opponent here!"

"That doesn't sound right. With so many adapters here, surely there must be a few decent ones."

Adam looked around to examine the battles that were being projected, and sure enough, there really didn't appear to be any who could put up a good fight.

A short while later, Adam was approached by a civilian worker. He was one of the examination supervisors.

All of the battles that took place here were recorded, and marks were given based on the adapters' performances in those battles.

"Mr. Adam, I was sent here by Shi Feng. You won your battle earlier, but your performance wasn't very impressive. You didn't display much combat prowess at all, so we can't give you a very good score. You've already failed your written examination, so please give us a more comprehensive display of your abilities here."

"Alright, I'll be sure to do that," Adam replied with a nod. "Can I ask why there are so few powerful adapters here?"

The worker looked around for a moment, then lowered his voice as he replied, "The candidates sent by the southern congress are intentionally avoiding you. They're all at other examination sites."

"I see, that makes sense."

Through his earlier observation, Adam had discovered that even though there were very few powerful adapters present, there were still two or three decent ones, and that was statistically reasonable, given that the southern congress had intentionally sent their most powerful candidates elsewhere.

……

While Adam was casually strolling through the examination area, a woman in a set of professional attire sought out her companion.

She was the adapter who had just been defeated by Adam, and she was feeling very displeased, so she wanted her companion to avenge her.

"Go challenge that guy over there for your next match."

"Which one? That one over there?" A peculiar look appeared on her companion's face as he caught sight of Adam from afar. "What's wrong, honey? You seem really upset."

"He beat me using really underhanded tactics, so you have to avenge me!" the woman grumbled. "If I can't land this job, then I'll be arranged to enter the Psychic Church by my family, and I don't really want to work there."

"Alright, I'll teach him a lesson for you," the man promised, but at the same time, he was a little concerned. "Is he strong?"

"His direct combat prowess is very weak, and his reactions are also quite slow, but he's really sly. Just make sure to look out for his clones."

"I see. I should have no problem against him then."

The man knew that this was his chance to put on a good showing in front of his lover, and he was eager to seize this opportunity.

Thus, he made his way over to Adam before issuing a challenge.

Adam was also searching for an opponent, so he immediately agreed. However, he was able to sense something a little strange from the man with his telegnosis.

"You seem to be harboring some animosity toward me, but it's not very pronounced. Are you from the southern congress?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I hope you're not making up some excuse because you're scared!"

The man made his way over to a testing station as he spoke, then connected the footage capture equipment before invading Adam's consciousness in a rude display.

Adam allowed his psychic world to be invaded, and he led the man to a barren plain outside Sandrise City.

In the psychic world, the man was a gun-wielding spy in a suit.

"I just faced a female spy, and now, there's a male one! What is this? Mr. and Mrs. Smith? I understand why you seem so angry at me now. So you want to avenge her, do you? Let me see what you've got!"

Adam had to display his combat prowess in order to secure a higher score, so instead of immediately ending the battle, he invited his opponent to attack.

The man could see the blatant and unadulterated mockery in the eyes of his deranged clown opponent.

He knew that his girlfriend was watching him right now, so he wanted to secure a flashy victory.

He immediately pulled the trigger of his guns to fire off five bullets in an instant, and the bullets struck Adam on the forehead, chest, abdomen, knees, and throat with unerring accuracy.