Chapter 272: Elite VS Master

"There's something that I've been wondering ever since we were last attacked: how did Hebi no Miko become so powerful? It's almost unfathomable that an adapter could reach such staggering heights."

Adam was recording a rugby match in Dwight's memories while chatting with Shae, who had already reverted back to her human form.

"I don't know, I wasn't there."

"Thank heavens you weren't! If you were there, you would've died for sure. Even now, I still get chills when I think back to that battle. Do you remember the forbidden techniques unleashed by Yamata no Orochi after it was invoked by Oni no Miko?"

"Of course, how could I forget?"

Shae had witnessed everything taking place in the battle royale through the 3D projection, and she had been utterly astonished by Yamata no Orochi's display of devastating power.

"Let me put it this way for you: Hebi no Miko's forbidden techniques are 10 times as powerful as that! One of them controls the true Yamata no Orochi, while the other was only using a completely inferior counterfeit. We were truly extremely fortunate to have survived that attack."

Thinking back to the battle that had taken place on that day, Yamata no Orochi's forbidden technique had reduced several streets to molten lava in a matter of seconds. Adam had a feeling that he would've suffered psychic death had the Mechguard units arrived on the scene even a second later than they had.

"What are you trying to say?"

Shae was already aware that Hebi no Miko was extremely powerful, and she knew that Adam wasn't the type of person who would repeatedly talk about something for no reason.

"What I'm trying to say is that there seems to be too much of a jump between Hebi no Miko and adapters of Oni no Miko's level."

Adam was referring to a level that he felt that he was also currently on.

He had encountered many powerful adapters of this caliber in the past, including Diamond, Cowboy, Oni no Hanzou, Ikkaku, the three psychic mutants... In fact, it wasn't inaccurate to say that the majority of the S tier combatants in Shadow City were around this level.

However, it seemed like there was a massive, empty gulf between Hebi no Miko and all of the aforementioned adapters. There didn't seem to be anyone who fell somewhere between Oni no Miko and Hebi no Miko. Instead, the next level up from adapters of Oni no Miko's caliber contained only drastically more powerful adapters, such as Sadou, Hebi no Miko, and Masao Yamamoto.

Another observation that he had made was that all of the adapters who stood at the very pinnacle of the pyramid possessed psychic bodies that were related to mythology in one way or another.

The only ones that Adam could think of that were more grounded in reality were Diana and Eyeless. Their psychic bodies were also steeped in mythological elements, but not as much as the others.

"There must be some type of reason behind this, a reason that I'm currently unaware of," Adam analyzed. "Among all of the enemies that we've faced in the past, there have been clear power gaps, but none that have been quite this jarring. If we say Oni no Miko was a level five adapter, it feels to me like everyone above her had suddenly jumped up to level eight or level 10, rather than level 6. Do you get the same feeling?"

"Now that you mention it, it does seem that way."

Shae had also seen Sadou and Masao Yamamoto in action in the past, so she knew exactly what Adam was referring to.

"I'm certain these top-tier adapters must have their own secrets. Once I'm done with everything here, I'm going to do some research on the matter. I'm sure Cowboy knows something about this. Oh, the match is over..."

Adam wasn't an avid rugby fan, but even he could tell that Dwight had put on an exceptional performance. His team's defeat had all but been sealed, but it was his splendid performance that had dragged them back from the brink of defeat to a stunning comeback victory.

Dwight had played several hundred matches throughout his career, but this was the only one that remained so clear in his memory, so it was clearly a match that meant a lot to him.

Adam had decided to record this match so that the rugby fans in the outside world could emotionally resonate with Dwight's story, thereby giving additional value to this piece of intellectual property.

After that, Adam and Shae recorded all of Dwight's important memories before preparing to depart.

During the process, they discovered another anomaly, one that was extremely weak and represented depression.

I suppose that makes sense. If Dwight only displayed violent tendencies without also suffering from depression, then it wouldn't exactly be bipolar disorder. However, it seems like Dwight's violent tendencies far outweighed his depressive tendencies.

The anomaly only yielded a paltry amount of anomalic power, which Adam fed to Camera, allowing it to develop from its ragdoll from into a level two anomaly.

Even though a level two anomaly wasn't going to be of much help to Adam at the moment, Camera's powerful abilities and attributes still encouraged him to make this decision.

Finally, it was time for Adam and Shae to leave Dwight's psychic world.

Dwight woke up almost at the exact same moment as Adam and Shae, which was quite a rare sight in a normal person, and a testament to his superior attributes as a former professional athlete.

After chronicling Dwight's life experiences, Adam had developed a sense of fondness for him.

"What a pity. If you had gone to an adapter psychotherapist for treatment earlier, perhaps all of this could've been avoided."

Dwight also heaved a long sigh upon hearing this.

Having been rid of his anomalies, the violent emotions in his eyes had completely faded. In contrast with the violent bear of a man who had walked into this room, the current Dwight appeared to be just a calm middle-aged man with a particularly imposing physical presence.

"I didn't think it would actually be effective," Dwight sighed once again as he reveled in his newfound inner peace. "If I had known this would work, I would've gone to more psychotherapists. If only I had met you sooner."

"It wouldn't have mattered even if you had met me sooner, I wouldn't have been able to help you back then," Adam replied with a smile.

Several years ago, he had most likely still been confined in a hibernation chamber or locked up in some laboratory. Back then, he would've been nothing more than a blank slate who was incapable of helping anyone.

"By the way, why didn't you seek treatment for your condition?"

The average person avoided adapter psychotherapeutic services as they were compelled to do so due to budgetary constraints.

Treatment from an adapter psychotherapist could easily set one back hundreds of thousands of dollars, making it an extremely unaffordable service. However, as a former rugby star, Dwight would've definitely been able to afford this treatment.

"I did on two occasions, but it didn't work either time."

"Why?"

"I don't know, but neither of them were able to cure my condition, so I thought the entire industry was a scam," Dwight replied. "As athletes who rely purely on our bodies without any retrofitting, we're indoctrinated with certain ideologies by our coaches from a young age, making us very averse to modern things like prosthetics and psychotherapy.

“Hence, I was skeptical to begin with, and I was quick to condemn the entire idea before giving it a real chance."

"I see." Adam nodded in response. "But I still can't figure out why those two treatments would've failed."

"Why else could it have failed?" Shae couldn't help but interject here. "It's because ordinary adapters can't defeat anomalies of this level!"

An enlightened look instantly appeared on Adam's face upon hearing this.

Indeed, in his eyes, level three anomalies were nothing but small fry, but they were insurmountable obstacles to many ordinary adapters. Looking at the adapters that had perished in Li Qi's psychic world and the ones who had turned up for the special psychic police officer competency examination, it was clear to see just how weak the average adapter was.

An elite adapter was required to take care of a level three anomaly, but even elite adapters may not necessarily be willing to risk their life for such a task. Hence, a team of elite adapters or an adapter of an even higher caliber would've had to have been hired to treat Dwight's condition.

"Looks like I've become a little out of touch," Adam mused as he turned to Shae with a sheepish smile. "Let's continue. The next two subjects aren't going to be so easy to cure."