13: Chapter 13 Second Awakening? The Shocked Yuan Shoucheng

Yuan Shoucheng's office was on the third floor of the battalion headquarters building, one of the few rooms in this steel fortress with its own window.

But at this moment, the bulletproof glass window was tightly covered by curtains, with only a tactical desk lamp casting a circle of dim yellow light on the table.

Chen Hai stood before the desk, his back ramrod straight; he had been reporting for a full fifteen minutes...

From receiving Yuan Shoucheng's orders to tracking Lin Mo into the mountains, and finally witnessing that bloody battle in the valley.

Not a single detail was omitted.

"And then, we came back."

As Chen Hai finished his final sentence, the office fell into a dead silence.

Yuan Shoucheng sat behind the desk, hands clasped on the surface, his expression a sight to behold.

"Are you sure?!"

"That was a late-stage Rank One Rotten Wolf King?"

Yuan Shoucheng's eyes bulged with an exaggerated expression, and the scar on his face looked even more hideous under the light.

"Positive," Chen Hai said without hesitation.

"I've fought that beast three times. The wound on its left eye was from Old Zhou's rifle; there's absolutely no mistaking it!"

"Over twenty ordinary Rotten Wolves, four Rank-entry elites, and one Wolf King."

Yuan Shoucheng repeated the information points Chen Hai had just stated.

"Wiped out..."

"One person, one standard-issue war saber—and he's a Rank One, Tier Two Awakener with a white-grade trait?"

"Yes."

"What do you mean 'yes'? Do you think that's even possible?"

Chen Hai fell silent.

He wasn't a recruit; he had spent eight years crawling through the front lines. He had seen true geniuses and pseudo-geniuses who relied on drugs and secret methods to force their growth.

But a Rank One, Tier Two crossing two minor realms to kill a late-stage Rank One, and slaughtering an entire wolf pack while he was at it?

"Theoretically, it's impossible."

Chen Hai chose the most rigorous answer.

"Unless he hid his strength, or..."

"Or what?"

"Or he has some trump card we don't know about."

"You mean a high-level cultivation technique?"

"Yes!"

"Impossible! The physical difference between Rank One Tier Two and Rank One late-stage is two to three times over. A high-level technique isn't enough to bridge such a massive gap!"

Silence fell over the office once more.

After a long while, Yuan Shoucheng silently opened the laptop sitting to the side and pulled up Lin Mo's full file.

[Name: Lin Mo]

[Age: 19]

[Hometown: Jiangcheng]

[Awakening Level: Rank One, Tier Two (Latest test date: June 15th)]

[Possessed Trait: Swift Step (White)]

[Registered Techniques: Basic Saber Technique, Basic Movement Technique]

[Enrolled Institution: Jiangcheng University, Augmentation Department, Class 3]

[Assigned Position: Mobile Bait Post]

The file was almost excessively clean.

The white talent Swift Step was a common type of speed-based talent, with effects ranging from a 6% to 10% increase in movement and reaction speed, depending on the individual.

It wasn't particularly terrible, but it certainly wasn't good.

In a second-tier martial arts institution like Jiangcheng University, students with white talents were considered the bottom of the barrel.

His techniques were all basic versions; he didn't even have a single D-rank technique.

How could such a person wipe out a wolf pack?

Could this really be all there is to him?

Yuan Shoucheng didn't believe it.

He closed Lin Mo's file and pulled up two others.

Shen Fei, Lingwu University, purple talent Tyrant: the longer the battle, the greater the increase in strength, speed, and recovery, up to 50%–80% depending on the individual. Cultivation: Rank One, Tier Seven.

Shi Huaian, Sishui University, blue talent Rock-Sand Colossus: can transform into a giant made of high-density sand crystals and rock. Cultivation: Rank One, Tier Five.

These two files were what fit the definition of a genius.

Especially Shen Fei; a purple talent was something the entire Southeast Military Region only saw a few of each year. Logically, he should have been pampered like a treasure. How could he be thrown into a bait post alongside a white-talent like Lin Mo?

"Could it be..."

"He's a Double Awakener!"

A second awakening—he has two traits!

Yuan Shoucheng's breathing hitched for a moment.

A Double Awakener refers to someone who, after their initial awakening, awakens a new talent trait due to a special opportunity or long-term accumulation.

Such people are extremely rare, with a ratio of less than one in ten million, and almost all second awakenings occur in high-level Awakeners of Rank Five or above.

A second awakening at Rank One?

Unheard of.

But what if it was true?

A monster with dual-trait talents who could kill targets two minor realms above him in actual combat?

Yuan Shoucheng felt his palms sweating.

"Chen Hai."

Yuan Shoucheng spoke.

"Who else knows about tonight, besides you and the patrol team?"

"The gate guards and the hidden sentries all know Lin Mo left the camp, but they don't know what happened afterward,"

Chen Hai replied.

"Good. Tell the men in your team to take what happened tonight to their graves!"

"I've already issued a gag order to the four rookies in my team. As for Old Zhou and Li Wu, I'll brief them as soon as I get back."

"Not enough."

Yuan Shoucheng shook his head. "Go to the gate later and tell those two boys that Lin Mo never left the camp tonight—they must have seen wrong."

Chen Hai was stunned. "This..."

"Do it."

Yuan Shoucheng's tone left no room for doubt.

"Furthermore, rewrite the patrol team's report. State that it was a false alarm; the mountain search yielded no results, and the abnormal noise was presumed to be caused by nocturnal wildlife activity."

"Commander, are we helping him hide this? Why?" Chen Hai finally couldn't help but ask.

Yuan Shoucheng stood up, walked to the window, lifted a corner of the curtain, and looked out at the pitch-black camp.

"Chen Hai, how long have you been on the front lines?" he asked suddenly.

"It'll be eight years soon."

"Eight years!" Yuan Shoucheng repeated. "How many geniuses have you seen?"

Chen Hai thought for a moment. "Seven. Only seven who truly deserved the title of genius."

"And how many are still alive?"

Chen Hai fell silent.

"Three."

Yuan Shoucheng answered for him.

"Four died. One in a beast tide, two in infighting, and one in an... accident."

He turned back and continued, "Do you understand why now?"

Chen Hai nodded slowly, feeling a wave of lingering fear.

He had heard before that Lin Mo was only assigned to the bait post because he had offended someone.

If tonight's events were made public, the person Lin Mo offended might act out of desperation and strangle this genius in his cradle...

"But Commander, if he really is a Double Awakener, then his value..."

"It's precisely because he might be a Double Awakener that we must hide him even more!"

Yuan Shoucheng interrupted him.

"One purple-talent Shen Fei is already eye-catching enough. Add a potential Double Awakener like Lin Mo on top of that?"

"Believe me, the day after the news gets out, people from above will come to take them over. We'll be left with nothing but a pile of scrap metal."

Chen Hai stopped talking.

He believed it. He believed it all too well.

"Then the bait post mission..."

"I'll handle it."

"Just act as if nothing happened tonight and go about your business."

Chen Hai stood at attention and saluted. "Understood! I'll go handle it right away!"

He turned and left, gently closing the door behind him.

Silence returned to the office.

Yuan Shoucheng sat in his chair and stared at Lin Mo's ID photo on the screen for a long time.

Finally, he turned off the screen, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.

"A Double Awakener... nineteen years old..."

He muttered to himself.

"Lin Mo, just what... is your background?"