The Heretical Husband Is Too Good at Acting! - Chapter 4

The following morning, shortly after ten o’clock, Zhang Tao called.

He asked Chen Mo where they should meet. Chen Mo did a quick search and gave him the name of a café near yesterday’s shopping mall.

Half an hour later, Chen Mo stuffed the mushroom—which had reverted back to its plush toy state—into Zhang Tao’s hands.

He had finally managed to get rid of this hot potato.

Even though it was now in Zhang Tao’s hands, the mushroom turned its head back, its black embroidered eyes staring fixedly at Chen Mo.

Having spent a full twenty hours together, Chen Mo had grown accustomed to the mushroom’s gaze and was able to remain indifferent. However, he couldn’t resist asking, “Does it always run around like this? Don’t you guys control it?”

Zhang Tao explained, “Xiao Wen is usually very well-behaved. He probably knew we were keen on recruiting you and was curious, so he ran off on his own. I’m very sorry.”

Chen Mo asked, “Is he your pet?”

“Of course not. He was accidentally brought back by a colleague during a mission. That location is currently sealed off, so there’s no way to send him back. He is temporarily being sheltered by the Bureau. He usually stays at the Hunting Division base, but occasionally runs out for… certain reasons. Don’t worry, though; his danger rating is near zero. To this day, he hasn’t caused any actual harm to a human, so you don’t need to fear him.”

“I’m not afraid. But it wouldn’t be good if he scared the neighborhood cats, dogs, or children,” Chen Mo said, glancing at the mushroom and intentionally adding, “You guys should lock him up.”

The mushroom’s eyes suddenly widened.

Zhang Tao patted the mushroom’s head comfortingly. “We have no grounds to detain an Anomaly that is friendly to humans and lacks aggression. Of course, I will communicate with him and try my best to prevent this from happening again.”

Xiao Wen had been with the First Team for many years; his seniority was even greater than Zhang Tao’s. Years of companionship had led the team members to believe that Xiao Wen’s perception of human emotions and intentions was incredibly sharp, allowing him to accurately distinguish between goodwill and malice. Every time the hunting team brought in fresh blood, he would proactively “vet” them. He had actually sniffed out a few individuals with ill intentions before. Since then, the teammates trusted Xiao Wen implicitly, and his emotional leaning toward a newcomer became one of the important criteria for talent selection.

Xiao Wen hadn’t returned all last night, which showed he got along well with Chen Mo. Just now, when threatened verbally, he only showed a look of surprise and surprise without any other overreaction, indicating that Chen Mo had completely passed Xiao Wen’s test.

Because of this, Zhang Tao formed some preliminary judgments about Chen Mo, and his desire to recruit him grew even stronger.

Having returned the mushroom, Chen Mo didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he stayed, ordered two drinks, and started chatting idly with Zhang Tao.

He hoped to fish for some information regarding Espers.

Within the boundaries permitted by discipline, Zhang Tao was exhaustive in his answers.

After chatting for a while, Chen Mo learned that Espers who awakened certain superpowers were actually not that rare. Although the proportion was small—roughly one in every hundred thousand people.

Chen Mo did a rough calculation. Based on a total population of 1.4 billion, there were actually over a hundred thousand Espers in the country.

At the thought that so many of his kind might be hidden around him, he suddenly felt that his move to hide abroad had been a bit redundant.

But on second thought, despite the existence of so many Espers, he had never seen a single word about them in the news media. This showed that these people were indeed well-hidden, with the secret only circulating within specific circles.

Thinking this way, he felt he wasn’t wrong. After all, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

“And those are just the registered Espers; there might be many more hiding their identities like you,” Zhang Tao continued to talk animatedly across from him. “But speaking of which, in modern society, it’s very difficult to completely hide a superpower. Looking at your performance yesterday, you probably didn’t just recently awaken?”

Chen Mo believed this sort of thing would be easy to check, so there was no point in hiding it. He spoke candidly: “I was studying abroad and haven’t really been back much these past few years.”

Zhang Tao’s expression became somewhat complex. “If you hadn’t been exposed, that would be one thing. But since we’ve discovered you, it might not be so convenient for you to go abroad in the future.”

Chen Mo: ?!

What did that mean? He had only just let his guard down.

Zhang Tao asked again, “You must have hidden it very well while abroad, right?”

Chen Mo didn’t respond, but that was indeed the case.

Being alone abroad, he naturally had to be even more cautious. He was law-abiding at school, and when learning various skills in his spare time, he very carefully hid his identity and controlled his performance levels. His coaches and teachers thought he was an excellent student—quick to react and fast to learn—but they had no further suspicions. He also took on missions through anonymous online methods, and during the process, he never displayed anything particularly supernatural.

Under his deliberate control, while he completed missions excellently, he at most caused his employers and collaborators to feel admiration for this mysterious young Eastern man, adding another layer to the stereotype that “all Chinese people surely know Kung Fu.”

“If a foreign government knew of your status as an Esper—especially with a high-level superpower so suited for combat—you might find it very difficult to return home. After all, the competition between countries for high-level Espers is extremely fierce,” Zhang Tao explained, asking as if casually: “If you had to choose, would you prefer to continue going abroad or stay?”

If one could live a peaceful life at home, who would want to leave their homeland?

Chen Mo had a very clear answer in his heart, but he had no intention of pouring his heart out to someone he had just met.

After all, even if he stayed in the country, he didn’t necessarily have to join their organization.

Zhang Tao could roughly guess his thoughts and decided to throw out some bait.

“Your combat yesterday was very brilliant. However, I guess you haven’t received professional training?”

Chen Mo: ?

“I’ve taken some combat courses.”

Zhang Tao countered, “I mean professional training specifically for Espers.”

Chen Mo’s heart stirred, and he looked up at him.

Zhang Tao asked again, “Is it convenient to ask what your specific superpower level is?”

Chen Mo remained silent; he had no answer for this question.

Zhang Tao vaguely understood the reason he couldn’t answer. “My preliminary judgment of your level is B+, but that’s relatively conservative. If you’re willing, why not come visit our Hunting Division base and take a professional test while you’re at it?”

Seeing Chen Mo hesitate, he smiled. “Although we really want to recruit you, I can guarantee that whether you join or not is entirely your decision. We will absolutely respect your free choice.”

Chen Mo thought about it and said hesitantly, “Then… how about I go take a look?”

The location of the Anomaly Management Bureau was actually not very remote; it wasn’t even outside the Outer Ring Road.

Strictly speaking, it couldn’t even be called the suburbs.

The car drove away from the mall, twisted and turned for over ten minutes, and entered a stretch of green forest. Initially, Chen Mo didn’t pay it much mind, assuming they were just passing through a forest park. To his surprise, ten minutes later, the continuous woods were still outside the window, and the road became increasingly secluded. Finally, the car stopped in front of a few buildings that appeared ordinary on the outside.

“Welcome to the Anomaly Management Bureau.”

Zhang Tao was the first to step out of the car. Chen Mo followed him down. Perhaps because he had returned to his home turf, Xiao Wen no longer hid his true form. Reverting to his mushroom-man appearance, he hopped out of the back seat.

Chen Mo surveyed the surroundings.

The place was very quiet—so quiet it didn’t seem like Shanghai. It was surrounded by towering trees, and the vast woodland isolated the area from the outside world, forming a natural barrier.

“It’s hard to imagine that such a large forest remains in the prime real estate of Shanghai’s city center,” Chen Mo couldn’t help but remark.

Zhang Tao, however, said, “Actually, it occupies less than a hundred acres.”

Chen Mo looked at him. “How is that possible?”

Zhang Tao gave him a subtle look and led the way into the nearest building.

Thoughtfully, Chen Mo followed him inside.

The exterior of the building looked like a very ordinary office block, but once inside, one could sense something unusual.

The entrance led into a narrow, long corridor. The walls on both sides glinted with a cold luster, and the light was dim and deep.

As they walked, Zhang Tao introduced the place: “The base is divided into two parts: above ground and underground. The above-ground part is used for daily office work and reception, while the underground is the core functional area. The buildings you saw outside just now are offices for civilian staff, including the administrative building, the research institute, the medical room, and so on. This building leads to the core underground area, which is our Hunting Division’s training center. It contains various types of training grounds and testing zones.”

Of course, for Chen Mo’s first visit, he skipped over many classified details, only introducing the parts that could be disclosed to the public.

Chen Mo could vaguely sense this, but he didn’t press for more.

After all, he was just a guest.

The two of them walked straight into an elevator.

The building structure—two floors above ground and more than ten floors below—made Chen Mo raise an eyebrow. No wonder nothing unusual could be seen from the outside.

The elevator doors slid shut quietly. Zhang Tao stood by the door and looked up slightly. The faint red light of a ceiling camera scanned his eyes. Only after his identity and clearance were confirmed via iris recognition was he permitted to press the “B10” button.

The strictness of the management was evident.

Chen Mo watched quietly, then remembered something and told him, “The big mushroom is gone.”

Zhang Tao smiled and said, “It’s fine. Xiao Wen is very free at the base; he probably went somewhere else to play.”

When the elevator doors opened again, the view suddenly opened up as a wide hall appeared before them.

Many people in black uniforms were coming and going. Zhang Tao would raise a hand to greet acquaintances, but mostly he spent the time introducing everything they saw to Chen Mo.

“This floor contains the training halls we use most frequently. I’ll show you around first.”

The two of them walked along the corridor on one side of the hall, and Chen Mo’s gaze swept across the training rooms. Some were completely enclosed, making it impossible to see inside, while others allowed him to see the figures training through transparent doors and windows.

“This is the Virtual Battlefield Training Room. Our computer system simulates real battlefield environments under different scenarios, allowing team members to conduct combat drills in a highly simulated virtual environment.”

They approached a training room. Zhang Tao activated the monitoring equipment outside the door. The screen displayed the real-time training situation inside. In the monitor’s view, several Espers in a blank room were either firing guns, crawling forward, or engaged in intense hand-to-hand combat. However, in the eyes of the team members wearing professional equipment inside the room, they were in the middle of a mission in a forest, a muddy field, or a mountain wilderness.

“Our system can not only generate images of enemies but also simulate their combat styles, speed, strength, and even the damage they deal. All settings are extremely lifelike, infinitely close to a real duel.”

Zhang Tao glanced at Chen Mo’s expression and smiled. “Just watching like this is no fun. After the tour is over, I’ll let you give it a try.”

Chen Mo was indeed eager to try and quickly responded, “Alright!”

Next, they visited the team training room, the physical fitness training room, the combat training room, etc. Every training room had more or less some highlights that caught Chen Mo’s attention, making him unable to resist comparing them with his own previous studies and training.

No wonder Zhang Tao said he hadn’t undergone professional training. Compared to the training methods he was seeing now, his previous studies were indeed not worth mentioning—they could be described as nothing more than “flowery fists and embroidered kicks.”

When they arrived at the Gravity Training Room, Chen Mo suddenly saw a familiar figure.

It was the back of a superior male figure that couldn’t be ignored—tall and robust, wearing a tight-fitting black training vest. His beautiful muscular lines were exceptionally clear under the lights.

It was Shen Junyao.

The man held a large blade and was engaged in fierce combat with a swarm of virtual monsters. Rather than a battle, it looked more like a one-sided slaughter. Facing the unending, surging wave of monsters, every one of his movements was extremely precise.

Striking, dodging, turning—it was like flowing water, without a single redundant motion.

The virtual monsters appeared extraordinarily ferocious, each carrying a lethal danger. Yet, in front of Shen Junyao, they seemed as fragile as paper.

If one came, he killed one; if a pair came, he killed two.

Even so, the endless stream of monsters continued to submerge him at an incredible speed. Shen Junyao’s breathing remained steady, his face cold. After a certain number of monsters had gathered, he suddenly delivered a horizontal sweep. Instantly, flesh and blood flew everywhere, and the peril in front of him was easily mostly cleared.

“What a coincidence, it turns out the Captain is here today too.”

Chen Mo was watching intently. Zhang Tao followed his gaze, recognized the identity of the trainee, and walked forward a couple of steps to glance at the data setting panel by the door.

“Holy crap, a hundredfold gravity environment. I haven’t seen him for a few days, and the Captain’s strength has improved again!”