The Heretical Husband Is Too Good at Acting! - Chapter 6

It was an instrument about two meters high, dark silver all over, with a simple and clear design.

A circular sensor about thirty centimeters in diameter was embedded in the center of the device. Zhang Tao stood to one side, pointed to the sensor’s position, and said to Chen Mo, “Punch here.”

Chen Mo nodded and looked at the sensor.

After a brief pause, he threw a punch toward the center of the sensor.

Having grown accustomed to hiding his true abilities, he subconsciously held back his strength during this punch. At the moment his fist made contact with the sensor, the device vibrated slightly, and a value popped up on the display screen.

Zhang Tao took a quick glance at the result and guessed the situation. He said to Chen Mo, “Use your full strength; don’t worry about breaking it.”

Chen Mo nodded again, let out a soft breath, and fixed his gaze on the sensor.

His shoulders dropped, his breath rose, and he threw the second punch violently. The wind from the punch caused a slight whistle in the air. The moment his fist struck the sensor, a low vibration spread through the entire instrument.

The value on the display screen rose rapidly. A flash of surprise crossed Zhang Tao’s eyes, but before he had time to say anything more, Chen Mo had already thrown a third punch.

This time, Chen Mo did not hold back his strength at all.

He clenched his teeth, and his fist drew a swift arc through the air. The moment his fist collided with the sensor, the air seemed to stand still for an instant. Immediately after, the instrument let out an overburdened roar, the sensor shuddered violently, and the value on the display screen, after a flurry of chaotic flashing, stopped at a startling number.

Zhang Tao was stunned, watching Chen Mo slowly retract his fist and slightly move his wrist.

Chen Mo looked up, glanced at the numbers on the panel, then looked at Zhang Tao and asked, “How is it?”

He wasn’t very clear on what these numbers specifically meant, but he noticed that the font had changed from the original green to red. Was that a good thing?

Chen Mo wasn’t entirely sure.

Zhang Tao swallowed hard and spoke the result: “Grade A.”

Chen Mo felt a bit relieved, smiled, and asked, “Is it quite good?”

Zhang Tao gave him a thumbs-up.

However, he couldn’t help but scan Chen Mo from head to toe, thinking to himself: Where on earth did this freakish strength come from!

Chen Mo wasn’t dressed very warmly today. After entering the room, he had taken off his coat, wearing only a casual hoodie and trousers underneath. His physique was between that of a teenager and an adult; his shoulders were upright, his lines weren’t that thick, and he was about 1.8 meters tall. He was tall but did not appear burly. Zhang Tao dealt with groups of muscular adult men all year round; in his view, the lean Chen Mo could be described as having “thin arms and thin legs.” Although the youth had punched a Split-Mouth Monster to death during their first meeting, Zhang Tao had subconsciously inferred that the reason the punch generated such huge destructive power was mostly due to the acceleration produced when Chen Mo leaped high and landed straight down. He didn’t expect the force of his bare hands to be so staggering.

Although Zhang Tao was surprised by this result, he didn’t have any negative thoughts. On the contrary, his desire to recruit Chen Mo into the First Team became even more urgent. The tasks of the Hunting Group were highly dangerous; having a powerful teammate was a good thing from any perspective.

However, he still kept a bit of caution.

Worrying that colleagues from other groups might notice a powerful newcomer arriving to “pick the fruit,” Zhang Tao didn’t register Chen Mo for the time being. He just silently memorized the values in his heart, planning to create the file after he officially joined the team.

He nodded to Chen Mo, smiled, and said, “Let’s go. Next, we’ll test your speed.”

The speed-testing equipment was located at the end of a hundred-meter track, with precise speed-measuring devices installed at both the start and the finish.

Chen Mo stood at the starting line, made some preparations, and rushed out quickly at Zhang Tao’s command.

To avoid testing errors, the test was conducted several times in succession.

After a few attempts, Chen Mo gradually let loose and eventually clocked an extremely high speed.

Both were very satisfied with the results, and their moods lightened considerably. They talked and laughed as they finished, walking toward the next project: the neural reaction capability testing area.

The neural reaction test was conducted in an enclosed space, about ten square meters, with various hidden laser emitters and sensors embedded in the four walls, floor, and ceiling.

“These emitters will fire infrared lasers and virtual bullets at different speeds, angles, and intensities based on the test level. You must rely on your own agility and reaction speed to dodge all attacks.”

Zhang Tao gave a brief introduction, looked at Chen Mo, and asked him, “How about it, are you ready?”

Chen Mo had long been rubbing his palms together, eager to try.

He walked into the testing room, and the door behind him was subsequently closed.

The outer wall of the test room had a one-way transparent design; people outside could observe the inside, but the person inside could not see out. What met his eyes were six white walls full of a technological feel.

Chen Mo stood in the middle of the testing room and heard Zhang Tao’s voice coming from above: “Attention, the test begins.”

As soon as he finished speaking, several infrared lasers shot out from different emitters on the walls. Chen Mo immediately dodged to the side. After several successful evasions, he grasped the pattern. These infrared lasers were emitted at intervals of over a second, and the directions were relatively singular. Chen Mo handled it quite easily, never being hit once.

Outside the testing room, Zhang Tao observed Chen Mo’s performance through the monitoring system. So far, he was quite satisfied with Chen Mo’s performance.

Just as he was about to increase the test level, he suddenly felt something and looked behind him.

“Captain, you’re here?”

Shen Junyao had just gone for a shower and changed into a clean vest and long pants. His short hair was slightly damp. Hearing this, he gave an “mm,” walked over casually, and asked offhandedly, “How’s it going?”

“Great!” Zhang Tao said excitedly. “Strength and speed are both at the upper-middle level of Grade A. Looking at his previous combat reactions, the remaining items shouldn’t be bad either. Captain, this is a real talent; we definitely have to take him!”

Shen Junyao remained non-committal and looked at the monitoring panel.

Zhang Tao was used to the Captain’s silence and laconic nature; if he didn’t object, it meant he agreed. So, he also turned to the monitoring system, leaned close to the microphone, and said to the inside, “Chen Mo, pay attention, I’m going to increase the stakes!”

On the screen, the youth captured by the camera had a confident expression and a bold smile: “Bring it on!”

Immediately after, the emission speed of the lasers in the testing room significantly quickened, and the density also increased a lot. Chen Mo was fully concentrated, his body crouching and spinning with the dodging movements, his actions swift and elegant. Every one of his evasions seemed to have undergone precise calculation, with no redundant movements. The lasers passed by his shoulders and waist, yet Chen Mo remained as relaxed and natural as if he were strolling through a courtyard.

Zhang Tao nodded secretly, leaned into the microphone, and said, “Not bad! Next, I will raise the test level to the maximum. I won’t give any more reminders for the increases, so good luck!”

The emitters immediately increased the difficulty. It was no longer just infrared rays; virtual bullets with slight impact force were added, attacking from all directions.

Chen Mo’s heart tightened, and he responded with even more focus.

Afterward, the attack speed of the rays and bullets became faster and faster, and the originally singular directions began to change randomly, forming an extremely complex offensive route that forced Chen Mo to tap into all of his potential.

In the entire testing room, the infrared lasers and virtual bullets intertwined into a complex net. Chen Mo was trapped within it, but his movements remained calm and composed. He was no longer passively dodging; he began to instinctively use his intuition to predict the trajectory of every bullet. His body slid, leaped, and crouched flexibly amidst the rain of bullets, or he used the walls to vault himself—he was like a nimble feline flipping and moving.

Chen Mo’s reaction was not just fast; it carried a certain natural, innate agility and elegance.

He dodged lightly, his body tilting slightly, his arm drawing an arc in the air to avoid a bullet that grazed his shoulder. At the same time, another bullet attacked at high speed from the side. Chen Mo arched his back slightly, leaped flexibly, and turned half a circle in the air, landing steadily like a light and nimble cat.

“Beautiful!” In front of the monitoring equipment, Zhang Tao exclaimed in admiration, unable to resist communicating with Shen Junyao beside him. “It’s hard to imagine he has never received professional training. He’s truly talented!”

Shen Junyao didn’t speak, but merely nodded slightly.

The youth on the screen had a handsome face and a solemn expression, but his skills were very sharp—both fast and quiet.

Shen Junyao could see that he was very confident in himself; from start to finish, he could precisely control every muscle and every movement of his body. Time seemed to slow down for him; the trajectory of every bullet was within his control.

Zhang Tao was very satisfied with the test results and was about to turn off the equipment to let the person out, but Shen Junyao reached out and stopped him, then lowered his head to operate the instrument for a moment.

Inside the testing room, even more bullets and rays attacked Chen Mo from all directions, leaving no gaps.

Chen Mo’s legs were as light as feathers, and no sound could be heard as he moved. He suddenly kicked off the ground, flipping through the air. His legs crossed in mid-air, avoiding two vertical rays. Upon landing, he rolled smoothly, and a flashing bullet grazed over the trajectory he had just rolled through.

In the final wave of attacks, the rays and virtual bullets poured down like a torrential rain. Zhang Tao couldn’t help but look at the Captain operating the equipment beside him in surprise.

How was this a test? This was simply reckless.

What kind of skill could allow someone to emerge unscathed from such a dense attack?

However, driven by curiosity, he still looked at the screen, wanting to see how Chen Mo would perform under such a density of attacks.

At that moment, Chen Mo’s body erupted with startling flexibility and coordination. He stepped down with both feet and slid across the floor, nimbly passing through the densest area of infrared lines. Immediately after, he turned lightly and continuously, dodging wave after wave of powerful bullet attacks. The entire process was smooth and natural, with almost no pause.

Finally, the dense infrared rays gradually went out, the bullet simulator stopped operating, and the testing room returned to peace.

Zhang Tao’s throat moved slightly. He glanced at the calm Shen Junyao and quickly called up the monitoring data.

On the screen, the dense red dots on Chen Mo’s body thermal map showed that he had suffered 76 effective hits. The timing of these hits was all after Shen Junyao had operated the system. Zhang Tao did not change his opinion of Chen Mo’s strength because of these dozens of effective hits; on the contrary, he was even more admiring.

Because the total number of rays and virtual bullets fired in the last wave was no less than hundreds of thousands.

And these attacks were not without force just because they were virtual; on the contrary, every hit would cause an impact sufficient to affect movement. Despite this, Chen Mo’s movements remained fluid throughout, without the slightest hesitation due to these strikes.

A complex emotion couldn’t help but well up in Zhang Tao’s heart.

“…The younger generation is to be feared.”

He muttered to himself, his finger lightly tapping the edge of the screen.

Shen Junyao retracted his hands from the console, leaned back into his chair, and sat up properly. His expression showed nothing special, but a hint of approval flickered in his eyes.

His gaze swept across the screen and landed on the youth walking out of the testing room.

There were a few light scorch marks on the cuffs of his hoodie from the rays, and the fabric of his trouser legs was also torn in several places. There were a few slight bruises on his body under the clothing, but his face showed no sign of discomfort.

“How was the test result?” Chen Mo asked this without much confidence, especially when he saw Shen Junyao; a trace of bashfulness appeared in his eyes.

It was his first time undergoing this professional level of testing, and he assumed the process was the same for everyone else. Regarding his failure to perfectly dodge the final wave of attacks, he felt quite unpleasant in his heart.

With his current level, it was hard to imagine what kind of strength would be required to emerge completely unscathed from such a rain of bullets. He had formed some of his own inferences regarding the level of the members in the Heterogeneity Management Bureau.

Chen Mo inevitably felt a slight sense of discouragement and frustration, but what rose up immediately after was a vigorous desire to win.

After all, he hadn’t received professional training; he should have a relatively generous amount of room for improvement, right?

What surprised him was Zhang Tao’s answer.

“Incredible!” Zhang Tao’s voice carried obvious admiration. “Especially that last wave of attacks—the density made my scalp tingle. Hundreds of thousands of bullets and rays fired simultaneously, and you were only hit 76 times. One word: Awesome!”

He pressed some keys on the keyboard and entered all the previously recorded data. The various values displayed on the screen were all marked in a bright, eye-catching red.

Zhang Tao pointed to the final result and looked at Chen Mo: “Comprehensive evaluation result: Grade S! Whether in terms of strength, speed, reaction capability, physical flexibility, or damage control, your performance has far exceeded expectations.”

Zhang Tao remembered Chen Mo saying earlier that he had only broken through once since awakening. At the time, he speculated it was because he hadn’t had professional training; looking at it now, it turned out to be because of his superpower’s grade.

Under normal circumstances, superpowered individuals below Middle-Stage Grade A can achieve a breakthrough once every six months through professional training, relevant potions, and energy stimulation. But the higher the grade, the harder the breakthrough. Especially for Grade S powerhouses, it is very common not to have a breakthrough for three to five years.

However, Zhang Tao looked at Chen Mo and decided to suppress this matter for the time being, waiting until he joined the team to speak further.

Chen Mo didn’t see through his little scheme. He was shocked by the Grade S result—surprised and invigorated.

He swallowed hard, looked at Zhang Tao, and couldn’t help but look at Shen Junyao beside him.

Shen Junyao propped his hands on the table, sized Chen Mo up and down, raised an eyebrow, and said half-jokingly and half-seriously, “Grade S Student Chen, if you don’t agree to join our First Team, Captain Zhang might not let you leave.”

Perhaps it was the confidence brought by his strength, but looking into Shen Junyao’s smiling eyes, Chen Mo also smiled and replied, “Then I won’t leave.”