Free Web NovelChapter 87: Chapter 87: I Also Thought I Was First!
This action immediately made the Flying Tiger and her team members turn their heads.
Xiong Jie took a step forward; he knew Jiang Che’s tier was definitely higher than his own.
Everyone thought they were the first-clear, but only he knew—the real first-clear was Jiang Che.
He’d spent all this time thinking about how to explain to everyone that Jiang Che touched the exit before him.
In the end, he arrived at the simplest answer.
Just say, in that moment, escaping for their lives, they were too panicked.
Who got out first—they couldn’t tell anymore.
Flying Tiger had already walked to the testing device, comparing it to the monitor beside her—the same footage Jiang Che saw.
Xiong Jie glanced at the screen, instantly stunned.
The speed is way faster than what he saw!
The footage Jiang Che watched—even to Xiong Jie’s eyes, there was already a blur, a shadow.
This strong?!
Xiong Jie took a deep breath, heart heavy but keeping a poker face.
Because he knew soon he’d have to explain this for Jiang Che.
This was also an order from their boss.
Flying Tiger stared at the data; it showed that in prior tests, Jiang Che could flawlessly replicate the moves in the videos, and every muscle group responded perfectly.
It wasn’t until triple speed that he started to lag behind a bit.
"Continue, do the next tests." Flying Tiger’s expression was tense—if Jiang Che isn’t the first-clear but has such reaction speed, it means his talent is insane!
"Understood!"
A few subordinates handed Jiang Che a metal stress ball, telling him to grasp it in his palm.
Their tests didn’t involve punching targets or typical power tests.
On field missions, they used the simplest equipment.
Use the simplest devices to get the most precise data.
"Just squeeze as hard as you can—with all your strength, don’t worry about breaking it." Flying Tiger looked at Jiang Che, serious.
As Jiang Che raised his head, Xiong Jie caught his eye and gave a near-undetectable nod.
Xiong Jie hadn’t planned to hide the fact Jiang Che was the first-clear; some things can’t be hidden, like ongoing growth curves—if he ends up weaker than Jiang Che, he’d have no explanation.
Since that’s the case, better to admit it from the start.
’When that monster had us in its jaws, we both escaped at the same time; I couldn’t tell who went out first.’
’When ascending to Tier Two Peak, I thought I was first, too.’
...
Xiong Jie had already made up his mind; now Jiang Che didn’t need to hide.
Besides, the boss had never said what Jiang Che should do after returning to human society, or how he should develop.
The only instruction was to keep him out of danger.
If Jiang Che wants to make money, becoming a power-house is step one for that.
He’s Tier Two Peak, Jiang Che is first-clear—how much higher could that be?
Tier Three or straight to Four?
Xiong Jie had a company; Jiang Che could just have his name on the roster.
That means endless wealth flowing in.
He honestly couldn’t tell if Jiang Che was actually mentally ill or just pretending, but he couldn’t cut off the boss from connecting with strong people unless Jiang Che himself refused.
Xiong Jie—he’s just a minion, an ant—what qualifications does he have?
Jiang Che squeezed that metal stress ball with all his strength.
Up front, Flying Tiger and the testers’ expressions grew more serious.
Jiang Che could feel the stress ball deforming in his hand; the smooth surface began showing indentations from his fingers.
Jiang Che couldn’t help releasing his grip, embarrassed as he looked at the group. "Sorry..."
"Don’t worry, it’s supposed to be destroyed—only then is the test considered successful." Flying Tiger turned to look at Jiang Che, who felt guilty about the metal stress ball.
Jiang Che scratched the back of his head and then gripped the metal ball again, focusing his strength.
He felt the ball deform, his fingers starting to sink in.
Jiang Che gave it everything, but his fingers only pushed in a tiny bit.
He tried harder, but the metal ball wouldn’t budge.
"Sorry, I failed the test." Jiang Che apologized as he put the ball down—he truly couldn’t wreck the thing.
Xiong Jie stood behind the group, watching the test data graph with them.
The chart showed, whether for strength or reaction, Jiang Che’s results were Tier Five Peak!
He eyed that tier chart with envy, but swiftly pulled his gaze back.
Then he suddenly let out a weird yell, "How is this possible! I clearly touched it first!"
"How could it be him! How could it!" Xiong Jie’s mental state suddenly unraveled; eyes red, he lunged at Jiang Che.
"His position was clearly behind mine!" Xiong Jie started howling.
Just a few words and everyone formed the mental image—at the last moment, Xiong Jie was a bit ahead of Jiang Che.
A perfectly reasonable assumption, which is why he thought he was first.
"Hold him down." Flying Tiger took a deep breath, glancing at the confused Jiang Che, her thoughts suddenly complicated.
She had assumed Xiong Jie was the first-clear; Tier Two Peak was impressive enough.
But to find out Jiang Che was the first-clear, sss-level dungeon—now that’s shocking!
Watching Xiong Jie’s reaction now, she remembered what he said before: in the final second, both of them scrambled towards the Light Gate exit.
Maybe, right at that point, Jiang Che was just a fraction faster than Xiong Jie.
"He has a higher tier, his arms are longer... If they dashed for the door at the same time, even if his position lagged a bit, maybe that’s his advantage..." Flying Tiger looked at the difference in their builds, glanced at Jiang Che’s slender fingers hanging by his side.
Perhaps, maybe, likely, really that’s the reason...
She’d doubted Xiong Jie’s story earlier, because all of this really seemed too coincidental—she was planning to investigate more thoroughly later.
She believes in coincidence, but not in such a perfect coincidence.
Now, it turns out, it really is coincidence...
Because for any normal person, especially someone as sharp as Xiong Jie, being ahead of Jiang Che should be the default.
The report was already printed; a paper report was handed to Jiang Che.
The staffer who handed the report wore a conflicted expression, watching the man who had once asked, ’Why isn’t sashimi called dead fish?’
Mantis stalking cicada, oriole behind—clam and snipe compete, fisherman profits...
Handing Jiang Che the report, his mind raced with countless thoughts.
In the end, he reached a conclusion: none of it matters compared to this damned luck!
Xiong Jie didn’t plan things out?
Of course he did!
He probably had no idea he would lose because of physique advantage.
Tier Five Peak! That’s the level only the Flying Tiger’s squad captain has. Anyone ascending past Tier Three survived hell and high water!
One Xiong Jie was already enough to make them jealous—now they had an even more envy-inducing Jiang Che?
Flying Tiger walked to the streaming camera; everyone watched this girl, whose expression was hard to keep steady.
"Survivors, our data is in. Besides first-clear, the regular growth tier for people clearing an sss-level dungeon..."
"Tier Two Peak."
