The Way of Restraint

Chapter 196: Three Rounds of Testing

“What?”

Seeing this scene, the wh!te interviewer, the b1ack and Asian interviewers, and even Cass, were almost all petrified.

In just a second, Su Jie, seemingly without moving, easily identified the carrier among the fourteen and subdued him. Finding him in a second isn’t unusual; with a gun, subduing someone like that wouldn’t be impossible. But now, Su Jie’s hands were empty, he hadn’t even raised his hand, and the assailant had fallen—this was practically legendary “magic.”

“You know qigong…” The wh!te interviewer swallowed hard. “Is this Chinese martial art?”

“It’s just hidden weapons,” Su Jie said fluently in perfect English, picking up a small pebble from the ground. “This pebble hit his auricular nerve, causing temporary pressure and rendering him unconscious. It’s not qigong; there’s no such thing as magic that violates the laws of physics.”

Su Jie’s hidden weapon skills are now terrifying, completely surpassing Gu Yang’s. He’s also learned many new techniques from Odell’s videos. His finger strength is immense, and his overall strength is astonishing. He uses magic-like techniques to throw stones, steel balls, darts, toothpicks, steel needles, nails, and other such objects with immense destructive power and penetrating force, comparable to close-range bows and crossbows.

Su Jie previously didn’t value hidden weapons, but he knows clearly that although they’re not considered high-level weapons, they are indeed the best way to quickly kill enemies.

This is what ancient people relied on to dominate the martial arts world.

Even modern firearms and missiles, theoretically speaking, are a type of concealed weapon.

He didn’t try to be mysterious or mysterious with these people. In fact, a more enigmatic approach might have been more effective, but he was a rigorous scholar and didn’t want to do such things.

“I see.” Cass was also startled, but after hearing Su Jie’s explanation, she felt a certain mystique had been lost, though she was still quite shocked: “You did very well in this interview; you can move on to the next round.”

“Wait!” the wh!te interviewer interrupted: “You said you’d teach me a lesson; I want to see how you do it. Drop your ninja shurikens and such, and let’s have a hand-to-hand combat. If you defeat me, I’ll let you pass to the next round.”

The wh!te interviewer’s understanding of concealed weapons was still limited to things like “ninja shurikens.” 

“Okay.” Su Jie glanced at the three interviewers. “You probably can’t handle me alone. You all come at me together. And you, Miss Cass, I can tell you’re skilled in martial arts too. How about you as well?”

“Too arrogant!” the wh!te interviewer roared, throwing a powerful punch.

Su Jie raised his hand and deflected the punch, hitting the wh!te interviewer’s arm. The interviewer spun like a top, unable to maintain his balance, and fell to the ground.

The remaining interviewers looked at each other, none daring to make a move.

“Aikido!” the Asian interviewer suddenly exclaimed.

“Not Aikido! It’s Chinese martial art.” Su Jie knew that Japanese Aikido also emphasized the use of circular movements, deflecting force with minimal effort, using various smooth techniques to neutralize the opponent’s power, controlling the enemy with minimal cost. It’s very similar to Tai Chi and is widely practiced in the West.

“Alright, you’ve passed this interview. Please go and rest. We’ll prepare for the second round.” Cass didn’t physically intervene, but helped the wh!te examiner to his feet and then told Su Jie to wait in the lounge for the second round.

Su Jie remained unfazed. Entering the lounge, he saw Qin Hui waiting calmly.

When Qin Hui saw Su Jie enter, a fleeting ruthlessness appeared on his face, but he quickly concealed it: “I didn’t expect you to pass the test. It seems you’ve also received special agent training. Your martial arts skills are incredibly formidable; ordinary training methods like the Iron Shirt and Golden Bell techniques are difficult to achieve. Only electrical stimulation can achieve this. You’re quite a formidable character. What? Are you going to compete with me for the bodyguard position this time?”

“You’ve investigated me thoroughly.” Su Jie glanced at Qin Hui: “From our first meeting at the gymnasium, you were hostile towards me. At that time, we hadn’t even met, and I didn’t even know you existed. Now I know a bit more about you. Your business is doing quite well…mainly in foreign trade exports, so you need the Zhang family’s influence to help. That’s why you wanted to pursue Zhang Manman, but she ignored you. And since you know I’m close to her, it’s understandable that you wanted to suppress me.”

“You were able to guess all this, which shows you have considerable intelligence.” Qin Hui showed no panic at being seen through. “No wonder you’ve honed your skills to a decent level. Here’s an opportunity: cooperate with me, join my company, I’ll give you some shares, and you’ll work for me, how about that?”

Su Jie was about to speak when the door opened, and four interviewers entered again.

The wh!te interviewer seemed to have calmed down, but there was still some resentment in his eyes as he looked at Su Jie.

“Bring these in!” Cass had two large trays brought in, each containing five glasses filled with pure water, showing no visible impurities. “Four of these glasses contain pure water, but one contains poison. You have thirty seconds to identify which glass is poisoned, or you’re eliminated. Start now.”

Su Jie nodded. This was a necessary test; as bodyguards, they had to be able to identify poison.

At this moment, he didn’t have time to talk to Qin Hui. He glanced at the five glasses in front of him.

Qin Hui also carefully examined them, taking out a test strip from his pocket and testing each glass, but he couldn’t detect anything.

As time was running out, his gaze suddenly changed, and he pulled out one of the cups: “This cup contains poison.”

“That’s right.” Cass nodded, then looked at Su Jie, who hadn’t chosen, and said, “Mr. Su Jie, time’s up, you didn’t choose, you should be eliminated.”

“These five cups of mine are all pure water, there’s no need to choose,” Su Jie said.

“What if I said no?” Cass frowned.

Su Jie picked up the five cups of water, drank them all clean, and smacked his lips: “Not bad, they’re all Fiji water.”

The wh!te interviewer’s gaze changed again, no longer showing contempt, but admiration.

“Yes, your five cups of water are all pure water, while one of his four cups contains poison. You both obtained the correct answer within the allotted time and are qualified to proceed to the next round of testing,” the Asian interviewer said. “You can continue to rest here, we’ll go prepare for the next round of testing.”

After the four left, they arrived at another room for a brief meeting.

“Cass,” the Asian interviewer said, “both of them have demonstrated strong abilities. Which one do you think is more suitable? What tests should we conduct next?”

“Both are very strong!” Cass nodded. “However, we still need to proceed with physical fitness tests, reaction tests, and most importantly, the ability to react suddenly to an assassination attempt. These are crucial; the boss’s safety can only be entrusted to the strongest.”

“Of course, currently, both of them are qualified. Therefore, the next step is the third round of protection tests,” the wh!te interviewer concluded.

In the lounge, Su Jie didn’t speak to Qin Hui again.

A short while later, the four interviewers returned: “Gentlemen, the next test is your protection of the employer. You will enter a testing ground, facing attacks from many people, and simultaneously protect one of us to safely reach a designated location! If you can complete the task, you will advance to the fourth round of assessment. Otherwise, you will be eliminated.”

“Come with me,” Cass said, leading Su Jie and Qin Hui out of the basement and onto a street outside. This street was man-made, like those film studios in China; it cost a fortune, demonstrating Larry’s wealth.

“Su Jie, from now on, I’m your employer. You will lead me from this street to safety. I cannot be injured in the process,” Cass said. “Moka, you will play the role of Mr. Qin Hui’s employer and take the test from the other street. The time limit is ten minutes. If you exceed the time limit, you will be eliminated.”

As she spoke, Cass put on a bulletproof vest, helmet, mask, knee pads, etc., fully armed.

This was the real test.

Larry had gone to great lengths to select a reliable bodyguard.

Su Jie watched Qin Hui escort the b1ack man, Moka, into the other street and immediately began escorting Cass forward.

He had just stepped into the street.

Bang!

From a nearby house, a rubber bullet was fired, aimed at Cass.

Without even glancing at her, Su Jie grabbed Cass, moved aside, causing the rubber bullets to miss. He then moved swiftly, dodging and weaving, as rubber bullets continued to fire from both sides, but none struck him or Cass.

Suddenly, several masked thugs appeared ahead, wielding weapons and slashing at the two.

Su Jie didn’t let go of Cass, carrying her as if she were a rag doll, weightless, yet still moving with incredible speed. The thugs fell to the ground before they even reached Su Jie.

Several small pebbles landed on the ground.

These were Su Jie’s hidden weapons.

He casually grabbed a handful of pebbles and launched them one by one, their power comparable to a super slingshot.

Meanwhile, rubber bullets continued to rain down, and Su Jie had to protect Cass and dodge them. If he hadn’t entered his “Living Dead” state, he would likely have been overwhelmed.

But now, his reactions were as sharp as a computer’s precision. Having entered the “living dead” realm for over a hundred days, gradually becoming familiar with it, and through numerous exchanges with Liu Long, his physical abilities had reached a terrifying level.

To others, he appeared to be casually strolling down the street at a steady pace, completely unaffected, while holding Cass.

In no time, he had crossed the street and entered a safe zone.

Cass, held in Su Jie’s grasp, felt like a bird caught by an eagle, unable to move. A thought rose within her: “Is this young man Superman?”