Martial Era: Starting With The Strongest Talent-Chapter 175: End Of The Line(Fixed)

Adam was still skeptical about what the reporter planned to ask Professor Lincoln about the Saint’s disciple.

But he didn’t have to wait long.

The reporter leaned forward slightly, eyes sharp.

"Professor Lincoln, there are currently many speculations about the identity of the Saint’s disciple."

The screen behind her shifted and images appeared.

"But the most widely agreed-upon suspect," she continued, "is the rising star who was previously reported dead."

Adam’s eyes narrowed.

The reporter spoke steadily, clearly enjoying the tension building across the broadcast.

"The same individual who single-handedly cleared a mutant Rift... and protected an entire low-tier sector from a terrorist catastrophe."

More images flashed across the screen.

"During that incident, multiple sectors were sealed only to be found in shambles afterwards."

"But Sector 418 survived the disaster."

"And according to many reports... it survived because of one person." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Adam’s expression remained calm.

The reporter continued.

"So many are now theorizing that the Saint may have saved this individual... and later accepted him as a disciple."

Professor Lincoln folded his hands calmly.

"I see."

The reporter smiled faintly.

"And we have... some visual evidence."

Another image appeared on the screen.

A photo of the masked Saint disciple, with black hair, green eyes and a skull mask covering only the lower half of the face.

Then another image appeared beside it.

A picture of Adam.

Without the mask.

The reporter gestured toward the screen.

"The similarities between these two images are... quite striking."

Lincoln studied the screen for a moment.

Then he nodded.

"Yes."

"They indeed are."

Even Adam had to admit,

That’s actually not bad detective work.

But the reporter wasn’t finished.

"And there’s more."

Another image appeared.

Agent Ross.

The picture showed him after he had deactivated his disguise at the event.

Immediately after, another image appeared, taken during the battle in District Seven.

Ross facing Adam.

The reporter spoke calmly.

"This man is the individual widely believed to have killed Adam."

"And yet... he was recently seen again."

"As the representative of Hyper."

Adam’s eyes flickered slightly.

The reporter continued.

"Because of this, many suspect that the Saint’s disciple might actually be Adam... who survived and later returned seeking revenge for his supposed murder."

The camera cut back to Lincoln.

The old professor nodded slowly.

"That is... an excellent deduction."

Adam blinked.

Even I’m impressed.

For a moment, he had assumed the reporter was just a pretty face placed on camera.

Apparently not.

Lincoln leaned back slightly.

"However..."

He clasped his hands together.

"Whether the Saint’s disciple truly is Adam... is extremely difficult to determine."

He paused.

"After all... nothing ever makes sense when a Saint is involved."

A few quiet chuckles could be heard in the studio.

Lincoln then added calmly,

"But of course... I could be wrong."

The reporter smiled politely.

"Thank you for your time, Professor Lincoln."

Lincoln nodded.

"And thank you for having me."

The camera shifted back to the reporter.

"Now, moving on."

"We’ll discuss the companies that made the largest profits following the failed launch event."

The broadcast continued.

But Adam had already lost interest and at that exact moment, the receptionist at the counter looked up.

"How can I help you?"

Adam blinked.

Then stepped forward.

Guess it’s my turn.

*****

As for the report...

Adam didn’t really mind that they had managed to connect him to the Saint’s disciple.

That had been the plan from the very beginning.

If The Family believed he was a valuable disciple under a Saint, they would naturally treat him and the rest with caution.

That alone was enough.

Which meant Adam could technically walk around using his real face now.

But he didn’t.

He actually preferred the masked identity.

It was... fun.

And far more convenient when he wanted to cause trouble.

The receptionist looked up at him with a professional smile.

"Please place your hand on this device, sir."

She slid a small metallic plate across the counter.

Adam immediately recognized it.

An authenticator.

The device scanned traces of malice from Granulites which Adam had already placed in the device.

Adam placed his hand on the device and a faint hum followed.

The receptionist glanced at the screen.

Then she asked casually,

"Sir, are you in a team?"

Adam nodded.

"Yes."

The receptionist typed something into her terminal.

"Alright. Your clearance has been recorded. The payment will be sent to your team."

Adam raised a hand.

"Wait."

She paused.

"Yes?"

"But the run was mine."

He said it casually.

"I went solo."

The receptionist froze, as her fingers stopped moving across the keyboard.

"...Sorry?"

Adam repeated calmly.

"I ran it alone."

The woman blinked several times as if making sure she hadn’t misheard him.

Then she quickly looked back down at the screen.

"...Please excuse me for a moment, sir."

"I need to confirm something."

Adam simply nodded.

"No problem."

The receptionist stepped away and made several quick calls.

Adam waited calmly at the counter.

A few minutes later, she returned.

Her posture was noticeably more respectful this time.

"Thank you for waiting, sir."

She gave a small apologetic bow.

"I’ve confirmed it with the Acolytes stationed at the rift."

Adam shrugged.

"It’s fine."

After all, it wasn’t written on his face that he could solo a rift.

The receptionist quickly processed the mission.

Moments later, Adam’s terminal vibrated.

Payment received.

The reward for the rift clearance had already been transferred to his account.

Adam glanced at the notification before looking back up.

"What about the monster parts?"

The receptionist nodded immediately.

"I can help you process those as well, sir."

Adam placed several monster parts on the counter, well except for the giant goats for obvious reasons.

The receptionist opened the processing interface and began scanning them one by one and all of the materials were approved without issue.

The system finalized the transaction.

Another notification appeared.

Funds transferred.

The receptionist looked up.

"All materials have been processed."

Adam gave her a small nod.

"Thanks."

"You’re welcome, sir."

****

A/N: Thank You For Reading