Chapter 155 Testing Ability Data

"Done."

Skye let out a long sigh of relief, stood up, and turned toward Orion Cross and Zhao Hailun.

"None of the data from this room is transmitted externally, including the data handled by that artificial intelligence. We just need to delete everything after we finish testing."

"Then let’s begin. Who wants to go first?"

Zhao Hailun shifted her gaze away from Orion Cross, walked over to an instrument, turned it on, and asked the two of them.

"I’ll go first."

Skye stepped forward.

"I’ll probably be unable to test anything after Orion Cross finishes."

"Let’s test strength first."

Zhao Hailun handed Skye a special glove and pointed toward an area ahead.

"That’s a specially prepared non-Newtonian fluid. Punch toward it."

"There are testing instruments inside that?"

Skye put on the glove and looked at the seemingly empty testing apparatus in confusion.

"The glove on your hand is what measures your strength. That thing is simply an energy-absorption device designed to prevent someone from destroying the laboratory if they exert too much force."

Zhao Hailun patiently explained this to prevent Skye from holding back out of concern for the equipment.

"Oh, is that how it works? That’s pretty ingenious."

Skye looked at the glove on her right hand in surprise.

"Once you’re ready, throw your punch. Use your full strength. Don’t worry."

Zhao Hailun moved farther away and gave her the signal.

"You’re pretty confident in these testing instruments."

Seeing Zhao Hailun tell Skye to use her full strength, Orion Cross became curious.

He had just mentioned that Skye now possessed considerable power.

Zhao Hailun had also personally witnessed Skye nearly triggering an earthquake and tsunami. Yet she was actually this confident in the equipment’s ability to absorb her power?

No matter how impressive that specially prepared fluid was, surely it could not compare to vibranium?

"If the equipment can’t even withstand her full-power punch, how am I supposed to test you later?"

Zhao Hailun shrugged slightly.

"Besides, these are Stark’s instruments. Even if she breaks them, it’s not like I’ll feel bad."

"Then you can rest assured. At least for now, they won’t break."

Orion Cross knew that Skye, like Raven and Nina, had primarily received an enhancement to her abilities through the Ascension Ceremony. Her physical attributes had only been enhanced secondarily.

Or rather, her physique had been strengthened so that it could withstand the power of an Ascendant.

Of course, that did not mean this type of Ascendant was essentially a "mage" with weak physical attacks.

Take Nasus, the Curator of the Sands, for example. His Ascension Ceremony primarily enhanced him in an intelligence-oriented direction. Yet after absorbing enough souls, even a casual strike from him could be powerful enough to cause mountains to collapse and the earth to split.

Likewise, if Skye used her elemental power, even without using it to enhance herself, simply generating seismic vibrations and producing an effect similar to an inch-force strike could create terrifying physical attacks.

Bang!

A muffled impact rang out as Skye punched the testing apparatus.

Clearly, she had not used any other ability to assist her. She had relied solely on her physical strength.

"About three times the human limit, equivalent to roughly ten to fifteen times that of an ordinary person."

Zhao Hailun walked over to the computer, checked the data, then turned toward Skye.

"Actually, you could try getting a running start or learn some boxing techniques from the internet..."

"No need. I’m not here for an exam. What’s the next test?"

Skye shook her head.

She only wanted to check her current physical data.

"The next one is naturally speed."

After recording the data, Zhao Hailun walked over and opened a cabinet.

"What’s your shoe size? Pick a pair and put them on."

"The testing equipment this time is shoes?"

Orion Cross looked at the shoes, which clearly contained electronic circuitry, and suddenly found himself admiring Tony Stark’s bizarrely creative ideas.

"Not just shoes. There’s also a specially designed track."

Zhao Hailun walked to the side and opened a door.

Beyond it was a spacious indoor training room with a track that appeared to be roughly four hundred meters long.

"This time, you can test together with her. Just don’t destroy the speed-recording panels beneath the track."

Zhao Hailun turned toward Orion Cross, who was drinking his soda.

"Sure."

Orion Cross put down his cup, walked over to the cabinet, and changed into a pair of shoes.

Unlike Skye, he did not need to test the precise data of his physical abilities.

His entire test was simply to "tempt" Zhao Hailun.

"Stand at the starting line. One lap is enough. Remember to use your full strength."

Zhao Hailun raised her right hand and stood to the side, ready to give the signal.

"Start!"

Skye instantly transformed into a blur and shot forward.

However, this speed left Zhao Hailun somewhat disappointed.

"Less than twice the human limit. It seems the enhancement to her speed isn’t particularly significant."

Zhao Hailun lowered her head and recorded Skye’s speed.

Although Skye had not finished the lap yet, Zhao Hailun believed there would not be much change in the final result.

Incidentally, the so-called "human limit" was based on Steve Rogers as the standard.

"Why aren’t you running..."

After recording Skye’s data, Zhao Hailun finally realized that Orion Cross was still standing where he had started.

She looked at him in confusion.

"I finished. Didn’t you receive her data?"

Orion Cross spread his hands.

"There’s no data... Wait."

Zhao Hailun initially thought Orion Cross was messing with her.

But after opening the testing panel’s playback, she discovered that Orion Cross had indeed completed the entire lap.

There were even footprints on the track showing exactly where he had passed.

Nothing else.

Even after pulling up the room’s surveillance footage and examining it frame by frame, there was not a single moment when Orion Cross could be seen leaving the starting point and running around the track.

"You told me to use my full strength. If the equipment can’t measure me, that’s not my problem."

Orion Cross said this to the stunned Zhao Hailun before returning to the laboratory with Skye, who had finished her run, and pouring her a glass of ice water.

Five minutes later, Zhao Hailun finally returned to the laboratory.

Her hair was slightly disheveled, as though she had tried every possible method in the adjacent room but still failed to obtain any usable data on Orion Cross.

"Finally, energy attacks. This room."

Zhao Hailun looked at Skye with a somewhat dejected expression and spoke weakly.

She looked as though she had been the one who had just run four hundred meters instead of Skye and Orion Cross.

"Do I need to test together with him this time too?"

Orion Cross followed them inside and looked at the room covered in alloy.

"No need."

Zhao Hailun hurriedly shook her head before looking at Skye.

"When you release your energy attacks, start as weak as possible and gradually increase the power. Give me enough time to record the data."

She was a little frightened now.

She did not want to spend all this effort only to end up with every piece of data being displayed as: "Value too large to display."