Across the American Continent, to some people, even the air smelled sweet.
Sunlight poured in through the window as Alex Austin awoke with a start from his bed, gasping for air.
He had the same dream again, instinctively lowering his head to hold his chest, which had once been sliced open by a sword, revealing even the lobes of his lungs.
A woman in a business suit walked in and said, "Lieutenant Austin, you woke up later today than yesterday, which isn't a good sign."
Alex Austin rubbed his face and exhaled without responding to her comment.
In the last mission on the Abyss Battlefield, he was the only one to return alive; the other four members of his team had died.
He had also failed to bring back the object his superiors had requested. As a result, his superiors, the investors in him, the consortia looking to earn profits, and the families of his teammates were all dissatisfied with him.
In short, he felt that the whole world, including himself, was dissatisfied.
While he was undergoing special training in America, he was invincible; nobody could match him.
At one point, he even felt like he was a god of this world, capable of crushing anyone who displeased him with ease.
Even the State Legislators who met with him had to treat him with great respect.
But since his return from the Abyss Battlefield, everything had changed.
In his quest to become stronger, he trained frantically every day and injected himself with Superpower Injection Liquid that hadn't yet passed human trials.
This Superpower Potion could enhance muscular strength, increase cellular activity, and unleash superhuman power.
The muscles injected with Superpower Potion would also be visibly larger and more powerful than other muscle areas.
However, there were side effects, including hormonal imbalances in his body.
One external manifestation was disrupted biological clocks; sometimes he would sleep for over ten hours, but other times his sleep would be very short.
The female agent continued, "Dr. Ralph reminded you to visit him, and Coach Jacob asked me to tell you to report to him as soon as you wake up as the special training group has updated your training schedule. And there's…"
"And what? Why are there so many damn things!"
Alex Austin was already getting impatient, glaring at the female agent.
The female agent was not frightened at all, pointing to an envelope on the table, "This envelope was left at your door this morning. It's unsigned, but likely intended for you. Hopefully, it's not a notice from the tax bureau."
She even made a little joke at the end.
If it were a notice from the tax bureau and not handled properly, it could cause major problems.
Therefore, Alex Austin reached for the envelope, opened it, and found it was not a notification from any department but an invitation with only the word "creator" printed on it.
Additionally, there was a faint watermark with the numbers "029".
He frowned at the invitation, feeling perplexed.
The female agent added, "Also, Mr. Raymond requested that you report to the Federation Intelligence Bureau headquarters before this afternoon."
Although Alex Austin was very impatient, when he heard that it was an order from the Federation Intelligence Bureau, he only climbed out of bed, threw the invitation into the trash can, and went into the bathroom to wash up.
An hour and a half later.
Alex Austin stood in a conference room at the headquarters of the Federation Intelligence Bureau.
Several Intelligence Bureau officials sat with stern expressions, making the meeting feel very austere.
"Go through the events on the Abyss Battlefield again, specifically the process and reasons behind the deaths of your teammates."
Not that question again.
Alex Austin held back his anger, "I've already told you the last time, and the time before."
"Then tell it once more," the intelligence officer repeated expressionlessly.
He took a deep breath and recounted how those four idiots had died again.
The Intelligence Bureau officials were expressionless and skeptical, "Are you saying that our highly trained elite warriors were no match for a few Eastern Superpower Users?"
"That's the fact." Alex Austin was reluctant to admit it, but it was true.
The Intelligence Bureau officials continued skeptically, "Earlier you mentioned that Lichia and Kaleem were killed within three seconds by the same Eastern Superpower User. Since when have our elite warriors been so weak?"
The intelligence officer concluded with a mocking look towards his colleagues, who all laughed, clearly disbelieving Alex Austin's story.
Alex Austin had explained it many times already and did not want his team members to seem so ineffectual, but that was the reality.
He even clearly remembered the words spoken by that Eastern Superpower User: "Give me three seconds to block me, or your teammates are gone."
He thought those words were ridiculous at the time, so he didn't listen, and within three seconds, two team members were dead.
The speed of that Eastern Superpower User was like lightning, each flash resulting in fewer teammates.
By the time he realized, it was too late.
The Intelligence Bureau had now asked him to recount the battle three times about the foolish deaths of his teammates, and he had told them truthfully every time.
However, he had concealed one fact: that he had been stabbed in the chest by the Eastern Superpower User's sword, not mentioning it at all.
Faced with the probing questions from the Intelligence Bureau officials, his only response was a shrug, "I've recounted my experiences on the Abyss Battlefield faithfully. If you find them unreasonable, record them however you wish."