Chapter 59: Level Up and News

After getting a strength boost, Chu Cheng immediately put it to the test. He also used Captain America's fighting techniques he had learned earlier and went to an open area to try them out.

This time, he did it right. Last time, he ignored the problem of his brain and hands not coordinating well, which ended in a bad kick. This time, he started small, testing his moves carefully, and gradually got bolder as he found he could handle it.

He initially worried that only increasing his strength and physique might cause problems, but soon realized he was overthinking it. Even though he only extracted the strength enhancement part of the Super Soldier serum, the increase in strength also led to better physical endurance.

This improvement was limited to what matched his new strength, not the exact same physical fitness as the original Captain America. Captain America also gained extra benefits from the super soldier serum, like muscle toughness that could stop bullets, enhanced endurance to shrug off gunshot wounds, and quick healing abilities.

Abilities like Wolverine's rapid healing and Luke Cage's super-tough skin fall under the "defense" category. These focus only on improving physical toughness and don't boost basic attributes like strength and speed.

Even with just the fighting skills and strength boost, Chu Cheng was now half a super soldier. This gave him confidence if trouble came his way.

Additionally, reaching level 3 unlocks two new features:

**Expanded Team Heroes**:

At level 2, he could have two heroes, including substitutes, in battle at once. Now, the team structure has increased to three, allowing more flexibility in choosing heroes for different situations.

**Voice Function**:

Previously, heroes would say classic lines during specific scenes, like Batman's famous "I am the night, I am vengeance, I am Batman." The new voice feature allowed players to speak through the hero using the hero's voice, similar to using a voice changer.

Although Chu Cheng didn't plan to use this voice feature often, it could make the hero seem more alive and real, enhancing the overall experience.

Before, he couldn't really talk to or interrogate people through Batman, but now he can. If needed, he could grab some poor guy and reenact Batman's classic bungee interrogation.

After a fierce battle that lasted until dawn, Chu Cheng needed to relax a bit. He was starving by the time he woke up, so he logged out of the game and headed downstairs for breakfast—although at this point, it was more like lunch.

For a gaming geek like Chu Cheng, weekend mornings were like a distant memory—laughable, really. The idea was simple: stay up late on the weekends, play as much as possible, and worry about sleep later. By the time he opened his eyes again, it was usually already afternoon.

Chu Cheng went downstairs and ordered beef noodles. Given his current salary, he even splurged on two extra eggs today, feeling pretty good about it.

Aunt Wang at the noodle shop saw him and, with a smile, added a few more slices of beef without saying a word.

As Chu Cheng sat down with his steaming bowl of beef noodles, he unlocked his phone and checked the app linked to the Secret Service No. 9—often jokingly called the "lunatic asylum"—to see if there were any updates.

After taking down so many infected people last night, he thought he'd make the homepage. But instead, as soon as he opened it, an emergency notification popped up.

He squinted at the screen, making sure he wasn't too sleepy to read it correctly.

It was a wanted notice sent to all Secret Service Nine agents.

The person wanted was... Detective Luo Yajun?

Chu Cheng clicked on the details, and the face of a handsome, bald man appeared. The guy had a manly build and a bald head that was hard to miss. Yep, it was definitely Agent Luo.

The notice didn't give much detail, just that Agent Luo was suspected of possibly turning into an infection source and might be in a certain area. It didn't explain exactly what had happened.

This seemed odd.

It's not that Chu Cheng couldn't believe it—after all, they'd only been on one mission together, maybe two if you count the time he remotely controlled Batman. He didn't know Luo well enough to say he trusted him.

But from their few encounters, Luo had struck him as a tough guy, a bit like the Punisher. This kind of person usually has a strong, unyielding nature. So, hearing this news took Chu Cheng by surprise.

Curious, Chu Cheng decided to call Tang Li, who was in charge of communications and logistics. She'd left her contact information and said he could reach out anytime with questions. Plus, she was in the same group as Luo, so she might know something.

Tang Li didn't hold back, since the situation wasn't exactly a secret in the department. She explained the basics to Chu Cheng.

Basically, there were a lot of infected people causing trouble the night before. Agent Luo was suspected of heading to the surveillance footage from the Fourth Branch of the Public Security Department to check it out. Not long after, chaos erupted at the Public Security Department.

The higher-ups held a meeting overnight and suspected that Luo might be infected. So, they arranged for special agents to bring him in to explain the situation.

But instead of heading to the main base, they took him to a branch of Special Service No. 9 in another city. Of course, an organization as big as the Secret Service wouldn't keep all its assets in one place. They had smaller bases in major cities, too.

For example, the other city base was disguised as the headquarters of a trading company in a remote suburb. On the outside, it looked like just another company, but inside, it was locked down tighter than Fort Knox.

Or so they thought.

But then, Tang Li told Chu Cheng that when Luo was brought to the branch base that morning, he was barely questioned before he suddenly bolted out the door, broke through the security, and escaped. His whereabouts are currently unknown.

Chu Cheng was speechless.

So, one guy, without any backup, managed to slip out of a building full of secret agents, and now no one could find him?

This made Chu Cheng question their security system and worry about the fate of the main base.

But thinking it over, maybe it wasn't entirely their fault.

People imagine that secret agents and bodyguards in top-secret facilities are always on high alert, with airtight security systems.

But logic can be misleading. It's like when a leader gets assassinated in broad daylight and everyone blames the screenwriters for being unrealistic. But in real life, sometimes all it takes is one person with a gun to change history.

It's hard to say which is more unbelievable—fantasy or reality.

This situation not only made Chu Cheng doubt the reliability of their security but also left him feeling uneasy.

The surveillance video might not have been enough on its own, but Luo's sudden escape made things look even more suspicious.

Could it be that he was really infected?