On a peak near the Starry Sky Group, an elder stood atop the summit, hands clasped behind his back, observing the events unfolding below at the Starry Sky Group headquarters. His beard and hair streamed in the gentle night breeze, giving them an immaculate appearance. In truth, the elder was spotless from head to toe, utterly untouched by dust; any particulate matter approaching his body was repelled by his protective Zhenqi. The elder stood there at the cliff's edge, appearing as if he belonged to the realm of immortals.

This elder was none other than the vagrant who had awakened in New York's Central Park. For reasons of his own, he had finally tracked his way to Hong Kong. Now, standing atop the peak, he suppressed his entire aura, silently observing the fight scenes below. In the distant woods beneath the mountain range, Black Hero was displaying his formidable might, sending armed helicopters plummeting from the sky one after another.

After awakening, the elder intended to find his son, but to his shock, the entire "SN" organization had vanished without a trace, not even the faintest vestige of its existence remaining. Even the secret base of the "SN" organization had been utterly destroyed, rendering the Divine Maze Formation ineffective, yielding no useful clues whatsoever. What troubled him most deeply was the disappearance of his powerful son. The elder knew his son's strength well; in his memory, no one in this world could harm his son. But now his son was gone—had someone managed to injure him?

The elder pondered this repeatedly, a sinister premonition taking root in his heart: his son was likely dead. But who in this world could possibly harm his son? Recalling diligently, he only remembered hearing of a Black Hero who had appeared in Hong Kong, whose power was rumored to be immense—powerful enough, perhaps, to harm his son. This was why he had come to Hong Kong, intending to meet this Black Hero and hopefully discover traces of his son through him.

Watching Black Hero unleash his power below, the elder nodded subtly. This Black Hero's strength was indeed formidable; he did possess the capability to kill his son. Then, the elder sensed an overwhelming, icy wave of fighting intent surging from a distance. His heart jolted; the source of this intent was another master who had reached the Divine Realm.

Just as the elder was reeling from the shock of encountering another Divine Realm expert, a long sigh echoed from behind him.

The elder was alarmed again because, for reasons he couldn't fathom, his own strength had inexplicably surged upon awakening, reaching the level of the Divine Realm. This was a realm he hadn't dared to dream of before, and he was confident that with his current immense power, even his son, if alive, would be no match for him.

Yet, someone had managed to infiltrate his rear without his notice. If that person hadn't actively sighed, he wouldn't have known they were there at all. Thinking this through, a sneak attack against him would have been incredibly simple.

The elder turned around to find a middle-aged Caucasian man standing not far behind him, grinning as he watched Yan Hongye provocatively making her move below.

"Who are you, sir? Why are you standing silently behind me?" the elder demanded sharply.

"Hehe, old man, you've chosen an excellent vantage point; you can see everything happening below very clearly. The reason I'm standing here is that I also wish to see what is going on down there," the middle-aged Caucasian man chuckled.

"Dare to play the fool in front of this old man!" The elder was furious; the humiliation of having someone sneak up behind him ignited his rage. He stomped his foot heavily, and an invisible wave of energy began to propagate through the stones beneath the mountain.

The middle-aged Caucasian man smiled: "Old sir, let's talk things over nicely, no need for drawn swords, right?" As he spoke, he rapidly retreated. His movement was swift; in a single exchange, he was already a hundred meters away.

The middle-aged Caucasian man stopped retreating with a smile, preparing to utter a witty remark, when a violent explosion erupted beneath his feet. The explosive energy had traveled up from underground—it was the very attack unleashed by the elder’s stomp, meticulously guided through the earth for over a hundred meters before detonating suddenly. Because the energy traveled silently, the middle-aged Caucasian man was caught completely off guard by the elder, and though uninjured by the blast itself, he was left dusty and deeply embarrassed.

"Hahaha, old sir, you certainly have skills. But I haven't offended you, so why attack me?" the Caucasian man continued to smile, apparently unbothered by his disheveled state.

The elder sneered: "You move stealthily, you are sneaky, and you have a shifty look—you're exactly the type of person I despise. Do I need a reason to attack someone I hate?"

The middle-aged Caucasian man smiled: "Not long ago, you were a destitute, crazy vagrant; your image wasn't much better than mine. To suddenly act so superior now is truly admirable."

The elder roared: "Are you mocking me?"

The middle-aged Caucasian man chuckled: "No, no, I merely state a fact. Besides, our purpose here today is the same: to gauge the strength of this Black Hero. Why don't we first understand Black Hero's power, and then compete? Look, the explosion you just created has leaked your presence; I think Black Hero has already sensed it."

The elder ignored him, coldly sneering: "I hate people smiling the most. Don't you know your smile is too phony, and utterly despicable? It makes one instinctively want to punch you. Take this first!"

With that, the elder lunged toward the middle-aged Caucasian man, unleashing a series of rapid punches, each imbued with formidable inner force. However, the middle-aged Caucasian man dodged them all with ease. The destructive force of the blows dissipated harmlessly into the air without connecting.

The middle-aged Caucasian man called out from a distance, "Old sir, have you skipped breakfast? Or perhaps you’re just too old—why are your punches so weak?"

The elder coldly spat, "Explode for me!"

As the elder's words faded, intense fluctuations of inner force suddenly surged from the air around the middle-aged Caucasian man, immediately followed by a violent explosion. It turned out the elder’s previous punches hadn't simply dispersed; they had remained latent in the air. The elder had secretly controlled the movement of these punches, and now, seeing the middle-aged Caucasian man carelessly step into the blast radius, he triggered the latent keys within the air-bound punches, causing them to detonate and achieve their destructive goal.

The middle-aged Caucasian man felt the fluctuations of force surrounding him, and the area covered by these surges was vast—he couldn't evade them all. Realizing the danger, he roared: "Vajra Transformation!"

In an instant, the middle-aged Caucasian man transformed into a giant exceeding three meters in height. His entire body was covered in bulging, corded muscle, seemingly containing inexhaustible strength within. When the explosive punches struck the giant, they merely shredded his clothes; they failed to harm his body in the slightest.

The elder's expression finally changed drastically. He hadn't expected the middle-aged Caucasian man to possess a transformation ability, and one whose resulting form could withstand the impact of his explosive Qi. However, he was not discouraged; he lunged forward again, preparing to continue his assault.

Just then, the giant middle-aged Caucasian man shouted: "Old sir, stop quickly! Black Hero is charging up!"

The elder turned to look down and saw a dense cluster of white sword energy enveloping Black Hero’s body as he rapidly ascended toward the summit. Only then did he halt his attack, cautiously focusing on Black Hero's figure.

Black Hero, carried by the swirling sword energy, reached the mountaintop and immediately spotted two formidable enemies who had attained the Divine Realm waiting there. The sword light enveloping him dispersed, reforming into a single, massive white greatsword. Holding the massive sword, Black Hero vibrated the surrounding air and spoke, "So there are two masters here as well. My apologies for the lack of courtesy."

The Vajra Giant, the form of the middle-aged Caucasian man, laughed: "Black Hero, please don't misunderstand. I am merely a tourist here; to use your terms, I’m just someone spectating. I happened to see your display of great power on this summit, so I watched a little longer. I mean absolutely no harm."

Black Hero coldly sneered: "No malice? Do you think I am a very reasonable person? Anyone who harbors ambitions toward the Starry Sky Group is my enemy."

The middle-aged Caucasian man chuckled: "If I am your enemy, then how will you deal with me?"

Black Hero stopped speaking. The white greatsword in his hand lifted again and stabbed straight toward the Vajra Giant formed by the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man, filled with bold spirit, produced an iron rod from somewhere and moved to block the white greatsword. Unexpectedly, the indestructible white greatsword instantly cleaved the iron rod in two, while the sword continued its trajectory, piercing deeply into his arm.

The seemingly impenetrable body of the Vajra Giant was pierced by the white greatsword, and the middle-aged Caucasian man finally recognized the danger. He stepped backward, and then his body vanished into the void, reappearing a hundred meters away. This abrupt retreat moved him outside the range of Black Hero’s attack, and the white greatsword had only grazed his skin; he escaped before it could inflict a fatal wound.

The middle-aged Caucasian man had finally deployed his ultimate secret technique, escaping Black Hero’s immediate threat. Having crossed swords with Black Hero once, he gained a direct understanding of his opponent's strength. Now, deeply wary of Black Hero's power, he knew this was not the time for a direct confrontation. He dared not linger. He took a step forward, and his entire form dissolved into the void, only to reappear a hundred meters away. He took another stride, vanished again, and in an instant, the middle-aged Caucasian man was gone from Black Hero's sight.

Black Hero stood alone on the peak, the white greatsword circling above his head. The mountain wind whipped his long cloak, making him appear even more profound and inscrutable. After a long silence, Black Hero also leaped from the cliff edge. The white greatsword transformed once more into countless streams of light, enveloping Black Hero’s body as he flew into the darkness, vanishing without a trace.

Chen Changsheng, Wu Yuanjia, and Desheng entered the Scientific Research Institute together, arriving at the room where Liu Hui was supposed to be. They pushed the door open only to find Liu Hui absent. Just as they feared something had gone wrong and were preparing to search for him, Liu Hui emerged from the restroom.

"Why are you all looking at me like that? I was waiting here anxiously, so I just took a quick trip to the restroom to relieve some pressure. That explanation is perfectly logical, isn't it?" Liu Hui smiled.

The others naturally dared not joke about their boss’s jokes. Wu Yuanjia spoke with gravity: "Boss, the fugitive Deng Qingjun has been captured and brought back. All the documents and energy stones he carried have been recovered."

Liu Hui nodded: "Good work, General Manager Wu, you handled that well. However, I heard you encountered the military conducting live-fire drills on your return journey. Are you unharmed?"

Wu Yuanjia smiled: "Thank you for your concern, Boss. Although I ran into the military exercise, Black Hero appeared just in time and escorted me out of the encirclement, so I am fine."

Liu Hui nodded: "Excellent. It seems Black Hero is indeed on our side."

Desheng reported: "Boss, Black Hero also helped us drive away an invading powerhouse. That enemy was terrifyingly powerful; three of our brothers lost their lives to him. But Black Hero shielded us and eventually defeated that individual."

Liu Hui was silent for a long moment before saying: "Arrange a proper burial for those three brothers, and increase the pension standard for their families. We must ensure our heroes can rest in peace."

Desheng replied: "Boss, I will handle the arrangements thoroughly. If those three knew, they would thank you for your consideration."

Liu Hui instructed: "Furthermore, from now on, discussions regarding Black Hero are strictly prohibited within the company. You only need to know that Black Hero supports us."

The three quickly nodded. Black Hero’s incredible display of power tonight had driven away all the invaders, preventing the Starry Sky Group from suffering a major loss, making it clear that Black Hero was defending the interests of the Starry Sky Group. However, Black Hero had also killed many people tonight, including some military personnel, which could easily attract unwanted trouble. The Starry Sky Group only needed to know of Black Hero's actions; they could not publicize them, lest those seeking revenge against Black Hero shift their focus onto the company, creating unnecessary problems.

"Director Chen, have you located the mole hidden within the Research Institute?" Liu Hui asked.

Chen Changsheng replied with some shame: "Boss, with the assistance of General Manager Wu and the others, we have identified the internal employee who administered the laxative to our monitoring staff. We have him detained now. Boss, I apologize for failing to manage the Scientific Research Institute properly."

Liu Hui said: "Director Chen, this isn't the time for apologies. It's good that the mole was found. I am, however, quite curious—how did he manage to make only our monitoring staff suffer from the laxative?"

Wu Yuanjia interjected: "Boss, they used a highly advanced drug internationally. Once ingested, this substance requires an external activation device to take effect; that device is a very small microwave emitter. Moments before Deng Qingjun's operation, the mole stood near where the monitoring staff were located. That was when he pressed the microwave emitter, triggering the latent effects of the laxative in the monitoring staff, causing them severe gastrointestinal distress. This is why Deng Qingjun could escape the Institute unharmed. In fact, everyone in the Starry Sky Scientific Research Institute ingested the laxative, but the mole did not use the activator on them, which is why they didn't experience diarrhea."

Liu Hui exclaimed in wonder: "Such a miraculous drug—human ingenuity is truly endless. Desheng and General Manager Wu, you two must closely assist Director Chen in carrying out an internal cleansing of the Research Institute, quietly. By internal cleansing, I don't mean killing anyone, but rather conducting another secret background investigation and screening of the research personnel. We must eliminate all spies planted by outsiders to ensure the absolute security of our research. But remember, your actions must not affect the research enthusiasm of the scientists, nor must they discover your investigation. Do you understand?"

The three nodded unanimously. Although this internal cleanup would be time-consuming and its success uncertain, they had to proceed, as it was currently the only way to ensure the safety of the Scientific Research Institute.

Just then, someone knocked on the door outside Chen Changsheng's office. Chen Changsheng opened it and stepped out, only to return quickly with a deathly pale face.

Seeing Chen Changsheng’s ashen complexion, Liu Hui felt a surge of foreboding and asked, "Director Chen, what happened?"

Chen Changsheng once again spoke with shame: "We just re-checked the inventory. What Deng Qingjun took was a portable hard drive and two Level Eight Energy Stones. What we have recovered is only one portable hard drive and one Level Eight Energy Stone. One Level Eight Energy Stone is still missing."