Chapter 112: From Rock Bottom to the Peak, What a Thrill (Silver Tier Patron Qiong Kong Zhi Zhuo Xiao Bonus 1/50)

A group of high-ranking intelligence officials crept inside, gaining a more visceral sense of the changes in Natalia after she received the "Shadow Inheritance."

As the freshly minted Black Widow, Natalia’s appearance was undoubtedly top-tier. A woman like her should have been the focal point of any room. Yet, as she moved with this new demeanor, she gave off the unremarkable air of a mere passerby.

Though everyone could clearly see her, they felt as if they were staring at a plain, featureless wall.

This discrepancy in perception made their curiosity reach a boiling point.

A high-ranking official with a background as a general closed his eyes, then suddenly offered a wry smile. They realized that they completely failed to register anyone else in front of them besides Mei Mumu.

A full five minutes passed in silence.

Mei Mumu spoke up: "Major General Balayev, would you like to experience it?"

"Indeed!" The Major General stepped forward briskly. "What must I do?"

"Stand in the center of the room. Close your eyes for three seconds, and after that, you may use any defensive measures you wish." After giving his instructions, Mei Mumu turned his head. "Cadet Romanova, put on a red evening gown and high heels."

"Understood!" Natalia nodded.

Everyone knew that for a woman, high heels were purely for aesthetics; wearing them was actually a form of suffering. One's entire weight rested on the tips of the toes, which were further squeezed by narrowed toe boxes. Beyond that, the heels were necessary for balance most of the time. Every step taken on the floor produced a distinct, rhythmic "clack-clack-clack" sound.

Coupled with a bright red, low-cut evening gown, she could not have been more conspicuous.

Once ready, everyone except Natalia and the General cleared the room.

The forty-something-year-old general closed his eyes.

The moment he opened them, Natalia’s figure surged into motion.

Three seconds later, the General, having opened his eyes, scanned the room with agile precision, only to be shocked to find that he could not see the beautiful woman at all.

The onlookers, however, watched in astonishment as Natalia moved at high speed, almost chasing the General’s blind spots. Despite the speed, which rivaled a hundred-meter dash, she made no sound detectable to the ear; even the speakers in the observation room captured nothing but a deathly silence.

With steps as light as a dragonfly skimming the water, she executed a graceful S-curve maneuver. To the observers, it was nothing more than a gorgeous red hemline, accompanied by beautiful, pale legs, tracing a brilliant rainbow against the dim lighting.

The General had barely turned 360 degrees and performed a reverse pivot when, holding his pistol, he found himself unable to react at all. Suddenly, he felt a pair of delicate hands gently stroke his thick neck.

The movement was as soft as a lover's caress.

The middle-aged general felt his scalp tingle, a chill racing from his tailbone straight to the crown of his head.

"Damn it! If you were my enemy, I would already be dead."

The test concluded, and the lights came up.

"Clap, clap, clap!" Enthusiastic applause erupted throughout the observation room, and the high-ranking officials were full of praise.

"Not bad, not bad at all!"

"Truly impressive."

"This is the very model of an intelligence operative."

"The transition from being the center of attention to being completely unnoticeable—this is truly remarkable."

The Red Room’s philosophy in training Black Widows was to cultivate the finest infiltration agents, combining intelligence gathering with assassination in an elite-focused curriculum. Mass-produced, low-level agents for routine intelligence collection had already been relegated to Project 404, handled by the "Small Black Room."

As they left the room, Major General Balayev asked Mei Mumu: "How does Cadet Romanova’s current level compare to your peak?"

Mei Mumu curled his lip. "About thirty percent of my peak. If she’s lucky, she could infiltrate a divisional command post. Anything with tighter security would be impossible. She still has much to learn. In another three months, she’ll be barely usable."

"Three months—that should be acceptable."

At this point in time, the Red Army had already begun a massive counter-offensive. The situation on the main battlefield was excellent. Relatively speaking, the demand for super-agents wasn't quite as urgent.

Behind the crowd, whose applause had yet to die down, stood a lonely female figure—Yelena Belova, the powerhouse who had lost the title of Black Widow to Natalia by a single move.

This stubborn girl was clapping with a smile that was pained yet polite.

Her heart was bleeding.

She realized that she craved power—craved Mei Mumu’s inheritance—more than ever.

Her gaze was so intense and burning that Mei Mumu sensed it immediately.

"Oh?" Mei Mumu suddenly felt a bit mischievous. He turned to look at Yelena and gave her a look. Then, pretending to raise his glass to drink, he moved his lips silently under the cover of the crystal goblet.

Lip-reading was a fundamental skill in espionage.

Yelena was overcome with infinite surprise as she deciphered Mei Mumu’s words: "Oh. Cadet Belova, do you also crave this power? Very well, you are not without the aptitude. Tomorrow at midnight, come to my office."

Yelena gulped hard.

It wasn't out of fear, but sheer excitement.

Born with a competitive spirit, she could not accept the fact that she was a loser. The feeling of drifting further and further away from the ultimate powerhouse she dreamed of becoming had been tormenting her for two days. This pain, so intense it felt as if her chest might explode, had become the nightmare of her life.

Once upon a time, as the highest-scoring cadet, she had always been the focus in the eyes of the instructors and the object of envy for the other cadets.

Losing to the legendary top instructor, Brigadier General Drauski, was no shame; it was a spur to improvement. Even if she defeated him in the future, she wouldn't view it as a glorious achievement.

Bullying a retired veteran who was disabled in service to the country was nothing to boast about.

Losing to Natalia was completely different.

That was a standard peer, a classmate she had never lost to in standard sparring matches. To be defeated by the other party’s more extensive real-world combat experience—a failure not of skill, but of circumstance—had cost her her future, the title of the strongest "Black Widow," and along with it, the hope of walking the path to becoming the best.

It was entirely foreseeable that in a year or so, she would no longer even be worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as Natalia.

Yelena was on the verge of going mad.

At this very moment, Mei Mumu had suddenly opened a back door for her. This sudden shift from "falling into hell" to "finding a ladder to heaven" left Yelena unable to control herself.

She trembled all over, nodding vigorously as if afraid Mei Mumu wouldn't see her.

She was so agitated that her movements inadvertently caught someone’s eye...

The next night, Mei Jiecai sent his secretary away early.

He was absolutely certain that within the hundreds of square meters of the office area, there was not another soul.

The office lights were on, and he put on a show of working overtime.

However, his mind, full of action movie tropes, was thinking: Is this going to be a secret deal? A secret deal? Or just a secret deal?