Nemesis

"My power..." Xiao He clenched his fist, "Is increasing without limit!"

"You...!" At this moment, Ye Wanqing and Cui Man looked at him in surprise.

Xiao He discovered that his body had begun to emit a faint white light, and this light was becoming increasingly dazzling, while his power continued to increase without stopping.

However, Xiao He quickly realized that something was wrong. His body seemed to be swelling from the inside out, as if it was going to swell up everywhere. The White Light on his body continued to intensify, becoming as bright as an incandescent bulb. He also had a terrible premonition.

"No, no! Stop it!" Xiao He shouted to Ye Wanqing, "I'm going to explode!"

Ye Wanqing suddenly came to her senses and quickly went to the side to change his name.

The next moment, the power within Xiao He's body instantly dissipated, and he collapsed to his knees, panting heavily, covered in a cold sweat: for a brief instant, he truly felt as if he were about to be burst apart by the power within him.

"It seems..." Cui Man was still a little shaken, and went over to help him up. "You can't keep increasing your power without limit, otherwise your body will explode. Luckily, you managed to fix it in time..."

Xiao He understood the principle behind it. When he became Lin Tiannan, defeating Lin Tiannan meant he had to surpass himself. But he was Lin Tiannan, and his enhancement represented Lin Tiannan's enhancement, thus creating a vicious cycle of infinite strengthening.

He kept getting stronger until his body could no longer withstand the immense power, and the final result would probably be that his body exploded and he died.

But Xiao He noticed that there was a process involved; he wouldn't immediately reach the limit of the explosion.

"How long did I hold out?" Xiao He asked, wiping his sweat. He had an idea.

"About a minute." Cui Man immediately understood Xiao He's meaning and turned to the surveillance camera next to her, instructing, "Confirm!"

Soon, the technician replied over the loudspeaker, "Sir, it took a total of fifty-seven seconds from the name change to the reversal."

"In other words," Xiao He held up his index finger, "During these fifty-seven seconds, my ability not only activated, but also continued to grow stronger until it reached its maximum limit. In other words, for a short period after those fifty-seven seconds, I was invincible."

"But that's too risky! You might accidentally cross that limit!" Cui Man frowned. "No, I can't allow you to use such a dangerous method! We have many other ways to activate your abilities!"

"Just like you said, Sister Man," Xiao He chuckled, "If things ever get really bad... wouldn't it be nice to have a trump card?"

"You child..." Cui Man glared at him, then helped him to his feet and said very seriously, "Listen carefully, no matter what happens, you two must find a way to conceal your true abilities. Although the people in the Special Response Department aren't the most outstanding, they are all people I trust, so you two must control yourselves. This is for your own good."

"I'll try my best to cover it up, but is it really that serious?" Xiao He patted the dust off his backside.

Cui Man narrowed her eyes. "Think carefully, with your abilities, who poses the greatest threat?"

"Those people whose names are known, public figures, celebrities, politicians, and the like..." Xiao He said, then suddenly realized.

Cui Man nodded. "That's right, they are people known all over the world, like the president and prime minister. Perhaps the Minister of National Defense or a general can use a false name and identity, but the president and prime minister are figures who absolutely cannot escape the combined abilities of you."

"That's true..." Ye Wanqing lowered her eyelids.

"Our country has always been friendly with E Country, but whether it's joint military exercises or economic sanctions, we rarely join forces with them to fight against the O Continent and M Country. Do you know why?" Cui Man asked, squinting her eyes.

"Is it based on the principle of the Three Kingdoms period?" Xiao He asked tentatively.

Cui Man nodded. "Exactly... If the balance is broken, then the M Country will sense the threat and definitely pull its lackeys to fight against this alliance. The same logic applies to you. If your abilities are exposed, I'm sure everyone will turn against our country."

As she spoke, Cui Man patted their heads. "They will demand all sorts of restrictions on the two of you, and might even use this as a trigger to start a war. If China, the M Country, E Country all get involved, it will basically be the third world war."

"I understand," Xiao He replied. "Wanqing and I will keep a low profile."

"Hmm." Cui Man nodded in satisfaction, then grabbed his shoulder. "But... if the worst day comes, you know what I mean?"

"I know," Xiao He gritted his teeth. Cui Man smiled and said, "I hope that day never comes?"

Then, she reached out and touched his and Ye Wanqing's faces. "You two worked very hard today, go home and rest. Don't worry about calories today, eat something good."

"Yes, thank you, Sister Man," Ye Wanqing said with a smile, then turned to Xiao He and extended her hand. "Shall we go?"

"Hmm..." Xiao He took her hand and walked outside, while Cui Man grabbed her phone and made a call, "Old Li, drive them home, I need to talk to my dad about something... It's not a blind date! It's about funding! You think I'll kill you?!"

While in the car, Xiao He looked at Ye Wanqing beside him and suddenly found it a little funny: in the end, his biggest nemesis was still Ye Wanqing. Without her, not only could he not activate his abilities, but she could also kill him simply by changing his name to "Lin Tiannan"...

"Sigh, these two are destined to be inseparable in this life. Even if they were together, he'd be henpecked, "Xiao He sighed to himself.

After returning home by car, Xiao He felt very tired, even though he hadn't done anything that day. It was probably because he had used his Superpower to their limit earlier.

"Your Superpower has affected you, hasn't it?" Ye Wanqing said abruptly as she changed her shoes.

Xiao He looked at her, puzzled. "You changed my name, of course it activated."

"But in the previous test, your ability didn't activate after my Sister Man and I changed our names. Your ability only activates against hostile targets..." Ye Wanqing said, widening her beautiful eyes as she looked at him, "So, do you hate yourself?"

"!" Xiao He looked at Ye Wanqing with some surprise; he had never thought of this.

However, this question was so awkward that Xiao He didn't know how to answer it...

"It's alright," Xiao He said, scratching his face. "Maybe my ability isn't only effective against hostile people, but it just doesn't work on people I like?"

"That makes sense..." Ye Wanqing muttered to herself, then suddenly fell silent, as if realizing the deeper meaning of those words.

Xiao He quickly explained, "It's... the kind of liking that you feel! You know what I mean!"