If anyone in the room was truly surprised, that would be Vance Miller.
He was not an ordinary field officer working for the local Host Association branch in Baidu. He was an elite operative from the capital, who had simply been passing through the province on his way to an urgent high-level mission.
That was until a direct priority command from the highest authority at central headquarters forced him to stop in this small city.
The order issued to him was simple and direct: recruit a newly identified prodigy into the agency immediately.
Vance had been deeply surprised by the command when he first received the encrypted file. Their agency was not an organization that just anyone could join, regardless of political connections or wealth.
The absolute minimum baseline requirement to even be considered for recruitment was awakening a Unique class.
However, Unique classes were exceedingly rare anomalous phenomena. Vance had not heard of anyone awakening a Unique class in the entire country for over a decade.
Most so-called geniuses only possessed rare or at most legendary classes.
Why was central headquarters so eager to recruit this unknown boy?
The answer lay in the surveillance footage attached to the command file. The video showed a single marksman standing on a distant balcony, wiping out an entire wave of Feral Minotaurs without missing a single shot.
The speed, timing, and precision were unbelievable.
Even Rainer of the North, the legendary elven archer celebrated across nations, did not possess such absolute, terrifying accuracy during chaotic, high-speed combat.
However, as he watched the marksman in the video, Vance could not help but pause in his tracks.
’He is only Level 20?’ Vance thought, examining the power output displayed in the tactical combat log. ’How on earth did a Level 20 Host manage to one-shot Feral-tier beasts?’
Vance possessed an expert eye for military equipment, and he recognized the marksman’s weapon instantly.
It was an Ironbite Crossbow, a cheap, mass-produced Iron-Rank weapon of mere Common quality.
There was no mathematical way that ordinary piece of junk provided enough offensive force to pierce the hide of a Feral monster.
That meant the boy relied on something far more fundamental. He either possessed an extraordinary trait that amplified his physical projectile damage to insane proportions, or he had unlocked a broken class skill.
Either way, his system or class had to be exceptionally rare.
Still, Vance remained skeptical in his heart. He did not believe that impressive marksmanship and high damage alone should qualify the young man for the agency.
It was not that Vance looked down on the boy’s achievements. On the contrary, Vance knew a marksman with that kind of lethal output would be a dream recruit for any major guild or military organization in the country.
But their agency was fundamentally different from normal guilds.
Talent and high damage output alone were never enough to qualify a recruit for the dark work they performed.
Vance’s train of thought froze the moment he stepped closer to the young man.
He watched in real time as the boy’s expression shifted completely.
Oscar’s face turned noticeably pale, his pupils shrinking as his eyes locked onto Vance with intense, sharp focus.
A second later, the boy involuntarily took a half-step backward, his body stiffening as if facing an absolute predator.
That was the exact reaction a low-level Host would display when a vastly powerful high-tier entity fully unleashed its crushing aura.
However, Vance had not unleashed even a fraction of his aura.
In fact, ever since Vance unlocked his first passive class skill, Stillness, it had remained permanently active around his body twenty-four hours a day.
The skill completely suppressed every single ounce of his killing intent, presence, and aura.
To anyone at a lower level, Vance appeared as harmless, relaxed, and ordinary as a friendly middle-aged uncle walking down the street.
After all, a professional Shadow Assassin had to blend seamlessly into any environment without drawing a single eye.
Yet, this boy standing before him was showing a reaction of pure alarm.
It meant the boy had somehow sensed his hidden strength anyway. He had perceived the suffocating force tucked away beneath the invisible layer of Stillness.
What kind of absurd perception stat or detection trait did a person need to achieve something like that?
The gap in strength between this Level 20 boy and a Level 50 Three-Star Assassin like Vance was as vast as the distance between the earth and the sky.
By all logic of the system, Oscar should have perceived Vance as a total nobody.
If Vance had been skeptical about the boy’s qualifications before, he was not skeptical anymore.
A satisfied smile touched Vance’s lips beneath his raised collar. He was now absolutely certain of one thing: this boy was born for the agency.
Oscar maintained his guarded stance, his heart pounding hard against his ribs.
The sheer numbers floating on Vance’s translucent status screen were terrifying enough, but the subtle, dangerous rhythm of the man’s posture made Oscar’s instincts scream that a single movement from Vance could end his life before he could even blink.
"Mr. Oscar," Vance said, his voice smooth, casual, and completely unbothered by the tense atmosphere. "There is no need to be so nervous. I am not here to cause trouble for you."
"Who are you?" Oscar asked directly, keeping his voice steady despite the sweat gathering on the back of his neck.
"This is not a place for that answer." The middle-aged man shrugged. "Follow me," he said as he walked toward a side room.
Oscar glanced at the receptionist, who had a confused expression on her face.
Feeling Oscar’s look, she spoke in a low voice, "He is someone important from the capital."
"Thanks..." Oscar gave her a smile, then followed the man. It was not like he could do anything else. If that man intended to harm him, there was nothing Oscar could do to stop it.
As the door to the side room closed, the middle-aged man turned to face Oscar.
"My name is Vance Miller. I represent a specialized department attached to central headquarters. We monitored your performance during the central plaza outbreak, and we were quite impressed by your efficiency."
Oscar narrowed his eyes slightly. "That’s it?"
"That’s part of it..."