Xia En’s scrutiny was long and harsh.
After a long silence, he looked up, his expression still devoid of ripples, and dismissed everyone except two people.
“One last point,” he said.
His tone was flat, yet it carried an undeniable weight.
“When facing the abyss, you must be willing to step into it yourself.
Of course, where there is sacrifice, there is a reward.”
Upon hearing this, the two men opposite him frowned in unison, sinking into deep thought.
Xia En was not impatient.
He simply sat there quietly and waited.
This point was vital; he had to ensure the other party fully grasped it.
Moreover, he wasn’t worried about them not understanding—they were accountants.
How could people who played with tangled, complex numbers for a living fail to understand a few simple sentences?
The underlying meaning was quite blunt: if there were ever discrepancies in the company’s finances, they had to take full responsibility.
Not a shred of blame could touch him.
Of course, as long as they shouldered the burden, he would never mistreat them.
Sure enough, it didn’t take long for their brows to gradually unfurl.
One of them said nothing.
Without the slightest hesitation, he turned and left the recruitment site.
The other man kept his eyes fixed on Xia En, asking in a steady voice, “How much of a sacrifice?
And how much of a reward?”
Xia En sat up slightly straighter, a hint of respect appearing in his expression as he spoke slowly.
“The extent of the sacrifice is uncertain; it depends on your ability.
But as long as you keep giving, you will keep receiving rewards.”
Hearing this, a look of hesitation appeared on the man’s face.
He pressed further, “Why should I trust you?”
The corners of Xia En’s mouth curled slightly, his tone carrying a hint of suggestion.
“You can gamble.
And while you’re gambling, you can enjoy the cake all to yourself—as long as no one discovers your greed.”
Upon hearing those words, the hesitation in the man’s eyes vanished completely.
He smiled and reached out his hand.
“My name is Smith Ryan.
I’m very pleased to be employed by you, Mr.
Xia En.”
Xia En also smiled and shook his hand lightly, his tone sincere.
“The pleasure is mine.”
The two shared a smile.
After leaving the recruitment site, Xia En did not let his guard down completely.
He quietly followed Smith, tailing him for a distance.
Only after confirming that Smith’s current residence perfectly matched the one on his resume did Xia En commit it to memory.
Beyond that, he immediately hired a private detective to conduct a comprehensive, detailed investigation into Smith.
He had even considered monitoring Smith as much as possible in the future.
However, he currently lacked enough trustworthy manpower, so the idea had to be temporarily shelved; it was difficult to implement for now.
“I wish I were like other transmigrators,” Xia En couldn’t help but grumble internally.
“Damn it, how is it that every person those guys pick up turns out to be absolutely loyal?
It turns out they’re all just playing around in the Marvel world, while I’m the only one truly surviving on the edge of a blade, aren’t I?
It’s so unfair!”
Envious of other transmigrators to the point of a breakdown, a wave of frustration welled up in Xia En’s heart.
Yet he was helpless, forced to calm himself down and search for a solution in his mind.
He knew very well that if he wanted to find someone with absolute loyalty, he couldn’t limit his search to this real world anymore.
As his thoughts churned, he began to desperately recall every movie he had ever seen.
Suddenly, scenes from the *Resident Evil* film series flashed into his mind.
Specifically, the scene from *Resident Evil: Retribution*—the sight of identical, vacant-eyed Alices hanging along an assembly line—became exceptionally clear.
“Clones!”
At the thought of the cloning technology in *Resident Evil*, Xia En felt an immediate jolt of excitement.
He felt, for some reason, that with his “Gold Finger,” he could definitely replicate this technology.
Forcing down his inner ecstasy, he tried to activate his ability—”Flash of Inspiration”—hoping to pull the preliminary data for a cloning project from his mind.
But in the next second, he froze.
The ability failed to trigger.
“Is it because the Hummingbird Drone project isn’t fully researched yet that I can’t start a ‘Flash of Inspiration’ for another project?”
A suspicion arose in Xia En’s mind, but he didn’t dare jump to conclusions.
To test this theory, he tried several other directions, targeting the simplest technologies like tactical flashlights and LED lights.
After a series of repeated tests, he finally had to accept the truth, confirming his suspicion.
“Damn it.
My heart was hanging by a thread, and now it’s completely cold,” Xia En cursed under his breath, his tone thick with disappointment.
“My cheat is actually a single-threaded tech tree, not multi-threaded.
To unlock the next technology, I must first completely finish the current one.”
After figuring out the limitations of his ability, Xia En slumped against the back of his chair, dejected.
“It looks like I can’t just trigger the ability whenever I want from now on.
I have to be certain the project is completely useful to me and that I have a way to quickly shorten the R&D time before I use it.”
Having said that, Xia En actually felt a slight sense of relief, even a bit of luck.
Fortunately, the first time he triggered the ability, he had received the Hummingbird Drone project.
“Luckily, the Hummingbird is simple enough.
As long as I determine the direction for data verification, there shouldn’t be too many difficulties during the development process.
If my luck had been a bit worse and I’d been given something like the Sovereign’s cross-universal remote drone technology from Marvel, who knows how many years I would have been stuck?” Follow the newest chapters on novelping . com.
He knew that experimentation itself was a process of constant trial and error, correction, and progress.
Therefore, even knowing the limitations of his cheat, Xia En wasn’t too discouraged.
After all, even the best cheat is useless if used in the wrong place.
And even the most inconspicuous cheat, if used correctly, can play a massive role.
His cheat wasn’t bad; it just required more time and cost, both of which he could still afford.
Only deep down, that inexplicable jealousy was still hard to suppress.
“Why can other transmigrators get something for nothing and then have whatever they want?
While I’m here, working myself to death to earn money and climb the tech tree?
It really pisses me off!
One day…”
“One day, I’m definitely going to other universes and take down every one of those disgusting guys who got something for nothing!
Rewards only come from sacrifice.
Equivalent exchange is the justice of this world!
If someone doesn’t follow that justice, I’ll show them what the real ‘Truth’ is!”
Xia En’s jealousy gradually subsided.
After all, one should still strive for goodness.
No matter how great the predicament or the threat, one should face it calmly and tell oneself: “As long as I close my eyes, I can’t see anything.”
After firmly committing Smith’s address to memory, Xia En set off for Hell’s Kitchen, intending to look for signs of Spider-Man.
But not long into his search, he suddenly realized something—he didn’t know Spider-Man’s specific address.
Moreover, in the Marvel Universe, there were many Spider-Men, each with a different address.
He only vaguely remembered that most versions lived in Queens.
“Damn it, I’m not looking anymore!” Xia En stopped in his tracks, calculating inwardly.
“Actually, I originally wanted to confirm Spider-Man’s address to judge which universe I’m actually in and whether it’s the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But I suddenly felt afraid.
Afraid that if I kept looking, the Spider-Man I found wouldn’t be the one I’m familiar with.
If that happened, I would lose my confidence, lose the only plot advantage I have, and might even lose my reason for fighting.
There’s too much to lose; it’s just not worth it.”
“It’s enough to know what I need to know, do what I need to do, and work hard for it.
That way, no one can say I’m aiming too high while doing nothing, and I won’t end up a failure.
After all, if I’m always working, how could I fail?”
The confusion that had arisen from searching for Spider-Man was quickly dispelled.
Xia En never considered himself a strong person, but he was incredibly clear about his position.
Compared to those who were naturally strong, his greatest advantage was that he could give everything without reservation, ensuring he would never be defined as “worthless.”
Since he had value, he had the capital to be used by others and the confidence to use them in return.
And as long as he had that capital and confidence, he would never lose his motivation to strive.