Three days later, at the training camp for new recruits.
Several people stood inside Keith's office, all gazing out the window at Tang An, who was fiddling with the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment on the sandy ground.
"Is he the second Levi you mentioned?"
Erwin looked at Tang An, who was already tentatively proficient in using the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment.
He had come here specially today.
Initially, Keith had told him there was a new recruit in the Training Corps who, with just a little training, could become the second Levi.
Undoubtedly, Erwin was intrigued.
If the Survey Corps could gain another Levi, humanity's strength would be vastly enhanced, and upcoming exterior scout missions might even suffer far fewer casualties.
Such was the influence of a single individual, especially one who was humanity's strongest, like Levi.
Even just one such person was a treasure to humanity, something Erwin could not afford to overlook.
And so, he had come.
"He knocked me out of commission with just a single punch."
Keith did not hide the brief exchange he had with Tang An three days ago.
"We tested him. Aside from the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment, his performance in every other area was like a monster's.
And in just three days, this guy has already learned the basics of using the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment."
Keith sighed with emotion, as the newcomer had given him far too many surprises over the past three days.
This was a true genius.
"Has his background been thoroughly investigated?"
Erwin kept his eyes fixed on Tang An.
"He used to live in Shiganshina District in the southern part of Wall Maria. His family made a living by hunting, and he grew up keeping company with all sorts of wild beasts.
Additionally, he has ties to a certain merchant association."
Keith handed the dossier compiled during this period over to Erwin.
"A certain merchant association."
After finishing the files, Erwin fell into deep thought. "So you mean there are no issues?"
"Wall Maria was destroyed five years ago, and much of the records are incomplete."
Keith did not answer directly, instead offering that remark from a side angle.
The implication was crystal clear: precautions were still necessary.
"I'll go test him myself."
Levi, who had remained silent the entire time, walked out of the office with a cold expression.
Neither Erwin nor Keith made any move to stop him.
Out on the training grounds, Tang An was still studying the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment.
Over the past three days, he had already grown basically proficient with it.
If an ordinary person used this for the first time, they could lose their life at any moment.
But Tang An was not among them; he could effortlessly handle any accident because he knew Moonwalk.
Even in a worst-case scenario, he could easily neutralize the danger by using Shave.
Moreover, this Vertical Maneuvering Equipment was ingeniously designed. Once the trigger on the knife handle was pressed, the corresponding launcher on the waist would fire out anchors.
These anchors would latch onto a Titan or a building, and then gas pressure would drive a fan to reel the anchor cables back in, propelling the body at high speeds and allowing the user to utilize this three-dimensional high-speed mobility for combat.
In essence, this equipment allowed a person to fly at low altitudes, though achieving flexibility and agility depended heavily on the strength of one's waist, legs, and core.
This meant the user's physical condition had to far exceed that of an ordinary person, otherwise mastering the equipment would be impossible.
"I heard you beat up that old man Keith with a single punch?"
Tang An raised his head and looked at the short-statured man standing before him, who had short hair and pale skin. The corner of his mouth couldn't help curving into an almost imperceptible smile.
Humanity's strongest soldier.
The man known as Captain.
Levi Ackerman.
He had anticipated this scenario, but he hadn't expected it to come quite so soon.
It seemed Keith had already thoroughly investigated him over the past three days and even notified the Survey Corps.
"Need something?"
Tang An continued fiddling with the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment.
Levi said nothing. Without warning, he stepped forward and unleashed a roundhouse kick toward Tang An's head. Both his speed and power far surpassed Keith's punch from before.
If an ordinary person were hit by that kick, they would suffer a concussion and lose consciousness one hundred percent of the time.
A cold glint flashed in Tang An's eyes as he blocked with one hand and took two steps back.
"So you're here to start trouble?"
A cloud of dust kicked up from the ground. Tang An began unbuckling the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment from his body, stretched his limbs, and looked at Levi, who showed no openings whatsoever and looked ready to strike at any second.
Levi didn't speak; he simply assumed a combat stance.
"It's... it really is Captain Levi."
"I never thought Captain Levi would actually show up here."
"That's Captain Levi! Who is he fighting?"
"Looks like a new recruit. I saw him practicing with the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment yesterday."
Several heads poked out from not far away, clearly having caught wind of some news.
"Did you say who's going to win?"
Connie was extremely excited.
"Definitely Captain Levi. That's the strongest man in the Survey Corps."
Jean had heard quite a few stories about Captain Levi; up until now, he held the record for soloing the most Titans.
"Is it really okay for us to sneak out like this?"
Sasha trembled; the mere thought of Keith's face terrified her.
"Since we're already here, we might as well see Captain Levi's strength firsthand."
Eren clenched his fists tightly. That was the Survey Corps he had always wanted to join.
The rest remained silent--including Mikasa, Armin, Reiner, Bertholdt, and other key supporting characters from the 104th Training Corps.
They were supposed to be training, but when they heard that Survey Corps Commander Erwin and Captain Levi had arrived, they had simply wanted to catch a glimpse of the two men, never expecting to witness a scene like this.
On the grounds, Tang An held his fists in front of him, one forward and one back. He stepped forward with his lead foot and assumed a Military Combat Technique stance.
If he used Shave and Moonwalk, he could easily take down his opponent.
However, Tang An simply wanted to test his combat skills purely; after all, he had practiced the Military Combat Technique for so long without ever putting it to a real practical test.
"Combat technique."
Inside the office, Erwin frowned.
The opponent's stance was unmistakably a martial arts technique, but didn't his file say he came from a family of hunters?
Why would a hunter know how to use combat techniques?
Out on the field, Levi's expression had turned grave. Tang An had merely made a gesture, yet Levi could already tell the other man was no amateur.
His lower stance was rock-solid, and his entire body lacked any openings, much like a leopard about to pounce.
"Swish!"
The two figures surged forward simultaneously. Levi threw a straight punch aimed at Tang An's face; Tang An blocked with his left hand while thrusting his right hand straight toward Levi's throat.
Levi was extremely fast; after blocking with his arm, he drove a knee straight into Tang An's abdomen.
Tang An sidestepped to evade it, planted his left foot, spun a full circle, and brought his right foot down toward Levi with a sonic crack.
Levi tensed his muscles, crossed his arms to block in front of his chest, and was actually sent flying backward by the sheer force.
He kicked up a cloud of dust and slid for nearly five meters before regaining his footing, his hands trembling slightly.
Beneath his calm exterior lay utter gravity. The opponent's reaction time, technique, speed, and power were all unimaginably formidable.
In terms of raw strength alone, he was outmatched.
After just a few exchanges, Levi had sized up the pros and cons.
Tang An did not press the attack, instead returning to his combat stance. He wanted to use Levi to test the strength he had earned through countless drops of sweat.
"He... he actually kicked Captain Levi flying."
Eren and the others hiding in the shadows all dropped their jaws as they stared at the scene, their faces etched with shock and disbelief.
"Did I see that right?!"
Sasha stood there in a daze.
"That's Captain Levi..."
"Where on earth did a monster like this pop up?"
"Such formidable combat skills."
Reiner frowned, an ominous premonition inexplicably gripping his heart.