Chen Chuan’s thoughts stirred. He lifted his head and asked, "And the reason?"
Gao Ming’s voice ca through clearly. "I’ve been going through these old archives. They cover not only the Yangzhi Wuyi Branch but also other Wuyi Branches in the Prefecture Path. I’ve read through pretty much all the publicly available information on the Recomnded Students who go to Central City each year.
Cousin, the information you gave was correct. The vast majority of Recomnded Students, by the ti their recomndation is reviewed, only have a Class C Defense Certificate. There are no exceptions.
I then looked into the other students who were recomnded by the academy but ultimately eliminated. It took so effort to find their records. Over the past decade, there have been recomnded commoner students from the sa cohorts who obtained a B Certificate. But they still couldn’t compete against the Recomnded Students. In the end, they either withdrew on their own or failed the higher-ups’ review.
Those who withdrew voluntarily are one thing, but failing the review... that proves the evaluation criteria are far from simple."
He paused here, seeming to wait for Chen Chuan to digest the information.
Chen Chuan processed this, then said, "Keep talking."
"So I did so more digging and found sothing noteworthy. There’s actually a significant difference between the two groups: their evaluations from the Administrative Affairs Departnts.
The commoner students who were recomnded but then eliminated almost always had their administrative evaluations co solely from the Processing Bureau. But it’s different for the Recomnded Students. They have evaluations from other departnts—sotis more than one, even two.
Cousin, what does that tell you?"
Chen Chuan thought for a mont. "It seems the weight of recomndations from Administrative Affairs Departnts is also very high in the review criteria."
"Yes, that’s it. The Recomnded Students have Energy, which allows them to get evaluations from other Administrative Affairs Departnts. It doesn’t matter if it’s an exchange of favors or help from outside connections. The fact is, they completed verifiable commissions and brought benefits to those departnts.
anwhile, the evaluations from the Processing Bureau are mostly based on internal trics like discipline, obedience, and performance. Comparatively, they don’t hold much of an advantage."
Chen Chuan nodded as well. Cheng Zitong had told him not to rely on an evaluation from the Processing Bureau because it wasn’t worth much. It seed the Upper Layer’s review board saw it the sa way.
Gao Ming continued, "Besides that, I found sothing else worth noting. Although those Recomnded Students only have C Certificates, many of them go on to test for the B Certificate in their first year after graduation. Based on a rough count, that’s over seventy percent of them.
From the information you gave , Cousin, the B Certificate exam must be sowhat dangerous, which is why these Recomnded Students don’t risk it at first. But this danger must have its limits. The data shows that by the ti they graduate, the Recomnded Students are capable enough to handle it.
So, in a side-by-side comparison, if a commoner student gets a B Certificate in their third year, the power gap between the two groups isn’t actually that large. In fact, it’s quite close. If I were a reviewer, I wouldn’t think there’s a huge difference. Even if there is, it wouldn’t be hard to close that gap.
Considering the added weight of one or two recomndations from Administrative Affairs Departnts, and assuming the Recomnded Students have a bit of Energy to influence the reviewers up top, then you barely need to think about it. The outco is inevitable."
At this point, his voice lowered, accompanied by the sound of rustling pages. Chen Chuan could sense he was looking down and flipping through sothing. Then, his voice rose slightly:
"Cousin, while I was going through these things, I also found an old file you’ll definitely be interested in. It’s a record from the 78th Year of Jianzhi, fifteen years ago. A commoner student from the Dongliang City Branch earned a recomndation to Central City."
Hearing this, Chen Chuan’s gaze shifted slightly. He listened as Gao Ming continued, "It took so work, but I found the records from that year. According to this, his evaluation from the Administrative Affairs Departnt also ca from the Processing Bureau. He seed no different from the others who were rejected by the review board. The only difference... was that he obtained the Class B Defense Certificate in his first year!"
His voice rose again, tinged with the excitent of soone who’s found a new lead.
"Doesn’t this suggest that the review board views getting a B Certificate as a first-year completely differently than getting it as a third-year? I can’t say for certain, but with an example like this, shouldn’t we try to use it as a model and replicate it?"
Chen Chuan pondered for a mont before asking, "Can you find out more about this student?"
’Even though this example exists, and on the surface, he was also from a common background, it’s hard to say if he had so other backing. Besides, right now, this is just an isolated case. I can’t jump to conclusions.’
Gao Ming said, "Cousin, that’s my next step, but it will take ti. If this person went to Central City, a lot of information will be hard to track down. I’ll notify you as soon as I have any results."
Chen Chuan nodded. "I’m sorry to trouble you, Gao Ming."
"It’s nothing. Since I took on this job, this is what I have to do. But Cousin, based on these examples, departnt evaluations are crucial. If you can get more of them, you’ll have a solid foundation. If you add a B Certificate on top of that, you’ll overwhelm the Recomnded Students, at least on paper."
Chen Chuan said, "That makes sense, but getting evaluations from other departnts will be extrely difficult."
’Forget the Patrol Bureau’s clannishness; which of those Administrative Affairs Departnts isn’t the sa? Without sufficient benefits on the table, they’d never open the door for an outsider. If it weren’t for my background as a disciple of the Patrol Bureau, soone else could have dealt with Fang Dawei’s group and not even dread of getting a recomndation.’
Gao Ming said, "It’s difficult, but not impossible. In every departnt, it’s the person in charge who calls the shots. So, as long as the head person agrees, it’s still possible."
He suddenly chuckled. "The Mi’s Office where I work is a major firm. I have a lot of case files and leads on hand... Hmm, Cousin, you can handle things related to weird tales, right?"
Chen Chuan replied, "That depends on the specifics." Others called him an expert on weird tales, but he didn’t see himself that way. His success was mainly thanks to the help of his teacher, Cheng Zitong.
Gao Ming said, "I have a case file here that might be able to help us. The details are a bit much to explain over the phone. I’ll send the docunts to you later, Cousin. You can take a look first."
Chen Chuan said, "Okay. Thanks for your hard work, Gao Ming."
"It’s no trouble, Cousin. My previous cases were all routine, nothing difficult. This kind of challenge is exactly what I was looking for." After saying this, Gao Ming hung up.
Chen Chuan put down the receiver, his mind beginning to turn. ’Assuming Gao Ming’s judgnt is correct, then I might need to get the B Certificate in my first year. Setting aside the question of whether I can even do it, if I succeed, I’m bound to face external pressure. Just look at Shen Zheng. He t with disaster almost imdiately after getting the Unlimited Defense Certificate. So even if I decide to go through with it, I have to think ahead about how to handle that pressure. At least Shen Zheng faced it in his third year. His martial ability and self-preservation skills were on a completely different level than a first-year’s.
But if this is really how things are, I won’t shrink back when it’s ti to fight for it. Still, even if I decide to do it, I need to discuss it with Cheng Zitong first and see what he suggests.’
anwhile, in a villa in a wealthy district of the South City Full Circle District, a tall young man was leaning back, his hands held like circles, maintaining a strange Pile thod stance.
About half an hour later, he returned to a normal standing posture, letting the sweat drip from his body onto the floor.
A butler imdiately walked over, respectfully handing him a towel and saying, "Young Master, your hot water is ready."
The young man asked, "Have you heard back from Teacher Tan?"
The butler replied, "Mr. Tan said he still has so matters to attend to and will likely be back a little later."
The young man clicked his tongue, his face a mask of displeasure.
’I know Tan Wang was beaten up in front of many teachers at the academy, a total disgrace. He lost so much face that he hastily left the school. Not long ago, he said he was going back to Central City to handle so things. He’s probably going back to maintain and repair his Implant, or maybe to find a way to upgrade it.
But I paid him. Since I paid him, he should be teaching properly, not running off to deal with other things. If he had, he wouldn’t have lost so much face in the first place. Even setting that aside, what’s the deal with him just running off and leaving here?
If my family hadn’t pulled strings and paid a fortune to hire him, and if I wasn’t already learning his Secret Transmission techniques and unable to stop halfway, I would have already replaced him.’
Just then, a phone rang behind him. The butler answered it and said in a low voice, "Young Master, it’s a call from them."
The young man walked over. "Hello, this is Wei Jun."
A slightly nasal female voice ca from the receiver: "Young Master Wei, we’ve taken care of the matter. I don’t know if you’ve heard today’s news, but it doesn’t matter if you haven’t. Shortly, two clerks from the Water Affairs Bureau will go missing while investigating a factory for water pollution.
What you need to do next, Young Master Wei, is accept the commission from the Water Affairs Bureau, find the two bodies, and locate the planted pollution evidence. It’s best if you show up in person during this process, because soone from above will definitely co to verify things. After the factory is dealt with, the Water Affairs Bureau will give you a recomndation evaluation."
Wei Jun asked, "Is that factory yours?"
"Of course not. That factory was already there; just that no one had bothered with it. But who could refuse the high price you offered, Young Master Wei? The money you paid is enough to open three new factories. I think anyone would know what choice to make. They can just reopen after the higher-ups are done with their investigation.
However, no one in the factory knows what’s going on. They will definitely try to protect themselves. You’d better handle this cleanly, Young Master Wei. And one more thing—that factory also has a rather capable security team."
Wei Jun said, "Is that so? Good. I haven’t been in a good mood lately."
"Well then, I wish you a pleasant hunt, Young Master Wei. Oh, and don’t forget the final paynt after this is all over." With that, the line went dead with a CLICK.
Wei Jun seed displeased that she had hung up on him first. He snorted, then said with a trace of excitent, "Old Feng, get my weapons, Protective Clothing, and vehicle ready!"
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