Ti passed, and April arrived in the blink of an eye.
Chen Chuan stood by the floor-to-ceiling window of his dorm, watching the rain fall ceaselessly outside.
Nearly a month had passed since he submitted his application for the Unlimited Defense Certificate exam in early March.
By all rights, he should have received a reply within a month, but he still hadn’t heard anything.
’I t all the conditions to apply for the Unlimited Defense Certificate, even far exceeding the normal standards. However, the final decision ultimately rests in the hands of the Upper Layer review team, so I can’t rule out the possibility of it being delayed until my second year.’
’This is actually disadvantageous for , because the longer this takes, the more likely it is that news of my application will leak. Besides, the evaluation from the Foreign Affairs Bureau will only protect for a year.’
’So people won’t wait until I get the Unlimited Defense Certificate to co after . They’d try to act sooner. So, I still need to take so precautions.’
’I’ve already thought about it. One option is to just stay at the academy and focus entirely on training. Once I break through to the Second Limit, the types of drugs available to will change, so I’ll be able to manage for a while.’
’But that’s a rather passive approach, and it wouldn’t be good for my future. That’s why Cheng Zitong told about another option: he could arrange for to go on an exchange program to another branch academy or a school abroad. That would let avoid all this trouble.’
’But that’s a last resort. It would be best if my application gets approved.’
In the past month, he had handled five more commissions. For three of them, too much ti had passed, leaving no client and no trace of the paranormal phenonon.
As for the remaining two, he had specifically chosen them for being easy to handle, so the process wasn’t complex. Even a regular person could have solved them if they knew the thod, which ant nothing of value was left behind.
He was also starting to realize sothing. Only paranormal phenona that persisted for a long ti or appeared frequently in public were likely to leave sothing behind. Similarly, it was these types of phenona that provided greater stimulation for Mutated Organizations.
’Based on what I’ve seen, only one of the commissions the company acquired from the Administrative Affairs Hall seems to fit the criteria. The problem is, it’s located in Zhang Mountain. I’ve been avoiding that place because my predecessor’s cause of death there is unknown.’
’Another thing is, this particular phenonon isn’t in any of the files I’ve read, aning I’d have to figure out the solution myself. I have no intention of going until I’m fully prepared.’
At that mont, the phone in the living room suddenly rang.
He glanced back, walked over, and picked up the receiver. Cheng Zitong’s voice ca from the other end. "Xiaochuan, co to my office. Right now."
A thought stirred in Chen Chuan’s mind. He calmly replied, "Alright."
He took an umbrella from the shoe cabinet, pushed the door open, and saw Zhuang Zhi and a few others returning from outside, still soaking wet.
Their eyes t for a mont, and as usual, they ignored each other.
’I’ve seen him go out several tis lately,’ Chen Chuan noted. ’He’s starting to develop a sharp, seasoned aura. He must be out on assigned missions.’
’That’s no small feat for a first-year. The Mutual Aid Association must be backing him. But for the Association, it’s like maintaining a blade—if you want to use a tool, you have to sharpen it first. They wouldn’t be stingy with their investnts, but anything given today will demand a greater return tomorrow.’
When Chen Chuan reached the entrance of the dormitory building, he saw the rain was getting heavier. A gust of wind blew, and the air, carrying cool raindrops, cleared his head. He took a breath of the crisp air, opened his umbrella, and stepped into the curtain of rain.
Following the path around Spring and Autumn Lake, he reached the administration building. He folded his umbrella, placed it in a rack to the side, stomped his feet, and went straight up to the fifth floor. Arriving at the logistics office, he knocked on the door. "Professor, I’m here."
"Co in."
Chen Chuan walked in, closing the door behind him, and went to the desk.
Cheng Zitong held down a form on his desk and slowly slid it over to him. "Xiaochuan, your application for the exam has been approved."
Chen Chuan’s gaze fell on the form, and he picked it up.
It was his official approval notice. It stated that after a full review, he was found to have t all conditions and was hereby permitted to participate in this year’s Unlimited Defense Certificate exam. He had to complete the assessnt before September; otherwise, his application would be considered automatically withdrawn. Barring a special governnt pardon, he would be forbidden from ever taking the exam again.
Seeing this, he felt a slight sense of relief.
’Finally.’
Cheng Zitong said, "Your cousin’s analysis was correct. With recomndations from three Administrative Departnts, you had more than enough qualifications to get approved, even without one from the Processing Bureau."
When they submitted the final application, the two of them had thought it over carefully and decided against seeking an internal recomndation from the Processing Bureau.
"Besides looking good on paper, everyone in charge knew the real story. The fact that you didn’t seek one didn’t an you couldn’t get one, which made it more or less optional. Plus, trying to get it would have risked exposing your application. This way actually provides you with cover for a while longer."
After reading it, Chen Chuan put down the form and asked, "Professor, what’s on the assessnt?"
Cheng Zitong said, "That’s what I was about to tell you. The content of the Unlimited Defense Certificate exam changes every year. The C Certificate is straightforward; students are inford of the details in advance. For example, I’ve already been notified that soone will be here shortly to announce the arrangents for the C Certificate assessnt."
"But the assessnt content for the B Certificate is not announced publicly beforehand. Instead, it will be delivered to you by mail or by hand. That’s why I had you fill in your ho phone number and address. I figure, since the approval has co through, the details should arrive within a day or two. So you can stay at ho for the next couple of days. This will help prevent the news from leaking at the academy."
Chen Chuan understood. He said, "Professor, in that case, I’ll head ho now."
Cheng Zitong grunted in acknowledgnt. "Once you have it, call to set up a eting to discuss the details. But rember, don’t talk about it over the phone."
Chen Chuan nodded. He left the office and was just coming down from the fifth floor when he saw a group of impeccably dressed, serious-faced people being led inside by soone who looked like a high-level school official. They were heading for the elevator.
After a few glances, he retrieved his umbrella, went back to his dorm to grab a few things, then put on a raincoat, rode his bike out of the school, and headed for his aunt’s house.
Since today wasn’t a holiday, no one was ho. He went to his room, put his things away, and changed out of his damp clothes. Then he took a book titled *Three Mountains Legend* out of his bag and began flipping through it.
The "Three Mountains" of the book’s title referred to Zhang Mountain to the north, Jia Mountain to the southwest, and Xieshan Mountain to the southeast. Most of the legends took place around these three mountains.
This was because before the Great Expansion, there was no Yangzhi City, only Old Yangzhi Town. The area covered by the Three Mountains included most of modern-day Yangzhi City and its surrounding regions.
Most of these legends bore traces of paranormal phenona or were extensions of them. Soone like him, who understood such things, could easily see things of value behind the stories. That was why he was reading the book very slowly, carefully pondering each tale. After a month, he had read less than half of it.
At around three o’clock in the afternoon, the phone outside his room suddenly rang. ’A call at this ti, from soone who knows this number... it’s probably not for the Nian Fuli family.’
Realizing what this might be about, he closed his book, walked into the living room, and picked up the receiver. "Hello, this is Chen Chuan. Who’s calling, please?"
A serious voice ca from the other end. "Student Chen Chuan, I’ve arrived at the entrance of your alley. Please co out to pick sothing up."
Chen Chuan said, "Alright."
He put down the phone, took an umbrella, and walked out. He went all the way to the alley entrance and saw a stately black car parked there. Three n in black trench coats stood in front of it. He noticed that one of them was holding a black briefcase. He walked up, slowly approaching the n.
The man in the middle with a square-jawed face sized him up, then took out a Na Card and showed it to him. "I am a courier from the review committee. Student Chen Chuan, please present your student card and your Weapon Permit to verify your identity."
Chen Chuan nodded. He took out his student card and Weapon Permit. The man took them, inspected them, and gestured for his companions to step back. He then took a few photos of Chen Chuan with the items. Only then did he hand the cards back, along with a delivery form. "Sign here."
Chen Chuan took it, glanced at it, and signed his na at the bottom. The man tore off a copy of the receipt for him to keep and then took the black briefcase from the man beside him. He didn’t take anything out of it but handed the entire briefcase over.
Only after Chen Chuan took it did the man’s expression soften. He extended a hand to shake his. "Student Chen Chuan, please carefully read the assessnt contents and requirents inside. I wish you success in your assessnt."
Chen Chuan said thank you, watched the group get into the car and drive away, then headed back to the house, carrying the briefcase.
anwhile, in the moving car, the man handed the Na Card to the person beside him, who respectfully put it away and asked, "Specialist Cao, was it worth your while to make this trip in person for a single student?"
Specialist Cao said, "I just wanted to see for myself what kind of commoner student could get recomndations from three departnts and also obtain a Weapon Permit in his first year."
"That’s rare indeed."
Specialist Cao said, "What’s rare isn’t just that. It’s that he clearly knew what he had to do, dared to do it, and actually succeeded."
"Sounds like a promising prospect."
"I think so. But he has to pass the trial he’s facing on his own. No one else can help him. We’ll just have to wait and see." As the conversation died down, the car gradually disappeared into the curtain of rain.
anwhile, Chen Chuan returned to the house, opened the briefcase, and took out a file folder. He undid the clasp and pulled out a stack of papers. They contained a description of the assessnt location, a route map, a large area map, and a Na Card-style assessnt permit.
Just as Cheng Zitong had said, the assessnt required him to travel to another region. The real purpose was to minimize any potential interference from local powers.
He picked up the map and the docunts and looked them over. From the looks of it, the assessnt seed to take place in the wilderness.
’The deadline is six months from now, but after reading the specific details, I don’t think I can afford to wait that long.’
’But in another half a month or so, I can try to break through to the Second Limit. Once I have a basic grasp of the Force Techniques and skills at that level, I can go take the exam.’
’After all, even elite students are typically only at this level upon graduation. And with my Second Self, I’ll have more than enough to pass this exam.’
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