Chapter 34: Chapter 29 Good Intentions
In the Outer City, among many oddly pieced-together structures, there stands a swastika-shaped castle that stands out like a crane among chickens.
Speaking of craftsmanship and uniformity of materials alone, it is even more aesthetically pleasing than the patchy wooden walls of the Inner City.
And this is also the Starshine Company’s office in the Outer City, handling nearly all of the company’s affairs there, a place even the security forces have no right to enter on their own, referred to by the Outsiders as the ‘Black House’.
The dark stone material of the building’s outer walls truly lives up to this name, but at the same time, it might carry other meanings as well.
“Yo, Tiger’s here, eh? How’s it going, getting used to the Mechanical Arm?”
At the gate, there’s always a security team patrolling and in charge of access control.
When the team leader saw Tao Hu bringing Tao Yu over, he greeted him with a smile, and Tao Hu handed out homemade cigarettes to all six members of the security team.
“My nephew has some talent; I’m taking him to handle some business.”
“Wow, for you to say ‘not bad,’ it must be at least a Grade C combat talent, right? He can join the team. Do you have a Grade B?”
The team leader lit his cigarette with a smile and chimed in appropriately.
Tao Hu, who used to possess “Predictive Eye,” was already strong; now that he has a Mechanical Arm, he’s become an even more formidable member of the security forces, so of course people treated him well.
“Haha, Grade A Dynamic Vision, it’s a shame it’s just a common combat talent, a bit of a pity, eh?”
Tao Hu laughed heartily, having been waiting for this moment, his face full of pride and bragging.
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“Grade A?”
The sound made several members of the security team exclaim in low voices.
The security forces are a fairly decent destination in the Outer City, requiring at least Grade D+ in common combat talent for admission, along with assessments, and to get in securely, one needs to be as good as Grade C in common combat talent. The talent level had to be solid even if current abilities were somewhat lacking.
It could be said that their own talents were not bad, and they had their pride on normal days.
But now, hearing about a Grade A talent, each of them turned their heads, many showing expressions of envy.
If they had brought him here, it definitely wasn’t just a bluff!
This must be to take care of some business, and there will likely be a test!
Even if it is a common combat talent, reaching Grade A is still extraordinary.
“Haha, lucky kid, lucky indeed.”
Tao Hu had the expression of a fisherman who had caught a big one, a smug smile playing on his face, making Tao Yu feel somewhat speechless.
However, this was something meant to be showed off to others; to flaunt it a bit wasn’t a bad thing.
Because when you first witness the power of the Assassin, information is indeed very important, but what Outsiders need to ensure first is to use their talents to gain advantage!
There are choices to be made; you can’t miss out on eating because you choke.
So they watched as Tao Hu went through the procedures in an orderly fashion, signed a document, wrote down a destination, and then entered the castle.
In the dim light of the outside environment that felt perpetually like twilight, the castle was extravagantly lit with electric lights, making it brighter than outside. There were some mottled patches on the walls but still much better than most buildings in the Outer City.
Occasionally, the employees they passed had an inherent arrogance on their faces, while others who were obviously Outsiders there to conduct some business seemed somewhat constrained.
In both attire and demeanor, it was easy to tell them apart.
At this time, Uncle Hu’s Mechanical Arm became a symbol of status, and they encountered no trouble or petty difficulties along the way.
Even for Uncle Hu, Tao Yu could sense that he wasn’t as carefree as he appeared outside, but as a seasoned denizen of the Outer City, he quickly led Tao Yu to an office and knocked on the door.
Tao Yu saw the sign above the door of the office. He recognized the characters—’Comprehensive Office’.
“There aren’t many partners from the Outer City, so we usually handle business here, but don’t worry, you’ll find everything you need.”
Tao Hu quickly said to Tao Yu before hearing a lazy voice from inside the room,
“Come in.”
Upon entering, they saw a middle-aged man with silver hair, lounging and flicking through a magazine.
Last seen yesterday, Tao Yu had been in this world for eighteen years and had almost come to believe that there were no books in this world, barely able to recognize the characters, virtually illiterate.
And yet, here he was, seeing a magazine.
It must be something distributed from the Inner City; he hadn’t seen this in the Outer City, only large-character posters filled with the smell of ink.
“Team Leader Tao Hu?”
The silver-haired man glanced at Tao Hu’s Mechanical Arm, raised an eyebrow, then folded down his legs and casually tossed the magazine onto a desk beside him.
“Do you have something?”
He showed the basic respect for Tao Hu, but as a direct employee of the company, that was as far as he would go; there would be no semblance of a smiley service.
“Manager Chen, this is my nephew, who has a Grade A Dynamic Vision talent, and he wishes to become a partner.”
“Whoa, just call me Chen Big Brother instead of manager, I’m only a few years older than you,” said Chen Yong as he stood up from his seat, a smile gracing his face, before he turned to Tao Yu with a gentle expression,
“Grade A talent, now that’s truly remarkable, and it’s even a combat talent.”
While speaking, he rummaged through a drawer next to him for a moment, pulled out a form, and then went straight out the door saying,
“Come on, I’ll take you to test your talent, and then fill out the form.”
Leading the two out the door, he closed it behind them, seemingly unconcerned whether anyone else came to conduct business.
“Just talent testing, right? He also has an LV2 shooting level. Combined with his talent, the standard should be no problem, and there’s an entry bonus for Grade A talent, right?”
Tao Hu hastily pulled Tao Yu along as he followed.
“Haha, as you said, with the LV2 shooting level coupled with his talent, that should be enough to meet the shooting standards, so why test his strength? I’ll just fill it in for you later to save you the trouble of running around.”
Chen Yong’s face wore a smile, which was much warmer than before.
Before the test, Tao Yu was still thinking that if he couldn’t control it well and ended up with MAX Dynamic Vision again, he’d have to explain himself to Uncle Hu.
But this professional place was not the same as Uncle Hu’s casual tests.
Upon reaching a training-ground-like room and hearing about the talent and intensity to be tested, the operator smiled and casually operated a seemingly cumbersome machine in front of him, starting the test.
On a big-bottomed monitor, high-frequency pattern changes appeared continuously, and Tao Yu had three chances to call out the correct sequence; reaching the overall margin of error or getting it completely right on any single attempt counted as passing.
And, of course, there were no surprises in this assessment.
“Indeed it’s Grade A, and he got all of them right three times. Among Grade A talents, that’s pretty good, maybe even close to A+.”
Chen Yong’s face beamed with a smile. Even within the same grade, talents have differences—it’s not a fixed number. Performance, condition, environment, among others, also play a huge role, which is why the test allowed for some fluctuation.
“Thank you, Uncle Chen.”
Tao Yu was also on his best behavior next to him. Uncle Hu was right, once one’s own value is shown—if there’s no conflict of interest—the attitudes of those around tend to be mostly kind!
Arrogant Inner City youths like Wino were relatively rare in the Outer City.
“Thank me for what? Can I call you Ayu? Do you have a girlfriend? Want me to introduce you to some girls to meet?”
“Ah, I want to focus on improving my strength first. After all, the points for cannon fodder aren’t so urgent; there’s no rush.”
Tao Yu hastily waved his hands in refusal.
Frankly speaking, with the nourishment from Blood Orchid, this body had already become very strong. His Qi-Blood was vigorous, and his orientation was quite normal. When he relaxed, he even had some wild thoughts.
Occasionally scenes and content from videos in his past life would spring to mind.
But considering the hard-weathered faces common in the Outer City, Tao Yu quickly suppressed his thoughts.
Moreover, he truly did believe that enhancing his strength was the top priority at the moment and didn’t want to waste time or energy.
“Haha, that’s right. Young people with potential are usually very choosy.”
Chen Yong’s face was full of smiles, not at all offended by Tao Yu’s rejection. Being persistently annoying could cause a backlash, which would be foolish, wouldn’t it?
However, as Chen Yong began filling out some application forms, he expressed surprise,
“Wait, you’re a Pioneer of the new Development Zone?”
The first batch from the new gathering area had just come back, and Chen Yong initially hadn’t realized that Tao Yu was among them.
Choosing the ‘partner’ model at a time when talent was urgently needed?
After thinking it over, Chen Yong fell silent for a moment, then smiled and said,
“With Captain Tao Hu as a reference and making this choice, it shows careful consideration, which is great. You know how to weigh your options. Children from the Outer City mature earlier psychologically.”
Chen Yong was somewhat moved as he finished the last signature and stamped the document.
He also searched for a certificate case labeled ‘Junior Partner,’ mounted one of them inside, and took out a handbook to hand over to Tao Yu together with it.
“Congratulations, you are now officially a partner of the company.”
After saying this, he paused before continuing,
“Your decision to stay away from the vortex at the beginning is understandable. Every day for these past ten-plus days, Inner City youths are entering the new Development Zone. Not many among that number of people have a talent comparable to yours, but their cumulative experience is much greater.”
Seeing Tao Yu’s earnest demeanor, he went on,
“It’s good to step away from the core of the vortex first. A lot of the folks from the Inner City are arrogant, and the younger ones might not know their own strength. Once that side has been sorted out, and you return, the number of people wanting to win you over will definitely be more than those who fear you.”
This was also a kind-hearted reminder. If Tao Yu were just an ordinary young man with good talent, Chen Yong definitely would not have said so much.
But with a Grade A talent and being from the new gathering area—and knowing how to weigh his choices—he’d certainly be able to make it to a mid-level position if he could survive.
“Thank you for the advice, Uncle Chen. I understand.”
Tao Yu looked at Chen Yong’s warm and kind expression, compared it with the attitude when he first came in, and the pride he’d seen in almost all the employees along the way, and he felt somewhat moved.
Picking up the ‘Junior Partner’ certificate, Tao Yu left with Tao Hu and noticed that the arrogance that seemed present on the faces of the passing employees along the way had disappeared.
It seemed as if their expressions had always been normal and had been augmented by the filter he had previously applied.
Or perhaps…
It was his own mentality that had changed…