Chapter 112: Evaluation Points

Chen Chuan felt a stir and raised his head. “Why?”

“The case files I looked through aren’t just from Yangzhi City’s Martial Valor University branch, but all the branches in the prefecture. I read through all the information available about the recommended students who were qualified to go to Central City.

“The information you gave me was correct. All the recommended students only get a Class C permit when they qualify for the review.

“I then dug around a little more to look for information about the students who were recommended by the branches but were disqualified. Over the past decade or so, there were commoners who managed to get Class B permits, but none of them passed the review. They either pulled out their applications or failed the review.

“I won’t touch on those who pulled out, but if they failed even with a Class B permit, then the standards of the review aren’t as simple as they seem.”

He then stopped talking for a moment, as if he was waiting for Chen Chuan to digest all that he had said.

Chen Chuan pondered over it for a moment before saying, “Go on.”

“So, I looked around and found something worth paying attention to. There’s one clear difference between the ones who failed and those who passed—the evaluation points from the Department of Administrative Affairs.

“Practically all the commoners who were recommended but were disqualified had their evaluation points from the Resolution Department, while the recommended students had evaluation points from other departments. Sometimes, they even had evaluation points from two departments.

“Figured something out yet, cuz?”

Chen Chuan thought about it. “Sounds like the evaluation points from the governmental departments hold a lot of weight in the review.”

“That’s exactly it. The recommended students have the skill and money to get evaluation points from various governmental departments. Regardless of whether they had an exchange of benefits or received external help, they did missions that brought benefits to those departments.

“In contrast, the evaluation points from the Resolution Department are mostly about the students’ discipline, compliance, and test results. Most of the points are also given by members of the university itself. So, they don’t mean as much.”

Chen Chuan nodded at that. Cheng Zitong had also suggested that he did not get evaluation points from the Resolution Department, because those points did not hold much weight. It seemed like the review board from the main campus had the same thought process.

Gao Ming continued, “Aside from that, I noticed something more noteworthy: while the recommended students only had a Class C permit in the beginning, many of them got a Class B permit during the first year after they graduated. After some rough calculations, I found that more than seventy percent of them did that.

“According to what you said, the Class B permit test is quite dangerous, so the recommended students didn’t take the risk to sit for it, but there should be a limit to how dangerous the test can be. From the data I have, after the recommended students graduated, they were strong enough to take it.

“So, if we compare them side-by-side, since the commoners can get their Class B permit in their senior year, the difference in strength between the two sides isn’t that great on paper. I’d even say that they’re almost at the same level. If I were part of the review board, I wouldn’t think that there’s much of a difference between the two. Even if there were, it wouldn’t be hard for the recommended students to catch up.

“If we factor in the weight of the evaluation points from one or two governmental departments that are not the Resolution Department and if the recommended student is capable enough to influence the decisions of the review board, then there’s practically no need to think anymore. It’s only logical that the review board would pick the recommended student instead of the commoner.”

Gao Ming’s voice faded away as he started flipping through some papers. Chen Chuan could sense that he was looking for something. Then, his voice became louder again.

“I saw one old case file that I’m sure you’d be interested in. On the seventy-eighth year of the Development and Order Era, which was fifteen years ago, a commoner from the branch campus in Dongliang City qualified to go to Central City.”

Upon hearing that, a flicker of emotion appeared in Chen Chuan’s eyes.

Gao Ming continued, “It took some effort on my part, but I managed to find the records from back then. His evaluation points were also from the Resolution Department, so he was no different from the other commoners who were disqualified. The only difference... was that he got his Class B permit during his freshman year!”

Chen Chuan could detect excitement in his voice for having found what he was looking for.

“I believe we can assume that getting the Class B permit during your freshman and senior year is completely different in the eyes of the review board. I’m not saying that this is absolutely the case, but with a precedent, we might be able to use it as a reference and copy it?”

Chen Chuan mulled over that possibility before asking, “Can you get more information about that student?”

While the person appeared to be a commoner who succeeded, he might have an unknown background. From the looks of it, he was the only successful case, so they could not come to a conclusion just yet.

“That’s the next step of my investigation, but it’ll take time. Since he went to Central City, it’ll be hard for me to find a lot of information about him. I’ll contact you the moment I have anything,” Gao Ming promised.

Chen Chuan nodded. “Sorry for the trouble, Gao Ming.”

“It’s nothing. Since I took on your case, it’s my problem too. Still, based on these examples, the evaluation points from the governmental departments are really important. If you can get evaluation points from more departments, you’ll have a higher chance of getting recommended, and if you have a Class B permit to boot, you’ll win against those recommended students on paper.”

“That’s true, but it’s hard to get evaluation points from the other departments,” Chen Chuan said.

The Constabulary was not the only department that was a clique of its own. The other governmental departments were the same. Unless they were offered an ample amount of benefits, they were not going to make an exception for an outsider.

If Chen Chuan were not related to Nian Fuli, he would have never gotten those evaluation points from the Constabulary, even if he took down Fang Dawei and his gang.

“It’s hard, yes, but not impossible. The directors of the respective departments are the ones calling the shots. If they make an exception, it’ll be possible for you to get those evaluation points.” He cackled. “Mi Law Firm is quite large, and I have plenty of lawsuits and clues with me. You can take care of supernatural-related missions, right?”

“That depends on what supernatural creatures we’re talking about,” Chen Chuan answered. While other people called him an expert in the supernatural, he did not believe himself to be one. He was only able to take down those creatures because of Cheng Zitong’s help.

“I have a case that might help us. There’s a lot to it, though, so I can’t tell you everything on the phone. I’ll mail the information to you later. Take a look at it when you can,” Gao Ming said.

“Alright. Thanks, Gao Ming.”

“No need for that, cuz. The cases I took on before could all be dealt with according to procedure, and they weren’t hard at all. This sort of challenge is just what I want,” Gao Ming said and hung up.

Chen Chuan set down the phone receiver and fell into contemplative silence. If Gao Ming’s assumptions were correct, he might need to get the Class B permit while he was still a freshman.

Setting aside whether he would be able to do it, he would definitely have to face external pressure once he did, just like Shen Zheng, who almost immediately got killed.

So, even if Chen Chuan decided to get the Class B permit, he could not proceed with it until he figured out how he was going to face that pressure. Shen Zheng had only faced that pressure during his senior year when his strength and ability to protect himself were vastly different.

Either way, Chen Chuan would not back down. He had chosen to go down this route, so he was going to talk to Cheng Zitong and see what his mentor thought about it.

***

In a villa in the affluent Quanzhou District located in the southern part of the city, a well-built, tall young man had his body tilted back and his hands forming a circle while he maintained a strange stance.

Around half an hour later, he resumed a normal stance as sweat poured down on the floor.

His butler walked over and respectfully handed a towel to him. “The hot water is ready, Young Master.”

“Did Mr. Tan send a reply?” the young man asked.

“Mr. Tan said that he needs to take care of some matters and will be back later,” the butler answered.

The young man clicked his tongue in clear displeasure.

Some lecturer had beaten up Tan Wang in front of other lecturers on campus, which was both humiliating and disgraceful, so he left the university in a hurry. He said that he was going back to Central City to take care of some matters. The young man believed that he had gone back to repair his implant or think of some way to get stronger.

But the young man had paid good money for him to teach him, so he should be doing his job instead of busying himself with other things. He wouldn’t have suffered such great embarrassment if he had just stuck to his task. Even if they overlooked that, what was with him running back while leaving him here?

If the young man’s family hadn’t pulled strings and spent so much money to hire Tan Wang and if the young man hadn’t learned Tan Wang’s secret technique and couldn’t stop halfway through, he would have wanted a change of mentors.

Just then, the phone rang. The butler went over to answer the call and whispered, “It’s a phone call from that place, Young Master.”

The young man walked over and said, “It’s me, Wei Jun.”

A nasally female voice replied to him. “The deed is done, Young Master Wei. Did you hear the news? It’s fine if you haven’t. Soon, two clerks from the Water Management Department will go missing while investigating the source of the water pollution in a factory.

“You will need to take up the mission sent by the Water Management Department, find their bodies, and the prepared evidence of the pollution. It’d be best if you did the mission yourself, because someone from the main campus will be coming to verify whether you really did the mission. Once you’re done with the factory, the Water Management Department will give you evaluation points.”

“Do you own the factory?” Wei Jun asked.

“Of course not. That factory has been around for years, but no one has ever bothered to target it. You paid enough money to open up three factories, so anyone would know what to do at this point. Once the main campus is done with the review, they can open up for business again.

“The factory workers don’t know about this and will definitely try to protect themselves. Please be sure to handle them properly. One extra note: the factory has a pretty capable security team.”

“Is that so? Good. I’ve been in a bad mood lately,” Wei Jun said.

“Then, I hope that you have fun during your hunt. By the way, once the deed is done, please don’t forget to pay the balance.” She hung up.

Wei Jun huffed, displeased that she hung up on him. Then, with a hint of excitement, he said, “Lao Feng, get my weapon, protective gear, and car ready!”