Gao Qing looked up at him.
Lu Yuan said seriously, "I suspect that in the area where Zhou Ling and I encountered the Strong Divine Servant of the Crow God Sect last time, there are still people from the Crow God Sect active."
Gao Qing’s expression tightened slightly. "How did you find out?"
"I saw crows in that area again, ones that the Crow God Sect has bred and have been deformed by the evil force."
Hearing Lu Yuan’s answer, Gao Qing’s eyes instantly relaxed. She casually said, "They might have been left over from before... Fine, I’ll have someone go over and check later."
As she spoke, she suddenly changed the subject and said to Lu Yuan, "Usually, we handle things ourselves. You don’t need to worry about it. I suggest you spend your free time on more martial arts practice and seriously improve your strength. Don’t fail the New Blood Trials and embarrass both me and Zhou Ling."
Lu Yuan was silent for a moment, then earnestly replied, "Okay!"
Practice! I must practice hard! Today’s Imaginary Enemy in the consciousness battle can only be you, Gao Qing! No wimping out; we fight till dawn!
Lu Yuan had wanted to ask Gao Qing about Zhou Ling, but seeing her constantly looking at her phone, he decided against it.
He got up and left his seat.
Throughout, Gao Qing never looked up at him, nor did she say goodbye. Her fingers kept tapping her phone. The tablet where he had just filled in his information was casually set aside. It seemed she was genuinely busy; even having him fill out an application form was a task squeezed from her packed schedule.
Once Lu Yuan’s figure disappeared from the second floor of the coffee shop, Gao Qing, who had been engrossed in her phone, suddenly looked up. She quickly rose and walked over to the window overlooking the street.
When she saw Lu Yuan emerge from the coffee shop onto the bustling street, the tense expression she had maintained finally, gradually relaxed.
Gao Qing secretly clenched her fist, her eyes filled with an uncontainable, profound joy.
She hurried back to her seat, picked up the tablet Lu Yuan had just filled out, and slightly modified the parts she had entered. The main change was to the ’C’ in the "Potential Assessment" column.
Then, for the recommender column, she hesitated for a good while before finally... adding Zhou Ling’s name.
Whatever, whatever, Gao Qing sighed and muttered to herself. Hopefully, he won’t come trying to kill me after his transformation is complete. The reward for an S-grade New Blood isn’t low...
After modifying these two sections, she checked the entire application form again and clicked upload.
Only when she saw "Upload successful, added to database" did she breathe a sigh of relief.
This reward is in the bag. Even if Lu Yuan is discovered by other Yellow Bears later, they won’t be able to snatch him away. Who would have thought that by casually going on a couple of missions, I’d stumble upon an S-grade New Blood? Such good luck.
In a good mood, Gao Qing casually picked up the phone on the table.
She opened a chat app and tapped on a group chat at the very top named—[Have You Upgraded to Red Bear Today?].
The group chat had dozens of members, all White Bear Guards she was on relatively good terms with.
As soon as she entered the group chat, hundreds of chat messages scrolled up.
Upgrade to Red Bear Tomorrow: Damn it, a tiny little place actually hiding two Divine Servants! Almost got myself taken out.
When Can I Make It To B?: 666, how many casualties?
Wang’s Fist Is Rock Hard: Alright, it’s good you didn’t die. Old Zhou ran into a Strong Divine Servant some time ago and got his account wiped!
Handsomest in Group (Zhou Ling): Don’t kick a man when he’s down! Respawning...
Chat Disbanded by Owner: The Old Zhou now isn’t the same Old Zhou as before. An uploaded consciousness isn’t truly oneself, after all. Old Zhou, may you rest in peace (tapping a wooden fish).
Handsomest in Group (Zhou Ling): Shut up! No one will think you’re mute if you don’t talk!
Upgrade to Red Bear Tomorrow: Fortunately, only lost one partner, but my two legs were blown to bits, and the two hundred grams of Rainbow Steel in them went to waste (crying emoji).
When Can I Make It To B?: Never mind, Old Zhou’s legs weren’t blown off, but the Rainbow Steel on them couldn’t be recovered either (dog head emoji) @Miss Gao
Handsomest in Group (Zhou Ling): ...
Miss Gao was Gao Qing. Seeing the @mention, she couldn’t help but grind her teeth, wanting to diss ’When Can I Make It To B?’. But her mood was too good right now, so she decided to let it slide.
Continuing to scroll down, she suddenly saw a few people discussing recruitment, and her eyes lit up, her interest instantly piqued.
Wang’s Fist Is Rock Hard: Speaking of which, I got lucky on my last mission. Found a New Blood with A-grade potential and quickly pulled him in.
When Can I Make It To B?: 666! Enough talk, Boss Wang, hurry up and send a red packet! The reward for an A-grade New Blood is almost enough for you to get a new arm.
Wang’s Fist Is Rock Hard: Yep, I can finally arrange for that Titanium Extreme Steel Bone.
Handsomest in Group (Zhou Ling): Ho ho, what a coincidence. I also found a New Blood, A-grade too. Initial assessment was even A+.
Upgrade to Red Bear Tomorrow: ???
When Can I Make It To B?: ??? Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn novel·fiɾe·net
Chat Disbanded by Owner: ???
Gao Qing couldn’t help but want to laugh. Zhou Ling is probably gloating right now. He’d likely be crying when he finds out my name is also on the recommendation, splitting his reward in half. And then he’d probably be ecstatic once he learned Lu Yuan’s potential was actually S-grade. Just imagining his rapidly changing expressions is amusing.
Wang’s Fist Is Rock Hard: @Handsomest in Group, congrats, bro! But you’d better lower the initial assessment. The system for the New Blood Trials assessment has changed recently.
Handsomest in Group (Zhou Ling): ??? Why? When did it change? What did it change to?
Upgrade to Red Bear Tomorrow: I heard about it too. It’s gotten super tough.
When Can I Make It To B?: Details.
Handsomest in Group (Zhou Ling): Details.
Chat Disbanded by Owner: Details.
Gao Qing, seeing this, couldn’t help but pause, then also echoed with a "Details." message.
Then she saw a new message pop up.
Wang’s Fist Is Rock Hard: Because there were always people deliberately inflating initial assessments to boost the final overall grade, the rules for potential assessment and the assessment format for the New Blood Trials have both been revised. I haven’t asked about the specific format, but it’s said to be particularly brutal. Some time ago, Squad Eight scouted a Flying Bear-level New Blood with an S- initial assessment. But after the whole assessment process, the final grade didn’t even reach A-grade. Squad Eight’s leader not only didn’t get the reward but also had a quarter’s performance bonus docked and had to write a self-criticism report tens of thousands of words long. Truly miserable.
Upgrade to Red Bear Tomorrow: Right! If the initial grade is inflated too much compared to the final grade, the recommender gets heavily penalized! The Disciplinary Group is serious this time.
Wang’s Fist Is Rock Hard: Exactly. So, for this A-grade New Blood, I gave a B- initial assessment. Even if it drops to C, I won’t have to worry about penalties. Worst case, the reward is just smaller.
Handsomest in Group (Zhou Ling): Damn! Good thing I haven’t submitted the application form yet. I’ll change it to B too. Thanks, Old Wang.
Wang’s Fist Is Rock Hard: You’re welcome.
Gao Qing didn’t absorb any more of the idle chat that followed. She just sat at the table, phone in hand, stunned for a long moment.
The potential assessment system has changed? The content of the New Blood Trials has changed too? If the initial and final assessment results differ too much, bonuses will be docked, and there will be disciplinary action and a self-criticism report? Why didn’t anyone tell her? And the initial potential grade she’d given Lu Yuan was... S+!!! She had deliberately reported one grade higher!
Withdraw! Quickly, withdraw it!
Gao Qing snapped out of her daze and hurriedly picked up the tablet to make changes.
A long moment later, she sat at the desk, her expression utterly dejected.
It was over. This time, she had tried to be clever but ended up outsmarting herself...