Evaluations

Chen Chuan's interest was piqued. Raising his head slightly, he asked, "What's your reasoning?" Gao Ming's clear voice came through the receiver. "I looked through these old archives—not just for the Yangzhi Wuyi Branch, but from other Wuyi branches across the circuit as well. I skimmed through pretty much all the publicly accessible information on the recommended students who went to Center City each year. "The information you provided was spot on, Cousin. Without exception, when the time came for the recommendation review, most of those recommended students held only a Grade C defense license. "Then I looked into the other students who were recommended by the academies but got eliminated. It took some effort, but I found out that over the past dozen or so years, there were indeed recommended commoner students from the same cohorts who held Grade B licenses. Yet they still lost out to those recommended students. In the end, they either withdrew voluntarily or failed to pass the higher-ups' review. "The voluntary withdrawals speak for themselves, but failing the review proves that the criteria for judgment are definitely not so simple." At this point, he paused, seemingly waiting for Chen Chuan to digest the information. Chen Chuan turned the thought over in his mind and said, "Go on." "So I dug a little deeper and noticed a noteworthy point. There is actually a glaring difference between the two groups: the evaluations issued by government departments. "Those commoner students who were recommended up the chain only to be rejected received departmental evaluations almost exclusively from the Disposal Bureau. Recommended students, on the other hand, were different. They held evaluations from other departments—sometimes more than one, or even two. "Can you guess what that implies, Cousin?" Chen Chuan pondered for a moment. "It seems that among the review criteria, recommendations from government departments carry a very heavy weight." "Exactly. Because recommended students have influence and connections, they can secure evaluations from other government departments. Whether through trade-offs or outside favors, the fact remains that they performed verifiable commissions that benefited those departments. "The evaluations given by the Disposal Bureau, however, speak at most to discipline, obedience, and academic performance. They're almost entirely internal matters. In comparison, they offer no real advantage." Chen Chuan nodded to himself. Cheng Zitong had advised him against relying on an evaluation from the Disposal Bureau because it carried too little weight. It seemed the higher-ups in charge of the review viewed it the same way. Gao Ming continued, "Aside from that, I found another notable detail: although those recommended students held only Grade C licenses, many went on to test for a Grade B license in their first year after graduation. According to rough statistics, they make up over seventy percent of the total. "Going by what you told me, Cousin, obtaining a Grade B license involves a certain degree of danger. That's why those recommended students didn't risk testing for it right away. But that danger clearly has its limits. The data shows that once they graduate, they have more than enough ability to handle it. "Looking at it from a side-by-side comparison, if a commoner student earns a Grade B license in their third year, the gap in actual strength between the two sides isn't that large—in fact, they are quite close. If I were a reviewer, I wouldn't see much of a difference between them. Even if there were one, it wouldn't be hard to close. "Factoring in the weight of recommendations from one or two government departments, and assuming the recommended students have a bit of pull to sway the reviewers above, it's practically an open-and-shut case. That outcome becomes inevitable." Here, his voice dropped slightly, accompanied by the rustle of turning pages. Chen Chuan could picture him looking down to flip through documents. Then his voice rose a notch higher than before: "Cousin, while flipping through these files, I stumbled upon an old record you'll definitely be interested in. It dates back to the seventy-eighth year of Jianzhi—fifteen years ago. A commoner student from the Dongliang City Branch qualified for a recommendation to Center City." Chen Chuan's eyes flickered with interest. Gao Ming pressed on, "I spent quite a bit of effort digging up the record from back then. According to the file, his government departmental evaluation also came from the Disposal Bureau. He seemed no different from all the others who were rejected by the review board. The only difference... was that he obtained his Grade B defense license in his very first year!" His voice rose higher still, tinged with the thrill of discovering a breakthrough. "Doesn't that imply that earning a Grade B license in the first year is viewed completely differently by the review board than earning it in the third year? I can't say for certain, but with this precedent, couldn't we take it as a reference and replicate it?" Chen Chuan fell into contemplation. "Can you find out more about this student?" Even with this precedent, and even though the person had ostensibly come from a commoner background, it was hard to say whether there had been hidden connections involved. Moreover, it was currently just a single isolated case; one couldn't draw definitive conclusions from it. "That's my next step, Cousin," Gao Ming said. "But it will take time. If this person went to Center City, many records might be hard to trace. I'll let you know as soon as I have results." Chen Chuan nodded. "Thanks for your hard work, Gao Ming." "Don't mention it. Since I took on the job, it's what I have to do. But Cousin, judging from these cases, departmental evaluations are crucial. If you can secure more of them, you'll have solid backing. Combined with a Grade B license, you'll completely outshine those recommended students on paper." "The logic is sound," Chen Chuan said, "but securing evaluations from other departments will be extremely difficult." It wasn't just the constabulary that closed ranks; which government department didn't? Without sufficient benefit, none of them would casually open a door for an outsider. If not for his background as a son of the constabulary, anyone else who took down Fang Dawei's gang wouldn't have stood a chance of receiving a recommendation evaluation. "It is difficult, but not impossible," Gao Ming said. "Every department is ultimately run by the person in charge. As long as that person gives the nod, it can be done." He gave a sudden chuckle. "The Mi Firm where I work is a large practice. I have plenty of case files and leads in my hands... By the way, Cousin, you can handle urban legend affairs, right?" "That depends on what it is," Chen Chuan replied. Others called him an expert in dealing with urban legends, but he didn't see himself that way; his success had largely depended on the guidance of his instructor, Cheng Zitong. Gao Ming said, "I have a case file that might be able to help us. There's too much detail to explain over the phone. I'll mail the materials to you shortly, Cousin. Take a look at them first." "Alright. Thank you, Gao Ming." "No trouble at all, Cousin. My previous cases were just routine work, nothing challenging. This kind of test is exactly what I've been looking for." With that, Gao Ming hung up. Chen Chuan set down the receiver, his thoughts turning over the possibilities. If Gao Ming's assessment was correct, he might need to earn a Grade B license during his first year. Setting aside whether he could pull it off, even if he succeeded, he would inevitably face external pressure. Just look at Shen Zheng—almost immediately after obtaining his unlimited defense license, he had met with disaster. Therefore, even if he decided to take this path, he had to plan ahead for how to confront that outside pressure. At least Shen Zheng had faced it in his third year; in terms of martial prowess and self-preservation, a third-year was entirely different from a first-year. Yet if this was truly how things worked, when the time came to fight for it, he wouldn't back down. Still, before committing, he needed to consult Cheng Zitong and see what the man advised. *** Meanwhile, in a villa within a wealthy neighborhood of Quanzhou District in the southern part of the city, a tall young man was leaning backward with his hands curved in an arc, maintaining a bizarre stake stance. Roughly half an hour later, he finally returned to an upright standing posture, letting the sweat pour freely down his body onto the floor. A butler stepped forward immediately, respectfully offering him a towel. "Young Master, the hot water is ready." The young man asked, "Has there been any reply from Teacher Tan?" "Mr. Tan said he still has matters to handle and will likely return a bit later," the butler replied. The young man clicked his tongue, his face dripping with dissatisfaction. He knew Tan Wang had been thoroughly beaten in front of many instructors at the academy, making such a humiliating spectacle of himself that he couldn't show his face. That was why he had hurriedly fled the school, claiming shortly afterward that he needed to make a trip back to Center City. In all likelihood, Tan Wang had gone back to maintain and repair his implants or find some way to boost his strength. Still, money had been paid. Having taken the money, the man was supposed to teach him properly instead of running off to fool around. If Tan Wang hadn't been so distracted, he wouldn't have embarrassed himself so badly in the first place. Setting all that aside, what kind of behavior was it to ditch his student here and run off? If not for the fact that his family had pulled strings and spent a fortune to hire Tan Wang, and that he was currently learning the man's secret techniques and couldn't afford to stop halfway, he would have replaced him long ago. Just then, a telephone rang behind him. The butler went over to answer it, then said in a low voice, "Young Master, it's a call from that side." The young man walked over and spoke into the receiver. "Hello. Wei Jun speaking." A slightly nasal female voice came from the other end. "Young Master Wei, the matter has been arranged. 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 certain factory for contaminating the water supply. "All you need to do next, Young Master Wei, is accept the commission from the Water Affairs Bureau, find the two bodies, and retrieve the pre-planted evidence of pollution. It would be best for you to handle this in person, as higher-ups will certainly come to inspect and verify everything. Once the factory is dealt with, the Water Affairs Bureau will grant you a recommendation evaluation afterward." Wei Jun asked, "Is that factory yours?" "Of course not. The factory was always there; people just left it alone until now. But after all, you offered such a handsome price, Young Master Wei. The money you gave is enough to open three more factories. Anyone would know how to choose. Once the higher-ups finish their investigation, they can simply reopen it. "Mind you, none of the people in the factory know what's going on. They will definitely fight to protect their livelihood, so you'd better handle it cleanly, Young Master Wei. As a word of caution, that factory also has a fairly competent security team." Wei Jun sneered. "Is that so? Just as well—I've been in a foul mood lately." "Then I wish you a pleasant hunt, Young Master Wei. Oh, and once it's done, don't forget the final payment." With that, the line clicked dead. Wei Jun grunted in annoyance at her hanging up first, but then a trace of excitement crossed his features. "Old Feng, get my weapons, protective suit, and vehicle ready!"