After the Tuotu sedan drove out of the old camp, it soon merged onto the boulevard. Chen Chuan looked back and said, "That place looked like it used to be a military camp?"
Wei Chang'an said, "Spot on. It's an outpost left behind from the Great Expansion. Fatty Guo took it over, and nobody bothers managing it now. Most of the Blood Mark Gang's bosses huddle together in the city; Fatty Guo's just about the only one who doesn't get along with the rest of the gang and prefers kicking around outside the city."
Chen Chuan pondered this. Chou Huzi's illicit drugs all came from Center City, and the National Boulevard here ran straight to Center City. To say there was no connection between the two would convince no one.
Wei Chang'an said, "Not bad, junior. Clean and decisive! That kick, tsk tsk—to tell the truth, even your Brother Wei might not have held up against it. Don't worry, your Brother Wei will record everything honestly. If I don't give you an 'Excellent' on your academic evaluation, I'm not fit to call myself human."
Chen Chuan thought for a moment, then asked, "Brother Wei, earlier you mentioned that with high enough evaluations we can get licenses. What's this about getting licenses? How come I didn't see it in the enrollment guide?"
Wei Chang'an said, "Ah, that. That's originally your advisor's job to explain, but I'll give you a heads-up. You saw how every member of the Blood Mark Gang was armed, right? But did you ever wonder why we came here today without bringing anything?
"For me, it's because I showed up as a commissioner today, so it wasn't appropriate to carry weapons. And the reason I didn't find you a piece is that Wuyi students generally aren't allowed to carry weapons outside. You have to test for a weapons license. Once you have that, you can legally carry weapons anywhere, including small-caliber pistols and rifles. Though firearms are strictly regulated and you have to report every time you use them, which is a major hassle, carrying cold weapons is no problem at all.
"This license can only be tested for in martial colleges, and once you get it, it's valid for life. It's recognized not just in our Republic of Great Shun, but worldwide.
"Although some local places also allow people to carry weapons, those are only valid locally. Once you leave the jurisdiction, unless you arrange it in advance and get a temporary permit with a time limit, carrying them isn't allowed. And there are all sorts of other entanglements involved—a massive headache.
"Besides that, there are many other useful licenses that rely on these commissioned assignments to boost your evaluation. For example, the 'armor license.' That one's even harder to get. It allows you to wear protective clothing of specified grades—by then, ordinary firearms will be practically useless against you.
"There's a saying: 'Armed and armored, free of all restraint.' It means that once combatants like us are equipped with weapons and armor, there's hardly any conventional way to keep us in check."
Chen Chuan thought to himself that getting a weapons license, or even an armor license, would indeed be great. It would drastically improve his chances of survival. If nothing else, with the protection of protective clothing, pebbles like the one that had taken his predecessor's life would pose far less of a threat to him.
He asked, "Are there many outsourced missions like this? With so many students at Wuyi every year, couldn't they handle practically anything?"
Wei Chang'an glanced at Chen Chuan. "Junior, you still don't understand your current status. You'd better get used to it soon. Who do you think the students who pass the re-examination are? By the way, have you toured the academy? You know that Combat Arena, right? Right behind the grand auditorium, in a straight line."
Chen Chuan said, "I took a glance at it. Very nice, and quite large."
Wei Chang'an said, "That Combat Arena was built five years ago with massive funds donated by various parties. It can accommodate two thousand students competing in ring matches at once. But that's the stage for Class B students. In the future, they'll win honor and fame through ring matches and martial competitions, becoming celebrity fighters, or serve as security personnel for various departments.
"And what about us? What the higher-ups want us to do is manage and restrain them, suppress them when necessary, and serve as the cornerstones maintaining the stability of this nation and even the world. That's why only we Class A students can take on those outsourced missions and earn those licenses!"
He smiled. "Of course, if you have the ambition to pursue advanced studies, you can continue your education at the school and become an instructor. Then you might have a chance to be recommended to the main campus to study more advanced martial knowledge. As long as you're outstanding enough, you might even have a chance to enter Center City."
Chen Chuan asked, "Since the higher-ups are so wary of martial students, why do they keep expanding enrollment every year?"
Wei Chang'an said, "It's the general trend." He glanced at the rearview mirror, made a turn, and smiled. "You'll understand in the future."
Seeing him speak in riddles, Chen Chuan didn't press further. Instead, he asked, "Speaking of Center City, Brother Wei, does our Wuyi have any teachers from Center City?"
"Yes, but they only teach recommended students. And it's not just any recommended student—they only teach those who are truly qualified and talented. Besides, this teacher doesn't stay long each year; we almost never see them.
"Why? Interested in Center City? I understand. Your Brother Wei has thought about it too, but... it's hard! The annual recommendation slots are handed down by the college leadership, and most are picked from among the recommended students. Still, having dreams is always a good thing. But remember..."
He slowed the car down slightly, turned his head, and said solemnly, "There are strict boundaries between students at the school. What tier of student does what kind of thing and achieves what kind of accomplishment. Recommended students do recommended students' things; Class A students do Class A students' things. You must abide by the rules. Never overstep the line. That's how you avoid making mistakes. Otherwise..."
At this point, a touch of melancholy entered his eyes. Shaking his head, he said, "Just remember these words."
Chen Chuan didn't ask further.
Wei Chang'an drove the car straight to the Yangzhi City Constabulary Headquarters located in Ding'an District. Hauling Chou Huzi out, he took him inside. After a while, he returned to the car and handed three forms to Chen Chuan. "Here, sign here. Sign all three." Chen Chuan took them and saw that it was a commission closing report.
On it, today's events were described in detail and laid out clearly, detailing what each of the two had done in an objective manner.
In the executor column at the bottom, Wei Chang'an's signature was in front, with a blank space left behind it.
After reading through it, Chen Chuan picked up a pen and signed his name in the blank space.
Wei Chang'an waited until he finished signing, took the forms, and headed back into the constabulary. He returned shortly and handed him a stamped copy. "Alright, keep this copy for yourself. Keep it safe. The constabulary will send a copy to the school as an attachment, which guarantees an addition to your academic evaluation later. Right, remember to get a personal seal made later, and open a private account when you have time. I'll wire you the money then, so you don't have to make another trip."
Chen Chuan folded the form, tucked it away, and said with a smile, "What, we get paid too?"
Wei Chang'an laughed. "You didn't think you were working for free, did you? Any commissioned mission comes with pay. Why else do you think your Brother Wei brought you along? As for how much, anyway, you won't be shortchanged. By the way, it's almost noon. How about Brother Wei takes you to a good place for a meal, and then I'll drop you back at school this afternoon?"
Chen Chuan said, "Don't trouble yourself, Brother Wei. School starts today, so I'd better head back early and eat at the Wuyi cafeteria."
"Fair enough."
Wei Chang'an drove all the way to the men's dormitory building of Wuyi College to drop Chen Chuan off. "Brother Wei will leave you here."
Chen Chuan unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the door, stepped out, and took his suitcase in hand. Looking back, he called, "Brother Wei."
"Hmm?" Wei Chang'an was bending over to inspect the mud splatters on the car body when he looked up.
Chen Chuan smiled and said, "Throw away that mop Captain Wei hid." With that, he turned and walked into the building.
Wei Chang'an's expression stiffened, then broke into a smile. "This kid." Shaking his head, he got back into the car, backed up, drove away, and arrived at the administrative office building.
After getting out of the car, he went straight up to the fifth floor, navigated familiarly to the Admissions Preparation Office, and knocked on the door. Behind the desk, Bian Feng glanced up. "Come in."
Wei Chang'an walked in and placed the written report on the desk.
Bian Feng picked it up and asked, "All settled?"
"Settled, Teacher Bian. This kid is really something," Wei Chang'an couldn't help praising. "But why assign him a mission on the very first day of school? What's the rush? Don't tell me it was just because this matter involved him."
Bian Feng read through the report, put it down, and looked up. "Just in case. If today passed and someone freed up their hands, they might hold him back under all kinds of pretexts. Then he'd be stuck huddled inside the school for a semester or half a semester, unable to go anywhere." He shook the paper in his hand. "With this on record, things are much better. We can give him far more support."
Wei Chang'an understood.
When assigning missions, clients usually demanded that cooperating students have a track record and experience. Without that, no one would choose you.
One had to realize that there were plenty of students in the same class; if someone got a step ahead of you, you'd fall behind at every turn. It wasn't hard to manipulate things either—someone could make up an excuse to stall you, and you wouldn't even have any grounds to complain.
When others advanced, you could only watch helplessly from behind.
Moreover, he saw the deeper intention of the school administration. The more frequently a student dealt with departments under the Civil Affairs Department and various clients, the more outstanding their resume became, the greater the returns, and the easier it was to secure scholarships. That made it much harder for anyone to manipulate them financially.
If one had a high mission success rate, all sides would try to win them over and court them—after all, nobody had a grudge against money. Combined with the school's backing, a network of connections would spread both inside and outside the academy. These invisible assets could be an enormous help at times; even if someone wanted to make a move against them, they would have to think twice.
Thinking of this, his tone turned serious. "Chen Chuan is ultimately from a constabulary family. Teacher Bian, promise me you won't push him into that position. What happened two years ago... I truly don't want to see that play out again."
Bian Feng fell silent for a moment before saying, "We all learned our lesson from the mistake two years ago. It won't happen again."
Chapter 38