157: Chapter 157 Okay, okay, she likes you, alright?

[Spirit: 716 points]

Gu Changming looked at the value on the panel, which had nearly doubled, and felt quite satisfied.

Five hundred points is the threshold for B-class; his Spirit attribute has now crossed it.

It's just that the other three attributes haven't caught up yet, so he is still considered C-class for now.

Moreover, those three are only half of his Mental Power... this development is indeed somewhat lopsided.

However, it's not a big problem.

With his experience from his previous life, he knows how to balance them to avoid losing control and turning into some kind of spiritual monster or a lunatic who has lost his mind due to excessive psionic energy.

With the eternal furnace and these "fuels," he doesn't have to worry about Mental Power at all, at least until he reaches S-class.

Therefore, the focus of his subsequent development must be on increasing those other three values.

After withdrawing his gaze from the personal panel, Gu Changming habitually looked up.

Sure enough, a second later, the sky was once again stained with the color of blood.

The "Organizer" behind the scenes once again used that familiar, malicious method to announce the time for the next round of the Assessment, giving them a full dose of intimidation.

Of course, this didn't scare Gu Changming.

Once the blood-red color faded, Gu Changming opened the message panel and sent a message to Su Wan.

Leaving silently after the task was completed seemed a bit impolite.

So, Gu Changming planned to say goodbye to her before he left.

...

In the central district of the Xinhuo Stronghold.

An area enclosed by a large open space, low buildings, and simple defensive works.

Inside an office in the central building of that area.

Su Wan sat in an office chair, flipping through the intelligence reports and spreadsheets compiled from below.

Her expression was somewhat pained; she felt like she was back at her old job again.

It was fortunate that her Mental Power had increased; otherwise, having so many trivial matters to deal with after finishing her main duties every day would have worn her down.

On the other side of the room, Lin Jianqiu was slumped ungracefully on a long sofa, her head tilted back, eyes staring at the ceiling, occasionally letting out long, meaningless syllables.

"Ah~... ah~"

At first, Su Wan could barely ignore it, but as the sound continued without any sign of stopping, she finally couldn't take it anymore.

Without even looking up, she reached into the pen holder on the edge of the desk, pulled out a pen, and flicked her wrist.

Whoosh!

The pen flew accurately across several meters and landed perfectly in Lin Jianqiu's open mouth.

Her class was Archer, after all; there was no way she could miss at this distance.

"Mmph!"

Lin Jianqiu bit the pen, then finally sat up straight, took the pen out of her mouth, and looked at Su Wan with a resentful expression.

"...Can you throw a cookie next time?"

Su Wan looked up, wanting to scold this useless person.

But before she could speak, a pale blue message box suddenly popped up in front of her.

Looking at the avatar of the person who sent the message, her attention was immediately drawn to it.

Seeing this, Lin Jianqiu's eyes lit up. She bounced off the sofa, walked over to the desk in a few steps, and asked with a smile.

"What's up? Now that the Assessment is over, did that Gu Changming finally deign to send a message?"

Su Wan ignored her. After replying with a few lines on the message panel, her body stiffened almost imperceptibly.

She looked up at Lin Jianqiu, her expression carrying a rare hint of helpless nervousness.

"Hmm?" Lin Jianqiu hummed.

"He said he's coming over," Su Wan finally said.

Hearing this, Lin Jianqiu was also stunned for a moment, and then a smile immediately broke out on her face.

"Let him come! Isn't that perfect? It's the perfect chance for him to see our current development with his own eyes! Maybe once he sees it, he'll be interested and willing to join us."

Yes.

She clearly hadn't given up on the idea of recruiting Gu Changming.

However, Su Wan's nervousness did not diminish; instead, she pursed her lips.

"Ah? But... we aren't exactly super powerful right now."

That was the source of her nervousness just now. Although outsiders called her Regiment Commander Su and she commanded a Battle Group of nearly a hundred people, making her a figure of note in the Xinhuo Stronghold.

However, she always felt that her little bit of foundation didn't seem like much in front of Gu Changming.

Gu Changming always gave her a feeling of being deep and unfathomable, someone beyond reach.

Hearing this, Lin Jianqiu immediately put on a stern face, leaned her hands on the edge of the desk, and began to lecture.

"Little Su! We have nearly a hundred D-Class Ability Users under our command! This combat power, if placed in another Stronghold, could directly take it over! How could he look down on that?"

Su Wan thought about it and finally nodded gently. "I suppose you're right."

Even though she said that, her fingers curled unconsciously, and she still lacked confidence.

But soon, her lack of confidence was distracted by something else.

"Little Su?" Su Wan suddenly squinted her eyes and looked over.

Lin Jianqiu gave a sheepish smile and stepped back.

Thwack! Su Wan directly knocked her on the head with a fist. "Don't be so informal, call me Sister Su!"

...

In the open space within the area, the sun shone directly down, making the training ground quite hot.

Two men wearing full metal armor and holding training greatswords were sparring.

The heavy blades collided with a dull thud, and their footsteps made a rustling sound on the ground.

After another clash, the man with the buzz cut suddenly stepped back and raised his hand in a pause gesture.

"Hold on, hold on a second."

"What's wrong? You can't take it after just a few hits? Why are you so weak?"

His dark-skinned companion also stopped, propped his sword on the ground, and teased.

The buzz-cut man ignored his teasing, took a few breaths, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and then spoke:

"I just suddenly remembered something."

"What is it?" The dark-skinned man raised an eyebrow.

"Yesterday... wasn't I unlucky and got chosen by the curse?"

"Yeah, I know. Didn't the Commander take you out to handle it?" the other party nodded.

"Right, it was handled, and the curse was transferred away." The buzz-cut man paused, his tone suddenly becoming a bit ethereal. "When we came back, the Commander specifically asked me if I felt unwell or if there was anything unusual."

"And then?"

"And then before I left, she even called me by my name." The buzz-cut man's eyes lit up. "She said: 'Your name is Wang Sheng, right? Your swordsmanship is quite good, keep training hard.'"

"..."

At these words, the dark-skinned man looked over with a speechless expression.

Seeing that his companion didn't speak, Wang Sheng looked over impatiently, a hint of expectation in his eyes.

"Do you think... is there a possibility... or is it just my imagination?" His tone carried a hint of uncertainty, yet also a hint of excitement.

"Fine, fine, fine, you're right." The dark-skinned man waved his hand and said perfunctorily, "The Commander just likes you, okay? Have you rested enough? Keep practicing, stop dawdling."

Seeing how perfunctory his companion was, Wang Sheng also got a bit anxious.

"Hey, listen to me..."