Celestial Human Diagram-Chapter 124 - 112: Evaluation

Chen Chuan’s thoughts stirred. He lifted his head and asked, "And the reason?"

Gao Ming’s voice came through clearly. "I’ve been going through these old archives. They cover not only the Yangzhi Wuyi Branch but also other Wuyi Branches in the Prefecture Path. I’ve read through pretty much all the publicly available information on the Recommended Students who go to Central City each year.

Cousin, the information you gave me was correct. The vast majority of Recommended Students, by the time their recommendation is reviewed, only have a Class C Defense Certificate. There are no exceptions.

I then looked into the other students who were recommended by the academy but ultimately eliminated. It took some effort to find their records. Over the past decade, there have been recommended commoner students from the same cohorts who obtained a B Certificate. But they still couldn’t compete against the Recommended Students. In the end, they either withdrew on their own or failed the higher-ups’ review.

Those who withdrew voluntarily are one thing, but failing the review... that proves the evaluation criteria are far from simple."

He paused here, seeming to wait for Chen Chuan to digest the information.

Chen Chuan processed this, then said, "Keep talking."

"So I did some more digging and found something noteworthy. There’s actually a significant difference between the two groups: their evaluations from the Administrative Affairs Departments.

The commoner students who were recommended but then eliminated almost always had their administrative evaluations come solely from the Processing Bureau. But it’s different for the Recommended Students. They have evaluations from other departments—sometimes more than one, even two.

Cousin, what does that tell you?"

Chen Chuan thought for a moment. "It seems the weight of recommendations from Administrative Affairs Departments is also very high in the review criteria."

"Yes, that’s it. The Recommended Students have Energy, which allows them to get evaluations from other Administrative Affairs Departments. It doesn’t matter if it’s an exchange of favors or help from outside connections. The fact is, they completed verifiable commissions and brought benefits to those departments.

Meanwhile, the evaluations from the Processing Bureau are mostly based on internal metrics like discipline, obedience, and performance. Comparatively, they don’t hold much of an advantage."

Chen Chuan nodded as well. Cheng Zitong had told him not to rely on an evaluation from the Processing Bureau because it wasn’t worth much. It seemed the Upper Layer’s review board saw it the same way.

Gao Ming continued, "Besides that, I found something else worth noting. Although those Recommended Students only have C Certificates, many of them go on to test for the B Certificate in their first year after graduation. Based on a rough count, that’s over seventy percent of them.

From the information you gave me, Cousin, the B Certificate exam must be somewhat dangerous, which is why these Recommended Students don’t risk it at first. But this danger must have its limits. The data shows that by the time they graduate, the Recommended Students are capable enough to handle it.

So, in a side-by-side comparison, if a commoner student gets a B Certificate in their third year, the power gap between the two groups isn’t actually that large. In fact, it’s quite close. If I were a reviewer, I wouldn’t think there’s a huge difference. Even if there is, it wouldn’t be hard to close that gap.

Considering the added weight of one or two recommendations from Administrative Affairs Departments, and assuming the Recommended Students have a bit of Energy to influence the reviewers up top, then you barely need to think about it. The outcome is inevitable."

At this point, his voice lowered, accompanied by the sound of rustling pages. Chen Chuan could sense he was looking down and flipping through something. Then, his voice rose slightly:

"Cousin, while I was going through these things, I also found an old file you’ll definitely be interested in. It’s a record from the 78th Year of Jianzhi, fifteen years ago. A commoner student from the Dongliang City Branch earned a recommendation to Central City."

Hearing this, Chen Chuan’s gaze shifted slightly. He listened as Gao Ming continued, "It took some work, but I found the records from that year. According to this, his evaluation from the Administrative Affairs Department also came from the Processing Bureau. He seemed no different from the others who were rejected by the review board. The only difference... was that he obtained the Class B Defense Certificate in his first year!"

His voice rose again, tinged with the excitement of someone who’s found a new lead.

"Doesn’t this suggest that the review board views getting a B Certificate as a first-year completely differently than getting it as a third-year? I can’t say for certain, but with an example like this, shouldn’t we try to use it as a model and replicate it?"

Chen Chuan pondered for a moment before asking, "Can you find out more about this student?"

’Even though this example exists, and on the surface, he was also from a common background, it’s hard to say if he had some other backing. Besides, right now, this is just an isolated case. I can’t jump to conclusions.’

Gao Ming said, "Cousin, that’s my next step, but it will take time. If this person went to Central City, a lot of information will be hard to track down. I’ll notify you as soon as I have any results."

Chen Chuan nodded. "I’m sorry to trouble you, Gao Ming."

"It’s nothing. Since I took on this job, this is what I have to do. But Cousin, based on these examples, department evaluations are crucial. If you can get more of them, you’ll have a solid foundation. If you add a B Certificate on top of that, you’ll overwhelm the Recommended Students, at least on paper."

Chen Chuan said, "That makes sense, but getting evaluations from other departments will be extremely difficult."

’Forget the Patrol Bureau’s clannishness; which of those Administrative Affairs Departments isn’t the same? Without sufficient benefits on the table, they’d never open the door for an outsider. If it weren’t for my background as a disciple of the Patrol Bureau, someone else could have dealt with Fang Dawei’s group and not even dreamed of getting a recommendation.’

Gao Ming said, "It’s difficult, but not impossible. In every department, it’s the person in charge who calls the shots. So, as long as the head person agrees, it’s still possible."

He suddenly chuckled. "The Mi’s Office where I work is a major firm. I have a lot of case files and leads on hand... Hmm, Cousin, you can handle things related to weird tales, right?"

Chen Chuan replied, "That depends on the specifics." Others called him an expert on weird tales, but he didn’t see himself that way. His success was mainly thanks to the help of his teacher, Cheng Zitong.

Gao Ming said, "I have a case file here that might be able to help us. The details are a bit much to explain over the phone. I’ll send the documents to you later, Cousin. You can take a look first."

Chen Chuan said, "Okay. Thanks for your hard work, Gao Ming."

"It’s no trouble, Cousin. My previous cases were all routine, nothing difficult. This kind of challenge is exactly what I was looking for." After saying this, Gao Ming hung up.

Chen Chuan put down the receiver, his mind beginning to turn. ’Assuming Gao Ming’s judgment is correct, then I might need to get the B Certificate in my first year. Setting aside the question of whether I can even do it, if I succeed, I’m bound to face external pressure. Just look at Shen Zheng. He met with disaster almost immediately after getting the Unlimited Defense Certificate. So even if I decide to go through with it, I have to think ahead about how to handle that pressure. At least Shen Zheng faced it in his third year. His martial ability and self-preservation skills were on a completely different level than a first-year’s.

But if this is really how things are, I won’t shrink back when it’s time to fight for it. Still, even if I decide to do it, I need to discuss it with Cheng Zitong first and see what he suggests.’

Meanwhile, in a villa in a wealthy district of the South City Full Circle District, a tall young man was leaning back, his hands held like circles, maintaining a strange Pile Method stance.

About half an hour later, he returned to a normal standing posture, letting the sweat drip from his body onto the floor.

A butler immediately walked over, respectfully handing him a towel and saying, "Young Master, your hot water is ready."

The young man asked, "Have you heard back from Teacher Tan?"

The butler replied, "Mr. Tan said he still has some matters to attend to and will likely be back a little later."

The young man clicked his tongue, his face a mask of displeasure.

’I know Tan Wang was beaten up in front of many teachers at the academy, a total disgrace. He lost so much face that he hastily left the school. Not long ago, he said he was going back to Central City to handle some things. He’s probably going back to maintain and repair his Implant, or maybe to find a way to upgrade it.

But I paid him. Since I paid him, he should be teaching me properly, not running off to deal with other things. If he had, he wouldn’t have lost so much face in the first place. Even setting that aside, what’s the deal with him just running off and leaving me here?

If my family hadn’t pulled strings and paid a fortune to hire him, and if I wasn’t already learning his Secret Transmission techniques and unable to stop halfway, I would have already replaced him.’

Just then, a phone rang behind him. The butler answered it and said in a low voice, "Young Master, it’s a call from them."

The young man walked over. "Hello, this is Wei Jun."

A slightly nasal female voice came from the receiver: "Young Master Wei, we’ve taken care of the matter. 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 factory for water pollution.

What you need to do next, Young Master Wei, is accept the commission from the Water Affairs Bureau, find the two bodies, and locate the planted pollution evidence. It’s best if you show up in person during this process, because someone from above will definitely come to verify things. After the factory is dealt with, the Water Affairs Bureau will give you a recommendation evaluation."

Wei Jun asked, "Is that factory yours?"

"Of course not. That factory was already there; just that no one had bothered with it. But who could refuse the high price you offered, Young Master Wei? The money you paid is enough to open three new factories. I think anyone would know what choice to make. They can just reopen after the higher-ups are done with their investigation.

However, no one in the factory knows what’s going on. They will definitely try to protect themselves. You’d better handle this cleanly, Young Master Wei. And one more thing—that factory also has a rather capable security team."

Wei Jun said, "Is that so? Good. I haven’t been in a good mood lately."

"Well then, I wish you a pleasant hunt, Young Master Wei. Oh, and don’t forget the final payment after this is all over." With that, the line went dead with a CLICK.

Wei Jun seemed displeased that she had hung up on him first. He snorted, then said with a trace of excitement, "Old Feng, get my weapons, Protective Clothing, and vehicle ready!"

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