Chapter 57: Connections

Wu Chang followed the two of them into the combat club; the shop’s interior was very professional, with a strength training area, a combat fighting area, and a grappling area all fully equipped.

A few people were training here and there, and upon seeing the baby-faced one and his companion return, they waved to greet them.

Everything looked very natural, with nothing amiss.

But having nothing amiss was the biggest problem of all.

Wu Chang asked the baby-faced one in a low voice: "Is this really the Administration?"

"Is there a problem?"

"It's a bit different from what I imagined." Wu Chang did not hide his disappointment at all.

Come on, this was the Anomalous Phenomena Administration, a super power that firmly ranked in the top three of the Abyss Game.

In his expectations, even if the Administration's base wasn't as exaggerated as in the movie "Men in Black," where one could see creatures from dungeon planes moving about freely everywhere, it should at least be some kind of fantasy-style secret base.

The middle-aged man with the crew cut saw what Wu Chang was thinking and said:

"How the Administration's building looks is not important; what matters is the people inside."

Wu Chang said in a low voice: "So this is the reason you only came to find me after half a month?"

The middle-aged man with the crew cut: "..."

"If you chat like this, you're going to kill the conversation."

The middle-aged man with the crew cut brought Wu Chang to the lounge and waved at the young man in sunglasses who was hitting a sandbag not far away, "Er Huo, come and do a registration."

The middle-aged man with the crew cut turned to Wu Chang and said:

"He is responsible for your statement. We still have to go find the next guy. As someone who has been through this, I suggest you cooperate and answer all his questions; it will be good for you."

After saying this, he and the baby-faced one left the club.

The young man responsible for taking Wu Chang's statement sat down opposite him, took off his sunglasses, and squinted as he sized Wu Chang up.

"You are Wu Chang?"

Wu Chang skillfully recited a string of ID numbers, "If this is the person you are looking for, then yes, that is me. Officer, may I ask how to address you?"

"Zhao Yan, the 'Yan' with two fires."

Wu Chang pursed his lips, holding back a smile; so the middle-aged man with the crew cut had called him Er Huo just now. He had almost thought this guy's nickname was "idiot" and had nearly called him that.

"Officer Zhao, regarding the act of righteous bravery that day, is there anything you need my cooperation with?"

"Since the crew-cut guy was able to bring you here, he should have already confirmed your identity as a player. There's no rush for the statement; let's do a simple registration first."

"Every player has their own secrets; we can understand that. If we ask something you don't want to say, you have the right to remain silent."

Wu Chang had been prepared for what Zhao Yan called registration.

What happened on the bus was very simple; as long as they pulled the surveillance footage, they could figure out the sequence of events in a few minutes. There was no need for him to give a statement half a month later.

With the Administration's capabilities, investigating Blood Thorn's identity was as easy as could be.

Being able to take down Blood Thorn with one elbow, in the Administration's eyes, he must also be a player.

The statement was just an excuse; the Administration's true purpose was to register him.

Every player in the Abyss Game possessed power beyond that of an ordinary person; they could be called little supermen, or they could be called ticking time bombs that might detonate at any moment.

When one carries a sharp weapon, the desire to kill arises.

Ordinary people who suddenly obtain extraordinary power, especially after experiencing life-and-death dungeons, easily become numb and indifferent to life.

They might even think they have become Celestial Dragons, with the ability and the right to decide others' fates.

In more extreme cases, like Blood Thorn who believed in some evil god, they would even turn into antisocial terrorists.

As maintainers of social order, the Anomalous Phenomena Administration certainly could not allow wild players to act as they pleased.

Seeing that Wu Chang did not object, Zhao Yan asked: "What is your current level?"

"Level 7."

"When did you enter the Abyss Game, and how many dungeons have you experienced?"

"I became a player about eight months ago and have experienced 13 dungeons."

Zhao Yan entered the data into his tablet and offered a compliment: "Your leveling efficiency is quite good; it already exceeds that of the average solo player."

"Thank you."

Wu Chang used his Spirit Body incarnation ability, and with the help of his spirit vision, he saw Zhao Yan mark his potential rating as B.

Ever since he learned of the Administration's existence, he knew this day would come, so he had long prepared this set of rhetoric.

Before joining the Administration as a player who had cleared the Moonlight Sanatorium, he needed to "infiltrate" the Administration to understand its true face.

Since it was an infiltration, he had to be inconspicuous and not attract attention.

In the Abyss Game, every 5 levels is a threshold. Level 7 is just past the rookie stage but still in the newcomer category; it hasn't reached the veteran range of level 10 and above, making it the most suitable level for experiencing things and gathering intelligence.

It was just that in his plan, he didn't intend to join the Administration right away; he planned to first make contact with the Administration and get to know them slowly.

Only by starting contact as an outsider could he see the full picture of the Administration.

Right now, it was both a registration and an assessment; he needed to lower his rating a bit.

Officer Zhao continued to ask: "Is it convenient to disclose how many skills you have?"

Wu Chang said very naturally: "Two."

"How many?"

"Two." "I am asking about all skills, including passives," Zhao Yan emphasized, fearing Wu Chang hadn't understood his meaning.

"Yes, including passives, a total of two skills," Wu Chang repeated once more.

He wasn't lying; the Lightning Method Fragment was a cultivation technique, and the Calamity was counted as a talent. The skill bar on his attribute panel really only had two skills.

Now Zhao Yan's smile became a bit stiff; his finger tapped, changing Wu Chang's potential rating to C.

The difficulty design of the Abyss Game was extremely smooth. To help newcomers adapt to dungeons in the early stages and possess the ability to protect themselves, there were many opportunities to learn skills in F-rank and E-rank dungeons.

Precisely because of this, F-rank and E-rank dungeons were known as the Rookie Incubator.

According to statistics from various factions, in the Rookie Incubator, one learnable skill appeared on average every two dungeons.

For some lucky ones, learning two or three skills in one dungeon wasn't a strange thing at all; some even learned C-rank skills in E-rank dungeons.

At Wu Chang's level, at least 9 to 11 of his 13 dungeons were F-rank or E-rank.

Zhao Yan couldn't understand how bad one's luck had to be, or how hellish the clearance method had to be, to only learn two skills after so many dungeons.

"Do you mind saying what types of skills they are?"

Wu Chang shrugged and said very relaxedly: "One equipment-use passive skill, one control-type active skill."

"What about damage-type skills?"

"None."

"..."

Zhao Yan was silent for a moment and asked tentatively: "Your method of clearing dungeons wouldn't be by hiding, would it?"

Wu Chang gave a thumbs up, "Officer Zhao is truly an expert!"

Zhao Yan slapped his forehead; he seemed to know how Wu Chang had cleared the dungeons.

Wu Chang's equipment-use passive must be survival-oriented; after entering a dungeon, he would start avoiding head-on combat, relying on survival skills to roam the edges of the dungeon.

Occasionally ambushing a few small fries, gathering intelligence, and clearing the dungeon by hitting the 40% completion mark every time, never taking a single risk.

There were indeed players of this style, and their early survival rate was indeed high.

But the price was that once they left the Rookie Incubator and encountered the sharply increased difficulty of D-rank and C-rank dungeons, they would find it very strenuous.

Unless they obtained some powerful skill, players who only knew how to hide usually died miserably.

Zhao Yan adjusted Wu Chang's rating again, changing C to C-.

He was a bit unwilling to give up, as if he had to find one merit in Wu Chang, and asked: "What is your attribute point allocation tendency?"

"I take a balanced route; I have no shortcomings."

Tui!

30 free attribute points at level 7, balanced allocation—to put it nicely, it's called having no shortcomings; to put it bluntly, it's called being good for nothing.

The rating dropped from C- to D.

Zhao Yan didn't believe it; he had to ask for a merit, "Then do you have any personal specialties?"

Wu Chang said confidently: "I'm fierce at ball games, especially my physical confrontation, which is very tough."

"Are you serious?" Zhao Yan's mouth twitched, and he resisted the urge to curse.

"If you don't believe me, we can have a one-on-one."

Zhao Yan seemed to have completely given up; his hand tapped on the rating, seemingly wanting to lower it again, but he didn't do it in the end.

"I have something to do; you wait here for a while, I'll be right back."

After saying this, he hurried away, heading straight for the lounge.

Wu Chang was curious about what Zhao Yan was going to do, so he turned into a spirit body and squatted at the door of the lounge.

As soon as he got close, he heard Zhao Yan complaining.

"Big Sister, I'm really at my wit's end. This kid is simply useless. If I recruit him into the Bureau, my conscience will hurt."

Wu Chang looked through the crack in the door and discovered that the person sitting opposite Zhao Yan was an acquaintance.

Fang Hui's girlfriend, Meng Yawen.

Meng Yawen ignored Zhao Yan's complaints and said in a formulaic tone: "Level 7 after 13 dungeons, and he even caught the level-one wanted criminal Blood Thorn. Both his level and his merit meet the requirements for entering the Administration."

Zhao Yan: "But the rating..."

Meng Yawen stretched out a hand and slowly clenched it into a fist, her knuckles popping like firecrackers.

"Er Huo, a hurting conscience or hurting everywhere—which one do you want to choose?"

Zhao Yan shivered and immediately said: "I want to choose Wu Chang. The first time I saw this kid, I felt he was a talent. The future of the Administration cannot be without him!"

Meng Yawen was very satisfied with Zhao Yan’s tactfulness.

"I promised my, my relative, that I would look after Wu Chang if given the chance. When I am away, you help me keep an eye on him. If anything happens to him..."

Zhao Yan stood at attention and said, "Please rest assured, Instructor, Zhao Yan will definitely complete the mission!"

Seeing that the conversation in the room was about to end, Wu Chang drove his spiritual body to return to his physical form.

Fang Hui’s constitution for attracting oddballs was steadily gaining points; he never expected that this kid’s new girlfriend would actually be a member of the Bureau of Abnormal Phenomena, and it sounded like her position wasn't low either.

He rubbed his nose, never expecting that one day he would also become someone with connections.

Anyway, given his registered file, he wouldn't be conspicuous in the Bureau, so why not join and give it a try?

(End of chapter)