Chapter 58

When he returned from the break room, Zhao Yan's attitude had indeed changed; he shut off the rating system and asked Wu Chang, "Young man, I see your bones are exceptionally pure—would you be interested in joining the Bureau?"

Wu Chang had originally intended not to join the Bureau immediately, so he answered mockingly during registration; he never expected that Meng Yawen's connection would allow his deliberately lazy data to qualify for Bureau membership.

He remembered Zhao Yan's final rating for him before leaving in frustration: D-.

Joining the Bureau with a D- rating shouldn't attract too much attention.

Thinking this, he replied, "Of course I'm interested—civil servant has always been my top career aspiration."

Zhao Yan cleared his throat and explained, "Strictly speaking, you're not yet a civil servant."

Wu Chang frowned. "So our huge Anomaly Management Bureau isn't even an administrative unit?"

"Not at all—it's just that the Bureau has a rule: before new members officially join, they undergo a probationary period. During this time, you're temporary members, officially called 'Assistants.'"

"Only after completing the probation, accumulating sufficient contribution points, and expressing intent to be formalized will you become a full member."

Wu Chang: "So right now, there's no official position—just a contract job?"

Zhao Yan rubbed his temples, visibly exasperated.

"The Bureau's existence is unique—you can't judge it by ordinary civil service standards. This system is actually a form of protection for you."

"As a temporary member, you'll miss out on many benefits, but correspondingly, your responsibilities are far lighter. Unless a crisis threatens the entire city, the Bureau has no authority to forcibly conscript temporary members."

"But full members are different: once formalized, even if faced with a mission you know is certain death, you must endure and carry it out. Temporary members can refuse. Precisely because of this, many temporary members actively decline formalization."

Wu Chang raised an eyebrow—the Bureau was surprisingly considerate, offering multiple cooperation models for solo players.

After asking a few more questions, his understanding of the Assistant role became much clearer.

As top players delved deeper into the Abyss Game, the number of Abyss players had expanded steadily in recent years.

Especially in Xia Gu, with its massive population, new Abyss players emerged constantly.

The Bureau couldn't possibly investigate each one individually, nor could it accommodate and manage so many players.

Moreover, influenced by films and various cultural works, individuals who suddenly gained extraordinary power tended to harbor some aversion toward state-affiliated institutions.

Forcing all players to join and imposing rigid, uniform control would only drive them to oppose the Bureau, making them vulnerable to manipulation by other factions and turning allies into enemies.

To unite all possible forces, the Bureau granted Assistants tremendous freedom.

As long as they didn't break the law, Assistants faced virtually no restrictions and weren't required to disclose personal secrets like current level, attributes, or skills.

Zhao Yan hadn't been wrong: for players like Wu Chang, who harbored minor secrets of their own, the Assistant role was far more suitable than becoming a full member.

After receiving Wu Chang's affirmative response, Zhao Yan registered him as a boxing club member and told him to return in three days.

The baby-faced and balding middle-aged man had recently recruited several Assistants, and they would all hold a joint induction ceremony in three days.

Since they were all Assistants from Wanghai City, they could be considered colleagues—perfect for a proper introduction.

If anyone minded revealing their identity, they could apply—the Bureau also offered secure virtual meeting services.

Seeing Wu Chang had no further needs, Zhao Yan gestured for him to leave.

"Wait—aren't we supposed to do a statement?" Wu Chang suddenly remembered why he'd been called in, one foot already out the Bureau door.

Zhao Yan waved him off dismissively, signaling him to go home.

"Blood Thorn is a Level One Wanted criminal—the Bureau has lost several brothers to him. You could've just killed that bastard outright—no need for a statement."

On his way back to the dorm, Wu Chang saw Fang Hui hadn't gone out—he was calling out to all his "fathers" to bring him meals.

Wu Chang immediately took the job, picked the most luxurious meal combo from the cafeteria, and paid with his own card.

Whether he'd face sabotage in the Bureau later depended entirely on Hui Zi's pillow talk—he had to properly nourish this guy. Three days passed in a flash—it was induction day.

There were six new Assistants for induction.

Including Wu Chang, four of them appeared without disguise, using their true faces.

Of the other two, one, seeing everyone else unmasked, awkwardly removed his mask; the other remained mysterious, showing no intention to take off his mask.

As the record keeper for their files, Zhao Yan presided over today's induction ceremony.

Zhao Yan looked at the six and called out loudly:

"Your levels are all similar—between 7 and 9. Before you reach Level 10 and truly grow, I'll serve as your instructor and guide your training."

"As Abyss Game players, combat power is the foundation for clearing dungeons and surviving. Combat power isn't just attributes—having strength and learning how to use it are equally important. Over the coming time, I'll teach you how to fight as players, how to maximize your abilities."

"Since this is our first meeting, there's no better way to greet each other than a controlled sparring match."

As he spoke, Zhao Yan grew excited, as if he'd been waiting for this day for a long time.

He stepped onto the boxing ring and waved to the group.

"Sparring against opponents stronger than you lets you directly perceive your weaknesses; others watching from the sidelines can also gain basic insight into each other's fighting styles, avoiding utter confusion when you must cooperate later."

"Don't worry—I'll hold back."

Watching Zhao Yan's reaction, Wu Chang subtly smirked. Recalling Zhao Yan's earlier conversation with Meng Yawen, he guessed that when Zhao Yan first joined the Bureau, his own instructor had been Meng Yawen.

Judging by Zhao Yan's eagerness, Meng Yawen must have crushed him the same way back then—and now, with the tables turned, he was eager to return the favor.

As Wu Chang suspected, instructor-versus-newcomer sparring was a Bureau tradition.

It served both Zhao Yan's stated purpose and the deeper goal of humbling newcomers, reminding them that beyond them stood greater powers.

As their registrar and rater, Zhao Yan had a basic understanding of each person's combat ability.

He ranked them from strongest to weakest and called them up one by one.

As a veteran player, Zhao Yan's combat techniques were highly refined, his timing precise.

He didn't need any skills—just pure physical technique—to easily defeat them all.

Even the first fighter, the masked man, couldn't last a minute against him.

In this brief sparring session, none of them so much as landed a single effective strike, let alone caused Zhao Yan any trouble.

After five had fallen, Wu Chang stepped onto the ring as the sixth.

For the other five, Zhao Yan had focused on letting them showcase their abilities—observing their fighting habits to offer advice.

For Wu Chang, the D- rated player with only two skills who cleared dungeons purely by surviving—

Zhao Yan worried about how to throw the match so that Wu Chang, who had only one control skill, could survive for a minute.

If he accidentally killed Wu Chang in one blow and made him look too foolish, Meng Yawen would surely not let him off.

But he soon realized that Wu Chang's expression on the arena was even more conflicted than his own.

Wu Chang hesitated for a moment, then said, "Instructor, my skill isn't suited for sparring—maybe I should just withdraw."

Zhao Yan said discontentedly: "Do you think the boss in the dungeon will spare you because your skill isn't suited for combat? Avoidance won't solve anything—if you're weak, you train harder. Precisely because it's unsuited, you must train it until it becomes suited!"

Wu Chang explained awkwardly:

"I'm not trying to avoid it—I can't control the effect of my skill, and I'm afraid I'll hurt you."

(End of Chapter)