He Wasn't Like This Before!

He Wasn't Like This Before!

Outside the Data Research Center.

"Congratulations, Tao Ge."

"Winning first place in the class again—Tao Ge is awesome!"

"Once you become an Evolver, make sure to look after us."

Surrounded by the students, Yu Haitao wore a confident smile and was in an excellent mood.

81 points!

That was already a very high score among the regular classes, even comparable to the students at the bottom of the Elite Class rankings.

He also had an Evolution Fruit. His future was bright.

He would soon join the Base Defense Division and rise through the ranks.

Suddenly, Yu Haitao sensed something was wrong. The surrounding flattery came to an abrupt stop.

The students beside him were all staring at their phones with strange expressions, their faces full of disbelief.

Puzzled, Yu Haitao took out his phone from his pocket and discovered that the Class 23 group chat was being flooded with messages.

Barely any time had passed, yet the red notification dot had already reached 999. Every message contained the same four words—

Worship Ye Ge!

Physical Comprehensive Score: 103!

Wang Ye ranked first among the twenty regular classes that had completed testing so far!

Yu Haitao's mind exploded with a boom. He stood frozen like a wooden statue.

He was dumbfounded.

"Xiao Yu, did you see the group messages? Did you see them?" Huang Ju looked panicked, her hands trembling slightly.

"Mm." Zhao Xiaoyu had seen them early on.

Her heart was filled with mixed emotions, and she did not know what she was feeling.

"Oh my god, 103 points... Was there a mistake with the score? That's impossible..." Huang Ju muttered, shaking her head. "Wang Ye only got 8 points in the Second Comprehensive Test."

"I don't know either." Zhao Xiaoyu's voice held a trace of bitterness.

Although her score was not bad either, compared to Wang Ye's, it was like heaven and earth.

"What should we do, Xiao Yu?" Huang Ju was at a loss.

Zhao Xiaoyu lowered her head and glanced at her phone.

The screen was still lit.

But the congratulatory message she had sent Wang Ye still had not received any reply.

*

*

Class 23 exploded!

Yet the person at the center of it all had already returned to his dorm to train.

Just 103 points.

Was that high?

For a regular class, it certainly was.

But among the Elite Classes...

Mm, it was actually not bad.

"Overall rank: 88." Wang Ye checked his ranking on the Intranet.

Among the twenty-seven regular classes, he was the only student to make it into the top hundred.

Even among the three Elite Classes, that put him at an upper-middle level.

"(1) Huang Zirui, 160."

"(2) Yu Shuiqin, 156."

"(3) Wang Jun, 155."

Competition in the Elite Classes was truly fierce.

Wang Ye sighed.

There were ten people alone with scores above 150.

Huang Zirui from Class 1 had even surpassed 160, far ahead of everyone else.

But the person drawing the most attention was actually Yu Shuiqin in second place.

It had nothing to do with her looks. She was the only girl in the top five.

Girls were naturally somewhat weaker than boys in terms of physical foundation, so her score of 156 carried considerable weight.

She might even be the most outstanding student in the West Camp's 101st Class so far.

Of course, when it came to talent, he was still number one.

Wang Ye was not being modest.

If he had transmigrated two months earlier, the Elite Class students would have had no chance at all.

He might even have been able to challenge the physical limit of an ordinary human—

A score of 200.

Then break the camp's record.

It was not too late now, either.

Once he became an Evolver, surpassing them would only be a matter of time.

"That said, Yu Shuiqin really is quite pretty." Wang Ye could not help taking another look.

Everyone loved beauty.

She was a gentle Jiangnan Woman, soft and lovely as a lotus rising from water, so delicate it seemed as though water could drip from her skin.

Anyone who could show off their looks even in an enrollment photo could not look bad in person.

But that had nothing to do with him.

Right now, he had one thought and one thought only—

Become an Evolver!

Closing his laptop, Wang Ye continued training.

Every day, his physical comprehensive score was rising rapidly.

103 was already in the past.

*

*

December 20.

The final day of the Graduation Exam.

One student after another was eager to begin, their spirits soaring.

The Evolution Camp placed great importance on actual combat. Every month, there were wilderness tempering missions.

The nation expended vast resources to train Evolvers so they could fight the endless stream of monsters and protect the country and its people.

Among the special divisions of the Three Great Organizations—the Evolution Camp's Rescue Team, Gene Park's Future Center, and the Base Defense Division's Guardian Division—

one needed at least an A-grade actual combat rating to qualify for entry.

"Hello, Ye Ge!"

"Good morning, Ye Ge!"

Wang Ye could clearly feel the difference.

On the way to the Combat Training Hall on the ground level, the students looked at him and treated him completely differently from before. It felt like they were looking at a famous figure at school.

He had suddenly become famous.

The boys envied and admired him, while the girls looked at him with affection and shyness.

On the unavoidable path not far from the ground-level entrance, Wang Ye spotted a beautiful figure.

Although she wore a Student Battle Suit, she had put on exquisite makeup. Her smooth hair draped over her shoulders like soft gauze, clearly freshly washed.

"What a coincidence." Wang Ye smiled and greeted Zhao Xiaoyu.

"Mm."

Zhao Xiaoyu nodded lightly, an unnatural smile appearing on her delicate cheeks.

In his memories, the original owner had not seen her again after their breakup.

"Waiting for your best friend?" Wang Ye asked with a smile.

"Ah, I—" Zhao Xiaoyu hesitated.

Waving his hand, Wang Ye walked straight past Zhao Xiaoyu.

Of course, he knew what Zhao Xiaoyu wanted to do.

After years in the workplace, what kind of woman had he not seen?

Zhao Xiaoyu was the kind of girl who was deeply proud. Usually, she would be a fresh college graduate entering the workplace for the first time, full of hopes and expectations for the future while also longing for beautiful love.

In other words: she wanted everything.

Very realistic.

Honestly, she had the qualifications for it.

But he was not interested.

Watching Wang Ye's carefree figure walk away, Zhao Xiaoyu pressed her lips together tightly, an inexplicable sting piercing her heart.

She had finally worked up the courage to take this step, only to run into a wall.

He wasn't like this before!

Combat Training Hall.

Magnificent and grand, warm in winter and cool in summer.

It contained the most advanced training equipment and data research facilities, serving as the camp Evolvers' daily training grounds.

The hall was divided into four major areas, allowing four classes to undergo assessment at the same time.

Each area was overseen by one lead and one assistant Intermediate Instructor.

They were equipped with ten junior instructors and several staff members responsible for assessment and data recording.

Class 23's assessment was scheduled for 3 p.m.

Wang Ye's arrival triggered a wave of exclamations.

The celebrity effect.

Among the regular classes, he was now the most famous person, even overshadowing Huang Zirui.

The instructors chatted and laughed casually, merely glancing at him from the corners of their eyes. They had seen plenty of outstanding students, so naturally they did not make a fuss.

Some of them did not even know who Wang Ye was.

Only one instructor with an empty left sleeve had his eyes light up. He whispered a few words to the tall instructor beside him, who nodded in realization.

"Ye Ge!" Lu Yong excitedly waved his arm. The skinny bamboo pole standing over six feet tall was especially conspicuous among the crowd.

Wang Ye nodded and walked over. His gaze fell across from him, where Yu Haitao unconsciously avoided eye contact. His face was expressionless, and nothing could be read from his eyes.

But Wang Ye knew very well that Yu Haitao now wanted him dead more than anything.

Coincidentally.

So did he.

Soon, it was 3 p.m.

The actual combat assessment officially began.

Following their ID numbers, students whose names were called stepped onto the platform one by one.

The assessment used a scoring system, divided into six grades: S (Outstanding), A (Excellent), B (Good), C (Average), D (Poor), and F (Fail).

Taking the Base Defense Division among the Three Great Organizations as an example.

Those rated F could only handle clerical work. D meant entering the Base Defense Division, C meant serving in the Inner Patrol Division, B meant joining the Outer Patrol Division, and only those rated A or above qualified to enter the ace branch—the Guardian Division.

The vast majority of regular-class students received C or D ratings. Very few received B, while A was rarer still.

S?

Even the Elite Classes rarely saw it.

For example, Yu Shuiqin, whose physical comprehensive score was as high as 156, had only received an A rating.

Among the top ten, three students had only received B or C ratings in the actual combat assessment.

That was only because their strong physiques had earned them decent scores in the actual combat sparring portion.

If only the first two categories—tempering time and weapon mastery—were considered, their ratings would have been even lower.

"ID: W1012315."

"Yu Haitao."

"Tempering Time: B. Weapon Mastery: A. Actual Combat Sparring: B."

"Overall Assessment: B."

The staff member announced the results. On the platform, Yu Haitao held his Long Sword, his face full of shock.

His older brother had long ago told him the scoring criteria for the actual combat assessment, so he had timed his B rating in tempering time perfectly. Reaching A in that category would require a great deal of training time, making it not worth the effort.

For weapon mastery, he had trained his Long Rainbow Swordplay to proficiency. According to the standards, that should have earned him an A.

But he had not expected to perform so poorly during the actual combat sparring with the instructor.

"Your thoughts were in chaos, and your moves had no structure. You blindly rushed forward during the fight, neglecting one end while focusing on the other. There wasn't the slightest trace of the free and agile style of Long Rainbow Swordplay." The swordsmanship instructor gave his critique without mercy. "Get down."

"Yes!" Yu Haitao's hand gripping the Long Sword trembled violently as he clenched his teeth.

If not for Wang Ye, how could he have performed so badly today?

After yesterday's scores came out, he had fallen from the clouds in an instant.

His mindset collapsed completely.

"B..."

Yu Haitao walked off the stage in a daze.

He knew exactly what this meant.

The doors of the Guardian Division had closed to him. If he entered the Base Defense Division, he could only start as a patrolman in the Outer Patrol Division.

Yu Haitao's eyes were vacant.

His emotions were a tangled mess, while his mind was completely blank.

Failing the live combat assessment had dealt him an enormous blow, even worse than yesterday's.

Yesterday, he had merely been outperformed by Wang Ye and lost face.

But today, he had lost his future.

"Next."

"ID: W1012323."

"Wang Ye."

Hearing that name he hated so deeply, Yu Haitao suddenly snapped awake.