City Research Bureau's Compensation

[Jupiter City Comprehensive Scientific Research Bureau]

This place was not the same research institute the group had visited during their last practical training.

To be precise, the previous location was just a branch, while this was the city's main headquarters.

A brutalist skyscraper, with deep, cool tones, Its exterior was illuminated by dynamic light-emitting devices densely distributed across its surface, projecting publicly releasable images related to research, keeping the entire building brightly lit.

The ride-hailing car arrived at its destination.

As soon as the three of them got out of the car, they saw Anna Ivanova already waiting for them.

Unlike the three who were wearing school uniforms, Anna had taken the time to change into casual clothes. Or rather, she had to change, so as not to trigger bad memories for the class monitor.

"Wenwen!"

"Anna~"

Seeing the class monitor "safe and sound," Anna almost burst into tears. When they hugged, she didn't hold on as tightly as usual.

The four of them arrived at the research institute. They had already obtained one-time entry permission; they just needed to have their faces scanned to enter.

As soon as they stepped into the lobby of the research bureau, the smooth marble floor reflected electronic arrows, guiding them to their destination.

Perhaps it was after working hours, as they didn't see any staff members along the way.

After walking for about ten minutes in the building, which seemed as empty as a maze, a door opened on the side of a seemingly continuous passage without door frames. The arrows on the ground disappeared in front of the door.

A dark gray room, Windowless, A cube structure, The wall tiles had their own lighting effects.

A long stone table was placed in the center of the room, with four chairs arranged facing the entrance. A middle-aged man was already seated at the table.

His head was almost square, and he wore rimless glasses. There was a conspicuous mole above his lips.

Though he appeared serious, he stood up proactively when the four young people arrived and shook hands with each of them in turn.

"Wang Shuokang, currently the Director of the Records Management Department of the research bureau. You don't need to introduce yourselves; I've already thoroughly reviewed your practical training footage and personal information.

You are all very outstanding young people. Please allow me to apologize on behalf of the research branch institute.

We have now sealed and are rectifying the branch institute where the incident occurred, and those who were derelict in their duties will be dealt with severely."

Director Wang sat down again after a bow.

Except for Luo Di, everyone else had been holding back some anger. This anger was largely dispelled by their campus life during this period and Director Wang's sincere apology.

Of course, they still had to see the subsequent compensation.

Director Wang took out four documents from his briefcase and handed them to the young people opposite him.

"These are your practical training reports and final ratings. Please review them and let me know if there's anything you're unsatisfied with. If there are no issues, please sign in the last column. They will be entered into your personal files tomorrow."

Everyone was more or less excited upon receiving their first practical training report.

It detailed the entire experience of the practical training, separately listing each person's "effective subjective actions," along with comments from the research bureau's experts. Finally, a rating was given on the last page according to specific scoring rules.

"Yes! I'm S-!"

The class monitor raised her fist high, as if declaring some kind of victory.

"Wow, I'm S- too!" Anna was also overjoyed. Such a result was enough to significantly alleviate her academic pressure at High School No. 1. She immediately linked fingers with the class monitor, almost jumping out of her seat.

"S!"

Even Gao Yuxuan, who usually didn't talk much, exclaimed at this moment.

His rating was higher, mainly because he applied "acupuncture" in actual combat and managed to stay calm at the last moment to make the special rescue call.

Everyone then turned their attention to Luo Di, who was sitting at the far end and had not yet expressed his opinion.

"Hey~ Luo Di, you must be S too, right?"

Luo Di didn't respond. Instead, he placed the last page of his practical training materials on the table.

[S+]

This represented the highest level of practical training rating.

According to statistics, only 1.3% of high school students received an A or above in practical training, and it was even rarer for them to surpass A and reach an S rating.

The light shining from the class monitor's eyes seemed even brighter than seeing her own score. "Wow! S+, I've never seen that before. Luo Di, can you let me see your rating materials? I want to see how you got the highest evaluation."

Luo Di shook his head, closed the signed document, and returned it to Director Wang.

The class monitor didn't mind and proceeded to sign her own document.

After receiving everyone's signed documents, Director Wang continued, "I must say, you are all very outstanding. To have all survived such an unexpected situation, as an apology and to show our headquarters' appreciation for talent, this is the compensation plan we've prepared."

A document with a red header was placed on the desk.

The General Research Bureau, based on the labels of the compensation recipients as [High School Student], [Normal Physique], and [Outstanding], as well as the severity of the practical training error, provided four optional compensation plans.

1. Free access to one prosthetic modification within the General Bureau, not limited to limbs or organs, valid permanently.

2. City Research Bureau establishment quota (requires normal completion of further studies and all grades to be good or above).

3. Ten million Rubles.

4. Entry-level corner (monster, anomaly) items.

The first three were perfectly normal, but only the last compensation option caused everyone except Luo Di to frown.

The class monitor also became serious. "Director Wang, is the fourth option a printing error? I recall that this sort of thing should have a restriction of [20+]. For us, who are still students, it could have significant side effects, even affecting our physical and mental development."

"Indeed, corner items were once restricted to individuals over twenty years old. However, with recent technological advancements and national demand, attempts have been made to have younger individuals accept these items and adapt early. Based on current data, the overall results have been quite good.

Furthermore, the items provided by our General Bureau are 'entry-level' and limited in type, primarily external-use items, minimizing their impact on the individual.

Once you make your choice, an adaptability test will be arranged immediately. If your adaptability does not meet the standard, you will not be given the item."

As he said this, Director Wang suddenly leaned his head forward, his expression grim, and stated:

"Finally, and most importantly.

The reason we have arranged the 'fourth option' is that we believe this 'accident' might be related to yourselves, rather than being entirely accidental.

After all, the research branch responsible for simulating anomalies has always performed well, even securing considerable national resources for our city. Before you, they had successfully conducted over twenty practical training sessions.

Perhaps one of you four is relatively special, possessing some unseen, intangible quality that easily triggers 'accidents.'

This quality might not disappear after the practical training concludes, meaning that in your subsequent daily lives, you will have a higher probability of encountering 'accidents' compared to ordinary people.

Considering the above reasons, our General Bureau has provided this option. As long as you can master the items, your survival rate when encountering accidents again will be greatly increased.

Whether it's us, the General Bureau, or the entire nation, what we value most is talent.

Talent that can survive is talent that can contribute to our cause.

Make your choices."