The Future of Advanced Class Students

"Good morning, Uncle Sergei."

Su Shijie politely greeted the commander.

"My eldest sister and second brother should be back soon too. If they get home before I do, please help me thank them for their hard work."

Sergei was quite kind toward Su Shijie. He also nodded to He Lei beside him before leaving.

He Lei said enviously,

"The commander really treats you well."

"I suppose so."

Su Shijie smiled, without the slightest hint of pride.

Even though both his lives had been rather unimpressive, he could still tell that Sergei's attitude toward his family was merely decent.

At the very least, he had to show his father and the others some respect.

The man was the base commander. Saying a few words to win people over cost him nothing—this was the cheapest thing he could offer.

What was the point of keeping a straight face and acting arrogantly all day?

Well, admittedly, there were plenty of people like that. Sergei's youngest son and daughter were both quite full of themselves, and there had also been a steward from an earl's estate in Prosperous Sky City whom Su Shijie had met before, someone who practically looked at people through his nostrils.

But this commander clearly was not that sort of person.

When the two arrived at the Employment Management Office, the glass doors slid open automatically, accompanied by an electronic synthesized voice.

"Welcome, student Su Shijie, ranked 57th."

"Welcome, student He Lei, ranked 56th."

At the sound of the announcement, the two people who had been chatting turned around.

One unfamiliar face whom Su Shijie had never seen before brightened and approached them with a friendly smile.

"Are you two students here to ask about something? I'm consultant Wang Xin from Prosperous Sky City. I'm a few years older than you, so just call me Brother Xin."

The sudden enthusiasm startled even Su Shijie. A new consultant? But this was a little too enthusiastic.

"Ahem."

Just then, the consultant Su Shijie knew, Zhao Chao, gave a heavy cough. The overly enthusiastic Wang Xin turned to glance at him.

"This is Instructor Su Ren's son. Don't scare him."

Wang Xin immediately looked awkward and quieted down considerably.

Then Zhao Chao walked over with a smile.

"Zheng Qiang was just transferred away. This guy is new and still isn't very familiar with the work. He didn't scare you, did he?"

"No. He's very enthusiastic."

You didn't slap a smiling face. Although Su Shijie felt a little uncomfortable, he could hardly blame the man for it.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Chao said,

"Student Su, are you here to ask about Liu Bo?"

He had also heard about Aunt Lin's suicide from residents who had come to work earlier. Seeing Su Shijie here now, he more or less understood what was going on.

Su Shijie was slightly stunned by Zhao Chao's question.

So it really was connected to this place. Then Su Shijie began linking several pieces of information together.

How do you know there isn't?

His father's meaningful expression surfaced in his mind again.

His throat suddenly felt dry.

"Liu Bo... chose to go work elsewhere?"

Zhao Chao paused at Su Shijie's question, but he did not look surprised. He was Instructor Su's son; it was normal for him to know.

"That's right. It was his own choice. Perhaps his mother couldn't accept being separated from her child.

"Zheng Qiang happened to fill the final quota after recruiting him. Then he took his bonus and quit to go enjoy himself."

It was a mutually willing arrangement. There was nothing that could not be said, so Zhao Chao did not hide it.

Besides, hiding it would be pointless. If Su Shijie wanted to know, he could find out through other channels anyway.

Anyone willing to spend money to recruit people, cover all their potion and other expenses, definitely could not belong to a very good civilization. Due to psychic energy, slave-owning civilizations were countless throughout the stars.

It was actually quite difficult to recruit ordinary people for this sort of thing. People found it hard to leave their homeland, had little ambition, and city dwellers lived lives of indulgence.

Only students eliminated from the Advanced Class were high-quality, ambitious, and still unwilling to accept their fate. They truly were the best target group.

No wonder...

Su Shijie recalled quite a few Advanced Class students who had been eliminated and whom he had never seen again afterward.

He had never thought in that direction before, so he had not found anything strange. But now, he somewhat understood why Wang Xin had become so enthusiastic upon hearing their rankings.

He Lei, standing beside him, looked rather bewildered. He had not understood what they were talking about.

That seemed to reinvigorate the previously awkward Wang Xin. He hurriedly began listing a series of benefits.

"...Even if Advanced Class students obtain an Awakened Rank potion, they still need to enter the city for further selection before they can qualify to purchase a Transformation Tier potion. Only one in a hundred succeeds. With your current ranking, your chances are likely slim.

"But choosing us is different..."

After leaving the Employment Management Office, He Lei looked absent-minded, as though he were deeply considering something.

Su Shijie could not help sighing. No wonder he had never noticed before. He had never imagined such things would be conducted so openly at the office responsible for assigning jobs.

And because of his father, they would not come recruit him.

"Shijie, do you think what they said is true? A free Transformation Tier potion injection? That costs ten million Credit Points, and you need purchase qualifications too! You could never earn that much in a lifetime, and even if you had the money, you might not be able to buy one!"

After coming back to his senses, He Lei looked excited.

He had always been both envious and jealous that Su Shijie could earn the relevant potions directly through games. Now that he had suddenly discovered he might have an opportunity too, how could he remain calm?

The Advanced Class was actually quite tedious. If your talent was even slightly lacking, you had to invest enormous amounts of time and energy, yet might still fail to keep up.

Ranked 56th, he would probably qualify for nothing more than an Awakened Rank potion. His family did not have money either, so he had to continue on to the Floating City's Advanced Class in order to qualify for reduced or waived fees.

Leaving aside its other abilities, a Transformation Tier's basic lifespan alone was twice that of an Awakened Rank.

He had heard that the longest-lived Transformation Tier currently alive had lived for nearly a thousand years since humanity first came into contact with psychic energy, aided by various life-extending potions.

An Awakened Rank could only live two or three hundred years at most, because they lacked the ability to obtain additional life-extending potions.

Something once utterly unattainable was now within reach.

"You should first consider this: a civilization like the Skyfeather Civilization clearly has no need to bring in Transformation Tiers from low-level civilizations. If they were willing to open their doors, plenty of people who had worked hard to break through to the Transformation Tier themselves would be willing to go.

"What if the place you're going to is some slave-owning civilization? There's no such thing as a free lunch. Besides, Transformation Tier potions also vary in quality. Some inferior versions permanently lock you at the first level of the Transformation Tier, and even the highest-quality versions greatly reduce your potential."

Hearing Su Shijie's earnest advice, He Lei could not help looking at him strangely. Everything he had said at first made sense.

But the latter part—was that really something a slacker like you would say?

You cared about potential? Wasn't Pain-Free advancement your dream...

"You've changed."

He Lei sighed faintly.

"People always change."

As they spoke, the two arrived at the Advanced Class classroom.

It was a spacious classroom, dominated by the same mainstream silver-white metallic color. Each person had a movable desk, while a high-definition three-dimensional projection had already formed above the podium at the front.

A virtual helmet rested on every desk.

There were already forty or fifty people in the classroom, and the seats were nearly full.

They were the final cohort. It was already examination season, and the final examinations would take place after some time.

Those who met the final standards could obtain qualifications to purchase an Awakened Rank Evolution Potion and advance to the Floating City's higher Advanced Class, where they could strive for Transformation Tier potion qualifications.

Moreover, even if they were eliminated after entering the higher Advanced Class, they would still receive fairly respectable jobs in the Floating City. The benefits were no worse than those of Awakened Ranks who had struggled to break through on their own—perhaps even better.

The Advanced Class curriculum was actually quite relaxed. There were no teachers. Everything relied on the intelligent computer, which pushed three-dimensional projected core courses based on data analysis. The entire course environment was simulated, and intelligent AI could answer questions and resolve all kinds of doubts.

Every student also had the right to use a virtual helmet in the classroom. If they felt they could not keep up with the lessons or wanted to learn something new, they could directly use their virtual helmet themselves.

They were studying for their own sake, so there was no such thing as classroom discipline. As long as they did not disturb others, it was fine.

They could also leave whenever they wished.

However, apart from someone like Su Shijie, the students who had made it this far were truly studying for their own futures.

The intelligent computer was only responsible for pushing courses after analyzing and organizing the data.

At the same time, the Advanced Class assessments covered a wide variety of subjects. As long as you had your own strengths and specialization, that was enough.

Of course, that did not mean one subject alone would do. Since many subjects were interconnected, assessments usually considered an overall direction.

In the end, the intelligent computer would complete a comprehensive evaluation.

For example, a student who scored six points in every subject would definitely lose to a student who scored eight points in related subjects and two points in everything else.

All of this would be uploaded to the Dawn Goddess for review.

As for Su Shijie, he had no such worries. Other than cramming before the final examinations, he spent the entire day immersed in virtual online games.

Oh, it was examination season now. Then never mind...