Whether it had been a poor choice or simply playing dumb, Tai Yu's experience of becoming a "landfill volunteer" was bound to become a joke.
Time on the planet ticked forward through alternating light and darkness. More than twenty days after the small-scale defensive battle at Tuoyuan City, the corresponding merit assessment was finally finalized. On the ninth day of Week 28, several comrades who had fought in the same trench—and whose merit evaluations were essentially tied together—rarely got a chance to gather. They met at the same venue as last time to take stock and settle accounts.
Ku Yu, who had already secured qualification as an outstanding Divine Palace School student and would enter the Pantheon as an intern upon graduation, was without question the biggest winner;
Jia Xi's professional evaluation had risen by a notch, shaving at least a year or so off his Interstellar Citizen process. He was naturally pleased as well;
Dimon was still working at it. Thanks to information leaked by Ku Yu, he had found the right connections and passed the preliminary selection for that military assignment. Now, with Ku Yu's help, he was building ties with students enrolled at the Divine Palace School. He did not merely want to get in—he also hoped to secure some minor position and maximize his gains.
As for Tai Yu, in less than two weeks, he had made two round trips between Tuoyuan City and the "Frontier." He had only just stepped off the shuttle before the gathering. He reeked of metal rust mixed with engine oil and looked utterly listless, as though the "landfill" job had completely drained him.
Ku Yu frowned at the sight. "That landfill is using you like slave labor, isn't it?"
Tai Yu was not drinking alcohol today. He had picked Frozen