Gentleman Hall

Fetal Heart Chapel

Inside Professor White Owl W.O.-George Chamberson's office.

A tentative sparring match was underway,

The White Feathered Owl stood in the corner, watching intently.

The sparring session did not last long, only one minute and thirty-seven seconds... But to the participants, that was already an absurdly long time.

Hahaha!

Professor Chamberson's usually stern and rigid expression broke into an uninhibited laugh.

The owl seemed to sense its master's joy and kept hooting.

It had been many years since he had laughed like this.

"I knew you would inherit such a special and unique physique from Zede... This has broadened your future even further.

"Across all of Zion, apart from Zede, only you possess this physical trait.

"I look forward to the day you reach the Multi-Attribute Limit."

"Thank you, Professor."

"You timed things well, too~ Only ten days remain of your six-month deadline. Are you ready for the mission?"

"Once I leave here, I'll immediately set out for Zion's Gentleman Hall."

"Mm! Let me remind you again.

"Although the Academy has no requirements regarding what missions you complete or how difficult they are,

"you need to hold yourself to a high standard.

"Don't choose the lowest difficulty and seek safe, easy missions just to muddle through... Choose missions one level higher whenever possible, ones that carry a certain degree of risk and uncertainty.

"If you can't adapt in advance, then once you leave the city on your own and face true danger, you'll inevitably die."

"Understood."

Clack-clack~ The train began moving.

This was Yi Chen's first time leaving the Academy in half a year.

The eternal-night scenery was blocked behind the school gates.

When the long-missed sunlight fell across his body, Yi Chen felt as if his entire body had awakened. Perhaps it was related to the photosynthesis of the plants within him.

Like being reborn,

a seedling sprouted from his palm.

A smile also appeared at the corners of Yi Chen's mouth, filled with hope for the future.

"This feels amazing."

When the train pulled into the station in the "Street District,"

three familiar faces were already waiting outside.

The moment he stepped off the train,

an arm carrying a faint scent of English cologne wrapped around Yi Chen's shoulders.

A deep-blue suit pressed against Yi Chen's Black Suit, leather rubbing against leather.

Beneath golden hair,

a British face resembling Aaron Taylor-Johnson leaned close. It was his classmate, Edmund Mariano.

"We've been waiting for you forever. If the delay means we can't get a suitable mission, then you'll have to cover the rest of today's expenses, William.

"I certainly wouldn't mind spending a night in a luxury hotel."

"Sorry for the delay. I got held up at Professor Chamberson's place~ Let's get going."

"Don't be so formal. I was only joking.

"New Gentlemen studying at the Academy have the privilege of 'mission assignment.' Whenever we go, there'll be suitable missions available for us to choose from.

"Let's go. Destination—the Gentleman Hall."

Over the past six months, although they had only two classes each week,

Edmund's persistence had still brought the two of them somewhat closer.

Moreover, Yi Chen occasionally discussed physical development with Dagobert, who also specialized in physique.

The reason they formed a team

was that Edmund had guessed the importance of the six-month milestone and had taken the initiative to invite Yi Chen during their recent pathology class.

This time, unlike at Green Lake Town, Yi Chen did not refuse.

First, six months of interaction had given him a better understanding of Edmund and the others.

Second, he now had sufficient "standards" to team up with Edmund's elite group, which had trained since childhood. He no longer needed to worry about his "rookie" nature being exposed.

Third, within those six months, Edmund's team had successfully completed five team missions.

For Yi Chen, who had yet to carry out a single mission, they could naturally provide valuable experience.

Fourth—and most importantly—

Zion had clear requirements. Gentlemen still in the student stage, like Yi Chen, had to accept missions as part of a team to reduce the death rate.

And so,

Edmund's team welcomed a new member, expanding to four people.

Gentleman Hall

One of the important buildings in Zion City, it stood in the central Street District—a Gothic structure extending through the lower, middle, and upper levels.

They took the lift to "Street District—Lower Level."

They passed through winding streets and alleys.

With their chests and backs nearly scraping the damp walls, they squeezed through a narrow alley and arrived safely at a spacious three-way intersection on higher ground.

A gigantic building, far superior to its surroundings in scale, refinement, and presence, stood at the intersection.

The-Gentleman-Hall, Gentleman Hall.

A vertical black metal sign stretched across the middle of the building, decorated with various patterns.

Numerous flying buttresses lined both sides of the building. Beautiful and ornate, they primarily emphasized its towering height, giving it the impression of rising straight into the sky.

A conspicuous circular window was set into the top of the building. Its wheel-shaped tracery centered on the organization's emblem—G&D.

"William, this is probably your first time here, right?

"Although the Gentleman Hall is classified as a public area, it is essentially an important department with an extremely high level of intelligence—even involving core secrets.

"The interior is divided into strict zones, with controlled movement of personnel.

"As New Gentlemen, there's very little we can access, and our range of activity is restricted to the lower level.

"We'll talk about the details of accepting missions after we get today's assignment list."

"Mm."

When they entered through the main doors,

a gentleman guard nearly two meters tall, wearing a black mask and mechanical spectacles, looked down as he scanned their physical condition.

Click~ The rings on the mechanical spectacles rotated once.

Inspection passed!

The guard immediately gestured politely for them to enter.

The lower-level hall had a circular layout, with numerous independent counters. Each counter had its own employee and was separated by thick glass, resembling a bank.

Yi Chen, visiting for the first time, looked around but saw no stairs, corridors, or lifts leading to the higher levels.

"Can't we go directly up from the lower level?"

"We can... As long as our status is high enough, we can apply to the staff here, and they'll guide us to the middle level or even the upper level to accept missions with greater confidentiality and difficulty.

"But that can wait until later."

The four of them approached the nearest counter.

Edmund pointed at Yi Chen behind him with the air of an old hand: "Our team wants to add one more member. We can complete the procedures here directly, right?"

"Please present the relevant credentials."

Yi Chen, standing behind them, immediately handed over the student identification issued by the Academy.

Two details on the credential immediately drew attention.

1. A stamp postponing the mission deadline for up to six months.

2. The stamp showing acceptance by the "First Gentleman."

The employee could not help looking up and carefully examining this unusual New Gentleman.

"Please wait. The team's 'comprehensive index' needs to be recalculated after adding a member... In about ten minutes, we'll provide you with a mission list suitable for your team's level."

With that,

the employee hung up a wooden sign reading "Service Suspended," then rose and headed toward the upper-level area to report the situation.

This special student credential soon caught the attention of a certain supervisor.

"Hmm?

"A rare 'First Gentleman' initiate. If he's such a capable newcomer, why did he spend half a year recuperating at the Academy? And the one who requested the postponement was that 'White Owl.'

"Besides,

"this team is also made up of three outstanding students. Their completion rate over the first five missions was extremely high, and all of their evaluations were excellent.

"Very well~ According to three times the New Gentleman index, add this person to the team.

"Then assign them some relatively special missions."

"Yes."