The trainees, who had all been frantically cramming during their last few minutes, erupted into a buzz. Who knew how many of them widened their eyes in shock. "Holy crap, a monster who got four A's right off the bat?"
"Wait, doesn't seem like he read the handbook much..."
"Besides having a lot going on, he didn't seem like anything special..."
Amid the crowd's astonished stares, the man with the gold-rimmed glasses returned, looking completely relaxed. Han Su nudged him. "Hey, buddy, didn't you only read the handbook for half an hour? I don't remember seeing you study it much, either..."
"Was this part easy?"
"Not exactly."
The man with the gold-rimmed glasses pushed up his glasses with his middle finger. "There's also an even higher S-rank evaluation, but I only spent half an hour on it a week ago, so I could only manage an A."
"Huh?"
Han Su sensed that something seemed off.
Amid the quiet discussion, the camouflage man glanced at the handbook, of which he'd only read three pages, and shook his head as if resigned to his fate.
He simply stood up and walked into the room, becoming the second to take the test.
He came out after only three minutes. His results appeared above the doorway, just like the previous man's:
[Codename: Black Tiger]
[Handbook: C]
[Observation: C]
[Adaptability: A]
[Containment: A]
[Cipher: C]
[Execution: B]
[Additional Evaluation: None]
The training room erupted into another wave of commotion. Countless eyes filled with envy. "Two A's? That's impressive too..."
The camouflage man, however, seemed dissatisfied. He sat down in silence. After a while, as if something had occurred to him, he suddenly turned toward Han Su and nodded. There seemed to be a hint of respect in his eyes.
"?"
Han Su couldn't help feeling that the man was putting on a whole dramatic show of self-congratulation and self-encouragement inside his head.
The girl in the black hood was third. She looked stressed as she read the handbook, as if she'd finally made a decision. In the end, she resolutely put it down, stood up, and walked into the room.
About ten minutes later, she came out. Her results appeared above her head:
[Codename: Crow]
[Handbook: C]
[Observation: A]
[Adaptability: A]
[Containment: A]
[Cipher: S]
[Execution: A]
[Additional Evaluation: S]
"Whoa!"
The people outside immediately erupted. Some could hardly believe their eyes. "Four A's and two S's?"
"Wait, something's not right..."
Someone quickly noticed the problem. "Everyone else only got six results. The instructor said we had six training categories from the start, so why does she have seven?"
Crow herself seemed dissatisfied with her results. She stared at the C on her handbook evaluation, her face filled with deep shame.
The other trainees began entering the room one after another, and their results appeared in turn. Most didn't get a single A. Nearly all their grades were B's or C's.
D's were rare, too.
The Disaster Management Bureau seemed to have a habit of not handing out D-rank evaluations lightly.
A few people who'd performed unusually well in the [Whisper] training and been pulled out of the program had now received fairly good results. Judging by their confident expressions, they seemed to have already decided where they would go.
When it seemed about time, Han Su stood up, joined the line, and entered the room across from them.
There was no one inside, only a long table. Across from him sat a machine connected to countless wires. Text streamed across its display:
[Trainee Han Su, hello. I'm Miss Ai. I'll assess you based on your performance in the evaluation missions, your aptitude for Cipher Incantations, and the evaluation reports submitted by the staff. Then I'll provide a grouping recommendation. Do you have any questions?]
[...]
Han Su had no choice but to shake his head. "No."
[Please complete the final part of the evaluation. Demonstrate your understanding of the Code of Conduct for Field Operatives.]
Text flashed across the computer screen: [The code contains 134,567 characters. Reciting it word for word earns an S-rank.]
[Knowing every clause and accurately explaining its meaning earns an A-rank.]
[Please...]
[...]
Han Su answered honestly. "I only memorized the first section, the operational guidelines. I only had time to read through the three long sections after that once, so I just have a rough idea of what they cover."
A string of data flashed across the screen, followed by the words: "B-rank."
Another line appeared immediately afterward: [Please answer the following three questions in order. You have thirty seconds to consider each one:]
[Where are the weaknesses of the impostors encountered during the internship mission? In what order do they change after entering reality?]
Han Su focused, recalling what he'd observed earlier, and answered each question in turn: [Their weakness is in their chest. First, something like clothing appears on their bodies, then facial features, and finally they develop real eyes, nostrils, and a mouth.]
After thinking for a moment, he added: [The more human they look, the more damage bullets do to them. Their weakness also seems to shift from the chest to the head. It's as if... they've learned to act human, but in doing so, they've learned human "weaknesses" too!]
The text flashed again: [Please answer: When the impostors were about to breach the defensive line, why did you lock your team leader in the iron cage with them?]
Han Su replied: [Because the team leader said from the start that we had to stop those things from infiltrating reality. We were clearly unable to hold them back, so I had no choice but to lock him in there with the impostors.]
The text flashed: [If you had already made your decision, why didn't you stop your teammate from trying to raise the iron cage again, when that action contradicted yours?]
Because I don't fucking like meddling in other people's business...
Han Su thought that, but said aloud: [Because it would have led to a conflict. If our different views had made us turn on each other, the outcome could have been that I stopped him, or that he killed me. Either way, we would have wasted our ability to contain them.]
The text began flashing rapidly, as if a vast amount of data were being processed.
About two seconds later, another line appeared: [Based on ordinary reasoning, was the elevator the problem, or the building?]
The questions were all quite simple. They seemed to test what the trainees had noticed while dealing with the impostors, and the logic they'd used to draw conclusions from what they saw.
Han Su was familiar with this sort of thing. It was practically like taking a low-level trip to the Ancient Castle. Any adventure he'd had in the castle seemed several levels more difficult than this Disaster Management Bureau evaluation.
After he answered each question, the final prompt appeared on the screen: [Trainee Han Su, do you have a preferred codename?]
[Disaster Management Bureau operatives customarily use codenames when carrying out their duties. This also protects their personal information. Your final codename will be selected based on your interests and conduct. Once assigned, it cannot be changed.]
"A codename?"
Han Su considered it carefully for a while, thought of a nice one, then walked out of the room.
Countless people outside were watching the electronic display above his head with anticipation. Soon, they saw the evaluation results flash across it:
[Codename: Butcher]
[Handbook: B]
[Observation: A]
[Adaptability: A]
[Containment: A]
[Cipher: A]
[Execution: A]
[Additional Evaluation: None]
"Holy crap, a five-A candidate?"
Everyone there was caught off guard by the results. Their expressions turned extraordinarily strange.
If it had been the man with the gold-rimmed glasses or the soldier from the battlefield, that would've been one thing. But this guy, with all that baggage, had gotten such a high evaluation too?
Wait, his codename...
Good grief, did even the Disaster Management Bureau accept that he'd done all those things?
The trainees fell utterly silent. Even Han Su, who'd turned around, was stunned. "What the hell? My preferred codename was Sparkling Handsome Man! Who gave me 'Butcher'?"
In another office, Zhang Chiguo saw the results and spat out his tea with a "pfft."
He wiped himself off in a fluster, then slowly recovered. "Could something have gone wrong?"
"No."
The bald researcher's admiration for Zhang Chiguo had grown as boundless as a mighty river. He replied with firm conviction, "We provide the data for this report, and Miss Ai makes the decision. She absolutely can't be wrong."
"Our report can only offer Miss Ai suggestions. If she accepted ours, that means she thought our judgment was correct."
"Chief Zhang, you're incredible. I nearly made a mistake..."
"..."
Faced with the bald researcher's praise and admiration, Zhang Chiguo was already sweating. He regretted it silently. This is bad. At first, I only worried his evaluation would be too low and he'd end up in D5D6. Now it looks like I've made him stand out too much...
People really shouldn't abuse the power they have. I should've even pushed his spiritual intuition down to D-rank...
But still...
As a trace of regret stirred in him, he unconsciously leaned forward and tapped the monitor a few times. Han Su's footage from the elevator evaluation began playing again.
Zhang Chiguo had lost count of how many times he'd watched the footage, admiring every move and reaction Han Su made when faced with those things.
Aside from the Ghost Truck, this was the first time he'd seen creatures like these, yet Han Su had remained exceptionally calm and made precise judgments.
It was his first time using a gun. His posture had been a little awkward, but he'd already shown remarkable shooting talent.
Zhang Chiguo was especially impressed by the way Han Su had locked the team leader in the cage without the slightest hesitation. A pleasant surprise slowly took shape in his heart.
"I thought things would go badly for him if he joined the Disaster Management Bureau. Even when I agreed to talk with him, I mainly meant to reassure him. After all, if I really gave him the clues I knew, he might not survive a month..."
"But now, judging by the qualities he's shown, he can safely be assigned to the D2 Team..."
"Perhaps he's truly earned the right to know some things?"
Before you continue