The True Purpose of the Assessment

At the end of August this year, it was revealed that a large number of Spirits of Vegetation had been discovered on Mist Island in Australia.

Ordinary people might not know much about this, but as a supervisor of the Thunder Dojo in the Northeast Base City, Zhou Haichao naturally knew the ins and outs of the Mist Island incident quite clearly.

Although his status as an Advanced War General was already comparable to that of an ordinary War God, he could only feel envious regarding the role Luo Feng played and the gains he made there.

After all, it wasn't just anyone who could survive under the hunt of a War God and still discover such a large number of Spirits of Vegetation!

Moreover, due to the relationship between the Thunder Dojo and the Extreme Martial Arts Gym, he even vaguely knew that Master Hong of the Extreme Martial Arts Gym had snatched a vine-type plant from Mist Island.

In September, an elite War General squad under the Thunder Dojo of the Northeast Base City met with an accident in the Wilderness Zone.

In the report submitted by the machine gunner who was the sole survivor of the squad, he clearly wrote:

While chasing a Frost Shadow Deer, their squad accidentally entered a high-end residential complex shrouded in fog. Deep within that mist, there seemed to be a vine-type plant that possessed intelligence.

However, Zhou Haichao had traveled to the Thunder Dojo headquarters located in the New Delhi Base City of India two months ago. It wasn't until he returned a few days ago that he accidentally discovered this report.

He was immediately overcome with ecstasy.

Mist, a vine-type plant, intelligence...

Combined with the recent Mist Island incident in Australia, how could Zhou Haichao not feel his heart burning with excitement?

Therefore, the moment he saw the report, he contacted a War God he was familiar with and sold the information regarding this suspected Spirit of Vegetation.

Although by doing this, if there were only one Spirit of Vegetation, it was highly unlikely that he would be the one to possess it.

But with his current strength as an Advanced War General, even if it were truly confirmed to be a Spirit of Vegetation...

He would not dare to face a Spirit of Vegetation with War God-level strength all by himself.

By handling it this way, he could secure a guarantee from that War God-level powerhouse.

Regardless of whether a Spirit of Vegetation was actually there, he could use this to obtain a large sum of profit.

Furthermore, it was a profit paid in advance before heading to the target location—a gain he was certain to receive!

Perhaps he could even use this to break through to the War God level!

When that time came, the position of President of the Thunder Dojo in the Northeast Base City should, by all rights, be his turn to sit in.

In a great mood, Zhou Haichao then saw the relevant information about Chu He, as well as Zhao Changkong's evaluation...

Whether it was a case of "love me, love my dog" or simply the influence of his good mood, in any case, Zhou Haichao reached a conclusion completely different—even diametrically opposite—to that of Zhao Changkong:

This kid is a genius!

Upon further checking Chu He's recent news, he learned that Chu He had been training alone in the Wilderness Zone for over a month and had made quite a bountiful harvest.

With his sights set on breaking through to the War God Level and assuming the position of President, Zhou Haichao felt it was necessary to cultivate more loyal subordinates.

Chu He, appearing in his field of vision at this exact moment, was simply the perfect candidate.

Therefore, Zhou Haichao offered an extremely generous set of conditions.

Of course, the Spirit of Vegetation could not possibly be given to this Chu He; in fact, even he himself would not be able to keep it.

However, in Zhou Haichao's view, the ability to gain access to the training resources of the Thunder Dojo's War God Training Camp was already a generous condition in its own right.

At this moment, having laid out his terms, Zhou Haichao waited with full confidence for Chu He's answer.

"President Zhou, does the ownership of the Spirit of Vegetation... count as part of the assessment reward?" Chu He's eyes gleamed.

If he had a Spirit of Vegetation, and could gather the corresponding materials to brew it into Spirit Wine, then let alone a War God, Chu He was confident he could reach the Planetary Level within a year.

"Hahahaha!" Upon hearing this question, Zhou Haichao couldn't help but laugh.

"My apologies, I didn't make myself clear," Zhou Haichao said with a smile. "Are you aware that in that mist, there is suspected to be a vine-type plant with combat power at least at the War God Level?"

"In fact, an Elite War General squad from my Thunder Dojo went in after a Frost Shadow Deer and ended up trapped inside, never to come out again."

"With your current combat power, wanting to obtain the Spirit of Vegetation under the watch of this vine plant..." Zhou Haichao smiled and shook his head.

"Therefore, the exact scope of your assessment for this trip is exactly what I said before: to confirm whether there is a Spirit of Vegetation inside, and if it is a Spirit of Vegetation, what kind it is."

Hearing this, Chu He suddenly realized.

So, the markings they had discovered on that Frost Shadow Deer back then were left behind by that trapped squad!

However, upon hearing the rest, Chu He was filled with confusion and asked, "Supervisor Zhou, didn't you just say that there is a vine-type plant in there, and that it has intelligence? Isn't that exactly what a Spirit of Vegetation is?"

On Earth today, the definition of a Spirit of Vegetation is [Intelligence].

And the method for determining whether it possesses intelligence is, naturally, the plant's simple consciousness for attacking or self-preservation.

The stronger this aggressive consciousness, the higher the intelligence of the Spirit of Vegetation, and the more valuable it is.

"No, you didn't hear me clearly. I said [suspected]. The reason the squad's Machine Gunner survived was that he never actually entered the mist; he only vaguely saw long, vine-like plants attacking."

"Whether it really is one, he isn't sure. Perhaps it might just be a large python, for all we know."

Though he said that, Zhou Haichao knew in his heart that unless the mist had the effect of confusing the mind, there was a high probability it was indeed a Spirit of Vegetation.

The reason he set such an assessment was, naturally, because he wanted to see Chu He's combat process with his own eyes.

Whether it was Zhao Changkong's evaluation or the news he had gathered about Chu He's bountiful solo harvests in the Wilderness Zone, none of it was true proof of his combat power.

Therefore, he would accompany Chu He this time to witness for himself whether Chu He truly possessed formidable combat strength.

If he had combat strength, he was naturally a genius, and worth being groomed as a confidant.

But if he didn't, then there was no reason for him to waste his guarantee on a mediocrity.

This was Zhou Haichao's true objective!

Selling the information regarding this suspected Spirit of Vegetation for a sufficiently good price was the prerequisite for everything.

Testing Chu He, grooming a confidant, and so on—these were all impulsive ideas built upon that foundation.

Chu He, however, recalled what he had seen and heard back when he was with the Jackal Squad in County 0316.

At the time, they had indeed not entered the mist to investigate. The so-called long-vine plant had only been seen as a vague outline from outside the mist.

"Alright, then when does Supervisor Zhou intend to begin this assessment?"

"You decide that yourself." Supervisor Zhou looked at Chu He with a beaming smile. "Since it's an assessment for you, it should naturally begin after you've prepared yourself and adjusted your state to its best."

"What, are you planning to go right now? I don't have any objections to that; we can just set off now."

Zhou Haichao was only saying this for show. He didn't even lift his backside, remaining firmly seated on the sofa.

Not to mention that Chu He had already been in the Wilderness Zone for over a month, meaning neither his physical nor mental state was at its peak.

Even if Chu He didn't need to prepare, he himself needed to make some preparations.

Without that War God Level powerhouse present, him being an Advanced War General, plus Chu He being an Advanced Martial Artist...

How could they dare to enter that mist-covered area!