A Promising Future

The venue fell into absolute silence; you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone's gaze converged on Li Jinshui. This time, there was far less defiance, for the students present truly acknowledged that they were incapable of such a feat as photographic memory.

"It is a pity. Had you been born in ancient times, you would undoubtedly have become a heaven-gifted prodigy fought over by countless ancient martial sects, with every sect exhausting its resources to cultivate you." Huang Lichen looked at Li Jinshui with a complex expression, filled with deep emotion.

The environment for martial arts in ancient times was completely different from today.

Back then, conditions were limited, and there were no such things as nutritional or medicinal supplements; one had to rely entirely on a martial artist's innate bone structure and comprehension.

Things are different now. Even with mediocre bone structure, as long as one has an endless supply of nutritional and medicinal supplements daily, even a pig could be fed into an expert.

As for comprehension, that is indeed the talent that determines one's ceiling.

But nowadays, no one will spare no expense to cultivate you just because you have good comprehension and the potential of a grandmaster.

The times have changed, and so have people's hearts.

In ancient times, sects were maintained by "lineage" and "moral principles." Disciples would join a sect, be cultivated into martial powerhouses, and naturally give back to the sect, dedicated to bringing glory to it; those who chose betrayal were few.

Today, if capital spares no expense to cultivate a powerhouse, the powerhouse will likely choose to forget their roots at the first opportunity, and then refuse to pay back the debt.

Thank you for the years of cultivation by capital; now is it finally my turn to be the capital?

And then, what happens if a new martial arts genius is discovered? It's good enough if they aren't stifled, let alone being cultivated. Cultivate them just to have them usurp your position?

Therefore, today's capital will only continue to harvest the world, and resources will only be reserved for their own people.

Martial arts genius?

Only if you have money are you a genius; without money, you can't even keep up with the starting line of a rich kid.

"Li Jinshui, work hard. I have high hopes for you." Huang Lichen patted Li Jinshui on the shoulder, offering a word of encouragement.

He then took out his phone and transferred eighty thousand yuan to him, directly cashing out the value of the two most expensive basic martial arts manuals.

He even entertained the thought of taking him on as a disciple.

But thinking of the pile of trouble Li Jinshui had stirred up outside, his somewhat abnormal brain, and the modern indifference toward the master-disciple relationship, he ultimately dismissed the idea.

"Thank you, Instructor Huang! Instructor Huang is generous! Classmates, did you see that? Hard work pays off!"

Li Jinshui was in a great mood, not forgetting his responsibilities as class monitor, using himself as a living example of "chicken soup" to encourage his classmates.

Facts proved that Huang Lichen's incentive plan was effective.

For the time that followed, everyone put their all into memorizing the secret manuals, not even letting go of their books while eating in the cafeteria.

Li Jinshui also found peace; no one came to pick fights with him anymore. Instead, he gained a few sycophantic followers who would come to flatter him whenever they had the chance.

Soon, the first week passed just like that.

Li Jinshui barely had time to practice martial arts. On the surface, he appeared calm and relaxed, but behind the scenes, he had to frantically memorize map routes.

After all, "photographic memory" only worked for martial arts; things like map routes were not recorded by the panel.

However, he passed the first week's cultural assessment without any danger.

He answered exactly nine out of ten questions correctly.

"Didn't you have photographic memory? How could you still get one wrong on this lousy route test?" Huang Lichen expressed extreme confusion upon seeing the results.

"I've been completely obsessed with martial arts these past few days and haven't looked at the map at all. I just answered based on my impression," Li Jinshui replied righteously.

"Fine, pay attention next time." Huang Lichen accepted this answer.

Second-week assessment.

"Li Jinshui, why did you get one wrong again?"

"I've been busy trying to master Lightning Pulse Step lately. I feel like I'll be at the entry level soon, so stop bothering me."

"What? You're reaching the entry level so soon? Good, good, good, then go ahead and practice."

Third-week assessment.

He got lucky and guessed them all right; Huang Lichen nodded in satisfaction.

Fourth-week assessment.

"Li Jinshui, you again..."

"Again what? My Lightning Pulse Step has already reached the entry level. What else do you have to say?"

"...You damn genius!"

Huang Lichen was truly shocked.

He knew very well how difficult it was to practice Lightning Pulse Step. One had to endure the stimulation of electric currents from the very beginning, and many people would scream in agony before they even reached the entry level.

Only when the body's cells adapted to the current and could skillfully guide it into the blood-qi circulation could one be considered qualified to formally practice this martial art.

Back then, he had spent a full month just on the stage of guiding the current.

Later, relying on the accumulation of exotic beast meat and Supplement Potion, he spent nearly two more months before finally reaching the entry level of Lightning Pulse Step.

Yet Li Jinshui, from receiving the manual to reaching the entry level, had actually only taken one month in total?

This completely shattered every record in the history of the Youth Training Camp.

Even looking across the entire country, those who could master a Grade 9 martial skill within a single month could be counted on one hand.

"I've hit the jackpot. I need to report this immediately; maybe I can finally drop the 'Vice' from my title next year."

Huang Lichen ran off in a state of extreme excitement, leaving no commendation behind.

In reality, Li Jinshui had already achieved mastery by the second week.

He had consumed the D-Grade Supplement Potion received in the first week, directly elevating his Basic Lightness Skill to the minor success stage. He didn't waste the remaining dosage, pouring it all into his Lightning Pulse Step.

As it turned out, Grade 9 martial skills were significantly harder to improve than basic ones; half a bottle of potion only yielded a proficiency increase of thirty-some points.

Li Jinshui had no choice but to use the second week's D-Grade Supplement Potion as well, which finally allowed him to perfectly master the Lightning Pulse Step.

He stored the remaining two D-Grade Supplement Potions without using them.

Beyond that, he had received a total of four jin of E-Grade beast meat that month.

The most common E-Grade beast meat in the cafeteria consisted of Blood-Hair Worm, Hundred-Tendon Rat, and Poison-Tumor Frog.

Among them, the Blood-Hair Worm resembled a red caterpillar in appearance, but it was the size of a giant python, typically three to seven meters long, agile, and possessed immense strength.

The Hundred-Tendon Rat was as sturdy as an ox, its body composed of countless intertwined tendons, leaving almost no pure meat to be carved out.

The Poison-Tumor Frog was even larger, the size of a pig, with its body covered in dense, small poisonous tumors. It required a professional chef to drain the toxins from the tumors before it could be cooked.

Li Jinshui tasted each of the three types of meat.

The Blood-Hair Worm was crispy on the outside after being deep-fried, with firm, springy meat on the inside that wasn't easily cloying.

The Hundred-Tendon Rat had an extremely chewy texture, but it was too taxing on the jaw; chewing it for too long made one's gums ache.

The Poison-Tumor Frog was his favorite; the small, glistening, springy meat tumors burst with juice, didn't stick to his teeth, and felt soft and sweet as they slid down his throat. Li Jinshui was willing to call it "QQ-Nanny-Delicious-Miep-Tumor."

This grade of beast meat was enough to trigger the Heaven Rewards Diligence feedback for his Basic Stance Technique.

After a month, the four jin of E-Grade beast meat brought his stance technique proficiency to 100/500.

At this rate, as long as the camp's resources remained uninterrupted for the next two months, and he spent his own money to buy another eight jin as a supplement, he could successfully break through from minor success to proficiency.

However, Li Jinshui was in no rush to break through. Mastering a Grade 9 martial skill was already eye-catching enough; if it were discovered that his stance technique had also broken through, he would easily be sent off to be dissected.

Throughout the month, he had often sought opportunities to flirt with Ye Mei, but unfortunately, the results were minimal. Ye Mei seemed to be avoiding him, always brushing him off with the excuse of being busy with work.

However, the other trainees gave Li Jinshui a small surprise.

This month, they often tried to curry favor with him, and a few of them even privately pooled their money to buy a D-Grade Supplement Potion, presenting it as a congratulatory gift for his mastery of the pulse step.

The gift, worth twenty thousand yuan, successfully made Li Jinshui remember their names.

"Chen Dali, Liu Fugui, Zhang Yunyun, and Bai Chuyue, you are all quite good. Your awareness is high; I think highly of you." Li Jinshui offered the four of them some encouragement and accepted the potion with satisfaction.

His assets were no longer what they used to be.

The three D-Grade potions were worth sixty thousand yuan, and combined with the eighty thousand given by Huang Lichen, he had a total equivalent to one hundred and forty thousand yuan.

If one included the eight potions from the next two months, his total net worth would reach three hundred thousand yuan.

"Three hundred thousand—the future looks promising!"

Li Jinshui felt very satisfied with his choice to enter the Youth Training Camp.

But Ye Mei, in her capacity as the personnel manager, was currently staring at the documents in her hands, feeling a deep sense of a headache.

Beyond recruiting and training students, the Youth Training Camp had another task: distributing trainees to various stations across Rong City.

Although only a month had passed, they already had precise evaluations of all trainees' subsequent strength and performance, so the preliminary distribution of trainees had already begun.

But the problem was that while the Grade B trainees were highly welcomed by major stations, and many station masters had their eyes on the Grade C and D trainees as well, the Grade A trainee, Li Jinshui, was completely ignored.

Some station masters had even sent word directly up the chain, hoping the Youth Training Camp would make an exception and under no circumstances assign Li Jinshui to their stations.

"Camp Master Huang, the matter regarding Li Jinshui is a bit thorny."

Ye Mei approached Huang Lichen to report the situation: "The public relations department has talked to Weihu Security Company several times, but they refuse to budge."

"Tsk, it's just one dead security guard. Is there really such deep-seated hatred?" Huang Lichen lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and frowned.

"On the surface, it's the guard's family refusing to let it go, having sent quite a few things to a vice president at the security company. But I suspect there's more to it than that, though I haven't found any leads yet. Now, those Drifter Gang groups have already sent word to every station master: whoever takes in Li Jinshui, they will specifically target that station's food deliveries."

As Ye Mei said this, she lowered her voice and asked: "Should we report this up and ask the branch company to intervene?"

"Hmm? Your first reaction isn't to suggest expelling Li Jinshui?" Huang Lichen was somewhat taken aback upon hearing this; it didn't fit Ye Mei's usual way of doing things.

"I personally think highly of Li Jinshui's value and potential," Ye Mei said expressionlessly.

"That actually coincides with my own thoughts. I think highly of that kid, too."

Huang Lichen said, then grew worried again: "But if this matter is reported to the branch company, they might not necessarily agree to intervene. Weihu Security is, after all, one of the local snakes in Rong City, and it's said they have backing."

"Then there are only two choices left," Ye Mei said. "Either transfer him out of Rong City and assign him to another city, or give him a special promotion and apply for an independent station for him, letting him serve as an acting station master."

"Damn, playing that big?" Huang Lichen's eyes widened, ignoring Ye Mei's first suggestion.

Transferring Li Jinshui away was impossible. Their sub-camp had spent so many resources that they couldn't just hand over talent to other cities for nothing. Besides, the Rong City branch company would count this loss against their sub-camp, and they would be held accountable later, which would be very troublesome.

But if it were a special promotion, that would be an even greater gamble.

To give Li Jinshui, a complete novice with zero experience, an independent station as an acting station chief?

If he were wiped out by the Drifter Gang, the resulting losses would be catastrophic—not just financial, but a blow to the company's reputation as well.

"Ye Mei, this isn't a gamble we can afford. We've been secure in this company for so many years; even if you think highly of Li Jinshui, there's no need to bet your own future and life on him, is there?" Huang Lichen's face was etched with disbelief.

"Secure?"

Ye Mei slowly raised her hand to remove her semi-rimless glasses, pulling out a silk handkerchief to wipe them gently.

"You and I both know the performance metrics for every station, including our youth training program, over the past two years. I've received word that the higher-ups are already preparing the year-end layoff list. Tell me, do you think we might both be on it?"

"Lay... offs..." Huang Lichen's expression shifted, his face instantly flickering between shades of uncertainty.

"Battalion Commander Huang, this matter with Li Jinshui might just be our opportunity."

Ye Mei put her glasses back on. The lenses caught the overhead light, yet they could not conceal the surging ambition swirling within her eyes. "Since Weihu Security refuses to show us respect and insists on playing dirty behind our backs, then I shall have them take their precious pride... and go to hell!"