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General Chen said, "The Genetic Matching Research Institute is quite far from here. Walking would take too much time, so we should call a car. As for touring the military district, we can do that another day. Yang Chun, accompany him there for the sampling. I need to deal with the accumulated military affairs."

Yang Chun was the chief guard who had followed General Chen for several years.

He suppressed the urge to complain—Hadn't the general always handled everything remotely? What military affairs were even left?—and nodded solemnly. The car he called arrived in less than a minute, and he became the main escort. As for the busy, world-weary General Chen, he parted ways with them. The Show of Force Operation had met with a setback; it was better to think of another approach.

The so-called genetic sampling was actually very simple.

It was nothing more than drawing a tube of blood, then lying inside a pod-like machine for two minutes. Done!

The main event was the subsequent mental power test.

With instruments, humans could now accurately measure each individual's physical constitution range, from F to S, with few errors. Mental power, however, could not be displayed as clearly as genetic rank. It could only be roughly assessed through several small tests combined with instruments. It was probably like Earth's technology tree: every organ in the body was understood, but the brain remained too mysterious, an "uncharted divine domain" beyond humanity's reach. The Mi Star people also believed that mental power originated in the brain and was a mutation in human evolutionary history.

At first, only a very small number of people possessed "mental power." It was not as miraculous as in fantasy novels and was difficult to use as a weapon against enemies. It merely made those with mental power quicker thinkers and gave them better memories. Since its cause was unknown and it could not be artificially triggered, it did not receive much attention.

Later, however, more and more humans were discovered to have "awakened" mental power. Then came the discovery of the five major planets, which ushered Mi Star mech technology into the era of biological-material fusion—high-level biomech components had to be handcrafted with mental power! With tangible benefits at stake, this emerging ability quickly became popular and gave rise to the first so-called mech masters.

Now the Mi Star people were once again running into their extraterrestrial neighbors, and when crisis arrived, civilian life had to yield to the military. This made high-mental-power talents increasingly sought after. Together with those of high physical constitution rank, they were known as the "two pillars of humanity."

So the institute also had to test the mental power of this newly appointed major's wife.

It did not need to be too high. As long as it reached B—General Chen's exact words—it would count as a redeeming quality. When Qin Meng returned, he could at least barely console himself, right?

The first test required the subject to concentrate and attack a spherical instrument with all their mental power. The second involved entering a virtual game and using mental power to attack the small monsters inside. For the third, the subject was given the simplest, most basic materials and had to guide them with mental power while completing a mech component.

The first test was meant to provide a rough estimate of the quantity of mental power.

The second was meant to test the quality of mental power—its endurance, cohesion, and so on. The number of small monsters one could kill would be compared with the number killed by people of the same mental power rank, making the quality of one's mental power obvious at a glance.

As for the third, it focused on testing a person's diligence and development potential. Hard work could make up for shortcomings. Some people with great perseverance could use less mental power to manufacture biomech components that even someone one rank above them could not make. Or, when making the same mech component, someone with lower mental power might produce better quality... Such people might not have such a high ceiling, but within their possible range, they offered better value for less cost, replenishing the widely needed pool of grassroots talent.

Jing Yi eagerly went through the tests one by one.

For the first test, after attacking with all the strength he could muster, the instrument displayed—382. The lab-coated worker recording the result looked utterly dismayed and marked down a large "D." This was only slightly better than having no mental power at all!

He felt even more indignant on Major Qin's behalf. Jing Yi's physical constitution had barely reached C, while his mental power was only D! He and Major Qin had to be the least compatible married couple in the Federation, without question!

A person with this level of mental power was complete trash! If General Chen had not sent him over, the lab-coated worker would have felt there was no need to continue with the next two tests at all. What a waste of time and resources!

Jing Yi sensed the lab-coated worker's disdain, and he felt somewhat dejected himself. Although the original owner's mental power rank had tested low before, Jing Yi had hoped that things would be different now that he was here!

They were different, but only from "231" to "382." Both were still D-rank, and such a difference was practically negligible.

By the time he reached the second and third tests, Jing Yi truly gave it everything he had.

He killed a total of 108 small monsters. In truth, after killing more than a hundred, his head was already splitting apart. He had forced himself through the last eight purely by gritting his teeth and relying on willpower. When he emerged from the game pod, his face was deathly pale and he swayed unsteadily, drenched in sweat from head to toe. Zhang Qiu hurriedly caught and supported him.