Tan Lin answered truthfully.
"Seven years... Time really flew by."
Wang Dejia sighed emotionally.
"I only found out after looking through the files that the old director found you out in the suburbs back then.
"You were still a baby then, wrapped in a worn-out swaddling cloth and frozen purple all over. If the old director hadn't brought you back, you might have already..."
She did not continue, merely letting out a hypocritical sigh for show.
Tan Lin remained silent.
"Little Tan, I called you here today because I want to tell you something..."
Wang Dejia said, her gaze flickering.
"Please go ahead, Director."
"It's like this."
Wang Dejia cleared her throat.
"You know that our Welfare Institute has always been funded by several public welfare departments in the city. Because of policy adjustments these past few years, the Research Bureau now provides the bulk of the funding.
"You're already seven this year. According to the rules, you can now be sent to the Research Bureau for an in-depth physique assessment.
"If you pass the assessment, you can choose to remain at the Research Bureau and receive a better education. If you fail, then after completing twelve years of compulsory education here, you'll be sent directly to a factory..."
Hearing this, Tan Lin did not respond immediately.
He was far more mature than she imagined. Counting the fragments of memories that had awakened, he possessed at least the scheming mind of someone around twenty years old.
Moreover, through Qi Xiyuan's connections, he had learned online that the so-called "physique assessment" was merely an excuse for the Research Bureau to select test subjects.
Once someone was sent in, whether they could come out alive was unknown. There was no room for personal choice at all.
And since when had the Welfare