S-Rank Evaluation
Two days later.
Jingtai Square, thirteenth floor.
Six Grave Keepers sat around a tea table, staring fixedly at the television.
On the screen, a pretty female anchor was delivering the news.
"Good morning, everyone. Today is Wednesday, June 15. Pigeon News brings you a brief roundup of recent news from Suzhou."
"Recently, the Suzhou Public Security Department launched eight special operations, successfully dismantling thirty-seven criminal groups headed by Heavenly River International. A total of 237 criminal suspects were arrested, 362 illegal accounts were uncovered, and the amount involved reached 170 million yuan, dealing a powerful blow to the arrogance of criminals."
"..."
There was no doubt that this was Section Seven's handiwork again.
No matter how much trouble the Grave Keepers caused, Section Seven could always clean up their mess as quickly as possible.
Li Ming turned off the television and looked around, finally resting his gaze on Chu Ning. "You... actually weren't late today?" he asked in surprise.
It was clear that Li Ming really had no talent for leadership. At a time like this, shouldn't he have thanked the team for their hard work, told them what a beautiful job they had done, and promised them promotions and raises?
Chu Ning replied expressionlessly, "I want to know headquarters' individual evaluations of our operation. Whether I can join the Special Operations Squad depends on it."
Gu Jiuge was immediately amused. "What's so great about that damn place?"
Chu Ning glanced at Gu Jiuge and said coolly, "I'm not like you. All you do is eat for free and wait to die."
"Crazy Girl."
Gu Jiuge shook his head, pulled his phone from his pocket, and opened the martial arts game he had recently downloaded. The sounds of clashing blades and swords echoed through the office.
Qingxue leaned her little head over, watching Gu Jiuge play with great interest.
Su Bai silently grumbled, You've finally stopped bothering the radish.
Li Ming pointed at Lin Luo's briefcase. "Take out the documents."
Lin Luo nodded, placed the briefcase on the table, and entered the code. He took out five documents, kept one for himself, and handed out the other four in turn.
Two days earlier.
While the operation to surround and eliminate the enemy was underway, Section Seven's personnel had joined forces with the Suzhou police to rescue the imprisoned Shen Fei and Lu Ping and seal off Heavenly River International.
As the core members led by Lin Yue were eliminated one after another, the Hunter Guild became a heap of loose sand. The enormous organization crumbled and fell apart in an instant.
Using the list Su Bai had provided, member after member of the Hunter Guild came to light. Most were small fry with ninth-tier bloodlines.
When Grave Keepers took action, they left no survivors. This was a fact the authorities tacitly accepted.
These small fry did not deserve death for their crimes, so there was no need for the Grave Keepers to step in. They could be left entirely to Section Seven.
Section Seven had always shown sufficient leniency toward Transcendents who broke laws and regulations. Unless they had committed some unforgivable crime, it would not strike them dead with a single blow.
These small fry would probably be locked up for a period of ideological education. If they could set their attitudes straight, they would most likely become reserve forces for the Grave Keepers and Tomb Sweepers.
Strictly speaking, Transcendents also counted as a strategic resource.
After the operation had fully concluded, everyone except Li Ming had written a report for the records, which Lin Luo submitted together to Section Seven.
According to the rules, headquarters had to evaluate each Grave Keeper's actions and enter the evaluation into the database, then issue rewards and punishments based on the score for each operation.
Everyone except Gu Jiuge, who was playing his game, began looking through their documents.
Qingxue pouted, looking aggrieved. "Why did I only get a C+?"
Grave Keeper No. 548 Name: Qingxue Divine Oracle Sequence: 76 (Angel Wings) Bloodline tier: 7 Professional knowledge: C Combat power: C Judgment: D Communication and coordination: C Adaptability: D Systematic ability: C Creative thinking: C Execution: A Overall evaluation: C+
"Brother Gu, what was your evaluation?"
Qingxue leaned her little head over again.
Gu Jiuge was focused entirely on his game. He casually tossed the document onto the table and scoffed. "What's worth looking at in that thing?"
Grave Keeper No. 147 Name: Gu Jiuge Divine Oracle Sequence: 79 (Karmic Fire) Bloodline tier: 4 Professional knowledge: F Combat power: S+ Judgment: A Communication and coordination: A Adaptability: A Systematic ability: F Creative thinking: F Execution: F Overall evaluation: A-
Qingxue's greatest contribution to the operation had been ambushing Jiang Long with a Barrett heavy sniper rifle, so a C+ was fair enough.
Gu Jiuge, on the other hand, had single-handedly eliminated Lin Yue and Han Zhe with one blade. He was unquestionably the greatest contributor to the operation, yet he had received only an A-. That was somewhat hard to justify. Presumably, headquarters was also giving him a warning about his negative attitude of eating for free and waiting to die.
"I got an A." Chu Ning closed her document and let out a long breath. Clearly, she was very pleased with headquarters' evaluation.
Grave Keeper No. 450 Name: Chu Ning Divine Oracle Sequence: 98 (Thunder Spirit) Bloodline tier: 6 Professional knowledge: A Combat power: B+ Judgment: C Communication and coordination: C Adaptability: A Systematic ability: A Creative thinking: A Execution: A Overall evaluation: A
Lin Luo nodded slightly and said succinctly, "Same as you."
Grave Keeper No. 433 Name: Lin Luo Divine Oracle Sequence: 126 (Dark Night) Bloodline tier: 6 Professional knowledge: A Combat power: B+ Judgment: A Communication and coordination: A Adaptability: A Systematic ability: B Creative thinking: B Execution: S Overall evaluation: A
By comparison, Chu Ning's evaluation was somewhat inflated.
Chu Ning had forced her way into Heavenly River International, driven recklessly at a highway intersection, and killed people in the street. These actions had an enormous negative impact, and Section Seven had paid a heavy price to quiet public opinion. Grave Keeper headquarters, however, had not factored any of that into her score, resulting in the inflated evaluation.
Chu Ning looked at Su Bai and asked, "What about yours?"
Su Bai stared at the document in his hands, reading it over and over, his brow tightly furrowed.
The others all turned their eyes to Su Bai.
Qingxue asked tentatively, "A or B?"
Su Bai shook his head slightly.
Qingxue was astonished. "Don't tell me it's a C?"
Su Bai spread the document out on the table.
Grave Keeper No. 740 (probationary) Name: Su Bai Divine Oracle Sequence: 138 (Red Tassel) Bloodline tier: 9 Professional knowledge: D Combat power: F Judgment: S+ Communication and coordination: S+ Adaptability: S+ Systematic ability: S+ Creative thinking: S+ Execution: S+ Overall evaluation: S
In the cramped office, not even a sparrow made a sound.
Grave Keeper headquarters strictly controlled individual evaluations, and the rewards for each evaluation differed.
A C-rank evaluation meant that you could receive a cash reward of 100,000 yuan or a small portion of the resources needed to advance from your current bloodline tier.
A B-rank evaluation meant that you could receive a cash reward of 500,000 yuan or all the resources needed to advance from your current bloodline tier.
An A-rank evaluation meant that you had successfully entered the sight of headquarters' administrators and had priority in choosing assignments.
Over ten years and thousands of Grave Keeper operations, large and small, fewer than twenty S-rank evaluations had been awarded.
The conditions for earning an S-rank evaluation were exceedingly stringent, and the rewards were extraordinarily generous.
Reward 1: Your name and deeds would be posted on the "Grave Keepers Forum," making you an example for all Transcendents to learn from.
Reward 2: You could make any one request of headquarters, within the rules.
Reward 3: You would automatically become a reserve member of the Special Operations Squad.
Any Grave Keeper's desire for an S-rank evaluation was no less than a hungry wolf's craving for food.
After the operation against the Hunter Guild, a probationary member with only a ninth-tier bloodline had unexpectedly received an S-rank evaluation.
It was foreseeable that once the news got out, every Transcendent organization in Great Xia, including illegal organizations and guilds, would be shaken.