Reply

'Who?!'

'Who stole my Individual Value?!'

Tang Hong's mood instantly plummeted. He waited from 7:00 to 9:00 in the morning. The sun was already shining through the windows of the dormitory room, yet the system prompt for the increase in his Individual Value still did not appear…

Even the smallest melon seeds had protein and all sorts of vitamins. It could also calm one's mind, treat insomnia, prevent cell aging, and even enhance one's memory.

But a melon seed cannot be compared to Individual Value.

It could not only increase his Strength, but also his Willpower. This—in itself was priceless.

"What went wrong?"

"It cannot possibly be another system failure, right? I'm not in love anymore. I'm single. I'm lonely! I'm single… Aargh!"

Tang Hong laid back. He covered himself with his quilt and then sat up once more.

But in the very next moment…

Han Zhibin's scream of misery and indignation came from the opposite bed. "Tang Hong! You have been tossing and turning this entire time! When will you stop?!"

…

The library wasn't that crowded in the morning and as a result, there were a lot of empty seats.

The rustle of writing and the faint sound of typing on a laptop keyboard gently echoed in his ears. Tang Hong looked down at the "Banking and Financial Regulations" book.

There was another book covered in red with the title, "All about Stocks and Bonds Investment" next to it.

"Individual Value."

"Increasing this means—doing something—or showing a specific behavior alone."

Yesterday morning, he followed Fang Nanxun to the Yellow River Organization for the contract signing. Then, he returned to school at noon and brewed in loneliness inside his dormitory room throughout the entire afternoon…

Tang Hong could still remember everything without missing a single detail.

But then suddenly…

His expression changed.

'Is it because Han Zhibin, Zeng Li, and Wu Jie stayed in the same dormitory room as me?'

The first system prompt he got every morning when he woke up flashed through his mind.

'Experiencing living alone, Individual Value has increased by 1.'

The words 'first time' wasn't in the system prompt which proved that he could repeat the action and obtain an Individual Value point every time.

He should think about this in the long run.

That first system prompt every morning was a relatively stable long-term income of Individual Points that Tang Hong wasn't willing to give up.

In addition, he was still testing his theories.

He didn't mind failures.

He knew that he just had to treat his failures as valuable accumulated experience.

"I can only find a way to live on my own.

Tang Hong took a breath and flipped the pages of the book without actually paying attention to it. He was planning on staying out for the day and see if he could obtain an Individual Value point the next day.

"Let's book a room."

Tang Hong deftly launched WeChat and found a small homestay program.

These houses were all rented out by private individuals, so they were cheaper than hotels.

The square foot area of a homestay room at the same price was larger than a hotel room.

Not to mention, homestays were also decorated in a warmer and cozier manner.

After browsing around, Tang Hong saw a lot of good deals at around 200 Hua dollars.

Eventually, he settled on one.

He still had a lot of options excluding those with only a single room and those that were ridiculously expensive. However, Tang Hong put away his phone. "It's only ten o'clock in the morning."

Homestays usually give a lot of discounts after 12 PM.

In fact, they often even dispense huge sales after 6, 8, or maybe 9 in the evening.

"I'll make my reservation after noon."

After lunch was the best time to make a room reservation.

If he really wanted to save money, then he could book a room in the evening. But finding a decent house with proper amenities would be a nigh-impossible job at those timings.

Tang Hong knew that even though he wanted to save some money, this was not the right way to go about it.

He put away his phone and got up from his seat.

It was time.

If he did not go to the cafeteria now, it would get crowded really soon.

Noontime arrived and Tang Hong did not return to his dormitory room.

He directly went to the classroom assigned to him for the first two classes in the afternoon.

He sat down and after booking the homestay, he was about to take a nap when a WeChat notification sound rang out in his pocket.

The classroom became quiet. The notification sound seemed exceptionally loud.

"Eh?"

"I didn't mute the phone?" Tang Hong remembered that he watched a movie while he was eating earlier. He must have unmuted his phone back then.

He hurriedly muted his phone and opened WeChat. The message came from Fang Nanxun.

Fang Nanxun's message said, "Their official reply is here. *smile*"

Seeing the foreboding smile of the emoji, Tang Hong's heart thumped fiercely.

Was there anything wrong?

"What is it?"

He typed the words in a hurry.

Fang Nanxun also replied, "The date is set, you will be a part of the latest batch at the end of June. My request for your delayed participation in the special training camp was unfortunately rejected."

The higher-ups managing the special training camp had coincidentally decided to expand the number of recommendation slots. In total, each of their branches would receive a hundred more recommendation slots than usual.

The Yunhai branch office had to find a way to fill the surplus of five more recommendation slots.

"You couldn't get enough people?" Tang Hong asked.

"That's not it. It's very simple… The main reason is that the admission fee is a bit expensive. I'm afraid that no one can afford it at such short notice." Fang Nanxun vaguely explained.

Tang Hong was speechless. "Is it very expensive? This is Yunhai we're talking about!"

Fang Nanxun explained even further. "The background check, qualification approval, and the admission process are all very cumbersome to do en masse…"

"Apart from being rich, you must also be qualified. In addition, you also can't force this on anyone. Joining must be voluntary. Time is tight, and I still have a lot of things to do. Where am I supposed to find people from?"

"They can't be forced? Must be voluntary?"

Tang Hong lowered his head and stared at the screen of his phone.

The change in his expression was subtle.

"You are different. As I said before—Tang Hong—you are different from others."

Fang Nanxun patiently explained. "Someone from the government found out about you and asked around regarding your situation. If it weren't for that contract, we wouldn't be able to keep your files in our hands. But at the end of the day, you will still have to leave the campus and join the Transcendent Department."

"What's my situation now?"

"You have at least another two months of free time."

Fang Nanxun seemed helpless.

The truth was, he hoped it would be better sooner.

But the truth was, he hoped that the special training camp would happen sooner.

However, the resources of the Yellow River Organization were relatively limited. They could only hold two special training camps a year. If Tang Hong joined mid-way, Fang Nanxun was worried that the former might not be able to keep up with the training and end up delaying everyone.

On the other hand…

Fang Nanxun was also afraid that Tang Hong might lose confidence in himself if he knew what he was thinking. If this happened, then it might end up affecting the tenacity of Tang Hong's willpower.

"Alright." Tang Hong sent a smiling corgi emoji. "Just tell me where that bungalow is."

Fang Nanxun also returned with a classic sweat emoji.

"To think that I forgot to tell you…"

"This is the community address…" Fang Nanxun posted a WeChat location. "If I remember correctly, the community door card is placed on the shoe cabinet. The garage password is 666666#, and the driving permit should be in the car. Look for it yourself."

'Garage password?'

'So advanced?'

Tang Hong repeatedly blinked. He felt a little emotional.

But what followed afterwards was confusion. "Why are you so good to me? I don't deserve it!"

Fang Nanxun replied, "I'm just lending it to you for a few days, it's nothing."

Tang Hong was shocked. "What!? I was just about to ask you when you are free to transfer the house to my name!"

Fang Nanxun: "…"

Fang Nanxun moved the cursor of his mouse and searched for a long time before he awkwardly pulled out a compressed file and sent it to Tang Hong via WeChat.

"This is one of the previous entrance test's question. Take a look."

"Okay."

Tang Hong opened the compressed file.

The scoring criteria of the physical test included the following five aspects…

Strength, Speed, Endurance, Agility, Flexibility.

Other than that was the test of Willpower.

Tang Hong clicked, but he could only see a few small words: top-secret information.

He looked at the physical test again.

It was just a few simple words.

Tang Hong was suddenly worried.

Opening WeChat, Tang Hong asked, "Which is more important? Physical test or Willpower test?"

Fang Nanxun replied, "Of course, the Willpower test is more important! But to temper your Willpower, your physique must be strong enough to keep up."

"If you want to do well, you should practice the bench press until you can reach the standard bench of a 100 kg worth of weights before entering the camp. There is no need for you to worry about the rest."

He didn't bother talking about things that were too basic.

There were points that were useful, but they were not suitable for Tang Hong at this stage.

He felt that there was nothing more for him to say.

Entering the special training camp was the true beginning of Tang Hong's journey on the path to being a Transcendent.

The training methods of the special training camp were more formal and effective after all.

It was similar to planting a tree.

Expecting a sprout to become a gigantic tree in just two days was impossible and only happened in movies.

However, Tang Hong still pressed on. "What happens after I meet the standards?"

Fang Nanxun replied, "Young man, don't ask too much question. It's useless."

He was not anxious, but Tang Hong was.

"Just you wait!"

Tang Hong made a sidelong glance at the Individual Value depicted within the system interface.

Then, he sent a huge smiling emoji to Fang Nanxun.

"Hahaha."

Fang Nanxun remained calm.

'Not having suffered any setbacks, this child really thinks that he's an extraordinary genius…'

But Fang Nanxun understood Tang Hong's feelings.

In fact, when he was young, he was even crazier than Tang Hong.

He became a Transcendent after just one year of formal training. Back then, he even wanted to put a huge screen on his chest showing his achievements to everyone.

That was until he participated in the blockade…

Gradually, he understood how grim their situation was against the invading gods from the other dimensions.

It was hope—but at the same time it was despair.