Bailin seemed to have sensed something; a look of smug triumph flickered in his eyes as he glanced toward Liulan. Unfortunately, before his provocative gaze could even meet Liulan’s, it was blocked by a frantic Zhu Yiyi.
"What are we going to do?" Zhu Yiyi slumped her shoulders and sighed. "With my pathetic physical condition, I’m definitely going to be sent home early."
Lü Shi patted her shoulder, comforting her: "Don't worry. We're about the same; if one of us goes home, we both go home."
Beside Bailin, Gong Yu smiled gently upon hearing this. "If anyone's physical results really didn't meet the standards, Director Zhang would have replaced them long ago. Why would he go to the trouble of bringing us all here?"
Zhu Yiyi suddenly saw the light. "That’s true!"
Nanwei handed the box containing the bracelets to Du Jinfeng, who was at the far right. "If there are no other questions, everyone take one. Once you match your biometric information, I, as your supervising instructor, will receive your data."
Everyone took a bracelet one by one, their faces a mix of anticipation and nervousness.
The most impatient was Xie Ti. Without a word, he strapped his on, fiddled with it for a moment, and then his bracelet broadcasted loudly:
"ID: [Redacted]
Name: Xie Ti
Gender: Male
Recommended Training Standard: Primary Level One."
The moment the voice stopped, Nanwei’s bracelet emitted a faint glow; it had evidently received Xie Ti’s data transmission in real-time.
Having had his secrets exposed without warning, Xie Ti scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed. "That was sudden, wasn't it?"
Communication bracelets usually defaulted to private audio. The fact that this one announced his assessment to the world the moment it was put on made it easy to guess who was behind the mischief.
Hidden behind the surveillance console, Director Zhang gave a cunning smile.
After Xie Ti’s experience, everyone else felt better prepared and understood that the information on the bracelets would be public. Liulan, who had been about to put his on, paused to observe how the others fared.
"Is 'Primary' good or bad?" Zhu Yiyi asked cautiously.
"There is no good or bad when it comes to training standards," Nanwei said. "It simply matches the standard to each person's physical condition for reference."
But this meant that the training standard reflected the owner's actual strength to a certain degree. If that were the case, it carried a very different weight for a group of public figures like them.
As expected, once Nanwei finished speaking, the live chat exploded.
"Given Bailin's build, wouldn't it be reasonable for him to get 'Advanced'?"
"Gong Yu will probably get 'Primary,' which is fine—it'll be easier for him."
"Sister Lü Shi should at least get 'Primary Level Two', right?"
"╮(╯▽╰)╭ Starting to worry that Yiyi won't even have a level."
"Teacher Du is in decent shape, let's hope it's not too hard on him."
"Yao Nian has practiced martial arts since childhood; he should at least be 'Intermediate', right?"
A mocking comment followed the Yao Nian fans' thread: "Are you serious? Does anyone actually still believe in ancient national martial arts in this day and age?"
The chat moved too fast for many to notice the exchange, and even those who did weren't about to waste time arguing. Beyond the speculation from the various fanbases, there was a great deal of schadenfreude directed at Liulan.
"[Laughing] It's over. Liulan is about to be publicly executed!"
"Liulan should just quit now."
Assuming Liulan’s earlier change of expression was due to poor health results, Bailin shot a look of disdain at him. Liulan felt it, of course, and returned it with a look of utter indifference, then deliberately curled his lips into a smile at him.
Bailin was so irritated he could have bitten his teeth.
Xie Ti, having witnessed the whole thing, shrank back, terrified by the glare Bailin directed his way.
"I heard Bailin studied combat. Aren't you afraid he'll give you a hard time in combat class?"
"Combat?" Liulan raised an eyebrow, a flicker of interest appearing. "Is he very good?"
"How would I know? I've never seen him in action," Xie Ti shrugged.
While they were talking, Lü Shi and Zhu Yiyi had finished syncing their bracelets, both receiving "Primary Level Three." Du Jinfeng followed immediately after, receiving a "Primary Level One," which was unexpected yet reasonable. The most surprising among them was Gong Yu; despite his frail appearance, he was rated "Intermediate Level Three."
With only three people left, Bailin was certain Liulan’s results would be poor. Feeling he wouldn't do badly himself and wanting a comparison, he intended to sync his before Liulan. However, when he turned, he saw Yao Nian watching him.
It seemed Yao Nian wanted Bailin to go first.
Yao Nian was, after all, currently at the height of his popularity. Bailin didn't want to offend him and figured that syncing now wouldn't make much difference—it would still serve as a contrast to Liulan. He smiled at the others and said, "I'll go first, then."
Bailin was undoubtedly the most robust among them, and everyone assumed he would have the highest rating. Thus, when the system announced his standard as "Intermediate Level Two," no one was surprised.
Instead, someone in the chat questioned: "Bailin didn't even make 'Advanced'?"
A knowledgeable military buff immediately chimed in: "This is a military base, what do you think the training standard assessment is? 'Advanced' isn't just handed out like cabbage. Even graduates from military academies usually only reach the 'Intermediate' level. Bailin’s score is already excellent."
Seeing this, Yao Nian’s fans began to worry. If even Bailin could only manage "Intermediate," wouldn't Yao Nian fare poorly as well? Yao Nian’s signature role was that of a Martial Arts Master; would this shatter the illusion of his character?
Some fans secretly hoped that at least there was still Liulan; no matter how bad his scores were, he would at least serve as a cushion.
Just as Yao Nian’s fans were praying for Liulan to be the next to sync, Yao Nian stepped forward himself.
"I'll go."
Liulan didn't mind. He wanted to see everyone else’s results first anyway, so he made a "please" gesture with his right hand.
The sky had darkened at some point, with heavy gray clouds pressing down. Nanwei’s expression showed a trace of sudden urgency. Though it went unnoticed by the others, Liulan caught it.
He frowned imperceptibly and turned his gaze back to Yao Nian.
Yao Nian’s expression was as calm as ever. He unhurriedly fastened the bracelet to his wrist. After a few seconds, the bracelet lit up, completing the biometric match.
Yao Nian was the second to last to sync, so everyone had a basic concept of the standards by then. In everyone’s eyes, Yao Nian’s result was a foregone conclusion. When the system broadcasted "Advanced Level Three," it caught everyone off guard.
Even Nanwei, who had seen his fair share of talented individuals, couldn't suppress his shock. He tapped his own bracelet to verify the result.
"The result is correct. It is indeed Advanced Level Three," he frowned.
Bailin, who had been certain he would be the strongest, stared at Yao Nian in stunned silence. The quiet on the scene was in stark contrast to the wildly jumping chat in the livestream.
"What? What did it say?"
"Advanced Level Three? It said Advanced Level Three, right?"
"Is this for real? A civilian, Advanced Level Three?!"
Du Jinfeng hurriedly asked Nanwei, "Is this a rare talent?"
"You could say that," Nanwei said, putting down his bracelet and explaining calmly. "But there are Advanced Level Three graduates in the military academy every year. This is just a simple assessment of a soldier's physical fitness; it doesn't represent everything."
Hearing Nanwei’s explanation, the others slowly calmed down, their sense of disappointment easing. Yet, everyone understood that the gap between them and Yao Nian was undeniably vast.
Xie Ti suddenly seemed to remember something and clapped his hands excitedly. "Oh! I remember! Isn't Yao Nian from one of those... ancient martial arts families?"
"The Wangshan Yao Family," Yao Nian said flatly.
"Yes, yes, that’s the one!" Xie Ti realized. "You’re so good—is it because you’ve practiced martial arts since you were a kid?"
Xie Ti’s words stirred the group. Before Yao Nian could answer, Bailin let out a sneer.
"Martial arts? What novel are you reading? Why would you believe the nonsense those scammers use to swindle people?"
He turned to Yao Nian and asked, "Did you hire someone to train you specially?"
Yao Nian replied coldly, "Family tradition."
Bailin assumed he was just being evasive because he didn't want to talk about it. He curled his lip and said, "Fine, keep your secrets."
Xie Ti seemed to have opened the floodgates; everyone was now struck by unprecedented curiosity about Yao Nian’s strength. They crowded around him to ask questions, which made Yao Nian, who preferred peace and quiet, frown.
Liulan looked up at the sky, which was on the verge of rain, and watched the group discussing amongst themselves. He turned to Nanwei and asked, "Is 'Advanced Level Three' the highest?"
"For you people, yes," Nanwei replied.
That was an interesting answer, Liulan thought, giving a slight smirk.
He picked up his bracelet and clicked it onto his wrist. No one cared about his results; the bracelet lit up on its own.
The green light symbolizing biometric matching faded, but unlike the others, Liulan’s bracelet did not immediately announce his information. The blue light flashed repeatedly, round after round, consuming far more time than anyone else’s.
Nanwei noticed the situation and took a step toward him. He hadn't gone far when Liulan’s bracelet suddenly emitted a sharp, grating alert:
"Error! Error! System identification version mismatch. Please update to the correct version."
"Error! Error! System identification version mismatch. Please update to the correct version."