Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Collaborator
Returning from the lounge, Zhao Yan’s attitude indeed changed. He directly turned off the scoring system and asked Wu Chang:
"Hey there, I see you’ve got potential. Interested in joining the Management Bureau?"
Wu Chang originally didn’t plan to join the Management Bureau immediately, which is why he answered almost jokingly when registering. He didn’t expect Meng Yawen’s connection would allow him to join the Management Bureau with such lackluster data.
He remembered that before Zhao Yan couldn’t help but leave, he wanted to give him a D- rating.
Joining the Management Bureau with a D- rating probably wouldn’t attract much attention.
Thinking of this, he replied, "Of course I’m interested. Being a public servant has always been my top career aspiration."
Zhao Yan lightly coughed and explained, "To be precise, you’re not considered a public servant yet."
Wu Chang furrowed his brows, "Isn’t our huge Anomalies Management Bureau an administrative unit?"
"It’s not that, it’s just that the Bureau has regulations. New members have an assessment period before joining the Management Bureau. During this assessment period, you are considered temporary members, officially called Assistants."
"Only after passing the assessment period, completing enough contribution value, and having the intention to become permanent, can you become official members."
Wu Chang: "So, joining now means no official position, just a contract worker?"
Zhao Yan felt a bit of a headache from the questioning, rubbed his head, and said:
"The Management Bureau’s existence is special, you can’t measure it against ordinary public servants. This system is actually a form of protection for you as well."
"Not becoming an official member means you’ll miss out on some benefits, but correspondingly, your responsibilities will also be much lighter. Unless there’s a city-wide crisis, the Management Bureau does not have the authority to forcibly recruit temporary members."
"But official members are different. Once you become an official member, even if you face a mission you know you can’t survive, you must grit your teeth and take it on. Temporary members can choose to refuse. Because of this, many temporary members voluntarily refuse to become permanent."
Wu Chang raised his eyebrows, the Management Bureau is quite humane, providing independent players with multiple collaboration models.
After asking a few more questions, he became clearer about the Assistant model.
As top players delve deeper into the Abyssal Game, the scale of Abyss Players has been continuously expanding in recent years.
Especially in Xia Country, with its large population base, new Abyss Players emerge almost every moment.
The Management Bureau can’t keep track of everyone and can’t accommodate and manage so many players.
Furthermore, influenced by film and various cultural works, individuals suddenly gaining extraordinary power more or less feel resistant towards institutions with national attributes.
Forcing all players to join and managing them uniformly and brutally would instead push players to the opposite side of the Management Bureau, making them susceptible to other forces and turning from insiders into enemies.
To unite all possible forces, the Management Bureau provides great freedom to Assistants.
As long as they don’t break the law, Assistants are hardly restricted at all and won’t be required to disclose current level attributes and skills, or other personal secrets.
Zhao Yan wasn’t wrong. For players like Wu Chang who have some small secrets, Assistants are more suitable for them than official Management Bureau members.
After receiving Wu Chang’s affirmative response, Zhao Yan registered him as a Fighting Club member, asking him to return in three days.
The baby-faced and buzz-cut middle-aged men had recently found several Assistants and planned to hold an entry ceremony together in three days.
They’re all Assistants from Wanghai City, essentially colleagues, so they might as well introduce themselves.
If worried about revealing their identity, one can apply and the Management Bureau provides a special online meeting service.
Seeing Wu Chang had no other requests, Zhao Yan indicated he could leave.
"By the way, wasn’t I going to have an interview record?" Wu Chang, halfway out of the Management Bureau, suddenly remembered why he was summoned.
Zhao Yan waved dismissively, indicating he should quickly go home.
"Bloodthorn is a top-level fugitive in the Bureau. Several local branch members fell at his hands. You directly took that bastard out, so there’s no need for an interview record."
On the way back to the dormitory, Wu Chang saw that Fang Hui hadn’t gone out today and was calling various godfathers in the dormitory for help with food delivery.
He immediately took on the task, choosing the most luxurious set from the cafeteria and even used his own card.
Whether or not he gets ostracized at the Management Bureau in the future depends entirely on Hui’s influence, so he must take good care of him.
Three days passed in a flash, and suddenly it was the day of the entry ceremony.
A total of six people joined as Assistants.
Including Wu Chang, four people attended the entry ceremony without any concealment, showing their true faces.
Of the other two, one seemed embarrassed and removed their mask after seeing everyone else, while the other remained mysterious with no intention of removing their mask.
As the archivist for the group, Zhao Yan was in charge of hosting today’s entry ceremony.
Zhao Yan looked at the six and said loudly:
"Everyone’s level this time is similar, generally within the 7-9 level range. Until you surpass level 10 and truly grow, I will be your coach, guiding and training you all."
"As players in the Abyssal Game, combat ability is the foundation for clearing dungeons and staying alive. Combat ability is not equal to attributes; having power and knowing how to use it is equally important. In the upcoming sessions, I will teach you how to fight as players, and how to maximize your abilities."
"For everyone’s first meeting, nothing’s a better way to say hello than a sparring session that hits the spot."
At this point, Zhao Yan became excited, as if he had been waiting a long time for this day.
He came to the boxing ring and waved at everyone.
"Sparring with higher-level opponents can give you a clearer understanding of your shortcomings. Watching others from the sidelines can also help understand each other’s combat styles, so you’re not clueless when it comes time to collaborate."
"Don’t worry, I’ll hold back."
Watching Zhao Yan’s reaction, Wu Chang discreetly pursed his lips. Based on previous conversations between Zhao Yan and Meng Yawen, it seemed Zhao Yan’s coach back then was probably Meng Yawen.
From Zhao Yan’s reaction, it’s likely Meng Yawen once thrashed him this way, and now that it’s his turn to switch roles, he’s eagerly anticipating it.
As Wu Chang suspected, sparring between coaches and newcomers is a traditional program in the Management Bureau.
Not only for the reasons Zhao Yan mentioned but also to temper the newcomers’ arrogance and make them realize there’s always someone better out there.
As the registrar and scorer for everyone, Zhao Yan has a basic understanding of each person’s combat abilities.
He lists them by combat power, strongest to weakest, calling them to the stage in order.
As an experienced player, Zhao Yan’s combat techniques are quite skilled, seizing opportunities with precision.
Without needing any skills, he easily defeats several people using only Body Techniques.
Even the first one up, the masked man, couldn’t last a minute under him.
During the brief sparring session, not one of them managed to pose any trouble to Zhao Yan, let alone score a single effective hit.
With five people successively defeated, Wu Chang, sixth in line, stepped into the ring.
For the other five, Zhao Yan considered how to let them best demonstrate their abilities to observe their combat habits and offer advice.
But for Wu Chang, who has a D- rating and only two skills, scraping by to clear levels.
Zhao Yan was more worried about how to hold back so that Wu Chang, who has only one Control Skill, could last a minute.
If he accidentally eliminated Wu Chang too quickly, making him overly embarrassed, Meng Yawen probably wouldn’t let him off the hook.
But he soon found that when Wu Chang stepped onto the ring, his expression was more troubled than his own.
Wu Chang hesitated for a moment and said, "Coach, my skills aren’t suited for sparring, maybe I should sit this one out."
Zhao Yan, dissatisfied, said, "Do you think when you enter a dungeon, the BOSS won’t attack you because your skills aren’t suited for combat? Avoiding won’t solve any problems. You need more practice if you’re weak. Precisely because it’s not suitable, you need to train it until it is!"
Wu Chang awkwardly explained:
"I’m not trying to avoid it; it’s just that I can’t control the effects of my skills, and I’m afraid I might hurt you."