Section 37: Pre-job Training

On the third day at the Second Division, Sima finally underwent his pre-employment medical examination.

The exam took place in the fourth-floor infirmary. Zhou Lingri swiped the director’s card to lead them up. Joining Sima were two other recruits: Cha Guanghui and Yang Yang. Both had been "plucked" by Yang Zirong from provincial sports teams for being "Gu Masters." Cha was a shot-putter and a first-class athlete, while Yang was a competitive swimmer. Both had been banned from their sports due to "abnormal physiological adrenaline secretion," rendering years of hard training useless.

Since the athletes' medical histories were already on file, the exam was brief—a mere formality covering height, weight, vision, vital capacity, and finally, an ultrasound. The ultrasound was the critical part, though Sima remained unaware of the specific findings, knowing only that he had "passed safely" without anyone raising objections to the Gu parasite within him. Cha and Yang also "passed," though they spent significantly longer in the ultrasound room than Sima. This suggested their parasites were of higher value and warranted closer scrutiny; Sima surmised that their priority status stemmed from their Gu being "combat-oriented." Gu abilities were as bizarre as they were varied—a total blind box. For instance, the "Flawless Gu" was practically useless. Sima felt fortunate that Zhou Lingri was a fair-skinned beauty with long legs; had it been some rough-hewn old man, he wouldn't even have a place to cry.

After the exam, Zhou brought them to a third-floor conference room, where the head of the Second Division, Yang Zirong, personally gave them a lecture to shore up their basic knowledge of "Gu Masters" and "Gu parasites." To Sima, these concepts were nothing new, yet he listened intently. Unlike the dark world he knew, Yang Zirong threw out a series of formalized terms: "innate Gu" and "acquired Gu," "combat Gu" and "auxiliary Gu," "extracting Gu" and "seeding Gu," as well as "Immortal Gu," "Demon Gu," and "Human Gu." The recruits were left stunned and bewildered, as if trying to comprehend calculus.

Some terms were self-explanatory, like "innate Gu" being carried from the womb and "acquired Gu" being parasitic in nature. "Extracting" meant removing a parasite from a host, while "seeding" meant artificially implanting one. Other terms, however, were cryptic. Yang Zirong explained that the classification of "Immortal," "Demon," and "Human" Gu was a rough reference for combat-oriented parasites. If an average person’s combat power was 5, and the human physical limit was roughly 10–20, then the power added by different parasites varied wildly: under 50 was "Human Gu," 50–100 was "Demon Gu," and over 100 was "Immortal Gu."

Cha Guanghui, whose brain was as underdeveloped as his muscles were overdeveloped, blurted out whether a "Gu Master" with a combat power of 100 could take on 20 average people. Yang Zirong corrected him, explaining that 20 "power-level-5" losers did not add up to 100; they remained at 5, with perhaps only decimal variations. When Cha looked confused, Yang used Mike Tyson as an analogy. He explained that a professional athlete's combat power might hit the human limit of 20, but even if four average people surrounded Tyson, they couldn't break his defense, while one punch from him would result in a knockout. Ten or twenty such people would struggle to make a dent.

Cha then extrapolated that a "Gu Master" with 100 power could easily handle five, ten, or twenty Tysons. Yang Zirong sighed, rubbing his forehead, and conceded, "You could put it that way, but combat power doesn't simply add up like that." Yang Yang glanced at Cha, clearly thinking his brain wasn't firing on all cylinders. Yang Zirong, eager to move on, noted that a parasite's power only stabilizes once fully mature. Based on the exam, Cha and Yang’s parasites were combat-oriented, while Sima’s was likely auxiliary. Though their specific abilities remained unknown, they had passed the initial assessment to become official "Gu Masters" and would soon be assigned to internships.

After the orientation, Yang Zirong left to catch his breath, and Zhou Lingri entered to announce their placements. Sima was assigned to the General Office, while Cha and Yang were placed in Field Team One for a six-month internship. It was clear Cha and Yang were the ones being groomed; Field Team One was led by "Shao Jianbo," one of the "three pillars" of the Second Division. As for Sima, he was surprised to find himself a colleague of Zhou Lingri instead of in his desired administrative office.

By the time the commotion died down, it was lunchtime. Sima returned to the administrative office to say goodbye to Xue Dong and Bian Yaoshun. Xue Dong offered a polite show of regret, while Bian slapped him on the back, laughing and teasing him about his "dog-shit luck." The director of the General Office, "White Dove," was notorious for being protective of her own; Bian urged him to stick close to such a powerful backer. Sima, realizing he had stumbled into a position with actual protection, decided he would embrace this chance to coast through his career.

Xue Dong found an old cardboard box for Sima to carry his supplies to the new office. As Sima walked down the hall clutching the box, he felt as if he were being kicked out of the unit. Zhou Lingri saw him enter looking slightly disheveled and chuckled, asking what kind of treasures he was lugging around. Sima’s awkward explanation only made things sound worse, leaving him wondering if Xue Dong had been oblivious or just playing a prank.

Zhou Lingri eventually stopped laughing and told him the director was out, but his workstation—directly across from hers—was ready. Sima’s seat faced away from the door, offering zero privacy for any side hustles, but he kept his head down, merely piling his supplies onto the desk. Zhou Lingri, clearly bothered by the mess, finally stood up and began organizing his items until they were perfectly parallel with the desk edge. Sima watched her with a grin, and when she glared at him, he realized she knew he had been doing it on purpose.