43: Chapter 43 Stand up and kick!

The following few days passed by.

Things were peaceful at the company with no one coming to cause trouble, and Li Yu was happy to enjoy the leisure.

On days without new orders, he studied in the mornings, reviewed at noon, and assisted the Breeders in the afternoons, leading a rather fulfilling life.

It was worth mentioning that the other Interns were constantly rotated between different Breeders, coming into contact with a new one every day.

Li Yu had originally thought he would face the same fate.

After all, Zhou Ya looked cold and somewhat unapproachable, acting indifferent toward everyone; yet, out of all those Breeders, she was the only one who hadn't requested to swap out her Intern.

This point made many other Interns so envious they felt like their cell membranes were splitting apart.

After a few days of contact, Li Yu also made a discovery.

Zhou Ya's coldness was mostly on the surface; she was actually a decent person. During the days Li Yu spent learning from her, he made mistakes, but she never scolded or criticized him. She would simply state the correct answer with an expressionless, icy face.

In just a few short days, Li Yu's general cultivation knowledge grew significantly.

One day, after work...

Supervisor Song, who had been missing for a few days, appeared once again.

“Li Yu, tomorrow is the day of the assessment. How is your preparation going?” Supervisor Song asked.

“Full marks for the practical,” Li Yu said, raising an eyebrow.

“What about the theory?” Supervisor Song asked again.

Li Yu blinked: “It's such a good time to get off work, let's not talk about such disappointing topics.”

Supervisor Song: “...”

It took him a good while to process that.

Hey!

He's throwing shade at me!

You're proud of being bad at theory?

Zhou Ya had compiled Li Yu's internship performance over the past few days into a report and sent it to him. It could be summarized in one sentence—practical skills qualified, theory too poor.

Regarding this, Supervisor Song had a face full of confusion.

Practical skills only 'qualified'?

Theory too poor?

Is that right?

If he hadn't seen Li Yu cultivate S-rank creatures with his own eyes, he would have thought Li Yu was possessed by something dirty.

Of course, he didn't know that this 'practical' referred to when he was cooperating with Zhou Ya, whereas the 'full marks' Li Yu mentioned referred to when he was cultivating independently. The two could not be lumped together.

But the other point—theory being too poor—that was a real problem.

The content of the assessments differed across different levels.

As the first hurdle for entering the profession, the Junior Cultivator exam had a theory-to-practical ratio of roughly 6:4; theory accounted for sixty percent, and practical accounted for forty percent.

If Li Yu failed the theory, even if he produced an S-rank in the practical and got full marks, he might not reach the passing threshold.

As for the Intermediate and Senior Cultivator exams where practicals carried more weight, one still had to pass the Junior Cultivator hurdle first.

“You rascal, anyway, just grind through more questions after you get back. I asked someone to compile a question bank for you. If you review according to that, your chances of answering correctly will increase significantly,” Supervisor Song urged.

“Who compiled it?”

“Who else but Zhou Ya,” Supervisor Song said with a strange expression. “I never noticed before that that icy girl had such a kind heart. Did you 'cultivate' her?”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

Li Yu rolled his eyes, ignored Supervisor Song, turned to clock out, and walked quickly out of the company.

Don't be fooled by Zhou Ya's cold demeanor, her habit of ignoring everyone, and her tendency to use one word when two would suffice.

After interacting with her, Li Yu realized...

He was wrong.

Outrageously wrong.

This girl was clearly...

“Psst~ Psst~”

A voice laced with a wretched vibe sounded as Li Yu was leaving the company.

However, Li Yu's head was full of the tens of thousands of questions in the question bank, so he didn't notice at all.

Leaving the company, he walked away with great strides.

Commuting over the past few days had allowed him to figure out an optimal walking route; walking back wasn't much slower than taking the bus.

After walking through the alleys for a while, suddenly, a 'screech' sounded in front of him as a shared bicycle darted out from the side.

The rider was making “psst psst” sounds at Li Yu, as if he had some secret to share.

Li Yu frowned: “Supervisor Chen—no, former Supervisor—is something the matter?”

The person who came was none other than the Supervisor Chen from the Eighth Floor who had been fired after taking the fall.

What was his name again?

He didn't know; Supervisor Song had never mentioned it either.

Supervisor Chen's face darkened, and his grip on the bicycle handles tightened. He almost couldn't resist smashing the bike into this bastard's face.

You have a perfectly good mouth, why do you say such things!

He slammed the bike down with a 'clang,' blocking the road, and walked toward Li Yu with a slight smile, though his unpleasant mood gave the smile a cold edge.

Li Yu kept his hands behind his back, ready to summon his beast at any moment. Although the Silver Scale Bubble Fish's combat power was close to zero, how should he put it—it could at least spray water and spit Bubbles, which was better than his own weak human self.

“Don't be nervous, I'm not here to deal with you,” Supervisor Chen said with a chuckle.

Li Yu looked at him suspiciously, feeling that this smiling fellow was like a cunning fox, brewing some wicked scheme in his gut.

He kept one hand behind his back, maintaining the summoning stance, while the other hand was in his pocket. He said expressionlessly: “If you have something to say, say it.”

“Brother Li Yu, are you interested in coming to our Eighth Floor?”

“Your Eighth Floor?” These words echoed in Li Yu's mind.

“Correct,” Supervisor Chen snorted. “You surely didn't think that just because I was fired, I no longer have any connection with Bright Moon Company?”

“Isn't that the case?”

“Naive, truly naive. Although I was fired, my permissions and such haven't been revoked. I can go to the Eighth Floor whenever I want. If I find something to do and make some arrangements, I can still go to the Eighth Floor as a special guest.”

“Keep dreaming! You're making it sound like Bright Moon Company is your own home.”

As Li Yu's voice fell, Supervisor Chen's smile became even more brilliant.

“While it's not quite that, it's close. Most people in the company belong to President Jin Yulong's faction. Aside from the Seventh Floor, Sixth Floor, and a few others, who doesn't have to listen to President Jin?”

“You think those two new women are powerful? Wrong. They can't beat President Jin. Before long, they'll be transferred away from Bright Moon Company due to 'serious dereliction of duty.'”

“Of course, none of that has anything to do with you. I see you have good talent and intend to give you a promotion. Why don't we turn our swords into plowshares and grow strong together? Why make things difficult with money? What do you say?”

The dagger was finally revealed.

He was here to recruit talent.

Li Yu understood clearly, yet he maintained an honest and confused look, staring with wide eyes as he said: “That won't do! Supervisor Song has been kind to me. If I jump ship to your side, would I still be human?”

“Tch!” Supervisor Chen sneered as if he had heard a joke. “People move toward higher ground; that's just how the world works. Joining us is a wise move. As for Old Song, hmph! He's an insignificant fellow. His little favors aren't worth a damn.”

“But...”

“Brother Li Yu, I'm truly looking out for you. Believe it or not, if you don't join us, you might not even pass tomorrow's assessment.”

Supervisor Chen said calmly. From Li Yu's reaction, he was certain that this inexperienced young man was being swayed, only held back by cheap morality. A little threat would make him agree.

He had seen many people like this.

Li Yu continued to stare wide-eyed: “How do you know I'm taking the exam tomorrow?”

“In our circle, there are no secrets. I'm not afraid to tell you that half of the examiners for tomorrow's Junior Cultivator assessment have ties with us. If President Jin is unhappy, be careful that your hard-earned cultivation... becomes someone else's wedding gown.”

Supervisor Chen lowered his voice for the latter part, seemingly wary of being overheard.

Fortunately, these were small alleys with few residents nearby.

It saved him some trouble.

“So? Brother Li Yu, have you considered... Hey, hey, hey! Don't leave! Put that down! That's the bike I rode here!”

Before Supervisor Chen could finish, Li Yu had already kicked up the shared bike's kickstand and sat on it. From Supervisor Chen's frantic look, one would have thought it was his wife.

Li Yu looked back, his naive expression completely gone. He said calmly to Supervisor Chen: “Sorry, I have no interest in joining you. Also, my last sentence was quite right.”

“What?” Supervisor Chen asked.

“If I jump ship to your side, would I still be human?”

After Li Yu finished speaking, he pedaled away swiftly on the shared bike, leaving only Supervisor Chen shouting agitatedly: “Don't stand up and pedal! You'll break it!”

Supervisor Chen cursed for a while and then hurriedly chased after the departing bike. Only after he had run far away did Li Yu's figure emerge stealthily from another side of the alley.

“No wonder he was so anxious. There was goods hidden inside the bicycle pedal.”

Li Yu weighed the object wrapped in oilcloth in his hand, a thoughtful look appearing in his eyes.