180: Ask the one who took the shortcut.

His teacher, Teacher Gao Zhengguo.

That old man who had been stubborn his entire life and never bowed his head to anyone.

In his memory, this teacher had never used personal connections to have any disciple do anything for him.

This was the first time.

Over the phone, the old man’s slightly trembling yet deliberately steady voice made his heart ache.

As his student, how could he not comply?

He held the candy in his mouth and shifted his posture on the cold metal chair.

As long as it did not affect the mission, it was fine.

And it would not affect it.

A mission that seemed fraught with peril and near-certain death to outsiders was sometimes nothing more than going through the motions to the Fangs Squad.

Taking a young man in for a quick tour was naturally not a problem.

The real problem was that Qin Zhan, who had little experience with such social complexities, could not quite grasp his teacher’s intentions.

Calling directly to ask, "Teacher, what exactly are you trying to do? Can you give me a straight answer?" would purely be asking for a scolding.

It might even escalate the nature of the incident, which would be detrimental to both Teacher Gao Zhengguo and him.

He could only piece the puzzle together himself from those few brief sentences.

Following official protocol?

If it were purely official business, such an unconventional arrangement would never fall upon Fangs.

The Ministry of Education had so many departments, and the military had so many teams; there were plenty of places to place someone.

Therefore, it was not official protocol.

Then it could only be a private matter handled officially.

And it was specifically masked under the name of the "College Entrance Examination Final Assessment."

Qin Zhan shifted the lollipop from the left side of his mouth to the right, the plastic stick making a faint "click" sound.

He suddenly understood.

Gilded.

Thinking about it, it must be gilding.

The descendant of an old acquaintance close to Teacher Gao Zhengguo, or perhaps an unworthy relative or nephew, needed a resume impressive enough and weighty enough.

A resume sufficient to let him soar to the heavens in a single step.

Was there any resume more terrifying than "Completing the College Entrance Examination during a Fangs Squad combat mission"?

There was none.

Teacher Gao Zhengguo also said:

"Set an entry threshold for him; you can test him however you like. If he cannot even get the recognition of the young men under you, then the first step of his assessment is considered a failure."

"This way, it will be easier for us to report back."

This seemingly light sentence echoed repeatedly in Qin Zhan's mind, every word striking with a heavy resonance.

Us?

Which "us"?

Was it him, Qin Zhan, and Teacher Gao Zhengguo? Or the entire question-setting group?

No.

Neither of them.

The sweetness of the lollipop in Qin Zhan's mouth suddenly turned bitter.

He knew his teacher too well.

An old man who valued rules more than his life and had never bowed his head to anyone in his entire life.

For him to utter the words "report back" was itself a compromise, a yielding.

Was there anyone left in this world who could make him yield?

Qin Zhan’s thoughts raced.

Teacher Gao Zhengguo needed to report back.

To whom did he need to report back?

To whom could a retired group leader from the Ministry of Education still have to report?

Unless... this "report" was not his own, but one he was submitting on behalf of someone else.

On behalf of that young man named Lin Yu.

Hiss... Qin Zhan sucked in a cold breath, the plastic stick in his mouth grinding as he bit it.

Was this young man's background bigger than he had imagined?

Big enough that even someone of Teacher Gao Zhengguo's caliber had to carefully pave the way for him, even using his most valuable favor to arrange a "gilded" assessment?

Teacher Gao Zhengguo’s original words were: "Set an entry threshold for him; you can test him however you like."

"If he cannot even get the recognition of the young men under you, then the first step of his assessment is considered a failure."

It seemed like he was handing over the initiative to him.

He could fail in the first step.

Could he really?

If he really let this young man fail in the first step, would it truly be easy for Teacher Gao Zhengguo to report back?

This method would technically work—the path was given to him, and if he could not walk it himself, no one could be blamed... but... would it affect Teacher Gao Zhengguo?

He recalled how, back in the military academy, that stubborn old man had resisted pressure to pull him back from the brink of disciplinary action.

He recalled that after graduation, every time he encountered a bottleneck, this old man would use his meager salary to buy him a bowl of noodles and then offer a few casual words of guidance.

Qin Zhan hesitated.

He had always been disdainful, even scornful, of such backdoor dealings and gilding.

The Fangs Squad was built by him through blood and fire; it was the sharpest blade in the military, not a playground for the children of the elite to pad their resumes.

But... social dynamics were sometimes harder to dodge than an enemy’s bullet.

Having reached his current position, had he seen few such incidents?

So many that he was already numb to them.

Some rules were simply meant to be broken by special people.

Besides, was there really no one in his own Fangs Squad who had used a shortcut to get here?

A face always bearing an amused smile immediately appeared in Qin Zhan’s mind.

That guy's abilities were indeed top-notch.

But the shortcut he took to get here was definitely used.

Sigh... Qin Zhan irritably bit the lollipop in his mouth to pieces, swallowing the sweet, sticky fragments mixed with bitter saliva.

Speaking of shortcuts... should he go ask the guy who was best at taking shortcuts?

That is right!

That guy's brain was naturally born to decipher these complicated twists and turns!

What "report back," what "threshold," what "first step failure."

That guy could definitely interpret the hidden subtext in these words clearly.

Qin Zhan suddenly stood up from the cold metal chair.

He could not handle this matter based on his own conjecture.

If he handled it well, everyone would be happy.

If he messed it up, he would not only betray Teacher Gao Zhengguo's trust but might also bring huge trouble upon him.

He had to find a professional to consult on this matter.

He strode out of the combat command room, his rigid military bearing causing every team member who saw him along the way to instinctively straighten their backs and stand at attention to salute.

"Hello, Captain!"

"Captain!"

Qin Zhan nodded in response to each, passing through the cold, stark training area, walking past the wall of honor covered with merits, and finally stopping in front of a door that was completely out of place with the rest of the base's style.

The door had no number, no markings, and looked like it was made of ordinary wood. It even had a crooked cartoon sticker on it reading "Do Not Disturb."

Qin Zhan raised his hand, but instead of knocking, he pushed the door open and walked in.

Inside, it was not the office or dormitory he had imagined.

Instead, it was a massive modification workshop filled with a sense of future technology.

Half-disassembled mechanical parts, energy conduits glowing with faint blue light, and countless virtual data screens suspended in the air filled the entire space.

A young man in a white lab coat, whose hair was as messy as a bird's nest, was wearing goggles and intently studying energy construction.

Qin Zhan felt bitter inside. Honestly, if this guy had not taken a shortcut to get here, even Fangs would not necessarily be able to afford such a good laboratory.