Huo Qingyao was feeling quite anxious at the moment.
The Goddess of Wisdom, being one of the three ultimate intelligent goddesses of the Universal Human Alliance, held one of the highest authorities.
Even the lofty Star Sovereigns treated the goddesses with utmost respect, never daring to show a hint of impatience, fearing it might lower their 'evaluation' in the eyes of a goddess.
Now that the Goddess of Wisdom had descended with her primary consciousness to issue him a stern warning, Huo Qingyao felt as if the sky was falling.
"Huh?!"
Before Huo Qingyao could recover from his shock, he noticed Chu Shiyu's face turn pale with fear, greater than his own.
"Were you looking up Lin Yuan's information too?" Huo Qingyao asked, then turned to the others, warning, "Don't any of you dare look up Lin Yuan's personal information."
Even he received a warning from the Goddess of Wisdom when he attempted to investigate Lin Yuan, so the others should definitely refrain.
They were all classmates and didn’t have a severe enough grudge to watch someone get warned by the Goddess of Wisdom.
"Huh?"
The few girls around looked puzzled.
Huo Qingyao briefly recounted his experience.
"Who exactly is this Lin Yuan for his personal information to be encrypted by the Goddess of Wisdom?" Chu Shiyu regained his composure, looking uneasy.
Although it's true that in the Universal Human Civilization era, a citizen’s personal information is considered private, he had only intended to find out why Lin Yuan’s name disappeared from the conscription list before the Goddess of Wisdom warned him.
Such a high level of personal information protection was exclusive to rare talents or high-citizen ranks.
Could Lin Yuan be connected to these esteemed categories?
"No matter his background, I ended up losing face big time this time," Huo Qingyao flushed slightly.
Just a moment ago, in front of everyone, he confidently stated that he would ask his uncle to help Lin Yuan, only to find out Lin Yuan had long been exempted from the list.
"Zhao Qiwen, since you knew early on that Lin Yuan was exempt from conscription, do you know more?" Chu Shiyu thought to ask, looking toward Zhao Qiwen seated nearby.
The others were suddenly enlightened, all focusing on Zhao Qiwen.
Indeed, she was the first to mention that Lin Yuan was no longer on the conscription list.
Clearly, Zhao Qiwen was more informed than the rest of them.
"I don't know much," Zhao Qiwen shook her head, hesitated for a while, then spoke honestly, "It's just that a few days ago, I was working part-time at the sales office of the newly launched Water Moon District when I noticed Lin Yuan buying a residence there."
Everyone gasped at her words.
The Water Moon District was a well-known upscale residential area, with prices easily exceeding ten million for just one unit.
If Zhao Qiwen wasn’t lying, Lin Yuan was undoubtedly the richest student in their school.
Spending millions without a second thought— even Chu Shiyu would struggle to do so without borrowing through family ties.
It wasn’t that the Chu family lacked million-dollar assets, but rather Chu Shiyu didn’t represent the Chu family.
Huo Qingyao and Chu Shiyu exchanged a complex look.
They had been rivals in the class for three years, and it seemed Lin Yuan had been watching them the whole time.
Considering Lin Yuan’s backing, their open and covert battles now seemed as silly as a monkey show.
Zhao Qiwen took a glance at the dejected Huo Qingyao and Chu Shiyu.
There was another thing she hadn’t shared: how the sales manager at the Water Moon office treated Lin Yuan with overwhelming respect, like a grandchild greeting a grandparent.
Water Moon Group was a renowned giant with its market spread across tens of cities in the vicinity.
That the manager had connections with several leaders in Eastern Peace City yet still acted that way toward Lin Yuan was chilling to think about, given she had unknowingly spent three years around such a powerhouse.
"I wonder..."
Zhao Qiwen bit her lips softly, contemplating silently.
"Lin Yuan really has such an impressive background?" Du Quan appeared dumbfounded.
Having known Lin Yuan for three years, he now felt he never truly knew him.
Evolvers Association.
A silent black hover car approached.
It stopped, and Lin Yuan stepped out.
"So this is the Evolvers Association?" Lin Yuan felt a strange sensation.
Before him stood a modest gray building, so low-key that it didn’t even have a signboard indicating 'Evolvers Association.'
"Are you Mr. Lin Yuan?" A lady in a black suit, her skirt slightly above the knees revealing her slender legs, hurried over to ask hesitantly.
"It's me," Lin Yuan nodded.
"Mr. Lin, please come inside," Zhu Qianqian glanced at Lin Yuan, then quickly led the way.
She was the staff member who recently delayed inputting Lin Yuan’s citizen identification, a mishap she stressed over greatly.
She was afraid that without Lin Yuan’s forgiveness, she would’ve been fired by her superiors by now.
Mr. Lin looks so young...
Zhu Qianqian thought, sneaking another glance while leading him.
Following Zhu Qianqian, Lin Yuan entered the gray building and reached an elevator.
As they stepped inside, Zhu Qianqian stood beside Lin Yuan, explaining, "Mr. Lin, before registering as an evolver, one needs to undergo an assessment. The evolver certificate will then be issued based on the results."
"I understand," Lin Yuan nodded.
The evolver certificate included specific rank details, which would only be confirmed through a capability assessment.
Not long after, they arrived at the twenty-second floor.
Ding.
The elevator doors parted, revealing several small rooms made of dark golden alloy, neatly arranged in two rows.
"Mr. Lin, your assessment room is right here," Zhu Qianqian led Lin Yuan to a door at the end.
"Assessment takes place in this room?" Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow.
"Yes and no," Zhu Qianqian nodded, then shook her head before opening the door.
Inside was a silver and white metal compartment.
"This is a virtual world capsule; Mr. Lin’s assessment will take place in virtual reality," Zhu Qianqian said candidly, skipping any mystery.
"In virtual reality?" Lin Yuan surveyed the room.
"Indeed," Zhu Qianqian smiled, "Powerful evolvers can easily destroy cities; it wouldn't be practical for us to clear a planet for them to assess their abilities."
"Thus, most evolver assessments are conducted in virtual reality."
Pausing briefly, she continued, "Mr. Lin need not worry about any discrepancy between his abilities in reality and virtual reality."
"This virtual world capsule will scan your entire body, achieving a complete physical simulation and syncing with your virtual self."
"I see," Lin Yuan nodded slightly.
Certainly, not all evolvers have overwhelming power— those who haven't yet entered a rank, or maybe stage one grade three or four may be suitable for real-world assessments on an open space.
But someone more powerful like Lin Yuan, who could destroy the building beneath them with a single move, or those even stronger at levels two, three, or higher could require an untold amount of resources to assess.
Hence, conducting assessments in virtual reality is the most efficient approach.
In the virtual realm, everything is simulated; even crafting a star system is doable.
(End of this chapter)