C8 Gold Grade

Chapter Seven: The Golden Quality

In the age when spiritual energy was revived, an era of miracles unfolded where anything could happen.

Chu Yi stood at the door of the principal's office, gathering his thoughts before casually pushing the door open.

"Principal, you wanted to see me..."

After a quick glance at Lee Guoqiang, Chu Yi noticed two other individuals in the office. It seemed that it wasn't Comrade Guoqiang who wanted to see him, but rather these two.

"Chu Yi, let me introduce you," said Lee Guoqiang. "This is Director Zhang from the Human Resources Department of our Hua Kui Academy."

Hua Kui Academy... Chu Yi was well aware that as the premier research institution of the Terran Federation, and the leading research institute in the Adirang Region, Hua Kui Academy held an unimaginable status.

"So, you're Chu Yi?" Director Zhang remained seated, sizing Chu Yi up with a look of scorn and condescension.

After circling Chu Yi twice, Director Zhang smirked dismissively, "Is this all?"

Chu Yi was baffled, unsure of why Director Zhang seemed to harbor such animosity towards him from the outset.

Lee Guoqiang offered an apologetic smile but remained silent.

"Well, since I'm here," Director Zhang said, gesturing to his companion.

The sycophantic young man beside him hurriedly produced a set of equipment.

"Here's a First Level Illusion Compass technology kit. You have one hour to set it up!"

Chu Yi examined the illusory compass and the myriad of activation devices surrounding it with utmost seriousness. Truth be told, he knew at a glance that he could easily arrange it. Yet, Chu Yi remained still, simply gazing at Lee Guoqiang and Director Zhang before gently shaking his head, "I can't activate it..."

At Chu Yi's words, a peculiar gleam flashed in Lee Guoqiang's eyes, while Director Zhang's disdainful look grew even more pronounced.

"What a waste of time," Director Zhang muttered. "Is a slightly talented youngster really worth such a fuss?"

Lee Guoqiang stayed quiet, managing to force a smile. "I was too hasty earlier, my apologies for the inconvenience, Director Zhang."

"However, I do hope you'll give it a try, Director. Let's at least complete the process."

Director Zhang glanced at Lee Guoqiang, let out a cold snort, and then turned his attention to the young man beside him.

The young man produced a helmet from seemingly nowhere.

"Alright, put this on."

Despite his nonchalant facade, Chu Yi detected a flicker of anxiety in Director Zhang's eyes.

Truthfully, Chu Yi was completely baffled by the situation.

He caught Comrade Guoqiang's confirming look and, without hesitation, took the helmet and put it on.

In that instant, Chu Yi felt his primordial spirit quiver ever so slightly.

It was indeed just a minor quiver.

Shortly thereafter, Chu Yi sensed his primordial spirit begin to fluctuate, as though it was resonating with something!

Even though he didn't grasp the significance, Chu Yi understood the need for discretion at this moment.

Thus...

Chu Yi forcefully subdued the stirring within him.

The device briefly flashed gold before the light vanished. It happened so swiftly that even Director Zhang and his team, despite their focus, saw nothing.

"Just as I thought. He's merely a young man with a modest talent for perception."

Chu Yi clearly noticed a touch of relief in the depths of Director Zhang's eyes.

On the other side, Comrade Guoqiang's smile became even more strained.

"Remember not to squander the Federation's resources in the future."

"Do you have any idea how much work we have to do every day?!"

With those words, Director Zhang, followed by his assistant, left without a backward glance.

Chu Yi was taken aback. He had wanted to remain unobtrusive, but being disregarded like this still irked him.

Was I not esteemed yesterday, only to be dismissed today?

Lee Guoqiang exhaled softly and addressed Chu Yi, "Are you feeling a bit lost?"

Chu Yi nodded.

"How did you manage to activate the virtual device before?"

Hope once again shone in Lee Guoqiang's eyes.

After a brief pause, Chu Yi chose to be evasive.

"I'm not entirely sure myself. It just seemed like the right way to place it."

So it was!

The light of hope faded from Lee Guoqiang's eyes. "That's a talent in itself, an intuition for arranging these virtual spaces."

"This is indeed a very powerful talent, one that could elevate you above others in the future. With your ability, you can easily repair virtual devices."

"However..."

Lee Guoqiang shook his head. "Such talent doesn't contribute to the advancement of civilization."

Once Chu Yi had the concept explained to him, he came to understand.

Individuals with a natural aptitude for formations could intuitively set them up upon encountering the necessary materials.

Yet, this talent was impressive on a personal level only. They could utilize formations, but their ignorance of the underlying principles meant their impact on the progress of civilization was minimal.

It was akin to the advanced technicians from Chu Yi's past life.

While repairing a device, these technicians might outperform researchers in skill, but the researchers grasped the operational mechanisms, the principles, and even knew how to enhance the technology—something beyond the reach of even the most skilled technicians.

Chu Yi's response and demeanor had made a positive impression on Director Lee Guoqiang and Comrade Guoqiang.

Relieved, Chu Yi realized that the last test would be of his psychic force talent.

"Psychic force talent is categorized by color, starting with the lowest, yellow, followed by green, red, blue, and purple."

"And you, you have no color..."

Lee Guoqiang regarded Chu Yi with a hint of pity.

Lacking color indicated that one hadn't achieved any rank.

Chu Yi's face showed disappointment, yet he harbored a sense of bewilderment deep inside.

In that fleeting moment, unnoticed by others, Chu Yi had seen it—his psychic force talent was gold!

Indeed, gold, not yellow, which wasn't even mentioned in Lee Guoqiang's briefing.

Naturally, Chu Yi wasn't about to naively question it. Now that he had managed to keep a low profile, he was intent on quietly developing his skills.

After parting ways with Lee Guoqiang, Chu Yi headed straight back to the classroom...

He spent the entire day enduring the odd looks from his classmates.

At last, as class ended, Chu Yi left promptly without a backward glance.

Chu Yi was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't even hear Dakun calling out to him from behind.

After boarding the public flying car, it took him nearly an hour to return to his neighborhood in Redmarsh.

His home was situated in a rather outdated community within the city. Despite its decent location, it had sadly been overlooked by the demolition teams, leaving it to preserve its original character.

This wasn't unique to Chu Yi's neighborhood; several nearby communities shared the same fate.

The prime location and convenient surroundings ironically made the area quite unsafe after dark.

"Hmm?"

As he walked through the dimly lit alley, Chu Yi came to a halt.

The darkness enveloped him, sending a shiver down his spine.

With a curious look on his face, Chu Yi crouched down and stealthily made his way into a side alley.