Lu Yuan changed his clothes and trimmed his hair neatly. He was now peacefully seated by the window of the Fly Shuttle, observing the strange yet fascinating world outside that was gradually enlarging through the light-blue crystal glass.

This was his second time approaching the Sum Nation. The last time was on Zhou Ling's Fly Shuttle, and it was at night. He had only caught a brief glimpse from afar; before he could get closer, they had turned around and left.

Before seeing the Sum Nation up close, Lu Yuan had always thought it was the name of a city. Now he realized why everyone he knew who came from the Sum Nation described it as a "new world." This was not merely a metaphor. The real Sum Nation... was indeed as big as a "world."

Looking down from the Fly Shuttle thousands of meters high in the sky, his view still couldn't fully encompass the entirety of the Sum Nation. He saw a massive circular city, probably more than ten times larger than Burnt Rock. But this was not the Sum Nation. It was just one of the "tiny" satellite cities surrounding the Sum Nation. It was said there were over a hundred such satellite cities in total.

The most conspicuous structures in his view were six tall, silver-white towers at the far end of his line of sight. Five slightly smaller ones encircled the largest one in the middle. All six silver-white towers pierced the clouds, connecting with the dense steel dome above. Their tops were not visible.

It constantly reminded Lu Yuan of mythical legends like the "world tree connecting heaven and earth" or the "Endless Divine Mountain that upholds the sky"...

Of course, Lu Yuan felt a more apt metaphor—it was more like a hand. A hand carrying the countless desires, expectations, curiosities, and aspirations of the Sum Countrymen, an exploratory hand stretching from the surface towards the Starry Sky.

I wonder if they glow at night. If they do, God knows how beautiful they would look... Lu Yuan thought. He subconsciously took out his phone and, CLICK! CLICK!, started snapping photos through the window.

After he officially finished his assessment, the Yellow Bear personnel returned all the personal belongings they had temporarily confiscated beforehand.

During the four days he spent in Smokeless City Number Three, nothing particularly noteworthy had happened, aside from his mom's daily check-in messages—morning, noon, and night—and various DMs from close friends like Cheng Peng.

The only other things were reminders from Liu Si of the Crane Sect, informing him that he should return to Linghe Pavilion this month. Apparently, Master Liudao Yuan had something for him and insisted he go back to retrieve it.

Lu Yuan read the message. He subconsciously pictured Liu's outwardly cold but inwardly warm old face, and a warm feeling spread through his heart.

He replied "Okay" to Liu Si, casually asking about Liu's recent health and reminding Liu Si to give him less soda. The old man was getting on in years; constantly drinking carbonated beverages could lead to osteoporosis, and it wasn't as if Liu had many bones left to spare...

Next, he sent the aerial photos of the Sum Nation he had taken along the way to his mom, his older sister, Cheng Peng, and a few others. After a moment's thought, he also sent a set to "Quiet Zhu Bao" Xia Zhijing.

He had just finished sending them when DING! DING! DING! The notification sounds for incoming replies chimed one after another.

Before Lu Yuan could check them one by one, the door to the small compartment he was in opened. A beautiful woman with short, wavy hair, dressed in a blue-black uniform, stepped inside.

"Hello, Lu Yuan. My name is Xiao Rui." The attractive woman walked over, shook Lu Yuan's hand, and casually handed him a device that resembled a tablet.

"Hello." Lu Yuan accepted the tablet. A quick glance was all it took for him to realize—his "report card" had arrived.

He didn't examine it in detail, merely spotting a string of "S," "S+," and "SS" in the evaluation column on the right side of the screen... He scrolled directly to the comprehensive evaluation section at the bottom and saw it marked there—SSS+.

"Phew..." Lu Yuan exhaled lightly, instantly feeling a sense of relief. This was, unsurprisingly, an exceptionally high score.

As a "good student," Lu Yuan had an inexplicable drive to achieve high scores in any assessment. And now... his wish had come true.

"Congratulations, Lu Yuan," the beautiful woman named Xiao Rui, who had a Gold Bear emblem on the left breast of her uniform, said with a smile. "You've achieved the best New Blood assessment results in Yellow Bear's entire history."

"As a reward, in addition to the 24,700 Merit converted from the 2.47 million points you earned in this assessment, we will grant you an additional 10,000 Merit."

"Furthermore, your genetic sample is of great research value to our scientific team. We've collected some of your hair and skin tissue. If you agree to authorize its use for our research, we will compensate you with an additional 10,000 Merit..."

As she spoke, the woman named Xiao Rui reached out, swiped lightly on the tablet in Lu Yuan's hand a couple of times, and pulled up a pre-drafted authorization form.

Lu Yuan was somewhat taken aback, but then he considered: Even if I don't sign this authorization form, would the Yellow Bear personnel truly refrain from using my tissue samples for research? So, he simply signed it. There was compensation involved; it would be foolish not to take it.

Seeing Lu Yuan's straightforward and decisive manner, a satisfied smile appeared on Xiao Rui's face. Her gaze towards Lu Yuan now seemed to hold a subtle hint of warmth.

"Next, I have a few things to discuss with you in a personal capacity." Xiao Rui leaned slightly closer to Lu Yuan. As she spoke, a warm, fragrant orchid scent gently brushed his face.

The scent of a mature woman... The phrase inexplicably popped into Lu Yuan's mind as Xiao Rui continued speaking.

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