Upon hearing the voice, Fang Zhou had not yet reacted, but Bai Xiaochan, who was standing in front of him, immediately bristled.

"Meng Hongzhuang, you little shorty! How dare you come and bother Fang Zhou!"

Fang Zhou turned his head and, sure enough, saw a petite, legal-loli type with twin ponytails and a slim figure standing behind him.

Meng Hongzhuang looked at Bai Xiaochan with disdain. "Little lamb, have you forgotten the lesson I taught you last time?"

She then turned to Fang Zhou, her face filled with admiration.

"Lord Fang, I've studied every single one of your battle live streams carefully.

"As a Natural Summoner, I'm the one who has the most in common with you. If you let me be your assistant, I can't speak for other areas, but when it comes to Summoning Series Skills, no one has more authority than me."

Fang Zhou had exchanged contact information with Meng Hongzhuang, but he was not very familiar with her. He initially wanted to tactfully refuse this overly enthusiastic classmate, but when he heard Meng Hongzhuang's confidence in Summoning Series Skills, his curiosity was piqued.

So, Fang Zhou tentatively asked, "Then tell me, in what ways can my [Summon Skeleton] be improved?"

Without hesitation, Meng Hongzhuang replied, "Lord Fang, your sea of skulls tactic is already taking shape. Against most same-tier Professionals, it's an overwhelming assault and more than enough.

"However, it's limited by the skeletons' weak individual strength. If you face those Rare Close Combat Professions with extremely high individual combat power, they can easily find a breakthrough.

"I believe that while you're establishing numerical superiority with cannon fodder, you should also summon some elite creatures. Combining the two will produce an effect where one plus one is greater than two."

Seeing Fang Zhou's somewhat approving gaze, Meng Hongzhuang continued, "Additionally, Lord Fang, you have some Skills to enhance the combat power of your skeletons, but they seem incomplete.

"We Natural Summoners excel at this. Our predecessors have accumulated a wealth of experience that could provide you with many useful ideas."

Fang Zhou pondered for a moment, feeling that this twin-tailed loli really had something to offer. Her higher ranking in the Simulation Battlefield than even Ye Fan, the Demon Hunter, also proved she wasn't all talk.

As an assistant, Meng Hongzhuang seemed qualified.

So, Fang Zhou extended his hand to Meng Hongzhuang and said sincerely, "In that case, Hongzhuang, welcome to our Undead Mage research group. I'll send you an application form later, and you can report to the research lab after class today."

Meng Hongzhuang excitedly shook Fang Zhou's hand.

"Lord Fang, rest assured, I won't disappoint you."

As she spoke, she shot a provocative glance at Bai Xiaochan, whose little face behind Fang Zhou had puffed up like a pufferfish. Meng Hongzhuang said pointedly, "At the very least, I'm definitely stronger than a certain little lamb."

Sensing the palpable tension and Bai Xiaochan's resentful glare from behind him, Fang Zhou nonchalantly retracted his hand and quickly left the Simulation Battlefield.

Along the way, a satisfied smile crept onto his face.

With Meng Hongzhuang, this ultimate tryhard, joining, that slacker Bai Xiaochan won't be able to just coast along anymore, will she? Competition is good. Oh, this is great! An individual's wisdom is limited, after all. If you little assistants don't compete fiercely, how can I, the lead researcher, improve so quickly?

「...」

The fulfilling day passed quickly.

After the afternoon Meditation class, Fang Zhou brought Bai Xiaochan and Meng Hongzhuang to the research lab.

He had already informed Su Xinyan and Lu Hu about recruiting two new assistants. Such minor details, of course, wouldn't concern the two instructors.

After the formality of asking the two new assistants for some basic information, Su Xinyan, as the project lead, directly approved their applications.

Fang Zhou offered them a base salary of 10 contribution points per month.

In addition, for each Skill they helped Fang Zhou deduce or improve, they could receive a performance bonus of at least 10 contribution points.

Fang Zhou also cunningly stipulated a monthly performance award of 5 contribution points for excellence, but only one person could receive it.

His wolfish ambitions were plain to see; he was deliberately pushing Bai Xiaochan and Meng Hongzhuang to compete with each other.

Meng Hongzhuang, already hyper-competitive, was delighted by this.

Meanwhile, Bai Xiaochan, the slacker, was so dazzled by the generous amount of contribution points Fang Zhou offered that she failed to notice the sinister intentions of her "golden thigh."

After the contracts were signed, Fang Zhou looked with great satisfaction at the two new recruits before him and asked, "Report all the Skills you have currently mastered. I need to see what work is suitable for each of you."

Bai Xiaochan was the first to raise her hand. "Besides the Meditation Method, I have three other Skills.

"One is an Attack Skill, [Shock Wave].

"Another is a Beneficial Skill, [Heroic Hymn], which can temporarily increase an allied target's Power Attribute.

"And the last is a Support Skill, [Lullaby], whose effects you're very familiar with, Fang Zhou.

"I'm also currently learning [Song of Triumph], which can restore an ally's Spiritual Power or stamina. I'm close to the Beginner stage."

After speaking, she glanced haughtily at Meng Hongzhuang.

Except for [Shock Wave], every one of those Skills is extremely practical. That shorty Meng Hongzhuang only knows how to summon a big bear. What does she have to compete with my noble Chanting String Profession!

Meng Hongzhuang just snorted in disdain.

"I have mastered five Skills.

"Aside from the Meditation Method, there's [Summoned Beast], which needs no further explanation.

"I also have a Control Skill, [Jungle Entanglement]; a Beneficial Skill, [Furious Howl]; and a Healing Skill, [Withered Wood Revives].

"I've practiced all of these Skills to the [Skilled] proficiency level, and [Summoned Beast] has even reached [Mastery]."

Meng Hongzhuang's eyes lit up with fervor. "Fang Zhou, besides being your research assistant, I can also be your combat sparring partner. Believe me, I will definitely satisfy you."

Hearing this, Bai Xiaochan's face darkened as a sense of crisis washed over her.

Damn it, why is this shorty so proactive! Isn't it nice to just slack off while earning contribution points?

Fang Zhou paced around the office, thought for a moment, and then said, "Xiaochan, for the next week, you are responsible for researching powerful shield Skills used by Apprentice-level Magic Professionals.

"Collect information on at least ten of them and create a comparison table detailing their strengths and weaknesses.

"If you're unsure about anything, you can discuss it with Hongzhuang or consult Instructor Su or Instructor Lu.

"You also need to use the information you've gathered on these shield Skills to propose potential improvement paths for my [Skeleton Shield] skill.

"Feel free to make suggestions; the more ideas, the better.

"Based on your findings, I'll try to improve [Skeleton Shield]. If the results are good, you'll get a performance bonus of 10 contribution points.

"Also, you need to learn [Song of Triumph] as quickly as possible. From now on, you will play both [Lullaby] and [Song of Triumph] for me on a daily schedule. For that, I can give you an extra 10 contribution points per month."

Hearing this, Bai Xiaochan clenched her small fists, full of confidence, and said, "Leave it to me, Fang Zhou!"

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