When Chen Chuan didn't speak, the senior continued in what seemed like a very sincere tone, "I understand you might be hesitant to accept the sponsorship, afraid you'll have to give back more than you receive. But the agreement isn't as restrictive as you think after you accept the aid. We won't force you to do anything. Besides, the Mutual Aid Association offers more than just financial help—we also provide all sorts of academic advice and conveniences. You'll experience the benefits for yourself once you join."
He smiled again at this. "However, the re-examination is designed to select the truly capable students. If you have the confidence, if you think you can pass without relying on the Mutual Aid Association, then of course you can choose not to accept."
Chen Chuan said, "I need to think about it."
The senior nodded in agreement. "You should. You definitely should think it over. If you make up your mind, you can come find me. Here's my contact information."
As he spoke, he took out a prepared slip of paper and pushed it toward him. "Oh, right," he added. "There's also this receipt. Could you please sign it?"
Chen Chuan glanced at the form, picked up a pen and signed it, then pushed it back. He took the slip of paper with the contact information and stuffed it into his kraft paper bag along with the five mimeographed sheets. After packing up, he stood, nodded at the senior, and turned to leave, heading downstairs.
At that same moment, in the grand auditorium, Shan Xiong, Liu Cai, and several other second-year students were standing in a row, each positioned next to a waist-high, black-cased registration machine.
Before long, well-dressed young men and women began ascending the steps at the front of the auditorium. They walked in through the wide-open main doors and headed toward the registration line.
One of the students came up to Liu Cai, handed him an exquisite hard card, and said with a smile, "Thank you, senior."
Unlike the student IDs for those who entered through the examination, the IDs for recommended students were in the form of Name Cards, which they had received long before matriculating.
Liu Cai said quickly, "You're too kind, junior. It's no trouble at all."
He took the Name Card, placed it in a slot on the registration machine, and keyed in a serial number corresponding to the intensity of the colored markings on its surface. Then he cranked a handle, and a smooth, crisp sheet of paper slid out from an opening below.
This sheet listed the detailed profile of an elite student, including height, weight, speed, blood type, heart rate, striking power, movement habits, limb dimensions, and physical proportions—an exhaustive and tedious amount of information.
Liu Cai picked up the paper, placed it in a prepared manila envelope printed with the academy's name, and handed it to the student with both hands, along with the Metal Card.
"Thanks, senior." The young student smiled as he took them, gave a small wave, and walked down the aisle into the hall.
While Liu Cai had finished, Shan Xiong, on the other hand, was distracted today, and his movements were slow. The student across from him immediately grew impatient and snapped, "What's taking you so long? Can you do this or not?"
Shan Xiong cursed inwardly but forced himself to hold back his anger. These students who got in by recommendation were all backed by powerful figures. Even though they had just enrolled, he couldn't afford to offend any of them.
A muscle in his cheek twitched. He pulled out the paper and the card, hurriedly put them in the envelope, and handed it over. The student shot him another dissatisfied look, snatched the items, and strode quickly inside.
Liu Cai glanced at Shan Xiong and reminded him in a low voice, "Keep your temper in check. These powerful students are bad news. There are only a few dozen of them, anyway. Just bear with it and it'll be over."
Shan Xiong snorted. 'If I'd known competing in the entrance exam would get me assigned here, I never would've done it. Speaking of which, the guys outside said they found that kid. Yesterday, they told me they'd settle it and to just wait. Why has a whole day gone by with no word? Did they not catch him? Or did something else come up?'
Meanwhile, after leaving the old building, Chen Chuan walked all the way out of Wuyi Academy to a phone booth across the square. A student was inside making a call, seemingly asking his family for money. Chen Chuan waited for a long while before the student came out, looking dejected as if he had been turned down.
After the student left, Chen Chuan stepped inside, picked up the receiver, and took out a dozen or so coins from his satchel. He fed them into the slot one by one and dialed a number. A sweet female voice soon came from the other end: "This is Mi's Litigation Office. How may I help you?"
Chen Chuan said, "I'm looking for Assistant Litigation Master Gao Ming. That's right, I don't have an appointment. I'm his cousin."
"Please hold."
After a moment, a lazy voice came through the receiver. "Cousin Chen Chuan? What made you think to call me?"
"Gao Ming, it's me," Chen Chuan said. "I was accepted into Wuyi University Hall two months ago. The re-examination is next month."
The person on the other end paused. He clearly knew Chen Chuan wasn't calling to show off, and his voice grew much more serious. "Go ahead, cousin. I'm listening."
Chen Chuan shifted his stance slightly. "There's a student Mutual Aid Association in Wuyi University Hall that offers sponsorships to students. It seems they can also advise on and influence the re-examination content. I was hoping you might know something about this association."
The voice on the other end chuckled. "Mi's Law Firm is one of Wuyi's partners, so I can indeed look up their files. And since I'm an Assistant Litigation Master, my consultation fee is ten yuan a minute. Are you sure, cousin?"
Chen Chuan said with absolute certainty, "I'm sure."
A CLICK came from the other end, and the voice returned. "Billing starts now. According to the firm's case files, the Yangzhi City Wuyi University Hall Mutual Aid Association originated from the academy's internal student union. It was founded and led by a group of influential students."
"The association provides sponsored students with help for the re-examination and their subsequent studies. For talented individuals who perform well, the association uses the agreement to recruit them, binding them to serve the influential students and their backing teams or even factions after graduation."
"As for the mediocre performers or those unwilling to comply, they use proxies to transfer the agreements to various corporations and high-level law firms, who then take over and handle the matter."
Chen Chuan held the receiver and listened quietly. He didn't ask *how* they were handled; he knew an individual would have a hard time fighting against these corporations and firms anyway. He thought for a moment, then asked, "What is Wuyi University Hall's stance on this?"
The voice on the other end answered concisely, "Unless a student is exceptionally valuable, they won't attract the attention of the academy's Upper Layer."
Chen Chuan nodded, then asked, "I remember Wuda also offers student sponsorships, right?"
The sound of pages turning came from the other end. After a moment, the voice said, "They do, but you need to apply in advance. The application has to be submitted by the academy's Affairs Office and requires the approval of at least three school directors. The review process can take a very long time. Very few people ever get approved. In any case, I don't see any records of it in my files, so that funding exists only in theory."
Chen Chuan said, "I understand. Those are all the questions I have."
Another CLICK came from the other end, followed by the voice. "Consultation over. Total time was ninety-two seconds, so we'll round up to two minutes. The firm's fee is twenty yuan. However, since this is my first official consultation, I can give you a fifty-percent discount, cousin."
Chen Chuan said, "Gao Ming, thank you." He knew this kind of information couldn't be obtained so easily for such a small price.
The voice laughed. "Cousin, you got into Wuda and didn't even tell me beforehand? Next time I'm back in Yangzhi City, you have to treat me to a meal."
Chen Chuan smiled. "Next time for sure. Oh, right, there's one more thing I'd like you to look into. We can talk about it when we meet. I won't keep you from your work. I'm hanging up now." After they said their goodbyes, he hung up the phone.
Stepping out of the phone booth, he stood in the open square with his hands in his pockets. Across from him was the main gate of Wuyi Academy.
Many people were coming and going through it.
'It's obvious now,' he thought. 'The sponsorship from the Mutual Aid Association demands a hefty return. If I don't want to be controlled by them, I'll have to rely on my own strength to pass the re-examination.'
...
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