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Chapter 157 - 156: Written Exam and Screening

"It has begun..." Xiao Canong looked at the subjects writing furiously below, slightly curled his lips, and muttered to himself, "How many bad guys can we catch today?"

"Captain... what bad guys?" Little Pigeon, who was helping him distribute the papers, happened to hear the mumbling and asked in confusion.

"Let’s play a game." Xiao Canong beckoned to her to come closer.

"Eh... it’s exam time now, isn’t playing games inappropriate?" She glanced nervously at the stage... luckily, everyone was engrossed with their papers, no one noticed their captain’s whimsical actions.

"No worries, it’s very simple." Xiao Canong smiled faintly, picked up a pen, and started writing in his palm, "Do not speak in the next five seconds!"

"Ah?" Little Pigeon was about to ask why, but suddenly realized this violated the captain’s instructions, quickly covering her mouth.

"Good, you were late for clocking in this morning." He said leisurely afterward.

After restraining herself for five seconds, Little Pigeon immediately retorted, "I wasn’t late! There were still five minutes till 8 o’clock!"

"Actually, I didn’t check the clock-in record at all." Xiao Canong lowered his palm, revealing what was written inside: "I didn’t" and "Sorry."

"Isn’t this what you wanted to say?" He clapped his hands, "This is my guessing game; sometimes, merely emphasizing a sentence can lead people’s thoughts to unconsciously spread along that line. I say I admire honest people most, then they can’t help but think, ’What if I’m not honest?’ ’How can I appear more honest?’ Do you think this game is interesting?"

"Uh..." Little Pigeon was speechless, vaguely understanding the captain’s meaning but still couldn’t grasp what this had to do with the exam. Could he tell from applicants’ answers whether they’re sincere?

Turns out Brother Niao was right; Captain Xiao is indeed a peculiar person.

"You continue with your work; I won’t disturb you anymore." She nodded, pretending to understand, and quickly slipped away.

Xiao Canong smiled nonchalantly and continued observing everyone in the conference hall.

The so-called test paper was merely ten random questions he made up a day ago; he wouldn’t look at these papers nor would he let anyone grade them.

Once collected, the papers would be immediately tossed into the wastebasket.

His only interest was this occasion—people here were like exhibits in a glass showcase, trying to present their most sincere selves while being scrutinized from outside the showcase.

Of course... the one scrutinizing was not him but his trusted subordinate, Wang Qianduan.

This person’s ability is classified as highly confidential within the agency because he can hear others’ "inner voices."

Inner voices can vary greatly; everyday distractions or subconscious murmurs are like noise, hard to discern. Only when facing major choices and focusing wholeheartedly on one thing can enlarged inner voices become clear.

Xiao Canong brought him alongside for the purpose of overseeing today’s event.

Moreover, besides personnel from the Jiang City Mechanical Officer Team, Xiao Canong also specially requested reinforcement from other divisions.

If anyone plans to cause trouble at the recruitment venue, they’re simply picking the wrong target.

Of course, Xiao Canong thinks there won’t be many reckless or foolish enemies.

The primary purpose of enhanced security is to watch those who intend to infiltrate the Dimensional Limit Mechanism with ulterior motives, yet might react desperately upon exposure.

More than anyone, Xiao Canong understands this public recruitment will attract many flies—some maybe had conflicts with the agency before, others perhaps belong to different organizations with conflicting interests. Thus, to prevent recruiting insidious agents, he decided to oversee personally.

Besides, sometimes the prey can turn into the hunter—in such grandiose publicity, those lurking enemies might struggle to contain themselves, right?

...

Fifteen minutes later, Jiang Siqi finished all the questions. Holding the "sacred" answer sheet like a college entrance exam candidate, she respectfully walked to the front, handing it to the suited man.

"You’ve improved quickly." Xiao Canong took the paper and said with a smile.

"Ah?" She unconsciously froze, "You know me?"

"Battle of the abilities, right? I was watching that too."

Jiang Siqi felt her face instantly flush, awkwardly lowering her head, "I... I’ll never be afraid again in the future..."

"Is fear such a problem? Everyone is afraid, especially when encountering situations beyond their imagination." Surprisingly, he said warmly, "If you join the agency, there’ll likely be plenty of frightening scenarios you’ll meet. As long as you have the courage to stand up afterward, it’s no problem."

Was he... comforting me?

Jiang Siqi wished she could shout at those who mocked her, "Look at him, this is what a true Ability User looks like!" Even the agency’s head thinks fear isn’t a big deal, and yet you all make a fuss!

"Yes!" She replied enthusiastically, "Thank you!"

"Full of spirit, go wait outside." Xiao Canong kept her paper and said.

Not long after she left, Wang Qianduan also walked up to the podium.

"Done checking?"

"Yes, there are issues with four people, prominently strong hostilities towards the Dimensional Limit Mechanism were found in the applicant of seat number four in row five... of course, just internally." Wang Qianduan replied.

"Indeed, a bad guy." Xiao Canong’s smile widened uncontrollably, "This is great news... you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because hatred doesn’t arise without a cause. Without someone supporting, encouraging, long-standing beside him, this hatred is hard to sustain." He straightened his tie and cast a sidelong glance at the applicant furtively eyeing this way, "With this clue, we may not just find one person but an entire group hostile to the agency—a tale of pulling out radishes and exposing dirt, enabling me to eliminate a significant threat from the agency; hence, it’s a good thing!"

Wang Qianduan remained indifferent; he neither wanted to ask nor bothered about how the captain planned to deal with this person and potential supporters behind him, "What about the remaining four? Their inner voices mainly focus on concealing identity and deceiving us."

"No rush for now, just monitor closely." Xiao Canong said calmly, "Leave these matters to the Intelligence Team."

"Understood."

"By the way, what’s on the minds of the people from seats one in row one and six in row two?" The captain asked, "What are they thinking?"

Wang Qianduan glanced back; these seats were already vacated, but his excellent memory made it easy to recall the corresponding individuals. The one from seat six in row two was Elorie, a girl from France; seat one in row one was Jiang Siqi, a local from Jiang City. These two had ability scores of 178 and 145, respectively, ranking first and second in the batch.

It’s no surprise that the BOSS paid attention to them.

"That French girl wants to find someone named Demon, meanwhile hiding her identity as a Traverser."

"Oh?" Xiao Canong thought for a moment, then understood, "She’s from another world? Non-Wanderer traverse?"

Wanderers certainly wouldn’t think in such a way, as they inherently understand the meaning of drifting and might even consciously exploit this advantage.

Besides Wanderers, regular people or other Ability Users might occasionally and accidentally move into another world, which the agency refers to as Non-Wanderer traverse.

"That’s very likely." Wang Qianduan said softly, "As for which path she took, that remains to be seen."

"It doesn’t matter; whether the person is named Demon or King Yama, as long as she’s willing to serve the agency, the agency won’t mind helping her." Xiao Canong found her paper and, sure enough, the answers were written in fluent English, indicating she received a good education.

"And the other one?"

"The inner sound of seat one in row one was overwhelming, drowning out the voices around." Wang Qianduan answered, "Plus, it only repeated one sentence: ’God bless me, I must be chosen by the Dimensional Limit Mechanism.’

Xiao Canong froze.

Many people hope to join the agency, with motives ranging vastly—from noble to ignoble, self-serving to selfless...

But solely applying to pass the recruitment, Xiao Canong had never seen.

"Ha... hahaha..." He couldn’t help but laugh, drawing the attention of applicants still testing below.

Wang Qianduan also seemed somewhat helpless.

Normally, such a person, lacking ambition, is unlikely to become a Mechanical Officer.

Yet, Captain Xiao never follows the norm.

He most loves watching a farce.