"It's a pity, though. Bai Mo's eye ability rendered his sword's greatest advantage, its invisibility, useless. This will continue to be a battle of attrition; it seems Wen Jian will be worn down."
Indeed, just as Zhang Jin Qu had thought, Wen Jian, forced to reveal his ultimate move, had depleted his reserves past the danger threshold yet still couldn't defeat Bai Mo. Facing Bai Mo, who continued to slack off and kite him, Wen Jian had no choice but to concede.
"I've lost. Can you tell me how you discerned the trajectory of my air sword?" Wen Jian asked straightforwardly.
"Ask General Zhang," Bai Mo said with a smile. "He has detailed information about my abilities; he'll surely know the reason."
"Thank you."
The two shook hands again, and then an awkward silence fell once more.
Around the battle arena, some of the spectating Ability Users continued downstairs for testing, while others began working or training, quickly returning to their usual tranquility. Several staff members responsible for maintaining the battleground entered with materials, filling in the section of ground that Wen Jian had just destroyed.
Seeing the two taciturn men fall into another silence, Zhang Jin Qu had no choice but to step forward and start a conversation.
"Bai Mo, the hundred million funds have already been deposited into an account opened in your name by the higher-ups. The account details and password will be handed to you later. Change the password when you have time."
"Furthermore, your name has been added to the official research staff roster of the research institute. Relevant documents and permissions will also be given to you in file form within the next two days. Finally, regarding the Contribution Point plan, there's too much to discuss there. It will likely take at least another month before its final form can be decided."
"Thank you for the notification, General Zhang. I know you're one of the supervisors," Bai Mo replied, then asked another question. "I'd like to briefly understand the current state of Ability User management in Huaxia."
"Since you're now part of the Dao Academy, there's nothing much to hide. Our Huaxia has established a ministry for Ability User management, with two subordinate lines: internal and external."
"The internal line consists of Ability Users from military backgrounds, numbering around 100,000. Out of the entire Huaxia military's three million personnel, approximately 250,000 are Ability Users. 100,000 with relatively strong or useful abilities were integrated into the internal line after a general survey. Under the power struggles of certain individuals higher up, they were divided into 10 large brigades, and control of leadership was dispersed."
"As for the external line, which is the Dao Academy you are now part of, the plan is to recruit 10,000 civilian Ability Users and disperse them across the country. Further expansion might be considered later."
"From what I know, there are currently over one million Ability Users nationwide. So, that immediately removes over one hundred thousand?" Bai Mo pressed on.
"Over a million is a thing of the past. The latest census data shows that the total number of Ability Users in Huaxia has already exceeded two million! And this number is increasing every day. Those who thought they were the lucky ones to gain abilities might have just gained them a few months earlier than everyone else," Zhang Jin Qu explained.
"This figure was calculated by professional analysts. At this stage, managing such a massive number of Ability Users, a ratio of 1 to 10-15 is not excessive. Moreover, this world isn't just Huaxia. As the number of Ability Users and individual strength expand, chaos will erupt. If Huaxia doesn't organize sufficient strength, the stability of the entire society cannot be controlled."
"There's also a reason for the high proportion of military Ability Users. Firstly, during the Spirit River Autumn, the military entered the river in organized formations. And military personnel are mostly strong young people, so their chances of acquiring abilities were much greater. These hundreds of thousands of Ability User troops are the guarantee of Huaxia's stability."
Bai Mo continued listening to Zhang Jin Qu, while Wen Jian, already familiar with the information, was boredly toying with the invisible sword in his hand.
"However, all countries in the world are currently in an exploratory phase, and many systems are adjusting accordingly. The future is truly hard to predict."
"The Dao Academy primarily undertakes small-scale missions, while large-scale missions are handled by military Ability Users. Therefore, the Dao Academy is preliminarily divided into three levels of teams under its jurisdiction: a group of 10 people forms the most basic small team unit, serving as the fundamental unit for accepting missions, called a Ten-Person Squad. Above them are Hundred-Person Squads and Thousand-Person Squads. The head of the entire Dao Academy is the Leader of the Ten-Thousand-Person Squad."
"I can't interfere with the organizational management of the Ten-Thousand-Person Squad that represents the entire Dao Academy. Besides, that's just a nominal position, and it might not even be filled. So, you've been arranged as the Vice-Leader of the First Thousand-Person Squad. Your strength is sufficient to command respect; of course, if anyone doesn't submit, just beat them into submission."
"Once the Contribution System's matters are finalized, Huaxia and America, along with several other major countries, will hold a joint conference regarding Ability Users and Spirit Qi development issues. At that time, various countries will exchange some research materials in these areas. The primary and vice-leaders of the Thousand-Person Squad, representing the pinnacle of Huaxia's Ability Users at this stage, will also accompany them to participate in the exchange. You should prepare for it."
"Understood." As brief as ever.
"Also, to commend you, young man, for being the first to achieve concrete results and propose this Contribution Point concept, the higher-ups have already decided that no matter what the final system looks like, someone will have to audit contribution values, so a position will be reserved for you."
"Thank you." Bai Mo didn't know who he was thanking.
"You don't need to thank them. They merely didn't want to appear too overtly greedy, so they left a little for you. If they don't even share a bit of the soup, no one will initiate anything next time."
Bai Mo didn't respond to Zhang Jin Qu's remarks, merely motioning to leave first.
"You kid, if you have something to attend to, go ahead and be busy. But remember to hand the documents to Elder Chen's side; a bunch of old folks upstairs are waiting."
"This auditing position is genuinely excellent for me. I can access a large amount of research findings. Trading a business that couldn't last long for a position within the core of the research institute is too worthwhile," Bai Mo thought to himself.
"And next month's Ability User exchange... I hope it's not those boring arena matches from novels. But collecting more physical structural data of powerful Ability Users would be great. Time is running out. Based on my half-year evolution to the Absolute Life Field stage, these elites among them might also evolve it within another three to four months. After that, the utility of my divine sense will be greatly restricted, unlike now where I can see whatever I want, however I want."
Bai Mo wandered around the Dao Academy building, contemplating his future plans.
"Whether it's a vice-leader or a leader, they are all just a shell—a shell proving that I am a part of this system. The size of the shell isn't important, as long as I can enter the circle of Huaxia's official Ability User elite, that's enough."
"Both the research institute and the auditing side are the positions that will provide support for my next evolution. The identity of an official researcher allows me to access the cutting-edge topics and achievements within the research institute, while the Contribution Point auditing side provides access to a large amount of data from civilian research."
"After I hand over all the information about the Spirit Stones, Huaxia's internal systems won't be able to conceal such a significant matter. Mutual dispatching of spies has already become international practice; by the next day, the world's major powers will likely know about it. Once too many people know a secret, it's no longer a secret."
"With the help of the internet, the public in various countries will probably also know about the Spirit Stone's effects within a week. And a stone that is far more significant than nuclear materials, concerning everyone's health, even immortality—various countries will definitely engage in another round of fierce struggle. Although a world war is unlikely, local wars will probably be unavoidable."
"Such is the general trend. I merely lit the fuse a bit early. I might as well sit comfortably in the Tianhai City research institute and watch the show. In any case, a good portion of the Spirit Stones that Huaxia fights for and recovers will still have to be handed over here for research materials. However, the Dao Academy side will likely have a lot more work. If the major powers don't want a nuclear war, they'll have to rely on special military power, and then it'll be our turn to be tormented."