Chapter 14: The Prediction Within Two Minutes

Seventeen examinees who had taken the morning assessment gathered in the first-floor hall, and upon seeing Jingxiang Deng, they all turned around and called out, “Sister Xiangxiang.”

Then, spotting a girl closely following behind her, someone exclaimed, “Di Qiu, I didn’t expect it was you who was the most concealed of all.”

“It’s unimaginable that you were the only one among us to pass with an A-grade evaluation.”

Di Qiu’s figure appeared behind Jingxiang Deng, catching the sharp eyes of the onlookers.

Those who reached the entry-level benchmark within the allotted time had two options: either continue the assessment to achieve a higher grade, or cut their losses and withdraw.

The Central Micro Bureau had a hidden rule: if during the continued assessment one encountered a life-threatening moment that could not be avoided, the entire assessment’s results would be voided, and memories of the process erased.

There had been many cases where candidates pressed forward, only to be overwhelmed by bizarre entities far beyond their abilities, suffering losses within the test grounds.

On exiting, learning their results were wiped was a bitter pill, making it hardly worthwhile.

Hence, students at the Academy of Psychic Abilities had grown wiser, opting first to secure the entry-level D-grade before seeking further promotion, confident there would be other chances later.

Coincidentally, this round had an S3-level anomaly unsealed, causing candidates to tread carefully—except for Zhuyufang, who was unaware of the hidden rule.

She single-handedly secured the conditions for a C-grade score.

Among them, she was the only one to achieve that, while the other sixteen attained D-grade.

After receiving the exclusive Central Micro Bureau communication watches, everyone immediately learned about the related promotion assessments. Their suspicions were confirmed: the rumored path to advancement was still open.

Upon entering the Bureau, assessment opportunities occurred roughly every month, with content similar to before—victory by quantity.

However, with countless personnel inside, the competition would be fierce.

What no one expected was that Di Qiu, leveraging B-grade psychic abilities, would overcome an S3-level anomaly and earn an A-grade evaluation.

It turned out the seemingly most inexperienced was the one with the deepest strength.

Damn it, there was an old lady named Fang ahead, and now a newbie claiming to be fresh to psychic powers—never again would they believe “I’m a newbie.”

“You’re quite something. Let’s spar when we have time,” said An Lang, a plump boy rubbing his fists eagerly.

Di Qiu had followed Jingxiang Deng downstairs, surprised that she descended obediently via the stairs—not having to climb, making it easy to keep up.

Facing An Lang’s teasing, Di Qiu politely declined, “That wouldn’t be appropriate. I recall the school forbids fighting.”

“Hmph, so you know the rules now?” he retorted.

She could only say she was aware of the school regulations; knowledge of psychic powers and the Central Micro Bureau had only begun to dawn on her today.

Perhaps more would be unlocked after tomorrow’s training.

For the first time, Di Qiu found herself truly interested in new things.

At that moment, the world suddenly seemed intriguing.

“Well done, child. The younger generation is truly formidable,” Zhuyufang said with a smile, leaning on her cane.

“By the way, what’s your ability? I’m An Lang, a second-year student at the Xuanwu Academy. My power lets me accurately see events two minutes into the future—A1 level,” he introduced himself first.

“So you know what I’m going to do in the next two minutes?” Di Qiu asked in surprise.

Wow, standing next to him meant no privacy.

An Lang scratched his head and chuckled, “You could say that, but not entirely. I only see what happens near me within two minutes. For example, after you board the bus, you’ll sit in seat 7A.”

He then pointed to himself, grinning, “Coincidentally, I’ll be sitting right next to you.”

Di Qiu looked skeptical. “You say it so openly—aren’t you afraid I might not follow what you said?”

“Haha, that won’t happen. I tried it. Even if I reveal it, I can’t change what’s already set,” An Lang said confidently.

“Is that so?” Di Qiu nodded thoughtfully, planning to test this destined event later.

A girl in a red uniform approached. “Hello, I’m Yun Jiayu, a third-year student at the Zhuque Academy. My ability lets me summon unlimited weapons—A3 level.”

“Whoa! Any weapon?” Di Qiu’s eyes sparkled.

“Yes, anything I can imagine,” Yun Jiayu said proudly.

Di Qiu gave two thumbs up. “So all those sci-fi interstellar armaments are at your command?”

Another red-uniformed boy with blonde hair stepped forward, grinning. “Hey, I’m Huang Ming, also from Zhuque. My power’s B3 level—I can summon cannons, unlimited rapid fire.”

Mentioning cannons reminded Di Qiu of something. “I remember you—the cannon guy who got his anomaly stolen by Grandma Fang at the start?”

Huang Ming smirked. “Yeah, best to forget that memory.”

Di Qiu raised an eyebrow at them. “You guys have pretty impressive abilities.”

“Heh, what about yours?” Huang Ming asked.

“B1 level—destruction,” Di Qiu replied.

She thought the Central Micro Bureau’s intranet probably already had her info recorded. Since everyone had joined, they likely knew each other’s abilities through some channel.

Since they’d all shared, she saw no reason to hide hers.

Sure enough, An Lang said, “Really B1-level destruction? Didn’t you just retake the test?”

“You all knew already?”

“Yes, once inside the Bureau’s intranet, our abilities are public knowledge unless you have a secondary ability. But usually secondary abilities are undetectable. I heard someone’s developing a way to detect them—no idea when it’ll be available.”

“Secondary ability?” Di Qiu asked, puzzled.

“You’re really a newbie, huh?” Yun Jiayu said suspiciously.

“A secondary ability is a hidden second power. That doesn’t mean only two powers. The highest known is thirteen, as voluntarily disclosed. Our school has plenty with secondary abilities; it’s nothing unusual.”

“I see,” Di Qiu nodded thoughtfully, not pressing further.

After all, this assessment had relied on the Vajra Talisman’s power, which was hard to explain. Fortunately, everyone seemed accustomed to such things and didn’t press her for details, merely going through the motions of re-testing.

Everyone wisely refrained from further questions.

Just then, a first-floor bus pulled up at the gate. Jingxiang Deng led the way, saying, “The bus is here. Let’s board; we’re heading to headquarters now.”

The joy of passing the assessment made everyone eager as they boarded one after another.

Di Qiu, recalling An Lang’s prediction, deliberately got on second and chose seat 8A.

Unexpectedly, the seemingly elderly Grandma Fang followed closely behind, becoming the third person to board and sat right beside her.

“What’s wrong? Don’t like me sitting here?”

“No,” Di Qiu shook her head.

As people settled into their seats, Di Qiu noticed seat 7 remained empty. It seemed everyone tacitly avoided the seat An Lang had predicted for her.