It was Monday, the 27th of May. At 8:50 a.m., Xia Ping'an was already at the main entrance of the National Order Council Xianghe City branch.
The building was located north of the city. Its main entrance faced south. Within a few kilometers of the National Order Council building, it was a vast and open wilderness. There were no other buildings in sight.
There was only one road leading here from the city. There was only one bus stop here from the main road. From the bus stop to the entrance of the National Order Council, there was only one path. This path was more than 500 meters long. On both sides of the path, there were large green fields. There was not a single tree along the path. Everything was in plain sight.
Under such circumstances, the black cube structure that was the National Order Council Xianghe City branch seemed exceptionally glaring and had an imposing presence.
On top of the cube-shaped structure were various spherical, tower-shaped and parabolic satellite antenna, radar, and signal towers. It made the cube-shaped structure look as though it was a warrior clad in black armor, wielding a shield and a long spear. It also appeared like a formidable fortress.
There was a tall granite wall around the National Order Council, causing it to appear mysterious. People outside could not see what was going on inside at all. They could only sense that inside was very big because they could see drones and helicopters taking off from inside the compound.
The main entrance of the National Order Council was shut tight. There weren't even guards or sentries outside. Xia Ping'an walked over and saw the display above the main entrance light up. The display revealed the face of a woman.
"Mister, may I ask what business do you have here?"
"Erm, I am Xia Ping'an. I have an appointment with Director Mo Yanshao. I've come to report today."
"Alright. Please place your hand on the palmprint scanner to the side that is flashing blue. Look at the iris scanner to the side with both eyes."
Xia Ping'an placed his palm on the scanner and looked at the iris scanner to the side with both eyes.
"Alright, your identity has been confirmed. Please wait."
Xia Ping'an waited at the entrance. A moment later, the main entrance slid open on its own. Behind the doors stood Mo Yanshao.
Mo Yanshao wore his black windbreaker and black combat uniform as usual. He looked very cool. Next to Mo Yanshao, there stood a middle-aged woman in her 40s wearing a white coat and a pair of glasses.
When he saw Xia Ping'an, Mo Yanshao nodded his head and did not waste any time. "You are very punctual. This is Dr. Huang. She will bring you to conduct a full body checkup and ascertain your ability. We will talk after you completed your assessment."
Xia Ping'an also did not say anything. He followed Mo Yanshao and the woman in the white coat towards the black building.
Once inside the building, they came to a vast lobby. There were not many people around. The floors were made of black marble, and there was a gigantic emblem of the National Order Council on the ground. The emblem was an ancient set of scales. On both sides of the scales were the sun and the moon. A two-headed dragon wrapped around the scales. It held a sword in one claw and a shield in another. The sword and shield overlapped in the middle of the scales, maintaining its balance.
There was a row of elevators in the lobby. Everything seemed orderly. He could spot very few people.
Xia Ping'an parted ways with Mo Yanshao here. He followed Dr. Huang into an elevator, and they went up to the third floor. When the door of the elevator opened, Xia Ping'an could see staff dressed in white robes passing by in the corridor. The floor was sparkling clean. It looked like they were in a hospital or research institute.
Dr. Huang called someone who looked like a nurse over. The person led Xia Ping'an to a disinfection chamber. After being sterilized, Xia Ping'an went to the men's changing room and changed into a blue sterile gown that covered him from head to toe. Then, he was brought into a room. The staff took the measurement of his height, weight, and blood pressure. They also took a photo of him and examined his body. Next, they took his blood and saliva samples. Finally, he was sent into a machine and wore quite a few gadgets on his head.
After Xia Ping'an entered the machine, it spun for more than 10 minutes. Xia Ping'an was feeling dizzy by the time it stopped.
The entire procedure took almost an hour to complete.
After he exited the machine, Dr. Huang led him into a dark room and began their interview.
"Mr. Xia, how much do you know about the different ranks of clairvoyance?" Dr. Huang asked.
"I know nothing about it." Xia Ping'an shook his head.
Dr. Huang adjusted her glasses, took out a document file and a pen, and began to inform Xia Ping'an about it.
"Clairvoyance is one of the rare awakened powers. However, throughout the ages, quite a number of people have awakened to the power of clairvoyance. In the past, people in Huaxia regarded clairvoyance as the Thousand-Mile Eye. Many people outside Huaxia also have clairvoyance. After years of research, researchers worldwide have classified the abilities of the Awakened into Level S, Level A, Level B, Level C, Level D, Level E, Level F, and Level G. We use different ranks to differentiate different levels of awakened powers. Moreover, all the larger nations have developed a set of scientific methods to accurately assess the level of power possessed by the Awakened."
It sounded a little contradictory to use scientific methods to assess a thing that science had yet to be able to explain.
Xia Ping'an commented, "The classification of the powers is more or less the same as that of dimensional invasions."
"It is indeed similar. Hence, it is also easily understood by everyone. Now, I will conduct a test on you. The test is aimed to figure out which level your clairvoyance is at. I ask for your full cooperation from now on. We'll start from the most basic question."
"Alright." Xia Ping'an was also very curious to find out which level his clairvoyance was at. He had never done such a test before, so he was interested.
Dr. Huang said, "We have placed a table in the opposite room. Can you see the table from here?"
Xia Ping'an shut his eyes. A second later, he opened his eyes and said, "I can see it."
"How many legs does the table have?" Dr. Huang asked.
"Six," Xia Ping'an answered confidently.
"Can you see the color corresponding to each numbered leg?"
"Yes. From leg one to six, the corresponding colors are red, red, blue, black, white, and yellow."
"Well done." Dr. Huang jotted down some notes in her notebook. "Among the six legs, one of them is hollow. A few heroin tablets are hidden in it. Can you see it?"
Xia Ping'an shut his eyes, then he shook his head. He was indeed unable to see through the internal structure of the table.
Dr. Huang continued, "There are a few other rooms in this building, where we have placed similar tables in them. Can you tell me the room numbers?"
Xia Ping'an closed his eyes. In the blink of an eye, he saw the rooms and the room numbers in his mind. He answered, "201, 407, 1911, and 371."
"In the basement 2,000 meters below this building, there are two places where similar tables are located. Can you identify where the tables are hidden and roughly label them on this map?"
Xia Ping'an shut his eyes for a moment. Then, he labeled the two spots on the map.
"A similar table is also hidden in a building somewhere in Xianghe City. Can you label the location of the building?"
Xia Ping'an put a mark somewhere on the map of Xianghe City.
"Can you pinpoint the exact floor and room where the table is located?"
Xia Ping'an tried and then shook his head.
Next, Dr. Huang took out a few notes. On them were different latitude and longitude coordinates. She said, "Here are a few coordinates on the map. A similar table is placed at the spot corresponding to one of these coordinates. Can you find the table?" The coordinates were associated with places on various continents all around the world. The furthest place was more than 10,000 kilometers from where Xia Ping'an was.
Xia Ping'an shook his head. He could feel cold sweat trickling down in his neck.
Dr. Huang took out a picture and placed it in front of Xia Ping'an. On it were more than 10 different Peking Opera masks. "Prior to your arrival, a man with a mask entered room 201 and placed the table there. Can you see what mask he was wearing?"
Xia Ping'an shook his head. He felt that this question had exceeded the boundary of clairvoyance. Dr. Huang was basically asking him to travel back in time to see the happenings related to the table. This power was too frightening.
"Can you predict what will happen to the table in the opposite room one minute later?"
Xia Ping'an fell silent for a moment. Then, he shook his head again.
Just not long after he shook his head, a hole suddenly appeared on the ceiling of the opposite room. A red stone fell out from the hole and smashed the table into pieces.
...
A six-legged table had triggered various peculiar questions.
Dr. Huang spent more than half an hour in total to go through all the questions with Xia Ping'an. Only then did the weird Q&A session end.
"Dr. Huang, which level is my clairvoyance at?"
"Based on the result of the assessment just now, your clairvoyance is considered Level F."
"Is Director Mo also Level F?"
"The question involves the internal secrets of the National Order Council. I am unauthorized to tell you that," Dr. Huang answered as she shook her head.
"Then I will change the question. Among the questions you asked me just now, could those with higher levels of clairvoyance answer the questions that I could not? That includes being able to see the past and future conditions of the table, seeing the actual condition of a point on a map just by looking at the map coordinates and even finding things that are hidden underground."
Dr. Huang replied, "Yes. The clairvoyance possessed by some people is more useful than a spy satellite. Actually, since a few decades ago, various countries have been researching how to utilize clairvoyance in military and national security affairs. This is not a secret in the Awakened circle. In the future, you'll come in contact with all of this too."
Xia Ping'an took a deep breath. "Alright. Thank you, Dr. Huang. I have no further questions."
After a few minutes, Xia Ping'an changed back into his own clothes, got into an elevator, and left the place.
When the elevator doors opened, Mo Yanshao once again stood before Xia Ping'an. He held a document file in his hands and gave Xia Ping'an a special look. "I can now officially inform you that, according to the relevant laws and regulations of the country, due to your awakened clairvoyance, you may serve in the interests of national security. At the same time, in view of your excellent performance in the past as a law-abiding citizen with no criminal records as well as your display of courage and bravery, you have already passed the assessment. You are officially recruited by the National Order Council. From this moment forth, you will be a member of the Special Forces Unit of the National Order Council Xianghe City branch. Please sign your name on this document."
Xia Ping'an noticed that Mo Yanshao mentioned him having 'no criminal records', stressing the words 'no' and 'records'. He seemed to be implying something.
Xia Ping'an looked at the recruitment document that had the emblem of the National Order Council on it. He hesitated slightly. If he actually signed the document, many things would be beyond his control in the future.
Mo Yanshao urged, "What is there to hesitate about? Many people want to join the National Order Council but can't. Aside from being slightly dangerous, everything else here is pretty nice. The benefits are good, treatment is great, food is delicious, and we get many days off. You will encounter all sorts of thrills here. Once you join, we will be colleagues in the future. You will have time to even vacation in Strasbourg, France again." As he said this, he looked at Xia Ping'an and smiled.
Xia Ping'an looked at Mo Yanshao and also smiled. He then took the pen and decisively signed his name on the document. "To be able to serve the country is my utmost honor. I am very happy to join the National Order Council!"
Mo Yanshao glanced at the document Xia Ping'an signed and smiled slightly. He immediately put the document away and said, "Trust me, you won't regret it."
"I heard that upon joining the National Order Council, the Awakened need to attempt to merge boundary beads to become a summoner?"
"That is correct. An Awakened will not show signs of rejection when merging boundary beads compared to ordinary people. That is one less variable for failure. Although every time one merges with a boundary bead, there is a certain risk of losing one's life. That is the duty of the Awakened as well as a privilege. The cost and the rewards are equal. You are not going to turn it down, are you?"
Xia Ping'an took a deep breath. "When can I begin merging?"
"I have already submitted an application. It will be approved by the higher-ups within 72 hours. Let's go. I'll show you around first and let you familiarize yourself with the place."