A few minutes later.
Roy reached the end of the hallway and entered the elevator, pressing the button for the 50th floor.
Like the surrounding buildings, PTE High School was also a skyscraper with over 100 floors.
The 50th floor was designated for the school's faculty members.
The elevator doors opened, and Roy walked up to Mr. Martin's office, gently knocking on the door.
"Come in." A familiar voice of Mr. Martin came from inside.
Roy pushed the door open.
Inside the ten-square-meter room, there was a faint scent of flowers—it came from the bouquet placed on the desk. Mr. Martin sat at his desk, both hands typing on the keyboard, the glow from the screen casting extra light on his face.
Of note was the girl with golden hair sitting in front of the desk. Although her face was not visible, Roy could tell from her silhouette that it was Anna.
"Please wait a moment. I need to discuss something with Anna," Mr. Martin said as he noticed Roy, gesturing toward a chair by the wall for him to sit. Then he turned back to the girl before him.
"Your ID has been registered in the Federation's university exam system. One month from now, you can go to the designated location sent to your ID to take the ranking exam."
"I trust you've already made your decision. Good luck with your exam," Mr. Martin said with a smile, handing Anna a black card-presumably her ID card.
"Thank you, teacher. If we're done, may I leave now?" Anna stood up, bowed her head slightly, and spoke in a graceful tone of thanks.
Roy, watching from the side, wasn't particularly surprised. Although Anna always seemed cold and emotionless, she was actually a very polite person. In three years of studying together, Roy had never seen her act superior to anyone because of her status as a member of the Astoria family.
"Alright, you may leave now."
"Roy, come here!"
Mr. Martin nodded with a smile, then turned back to Roy and gestured for him to approach.
Hearing that, Roy stood up and walked toward Mr. Martin. But as he passed by Anna, she suddenly spoke up:
"Roy, before you leave, come see me for a bit. There's something I want to talk to you about."
Roy was a bit surprised and pointed at himself.
"You want to talk to me?"
He didn't understand why Anna wanted to speak to him. They weren't even that close. Could it be… she likes me? Roy thought to himself.
"Yes, I have a few things I want to discuss with you."
"Of course, if you don't want to, you can decline."
Anna still spoke in her usual indifferent tone, as if it didn't matter whether Roy agreed or not-like it was just a fleeting thought, something trivial.
Seeing her attitude, Roy pondered for a moment before nodding.
"Alright, wait for me a bit."
Roy accepted Anna's request-not because he wanted to know if she liked him, but simply because he was curious about what she wanted to say.
"Okay, I'll wait for you at the school gate. Bye." Upon hearing Roy's response, Anna nodded, her face still expressionless, and walked elegantly out of the teacher's office.
Roy then proceeded to sit in front of Mr. Martin.
As soon as he sat down, he noticed Mr. Martin staring at him, eyes full of curiosity.
Roy saw that strange expression and was about to ask when Mr. Martin suddenly said:
"So that rumor might be true after all."
Hearing this, Roy immediately understood what Mr. Martin was referring to. He could only smile wryly and shrug.
"Do you really think it's true?"
Mr. Martin smiled and nodded. "I do."
Roy's facial musclestwitched dslightly, leaning back in his chair. He hadn't expected Mr. Martin to say that. Did he and Anna really look like a couple?
"Haha, just messing with you."
"If you really were dating Anna, I doubt we'd be having this meeting today."
Mr. Martin laughed at Roy's expression. Then he opened a drawer and pulled out a black card, placing it in front of Roy.
"What's this?"
Roy looked at the card curiously. His eyes scanned its surface. It was made of metal and had no markings, just a shiny, polished surface.
Mr. Martin didn't explain right away, only smiled and said, "Take a closer look."
He gently flipped the card over.
On the other side was an engraving of a sword wrapped in flames.
"This is… the insignia of the Security Bureau," Roy said in shock.
The flaming sword emblem-anyone in the Federation would recognize it. It represented one of the most important organizations.
The Security Bureau-its name alone hinted at its function.
Unlike the military, which focused on external threats, the Security Bureau managed the internal safety and order of the entire Blue Planet Federation.
"That's right. This is a nomination card for new members of the Security Bureau."
"With it, you can apply to join the Bureau."
Mr. Martin smiled as he revealed the card's function.
"A nomination card for new members?"
"You want me to join the Security Bureau?"
Roy looked at Mr. Martin in confusion. He didn't understand why the teacher would give him something so valuable. After all, the Security Bureau was incredibly hard to join-there were strict requirements.
Unable to hold back, Roy asked, "Why would you give me something this valuable?"
Mr. Martin shook his head and replied.
"It's not as simple as you think."
"Perhaps you don't know-these cards are distributed in the millions each year by the Bureau."
"As long as you have connections and a few Federation coins, you can buy one."
Mr. Martin paused, took a sip of water, then continued.
"But only 0.1% of the people who receive this card actually succeed in joining the Bureau."
Roy showed a thoughtful expression and asked.
"There are more conditions?"
Mr. Martin nodded and slowly said:
"Yes. Even with the nomination card, you still have to meet two conditions."
"One, you must be 18 years old."
"Two, your gene awakening rate must exceed 20%."
Hearing these two conditions, Roy exclaimed in shock,
"That difficult?!"
His reaction was understandable. If taken separately, each condition wasn't too hard.
But when combined, the difficulty increased exponentially.
Normally, reaching a 20% gene awakening rate would take at least two years. Some people needed ten years to reach it.
Maybe in a year, some could reach 20%, but in one month? That was twelve times shorter-a hundred times harder.
"Haha, of course it's hard. If it weren't, this card wouldn't need to exist."
Mr. Martin smiled, and what he said was true.
The purpose of the card was to identify geniuses-only those who used the card and successfully joined the Bureau were considered true talents.
"If you meet the conditions, the reward is unimaginable." Mr. Martin stood up, leaned forward with both hands on the desk, his voice full of temptation.
"Do you think I can really pull that off, sir?"
Roy smiled, leaning back in his chair.
"Haha, that doesn't matter. Just think of it as a gamble."
"Do you want it?"
Mr. Martin sat back down, his voice casual as he placed a card in front of Roy.
Roy looked at the card, his mind racing. A gamble, huh? That must mean Professor Martin would get a reward too if the nominee successfully joined the Security Bureau.
He thought for a moment, considering his current situation, then nodded and said,
"If you put it that way, I have no reason to refuse."
Roy picked up the card, eyes settling on the emblem of a sacred sword wrapped in flames. He murmured inwardly — this might just be a good choice.
"Very good. To improve your odds, I'll transfer 5,000 Federation Credits to you."
Hearing Roy's reply, Mr. Martin nodded with a smile and began typing on his keyboard.
"You really don't have to, sir—"
Ding ding
Roy tried to object, but before he could finish, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out to see a notification: "10:30 AM, ID 2532763632883 has transferred 5,000 Federation Credits."
"No need to refuse. If you succeed in joining the Security Bureau, the reward I get will be many times what I gave you." Mr. Martin smiled, shaking his head, his voice nonchalant
"Seriously... I don't know how you can be so confident I'll succeed."
Roy sighed, feeling a surge of emotion. According to what Mr. Martin said, if Roy made it into the Bureau, the professor would receive a substantial reward.
Still, Roy couldn't deny that the professor had chosen him over everyone else. Even without considering the value of the nomination card, 5,000 Federation Credits was no small amount. At present, the average monthly expense for a family of five in Valoria was only about 100 credits. With 5,000, a family could survive over four years without working.
"If it's a gamble, then the higher the stakes, the greater the profit, right?" Mr. Martin said calmly, his gaze distant as he looked toward Roy, thoughts unreadable.
"Alright then. Since you believe in me this much, I'll just have to give it my all."
Seeing this, Roy didn't hesitate anymore. He firmly placed the card into his pocket, then gave a small bow.
"I don't know why you chose me, but I still have to say thank you."
"If you have the guts to make this bet, then I'll make sure not to let you down."
Roy smiled, his voice brimming with fierce confidence. He thought to himself, "In one month, reaching over 20% gene activation... it might've been hard before, but now—"
At that thought, Roy's smile deepened.
"Haha, good. Young people should have confidence like that. You've got to dare to take risks — that's what youth is for."
Mr. Martin burst into laughter, standing up to pat Roy's shoulder, satisfaction in his eyes.
"Since it's settled, you can head home now."
After a moment, Mr.Martin sat back down and gestured that Roy could leave.
"Yes, goodbye, sir."
Roy gave a nod and turned to leave.
At his desk, watching Roy's back as he walked away, Mr.Martin gently lifted his cup and took a sip, thinking to himself, "Which student number is this again? Let's hope this time I won't be disappointed."