Chapter 58: Genetic Evaluation of the Five Women

The group walked along the path leading back to their residence. However, unlike their bubbling enthusiasm right after finishing work, the young women now appeared much more reticent.

"What's wrong with you all?" Lin Xinghai couldn't help asking after they had walked a certain distance.

Hearing Lin Xinghai's inquiry, Liu Miaomiao forced herself to perk up, a smile blooming on her face as she said, "It's nothing."

Yet, no matter how Lin Xinghai looked at it, he couldn't believe the girls were truly fine. Coupled with the fact that they had just emerged from the Public Security Bureau, it instantly led him to suspect something untoward had happened.

His expression turned stern in an instant. "Did they do anything to you in the interrogation room? If they did, tell me right now, and I'll go demand justice for you immediately.

"Michael is about to step down anyway. Feel free to speak up if you've been wronged; you don't need to carry any psychological burden."

Upon entering the Public Security Bureau, separate interrogations were mandatory, so Lin Xinghai genuinely had no idea what the girls had experienced inside.

"Did anything to us?" Liu Miaomiao looked a bit dazed for a moment.

Wang Yao, standing nearby, understood his meaning instead. "They didn't dare. Their attitude was quite hostile at first, but once they heard we were official employees of the Administrative Office, they behaved much more sensibly."

The functions of the Administrative Office were not inferior to those of the Public Security Bureau in the slightest. Furthermore, since they were all operating in the lower district, how could they possibly be ignorant of the shady practices within the Public Security Bureau?

Even if an employee genuinely committed a crime, the Administrative Office would undoubtedly dispatch specialists to conduct repeated, thorough investigations.

What's more, before entering the bureau, Lin Xinghai had already tipped them off, informing them that people from the Split-Sky Mercenary Corps were on their way and instructing them simply to say nothing.

Therefore, after staying in the Public Security Bureau for a mere dozen minutes, Liu Miaomiao and the others discovered that the outside had already been taken over by the military.

They hadn't even realized what exactly had transpired during that time.

By then, Liu Miaomiao had also caught on. Her face instantly flushed red. "Rest assured, our bodies are completely fine."

"Then why are you still so glum? Is it because of the Axe Gang incident?" Lin Xinghai asked again.

"Mm!" Liu Miaomiao nodded.

"Don't worry! He'll be locked up for at least five years, and by the time he gets out, you all will have long since moved to the middle district," Lin Xinghai comforted them.

"Actually, I just feel like I'm too useless. If we could become genetic optimizers, we wouldn't become targets for others to use as leverage and put you in a passive position when danger strikes," Liu Miaomiao finally voiced what was in her heart, and the rest of the girls nodded in agreement.

A slight ripple stirred within Lin Xinghai's heart. He smiled and said, "Then you should just become genetic optimizers sooner. Didn't Huai Feifu give us some compensation? Although it's only a little over 7,000, each of you can still get a share of 1,400 contribution points. If your luck is good, you'll be able to become genetic optimizers very soon."

The luck he referred to, of course, pertained to their genetic evaluation results.

Hearing this, while touched, the girls repeatedly shook their heads, expressing that not only had they contributed nothing, but they had also been a drag, and they absolutely could not accept these points.

In the end, Lin Xinghai proposed a compromise: lending the points to them.

Only then did Liu Miaomiao and the others agree, though they didn't take too much, accepting just 500 points each.

From Lin Xinghai's perspective, 500 points could only buy five vials of genetic serum, which was far from enough to become a genetic optimizer, but he chose not to urge them further.

Five vials of genetic serum were roughly enough for an average person to absorb over half a month. Once he took on a few more missions and had points to spare, he could help them then.

Subsequently, the group altered their route. Instead of returning to the dormitory, they headed toward the Genetics Center while it wasn't too late.

At the Genetics Center, genetic serum could be purchased from automated vending machines.

Of course, there were many other places to buy genetic serum. The primary reason the girls wanted to go there was to undergo a genetic evaluation test.

Not everyone was like Lin Xinghai, who had already undergone a genetic evaluation test prior to the apocalypse.

Back then, genetic evaluation technology was still imperfect and exceptionally expensive.

More importantly, genetic evaluation held no significant meaning for ordinary people unless one wished to become an elite athlete, in which case genetic evaluation served as a crucial metric.

As a provincial sanda champion, how could Lin Xinghai possibly have skipped the genetic evaluation?

Amidst a mix of nervousness and anticipation from the young women, they arrived at the Genetics Center.

The human staff had already gone off duty for the evening, but a few service robots were still operational.

After presenting their ID cards to a robot and stating their purpose, the group was led into a specialized testing room.

Inside the testing room stood rows of vertical coffins.

Cough! Vertical testing pods.

Ah, yes! The appearance of the testing pods was very similar to dormancy pods, except they were vertical.

Looking at the genetic testing pods before them, the expressions on the girls' faces grew even more nervous. Lin Xinghai could understand this; after all, a person's genetic evaluation truly concerned their future.

Therefore, he simply stood to one side and waited quietly.

"I'll go first!" After about a minute, Wang Yao was the first to step forward.

"Good luck!"

"You can do it."

"Believe in yourself."

The girls chimed in with words of encouragement that, to Lin Xinghai, seemed entirely meaningless.

Wang Yao nodded, a look of resolute determination on her face as she walked toward the genetic testing pod.

After she swiped her ID card, the semi-transparent pod door opened, and Wang Yao strode forward on her long legs and stepped right inside.

The pod door closed, a green indicator light flashed, and countless instruments integrated within the genetic testing pod sprang to life and began operating.

On the external operating screen, the progress bar steadily crept upward: 10%, 20%, 50%, 100%.

It took about three minutes. As the progress bar reached 100%, the pod door opened automatically, and the display screen showed the genetic evaluation: C-Grade.

"Wow!" A chorus of gasps instantly erupted in the room.

Upon seeing her own genetic evaluation, Wang Yao screamed with excitement as well.

Genetic evaluations were divided into six tiers: A, B, C, D, E, and F.

The vast majority of ordinary people only possessed E-grade or F-grade genetic evaluations, and achieving a D-grade was already considered quite impressive.

As for C-grade, it could definitely be described as outstanding.

Captains of the Split-Sky Mercenary Corps like Roger and Wu Yan only held C-grade genetic evaluations themselves.

It was hardly surprising, then, that Wang Yao was so thrilled.

Seeing Wang Yao's genetic evaluation, the remaining girls felt as though they had received a boost of inspiration.

They entered the genetic testing pod one by one and began their tests.

The three-minute testing duration was not long, and soon the genetic evaluations for Qin Zixue, Yang Yi, and Shen Yimei were also displayed.

Qin Zixue and Shen Yimei both received D-grade genetic evaluations, while Yang Yi's was E-grade.

With a D-grade genetic evaluation, becoming a genetic optimizer was not too difficult; in fact, many mercenaries held precisely this tier.

As for an E-grade genetic evaluation, it didn't mean one couldn't become a genetic optimizer entirely, though it would consume significantly more resources and take a much longer time.

The girls offered words of comfort to Yang Yi, and then, under everyone's watchful eyes, Liu Miaomiao stepped into the genetic testing pod.