Chapter 66 My Friend Is Taken

Chapter 66: My Friend Is Taken

The three of them walked together toward the testing department.

Fang Ran and Zhong Wan walked side by side in front, with Lu Wenchuan following close behind.

In early July, the central courtyard was a vibrant expanse of blooming flowers and lush lawns.

Zhong Wan chattered nonstop, Fang Ran watched him with amusement, and Lu Wenchuan smiled as he observed them. Before they knew it, they had arrived near the testing department.

Several logistics departments at the 4th District headquarters were clustered in the same area.

Dozens of people now stood in the same spot where yesterday’s squad had been.

"Why are so many people joining these past two days?" Zhong Wan wondered, glancing curiously in that direction.

Fang Ran followed his gaze.

Among the Sentinels waiting to be inducted, most had eight stripes on their sleeves.

"A few familiar faces," Lu Wenchuan, who was behind them, suddenly remarked.

Zhong Wan turned to him. "You know them?"

Lu Wenchuan nodded. "Several of them are from District 8." Then he muttered to himself, "Why didn’t I get the news?"

The building housing the testing department was Block A3, right next to A2.

Zhong Wan had been there just the day before, so the three of them quickly found their way.

The front desk staff verified their information.

"Both the level confirmation and compatibility tests are on the 12th floor," the staff member explained, then turned to Fang Ran. "Guide Fang Ran, you can complete the compatibility test first, then proceed with the level reconfirmation."

"There are a few newly joined Sentinels in this batch testing with you. They should be arriving soon."

"Alright, I understand."

The three then entered the elevator.

Just as Lu Wenchuan pressed the floor button, the elevator doors were about to close.

"Wait!" A voice called out from outside.

A hand quickly stopped the closing doors.

The elevator doors immediately retracted, revealing several tall figures behind them.

Fang Ran instinctively turned to look.

It was him?

Ice-cold brows, a stern face.

It was the S-class Sentinel he had seen outside the reception point that day!

The man’s gaze swept over Fang Ran’s face before settling behind him.

"Brother," Lu Wenchuan suddenly called out.

Both Fang Ran and Zhong Wan paused, looking at Lu Wenchuan with astonishment.

Lu Wenchuan’s reaction was also one of surprise, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Brother, why are you in District 4?"

"Naturally, I’m here to join," the man stated sternly, then entered the elevator with the others behind him.

The temperature inside the elevator dropped abruptly.

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

Two brothers meeting across districts.

No high-fives, no hugs, no slapping each other’s shoulders—instead, they stood there like two ice sculptures, each colder than the other.

Fang Ran and Zhong Wan exchanged a glance and wordlessly shifted further behind Lu Wenchuan.

The man seemed to notice their movement and spoke again: "Is this the reason you insisted on transferring to District 4?"

"Exactly." Lu Wenchuan took Zhong Wan’s hand, interlacing their fingers. "This is my reason."

Zhong Wan’s ears instantly turned red, and he somewhat sheepishly called out to the man: "Big brother."

Fang Ran: "..."

Since when did Zhong Wan become a love-struck fool too?

The man didn’t say anything, just stared at Zhong Wan for a moment before shifting his gaze to Fang Ran.

But his gaze was so cold that Fang Ran instinctively shrank closer to his friend.

"Um," Zhong Wan spoke up again, "Big brother, stop staring."

"My friend is taken."

"Pfft!"

The Sentinels behind the man lowered their heads, each struggling to hold back laughter.

The atmosphere grew even more awkward.

Fortunately, the elevator arrived just in time to save the day.

"Ding-dong."

They reached the 12th floor.

The elevator doors slowly opened.

The man scanned them one more time before leading his group out.

"Brother, take care," Zhong Wan called after him.

Fang Ran patted his back with amusement.

Zhong Wan winked at Fang Ran. "Hehe, got him handled."

The three of them then exited the elevator.

Fang Ran glanced around and noticed the group had already disappeared.

"Sentinel Lu Wenchuan, was that your brother just now?"

"Yeah."

"His name is Lu Wenshan, also an S-class Ice Sentinel."

Fang Ran nodded.

Judging by Lu Wenshan's attitude earlier, he probably didn’t approve of Lu Wenchuan and Zhong Wan being together.

But judging by his friend's expression, he seemed fearless.

Following the indicators, the three soon arrived at the testing area.

It turned out the compatibility test and the level reconfirmation test rooms were right next to each other.

"Zhong Wan, I’ll go do the compatibility test first and come back for you later."

"Okay, take care. Lu Wenchuan will be waiting right outside the door anyway."

"Alright."

......

Just as Fang Ran was about to hold his terminal near the sensor of the test room, the door automatically opened.

A familiar figure appeared behind it.

Fang Ran looked up. "Dr. Zhang, what are you doing here?"

Zhang Yi smiled, a hint of pleasant surprise in his eyes behind his glasses.

"It’s not 'Dr. Zhang' anymore. I recently transitioned to become a researcher."

"A researcher?"

Fang Ran glanced at the sign outside the door again to make sure he hadn’t come to the wrong place.

"You’re conducting the compatibility test?"

"Yes. It just so happens to be my shift to operate today. I didn’t expect to run into you."

"Seems like fate," he added with another smile.

"Come on in."

The test room was slightly larger than Fang Ran had imagined.

He had done a compatibility test with Fu Changzhou at headquarters before, but not in this location.

A glass barrier divided the interior space into two sections, somewhat reminiscent of the underground purification chamber from before.

The only difference was that the glass barrier was semi-transparent. Fang Ran could see a row of people sitting inside but couldn’t make out their faces clearly.

Noticing Fang Ran scanning the room, Zhang Yi spoke up, "Headquarters recently updated the testing equipment. It’s a bit different from before, but the operation is still straightforward."

"Each test can handle more subjects, and the results can be viewed in real time."

Fang Ran nodded and followed his instructions to sit in front of a screen.

"Let’s confirm your identity first."

Under Zhang Yi’s gaze, Fang Ran placed his hand on the screen.

Two layers of blue light scanned under his palm in succession, followed by the system’s voice.

「Identity confirmed.」

「Fang Ran, Guide No. 86, System registered level: C-class」

「Confirm test initiation?」

"Confirm."

As soon as Fang Ran spoke, 20 light points lit up on the other end of the screen, each tagged with a Sentinel’s identification number.

"Guide Fang Ran," Zhang Yi said, standing beside him, "You may begin infusing spiritual energy when ready."

"Okay."

Fang Ran closed his eyes briefly.

Spiritual energy emanated from his palm and was quickly absorbed by the screen.

Beneath his palm, a luminous strand extended from each of the 20 light points.

The lines rapidly extended, converging at a single point.

Fang Ran instantly felt a slight tremor in his Spiritual Sea.

The grassy meadow seemed to ripple with a gentle breeze, rolling in layers of waves.

The numbers above the light points began cycling rapidly.

49.60%

58.14%

71.52%

......

One by one, the numbers on the screen stabilized.

Only the outermost data set was still climbing.

"...89%, 90%, 91%..."

A strange feeling rose within Fang Ran, and even Zhang Yi, beside him, narrowed his eyes and watched silently.

The next moment.

The number finally locked in at:

"98.99%"