Lin Ran, closing his Sharingan, acted as if nothing had happened. He pushed open the door and a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face.
"Ah! Principal Zhou, what brings you here?"
Zhou Yi waved his hand repeatedly. "Oh, Xiao Ran, no need to be so formal! I'm not that old, you can call me Uncle Zhou."
"Principal and such, it sounds too distant."
Lin Ran immediately put on a knowing smile and invited Zhou Yi in. "Then please, Uncle Zhou, come in. My place is small, and it looks rather humble at the moment."
Zhou Yi also chuckled, "As the saying goes, a dragon hides in the abyss..."
"It is precisely in environments like this that outstanding talents like you are forged!"
Gently closing the door, Lin Ran and Zhou Yi took seats on wooden chairs in the living room.
Zhou Yi spoke with some eagerness, "In previous years, I always heard about geniuses emerging from other schools, and I was so envious."
"I never imagined that today, our Jianggu City First High School would produce you and Luo Qingyan, a pair of absolute dual prodigies. You have truly brought great honor to our school!"
"After the awakening ceremony ended, you both left in a hurry, and I didn't even get a chance to meet you..."
"I had no choice but to presume upon your time and follow you. Looking at you again now, Xiao Ran, you truly are a born hero!"
"Possessing an SS-class talent and yet maintaining a calm demeanor, neither arrogant nor subservient. I was indeed right about you before."
Zhou Yi wasn't exaggerating. In school, he had often praised Lin Ran as an inspiring role model. Due to financial reasons, he had also shown Lin Ran considerable care. This had always left Lin Ran with a good impression of him.
Continuing his speech, Zhou Yi said, "Considering the college entrance examination is just three days away, and both you and Luo Qingyan come from impoverished families."
"On behalf of myself, and Jianggu City First High School, I have prepared a small gift for each of you to help you prepare for the college entrance examination."
"These are just some basic items and not very valuable, Xiao Ran, so please don't refuse."
Saying this, Zhou Yi took out a small wooden box from his spatial ring and pushed it towards Lin Ran.
Lin Ran was slightly taken aback, but he quickly understood Zhou Yi's intention. He and Luo Qingyan, as awakeners with S-class or higher talents, had boundless potential. Their success in the college entrance examination and their entry into Qingjing Yanyun University would be as good as guaranteed. It was best to invest now before they became successful and opportunities for investment vanished.
Thus, Lin Ran did not refuse, but accepted it generously. "Then I thank you, Uncle Zhou, and our school." He was currently in need of various resources, and Zhou Yi's visit was very timely. Their relationship was good, and refusing him would be unnecessary and awkward for both parties. In this dangerous world, being adaptable was the correct approach.
Seeing Lin Ran accept the wooden box, Zhou Yi smiled with relief. After a casual chat about trivial matters with Lin Ran, he took his leave. From their conversation, Lin Ran also learned that their female vice-principal had also gone to find Luo Qingyan.
After Zhou Yi left, Lin Ran held the wooden box and gently opened it. The contents of the box, while simple, were all extraordinary items. The first thing he saw was five vials of intermediate gene enhancement fluid, glowing with a faint blue light. These were good things. When taken with training, they could accelerate the development and modification of one's talent, while also strengthening the physique and amplifying spiritual power. Taking more would be highly beneficial.
In addition to this, there was a bio-intelligent chip. The value of this item was even greater. In this future era, bio-intelligent chips were indispensable for almost everyone, possessing a vast array of powerful functions. Once inserted into the head, it provided a secondary artificial brain, enabling functions such as communication, intelligent analysis, cloud networking, and enhanced vision and hearing. However, correspondingly, their price was extremely high. Even the most basic and common bio-intelligent chip cost a full million Dragon Coins. This was clearly a price that Lin Ran could not normally afford.
The chip Zhou Yi had sent, however, appeared significantly more advanced than those low-level ones. Conservatively, its price was at least close to three million Dragon Coins. "Are awakeners of the fourth tier this wealthy... Or is it because he's a principal?"
Lin Ran mused as he inserted the bio-intelligent chip into his head. This item dissolved upon insertion and was easy to remove, making it very convenient. In the next moment, his vision became considerably clearer, and he could now utilize the chip's various functions, including a combat power measurement function.
Lin Ran immediately conducted a self-test. *Beep beep!* Combat Power: 500 points. "I, an SS-class talent holder, only have 500 combat power at this moment..." Lin Ran felt dejected. Although 500 points was an exceptionally high figure among newly awakened individuals, Lin Ran was still not satisfied. After all, he possessed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan! He surmised that this device had not accounted for the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan as part of his combat power, nor had it provided a very accurate analysis of his talent. Otherwise, his score would not be so low.
Within the ranks of awakeners, ability levels were divided into tiers from one to ten, with even higher levels beyond that. To advance one's tier, one had to undergo a tier examination at the relevant department. The method was similar to the college entrance examination, involving entering a dungeon. However, the tier advancement examination was a solo dungeon. It would provide some rather dim-witted NPC companion dolls, whose usefulness was limited. They couldn't be relied upon, but they weren't completely useless either. Otherwise, it would be too unfair to awakeners whose primary talents were support or tank-oriented.
Generally, breaking ten thousand in combat power was sufficient to clear the next tier examination. Awakened individuals of the first tier typically had a combat power between 1 and 10,000. Awakened individuals of the second tier typically had a combat power between 10,000 and 20,000, with each subsequent tier increasing by ten thousand.
However, tiers were generally considered somewhat superficial and not always a true reflection of combat power. Even combat power readings could only serve as a reference. After all, for many rare and peculiar talents, the analysis provided by bio-chips could be inaccurate. For example, the Sharingan, which was not a product of this world, could not be analyzed by the bio-chip at all. Or, a psychic talent user with a combat power reading of only 1,000 might still be able to assassinate someone with 8,000 combat power through skill development and tactical execution. It was also possible for a weakling with a combat power of only 5 to eliminate someone with a full 10,000 combat power by unleashing a series of powerful one-time magic energy weapons.