Free Web NovelChapter 174: Chapter 174: Resource Judgment Trial
The second assembly event was not combat.
It was held inside a circular hall filled with sealed display cases.
At the center stood Elder Su Tianheng and several appraisers from the Merchant Alliance, Central Academy, and military logistics division.
Su Mei presided over the event with a smile.
"Strength wins battles," she said, "but poor resource judgment ruins futures. Today’s trial evaluates whether candidates can identify value, danger, compatibility, and long-term consequence."
Qin Mo whispered, "Finally, a trial about not eating suspicious fruit."
Lin Xian’er smiled. "You joke, but many fail exactly that way."
Each candidate team would receive a set of ten resources: some useful, some dangerous, some overpriced, some traps, some compatible only under specific conditions. They had to choose three to keep for a simulated mission and reject the rest with written reasoning.
No full system panels were provided.
Only inspection tools allowed by the trial.
Qin Yuheng immediately understood the difficulty.
His true advantage—Primordial Origin Evolution—could not be revealed.
He could not simply pick items based on hidden eligibility. He had to show plausible judgment.
He also had to avoid choosing everything valuable, because over-selection was failure.
Their team’s display case opened.
Ten items appeared.
A red fruit with flame veins.
A gray stone tablet fragment.
A blue water pearl. freёwebnoѵel.com
A black thorn seed.
A silver feather.
A golden contract scroll.
A cracked bone flute.
A small thunder crystal.
A pouch of dark soil.
A sealed glass vial containing white mist.
Qin Mo inspected the contract scroll first and immediately stepped back.
"Trap."
Qin Yuheng nodded.
Law-Thread Severing Eye saw hidden obligation hooks.
The red fruit contained strong flame energy but unstable hidden heat. The thunder crystal was useful but ordinary. The black thorn seed resembled Red Thorn Heart Seed but carried blood-draining risk. The bone flute had spirit-call properties, dangerous in untrained hands.
The gray tablet fragment interested Qin Yuheng.
It seemed dull, but faint gate resonance remained.
The blue water pearl contained memory-cleansing properties.
The white mist vial carried dream fog, but not necessarily harmful if used correctly.
Their simulated mission brief appeared.
[Simulated Mission]
A team must cross a ruin containing:
- Memory fog
- Gate lock mechanisms
- Hostile spirit beasts
- Limited rest time
- Possible contract traps
Choose three resources.
Qin Mo looked at Qin Yuheng.
"Gray tablet, blue pearl, maybe silver feather?"
Qin Yuheng inspected the feather.
It carried escape wind but only for one person. Useful, but team-limited.
The white mist vial could counter memory fog or worsen it depending on use.
The thunder crystal could fight spirit beasts but offered little strategic value.
The dark soil had grounding properties and could stabilize rest zones.
Qin Yuheng chose:
Gray stone tablet fragment.
Blue water pearl.
Dark soil.
Qin Mo blinked.
"Soil?"
"For rest stability and fog grounding."
Qin Yuchen nodded.
"Feather saves one. Soil helps all."
Qin Lian said, "Tablet for gate locks. Pearl for memory. Soil for camp."
They wrote their reasoning.
Su Mei personally reviewed top candidates’ selections.
When she reached Qin Yuheng’s group, she smiled.
"You rejected the thunder crystal despite visible compatibility."
"It solves the smallest problem," Qin Yuheng said.
"And the silver feather?"
"Too individual."
"The white mist vial?"
"High risk without full identification."
"The dark soil?"
"Stabilizes rest and reduces fog accumulation if spread under formation."
Su Mei’s smile deepened.
"Good."
The results were announced later.
Qin Yuheng’s team ranked among the top group.
Bai Yunshen’s team also performed excellently, choosing a different but equally valid combination: blue pearl, gray tablet, silver feather—favoring mobility.
Jiang Yuexuan’s team chose gray tablet, blue pearl, and white mist vial.
Qin Mo stared.
"She chose the mist."
Jiang Yuexuan later explained during open review.
"The vial contained not dream fog itself, but dream-eating mist. Dangerous if opened incorrectly, useful if released through water pearl resonance."
Qin Mo looked horrified.
"So it was useful and terrifying."
She nodded.
"That is common."
Duan Xirong’s team performed moderately. They chose the flame fruit, thunder crystal, and silver feather—strong immediate power, weaker mission compatibility.
The trial exposed differences.
Some candidates chose power.
Some chose survival.
Some chose synergy.
Some chose individual escape tools.
Qin Yuheng’s score rose again.
But more importantly, Su Mei approached him afterward.
"Candidate Qin, you evaluate resources like someone building systems, not winning single missions."
Qin Yuheng looked at her.
"That is better long-term."
"Usually. Unless someone notices and prices you accordingly."
"Are you warning me or appraising me?"
"Both."
She handed him a formal Merchant Alliance invitation.
"Restricted auction preview. Academy-supervised. No forced contracts. Attend if you wish to understand what the assembly market truly values."
Yu Qingmei later inspected the invitation.
"Safe enough, but not harmless."
Qin Mo sighed.
"Nothing is harmless."
Lin Xian’er wanted to attend.
Su Mei allowed it, likely because watching Lin Xian’er’s reaction would be interesting.
That evening, Qin Yuheng, Qin Mo, Lin Xian’er, and Yu Qingmei attended the preview.
The auction did not sell ordinary equipment.
It displayed future-shaping resources:
Class evolution fragments.
Gate authority stabilizers.
High-grade skill compatibility stones.
Rare anti-corruption crystals.
Ancient family bloodline-safe body tempering materials.
Then one item appeared only briefly, behind seven seals.
[Unknown Eclipse Ritual Record Fragment]
Status: Restricted.
Not for open sale.
Trade conditions confidential.
Qin Yuheng’s eyes sharpened.
Yu Qingmei’s expression did not change.
Lin Xian’er’s fingers tightened slightly.
Qin Mo whispered, "Bait?"
Qin Yuheng answered quietly.
"Yes."
Across the hall, Su Mei watched who reacted.
Elsewhere, Mo Cangyan received confirmation.
The record fragment had been displayed.
Qin Yuheng had noticed.
But had not approached.
Mo Cangyan smiled.
"Still patient."
Xue Rong asked, "Then?" ƒrēewebnovel.com
"Patience can be pressured by scarcity."
Mo Cangyan looked toward the assembly schedule.
"Tower Simulation Mission. There, scarcity becomes real."
