Two Jobs Handled Together Today

The Sand Rat, clutching the metal box, stood at the edge of the crack, hesitant to approach.

The corners of the box were pried open and deformed. Inside, besides several spare keys, there was a magnetic card and two brass round plates.

The Gambit reached out to take it.

The Sand Rat shrank back slightly.

Wolverine raised his eyelids, the tips of his steel claws reflecting a cold light.

The Sand Rat nearly threw the box away. "I'm not refusing to give it to you! I just..."

Sing Sing wiped the Pig Butchering Knife on his trouser leg before sheathing it.

"Comrade Miguel, there's no need to be so tense during this meeting." He patted the Sand Rat's shoulder lightly.

"We all saw you run away just now."

The Sand Rat's face twitched, its eyes involuntarily glancing at the Avalanche debris on the ground.

"I really wanted to run away." His voice trembled.

"The secret passage led outside the abandoned mine. After I crawled inside... I heard a sound."

"A child is crying. A very young one, crying until he has no strength left, but still calling for his mother."

He sniffed, sweat running down his face, which was streaked with dirt. "I'm not a good person."

"I stole parts, sold counterfeit goods, pocketed money from both sides, and still have a mountain of gambling debts."

"But I don't want to hear those sounds when I go to sleep in the future."

Sing Sing reached out and took the tin box.

"To err is human, to forgive divine." He opened the box and rummaged through it. "Your resume... it's not up to par in terms of background checks. But..."

He looked up, grinned, and said, "There's still a chance to salvage outsourced positions at the grassroots level. Our company doesn't look at what you did before, we only look at what you want to do now."

The Sand Rat was somewhat surprised. "You're hiring at a time like this...?"

"Of course." Sing Sing took out the two brass round plates and examined them against the light.

"The most important thing in life is to have a dream. My dream is to recruit all the unemployed Mutants into our organization."

The Gambit burst out laughing, almost dropping his toothpick.

The Sand Rat pointed to the half-collapsed wall on the right side of the incineration workshop. "The lower level of the vault is over there. The main entrance was blocked by Avalanche, but the old ventilation and maintenance shaft is still open."

He pulled a brass round plate from the box and stuffed it into Sing Sing's hand.

"It's narrow inside, you can only climb one at a time. There are three automatic shut-off valves in the middle, in case of Avalanche, someone might sneak in through the ventilation shaft to steal the vault."

Sing Sing arrived at the repair wellhead.

It was pitch black, with charred and oily stains clinging to its edges.

"I'll go first."

He handed the briefcase to the Gambit.

"Cousin, the state-owned assets are entrusted to your safekeeping."

The Gambit took the box and scoffed, "I'm not your company's finance department!"

"The capable should do more work!"

Sing Sing turned to look at Wolverine: "Logan, you cover the rear."

Wolverine snorted in response.

It's very hot inside the maintenance well.

Sing Sing had only gone in for a dozen meters when a "click" sound suddenly came from the pipe wall in front of him.

The red light is on.

White, high-temperature steam billowed towards me!

"Damn it!"

With lightning-fast reflexes, Sing Sing Chow pulled out Pig Butchering Knife and, following the pipe wall, stabbed it into the gap on the side of the steam valve.

"Laugh!"

The steam was forcibly deflected and sprayed onto the sheet metal above.

The second layer is a circular steel cap embedded in the pipe wall.

It's relatively spacious here, enough for several people to stand side by side.

The Gambit pulled out a coin, and a light shone from his fingertip.

The coin was attached to the lock cylinder.

"Snap." No response.

The Gambit frowned and threw out a second card.

"Clap clap."

The lock cylinder remained completely still.

"Damn, triple insurance?"

The purple light flashed three times before the clips on the inside of the steel cover popped open neatly.

"This crappy place is even stricter than the Bank of France."

Just as the Sand Rat was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a "beep beep" sound came from above its head.

The red light flashed, and the steel gate closed ahead of schedule!

Wolverine roared and pounced, bracing himself against the edge of the gate with his bare arms.

The muscles in his shoulders and back bulged out inch by inch, and blood flowed down his arms.

"Get out of here! I can't hold out for ten seconds!"

The gears of the steel gate made a "click-clack" sound, like an iron beast biting its prey.

The Sand Rat scrambled through, Gambit followed, dragging his box.

As Wolverine emerged last, the steel gate slammed down with a bang, slicing off half of his boot sole.

He kicked the wreckage away and cursed a foul language.

At the end of the ventilation shaft was a rusted maintenance door.

Sing Sing cleaved it in two with a single stroke.

A blast of cold air emanated from the lower level of the vault, where three makeshift cells lined the wall.

The first two rooms are empty.

There were drag marks on the ground, and bloodstains stretched all the way to the distant freight corridor.

A child's sneaker sat in the corner, its surface painted with a crooked rainbow.

In the last room, four people huddled in a corner.

The boy was so thin he was just a skeleton, with transparent membranes growing between his fingers.

The old woman had a full head of white hair, and her skin was as dry and cracked as a dried-up riverbed.

The girl, around ten years old, had one blue eye and one gold eye, and her face was covered in bruises.

There was also a young man with a face full of burns, and the remnants of insect wings drooping on his back.

Hearing the door open, all four people shrank back at the same time.

Wolverine's steel claws snapped out half an inch with a "whoosh," then abruptly retracted.

"Oh shit!"

He let out a low growl, turned around, and slammed his fist against the wall.

A hole was created by the collapse of the concrete.

The Gambit stared at the little girl for a long time before finally managing to utter, "I've seen a lot of bastards..."

"But these suit-wearing bastards..."

Sing Sing didn't say anything.

He took the suitcase from the Gambit, then took out some compressed biscuits and water and placed them at the door.

But no one dared to make a move.

After the Gambit used the spare key to open the door and let the others out, the little girl stared at Sing Sing for several seconds before crawling over and grabbing the water bottle.

She didn't drink it first.

Instead, he handed it to the old lady next to him.

Sing Sing turned around and started rummaging through the filing cabinet next to him.

The cabinet was unlocked and filled with shipping labels and file folders containing photos.

[Targets of Credit Collapse]

[Targets for Healthcare Debt Acquisition]

[High-risk supernatural assets]

On each sheet of paper, a name is followed by a debt, medical record, eviction notice, and unemployment certificate.

Sing Sing's finger stopped on a child's file.

The guardian died.

The house was repossessed by the bank.

The welfare system is out of service.

Ability Assessment: Resellable.

He folded the paper and stuffed it into his inner pocket.

They specifically prey on those who are penniless, homeless, and without anyone to care for them.

The Gambit took a closer look.

"Those suit-wearing bastards from Silver Peak, they really know how to calculate things beautifully."

While they were looking at the documents, the Sand Rat crouched down at the bottom of the cabinet and touched a silver Cryptographic Key.

His eyes darted around, and he quickly stuffed the item into his sleeve.

The movements were very gentle.

Sing Sing caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye but didn't say anything.

He had just put another stack of transfer slips into the compartment of his suitcase when he felt a jolt above his head.

The vault lights flickered twice, and concrete debris fell in a flurry.

A muffled, thunderous explosion came from afar, along with the sound of propellers overhead.

Getting closer and closer.

Sand Rat's face turned deathly pale. "It must be Silver Peak's men!"

The Gambit looked up, his ears twitching.

"Judging from the noise, it'll be cut through in three minutes at most."

Wolverine's claws snapped out with a "whoosh," illuminating the cell doorway with six beams of cold light.

"Then let them all stay."