Temporary Worker

"The dungeon was cleared so quickly. I can only wait until tomorrow... I might as well go practice shooting later."

As he tried on the Wrath of the Ape King Ring, slipping it onto his finger, Wang Zhifan sighed in his rental house.

His life was very monotonous now. Every day, after finishing the most important task of clearing dungeons, he would eat out, do some simple recreational activities to relax, and practice his marksmanship at the shooting gallery.

But when Wang Zhifan thought about how much he had spent at the shooting gallery over the past two days, his teeth began to ache. He suddenly realized that his funds were nearly depleted, so he quickly picked up his phone from the bedside and checked his current bank balance.

"Only thirty thousand left after just a few days? I'd better stop going to the shooting gallery for now and wait until I get some new money. Besides, my shooting skills are good enough to get by now."

As a Blade Warrior player, Wang Zhifan practiced shooting to compensate for his lack of ranged attack options, not because he intended to rely entirely on firearms. After using a gun in actual combat during the dungeon just now, he judged that his marksmanship had barely met the minimum requirement.

"The fastest way for me to make money right now is probably selling equipment. But I don't have any Fine Grade equipment to sell, only Rare Grade items... Rare Grade stuff generally costs millions or even tens of millions. If I put it up for sale directly with my current strength and connections, it might attract some trouble..."

Wang Zhifan quickly realized that he was in an absurd situation. It was not that he had nothing valuable to sell, but that he did not really dare to sell it, for fear of attracting the attention of people with ulterior motives.

"Maybe I could disguise myself and go to the national capital of the Xia Kingdom to sell Rare Grade equipment. The player market there is bigger, and public security is the strictest in the entire Xia Kingdom."

As he pondered this, Wang Zhifan began considering how to convert the equipment he did not need into money as safely and discreetly as possible, resolving the financial crisis that was about to resurface. Otherwise, it would be laughable if he sat atop a mountain of treasure yet lived like a beggar.

Feeling that blindly thinking it over alone was not very reliable, he opened his laptop and began browsing the Player Forum. He remembered that the forum often had posts related to trades—for example, which wealthy player was buying equipment, or which local merchant had been exposed as a scam shop. Such information could offer him inspiration and warnings.

However, Wang Zhifan had not been browsing the forum for long, nor had he found the information he needed, when his phone suddenly chimed twice—the sound of a message arriving on a messaging app.

"Someone actually sent me a message? Don't tell me it's Brother Qiang?"

Wang Zhifan was immediately curious. He knew exactly how thin the original owner's social circle had been. He practically had no friends and no financial ties with anyone. Logically, someone like him should not have been contacted.

Picking up his phone and unlocking the screen, Wang Zhifan quickly discovered that the person disturbing him this time was not the shady merchant Brother Qiang he had imagined, but Chu Wei, a contact he had only added two days ago.

"Chu Wei: Are you there?"

"Chu Wei: There's something here that I don't know whether you'd be interested in."

Seeing that it was Chu Wei, who had already joined the Official Special Administration Bureau, Wang Zhifan narrowed his eyes slightly in puzzlement.

"Wang Zhifan: What is it?"

He quickly typed his reply on the phone.

"Chu Wei: My team is currently short-handed, so I wanted to ask whether you have time to come help recently. The specific task is clearing some low-level gray domains around Dongjiang City. The danger won't be greater than the one we encountered in the city a few days ago. If you're willing to help, you'll serve as External Temporary Staff and receive roughly 300 to 5,000 national currency per day depending on the amount of clearing work."

Chu Wei typed quickly. Within seconds, Wang Zhifan understood her intentions, but he did not answer immediately. Instead, he asked:

"Wang Zhifan: You became a team leader that quickly? Isn't that a little too fast?"

It was no wonder Wang Zhifan was confused. He clearly remembered that Chu Wei had joined the Special Administration Bureau the day before yesterday, yet she had become a team leader within two days. That seemed far too absurd to him, but Chu Wei quickly replied.

"Chu Wei: I'm only a temporary team leader. The frequency of gray domain outbreaks has increased sharply lately, so they had no choice but to put me in the position. My team is heading out on a mission today. If you agree, I'll wait for you at the entrance to East River Second Bureau Building."

Feeling that things really were somewhat urgent on Chu Wei's end, Wang Zhifan did not hesitate much. Mainly because he had been to the East River Second Bureau before and knew very well that it was an office building under the Xia Kingdom's Official Special Administration Bureau, there was basically no chance that Chu Wei was plotting anything. After all, he had left his personal information there when making a statement about the Gray Domain Incident last time. If the Special Administration Bureau truly wanted to do something to him, there was nowhere he could hide anyway.

"Wang Zhifan: Fine. I'll be there before eleven."

Wang Zhifan was not particularly interested in working as a temporary worker for the authorities just to earn some money, but he was currently having financial problems. The guaranteed daily pay of 300 was still somewhat appealing to him. Besides, he had already shown his face to the authorities, so as long as he was careful, it would not cause much trouble.

On the other hand, Wang Zhifan had previously obtained the Rare Grade equipment Chapter of Gloom in a gray domain. Such a gain was equivalent to clearing an additional dungeon, so even setting aside the payment, he was somewhat interested in venturing into gray domains.

However, relying only on himself, he could not promptly learn where gray domains had appeared. Even if he did know, he could not simply rush in and take unclear risks. But if he could ride along with the Special Administration Bureau, things would be different.

As the Xia Kingdom's only official player organization, the Special Administration Bureau was unquestionably the strongest and most organized player group in the Xia Kingdom. It was absolutely first-rate within the country and undoubtedly ranked among the best player organizations in the entire world. With the Special Administration Bureau backing him, Wang Zhifan's safety in gray domains would increase greatly, as would his chances of obtaining additional equipment.

Thus, Wang Zhifan, who had been browsing the Player Forum in his rental house and considering how to safely sell Rare Grade equipment, quickly shut his laptop, closed the door, and took public transportation to East River Second Bureau Building, some distance from where he lived.

On the way there, he discussed more details with Chu Wei over the phone. By the time he arrived at the entrance to East River Second Bureau Building, he immediately spotted Chu Wei and a teenage boy waiting for him. They had apparently prepared to set off as soon as he finished registering.