Temporary Worker

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

As he slipped the Ape King's Rage ring onto his finger to try it out, Wang Zhifan sighed in his rented room.

His life was very monotonous now. Every day, after finishing the most important task of clearing dungeons, he would eat out, enjoy some simple entertainment, and practice his shooting at the range.

But when Wang Zhifan thought of how much he had spent at the shooting range these past two days, his teeth began to ache. He suddenly realized that his savings were nearly depleted, so he hurriedly picked up his phone from beside the bed and checked his bank balance.

"Only thirty thousand left after just a few days? Looks like I should hold off on going to the shooting range until some new money comes in. My shooting is passable enough for now anyway."

As a Blademaster-class player, Wang Zhifan practiced shooting to make up for his lack of ranged attack options, not because he wanted to rely entirely on firearms. After using a gun in actual combat during the dungeon just now, he judged that his marksmanship had barely reached the minimum standard.

"If I want to make money right now, the fastest way is probably selling equipment. But I don't have any fine-grade equipment to sell, only rare-grade stuff... Rare-grade items generally cost several million, even tens of millions. If I put them up for sale directly with my current strength and connections, I'm afraid it could cause some problems..."

Wang Zhifan quickly realized he was in an absurd situation. It was not that he had nothing valuable to sell, but that he did not quite dare to sell it, fearing he would attract the attention of people with ulterior motives.

"Maybe I can disguise myself and go to the Xia Kingdom capital to sell rare-grade equipment. The player market is bigger there, and public security is the strictest in all of Xia Kingdom."

As he considered this, Wang Zhifan began thinking about how to convert the equipment he did not need into cash as safely and discreetly as possible, solving the economic crisis that was about to rear its head again. Otherwise, it would be ridiculous if he owned a mountain of treasure yet lived like a beggar.

Feeling that blindly thinking things over by himself was not very reliable, he opened his laptop and began browsing the player forums. He remembered that there were often posts about trading there, such as which rich player was buying equipment or which local merchant had been exposed as a scam shop. That information could offer him some inspiration and warnings.

However, Wang Zhifan had barely browsed the forum for a moment and had yet to find the information he needed when his phone suddenly chimed twice, the sound of a message arriving through a communication app.

"Someone actually messaged me? It can't be that Brother Qiang, can it?"

Wang Zhifan was immediately curious. He knew how thin the original owner's social circle had been. It could be said that he currently had no friends at all and no interests tied up with anyone else. By all logic, someone like him should not be receiving messages.

Picking up his phone and unlocking the screen, Wang Zhifan quickly discovered that the person disturbing him was not the shady merchant Brother Qiang he had expected, but Chu Wei, a contact he had added only the day before yesterday.

"Chu Wei: Are you there?"

"Chu Wei: I have something here. I'm not sure whether you'd be interested."

Seeing that it was Chu Wei, who had already joined the Special Administration Bureau, contacting him out of the blue, Wang Zhifan narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"Wang Zhifan: What is it?"

He quickly typed his reply on his phone.

"Chu Wei: My team is currently short-handed. I wanted to ask whether you have time recently to come help out. The specific task is clearing some low-level Ash Domains around Dongjiang City. The danger will not be higher than the one we encountered in the city a few days ago. If you are willing to help, you will be hired as temporary external personnel. Depending on the workload, the pay will be around 300 to 5,000 Xia currency per day."

Chu Wei typed quickly. Within seconds, Wang Zhifan understood what she meant, but he did not answer right away. 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 only the day before yesterday. Becoming a team leader within two days seemed far too absurd to him, but Chu Wei quickly replied.

"Chu Wei: I'm only a temporary team leader. The frequency of Ash Domain outbreaks has surged lately, so they had no choice but to push me into the role. My team is heading out on a mission today. If you agree, I'll wait for you at the entrance to the Dongjiang Second Bureau Building."

Since Chu Wei's side did seem somewhat urgent, Wang Zhifan did not hesitate for long. Mainly because he had been to the Dongjiang Second Bureau before and knew it was an office building belonging to the Xia Kingdom's official Special Administration Bureau. There was basically no possibility of Chu Wei plotting anything against him there. Besides, he had left his personal information behind when he gave a statement about the Ash Domain incident at the Dongjiang Second Bureau last time. If the Special Administration Bureau truly wanted to do something to him, there was nowhere he could hide.

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

Wang Zhifan was not particularly interested in working as a temporary employee for the authorities to earn some money, but he did have financial problems at the moment. The guaranteed daily pay of 300 was somewhat appealing to him. In any case, the authorities had already seen his face. As long as he was careful, it should not cause much trouble.

On the other hand, Wang Zhifan had previously obtained the rare-grade equipment Chapter of Gloom in an Ash Domain. That kind of gain was equivalent to clearing an extra dungeon, so even without considering the pay, he was somewhat interested in venturing into Ash Domains.

However, on his own, he could not promptly learn where an Ash Domain had appeared. Even if he did know, he could not simply rush in and take an uncertain risk. But if he caught a ride with the Special Administration Bureau, things would be different.

As the Xia Kingdom's only official player organization, the Special Administration Bureau was the strongest and most organized player group in the Xia Kingdom. It was unquestionably among the very best in the entire country, and even among player organizations worldwide, it was undoubtedly ranked near the top. With the Special Administration Bureau backing him, Wang Zhifan would be far safer entering Ash Domains, and his chances of obtaining additional equipment would increase greatly as well.

Thus, Wang Zhifan, who had originally been browsing player forums in his rented room and pondering how to safely sell rare-grade equipment, quickly shut his laptop, closed his door, and took public transportation to the Dongjiang Second Bureau Building, some distance from where he lived.

On the way there, he chatted with Chu Wei on his phone about more details. When he arrived at the entrance of the Dongjiang Second Bureau Building, he immediately spotted Chu Wei and a teenage boy waiting for him. They had apparently prepared to leave as soon as he finished registering.