Working Comes First

As Lu Xin wandered aimlessly through the ruined streets, he realized he had not taken a proper look at them in a long time.

The roads were pocked with holes and dust, with puddles left over from several days ago.

Harsh neon lights glared from every direction, weaving together into chaotic, dazzling patches of color.

After the Crimson Moon incident, the surviving humans within High Wall City seemed to have split into two completely different kinds.

One kind was exceptionally busy, hurrying along without time to spare even a second glance at anything.

The other kind was exceptionally unbusy. Some sat listlessly on either side of the street, a cloth spread before them or a table set up, displaying wild vegetables, unidentified meats, crudely sharpened knives, or old ornaments and unknown technological items that hunters from outside the city had retrieved while exploring the abandoned cities.

Even more people simply gathered in small groups, smoking and whistling at women passing by on the street.

There were still many lunatics outside. When High Wall City had first been established, there had been a time when people could not even get enough to eat. But perhaps because there were suddenly far fewer mouths to feed, the pressure on resources had eased. Or perhaps civilization had been rebuilt faster than anyone expected. In only thirty short years, famine and starvation had become rare within the high walls...

...Simply put, it was not difficult to fill one's stomach in High Wall City.

...The difficult part was figuring out how to live a better life!

Those idle people wandering the streets were like that. They had not even obtained official status in Satellite City No. 2, could not attend specialized technical schools or regular schools, and had no hope of ever entering the main city to live.

So they had simply given up on every pursuit. They did not work, nor did they think about how they would live tomorrow.

Every day, they merely drifted through the streets, blankly watching everything that passed before them, their eyes hollow, no one knowing what they were thinking.

Lu Xin walked down the street like that, studying everyone around him.

He was looking to see whether any of them were dangerous like the clerk at that corner coffee shop.

As long as he caught one, he could earn a great deal of money and save many people.

Sister's figure always appeared beside him when he least expected it. Sometimes she appeared atop the tall buildings beside him; sometimes she lazily crawled along the power lines overhead; sometimes she appeared on the head of some bald middle-aged man.

The two siblings patrolled the streets with utmost seriousness.

Then they encountered nothing at all.

"This city is too big..."

After walking through seven or eight streets until his legs ached, Lu Xin squatted by the roadside, smoking as he ate a boxed meal.

He summed up his experience in his heart. Although the population was very small when High Wall City was first built, more and more people have been born over the past few decades, and the population has exploded. Satellite City No. 2 alone has more than a million residents. Even the police complain every day about being understaffed. If I just bump around at random like this and don't run into anything, that's perfectly normal...

If I patrol a few more times, I'll definitely encounter one...

"..."

After finishing his meal, Lu Xin patrolled for a while longer, then went home to sleep and returned to work the next day.

For the next several days, he continued like this.

But this overly normal city disappointed Lu Xin. There had not been a single strange incident.

If this city is too safe and there is nowhere that needs me, will Colonel Chen and the others take back my allowance?

Lu Xin could not help worrying about it.

However, he had not expected trouble to arise with his other job first.

"Little Lu, you don't need to come in to work tomorrow."

The Director, whose hair was half gone but still carefully combed, pushed a termination contract in front of Lu Xin.

"Why?"

The Director's words startled Lu Xin, and he could not understand them.

He had not even become a full employee yet, and now he was being fired from this job. How could he accept that?

In this world after the Crimson Moon incident, being fired was perfectly normal because the economy was unstable. This was especially true for jobs like his, where one only needed to sit in an office and use one's brain instead of working day and night at the docks or in factories. Many people had their eyes on such jobs, and the competition was extremely fierce. But Lu Xin had never imagined it would happen to him.

He worked very conscientiously and had never made any mistakes over the years.

He was even a model employee. The banner was still hanging in his cubicle.

Even if someone had to be fired, how could it possibly be him?

"Well, Little Lu, you need to understand this."

The Director forced a smile, took out a cigarette, and offered it to Lu Xin. Showing teeth yellowed by tobacco stains, he said with a smile, "The company isn't doing well right now. It can't afford to support too many people doing the same job. Between you and Lu Cheng, your professional abilities are about the same. But Lu Cheng has a much better work attitude than you. Look at you—you've been leaving early every day lately. Before quitting time even comes, you've already disappeared..."

"Lu Cheng?"

Lu Xin remembered the young man who had always smiled at him and asked him to teach him how to handle work matters. He fell silent.

He knew what the Director meant by saying he left early.

In truth, he had not left early. He simply had not volunteered to stay behind and work overtime.

"Director, can you give me another chance?"

Lu Xin had many things he wanted to say, but in the end, he only asked softly.

The Director showed a troubled expression. "Sigh, you're an old employee, and I hate to let you go too. But you know our company—every position has its person, and we can't afford to keep idle hands. When ability is the same, attitude is very important..."

Lu Xin did not hear the rest, because he knew it was all false.

When he left the Director's office, he saw that all his belongings had already been packed into a box.

He did not know who had been so kind.

"Lu Cheng packed it up for you. He's wanted to move into your spot for a long time..."

Beside his cubicle, Auntie Sun, with her permed curls, quietly told Lu Xin, "Little Lu, it's not that Sister Sun wants to criticize you, but you're just too honest. I told you before not to teach everyone everything. See? He stole your livelihood, didn't he? I heard that this kid is something else. He's dating the Director's daughter. The Director is such a smart man—how could he not give the job to one of his own?"

Lu Xin silently looked at the banner in his box, then reached into his backpack and touched the gun inside.

But in the end, he did not pull it out. Instead, he went downstairs first, lit a cigarette, and slowly paced around.

He remembered what Chen Jing had told him before.

If he ran into trouble in life, she had given him three pieces of advice.

First, call the police.

Second, call her.

Third, use the gun.