The First Order

Sure enough, Wu Shiyin was right that a guest would come soon—Yang Xiao didn't believe it, but an hour later, just as he was about to fall asleep, a visitor arrived.

"Oh, Gin-san, you actually cleaned this place up. Trying to get back to your prime?" The newcomer was a bespectacled man, around seventeen or eighteen, who seemed familiar with Wu Shiyin.

Wu Shiyin smiled at the sight of him, stood up, and said, "Yeah, I just hired a young guy."

He pointed at Yang Xiao, and the Glasses Man immediately turned his gaze, giving Yang Xiao a meaningful grin. Yang Xiao was a bit baffled—what was that supposed to mean?

"Since the Problem Solver is open for business, I won't beat around the bush. I was passing by and thought I'd give it a shot—didn't expect it to be running. So, I want to place an order," the Glasses Man said directly.

"Great, welcome to order. So, Mr. Tian, what task do you want to post?" Wu Shiyin rubbed his hands together. His first deal was here—looks like his old reputation still held. That made things easy.

"Nothing major. I dropped my phone into a sewer ditch yesterday. I think it's too dirty to fish out myself," the Glasses Man said helplessly.

"Seriously? People really bring any old crap to the Problem Solver. You need to place an order for something like this?" Yang Xiao blurted out. He felt his intelligence was being insulted—couldn't the guy just wear gloves to grab his phone? Why come here to place an order?

Now he understood what that grin from the Glasses Man meant earlier. Of course there was no good in it!

"Xiao Yang, you can't say that. The Problem Solver considers taking on any kind of job—of course, we can also refuse. But under normal circumstances, we take on what we can handle. Otherwise, how would we make a living?" Wu Shiyin didn't have much issue with Yang Xiao's outburst. It was the same when he first started here; after getting used to the weird and wonderful jobs, he'd let it go.

Yang Xiao thought for a moment, then asked Wu Shiyin, "So how much does a job like this pay?"

Wu Shiyin pulled out a form and handed it to Yang Xiao. Yang Xiao clearly saw that the bottom row listed jobs like this one, priced at two thousand Island Nation Currency.

Two thousand Island Nation Currency was equivalent to about one hundred twenty Huaxia yuan. With that kind of money, you could do plenty—why come to the Problem Solver to place an order?

Were people these days really that rich, or just unwilling to lift a finger?

"You can earn a commission from this job. You get a cut from every order, so your monthly salary will only go up, never down," Wu Shiyin leaned in and whispered into Yang Xiao's ear.

Since that was the case, Yang Xiao would just suck it up. As long as the jobs weren't too outrageous, he'd take them.

"Place the order. I'll go with you to check it out," Yang Xiao said after making up his mind, turning to the Glasses Man.

"I'll place it now." The Glasses Man started the order process—place the order first, pay after the job was done.

Once the order was placed, Yang Xiao followed the Glasses Man to where the phone had fallen. Wu Shiyin even handed Yang Xiao a pair of gloves.

Yang Xiao found it a bit funny. The gloves could have been used by the Glasses Man himself—he could have just worn them to retrieve his phone. Why did he need someone else?

In the end, it was just about being afraid of getting dirty or putting in effort. People these days, with money, they'd rather not walk even a short distance—they'd take a cab, or if there was a restaurant downstairs, they'd order delivery instead of going down to eat.

Yang Xiao didn't have much to say about this phenomenon. As long as he did his own job, that was fine.

The two of them reached the depths of an alley. In the middle of the alley was a ditch where many people liked to dump trash. The water didn't flow, meaning it only got stinkier over time.

Normally, someone would come by periodically to clean up the ditch, but lately, the cleaner wasn't too keen on the job. Now, the place reeked, and few people passed through—most took a detour.

For the Island Nation, this was a rare and bizarre sight. The country was known for its strict environmental standards; you'd hardly see trash on the streets, and everyone was well-mannered.

But in Baoxu City, a fourth- or fifth-tier small city—no, maybe fifth- or sixth-tier—the people here might have lower standards?

On top of that, this residential area seemed to have some conflict with a local big shot. The big shot wanted the land for development, but most residents refused to move. Naturally, the big shot tried to pressure them, and over time, things had deteriorated to this state.

Even though it was filthy and stank, the residents still wouldn't budge. The big shot was at a loss. In a society governed by law, if he acted recklessly, the Pro Heroes and the Police Department wouldn't stand for it. So lately, he'd stopped meddling.

"It's right around here. Look carefully, you'll probably find it," the Glasses Man said without a hint of embarrassment. For him, since he'd paid, he expected top-notch service. He pointed to a spot in the ditch.

Yang Xiao's expression soured. The ditch looked at least a meter deep. The gloves Wu Shiyin gave him only covered up to his elbow, which wasn't enough.

To find the phone, he'd have to plunge his entire arm into the filthy water, and even then, there was no guarantee. Yang Xiao thought to himself that making money really wasn't easy—there was no such thing as easy cash in this world.

Since this Mr. Tian wanted his phone back, it must be waterproof. Otherwise, retrieving a broken phone would be pointless. Yang Xiao turned and asked, "What's your Quirk?"

"Me?" Mr. Tian pushed up his glasses and said, "My Quirk is pretty useless. A certain part of my brain is more developed, giving me above-average computational ability. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, nothing." Yang Xiao had been hoping to see if the guy's Quirk could help, saving him the trouble. But now it was clear he couldn't count on him.

Fine, he'd just do it himself.

Yang Xiao gritted his teeth, stripped off his shirt, and ditched the gloves. Covering his nose with one hand, he crouched down and reached into the ditch with the other.

The cold touch sent goosebumps all over his body, but he wasn't stupid. Holy Light Energy surged into his right hand, forming a glowing protective layer over his palm. At his current level, the Holy Light was too weak to cover more than that.

"Kid, you've got some nice muscles. How do you train? Hey... why is your hand glowing?" The Glasses Man had been eyeing Yang Xiao's physique, but then he noticed the glow coming from Yang Xiao's hand in the ditch. The light wasn't strong, but it was enough to illuminate some of the murky water, piquing his curiosity.