There was no way they could learn anything in just half a day, let alone train a rookie into a skilled marksman.
They only had two magazines, which they needed for the mission, so they couldn't even practice.
After the black-hooded girl patiently—and, at times, repetitively—taught him, Han Su had only learned the most basic things: the safety, changing magazines, holding the gun, aiming, and so on.
Before long, it was already five o'clock. A staff member came to remind them, and they all followed him to a room. When they arrived, they saw someone already sitting in a chair, waiting.
He was a chubby guy wearing small glasses, and he seemed to be about Han Su's age. His face was still very young. Now, he was trying hard to put on an air of professionalism and authority, but it wasn't working. No matter how tightly he set his expression, he still looked like an amateur.
Standing in front of him were the camouflage man, who had come from the military, and several other trainees assigned to the same mission as Han Su.
With the camouflage man standing there, especially, his posture straight and his body as steadfast as steel, the little fatty looked even more like some unfortunate nobody. The camouflage man was the one who looked like a professional operative.
"Have you all brought your weapons and equipment?"
When the little fatty saw them arrive, his slightly uneasy expression eased. He kept his face stern and said, "We leave in half an hour."
"For this test, I'm your judge and one of your examiners. I'm also your bodyguard, ready to deal with any unexpected incidents. And I'm your team leader, responsible for giving orders!"
"Understood?"
Han Su nodded instinctively. Beside him, the camouflage man shouted, "Understood!"
The little fatty poked at his ear and gave him a reproachful look. Then his gaze fell on Han Su. "Before the mission starts, if you have questions, I'll answer whichever ones I deem appropriate. But once the mission starts, no one is allowed to speak!"
"You'll each be issued a walkie-talkie, too, but I'm the only one authorized to use mine to communicate with the outside. Understood?"
"..."
This time, Han Su joined in and answered loudly, "Understood!"
"Good!"
The little fatty waved his hand. "That's the spirit. Let's move out!"
The trainees followed the little fatty out of the Disaster Management Bureau. When they saw the night sky outside, the past few days' experiences seemed all the more surreal.
Two black armored vehicles were already waiting outside. They bore no unnecessary markings or names. Their bodies were pitch-black, with only a twisted snake painted on the right-hand door.
They climbed into the vehicles, which started up silently and carried them through the streets beneath the night sky. The bustling neon lights and crowds outside the windows stood in stark contrast to the silence and tension inside the cabin.
Although the little fatty had said they could ask questions, they knew so little about the mission that they didn't even know what to ask.
The little fatty, on the other hand, was already used to this. He sat in the passenger seat, frowning as he played a game on his phone. Han Su leaned over and asked, "What level are you?"
The little fatty jerked his head up, surprised by Han Su's lack of professionalism. He sneaked a glance at the camouflage man, who was sitting ramrod straight beside him, then answered cautiously,
"I'm bad. I'm only level 39."
"I know a big shot who's level 172," Han Su said. "We can play together sometime."
The little fatty looked up at him, clear delight in his eyes. But with the camouflage man beside him looking so serious, he seemed too embarrassed to say so.
After chatting for a few lines, Han Su felt something was off. There's an extremely dangerous aura about this little fatty, but the innocence he's showing now doesn't seem fake?
At around nine thirty that evening, they arrived at their destination and got out one after another.
Looking up, they saw a fifty-story building that seemed to pierce the night sky. The windows were pitch-black, and only the lobby on the first floor had a dim light on.
At this hour, when the working stiffs were still hard at it, the building seemed empty. It was pitch-black inside, and they couldn't see a single person.
"Let's go!"
After telling the driver to park, the little fatty joined Han Su, the camouflage man, and the other trainees in attaching their pistols and walkie-talkies. Then they entered the building.
The elevators in the building were out of service. Only one still had its lights on. The little fatty led them aboard and took them straight to the thirty-ninth floor. Then he used the walkie-talkie to order that elevator shut down as well, before leading them to Area B.
It was pitch-black there. Four elevators stood in a row, all completely out of service. Not a soul was in sight.
There were only a few chairs arranged there.
The little fatty pulled out a chair and placed it facing the elevator on the left side of Area B. Then he picked up the walkie-talkie and reported that the temporary team members and their leader, Zhao Da'er, were in position and waiting for the mission to begin.
After that, he tested the communication signal, reported that there was nothing unusual nearby, checked his digital watch, and waited patiently.
And that was it.
The mission envelope and the little fatty's instructions both made it clear that this was their assignment: one chair each, split between the left and right sides, staring fixedly at the elevator in front of them.
It was a ridiculous task. In a building that had already been cleared of people, they were to sit in silence and stare at an elevator that seemed to have no power. They were not allowed to let go of their guns, and no one was allowed to look away from the elevator at the same time as anyone else.
From ten at night until three in the morning.
If any living thing appeared inside the elevator, no matter who or what it was, they had to open fire immediately.
Han Su checked his digital watch. It wasn't ten yet. At last, he couldn't hold back and asked quietly, "Why are we waiting by this elevator?"
One of the trainees had already tensed up. The camouflage man, sitting ramrod straight, heard him and immediately turned to look at Han Su. "Our job is to carry out the mission, not ask questions."
His rebuke left not only Han Su but the little fatty at a loss.
After a while, the little fatty said quietly, "Did I forget to tell you that you could ask questions before the mission started?"
"Right," Han Su said. "The mission starts at ten. We still have half an hour."
"Exactly."
The little fatty let out a breath. "This is our task for tonight. In fact, most of the work you'll face once you officially start working for the Disaster Management Bureau's Operations Department will be just like this."
"You're not the only ones who find it hard to get used to."
He sounded regretful as he continued, his voice full of resignation. "One walkie-talkie, one pack of cigarettes, and a whole day of sitting around. When my family found out I'd joined this department, they thought I'd made it big. They never imagined I'd be stuck doing this kind of crappy work every day."
Han Su cautiously asked, "So what's strange about this elevator? Why do we have to keep our eyes on it?"
The camouflage man beside him had clearly perked up his ears to listen, too.
The little fatty hesitated, as though considering whether he was allowed to answer. Then he said quietly, "Do you know how many people have gone missing in this building this month?"
Han Su played along at once. "How many?"
"Five!"
"Good heavens..."
"And..."
The little fatty lowered his voice, speaking mysteriously. "Our department only confirmed that five people had gone missing after receiving a report and sending investigators to collect evidence. But how many people disappeared here without ever being reported? Who knows?"
"Of course, the missing are just numbers. In a city this big, they're a drop in the bucket. It doesn't make much difference."
"Do you know who we brought guns to guard this place against?"
"..."
Han Su put on a slightly nervous expression. "Who?"
The little fatty lowered his voice and stared hard at the elevator's pitch-black gap. "The people who come out of the elevator."
"Come out?"
Han Su looked at the elevator.
From the outside, it was no different from an ordinary elevator in an office building. If anything, it looked a little old. It was simply set into the wall beside the other elevators.
Most importantly, this elevator was clearly without power. Its floor display was pitch-black.
And the Guard Hall had already placed the building under close watch. Every evening at six, they cleared out all the staff.
No people, no power. So who were they guarding against, and who were they supposed to shoot?
"Come out..."
One of the trainees shuddered and stammered, "What kind of person is coming out?"
"An anomaly."
The little fatty clearly enjoyed seeing rookies get spooked. He smiled and said, "Something that's always trying to infiltrate our real world. Most of our work from now on will be dealing with them."
"If monsters might appear inside this elevator, why are we wasting manpower guarding it?"
Listening to him, everyone felt a little uneasy. But a question surfaced in Han Su's mind. "Why not just seal the elevator with concrete?"
"Blow up the building and bury it!"
"..."
"That wouldn't work."
The little fatty said, "If a powerless elevator can still run at certain times, and people can still emerge from it and blend into the crowds outside even when the building is empty, then sealing it up with concrete won't help either."
"This thing can distort reality. It doesn't follow reason."
"All we can do is follow the investigators' recommendations: wait here at this particular time and shoot anything living that comes out of this elevator, even though it shouldn't be running."
"Humans are the most efficient and cost-effective expendable resource we can use against anomalies."
Before you continue