The lights flickered on and off in the old stairwell, and the air was thick with a damp, musty smell.
Lin Yun insisted on walking Jiang Mian all the way to her door.
"Thank you, Teacher. About what happened today... sorry for the trouble."
Jiang Mian turned around and gave Lin Yun a slight bow.
She clearly remembered that, before she had transmigrated here, Lin Yun had offered her "financial assistance" several times, only to be turned down by the original "her."
Even in her previous life, Teacher Lin had cared about her just as much.
Although she knew that, strictly speaking, the two of them weren't the same person, they were both good people.
"What are you talking about? I'm the one who failed to look after you properly."
Lin Yun looked at the girl in the oversized yellow coat, then at the battered security door behind her, and couldn't help asking:
"That lock looks a little old. Is it safe?"
"It's—it's fine," Jiang Mian replied vaguely.
Lin Yun sighed. This child was still the same.
She'd clearly approved time off for Jiang Mian and told her to get some rest, yet she'd gone out to earn money for living expenses anyway—and then run into that mess with Li Hao...
"Jiang Mian."
Lin Yun sighed again, her tone turning serious.
"Listen to me. The Public Security Bureau will handle Li Hao's case, but his family... has some connections. He probably won't be locked up for long."
"When he gets out, he'll definitely come looking for trouble again. This place isn't safe anymore. You'd better find somewhere else to live as soon as you can."
As if worried Jiang Mian would object, Lin Yun added:
"If you really have nowhere to go, you can stay at my place for a few days..."
"No need."
Jiang Mian shook her head.
She'd already been planning to move. This place was cheap, sure, but it was also genuinely run-down. Even riding a bike over the bumpy roads made her backside go numb.
She'd meant to put it off, save up a little more, and move after the month was over.
But now she had no idea when that guy would get out. She'd have to move sooner. She still had enough money, so finding another place was manageable.
Still, she'd have to look around before deciding where to go.
"Teacher, I understand. I'll try to find somewhere over the next few days."
Only after getting a definite answer from Jiang Mian did Lin Yun nod and leave.
Jiang Mian returned to the little room and locked the door behind her. The timidity vanished from her face, leaving only an eerie calm.
She'd been acting for most of the day, and she was starting to feel tired.
Jiang Mian tossed her coat aside and sat down on the bed.
"Still nine Calamities short..."
She'd been lucky to run into one today. Going around and looking for them one by one would take far too much time.
The Special Affairs Bureau's name surfaced in her mind again.
The pay didn't matter much. What she was really after were the corpses.
If she was lucky enough to come across a "fresh" corpse, one that had just been killed, it would be an all-you-can-eat buffet for her.
Besides, they were looking for outsourced workers—or, more accurately, temporary workers. That status would make it easy for Jiang Mian to run whenever she wanted.
Jiang Mian fished out her phone and checked the contact information for the agency she'd gotten from those delivery riders.
She sent the other party a message. After a brief exchange, they sent her a location.
"Base City No. 144 Special Materials Processing Bureau. The address... is in North City. Hmm... a bit far. I'd better go early tomorrow."
Jiang Mian set down her phone and flopped onto the bed. She gazed at her slender, fair hands, a faint dark-gold glow in her eyes.
Now that she had a core, unless she deliberately suppressed it, the power of the Doom would gradually seep into her and strengthen her body,
especially when her energy was abundant. The strengthening would speed up, but it would also make her "hungry" sooner.
"Still not enough Fuel..."
The following afternoon.
Following the navigation, Jiang Mian stopped outside what looked like a factory.
A sign reading "Special Materials Processing Bureau—No. 144 Branch" hung on the iron gate.
It was hard to imagine that all of this city's "special materials" were handled by such an inconspicuous factory.
Space within the city was limited, so buildings were always packed close together. Securing such a large plot of land was no small feat.
A faint smell of dust seemed to hang in the air. Transport trucks bearing the Special Affairs Bureau's insignia occasionally drove in and out, lending the place a deeply oppressive atmosphere.
After signing in at the guardhouse, she entered the office building next door. Inside was a bare-bones office, where a weary-looking middle-aged man in work clothes was conducting interviews.
"Jiang Mian? You're applying for a job as a porter?"
The man gave Jiang Mian a strange look. "Young lady, do you know what we do here?"
"I do. You... handle those things."
"That's all you need to know. But the work here isn't easy. And... sometimes, when they're broken up, you have to put them back together. A lot of grown men can't handle it. Are you sure you want to do this?"
Seeing Jiang Mian's thin arms and legs, her glasses, and her quiet, bookish manner, the man couldn't help frowning.
This kind of work was hard for people to accept, let alone young women like Jiang Mian. Even some grown men couldn't stomach it.
"I... need the money. I don't mind hard work, and... I don't mind if it's dirty."
Short on money, huh...
The man didn't ask anything else. He'd warned her as clearly as he could. If she couldn't handle it and ran off the next day, that wouldn't be his problem.
He went over the terms as a matter of routine:
Sixteen an hour, no allowance, but insurance was provided. The workload varied, and if you didn't work a full day, you wouldn't be paid.
Jiang Mian listened, then nodded slightly.
Sixteen an hour was indeed very low for this place, but money wasn't the point for her right now.
"Fine. Sign these first. Be here at six tomorrow morning for a short training session."
Seeing that Jiang Mian remained resolute, the man sighed and took several documents out of his desk drawer: a temporary employment agreement, a confidentiality agreement, and others.
Jiang Mian took the pen and signed her name. Her handwriting was neat and graceful, just like her.
It was still fairly early when Jiang Mian left the Special Affairs Bureau. She walked around the area for a while to familiarize herself with the surroundings.
Unlike the chaotic, crowded West City, the roads here were flat and wide, and the air was full of all kinds of strange smells.
If West City was a manufacturing district, then North City was an energy hub. Power stations, garbage dumps, and special government agencies like the Special Affairs Bureau were all concentrated here.
Compared to West City, this place was even less suitable for living.
But as a temporary place to stay, renting a room here was quite cheap. It was worth considering.
The next day, before dawn, Jiang Mian arrived at the Special Affairs Bureau right on time.
The so-called training was very simple: an emphasis on safety procedures and confidentiality rules.
The person in charge of training repeatedly reminded them not to get curious or ask too many questions, and to simply follow instructions to the letter.
The factory had four teams in total, handling Calamities, Aberrants, Awakened, and ordinary people, respectively.
Teams Two and Three had the least work. As a newcomer, Jiang Mian was assigned to Team Two to get familiar with the job first. She'd be sent wherever they were short-staffed.
Each team had its own section. Section Four was open to the public, like a funeral home. Sections Two and Three were like morgues, with freezers that required people to wear insulated suits. Section One was where the large incinerator was located.
Jiang Mian followed a taciturn veteran worker toward Section Two. The farther in they went, the stronger that indescribable smell became.
The middle-aged man known as Old Zhang pushed open a metal door, then turned to Jiang Mian and said:
"You're Xiao Jiang, right? Since it's your first day, just do as I say."
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