First day at work
At 7 a.m., Jiang Lin's alarm, which she had set the previous morning, awoke her. A flicker of confusion crossed her eyes as she gazed at the unfamiliar surroundings. The temperature began to climb, now around 28 degrees Celsius. Jiang Lin sat up in bed, memories of the previous day starting to return. She was now a patrol officer at the First Base.
In about ten minutes, Jiang Lin was dressed and ready to go out. She had gone to the cafeteria yesterday and was already familiar with the route.
The cafeteria in the morning was much busier than it was yesterday evening. Most people were sitting at the tables, eating breakfast with expressionless faces.
Jiang Lin went to the same window where he'd received his lunch the previous day and swiped his wristband as usual. Breakfast consisted of a strange-tasting, lukewarm drink and two dry pieces of bread. The staff meal wasn't particularly tasty, but Jiang Lin had eaten everything in the past three years of the apocalypse, so he finished his meal quickly and cleanly.
When he walked to the station, he happened to see bus No. 8 coming. There were obviously more people in the morning than last night, so Jiang Lin had to find a relatively empty place to stand.
On the way, we passed a strange building, about four stories high, made of what looked like solid metal. Outside, many people stood with guns raised, monitoring the surroundings. Besides that, it was surrounded by a wall, making it seem like not even a mosquito could get in.
Jiang Lin opened the virtual map to check, but found that this building was not marked on the map.
[A large number of used batteries have been detected nearby.] The 110 police call suddenly came.
Jiang Lin glanced at the strange building that had passed by again: [With so many people defending it, how can I dig out the battery for you?] Jiang Lin was a little speechless.
[It's around the main building. Be careful to stay hidden so you won't be easily discovered. There's a large area of earth with a lot of batteries piled up around it.]
Jiang Lin frowned: [Let’s talk about it later]
By the time they arrived at the patrol center, there weren't many people left on the bus. Jiang Lin got out and walked toward the lobby he'd been to the previous day. It was a little after 8:10, and there was still some time before the text message was due. A small group of patrolmen had already gathered in the lobby.
The leader was a tall woman, about 176cm tall, with tan skin and neat short hair. Her tight patrol uniform vaguely outlined the muscular lines of her arms. Jiang Lin silently withdrew his gaze. In the distance, more and more patrolmen were approaching the hall.
Jiang Lin had been temporarily assigned to Lin Dehou's team by the newly arrived Lin Dehou. She was now a junior patrol officer, responsible only for patrolling the base. The handsome girl had already put on her helmet and was leading her team out of the city.
"The morning patrol time is from 8:30 to 12:30, and there is an hour break at noon. Remember that." The patrols within the base were not very dangerous, so Lin Dehou did not participate. He pointed to a patrolman with more experience to lead the team, and then walked towards his office.
The death rate among patrol officers outside the base had recently skyrocketed, prompting him to send warning messages to the patrol captains, urging them to step up their vigilance. Lin Dehou sensed something amiss when he saw a list of deaths on his computer, many of them patrol officers he knew well. However, death was commonplace in the apocalypse, and he couldn't explain the source of this strange feeling.
The sun was already glaring at 8:30, and the temperature continued to climb. Jiang Lin could clearly feel the steam rising as he left the hall. The group of people who had trained yesterday reappeared in the open space at the entrance. Jiang Lin's patrol team bypassed them and headed towards the free trade market.
There are many people on the road carrying things to trade, and the role of the inner city patrol is to prevent vicious fights among the residents.
Jiang Lin was feeling a bit languid from the sun and bored. Suddenly, there was a commotion up ahead, and Jiang Lin snapped back to his senses. The patrol leader noticed something was amiss, and the entire team sped toward the gathering crowd.
"Patrolmen are enforcing the law, and unauthorized personnel must scatter!" The leading patrolman dispersed the crowds that formed three layers inside and outside. The first person Jiang Lin saw was a mother and daughter lying on the ground.
At first glance, she looked a bit disheveled, but upon closer inspection, Jiang Lin noticed something unusual. Although the woman's face was dusty and her clothing was ordinary, the little skin she had revealed during the clash was relatively delicate, and her build was average. Unlike the people in Area 99 she had seen yesterday, most of those there were thin, with sallow complexions, and fine lines on their faces, regardless of age.
The key point was her expression. Although her face was rather pale, her overall complexion was good, and her eyes still had a sparkle. Most of the ordinary people in Area 99 had blank expressions, no obvious emotional fluctuations, and a sense of exhaustion.
"She stole something from our master's house. We were sent by Miss Chen to get it."
Jiang Lin looked towards the source of the sound and saw a man holding a stick and wearing a helmet. He was not wearing work clothes but protective clothing that looked to be of good quality.
"You're talking nonsense. My mother didn't steal anything! These are our own things." The little girl stood up from the ground, stretched out her hands to block her mother, her little face full of stubbornness.
"You said you didn't take anything. Look at these things on the ground. How could this mother and daughter own them? These are our Miss Chen's things. If it wasn't for stealing, our Miss Chen wouldn't have the heart to drive her away." The leading man pointed at the things on the ground and asked the people around to look at the ground.
On the ground was a gray cloth bag with its opening flared. The contents had rolled out, glittering in the sunlight. They were some exquisitely shaped gold jewelry.
Jiang Lin couldn't understand why these things were not as valuable as a vegetable after the apocalypse. Indeed, only the young lady who could still live a good life in the apocalypse might be interested in them. Such exquisite gold products were also quite valuable before the apocalypse. Although this woman looked better off than most ordinary people, she did not have the aura of a rich person and she probably would not buy such exquisite gold jewelry before the apocalypse.
Tang Zheng hadn't expected to encounter something like this today. He looked at the gold scattered on the ground. Judging from the quantity and exquisiteness, it certainly didn't seem like something this woman could possess.
The leading man glanced at Tang Zheng's work badge with some impatience: "Captain Tang, give me a clear answer quickly. This woman stole our young lady's things. I was ordered to take these things back."
The woman seemed to realize that the situation was not favorable to her, and she quickly recovered and said to Tang Zheng, "Captain Tang, I really didn't steal anything. These were given to me by the young master of the Chen family. I take care of his food and daily life, and he gave these to me."
"Hmph, he's just an illegitimate child who was adopted not long ago. Where did he get all these things? I think you should just return them honestly." The man leading the riot was a little impatient: "Captain Tang, can you solve this matter?"
"Do you have evidence that these things were given to you by Young Master Chen?" Tang Zheng turned to look at the woman on the ground.
"He can testify for me. Captain Tang, please ask him for me. He will testify for me."
"I think you're just dreaming. That kid is lying in bed, barely able to protect himself. How can he testify for you?"
Upon hearing this, the hopeful face of the woman on the ground, which had finally risen, quickly dimmed. She opened her mouth but didn't say anything for a long time.
Tang Zheng didn't want to get involved in the situation and was just about to give the woman a light punishment when he heard an unfamiliar voice.
"Then how do you prove that these things belong to Miss Chen?" Jiang Lin spoke. Her voice was clear and cold, attracting everyone's attention.
"Since you claim these belong to Miss Chen, where is your evidence? Or do you have a video of her stealing things?" She took a few steps forward and looked at the man in front of her.
Tang Zheng looked at Jiang Lin with an unhappy expression when he suddenly spoke. He looked unfamiliar and must be a newcomer.
"Evidence? Do you still believe she has these things?"
"I think the vegetables she steals and sells are worth more than these. Who in the Free Trade Market would spend points on these flashy things?"
Hearing Jiang Lin's words, many of the onlookers laughed.
"Yeah, at worst, stealing some equipment and selling it secretly is better than these things."
"I think Miss Chen deliberately framed me..."
The whispers of the people around them made the leading man look unhappy. Jiang Lin couldn't see his expression clearly because he was wearing a helmet, but she could sense that the stick he was holding was swinging towards her. The stick was made of metal and shone coldly in the sunlight.
Jiang Lin had been in the apocalypse for so many years after all. The moment the man attacked, the ice spikes in his hand knocked the stick out of his hand, and it fell to the ground with a dull sound.
"Isn't attacking a patrolman illegal?" She didn't quite understand the rules since it was her first day at work, so she asked Tang Zheng.
"Enough! Return to the team." Tang Zheng spoke towards Jiang Lin.
"And you two, I'll hand over the stuff first. When one of you gets the evidence, come to the patrol center to hand it in and take the stuff back." Tang Zheng said, directing the patrolmen behind him to take away the bag of gold jewelry on the ground.
Seeing this, the man could only glare at Jiang Lin fiercely and left with his men.
As for the woman, she was still sitting on the ground, not knowing what she was thinking. But the little girl looked at Jiang Lin with bright eyes.
Tang Zheng had already left with the team. Jiang Lin no longer paid attention to them and continued to patrol with the team.
There weren't any further arguments, and everything remained peaceful until noon. At 12:30, the team returned to the patrol center to rest, and everyone prepared to go to the cafeteria in groups of three or four to eat.
Tang Zheng glanced at Jiang Lin secretly, then took the cloth bag he had handed in today and walked towards Lin Dehou's office.
"Hi, Jiang Lin! Do you want to have dinner together?" Jiang Lin was taking off his helmet when he heard Xu Anan's voice.
A round face appeared in front of her, and Jiang Lin was stunned for a moment. After reacting, she looked at Xu Anan's expectant eyes and couldn't say anything to refuse. However, she could just ask about the base.
At noon, everyone ate at a nearby apartment building. This was the apartment Xu Anan had originally recommended to her; it was very convenient and close to work. The cafeteria was on the first floor of the building. Lunch was more substantial than breakfast or dinner, even including an egg. The main course was still compressed biscuits and soup.
Jiang Lin stirred the soup in the bowl to see if there were any green leafy vegetables left. Xu Anan thought she didn't want to drink it and couldn't help but say, "The staff meals aren't very tasty. If you have time, you can go to the base supermarket to buy things. They have the most complete range of things there, from equipment to food. You can buy something to improve your meals occasionally."
Jiang Lin didn't find the staff meals difficult to accept. In her world, being able to eat her fill was good enough. However, when she heard Xu Anan mention the base supermarket, she became interested. She wanted to buy a display screen connected to the smart computer.
"Thank you. I'll go take a look after get off work." Jiang Lin took a sip of soup and thought of the strange building he saw this morning.
"When I went to work this morning, I saw a very strange metal building surrounded by security guards with guns."
"Oh, that one. It's the laboratory. It's okay as long as it's not too close. But not many people go there and it's quite remote. Do you feel okay living in such a remote place? Do you want to change your dormitory?" Xu Anan thought of Area 99 where Jiang Lin lived, and was worried that she would regret it, so she thoughtfully suggested changing the dormitory.
"No, I feel fine, thank you."
The afternoon patrols hadn't seen much action, save for a quickly resolved robbery. However, Jiang Lin was called to Lin Dehou's office right after work. She had a clue; it was likely something that had happened that morning.
"Knock knock" she knocked on Lin Dehou's office door.
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