Looking at the time, it was already past 7 p.m. The team members had all left one after another, leaving only Lu Yuan in the office.
Stretching, Lu Yuan was about to close the file and go back to eat and sleep when suddenly there was a noise outside the door.
Lu Yuan stood up and looked out the window. He saw a teammate carrying a boxed lunch back. It seemed that the lunchbox was too hot, so he had to keep switching hands to open the door.
With a "click," the door opened, and the team member who entered looked at Lu Yuan with a smile.
"Captain! You haven't left yet! What time is it? I saw you were still here, so I got you some food from the cafeteria. Why don't you eat it while it's hot before you go?"
The man who spoke was named Niu Ping. Although his name sounded dull, he was the most perceptive person in the team. Sometimes he would joke with his teammates that he and Hou Qiang should switch names, saying that he was the one who was like a monkey, and that the dull Hou Qiang should have his name on him.
Lu Yuan looked gratefully at the boxed lunch in the other person's hand and said with a smile, "How could I accept that! It's late and I can just grab something quick for myself! You can have this meal!"
However, Niu Ping resolutely pushed the lunchbox over and said, "No, Captain, this meal was specially prepared for you! Please don't complain! If you don't eat it, you're disrespecting me, Old Niu!"
Lu Yuan looked at the other person with some embarrassment. He hadn't expected to encounter a teammate who was openly bribing him on the first day. Although there were no regulatory departments to manage this situation, Lu Yuan still felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Unable to refuse repeatedly, Lu Yuan had no choice but to accept the lunchbox and express his gratitude to Niu Ping.
Lu Yuan opened the lunchbox and saw a bowl of rice, two vegetable dishes, and an egg drop soup. This kind of meal was quite common before the apocalypse. It was very cheap. If someone ordered this kind of meal in a small restaurant, the owner would usually not pay much attention to them.
But now, Lu Yuan knows the value of this meal. Just a simple bowl of rice, two vegetable dishes, and an egg drop soup costs at least a hundred yuan, which is several days' wages for a police officer.
Lu Yuan sighed inwardly but didn't say anything. He quickly finished his food and soup in a few bites. Although Niu Ping looked calm, Lu Yuan noticed that Niu Ping's throat was moving constantly.
Clearly, he hadn't eaten much, but in order to bribe Lu Yuan, he could only grit his teeth and watch him finish his meal.
Lu Yuan wiped his mouth and expressed his gratitude again. After speaking, he stood up to leave.
Seeing Lu Yuan preparing to leave, Niu Ping, who was sitting to the side, finally couldn't hold back any longer. He quickly stood up and said to Lu Yuan, "Captain! I came to see you this time mainly because I have something I'd like to ask you for help with!"
Lu Yuan sneered inwardly. Sure enough, there was no such thing as a free lunch. Lu Yuan already knew what the other party was up to. Although he had already eaten the food, Lu Yuan had already prepared a hundred-yuan bill in his pocket.
"Oh? Something's up! Tell me!" Lu Yuan sat down again and looked at Niu Ping.
After a moment of silence, the other person finally said, "Captain, you see, our team only has eight people including you, and there are still two vacancies, so I want to bring one of my brothers in."
After saying this, Niu Ping stared intently at Lu Yuan. Seeing that Lu Yuan didn't respond for a while, he assumed Lu Yuan was having trouble and immediately added, "Captain, don't worry, my brother is perfect in every way, meets all the requirements. As long as you nod, he'll definitely get in! We two brothers are willing to serve you like slaves!"
Lu Yuan shook his head and smiled wryly, "Niu Ping! You've probably come to the wrong person! I don't have the ability to arrange for your brother to come in right now! Look, I've only been at this survivor base for two days. Do you think I have the ability to help you?"
After hearing this, Niu Ping looked a little dejected, but he still said with unwavering determination, "Captain, you are the captain, so there's definitely no problem! As long as you agree, I'm willing to pay whatever it takes, no matter how much it costs!"
Seeing his eager expression, Lu Yuan felt a ripple in his heart. His arrival at the survivor base in Anhui Province was nothing but a coincidence. Besides, Lu Yuan wasn't very familiar with the affairs of the team yet. Right now, he was lacking someone who could do things for him. Although Niu Ping was rather slippery, if he could control him well, the other party would definitely become his loyal supporter.
After thinking for a moment, Lu Yuan said, "Alright! Since you asked, I'll help you out! But let's make this clear first, this is a one-time thing. Next time, we'll handle things officially! Also, your brother's various assessments will proceed as normal. If she can't pass them, don't blame me!"
Upon hearing Lu Yuan nod in agreement, Niu Ping was overjoyed and almost knelt down before him.
Lu Yuan waved his hand and then gestured for the other person to sit down.
Niu Ping sat obediently next to Lu Yuan, waiting for his instructions. He was overjoyed and would tell Lu Yuan everything he knew. He had already regarded Lu Yuan as his elder brother.
Lu Yuan casually flipped open the file he had just closed, and after searching through it for a while, he found a file with a question mark on it and asked, "All the other files have official announcements, but why is this file the only one without one? And why is it marked with a big question mark? What does that mean?"
Niu Ping quickly went over and carefully looked at the contents of the file. A look of fear flashed across his face.
"Captain, we've only found a tiny clue, but we've been ordered to stop, so the case has been put on hold."
"Oh? They called it off? Why? More than fifty people died in the inner city! That should be considered a major case! Why did they just call it off like that?" Lu Yuan looked at the statistics in the case file with some doubt. After all, in the previous case files, some minor cases with only one or two deaths were handled with great fanfare, but this case involved fifty-three people. Yet Niu Ping said that the higher-ups had called it off.
"It's probably because the people and forces involved are too powerful, and our garrison troops simply can't afford to offend them, which is why it was called off. It's not surprising that this kind of thing happens, after all, it's already the apocalypse, and people are dying everywhere every day, so the deaths of a few dozen people are not a big deal at all!"
Niu Ping's tone revealed a hint of desolation. Lu Yuan could see his helplessness from the other's expression. After all, he was just a small team member, and he had no power to handle such cases.
"Captain, I advise you not to get too interested in this matter, lest you get yourself into trouble!" Niu Ping kindly reminded him.
Lu Yuan nodded slightly, but did not answer. His eyes remained fixed on some clues in the file.
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