Chapter 55 Critical Region (7)
"?"
Bai Ye looked up in surprise, staring straight ahead.
"Instructor, I don't quite understand what you mean."
Liao Xianfeng did not explain, but instead walked out of the classroom first.
In the huge room, only Bai Ye remained, holding the whip and standing there dumbfounded.
Back at the second team, only Zhang Ting was there.
"Little White is back?" Zhang Ting looked at the whip in the other person's hand with admiration. "Oh, you've been assigned a weapon. Not bad."
Bai Ye returned to his seat, holding the whip, looking puzzled. "Sister Zhang, weren't the weapons supposed to be guns? Why was I assigned a whip?"
The use of a whip as a weapon is quite unexpected.
"You look down on whips." Zhang Ting saw right through the young man's thoughts.
Bai Ye didn't deny it, but still explained, "It's not that I look down on you; I've had the privilege of witnessing the power of a whip, it's just..."
"The strength of any weapon does not lie in the weapon itself, but in the user's ability. Only when the user is strong can the weapon unleash 100% of its power, or even far exceed the weapon's inherent strength."
Zhang Ting interrupted Bai Ye and said this.
Seeing the other person's stunned expression, he smiled and explained, "Our team also has different weapons. The captain has a gun, the vice-captain has a bow and arrow, and Shangcai and Xiao Wang have slingshots."
"Can a slingshot be used as a weapon?"
"Why not? They both use it very smoothly, and it doesn't affect their duties at all. These weapons are all batched, and you get what you're given. You and this black whip are a good match."
Zhang Ting's words did indeed comfort Bai Ye.
When they met Shang Cai and Wang Shanshan in the afternoon, the three of them took out their weapons and laid them together, which intensified this strange sense of psychological balance.
Their weapons look like toys, while my whip looks quite professional.
Bai Ye tried hard to suppress his laughter, keeping a serious expression on his face.
Shang Cai didn't care at all. He put the slingshot in his pocket and said, "None of the three of us are on night shift today. Shall we grab a drink after work?"
Bai Ye's expression turned serious for a moment. "Order members are not allowed to drink alcohol, whether they are on duty or not."
This is clearly stated in the regulations.
Wang Shanshan explained with a smile, "When we say 'have a drink,' we don't mean alcohol, we mean a beverage. It's mainly about everyone getting together for a meal."
That's a good idea. It also helps improve relationships with colleagues and quickly clarify the many mysteries surrounding this little world.
Bai Ye currently has too little information, and asking others directly would make him seem like an unorthodox and illegitimate person.
He was also afraid that asking around would cause trouble or even arouse suspicion.
But when having dinner with colleagues, eating, drinking, and chatting, it's perfectly normal to gossip and chat.
When they were leaving get off work, Zhang Ting joined them on the spot, and the four of them went to a small restaurant on the next street.
As soon as Bai Ye entered the restaurant, he saw crayfish crawling all over the table. Whether they were served with garlic, braised, or spicy sauce, they would start moving around as soon as they were brought to the table.
Meanwhile, the customers, completely oblivious, were poking and prodding the shrimp with their chopsticks, stringing them together, and then slowly sucking and peeling them.
Bai Ye watched as a spicy crayfish crawled up to his leg, quickly climbed up, and cried out, "Help me!"
However, the next second, the guest at the opposite table easily picked up the chopsticks and gave him an apologetic smile before turning back.
Bai Ye immediately lost his appetite for crayfish.
"Bai Ye, what flavor do you like?" Shang Cai asked just then.
Without a second thought, Bai Ye shook her head. "I don't like eating crayfish."
"This is such delicious food, why aren't you eating it?" Shangcai asked, puzzled.
Bai Ye made up a random excuse, "I'm allergic to crayfish."
“That’s strange, I’ve never heard of such a thing before. Why don’t you order something else?”
Bai Ye ordered a home-style set meal and drank beverages with the others while waiting for the food to arrive.
The conversation unfolded naturally, and Bai Ye seamlessly blended into the group.
Halfway through our drinks, the crayfish arrived, and Baiye's set meal was also served.
So the group ate and talked at the same time.
"I heard from the deputy captain that a loophole has recently opened up, and I don't know if they will send more manpower."
Shang Cai peeled a shrimp, put the shrimp meat on the plate without eating it, and continued peeling a second one. "But I have a feeling that our team will be very busy from now on, and there may be continuous duty."
Bai Ye was completely unaware, his bewildered expression genuine. "What do you mean? Where's the checkpoint loosened? We have to keep on duty continuously, is that too much?"
Zhang Ting: "There's no other way. Liudaokou has six checkpoints guarded year-round. Those checkpoints are too big, and there are always things trying to sneak in. Strengthening security is necessary. If one checkpoint is breached, a third of the staff from the General Affairs Department have to be transferred out. There's no way to keep them on duty continuously."
As she spoke, Zhang Ting turned to look at Bai Ye, "Xiao Bai, you're both lucky and unlucky. If there hadn't been a shortage of manpower, you wouldn't have had to undergo training in advance. But to start continuous duty immediately after the training is just bad luck."
Wang Shanshan seemed to know a little bit as well. "Sister Zhang, don't say that. It's all work. Compared to those who are transferred to be stationed over there, we're already doing very well on duty in the city. We just hope we don't get assigned to the Third Avenue, especially the night shift."
Wang Shanshan clasped her hands together and couldn't help but bow to the sky.
Thinking of something, she suddenly opened her eyes and looked at the person diagonally opposite her. "Bai Ye, you scared me to death that day. Those things cut you in two, and it took me a long time to find your intestines. It was a close call. Luckily, you are strong, otherwise I would have been facing a pile of minced meat."
Bai Ye was eating minced meat when he heard the other person suddenly say that. Although he could still eat, it really made him feel nauseous.
The bizarre food in this instance is even more outrageous than before.
The extent of the horrific conditions and the freshness of the food are becoming increasingly excessive.
He simply put down his chopsticks and focused on drinking his beverage, while also toasting Wang Shanshan, "Thank you for what happened before."
"No need to be polite, everyone."
"I still want to thank you. Here's what we'll do: you didn't want to go on duty at the Third Avenue, right? If you get a duty shift there, you can switch with me."
"Really?" Wang Shanshan was clearly surprised.
Only after Bai Ye nodded again did she smile and say, "Thank you so much, Bai Ye. I'll take care of your breakfast every day from now on."
Bai Ye smiled and accepted the favor the other party had repaid.
As night deepened, the four left the small restaurant and went home.
Bai Ye returned to her residence and sat on the sofa bed in the living room.
The sheer volume of information he received was enormous, and he needed time to process it.
During a previous dinner gathering, he subtly used a watermelon seed to listen to everyone's gossipy thoughts during casual conversation.
I learned quite a lot from this.
First, there's Zhang Ting, this seemingly kind office worker who appears to be just an ordinary person with no connections. But the information she provides is the most useful.
What shocked Bai Ye was the other party's mental state while conveying that information.
Regarding Liudaokou, Zhang Ting said that there are always things that crawl in from the six openings.
As she said this, her inner thoughts were: "Isn't it good that those things are crawling in? The more free food, the better. I wonder what the higher-ups are thinking? When will they finally open up the Sixth Pass?"
At almost the same time, Shi Cai's heart was also fluctuating: "[My cousin said one of the departments is about to collapse. If I work hard and perform well, I should be able to be transferred, right?]"
Wang Shanshan was completely clueless, without any inner thoughts.
Secondly, there's Shang Cai. He doesn't seem to care about not eating crayfish on the surface, but he's very active in his inner thoughts.
Why doesn't Bai Ye eat crayfish? They're cooked so deliciously, how come he's not tempted?
Is he hiding his abilities?
[No, I'll try again next time. This intern seems honest and kind, but my cousin got information that Bai Ye got first place in the training. He definitely has connections.]
Finally, there was Wang Shanshan, who only showed a little bit of emotion when they parted ways.
[Bai Ye is so kind, actually helping me with patrols. The three main roads are so chaotic, what if I get sucked in?]
"Going to the world of those things would kill you, wouldn't it?"
【I'm so sorry, I'm really afraid of dying. At worst, I'll provide a lavish breakfast every day. If... consider it an early memorial service.】
Bai Ye held a pen in one hand and rubbed his temples with the other, feeling overwhelmed by the three colleagues he was having dinner with that evening.
"They're all just superficial people, they're really good at putting on a show. If I didn't have watermelon seeds, I wouldn't know what you're really thinking."
"No, I can't be passive. I still need to use the tools to find out more information."
Bai Ye checked the screen, his gaze falling on the strawberries.
The next day, in the Second Detachment office.
Deputy Captain Gou Xun walked in carrying a wooden box, his laughter hearty. "Come on, everyone, come and draw up your duty posts. The next two days will be our Second Detachment's job."
Bai Ye looked at the man who came in; it was their first time meeting.
The other person was a large, burly man with a particularly righteous and awe-inspiring appearance. He had dark skin and piercing eyes that could intimidate people with just a glare. This reminded Bai Ye of a character from the Three Kingdoms period, Zhang Fei.
But looking at the wooden box that Gou Xun is holding, the two images are completely unrelated.
There was no other reason than that this wooden box was actually an urn containing ashes.
Bai Ye was stunned. He stood up and followed the others, lining up to walk towards Gou Xun.
He watched as Shang Cai, who was at the front of the line, reached into the urn, rummaged around inside for a while, and then took his hand out.
Her once fair hands were now covered in blood, with fresh blood dripping down.
But neither Shang Cai himself nor anyone else cared; everyone's focus was on which duty post they were assigned to.
"Shang Cai, your hand..." Bai Ye couldn't help but say.
Shang Cai glanced down at it, nonchalantly saying, "It's just a little bit red. This drawer is too small; you can't even stretch your hand out inside."
"!"
Bai Ye was stunned.
Looking at the expressions on the faces of the others, a wave of emotion washed over him.
They can't see it; even they, as the supernatural beings, can't see it!
Why? Why is this happening?
"Bai Ye, it's your turn. Hurry up and come up for your turn," Gou Xun urged.
Bai Ye snapped out of his thoughts and took two steps forward.
"Draw it." Seeing the person hesitate, Gou Xun urged again.
Bai Ye looked at the patterns on the wooden box; he recognized the intricate designs. He'd seen them before, inside the sanatorium pod in his rented room in Nightmoon Town.
He had previously taken a closer look at the treatment pod that resembled a coffin, and the mysterious, rune-like things covering its four sides that he couldn't understand.
Although I didn't understand them, I memorized those patterns.
Why do the same patterns also appear in the dungeon's smaller world?
"Bai Ye, what's wrong? Why haven't you drawn it yet?" Wang Shanshan, who had been paying close attention to herself, noticed that the atmosphere was strange.
Bai Ye suppressed her heartache and many doubts, looked up and smiled, "It's nothing, I'm just a little scared. This wooden box looks just like an urn."
To everyone's surprise, Gou Xun blurted out, "It's an urn. When it comes to taking on duty, this kind of box is the most useful."
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