Chapter 22: Daily Settlement Is Important Part 1

Brother Zhang: “…”

So they’d already fallen to the point of scavenging trash?

Xu Xiye didn’t react. He was still immersed in Sister Liu’s sonorous declaration: “The boss is definitely gone.”

If the boss was gone, no one’s loss was bigger than his.

Xu Xiye tried to struggle a bit. He asked Sister Liu, “Sister Liu, how can you be so sure the boss is gone?”

Sister Liu replied, “This place exploded right after I left last night. If the boss hadn’t left by then, he got blown up along with it. And with an accident this big, if the boss were still around, he would have shown up. He’s definitely a goner.”

Sister Liu’s logic was sound, but she didn’t know the boss was a mental patient. Who knew what a mental patient was thinking? So there was still a sliver of hope for a turnaround.

Xu Xiye: “Who has the boss’s phone number? Let’s try calling.”

Brother Zhang: “I saved it once. I’ll try.”

Xu Xiye and Sister Liu watched Brother Zhang make the call.

Brother Zhang dialed. After a moment, he frowned and redialed. Then he concluded, “The number doesn’t exist. The boss is gone.”

Xu Xiye: “…”

Xu Xiye: “… …”

His heart shattered.

When a person died, their identity ceased to exist, and everything belonging to that identity naturally vanished too.

The cell number didn’t exist, so Brother Zhang judged the person was dead. The bank account didn’t exist, so Sister Liu said the wages were definitely gone.

Over twenty days of work, for nothing.

His disciple: gone. Bonus: gone. Wages: gone. Head Fee: gone. The more Xu Xiye tallied, the more dejected he became. And then he heard Sister Liu say, “Last night, I ran into a fierce-looking young man going to see the boss. He looked like he was collecting a debt. I suspect those two got into an argument that led to the accident.”

Brother Zhang: “Who? Going to collect a debt so late instead of crawling?”

Sister Liu: “I didn’t look closely. Just a very tall man dressed all in black.”

Xu Xiye thought of Blue Eyes. The place he’d run into Blue Eyes was right downstairs from the company. He hadn’t asked him where he was going at the time. He was very likely heading into their company.

Xu Xiye once again stared at the ruins before him. So… his not-yet-acquired Blue Eyes was gone too?

Sister Liu: “Little Xu, are you alright? Ah, life and death are fated; riches and honor lie with Heaven. Gotta just accept it. Lucky thing we can probably pick our wages back out.”

Right. He had to go pick through the trash. Such a huge area was bound to yield quite a lot. Pick for a couple days, gather it up, and his wages would be recovered.

Ah. Even saying it felt miserable.

Sister Liu worked as a Cleaner, so she was strong. She’d also dealt with selling scrap before and had experience. Xu Xiye would just follow her lead.

The Delicious Food Company’s location was excellent. At most two days, and some other person would take a fancy to this spot, and another building would occupy it. So if Xu Xiye and the others wanted to scavenge their wages, their time was very tight.

Brother Zhang joined the search. His plan was to pick out whatever could be salvaged from the surface first, sorting it into piles. “I can eat anything anyway. It doesn’t matter to me whether I spend money or not. All this stuff I find, I’ll give it to you.”

Brother Zhang was very sincere. Whatever scrap he dug up that could be sold, he piled it on Xu Xiye’s side.

Xu Xiye was too embarrassed to accept. That wasn’t how it worked. Sure, one could eat anything, but there was a difference between tasty and disgusting. If money truly didn’t matter, Brother Zhang wouldn’t have spent so long at this company, complaining about the management while still working.

Unable to refuse, Xu Xiye decided he’d split the money with Brother Zhang later. Now wasn’t the time to discuss it; he had to focus on scavenging. He scavenged very seriously, also keeping an eye out underneath for any buried colleagues. He wanted to dig up Blue Eyes, but he also hoped he wouldn’t.

It was very conflicting.

While Xu Xiye was miserably picking through trash, and simultaneously worrying whether a certain someone might be turned up in the rubble, that certain someone had already showered, eaten dinner, and was preparing for bed.

The time difference between the Inner World and the outside wasn’t huge, but it couldn’t be directly equated. He Sui had come out around 8 PM.

After emerging, he paid no attention to anyone or anything. His first action was to return home and shower. It’s what he’d wanted to do the whole time in the Inner World; naturally, he had to do it right after coming out.

But after sleeping through to the next day, he was still badgered by a thousand urgent calls to attend a meeting.

In the conference room of the A City Security Administration Bureau, the bright and spacious room was filled with people. Notebooks and water bottles were laid out in front of each person, their expressions solemn.

It wasn’t an internal meeting, but a large joint conference held by the Bureau with the principal heads of Security Administration Bureaus from other provinces and cities.

A video conference.

The meeting’s subject involved the danger classification of the Inner World, its influence on reality, and the summary and analysis of various related data disclosures, etc., etc.

He Sui listened with flagging interest. His long legs stretched out casually, spinning a pen idly between his fingers.

He had no idea why they’d called him to this kind of meeting. If he absolutely had to listen, couldn’t he just open a video link at home?

He Sui tried to leave multiple times. Every time he so much as moved, Director Wang would glare over at him. Hard to slip away.

After enduring over two hours, the meeting finally ended. He Sui was then called to the office.

“He Sui, hey there, come, sit, sit.” Director Wang waved him to a seat and had someone pour water. He didn’t take any himself, just unscrewed his thermos to drink. It was always filled with either tea or goji berries. “You were gone for almost three months this time, weren’t you?”

“About that,” He Sui answered nonchalantly. He didn’t stand on ceremony with Director Wang, sitting directly on the sofa next to the tea table.

His features were superior, his bearing excellent. Even seated, he wasn’t slumped and slouching without poise, yet still radiated a careless, indolent air.

Director Wang rubbed his thinning scalp and sat down across from He Sui. “Want me to add some tea for you?”

“Don’t bother. No need.”

“Yeah, true, you can’t stand the stuff. Doesn’t perk you up anyway.”

“I’m not sleepy. There’s nothing to perk up.” His words were laced with complaint about being called to the meeting.

“Ah, it wasn’t up to just me. You definitely didn’t listen closely this time, did you? The matters are really not small. And you’re a key special talent in our bureau. Wouldn’t be right if you didn’t show up to listen.”

He Sui had listened, in his own way. “Isn’t it just that the number of people entering the Inner World is increasing, the death ratio is up, and the anomalous events in reality are increasing? Like that isn’t the case every year. Earth’s resources dwindle, the Inner World’s shield gets worn, so more gaps appear. Perfectly normal.”

According to their existing data and analysis, the Inner World, like the Surface World, had a long historical trajectory.

It had always existed. The reason it wasn’t discovered was likely because, in those times, the barrier separating the two worlds had no gaps. Without gaps, people outside didn’t go in and out, and technology wasn’t sufficient, so naturally it went unnoticed.

As time passed, gaps appeared in the barrier. People were dragged in. The dead were labeled missing. Survivors thought they’d seen a ghost, been pulled into a ghost domain. No one believed such accounts.

Later, as similar data points increased, the nation set up departments to investigate and control it. It wasn’t until fifty years ago that the existence of the Inner World was confirmed.

Gaps multiplied, Anomalous Energy spilled out, causing weak anomalies to appear in the real world.

Weak to what degree?

Invisible, intangible. Anything that could be fully explained by psychological factors. Anyone with a strong enough constitution and stable mental state wouldn’t feel these things at all.

Director Wang took a sip of tea and told him, with an air of mystery, “Told you, you weren’t listening. The Yongfeng Road Anomalous Event—someone saw a Ghost!”

“What level?”

“A shadow. Woman in white. Drifty.”

“Oh. Hallucination level.”

Director Wang choked on his words, grumbling, “Hallucination or not, answer me this: was it seeing a ghost, or wasn’t it? Earth’s resources dry up from over-exploitation; we know the cause, we can take measures. But what’s causing these gaps in the Inner World? How come nothing happened for a thousand years, and now it’s changing so fast? What’s the cause? Are there any remedies? Can we suppress it? We have to get to the bottom of all this.”

He Sui: “That’s something you should bring up with the Analysis Department, or at the very least the Investigations Division. What can I do, a common Field Agent from the Operations Division?”

Director Wang squinted at him, itching to try. “In that case… shall we give you a promotion?”

He Sui shut his mouth. Too annoying. He hated managing things.

Director Wang said, “These have always been our focus points. It’s just that the upward trend has been too rapid in recent years, so they’re being emphasized with great fanfare. Whether we find the answers or not, we all need to have this matter in the back of our minds.”

“Especially you. You can go to more places inside, and stay the longest. That’s why I dragged you to the meeting, to make you take it seriously. So, what about it? Any discoveries after three months in there?”

He Sui: “Nope.”

Director Wang: “How about you write me a report?”

He Sui raised his eyelids. Inside those silver-blue eyes was unmistakable disdain. “If I liked writing reports so much, why would I not join the Investigations Division? I’ve uploaded the map expansions and coordinate intel. I’ve rescued those I could. Anything else, not my problem.”

“Forget it, forget it.” Director Wang couldn’t do anything with him. He was more afraid of the man just quitting outright if he pushed too much. He changed the subject. “It’s been so long. Still haven’t given up?”

He Sui: “I have to see what they’ve become.”

Director Wang tried to persuade him, “Look, look at you. The people are already gone. If you find them, will your heart feel any better? Might as well leave it as is, keep the fond memories.”

“Heh.” He Sui gave a cold laugh. “They weren’t afraid to die, volunteering to become Anomalies. I can’t even look for them and see? Anomalies aren’t something you become just because you say so. Probably long since dead and gone anyway.”

“You shouldn’t blame your father…”

“Do I blame him for anything?”

Director Wang stopped. This kid looked easygoing but was actually stubborn as a mule. “Come over to the house for dinner tonight? Your aunt will cook it herself. He Sui, honestly, you stayed inside way too long this time. You’re not young anymore. Any type you like? I’ll have your aunt keep an eye out. Find someone, start a family. That way you’ll have something to tie you down.”

He Sui leaned back against the sofa, a sardonic smile on his face. “What, scared I’ll defect? Relax, Uncle Wang. I’m not my father. I’ve got no interest in living with a bunch of grotesque, brain-damaged things. Looking at them all day hurts my eyes.”

“Nonsense! Defection, my foot! Shoo, shoo, shoo. I’ve said what I needed to. You know where things stand. Don’t just sit around—go find some work to do.”