Chapter 76 Shi Shaoning Borrows Money to Work

Chapter 76: Shi Shaoning Pays to Work

Shi Shaoning sat in his star's van, rapidly scanning the document Lin Jianyuan had sent him.

After reading it, he was utterly astonished!

He immediately called Lin Jianyuan.

"Damn, Lin Jianyuan, you're a genius at this!" Shi Shaoning exclaimed. "You must've been a Bureau agent in a past life!"

Lin Jianyuan: "Haha, bro, you flatter me. No changes needed, right?"

Shi Shaoning: "Looks flawless to me. You can submit this as is."

Lin Jianyuan: "Thanks, thanks. You're a lifesaver."

Shi Shaoning: "This is excellent work. You should write mine too."

Lin Jianyuan: "No problem. Forget the 80k, I'll cut it in half. 40k will do."

Shi Shaoning: "Deal!"

He still hadn't written the report for the containment of "Delirium" from last time.

It was such a headache.

And since "Delirium" was S-Class, the paperwork requirements were even more stringent.

Every time Shi Shaoning thought about it, he'd get incredibly annoyed, his procrastination flaring up.

Thankfully, he had Lin Jianyuan!

He quickly recounted the containment process to Lin Jianyuan.

"My agent is outside rushing me," Shi Shaoning said, glancing out the window where his agent was signaling impatiently. "Bro, let's chat later."

Lin Jianyuan: "Yeah, yeah, go do your thing."

As he exited the van, Shi Shaoning took a deep breath.

The thought of never having to write reports again filled him with immense relief!

Finally, no more agonizing in front of the computer, racking his brains!

Shi Shaoning returned to the set in high spirits.

He happily immersed himself in his main profession, enjoying the time off the Bureau had granted him.

Then, a sudden realization struck him.

The Bureau paid him 100,000 a month.

On average, he apprehended at least five anomalies each month.

Lin Jianyuan charged 40,000 per report.

Calculating the figures—

Not only would his entire monthly salary be gone, but he'd also be 100,000 in debt to Lin Jianyuan!!!

Shi Shaoning’s face flushed.

Damn! He was so terrible with numbers!

How could he have forgotten to factor this in?!

Unacceptable! Overtime was one thing, but how could he end up paying to work?!

Shi Shaoning quickly feigned a stomachache, rushed back to the van, and began haggling with Lin Jianyuan.

After hearing him out, Lin Jianyuan burst into laughter.

Fortunately, Lin Jianyuan was just as much of a workhorse as he was, not some heartless capitalist.

Moreover, they shared a personal friendship.

The price was still negotiable.

Ultimately, they settled on 5,000 per report.

Lin Jianyuan: "Want a monthly package? 30,000 even. Friendship price, bro. This rate is just for you."

Shi Shaoning was genuinely moved.

Lin Jianyuan truly had a sense of loyalty.

Shi Shaoning agreed without hesitation.

Once the price was settled, Lin Jianyuan immediately sent him the completed "Delirium" containment report.

Shi Shaoning: "?"

That fast?! It's already done?!

As he quickly scanned it, Shi Shaoning casually asked, "You're getting more and more proficient. How did you finish it so quickly..."

Lin Jianyuan gave a sheepish laugh: "That's how seasoned workhorses operate. Once you get the hang of it, things move swiftly. Took about half an hour to write."

Shi Shaoning’s jaw nearly hit the floor.

"How much?!" Shi Shaoning was utterly stunned. "Half an hour?!"

What did it say about him, who often spent seven or eight hours and still couldn't finish?!

What did it say?!!!

Shi Shaoning said in disbelief, "How did you do it? That's absolutely preposterous!"

The crucial point was, after reviewing the report, Lin Jianyuan hadn't just scribbled it down—it was genuinely well-written! He couldn't spot a single error at first glance!

Lin Jianyuan: "First, just randomly fill in a code, then voice-record the containment process. Copy the text, with all its punctuation, typos, and formatting issues, into an AI for correction. Review it after the AI is done, then go back and fix the code. With practice, it could be even faster."

Lin Jianyuan paused here, then teased, "Bro, I've just revealed my trade secret. You're not going to back out of our deal now, are you?"

Shi Shaoning: "…"

Alright, alright.

Technology truly transforms lives—5,000 earned in half an hour.

Shi Shaoning couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.

But then he thought to himself—if it were him, following Lin Jianyuan's process, could he complete it in half an hour?

The answer was obvious.

No.

Absolutely not!

Forget completing the entire containment record in half an hour—just "dictating the containment process" alone would take Shi Shaoning more than thirty minutes.

The reason was simple.

Lack of education.

Shi Shaoning's ability to express himself was actually quite poor. After all, he didn't have much schooling.

Often, he'd get stuck because he didn't know how to describe things.

Sometimes, when he got desperate, he felt like just recording a video on the spot to demonstrate and tell Quality Control, "It's just like this! I don't know how to explain it, so just figure it out yourself!"

Of course, such a submission would never pass review.

So he could only suffer through mutual frustration with Quality Control, struggling together to figure out how to objectively describe the situation.

As for AI, due to confidentiality agreements, they could only use the Administration's locally deployed AI.

That AI was quite rudimentary. Shi Shaoning had tried getting it to help write reports, but the results were utter garbage.

This was precisely why the Director had strictly forbidden him from using AI in the past…

When Shi Shaoning wrote it himself: garbage.

When Shi Shaoning used AI: garbage.

Faced with two piles of garbage, the Director chose to make Shi Shaoning write it himself.

After all, human-produced garbage at least had some warmth to it.

…

It had to be said, Lin Jianyuan's ability in this area was truly exceptional.

Especially when Shi Shaoning was at a loss for words to describe a scene, or when his memory was inconsistent and illogical, Lin Jianyuan would automatically smooth things over for him.

He'd even offer multiple solutions to resolve the inconsistencies! For Shi Shaoning to choose from!

Was this what it meant to be a seasoned workhorse, forged by ruthless capitalists outside?

How terrifying!

Shi Shaoning took a deep breath. "Then it's settled—from now on, all my paperwork is yours. Just remember the most important thing: don't let the Director find out."

Lin Jianyuan: "Got it. That old geezer. Tch."

As soon as the term "old geezer" was uttered, the emotional distance between the two instantly narrowed.

And with that "Tch"—

Everything was understood without another word.

Shi Shaoning’s vacation wasn’t over yet.

But the long-delayed containment record was finally (completed by someone else).

Shi Shaoning felt a weight lift off his shoulders.

Now he could truly focus on filming without any mental burdens!

On the other side, Lin Jianyuan looked at the monthly payment Shi Shaoning had transferred.

He scratched his head and turned to his roommate:

"I've noticed Shi Shaoning has a pretty messed-up sense of money too."

His roommate chuckled. "Didn't you set the price?"

Lin Jianyuan: "Bro, he initially offered 80,000. I thought he was joking at the time... Anyway, charging 5,000 for one report is absolutely ridiculous. At that rate, you could hire a college student to sit here and write for you every day. I guess celebrities just have a different spending mindset."

If it weren’t for the confidentiality agreement, Lin Jianyuan would've loved to refer this business to Pei Shuo.

After all, keep it in the family.

Lin Jianyuan was already making 200,000 a month, so an extra 30,000 didn't really matter to him.

But Pei Shuo was different.

If he could earn that 30,000, why would he keep slaving away at that crappy company!

…

The Field Operations Department’s training program was exceptionally well-structured.

On the first day, everyone underwent physical tests and was grouped based on physical fitness and combat skills.

All subsequent training was conducted in these groups.

And Lin Jianyuan—

As expected, was placed in the D- group.

...D was bad enough, but why was there a "–" too?!

Whatever, forget it.

He'd been a corporate grunt for five years—he deserved this.

Lin Jianyuan was already an A-Class combatant, while the rookie instructor was only B-Class—a lower rank than him.

Being placed in the D- group was a bit embarrassing, but he didn't care.

He'd told the instructor he was a total newbie who knew nothing. He found it baffling that he'd been promoted to A.

So he asked the instructor to treat him like everyone else, regardless of his rank, and not to give him special treatment as an A.

Clearly, the instructor took it to heart.

Because not only did the instructor not treat him like an A, he didn't even treat him like a human…

The reason being that it's extremely dangerous for an A-Class combatant to have such poor physical fitness.

Train! He must train until he drops!

Thus, under the scientific (hellish) training regimen, Lin Jianyuan was exhausted like a dog every day.

More like a dead dog.

He only managed to recover by snuggling with his roommate at night.

They had moved out of their old, dilapidated place.

They were still house-hunting.

It turns out that having money gives you plenty of options.

With so many great apartments to choose from, Lin Jianyuan was almost overwhelmed.

All their luggage was stored inside the Maw of the Abyss anyway, so they could just open it up and grab whatever they needed anytime. Very convenient.

During this period, Lin Jianyuan trained at the Field Operations Department during the day and stayed with his roommate in the rest area at night.

Although the rest area provided overnight rooms with private bathrooms and lockable doors, Lin Jianyuan still subconsciously felt it was a public space.

It felt like a workplace—a duty room.

How to put it.

He thought he might feel a bit inhibited being all mushy with his roommate here.

But in reality...

It was even more thrilling!

Damn.

So stimulating that he even felt a little embarrassed.

That strange feeling of using public resources for private purposes.

That anxiety of knowing no one would come but still worrying anyway.

So exciting!

It made him have naughty thoughts multiple times.

Lin Jianyuan never knew he was into this kind of thing.

Whatever.

He's already getting intimate with the pink offal, so he might as well cut himself some slack!

After a week of basic training, it was time to start live combat practice.

It was "practice," not a "drill."

Meaning, it was the real deal.

It was clear the Administration was really eager to get everyone officially on the job.

"Don’t worry, everyone," the D-group’s lead instructor said. "This time, our mission target is an offshoot of an anomaly, not the main body. It’s non-aggressive, there are just a lot of them. The main goal is for everyone to get used to containing anomalies in public without being noticed by ordinary people."

The D-group members nodded in agreement.

Lin Jianyuan also texted his roommate in advance: "Honey, I’m going on a field assignment."

Roommate: "Okay. Be careful on the road~"

Even though it was just a text, he could almost hear his roommate’s soft, warm tone.

Lin Jianyuan’s lips curved into a smile.

He ducked into the field team’s dedicated vehicle.

It was almost one in the afternoon. Although it was late summer turning into early autumn, the heat still lingered, and it was still quite hot outside at noon.

"Going on field assignments, the biggest taboo is making assumptions. Even though this is a beginner-level practical exercise, it’s still a real-world scenario. Everyone must stay vigilant," the instructor, sitting in the passenger seat, turned to address the group.

"If you encounter any abnormal situations, report immediately and check with your superiors. Don’t take risks. Remember, you’re all just newcomers who’ve been here a week. You have no experience dealing with anomalies, so don’t assume anything…"

Everyone: "Understood!"

Lin Jianyuan: "Understood!"

Squeeze Toy: "."

Little Stone: "."

Angel Eyeball & Maw of the Abyss & Shy LEGO: "."

Lin Jianyuan, what exactly did you understand? Huh?

Having fun pretending to be a rookie among the little misfits? Huh? Speak up!

Of course, these words were only muttered inwardly by the little toys.

After all, even if they were bold enough to say it out loud, the Squeeze Toy would rush over and slap them silly.

Throwing their weight around, aren't they?

To be honest, Lin Jianyuan was kinda pumped too.

Although it wasn’t his first time dealing with anomalies, this kindergarten field trip-like experience was still quite novel.

He watched the scenery outside the window with great interest and casually said to his comrades, "Hey, I used to come here often. The company I worked at before joining the Administration was nearby... Yeah, I’ve quit already. That company was a nightmare—the boss was an idiot, the clients were morons, it was totally disgusting. The worst was that the idiot boss often scheduled meetings around noon, just like right now. Can you imagine? Our lunch break was short enough as it is, and that idiot would often call meetings during our break..."

"We’re here." The car came to a stop. The instructor said, "Everyone out."

Lin Jianyuan fell silent.

The comrades filed out one after another. The instructor said, "Lin Jianyuan, why aren’t you moving?"

Lin Jianyuan looked up at the building in front of him, a look of pure disbelief and suspicion on his face, fully conveying the author’s "are you kidding me" sentiment.

The instructor frowned. "Lin Jianyuan?"

"Well... Instructor, could you give us a heads-up? What kind of anomaly are we capturing this time?"

Lin Jianyuan wore a complicated expression.

"It’s not frogs, is it?"

The instructor looked surprised. "How did you know? Do you have such a keen sense for detecting anomalies?"

"...No," Lin Jianyuan slapped his forehead, embarrassed. "It’s not that I sensed it—I just suddenly remembered something I totally forgot to report during the last registration."

Frogs.

The frogs that kept plopping out of Jiang Chen’s throat.

Back when the Administration was registering those little toys, he’d totally forgotten—forgotten to report it and forgotten to retrieve them.

So the frog spores had remained lodged in Jiang Chen’s throat.

When Lin Jianyuan resigned, there wasn’t a single frog left in the company (he’d taken them all back to feed his roommate).

And now there were enough of them to alarm the Administration.

—Just how many meetings has that idiot Jiang Chen held since he left?!

This company really can't get by without him (and his roommate)!