Just finished cleaning two bathrooms and was about to start on the third when a clap of thunder ca from the horizon, followed by a downpour so sudden it left no ti to put on a raincoat.
Accompanying the rain were strong winds and a drop in temperature. Ye Nai stood under the awning, holding a high-pressure water gun and washing the changing room outside the bathroom, shivering as gusts of wind laced with rain hit her body, making her feel cold.
Her construction trailer was placed at the rear of the awning, so she wouldn't have to get wet going up the two steps of the staircase, and since the awning was indeed high, she deliberately leaned the edge of the awning on the eaves of the board room on the first floor.
The two long sides of the awning were the sa, each resting on the eaves of the bathrooms, with rainwater flowing down from both sides along the eaves gutters.
The only short side that was left open had no gutter to channel water, so the rain flowed naturally along the edge of the awning, forming a dense water curtain. Add to that the strong wind constantly lifting up dry branches and dead leaves, and the trees a little farther away outside were now blur.
Ye Nai received feedback from the spores that many people were heading in her direction when she was about to clean the last of the ten bathrooms.
Ye Nai imdiately lit up the signs for the n's and won's bathrooms, which were actually just like advertising signs, with colorful running lights that flickered guiding lights in this stormy weather.
As she was cleaning the outside after finishing the inside, Ye Nai, with her acute hearing and keen eyesight, heard the sound of cars, and not just one, but a convoy.
While spraying the final step, which was the bathroom threshold, a convoy composed entirely of military off-road vehicles and troop transporters charged into Ye Nai's sight one after another.
The leading vehicle screeched to a halt and parked steadily just outside the only empty short side of her awning.
The passenger-side window rolled down, and a person leaned out.
"Boss, is the bathroom open for business?"
"Yes, it's open, co on in, we have hot water ready, eighty degrees, and all ten bathrooms have just been cleaned."
Ye Nai said this while turning off the water gun in her hand, detaching the hose, and retracting it into Space.
Aside from the driver, four got out, their collars and sleeves outside their bulletproof vests soaked and clinging to their bodies.
After the vehicles moved off, the second and third cars took their place, each disembarking four people, also drenched from the downpour.
They first inspected the bathrooms and the boiler.
"The bathrooms are quite spacious on the inside."
"Boss, is there enough water in the boiler? We've got quite a lot of people."
"The boiler has a capacity of one ton of water, and there's a water storage tank with ten tons of water. Do you have several hundred people or sothing?"
The soldiers laughed for a while but said nothing more.
At that mont, the fourth vehicle approached, a troop transporter. The vehicle turned around, its rear doors positioned under the awning, and when they opened, several n and won dressed in civilian clothes but wearing bulletproof vests ca out, their ages ranging from old to young and middle-aged.
After they all alighted, they pulled suitcases out of the vehicle, locked the doors, and Ye Nai caught a glimpse inside the compartnt filled with sampling boxes.
It looked like this was a research team.
Ye Nai quickly went up to greet them and introduced her bathroom facilities and the pricing.
Another troop transporter arrived outside her tent at this ti, with logistical soldiers who had Space getting off. They swiftly took out their own camouflage tents and connected them with Ye Nai's awning, then expanded it on the other three sides of their tent, forming a large hall-like tent that covered a broad area.
All the vehicles of the team were now parked in a uniform line beside the tent, leaving plenty of space for everyone to move around.
As Ye Nai introduced her services, she watched the hubbub for a while. The researchers were in one troop transporter, the logistics mbers in another, and there were five fully manned off-road vehicles.
There were close to forty people, each looking bedraggled with wet clothes.
After finishing her introductions, Ye Nai ushered the researchers into the bathrooms. There were eight of them, divided evenly by gender. The spacious outer part of the bathhouse could accommodate their suitcases, which ca as a pleasant surprise to them, as they didn't have to expose their underwear in public.
Watching as the doors of the bathrooms closed one by one, Ye Nai walked to the back of the awning and retired the construction trailer, bringing out the laundry shop.
The soldiers, amazed by her apparent magic act, ran over to take a look.
"Wow, Boss is a genius!"
"Go on in and take a look, the vending machine inside has cigarettes."
"Wow, cigarettes!"
The word "smoke" had warriors running into the laundromat as if they had sprouted wings on their legs.
Taking advantage of the mont when there was no one under the awning, Ye Nai imdiately placed those two washbasins in the middle under the awning, back to back, with the barrels leaning against each other.
As soon as she finished, two male warriors approached from the direction of the camo tent.
"Hello boss, what should I call you?"
"My surna is Ye, like in 'Yezi'."
"We are the leaders of squads three and four under the Water Prison Team, my na is Qiu, and his is Ma."
"Captain Qiu, Captain Ma," Ye Nai shook hands with them one by one.
With a handshake, they had a sense of each other's strengths.
Captain Qiu and Captain Ma were sowhat surprised.
"Boss Ye is quite strong."
"You flatter , just Training Level 2." Ye Nai said with a modest smile.
"...What?!" The two captains were imdiately intrigued, "How old are you?"
"Nineteen, not enlisted. I've always been a bit rebellious, not keen on taking orders."
Ye Nai made her stance clear from the get-go.
The captains looked disappointed but still wanted to make another attempt.
"Don't be like that, we can always talk it over."
"No no no, you'll co to know that being a solo entity brings the greatest benefits."
"...Really?" The two captains weren't very convinced.
"Really. We will see what the future holds. Just wait and see."
"Alright, let's not talk about this for now," Captain Qiu gave up first.
"So, is this business your main gig?" Captain Ma gestured towards the showers on both sides and the laundromat at the back.
"No no no, this is a side business. Whether or not I get custors is up to fate. If I encounter soone, I do a deal; if not, it's fine. I don't rely on this to make a living. My main pursuit is being a Solo Hunter."
"What?!" The captains exclaid in unison.
"Even at Training Level 2, being a Solo Hunter is still too risky. You have no backup, and to put it bluntly, if sothing were to happen to you, no one would even know."
"There's a give and take in everything. Isn't it expected that a Solo Hunter reaps the greatest rewards but also bears the highest risks?"
"You really seem to take it in stride."
"If an Awakener can't co to terms with this, they might as well switch careers early on to avoid the undue stress leading to ntal illness."
"That's true."
As they were talking, a group of young n burst out of the laundromat, each with two or three boxes of cigarettes, one hanging from their mouths. They only lit up once they were under the awning.
"Ha, this is the stuff~"
"I've been dying for a smoke these last couple days."
"Boss, boss, it's ti to restock the cigarettes."
"Alright, alright, I'm on it."
Ye Nai watched as each of them lit up a cigarette and took a deep drag, burning through half a stick imdiately. She hurried back into the store to restock.
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