August 12th.
After leaving the academy, Guan Tong went to a building in the city's middle layer according to the address.
When he arrived, Xu Xiaotian, wearing yellow work clothes, was waiting at the entrance.
Seeing Guan Tong, he quickly raised his hand to greet him. "Tong-ge, over here!"
Guan Tong walked over and, looking at the two large yellow characters 'Distribution' printed on the other's work uniform, said, "Is this your department's work uniform?"
"Yep." Xu Xiaotian chuckled. "Just like I mentioned before, after graduating from the academy, I was assigned to the Material Distribution Department."
"It's actually kind of funny. The person in charge of personnel allocation told me it was because of my Instant Noodles item that I got assigned to this department. They said if we hit an emergency where food runs short, I, as an employee, could make instant noodles for those in need."
Guan Tong nodded. That could indeed work.
It wasn't possible back during the Snow Disaster rule because the Terminal hadn't activated the Team Formation function yet.
But after that function was opened, some items could be shared while in a team state.
So if Xu Xiaotian really encountered an Ascendant in need of food, he could just form a team with them and let them eat the Mind Power instant noodles he created.
"How does it feel working in this department?" Guan Tong asked. "Must be pretty busy, right?"
After the earthquake rule ended and before this current rule was announced, Guan Tong had already contacted Xu Xiaotian, planning to meet up when they had time.
But Xu Xiaotian said he was extremely busy and couldn't spare the time. It wasn't until yesterday that he went to the academy to leave a message for the teaching staff, informing Guan Tong he was free today.
So Guan Tong came over after finishing his morning classes.
"Yeah. Because of the previous earthquake... many shelters were destroyed, a lot of people had to be relocated, and our department had to maintain food supply throughout the whole process without a single slip-up. So even a newbie like me has been busy every day, only getting five or six hours of sleep."
"That really sounds tough."
"Tell me about it... Luckily, it's much better now." Xu Xiaotian suggested, "Come on, let me show you around inside the department building!"
Hearing this, Guan Tong asked, "Are you allowed to bring outsiders into the department building?"
"Heh, there's no rule against it. Besides, the lower floors are crowded, no one will notice. As long as we don't go up to the management levels, it's fine."
"...Alright then."
Guan Tong didn't mind either way and followed Xu Xiaotian into the Pinglu City Material Distribution Department building where the latter worked.
As soon as he entered the first-floor lobby, he realized Xu Xiaotian was right.
The lobby was packed with people, a noisy, bustling crowd of easily over a hundred.
Xu Xiaotian explained, "It's all because of this current rule. Normally, we'd use work devices to communicate, there wouldn't be this many people all at once. Now we can only rely on manpower to run messages."
"I heard because of this rule, many places are hiring ordinary people. Isn't your department doing that?"
Xu Xiaotian shook his head. "The department head doesn't seem to have that plan, probably thinks we can barely manage for now. Besides, ordinary people's physical stamina can't handle our insane work intensity. Not only are the work hours long every day, but we also often have to work in two shifts! How could regular people endure that?"
"Won't Ascendants also burn out working like this for a long time? Won't there be psychological issues?"
"It's not too bad. Because our department's benefits are pretty good. We get a salary of several thousand Ascension Coins a month, plus priority protection after a rule is announced, so it's tolerable."
Several thousand Ascension Coins a month in salary... That's way more than rule rewards. Currently, a single rule reward is generally only a few hundred Ascension Coins.
Guan Tong thought that wasn't a big problem.
People like Xu Xiaotian were working themselves to the bone for the food supply of a massive population, putting in excessive hours and energy. As compensation, it seemed reasonable for the authorities to allocate some Ascension Coins from shelter personnel to them as wages.
Overall, it shared similarities with the tax distribution system from the pre-Doomsday Rules era.
"This is the office lobby, over there is the temporary warehouse. And this room here, inside is the control room for the supply vehicles. We won't tour that one; it's full of work equipment. Wouldn't want to accidentally mess up and cause a rule failure."
Xu Xiaotian showed Guan Tong around the department and finally arrived at the dining area, saying mysteriously, "Tong-ge, today I'm treating you to a hot meal with proper dishes. How about it? Been a long time since you had one, right?"
Guan Tong asked curiously, "Your department still maintains a cafeteria?"
"Yep. But don't tell anyone outside, okay? To avoid getting criticized or something."
"..."
That was true. If others knew this place still had a cafeteria and didn't have to eat canned food every day like most people, they would definitely raise a storm of criticism.
Xu Xiaotian went to the kitchen for a while and returned carrying a large wooden tray with several plates of hot dishes and two bowls of steaming white rice.
Guan Tong wasn't usually particular about food, but after not having hot dishes for so long, he actually felt some appetite.
The two picked up their chopsticks, chatting as they ate.
"Tong-ge, you know, the biggest reason I stay in this department despite the insane work intensity isn't the Ascension Coin salary. It's that I can eat freshly cooked hot dishes every day!"
"Mhm, I believe that."
As early as over a year ago, when Guan Tong was temporarily staying at the Lihua Hotel, he could see Xu Xiaotian eating like crazy every day. Back then, food was still unlimited. Every time he saw Xu Xiaotian, the latter basically had a chicken leg or pork knuckle in his hand.
"It's really hard to imagine. In just over a year, getting a hot meal with proper dishes outside has become so difficult." Xu Xiaotian sighed. "This Fire Thief... has ruined so many foodies!"
"But speaking of which, Tong-ge, I really didn't expect you to become the academy's substitute Lecturer. What's your relationship with Lecturer Jingyi anyway?"
Xu Xiaotian knew Shi Jingyi and Guan Tong were acquainted. The reason Shi Jingyi got Guan Tong's phone number was because Xu Xiaotian gave it to her after getting Guan Tong's permission.
However, he had never been clear on how the two met or what their relationship was.
"Just friends, I guess." Guan Tong said. "Do you think she recommended me as substitute Lecturer because of connections?"
Xu Xiaotian shook his head. "Definitely not. The students all trust Lecturer Jingyi's character. If she recommended you, Tong-ge, it means your ability is sufficient to be this substitute Lecturer."
"Mhm."
"That's good." Xu Xiaotian suggested. "Tong-ge, you should just stay at the academy. That place is much safer than outside. When survival-type rules happen, the authorities provide protection there first. Even if Lecturer Jingyi returns after her recuperation, you could transfer to be an assistant lecturer or something."
"No." Guan Tong vetoed. "I'm just filling in. I'll leave once Shi Jingyi returns. To be honest, I don't really like this environment."
"Ah... That makes sense. Otherwise, you wouldn't have refused to go with me to enroll at the academy back then."
Xu Xiaotian recalled last year when he invited Guan Tong to go to Yong'an with him, but the latter declined. Even back then, it was clear Guan Tong didn't like this kind of collective living environment.
"So where do you plan to go then, Tong-ge?"
"Not sure yet."
Where to go was hard to say, but Guan Tong knew that by then, he would definitely have to thoroughly resolve some previously unresolved matters, like getting revenge on those enemies who screwed him over.
"I heard from people in the department that the higher-ups are currently working on a space migration plan." Xu Xiaotian mentioned. "I heard they plan to migrate some people to Terra. That hellish place would be awful to live in. Radiation, gravity, energy usage... all those problems would need solving, right?"
"Space migration... Have they confirmed the Doomsday Rules only take effect on Tianshui Star now?"
"Probably not, right? Last year there was news. After the first Doomsday Rule, [Sleep Deprivation], was announced, the astronauts who fell asleep in the space station also died. That means you can't escape the rules even in space, right?"
"Maybe some rules can be avoided, others can't." Guan Tong speculated. "Like the first rule you mentioned, which directly acts on the person themselves, can't be avoided. But what about rules that act on the environment? The previous earthquake rule, didn't people in space at the time avoid the threat?"
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