At 2:30 PM, Ren Suo arrived at the Xianlin Sub-district Office in Quanliu District, Lianjiang City, his future workplace.
Yes, he was Ren Suo, a graduate from a national key university, and he had chosen to work at the sub-district office after graduation.
He had secured this position by passing the citywide civil service exam, although, in reality, if his uncle hadn't had some connections in Lianjiang City, he might have been eliminated at the interview stage.
As the most basic functional unit of the Mysterious Country government with an official staffing scheme, the sub-district office was essentially a township government in disguise. Speaking of prospects, it wasn't that there were none—if one could become a leader in the sub-district office's Party Work Committee office, like a secretary, it wasn't impossible to move up. However, it was more likely that if someone vacated such a position, someone else would parachute in to pad their resume.
Ren Suo did not come to the sub-district office with any thoughts of becoming a "successor of the future of Mysterious Country;" he just wanted to find a stable job with minimal responsibilities to coast through life, which also aligned with the expectations of his parents' generation, so he had spent his junior and senior years preparing for the exam.
The sub-district office varied in workload; some were incredibly busy while others merely required one to sip tea. Ren Suo's choice, the Xianlin Sub-district Office, after his investigation, seemed to belong to the latter category—with property management companies and neighborhood committees, it represented a middle-class community, part of a new urban area built during Lianjiang City's developmental phase.
Sub-district offices governing old town areas and urban villages, with no property management companies and decades-old water and electrical systems, were constantly busy. There would always be people coming in to report burst pipes or burnt-out fuses and what to do about them, and a whole crowd of elderly men and women would visit the office each day to chat and inquire about various matters—even using their copying and printing services.
Then, the staff would tell them that the neighborhood committee was actually closer to them...
Ren Suo had thought that his future at the Xianlin Sub-district Office would also consist of browsing the internet and drinking tea daily, yet before he even started, he was dragged in for a health check.
"Xiao Suo has arrived?" As soon as Ren Suo walked in, Director Ye Jiamin, who was talking with someone in the hall, immediately noticed him and waved him over, "Come here, let me introduce you. Little Xuan, Little Long, this is Ren Suo, just like you, he is also a new recruit this year."
Director Ye said to Ren Suo, "This is Li Qingxuan, and this is Mo Zhaolong. Get along well, they're also fresh university graduates, you should have some common topics."
After greeting each other, Director Ye continued, "We were just waiting for you, the others have already gone ahead to the Health Center on Yuexiu Street, let's head there too once everyone is here."
Since Yuexiu Street was not far from the Xianlin Sub-district Office, they decided to chat casually as they walked there. Director Ye, true to her role as the director, seemed kind and approachable in her forties. She cared for each of them in the conversation, "You young people, always playing games and watching dramas. You should also exercise occasionally, but once you start here, rest assured, you won't lack exercise."
Li Qingxuan feigned surprise, "Is the sub-district office that busy? I thought it was all about chatting with grandparents daily."
"There are times like that," Director Ye laughed, "But when it gets busy, we have to walk the streets and alleys. For instance, half a month ago, the city issued an order to inspect the resident population. Even though we delegated tasks to various neighborhood committees, we had to personally inspect and verify the current situation of tenants and homeowners."
"And for instance, just five days ago, we were all mobilized to check on the surrounding residents as there was an alert about a... not a fugitive, but to find a 17-year-old high school student house-to-house, supposedly some leader's son who had run away from home..."
"Recently, there's been quite a bit of such busy work, no time to idle."
It didn't take them twenty minutes to reach the Health Center on Yuexiu Street, which already had a long queue, at least a thousand people long. Ren Suo couldn't help but click his tongue, "Wow, so many people come out for a health check on a workday?"
"Yes, this is the second to last round," Director Ye said apologetically, "This arrangement was very rushed; the entire district must be done in one day. We scheduled four shifts to come in batches, I was so busy I even forgot to notify you guys."
"It's okay, no problem," they all said.
At the entrance, there was a desk where you could pick up forms, manned by a lazy-looking young man in black body armor. When Ren Suo took a form, the youth was still engrossed in his phone, not even lifting his eyes.
For some reason, Ren Suo felt an inexplicable thrill in his heart and stared at him for a long time until Mo Zhaolong tapped him on the shoulder, snapping him out of it, and he quickly went to line up for the health check.
Even if moved, should it not be by a handsome or enchanting man? What was there to be thrilled about with such an unremarkable man?
"Brother," Mo Zhaolong came up to him with a smile, "Turns out..."
"No, no, no," Ren Suo shook his head repeatedly, "I'm as straight as they come."
"Every man thinks he's straight until he meets the right person," Mo Zhaolong urged, "Think of all the things we've liked and missed out on since childhood; do you also want to miss out on people?"
"Beat it."
Men can easily get familiar over such philosophical discussions, so Ren Suo ended up queuing for the health check with Mo Zhaolong. They quickly passed through internal medicine, ophthalmology, and ENT screenings. There was also a blood withdrawal bus in the health center with a massive line, so they ended up being among the last for blood draws.
Mo Zhaolong was very talkative along the way, initiating chats about his university days, complaining about his dorm mates and teachers, which prompted Ren Suo to nod repeatedly and recall his own glorious youth. Occasionally, they talked about their shared interest in a very obscure Mysterious Country comic "Sibray's Story Collection," and Ren Suo felt he had met a good friend—
It's common to have shared interests, but to find someone with a shared yet obscure interest was like finding a needle in a haystack; Ren Suo had never been able to discuss this comic with anyone in real life, so meeting someone felt as exciting as a snail finding its mate.
Just as they were about to have their blood drawn, Ren Suo was still not ready to end the conversation, but Mo Zhaolong suddenly turned pale, clutching his stomach, "Damn, my stomach hurts..."
"Ah? Then you should hurry to the restroom," Ren Suo said.
"But if I leave now, I'll have to queue up all over again," Mo Zhaolong grimaced. "It's the last round, and I'd have to wait another hour..."
Mo Zhaolong looked at Ren Suo and asked, "Bro, could you do it for me?"
"Huh? You can help with this too?" Ren Suo blinked his eyes. He had heard of helping with physical measurements, but never with an entire physical examination.
"Don't worry, they only take a little blood, it's no big deal." Mo Zhaolong said, "I had a physical half a month ago and it was nothing, so I don't really care about this one. Actually, it's more troublesome to waste an hour... How about I treat you to a meal later? Kebabs, BBQ, beer, my treat!"
Ren Suo thought about it and felt it didn't really matter, plus he could score a free meal, so he took his medical form and went to get his blood drawn.
First, he completed his own blood draw, then took Mo Zhaolong's form to another blood draw queue. Many people were lined up there, crowded together. Ren Suo thought he could easily slip through unnoticed, but just as he sat down, a Black Vest Youth walked over: "Didn't you just have your blood drawn?"
"...Ah?" Ren Suo hadn't expected the examination to be so thorough, scratched his head, and smiled, "I'm helping someone..."
"Helping who?" the Black Vest frowned.
Ren Suo didn't think it was a big deal and waved the medical form in his hand: "A colleague, he suddenly had a stomachache and went to the bathroom, asked me to have his blood drawn for him. Since that's the case, I'll call him over then."
The Black Vest said, "Then you take us to find him."
Only then Ren Suo noticed that there were four Black Vests standing behind the blood draw station. They all looked tough and young, unlike doctors or regular staff members, more like soldiers.
Had he caused trouble? Ren Suo blinked, turned his head, and just then saw a familiar figure running toward the door, immediately pointing and shouting: "Brother Long, are you done taking a dump? Where are you going?!"
Ren Suo definitely hadn't planned on taking the fall for someone he had just met and immediately pointed him out.
The four Black Vests immediately looked in that direction, but by then, the hall was overflowing with people, and they couldn't get through.
"Don't let him escape!"
The leading Black Vest grabbed a corner of the wall, pulled himself up with one swift movement, and actually started walking up the wall. With another forceful push, he flew over the heads of the people in the hall, leaping several meters directly to the door!
"Running along the walls?"
"Are they arresting a criminal?"
"What criminal would be stupid enough to come to a place crowded with civil servants?"
"It must be a civil servant place where a criminal has shown up..."
Some civil servant blurted out the obvious, and Ren Suo also squeezed through to see what was happening.
Mo Zhaolong was frantically running for the exit, but the health center was only so big, and he could only head toward the door. One of the Black Vests yelled, "Netherfire, stop him!"
The Black Vest Youth sitting by the door, in charge of distributing medical forms, lazily stood up and pointed at Mo Zhaolong, saying, "Stop."
"Stop your mom—"
Mo Zhaolong swung his fist and charged.
The Black Vest Youth casually gestured towards the main door and the iron doors suddenly started closing noisily. With no visible acceleration, he rushed forward and collided with Mo Zhaolong, knocking him several meters away with a punch!
It looked as if all his organs might have been displaced, and Mo Zhaolong, knocked down to the ground, groaned incessantly, unable to get up. The other Black Vests immediately rushed over to restrain him.
"You forced my hand!"
Mo Zhaolong cursed loudly, and then the Black Vests around him suddenly, inexplicably fell unconscious. Not only that, even those standing a bit closer to him also fell asleep, shocking the onlookers.
"A virus?"
"What kind of disease is so terrifying?"
"Hurry back, it's airborne!"
The crowd at the health center was in an uproar, but only Ren Suo stayed on the first floor, hiding behind a pillar, staring blankly at Mo Zhaolong.
For some reason, now, Mo Zhaolong also inspired a thrilling feeling in him.