Chapter 56: A Life to Be Thankful For
Chapter 56: A Life to Be Thankful For
Before the official training started, although Lu Xin knew about Special Contamination and had even personally experienced it three times, he still hadn’t formed a systematic concept. Especially after the Incident 041 Special Contamination event, which still hadn’t received an official explanation, it made him feel that even the Special Contamination Containment Department’s research in this area might not be entirely comprehensive.
The most terrifying aspect of mysterious incidents was their inexplicability.
But fortunately, the endearing quality of these people was that they were constantly striving for explanations.
And during this training, Lu Xin also began to genuinely delve into and systematically understand the categories of these Special Contaminations. Although he was somewhat surprised by the sheer volume and complexity of the information involved, it at least provided a path into this mysterious world.
Although the appearance of his family meant Lu Xin had companionship, their existence still troubled him. Several times, he had wanted to make an effort to figure out exactly what had happened to him. Sadly, he never found answers, and gradually, he had grown accustomed to it.
Now, being able to systematically and deeply access this knowledge rekindled a small flicker of hope within him.
Perhaps, one day, he could figure out the events affecting him by himself?
This gave him some motivation.
Of course, besides this reason, the training itself was something to be grateful for.
If they were just purely using him, they probably wouldn’t bother teaching him so much.
Training him showed they valued him.
Compared to that, the Guard Bureau dinner having a chicken leg seemed quite trivial.
……
The training continued consistently from that day onward.
After that day, Lu Xin arrived punctually every day. Apart from the three hours spent there attentively listening to lectures and asking Han Bing questions, he would also spend the remaining time carefully summarizing the material, taking notes, and sometimes even trying to discuss with Han Bing, analyzing unresolved Special Contamination Incidents and speculating on certain aspects.
However, Gecko hadn’t reappeared at all in the subsequent days.
Upon asking Han Bing, Lu Xin learned that Gecko was mainly responsible for introducing him to the ropes through real Field Duty missions. In other words, he was also training Lu Xin, though it leaned more towards hands-on experience, while Han Bing focused more on theoretical knowledge instruction.
With no Cleanup Missions happening, it seemed unlikely he’d easily run into Gecko.
Lu Xin felt quite regretful about it.
Last time, he had left without saying goodbye, so he felt somewhat guilty towards Gecko and wanted to apologize properly the next time they met.
He hoped Gecko could forgive him.
……
With his active participation in the training, Lu Xin naturally no longer had time for patrols.
Even at the company, he could no longer work overtime; he could only focus on handling his work diligently during regular hours.
Luckily, the company’s projects were progressing quite smoothly.
As Lu Xin himself delved into market research, the materials submitted by Brother Zhang quickly became much more detailed and authentic. The project soon got on track. Even on a day near closing time, Brother Zhang slyly came over to Lu Xin’s cubicle, placed an envelope on his desk with a smile, and said, “Boss Lu, this is that… from the supplier…”
Lu Xin was startled that Brother Zhang called him “Boss Lu”; he hadn’t been promoted yet.
He picked up the envelope to look inside; it contained roughly his monthly salary.
He understood— this was the kickback from the supplier during procurement, carefully calculated and representing his portion.
So he nodded, smiled, and said, “Brother Zhang, thanks for the hard work!”
“Haha, not hard at all! It’s much smoother working with you, Boss Lu!” Brother Zhang chuckled as he left, inviting Lu Xin to dinner.
Lu Xin declined, however, saying he’d treat next time, and watched Brother Zhang leave.
Afterward, looking at the envelope on the desk, he couldn’t help but sigh softly.
He was receiving kickbacks now too…
While feeling reflective, a slight sense of guilt arose. Would this affect his Model Employee candidacy?
This worry soon faded the very next day.
At noon, the Director came over happily, calling Lu Xin to go smoke with him. Baring his yellowed teeth in a grin, he said, “Little Lu, you’ve done very well with this project. I was a bit worried it was your first time leading one, that you might lack experience, but you handled it brilliantly! The client from the Main City has already sent an email acknowledging the excellent work and wants to continue the cooperation.”
Lu Xin had to respond modestly, “That’s what I should do.”
“And,” the Director looked quite pleased, “this month’s Model Employee award… well, I don’t see anyone else competing with you!”
Lu Xin was pleasantly surprised to hear this.
He had worked late consistently before, so getting Model Employee then wasn’t surprising. But now, with minimal overtime, the company still considering him for the award was really gratifying.
It seemed persistent hard work would eventually pay off.
The Director seemed to strongly agree. As his cigarette burned down, he asked, seemingly offhand,
“Oh, right… Little Lu, are you still bringing a gun to work?”
“Yes!”
Lu Xin nodded, answering honestly. “And the clips are always full, Director, no need to worry about me!”
“Haha, not worried, not worried at all…” The Director’s expression noticeably stiffened for a second before he gave a dry laugh. “Keep up the good work! Next month, I’ll apply to the company to promote you to supervisor!”
“Thank you, Director!”
Lu Xin thanked the Director sincerely.
Not only considering him for Model Employee, but even wanting to promote him?
At that moment, Lu Xin felt his years of diligent work were finally being rewarded.
He was grateful for his life now.
……
After finishing the training session, Lu Xin took the last subway home.
He climbed the dark staircase, reaching Room 401, which felt warm and quiet.
Seeing the lights off inside told him Mother had gone out again.
In the silent room, the lighting was dim. Only the glow of neon signs from outside the window filtered through the glass, casting indistinct, shifting shadows on the floor. Occasionally, the sounds of drunks laughing or wailing drifted up from the street below into the room.
Passing the kitchen, he could see a shadow like a mountain of meat through the frosted glass pane.
It nearly filled the kitchen, rising and falling with slow, heavy snores.
That was Father, sleeping.
From the crack near the ceiling by the door, Little Sister’s soft humming drifted down as she sang quietly:
“Little Doll, very scared,
After dark went looking for Mama, looked and looked but couldn’t see her,
Mama, oh where could she be?”
…
“Little Doll, don’t be scared,
A crow up in the tree told her, Mama isn’t far away,
She’s right beside you, smiling today!”
…
Lu Xin gently closed the door, a faint smile appearing on his face.
His Little Sister was singing out of tune.