Epoch of Twilight

Chapter 259: Procedures

Translator: Insignia Editor: Svjohn

"Secretary Zhen, sorry to trouble you with sending us breakfast!" Zhao Yali said, feeling a little embarrassed.

"It’s no trouble at all. I was passing by anyway. I will have to take you all to go through some procedures later, but I don’t want to keep you now," Secretary Zhen said while waving.

"What kind of procedures?" Zhao Yali asked.

"A lot of information was lost during the apocalypse, such as accounts and ID cards. Everything needs to be registered again, and there needs to be a job allocation. Oh yeah, there’s also a test for the evolved people for archive purposes," Secretary Zhen explained thoroughly. He was not as reserved as the mayor’s secretary.

"That’s a lot," said Zhao Yali.

"It doesn’t take too long actually. It can be done in a day," Secretary Zhen laughed.

"Then when can we get our documents?" Zhao Yali asked.

"You will have to wait one day."

"Can’t we have them on the spot?"

Secretary Zhen gave her an awkward smile. There were many documents to be processed every day. One day was actually considered fast. Most people got their documents in three days, even though their efficiency had improved a lot since the apocalypse had started.

Zhao Yali realized she was being pushy and she said in embarrassment, "I don’t know much, I’m just asking."

"Don’t worry about it. You can ask anything you want."

"Oh, then I have one more question I’d like to ask. What kind of job is there for us?" That was Zhao Yali’s main concern.

"Oh, about that," Secretary Zhen seemed troubled. "That will be determined by your educational and professional background as well as your working experience. If you don’t have any professional skills, you will probably be assigned to work in a factory."

"Oh, I’m an accountant. I have an intermediate accounting certificate. Are there any job opportunities for me?" Zhao Yali asked worriedly.

Secretary Zhen shook his head. "It’s difficult under the circumstances. Unless there’s a newly built factory, it will be really hard to find a suitable job for you."

When he realized that Zhao Yali was not getting his hint, Secretary Zhen ditched all formality. "Actually, it’s okay if you can’t work in a factory. You can always work for the government department. We can always make an exception for talented people. If you don’t mind me asking, is Mr. Luo your…"

Zhao Yali was happy at first, but his last question made her blush. "There’s nothing going on between us," she said immediately.

From her facial expression, Secretary Zhen could tell that she was not telling the truth. He smiled. How could there be nothing between them when she was such a lovely woman? The other women were also beautiful. Maybe it was the beauty of the wilderness, where one could do anything they wanted. A person like him would be scared to death there, but of course, strong capabilities also came with that life. Without them, it would be hell to live in the wilderness.

Secretary Zhen smiled politely. His mission was to ensure that Luo Yuan stayed in Desert City. He had to make him stay, even if that offended his superior. To his superior, a level-5 evolved person might not seem important, but it would probably be nice to have Luo Yuan there. He was the savior after all. Knowing that he was there would allow them to sleep peacefully. Just like during the invasion of the crypt worm, with him around, they would not have to involve anybody else or suffer any heavy losses.

…

After breakfast, they all followed Secretary Zhen.

The three-storey accreditation center was not too far from the small district. It was actually only a few minutes away.

It was so much better to work as a group, because they could help each other fill in the application forms. The procedure went really smooth. Even Zhao Yali’s accounting certificate was completed successfully with the help of a few officers. Compared to the time before the apocalypse, their efficiency was 10 times higher.

Still, filling in the documents was tedious. There were so many of them that it was noon by the time they were done. There were not many restaurants in the city. They had only seen a few along the way, so they went to a hotel downtown. Compared to pre-apocalypse hotel standards, this was a village-level hotel. However, under the circumstances, it was the most luxurious hotel in the city.

Although it was peak hour, the hotel was empty. There were almost no guests there, only a few waiters.

"Everyone is basically working at the factory right now. There will be more people around 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.," Secretary Zhen explained.

"They work overtime every day?" Huang Jiahui asked.

"If you work in a factory, you have to work around 12 hours a day," Secretary Zhen said, as if there was nothing wrong with that.

"That… That’s not ideal for one’s body, though. How can one stand for so many hours?" asked Huo Dong in astonishment. No wonder they had not seen many people on the street on their way there.

"There’s nothing we can do. Most of the tasks assigned are heavy and urgent. Sometimes people don’t even get a day off for several months. Nowadays most human bodies are better though, so such workload is bearable."

No one said anything, but they all sighed.

"Although the workload is heavy, people working in the back-end have it well compared to soldiers. At least there’s less pressure on them," Commander Xia said, shaking his head.

They had all lost their appetite. The atmosphere had gotten heavy. They just finished their meal hastily and headed to their final destination, which was the Evolved Person Registration Center.

Initially, Secretary Zhen had thought there were only three of them, but little did he know that there were actually four. He thought the girl with the light-green skin was an evolved person, but as a matter of fact, she was not. He distanced himself quietly. He did not mind evolved people at all, but not everyone was able to maintain their sanity after they evolved. Most of them looked strange, and not just in skin color. He had seen a couple of people with long body hair and scales. A particularly powerful person had even evolved into a giant.

This was not an evolved person though, just someone whose skin color had changed. Still, he could not help but be cautious. He did not realize Luo Yuan was watching his reaction.

"She has been parasitized by moss. You can treat her as an evolved person or an ordinary person," Luo Yuan explained.

Secretary Zhen was shocked, but he forced a smile. "That’s… That’s not what I was thinking."

"Are you worried that she’s contagious?" Luo Yuan asked.

Although Luo Yuan’s voice was soft and soothing, Secretary Zhen felt a stressful force coming from him. It was as if Luo Yuan could see everything going on in his mind. He knew it was pointless to hide before such a powerful person, so he decided to be honest, "Yes… I was worried about that, but I’m not anymore. She has been with you for a long time and nothing has happened, so that means that it’s not contagious."

He was getting more and more comfortable, until he eventually asked, "Can I write a report on her? I think the Biological Research Institute will be very interested in her."

Everyone looked unhappy.

Chen Jiayi had turned pale. She looked really afraid. Luo Yuan thought about it and said, "She is still young. I think there’s no need to take her there. The sample you took should be good enough."

"Yes, of course it is. Normal evolved people understand this. Human experiments have been useless to the Biological Research Institute. The most they would do was do some blood tests on her."

Secretary Zhen understood why were they unhappy. Those with any basic biological knowledge knew that with current technology, slicing was not needed, but ordinary people did not know.

"A blood test is not needed either," Luo Yuan said. Nobody could know if they were experimenting with cloning after all. Morality usually prevented people from trying cloning, but those days nobody could guarantee anything.

"This…" Secretary Zhen was in a pickle. If the blood test was a no-go, could they at least take a bone marrow sample from her?

Suddenly, something miraculous happened. Chen Jiayi extended her hand, and a massive amount of moss grew on her smooth skin in the blink of an eye. Everyone gasped.

"That… That’s unbelievable!"

"Alright, we will give you a sample of moss later. Go ahead and test all you want now. Do you know what to do?" Luo Yuan said.