"Who fired the gun?"

Cun Ling turned around and asked. Sun Ci, elated, stood out, but Cun Ling merely nodded and then looked away, leaving him standing there stiffly, not knowing what to do.

Dumb luck.

Cun Ling tossed the bullet, understanding; after the bullet had pierced through the outer shell, it struck directly at the core of the mutant, a core with limited material, shattering it with a single shot.

It was fully formed mutant, dying so frustratingly.

But this bullet...

He thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Who made this?"

Sun Ci instinctively wanted to raise his hand but then realized he had forgotten who had given him the gun; as he looked back blankly, he saw Ji Jue supporting himself with a cane.

Head lowered, he reported, "It... it was me."

Cun Ling, holding the bullet, felt the marks of its making and asked nonchalantly, "This handiwork of intensifying spiritual material, where did you learn it?"

"I... I..."

Ji Jue lowered his head, his eyes averted, suppressing his unease.

Cun Ling immediately understood and merely chuckled, unconcerned.

Just by looking at the markings, it was evident; too rough, though its application was quite agile, there were gaps in the structure. Basic skills seemed solid, but was there a lack in theory?

There was only one possibility—sneaking to learn.

But among craftsmen and apprentices, sneaking to learn was all too common; for those apprentices not favored by their masters, what choice did they have besides mechanically memorizing every move of the masters and pondering them day and night afterwards?

The person beside him flipped through some records and murmured something.

Suddenly, Cun Ling had a realization.

"Was it Juan's apprentice?"

Juan, that must have been the name of the You Sui Craftsman from the bank before.

"Lucky, and not bad in comprehension. Seems like talents can indeed emerge from the trash heap."

Cun Ling patted Ji Jue's shoulder, "Keep it up, kid. There's potential in your future."

"Yes, yes..."

Ji Jue nodded hurriedly, feeling the eyes of envy or jealousy from others. After this ordeal, this cripple had managed to get on Cun Ling's radar; perhaps he was on the path to rapid promotion!

At last, Cun Ling flipped through the records of the Underground Workshop, his gaze pausing on the output numbers of the teams, halting momentarily at the number 159.

"Sun Ci?" He looked over at this lucky fellow who'd killed a mutant with sheer dumb luck.

That saves a reward...

Sun Ci quickly stepped forward, nodding.

"Do you understand the process?" Cun Ling suddenly asked.

Sun Ci was startled, not catching on, then ecstatically nodded.

"Good, every department is swamped these days, and the next few days here are yours, Sun 'Manager'."

Cun Ling emphasized the title in his address, advising him, "Perform well."

With that, he turned and left.

Those following behind hurried after, and for a moment, the Underground Workshop was once again plunged into silence.

Everyone just stood there dumbly.

For a long time.

Eventually, like waking from a dream, Sun Ci asked the person next to him, "Manager?"

"Yes."

Another team leader quickly squeezed out a flattering smile, "Congratulations, Manager Sun."

"Manager?" Sun Ci looked around dreamily, then asked again.

The others immediately nodded frantically.

Unable to hold back any longer, he gasped heavily, even wanting to jump and dance!

Manager! He was a manager now?!

Even if he wasn't ranked very high above, being the manager of a trash heap, damn it, was still being a manager! Besides, it was the best place to scrape up money!

But just having this chance, putting together some money and precious materials to send up, after enduring for some time, he might further use this opportunity to transfer to a lucrative position.

His eyes sparked with quick thoughts, his mouth curving higher and higher with excitement.

Even the pain in his arms vanished without a trace.

His body felt so light.

He had turned his life around! Completely!

And so, with a smile, enjoying the expressions of awe and admiring smiles, he laughed out loud, rejoicing with those around him, making promises, or displaying magnanimity, or noting down mental notes.

And so, after he sent those people away.

He finally turned to the person beside him, his lucky star, his crucial right hand—Ji Jue!

Wanting to share his joy? Swank a bit? Paint a picture? Let his little bro work well under him?

Maybe all of those, and perhaps something else as well.

But somehow, when he saw that scarred face in the shadow, in that moment, it was as if two broken threads, among the myriad tangled, suddenly connected...

Thus, the cobwebs in the chaos were thoroughly pierced through, and he had an epiphany.

As if he vaguely understood something.

Who has a day like today with just arriving immediately causing trouble?

How could it be such a coincidence?

Being inexplicably given a gun and just like that killing such a large mutant? Where... Else could good fortune fall on someone who's been a downtrodden beast of burden for half of his life?

Unless...

In that moment of realization, he couldn't restrain the trembling, his body turning ice cold, as if plummeting into an ice cave.

His eyes gradually widened.

Looking at Ji Jue.

And Ji Jue was also looking at him.

Smiling, genuinely happy for him.n

"Congratulations, Manager Sun."

But Sun Ci's body stiffened, unable to hide his unease and fear.

"You... I..."

He stuttered, attempting to speak, but quickly, a fierce look appeared in his eyes, "Don't..."

Before he could finish talking, he was interrupted. Ji Jue, seemingly unaware, exclaimed, "That shot that just killed the Mutant, was that fired by you? So accurate, it killed with a single shot, impressive!"

Sun Ci stood there, appearing petrified.

"Hey, I haven't even thanked you yet!" Ji Jue exclaimed: "You helped me collect so many materials. The items beside the Melting Furnace earlier were also handed in by you."

Sun Ci could no longer speak, his complexion growing increasingly pale.

"How wonderful, congratulations on seizing the opportunity to turn things around." Ji Jue paused for a moment, sympathetically sighed, "Otherwise, who knows how long you would have had to wait."

Silence.

Sun Ci's lips quivered, but he made no sound.

He suddenly realized that something was terribly wrong.

During the explosion at the furnace, the items he had submitted were there. Ji Jue's materials, all were collected by him, his name signed on the list.

When the Mutant awakened, the first to die was the supervisor.

And finally, as if by coincidence, died by his own hands.

And he, in one leap, became the supervisor, escaping the mire...

Everything was just right, if one were to look back from the perspective of the beneficiary after the fact, wouldn't all suspicions conveniently fall on him?

Amid the dizziness, his vision periodically blacked out, but for some reason, that scar-ridden smiling face became clearer and clearer.

"Unexpected, the struggles within the Recovery Department are so fierce, truly breathtaking," Ji Jue assured, standing next to him, "Don't worry, I'll keep your secret."

Ji Jue stood beside him, appreciating the scenery of the Underground Workshop being tidied up, then suddenly said, "Just that, since I have done you such a big favor, you'll help me too, right?"

Sun Ci stayed silent, and after a long while, he dryly swallowed.

Nodded.

"Of course."

He forced a smile that looked worse than crying, "Share weal and woe, right?"

"So, from today onwards, are we friends?"

Ji Jue smiled, reaching out, "Come, my dear friend, let's shake hands."

Sun Ci hesitated, staring at him, staring at the extended hand, his expression twitched once, then again, and finally, under Ji Jue's gently persuasive voice, he made a move.

"Yes, reach out, that's good..."

"Good boy."

Ji Jue gently smiled, grabbed his raised hand, shook it up and down, telling him, "From now on, we are the best friends in the whole world."

Man's best friend isn't just dogs.

It can also be dogs.

For everyone else, the newcomer cripple was a legend like a lucky star.

Arriving at the Recovery Department, on just the first day, right before Sun Ci's advancement, he seized the opportunity, climbed to a higher position, became an insider, escaped the oppression of menial labor, and was promoted to assistant supervisor, gaining the privilege to freely enter and exit the Underground Workshop and appear among the higher ranks.

What relieved everyone was that he was far better than the previous idiot who only knew how to sell favors. Not only lenient with targets, never raising the stakes but also extending a helping hand to many apprentices who couldn't keep up with the pace.

In just one day, he became everyone's friend.

Even the darkest-hearted people, when facing him, couldn't help but express gratitude without disguise.

Praising and swearing sincere respect for Supervisor Sun.

Supervisor Sun is great, Supervisor Sun is goddamn great, with Supervisor Sun here, there is hope, with Supervisor Sun here, we can finally work less!

Even the benefits increased...

Seeing Ji Jue pushing carts of protective equipment to everyone, nearly every apprentice had tears in their eyes, wishing they could kowtow to Supervisor Sun right then.

But for some reason, Supervisor Sun's smile always seemed forced.

Probably because giving away so much protective equipment cost him a lot of favors, making everyone even more fond of him.

And after assuming the role of assistant supervisor, many tasks naturally fell into Ji Jue's hands.

Including daily transport of cleaned parts and separated materials.

He leaned on a crutch, following behind the upper management to familiarize himself with the environment.

The internal affairs supervisor glanced at his lame leg, too lazy to say anything, too lazy to slow down for him, it was just routine.

"The workshop is divided into four floors, the bottom one not included."

The bald woman leading the way said coldly, "The first and second floors are where other craftsmen work, just deliver the items according to the numbers.

Apart from Jian Yuan's disciples' workshop, the third floor is for storage and transport of materials and products, don't wander around without a signature and permission, it'd be a hassle to write reports if you died."

"What about the fourth floor?" Ji Jue curiously asked.

The bald woman turned to give him a cold look, not answering.

Or rather, there couldn't be any other answer.

The fourth floor was Jian Yuan's private domain, forbidden to enter or even inquire about.

Realizing this, Ji Jue suddenly came to his senses, hastily slapped himself, and fawningly pleaded, "Please forgive me, I left my brain at home, I'm so sorry."

Saying this, he reached out his hand in a pleading manner.

The bald woman, expressionless, intended to shake off his hand, but through the sleeve, her hand strangely felt heavier, holding a small bag filled with fine sandy substances.

Generated gold.

At least four hundred grams!

Her gloomy expression briefly paused, a hint of brightness and softness appearing, "Ignorance is no crime, newbies don't know the rules, that's why we need to guide them."

"That's right, that's right."

Ji Jue nodded vigorously, appropriately releasing her hand, "I still need lots of guidance from you."

"Lucky old Sun, to have such a sensible subordinate," the bald woman understood, pushing open the door to the material storage, pointing at the empty shelves without any intention of helping.

"Just put them up yourself."

"Got it."

Ji Jue wiped the sweat and blood from his face, hurriedly sorting the materials categorically, only, his gaze, silently swept over a distant door, then withdrew.

Precious material storage room.

In his pocket, the Spiritual Crystal left by Lou Feng subtly vibrated.

Responding.

Prompting Ji Jue to slowly sigh with relief...

At last, he had found it.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.