Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 280 So you're called Duck Bro?

In the last bit of time on Sunday, Zhai Da finished repairing the third item, or rather, he refurbished it.

That rusty old military water bottle had its military green coating rusted off, making it not only ugly but also unsafe. In addition, the wooden stopper was completely decayed; when dry, it could be squeezed into powder, and when wet, it was sticky and was the main source of the odor.

As a way to give Fan Junwei some "off-field support," Zhai Da cleaned the outer layer and manually engraved the words "Meat Mountain Demon King" in cartoon style on the front, while the back had even bigger and more exaggerated "Victory is certain!" After that, he re-electroplated it and finally added a new silicone plug, which was basically done.

However, there was also bad news. As equipment that was not originally judged as "damaged" by the system, it inevitably underwent "modification judgment" and "weakening" during the process. When Zhai Da completely stopped, the bright silver and stylish water bottle had changed its information.

"White Special Item: [Victory Water Bottle]".

Ownership: Owned, activated.

"Equipment effect: The water contained in this water bottle can restore the user's stamina and energy. The effect varies depending on the user's state when drinking. It has no effect when the user is full. When the user is exhausted, each full sip can restore 3% (weakened). It will also consume additional body heat."

"Note: It seems the creators haven't found a proper way to handle 'modification' yet, further weakening the already weak equipment."

Zhai Da smacked his lips.
Oh, 5% has become 3%.
The issue of "modification and weakening" is a major hurdle, and so far only the [Mechanical Core] is immune to this rule.

But he believes that as he finds more and more equipment, one of them might just be like a Polaroid camera, capable of changing the rules.

After tidying up the environment, Zhai Da left the workshop with his water bottle. Wu Yue's location was still wandering outside, but it had changed from the city center to the suburbs.

Zhai Da felt that although he didn't need to get involved in this matter, he still needed to step in and calm everyone down, so instead of going straight home, he headed towards the base.

The base glowed white in the night, and Peng Hao was seen coming and going. Zhai Da frowned slightly and called out to the young man.

"Da Ge!"

Of all the names used, his was the one with the strongest accent, but it also sounded the most catchy.
Zhai Da asked, "Why do you come here every day? Don't you get any rest?"

Peng Hao wiped the sweat from his forehead. The fact that he was in such a condition in winter showed how hard he worked.

“I have days off. I work five days and rest two days. I don’t have much to do in Harbin by myself, so I might as well come and see if there’s anything I can help with.”

Actually, he is a year younger than Zhai Da, but he looks older because he has always done manual labor.

He is mostly silent, and even has a somewhat fierce look, but he smiles very kindly when he sees the boss.

Zhai Da patted Peng Hao on the shoulder and said gently, "People aren't machines. When you're resting, you still need to find something to do. Go and have some fun with your girlfriend!"

Peng Hao quickly shook his head: "Dating costs money, and I want to save some money."

"Let me put it another way: when people are exhausted, medical treatment costs even more money."

Peng Hao shook his head again: "Don't worry, you paid for my medical insurance, and I also have insurance."

Zhai Da:
You just can't eat anything, right?

Peng Hao had heard that his father had a chronic illness, but it was just a common chronic illness that caused him to lose his ability to work; it wasn't some rare disease that would cost a fortune to keep him alive.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have survived until Yueda Catering.

His income should be stable now, but the reason he still works so relentlessly is mainly out of gratitude.

I am grateful to the company and to my boss.

Looking at that seemingly weathered yet innocent and simple smiling face, Zhai Da thought to himself that sometimes, excessive gratitude can also be a burden.

Many business owners have been inspired to be kind upon seeing this kind of smile.

How many bosses, because of this, feel superior and demand that everyone be grateful to them?
Zhai Da patted Peng Hao again: "How old?"

"nineteen."

"Have you finished junior high school?"

"Finished reading."

"I'm going to give you an important task."

Peng Hao immediately became serious: "Boss, do you mean to deal with those people from yesterday?"

I have health insurance, so I can do whatever I want!

Zhai Da shook his head: "Those three are still at the police station. What are you packing for? Go get a certificate."

Peng Hao: "Huh?"

"Search for professional qualification certificates that you can take even after graduating from junior high school. It's best to choose one that is related to the company's business, such as a 'safety production certificate,' 'welding certificate,' or 'fire protection facility operator certificate.' The company will cover the application fee, and you'll get a raise if you pass the exam."

Zhai Da said earnestly, "You're only 19. You can't work as a laborer for the rest of your life. You need to develop yourself to keep up with the company's development. I'll talk to your team leader, Qin Yang, and you're not allowed to come to work on your days off. Stay home and read books. It's the end of February now, and I'll come and ask you about it."

Peng Hao was scratching his head, genuinely experiencing a physiological resistance to "studying," his ear tips burning from the scratching.

He even blurted out in his hometown dialect in his anxiety: "Brother Da, I'm not cut out for studying."

“Taking certification exams isn’t just about studying; how would you know if you haven’t tried?”

Peng Hao sighed deeply: "When I was a child, my family lived in a small mountain village. My dad told me..."

"Stop! Why don't you start with Pangu?"

Who is Pangu?

Zhai Da:
"Pangu was an incredibly powerful person. In short, you can choose the simplest option, but this is something that cannot be avoided."

Zhai Da suddenly thought this idea was good, and if it was feasible, it could even be promoted.

While enhancing employees' capabilities, it can also temper their aggressive tendencies.

The working people are becoming knowledgeable, and intellectuals are becoming laborers.

These fourteen characters represent something that no one in human history has ever accomplished.

The former can still be driven by "self-interest," but the latter may really only be able to rely on "faith."

Zhai Da felt it was worth advocating for this, not to mention that getting a few certifications wouldn't necessarily make the company more money, but the atmosphere was very important.

Peng Hao felt bitter both in his mouth and in his heart.

He'd rather Zhai Da patted him on the shoulder and said, "Go and take care of Brother Duck."

But deep down, I still know that the boss is doing it for my own good.
He didn't know any polite words, and that was the only response he could give to his boss.

Only the intense, sun-colored flames emanated from its body.

Zhai Da felt like someone had placed a headlight on his face again, and squinted, saying, "Go get busy."

Many people in the company emit this kind of light, but Peng Hao's frequency is the highest and his brightness is the greatest.

Perhaps this is also an additional function of the "Eight Sufferings".

Loyalty detector?

Or: Loyalty! Honesty! Detector? ——————

While Zhai Da was basking in the "sunlight," Wu Yue was in the thick, bizarre night.

In a back alley of a nightclub in Daoli District, a man in his late twenties, wearing a suit, leaned against the wall and smoked: "Brother Yue, I haven't been around for a long time, but I can still help you find out some things."

He looked slightly intimidated because the other party was a well-known taxi driver in Nangang District, and there were two burly men standing next to him.

The black night paired with the black alleyway creates a strong sense of oppression.

Wang Xiaolong was smoking in the hood of the car, Qin Yang was keeping watch at the end of the alley, and Wu Yue leaned against the door of the black Land Cruiser and said calmly, "You can fight here."

The man in the suit is the sales manager here, who also helps with reservations. His name is Liu Hai. He's a nobody, but he used to have some influence at the "kids' table."

When looking for someone, start from the bottom; it's convenient and avoids alerting them.

Those three underdeveloped teenagers are still in jail, but he's heard that they're stubborn and haven't betrayed their "Duck Bro" yet.

This kind of worthless life, brainwashed teenagers are troublesome, but it's no match for Wu Yue.

In one day, besides investigating Gao Cheng's background, they had also basically deduced that Brother Ya was a small-time hoodlum in Daoli District.

This person is not the point, but finding this person is.

Sales manager Liu Hai took out his phone and made a call: "Old Dao, what are you busy with? Driving a big truck? Help me find someone around here, is there someone called 'Brother Duck'?"

"I know that name is lame. Don't interrupt. I know you're not in the business anymore. Ask your old buddies, do they remember Wang Chao, Liu Zhu, or something like that?"

The voice on the other end was very loud; Wu Yue could hear it even without the speakerphone on: "The signal is bad on this highway. Do you understand, sis? You're looking for Wang Chao and the other guy, right? I'll have them go to your shop to look for them, that'll be fine."

A dozen minutes later, two young men in their mid-twenties arrived in the alley. They were startled by the sight of this scene. This black Toyota Land Cruiser was a big shot in Northeast China, at least someone like them who was just hanging around would never be able to get in touch with.

Their eldest brother is lucky if he can ride a motorcycle!
"Brother Hai." ×2
Liu Hai pointed at Wu Yue and was about to say "Call him Brother Yue" when Wu Yue waved his hand to interrupt him, signaling him to do something serious and stop making a fuss.

"Have you guys in that area ever heard of a guy called 'Brother Duck'?"

"Brother Duck? Who would come up with such a lame name? Brother Hai, wait a minute, I've been settling down for a while now, let me ask my old underlings."

Half an hour later, a young man in his early twenties rode over on an electric scooter.

"Brother Hai, Brother Chao, Brother Zhu!"

And so it is, and so it is.

"Brother Duck? I've never heard of him. Is he from high school?"

About ten minutes later, a young man of about seventeen or eighteen ran over.

"Brother Hai, Brother Chao, Brother Zhu! Brother Da Neng!"

"Brother Duck? Wait a minute, I think I've actually heard someone mention him. I'll ask my little brother to come and ask him."

Beside the SUV, Wu Yue wiped his face.
If we keep going, how old are the newcomers? Fifteen? Elementary school students?

He had already started looking for people from the very bottom, but he didn't expect there to be such an expert!

Finally, after pacing from 10 o'clock to 12 o'clock, Wu Yue finally managed to get the so-called "duck brother" before his patience ran out.

He wanted to see who was so hard to find, someone who couldn't be reached by either the legitimate or criminal world.

Coincidentally, "Brother Duck" was having dinner with the younger brother of the younger brother of Liu Hai's younger brother when he was pulled over by an electric scooter.

Or rather, they were sold.
Wu Yue looked at the girl in front of him, who looked no more than 16 years old and had non-mainstream hair, and asked a soul-searching question.

"You'll be called Duck Bro."

Wang Xiaoya? Are you kidding me!

No wonder those three stubborn blond guys couldn't find Brother Duck even after their phones were checked.

This is truly unexpected. Even Conan would have to smoke two packs of cigarettes if he came.

How many layers of outsourcing were there? What kind of shoddy team does Gao Cheng have under his command?
An hour later, everyone left happily.

Hai Ge, Chao Ge, Zhu Zi Ge, Da Neng Ge, Hu Ge, including that "Ya Ge".

The story is not complicated. Of the three blond-haired men, two are "Brother Duck's" sycophants. At this age, once they get carried away, they can do anything except solve math problems. Wu Yue has already found out where Brother Duck's "outsourced" work comes from.

Finally, Wu Yue asked Liu Hai to set up a booth for these "brothers" in his shop as a reward.

However, Wu Yue let Qin Yang go with him. "Brother Duck" cannot be restricted in his freedom, that's illegal and disorderly, we can't do that, but we have ways to keep this person in check.

The black Land Cruiser returned to Shenzhou Mansion, and the car was somewhat silent in the dead of night.

After a long silence, Wang Xiaolong broke the silence first, saying with some concern, "Gao Cheng's father is the deputy district head, isn't that a bit difficult to handle?"

Wu Yue nodded: "We're from out of town, so we don't know the ins and outs of things. But from what we've heard so far, this deputy district head has a lot of influence, and he seems to be the kind of person who doesn't want to move."

“If a person like that gets into trouble with his son, there’s a high chance he’ll muddy the waters and get away with it. No matter how discreetly we do things, Gao Cheng will figure it out. I reckon the deputy district head will still hold a grudge against us afterward.”

Seeing that Wu Yue agreed with his idea, Wang Xiaolong immediately said, "It's normal for people to be eyeing us in business. We just need to deal with whatever comes our way, but is it appropriate to confront them directly?"

"My thought is, does not cooperating with that guy surnamed Gao necessarily mean we have to go against him? Since we have seen through his tricks, why not just make things clear to his face? As the old saying goes, if you don't kill a snake, you will get bitten. If you can't kill it, you might as well not fight it at all."

Wu Yue yawned, resting one hand on his temple.

I haven't been getting enough sleep these past few days, I'll have to catch up later.

"Cousin, your idea is quite naive."

"I just have a few immature thoughts."

Wu Yue took out his phone, intending to report the progress to Zhai Da, but after thinking about it, he restrained himself.

He always secretly hoped that these messy things could stay as far away from Zhai Da as possible.

"You feel that it's just three blond-haired punks causing trouble and it's not a big deal, because Director Niu was beaten up and Gao Cheng was scared. But if you keep hiding like a coward, he'll eventually come up with something bad. Tomorrow the city management will come, the day after tomorrow the fire department will come. If Gao Cheng can't get his hands on them, Wang Cheng and Li Cheng will think they're in charge too. They're so annoyed every day, they might as well quit their business."

Wang Xiaolong exhaled a breath of stale air: "Then what do we do?"

Wu Yue said calmly:
"There's an old saying: 'If you hit a snake and don't kill it, you'll get bitten.' Another old saying is: 'Knock it away with one punch, lest... never mind, that's not appropriate here.'"

Halfway through his sentence, Wang Xiaolong became even more puzzled and pressed for an answer: "So...we're really going to establish Gaocheng?"

Wu Yue seemed tired and didn't want to talk anymore. He reclined his chair, wrapped his coat around himself, and planned to take a nap.

With his eyes closed, he only said one sentence, and Wang Xiaolong almost lost his grip on the steering wheel.

"What's the point of dealing with Gao Cheng? Just deal with his father instead."

(End of this chapter)