Start with iron blocks, upgrade them into armor summoners.

After dropping Yangyang off, Xing Yun returned home, lay on the sofa for a while, and tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

My mind is too cluttered; lying down is pointless.

He simply got up, washed his face, and went out.

……

Administration Bureau, -1st floor.

Xing Yun stepped out of the elevator. The corridor was still the same as before, brightly lit, with people occasionally pushing carts by.

Following the memory in his mind, he walked to the door of Zhou Hai's office and knocked.

"Come in."

Zhou Hai sat behind his desk, a stack of documents spread out in front of him, and an unlit cigarette between his fingers.

Upon seeing Xing Yun, he put down his cigarette: "You're here? Have a seat."

Xing Yun pulled out a chair opposite the table and sat down.

"How's your injury?" Zhou Hai asked.

"Much better."

"That's good." Zhou Hai pulled a brown paper envelope from the drawer, looked at it, and then pushed it in front of him. "This is your stuff."

Xing Yun opened it, and inside was a black card with his photo, number, and the words: "Bai Hu, Member of the Special Operations Team, S City Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau" printed on it.

"This is your work ID," Zhou Hai said. "You'll need to use this for missions and entering the base from now on."

Xing Yun flipped it over and saw a line of small print: "Energy Imprint Binding, for Personal Use Only."

"And this too." Zhou Hai pushed over a small, palm-sized silver box. "A communicator, encrypted channel, directly connecting you to the bureau. You'll be notified when there's a mission."

Xing Yun opened the box, inside was a watch-like device with an LCD screen that currently displayed the time and signal strength.

"I'll get you a salary card later. Your base salary is 8,000 a month, plus subsidies for missions and insurance for injuries." Zhou Hai said this in a very casual tone, as if he were talking about something completely ordinary.

Xing Yun did not respond.

"We don't have many rules," Zhou Hai said, holding up three fingers. "First, you can't reveal your identity to ordinary people unless it's an emergency. Second, obey orders during missions; you can raise any objections afterward. Third..."

He paused for a moment, his gaze lingering on Xing Yun's face for a second.

"Third, protect yourselves. The death of a team member is more serious than losing a battle."

Xing Yun nodded.

"Okay." Zhou Hai put the cigarette back in his mouth. "Go back and rest today, and come back tomorrow for an ability test. Xie Jiu'an wants to see you."

"Xie Jiu'an?"

"He's the captain of another squad in the bureau, the one who uses a sword," Zhou Hai said, exhaling a puff of smoke to the side. "He's quite interested in you."

"Okay." Xing Yun stood up, put the two items away, and said, "I'll be going now."

"Wait a minute." Zhou Hai called out to him, taking out another small bottle from the drawer. It contained a light blue liquid. "Purifying agent. Keep it handy. Don't wait until you get injured to use it."

Xing Yun took it, said thank you, and turned to leave.

He paused at the doorway.

"Team Leader Zhou."

"Um?"

"Last night..." he paused, "did the bureau detect any unusual energy?"

Zhou Hai glanced at him: "What's wrong? Did something happen to you?"

"No," Xing Yun shook her head. "I was just asking."

"There were a few minor disturbances in the city last night, nothing serious, probably caused by wild alien beasts," Zhou Hai said. "Li Rui and his team have already dealt with them."

Xing Yun nodded and went out the door.

In the corridor, he glanced down at his handbag.

The summoner still didn't respond.

Xing Yun walked out of the management bureau's gate, and the sunlight outside made him squint.

He stood at the door for a while, put the watch-style communicator on his wrist, the dial lit up, displaying the words "Signal connected", then turned off, becoming a plain black surface.

He stuffed his work ID into the inner lining of his bag, placing it together with the summoner.

I had just gotten on my electric scooter when my phone rang.

Xing Yun picked up her phone and saw that it was Li Pengfei calling.

As soon as the call connected, Li Pengfei's signature loud voice came from the other end: "Old Xing! Where are you right now?"

"Just finished running errands and was about to go home. What's up?"

"Then come to our usual spot. I'll treat you to breakfast, and I also want to talk to you about something."

"What is it?"

"It's hard to explain over the phone, let's talk when you get here." Li Pengfei paused, lowering his voice slightly, "Good news, I'll introduce you to a job."

Xing Yun remained silent for two seconds.

Introduce the job.

If it were yesterday, he might have hesitated, but now he has just received his salary card from the Administration Bureau, with a base salary of eight thousand plus subsidies.

But he couldn't tell Li Pengfei this.

"Okay, I'll be there in a bit."

After hanging up the phone, Xing Yun glanced at the communicator on his wrist.

The watch face remained silent, without any movement.

He started the electric car and drove towards the city center.

The old place was a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that Li Pengfei frequented. It was located on the edge of an urban village. The storefront was small, and two of the words on the sign were missing, leaving only "XX Snacks" hanging there all alone.

When Xing Yun arrived, Li Pengfei was already sitting inside, with two bottles of beer and a plate of peanuts in front of him.

"You're here, have a seat." Li Pengfei gestured for him to sit down, opened a bottle of beer, and pushed it towards him. "Have a sip first."

Xing Yun didn't touch the bottle of wine: "What did you drink this morning? What's the matter?"

"What's the rush?" Li Pengfei took a swig of his drink. "Eat something first."

The owner peeked out from the kitchen, saw Xing Yun, and called out with a smile, "Xing Yun's here? What do you want to eat?"

"I'll have some fried rice," Xing Yun said.

"Okay!"

The boss shrank back, and the sound of spatulas clattering came from the kitchen.

Li Pengfei took another swig of beer, put down the bottle, and looked at Xing Yun: "What were you doing yesterday? You didn't answer the phone or reply to messages."

"Something really happened." Xing Yun picked up a peanut and popped it into his mouth.

"What is it?"

Xing Yun did not respond.

Li Pengfei stared at him for a few seconds, then sighed: "Fine, if you don't want to talk, then don't. As long as you're alright."

He paused, took out his phone from his pocket, scrolled through it a few times, and pushed it towards me: "Take a look at this."

The screen displays a job posting: a logistics company is hiring truck drivers, with a starting salary of 6,000 yuan, including room and board. Requirements include a C1 driver's license and at least three years of driving experience.

"My cousin has worked at this company for several years and said they're short-staffed, so he asked me to help him get a referral," Li Pengfei said. "I told him about you, and he said I should give it a try."

Xing Yun looked at the job postings on the screen, waved, and said, "I've found a job now, you don't need to worry about it."

"Huh?" Li Pengfei blinked. "When did this happen?"

"Yesterday afternoon, I think."

"What kind of job?"

"Yes, I work at a recycling center," Xing Yun said after thinking for a moment.

"A recycling center?" Li Pengfei frowned. "What can you do there?"

"I'll work as a quality inspector at the recycling center." Xing Yun picked up a peanut. "The pay is alright."

"Work as a quality inspector at a recycling center?" Li Pengfei frowned even more. "How much can you earn there? Three thousand? Four thousand? Lao Xing, have you been scammed?"

"No, but have you found a job yet?"