Chapter 2 I Clean Up Garbage in a Wasteland World

Chapter 2 - Work

Monsters?

In Zhu Ning's original apocalyptic world, all human cities have been breached. Every piece of land was swarming with zombies.

Want to see monsters? Just go out and you’d be able to see hundreds of them.

Fang Ying's expression was very interesting at the moment. She didn't expect to hear Zhu Ning's answer.

She was supposed to give a long explanation of what monsters were, then play some videos and show some data. The new employees' worldview would then collapse. They might feel confused or scared, and Fang Ying will be responsible for calming them. But Zhu Ning had none of that. She was very relaxed, and talking about monsters was like talking about the weather.

Fang Ying was speechless for a few seconds, and continued, "Are you afraid of corpses?"

Zhu Ning said modestly: "Not really."

She had seen too many corpses before; human corpses, zombie corpses, and other unknown creatures too. Dead bodies were everywhere in her previous world.

Fang Ying paused again.

As expected of the person chosen by "it".

She's not sure what Zhu Ning's ability was, but she could see that this new employee is pretty brave.

Having been selected by "it" before, Fang Ying was just going through the process.

Fang Ying: "It's good to be brave. You can start working now."

Zhu Ning: "...So simple?"

She thought there would be some sort of test.

Fang Ying: "Technically, our work is not very difficult. The only requirements are fearlessness, high stress resistance, and a good mental state."

Zhu Ning paused and asked in a low voice: "Collector of corpses?"

Fang Ying: "You can understand it that way. We're there to clean up the scene."

Sure enough. She was asked if she was afraid of monsters, and then asked if she was afraid of corpses, which meant that the job would be related it.

Zhu Ning understood some things: first, there are mysterious kinds of monsters in this world. She didn't really need to know what they are.

Second, there should be teams specially assigned to collect the monsters' corpses.

The process of joining the company went smoothly, without even needing an interview. Which means the line of work wouldn't really touch the core of the company.

She must be joining the logistics team. This kind of job generally does not require direct confrontation, and you just need to follow the main team to clean up garbage.

Zhu Ning had lived a life of danger every day in her previous life, so this job was too easy for her.

"Can you really recruit a lot of people with such a high salary?" Zhu Ning asked.

That’s 5,000 dollars for three hours. And according to the salary system, the daily pay is around 10,000 dollars.

In the wasteland world where jobs are usually overtaken by robots, as long as people hear about this job, they would surely fight to the tooth for it.

Fang Ying sighed, "There are not many people who can meet our qualifications; many people simply can't stand the work. Our longest-serving employee has only worked for eight and a half years. Most of our previous employees changed careers after working for only three months."

Zhu Ning: "Why?"

Fang Ying looked embarrassed, "It's easy to go crazy in this line of work. So, we could only recruit people all year round."

Zhu Ning: "They went crazy?"

"Yes," Fang Ying smiled bitterly, "Most people can't stand it mentally, but rest assured. We always monitor the health of our employees. When you can't stand it, the center will come forward to stop you. We won't force you to work, and we will be responsible for the treatment of injuries. You will also receive monthly pension after you resign."

The job sounds harsh just from hearing these, but it also reveals that the company truly cares for their employees. 

"So, our probation period is only one day. We can immediately tell whether an employee can do the job after one day," said Fang Ying.

Zhu Ning asked: "How about letting the robots work instead?"

It sounds like there is some risks at work, so if humans are affected, robots should be fine.

Fang Ying: “It will short-circuit.”

Zhu Ning: “?”

Fang Ying: "I can't say more. It's better for you to experience it yourself."

"To be honest, although we are in urgent need of new people, the work is still confidential, so I have to make you sign some agreements." Fang Ying pushed a dozen contracts in front of her.

Zhu Ning took a look and found that the confidentiality contract did not list any specific terms. It just explicitly states that she can't tell anyone what she sees and experience on the job.

One contract was a probationary contract, used to protect Zhu Ning's basic rights. The other one was a safety agreement. The safety agreement was very long, comprising of full twenty pages.

Zhu Ning read it carefully, and there were several clauses that she found particularly problematic.

Article 11: The Federal Cleaning Center will be solely responsible for any injuries or deaths that occur during work and will pay triple compensation in accordance with Annex 15.

Article 35: The federal government will be responsible for the lifelong disability of any person.

The safety agreement contains a casualty clause.

"Is there any danger?" Zhu Ning asked.

"Yes, but the probability is not high. Basically, you will not encounter it." Fang Ying continued, "Generally speaking, when the cleaners enter, the place's safety is already confirmed."

After all, they were not the vanguard, and the dangers were borne by the people who leads the purification process.

In short, this was the easiest type of work among other jobs that needs particular skills. It was the most suitable for Zhu Ning, who has no other skills.

Zhu Ning read all the terms and signed the contract without hesitation.

Since she has to work anyway, she might as well do one that pays well. She would love to earn a month's salary in a day and spend the remaining 29 days lying down and slacking off.

Fang Ying's bracelet rang, someone was calling her. She said to Zhu Ning: "Your work location today is Sewer A7. Someone will take you there later."

Fang Ying operated on her screen and said, "We use the advanced pay system. Today's salary will be transferred to you first, and the extra pay will be settled after you finish your work."

Ding–

Zhu Ning's wrist flashed. 5,000 dollars was transferred to her account.

'Is this the money?'

Zhu Ning felt like she was picking up money on the sidewalk.

***

Zhu Ning received a simple employee training, commonly known as: "Zero Basics, One Hour to Teach You How to Sweep Garbage"

The training time is counted as working time, so this training video is particularly comprehensive.

Zhu Ning watched the video very seriously. After all, it was still a somewhat dangerous job and she did not dare to be careless.

In the teaching video, the corpses were already a bloody mess. It was almost impossible to tell what kind of monster it is just from observing. The only thing known is that they are officially called as contaminants.

Zhu Ning memorized every step carefully and learned everything quickly. In short, it was just collecting corpses and cleaning up the scene. It was very simple for her.

After watching the video, someone took her to change into "work clothes". It took her twenty minutes to change clothes, so she concluded that it was very time consuming. Paid time, of course.

The work suit looks very much like a motorcycle suit: pure black with fabric similar to leather and a pure black helmet. It wouldn't feel out of place at all if she suddenly stole a bike and rode away.

There was also a button on the chest of the work suit. Pressing it would cause the work suit to inflate, which could help cushion the impact of monsters in case of sudden attacks. It can also supply oxygen to deal with extreme environments.

After inflation, the appearance would look more like a space suit.

This suit made Zhu Ning thought of the first rule of the cleaner's work code: no skin exposure.

Zhu Ning held the helmet without wearing it.

The cleaning team usually consists of three people. If there's a new employee in the company, the new employee will be arranged to be with two seniors. 

"Li Nianchuan."

"Xu Meng."

The three of them exchanged names, and Xu Meng handed Zhu Ning a gun. "It's for self-protection, but it needs authorization before use."

Zhu Ning looked at the gun carefully and found that there was no bullet in the chamber.

"It uses air bullet," Li Nianchuan explained, "When you fire the gun, it instantly compresses the air to form a bullet, which has decent lethality."

Li Nianchuan: "It's okay if you don't know how to shoot since we don't really use guns. We just carry it around like a protective charm." He paused for a bit to look at her, then continued, "Don't worry, you'll just be learning the entire cleaning process today."

Zhu Ning did not correct him when he assumed that she doesn't know how to use a gun.

Finally, Li Nianchuan handed her a cleaning backpack. Zhu Ning had seen it in the video; it was the tool she needed to collect garbage (corpses).

"Let's go," Xu Meng was the captain of the three-person team. "I'll take you to clean up garbage."

…

The workplace was said to be in the sewer.

A car picked up Zhu Ning, and she couldn't see where they were going. She only knew that about an hour had passed and the car stopped when it was eight o'clock in the evening.

It was already night time. Two headlights were set up in the wasteland lighting up the darkness. The staff had set up cordons, and robots were there to maintain order.

When Zhu Ning and the others went in, a group of people just came out.

The uniforms they wore were a little different. It was more like armors.

If Zhu Ning was wearing something like a motorcycle suit, then those people were wearing some Iron Man suits.

Zhu Ning had struggled through life and death in her previous life, so she could tell at a glance that these group of people were not ordinary; they have a murderous aura surrounding them. They were probably the rumored vanguard force.

Xu Meng led the team and stopped to make way for the armored people.

It seems that this group of armored force were higher rank than them. When the two sides met, the people from the cleaning team had to give in, so Zhu Ning had no choice but to stop too. Unfortunately, the other side saw the three of them and walked straight past them.

Someone laughed softly, "Weaklings."

Li Nianchuan wanted to step forward to argue, but Xu Meng grabbed his arm and did not let go until the armored forces left.

Xu Meng was already used to it, but Li Nianchuan was clearly indignant: "Why are they so arrogant?"

The three of them were wearing helmets that had a public channel for communication.

Zhu Ning asked, "Who are they?"

"Witchers. Specialized in killing contaminants." Xu Meng's voice was much calmer, showing his composure as the captain.

Li Nianchuan snorted, "It's all because of their high-tech suits. With those weapons and the guidance of the combat package, anyone can be a witcher."

In the high-tech era, human beings are more dependent on technology. Under the influence of artificial intelligence and high-lethality weapons, soldiers are actually like chess pieces.

Zhu Ning asked curiously, "Why didn't you become a witcher?"

Li Nianchuan sighed, "My mental level is not high enough. It would be easy for me to be contaminated."

Zhu Ning said "oh", it seems that there are different qualifications for this job.

Those with high mental levels can go to the frontline to fight monsters, but those with insufficient mental level can only clean up the garbage in the back.

Li Nianchuan might be a little embarrassed with what he said, so he explained. "But we are the ones who clean up the contaminants. Without us, they would be doomed."

Zhu Ning agreed casually, "Yes, yes, we are the best."

Li Nianchuan heard her speak in a sarcastic tone and couldn't help but ask: "Do you want to be a witcher too?"

Most people think that witchers are cool, while garbage collectors (cleaners) are boring.

Zhu Ning refused outright: "I don't want to."

What a joke. She's been fighting zombies all her life; now that she can be a salted fish, why would she pass up the opportunity to slack off?

Li Nianchuan: "..."

Zhu Ning’s answer was too straightforward.

Li Nianchuan patted Zhu Ning on the shoulder and said, "Good colleague, there are not many cleaners like you who have a sense of professional honor."

Zhu Ning: "Of course. I was attracted by our work at first sight."

Lots of money, little trouble, and no danger.

"Okay," Xu Meng said, "Let's get down to business. Li Nianchuan, what's the situation?"

Li Nianchuan immediately put away his playful smile and read out the data: "Class E mission with a contaminated area of 2,500 cubic meters. The lowest pollution rate calculated was 30%, and the highest was 55%. There are 16 dead contaminants in the scene."

Zhu Ning listened to the whole thing, but she had no idea what it meant.

It was a bit hard to explain, so Xu Meng said, "You'll understand it if you go down and experience it."

The first time is new, the second time is familiar. After doing it three times, Zhu Ning will know all the data by heart.

"Zhu Ning, go in first." Xu Meng gave the order, "I heard from Fang Ying that you are very courageous, so it's a good opportunity for you to get familiar with the scene."

Li Nianchuan thought of Zhu Ning being a girl, and decided to be a gentleman: "Why don't I do it? She's still a newcomer."

Zhu Ning: "No, I can do it."

There was no need to be modest about such a small matter.

There should have been a manhole cover in front, but the monster hunters probably ripped it and threw it away, leaving a big hole.

There was a rope hanging next to it, which was specially arranged for the cleaning team. Zhu Ning grabbed the rope and jumped down carefully. It was very deep underground.

Zhu Ning untied the rope around her. She could hear sounds coming from the rope behind her. Li Nianchuan and Xu Meng should have come down as well.

The helmet was equipped with a night vision function. When Zhu Ning glanced at the scene, she was stunned.

Although she had made some mental preparations for this matter; watched videos, listened to advice from her seniors, and even used some creative thinking to add some special effects to her imagination.

But at that moment, she realized that she was too conservative. Her imagination was still too conservative.

---

Previous

TOC

Next