Chapter 8 The First Time Entering the Hazard Zone to Work (2)

Hundreds of students filed in, the shack noisy and cramped, the decibel level astounding, the staff frantic and busy.

For the students who were there for the first time, even if they theoretically knew what to do, in practice, many issues arose—a protective suit, which had a clear front and back, some still managed to wear it backwards, the backside at the front, and they even complained about their eyes being covered.

After Ye Nai had donned her gear neatly and checked it with no errors, she turned to help three of her close female classmates get dressed properly, reminding them to check and secure their IDs, and led them following the signs to the next step in the process, steering clear from other students who were caught up in the chaos.

This long row of shacks also served as a passage, coming out from the other end they were inside the third layer of electrical nets. Following the signs for a stretch, they arrived at an open area where they first saw a mountain-like pile of trash in front of the open space, and only when they turned their heads did they see a row of portable shacks at the edge of the open space with rows of flatbed trolleys in front of the shacks, and staff members directing on the side.

"My God, is that the mountain of trash we have to clear?"

The enormous mountain of trash indeed provoked exclamations.

"Let's go, grab a trolley. This job is specifically assigned to us—we earn a bag's worth for every bag delivered."

Ye Nai also marveled at the great mountain of trash for a moment, then quickly became calm, swiftly stepped forward, and pushed a trolley.

The several female classmates, seeing her leave, quickly followed, each pushing a trolley, and made their way to the front of the trash mountain.

The Awakeners brought bags of trash here from the hazardous areas, Ordinary people transferred these bags to garbage trucks.

Approaching it, they could clearly see how huge the filled trash bags were, using the oversized 360-liter sanitation trash bins, specially thickened due to containing Otherworld trash, each bag weighing around a hundred pounds — Ye Nai, with her current strength, couldn't lift them, so had to drag and shove them onto the trolley.

The trolley could only lay three bags flat; if one had enough strength, more could be stacked on top. Ye Nai, not overextending herself, loaded two bags and then went over to assist her nearby classmates.

"How many pounds is one big bag? It's so heavy."

"A hundred pounds probably, my family buys rice in hundred-pound batches, and it feels about this heavy." Ye Nai's family of six always bought rice in hundred-pound batches, which were delivered to their home.

"Right, about a hundred pounds. My family buys rice the same way." One person, having just moved a bag onto their trolley and straightening up, took a deep breath through the mask, "Geez, this is killing me, sweating in this gear with no way to wipe it off, and breathing with the mask is so hard."

"Would this job be easy, if it were to become a job guaranteed by the entire society?"

"Who's to blame? We have no skills to find a job, so we have to sell our physical labor."

"Ye Nai, how many bags are you pushing?"

"Two bags."

"Can you manage it?"

"I can handle it. How about you guys? Also two bags?"

Ye Nai always had spores released outside to symbiotically feed back energy, enhancing her endurance, keeping her physical strength abundant, and her energy high. She had just helped her classmates carry the bags and didn't feel tired; she knew her strength was sufficient.

"No, no, no, just one bag first to try it out."

"Alright."

Ye Nai herself pushed two bags, while the three took just one each to start with, loading their trolleys and then heading off.

Once on the road, it was wide and well-maintained, those who walked faster could easily overtake others, with street lights along the roadside equipped with cameras.

Ye Nai saw that below the street lamp was a dirt path, as she walked, she released spores, but the protective suit and mask were too airtight, even such small spores couldn't escape. Finally, she had to slightly adjust her mask, revealing a gap at her face, letting the spores fly out sticking to her skin, dispersing with the wind, sinking into the surrounding soil, decomposing organic matter in the soil, continuously feeding back energy to her, maintaining her strength.

She wasn't here to experience life; she was truly here to become independent from her family, to earn money.

Pushing the cart, Ye Nai took large strides and walked earnestly, gradually distancing herself from the three classmates, until she could no longer hear their voices.

Without a watch and her phone in her pocket, and wearing a protective suit that prevented her from checking the time, she had no idea how long she had walked. Finally, she saw the spacious parking lot at the end of the road, with three enclosed garbage trucks parked with their backs open. She just needed to approach any truck.

Ye Nai went to the truck closest to her; someone was there to guide her as she pushed her cart into the lift at the back of the truck. Once the cart was secure, the lift raised and tilted, dumping the garbage bags into the truck.

Then, the person asked Ye Nai to turn her back to him, and with a red pen, he drew a cross on her back, indicating that she had delivered two bags.

Two yuan per bag.

As the cart returned to the ground, Ye Nai was about to turn around and leave when she saw the three classmates catching up.

"Ye Nai, you're amazing! Pushing 200 kilograms so swiftly — we couldn't even catch up with you."

"Strength comes with practice. Keep it up. Delivering one bag earns two yuan. Earn enough for a day's meals, and no one at home can accuse us of freeloading."

Ye Nai was eager to make money. Although these were her close classmates, at a time like this, time was money, and she had no time for idle chatter.

The three classmates watched her dash away with the empty cart, inspired by her words to feel an endless surge of energy.

"She's right. Let's earn well so no one at home can criticize us for freeloading."

"Exactly. My family even wanted to set me up with a blind date last night. If I don't earn money, I'll be forced to marry and rely on children for subsidies, treated like a breeding sow — it's terrifying."

"Let's go, quickly deliver this bag."

After they dumped their garbage and got a mark on their backs, they jogged with the empty carts, passing numerous classmates, finally catching up with the delighted Ye Nai up ahead.

"Ye Nai, wait for us."

"Why are you following me? You'll run out of energy quickly. We have to work until noon before we can take a break for lunch. You need to find your own pace."

"No, no, it's reassuring to see you."

"...What are you talking about?"

"You do your thing; we'll follow behind you, we won't hold you back."

Ye Nai didn't understand, but she respected it and continued to sprint with her cart.

The three classmates followed, panting heavily.

"Is Ye Nai's stamina really that good?"

"You'd never know from seeing her usually."

Running back to the garbage mountain, she loaded another two bags onto the cart and went on her way.

Bag by bag, two bags at a time, Ye Nai had accumulated two crosses on her back before noon. None of her classmates could match her efficiency; even the best of the male students could only deliver two bags at a time. Normally, even full-grown men struggled with 200 kilograms.

The worker drawing the crosses on her back encouraged her to keep it up.

"You have a lot of drive, young lady. Keep it up, and in a few days, if you can keep this up, you might truly have a talent for this job."

"Thank you."