Chapter 70: Recruitment—No Signing Away Your Freedom

(from ""Restarting the Farm at the End of the World"")

Bian Changxi looked up—it was Lu Shaoyang.

He handed her a bowl of thick white rice porridge, a steaming, plump bun, and a perfectly intact boiled egg.

“That’s quite a spread. Doctor Lu, you didn’t save your own share just to give this to me, did you?”

“Of course not. I’ll go get my own in a minute. You did a great service—surely you deserve a proper breakfast, right?” As he spoke, he really did go fetch himself an identical meal and sat down to eat with her.

Bian Changxi took a sip of the soup. It tasted pretty good, so she dug in heartily, and took the chance to ask Lu Shaoyang, “I heard this is a sign that you medical staff are getting better treatment?”

Lu Shaoyang smiled. “Whether or not treatment’s improved, I don’t know. But this incident has definitely gotten the higher-ups’ attention.”

“Oh? Any specifics?”

He swallowed a mouthful of bun and lowered his voice, “Five thousand people went out, but fewer than three thousand came back. Nearly half of those were infected by zombies, and among the uninfected, over two hundred ten died from serious injuries. There are still more than four hundred lying here—these are the latest numbers. This time, the losses were truly catastrophic. The city area has become a complete no-go zone.”

It was the first time Bian Changxi had heard such concrete figures. Her eyes widened. “It’s that bad? The zombies in the city have gotten that dangerous?”

“No idea. You should ask Captain Gu if you want details—he knows way more than a doctor like me. I’ve only heard two things: one, Colonel Yue Fushan has given a death order that all surviving wounded must be saved; and two, we need to prepare to move out and leave the new district.”

Ask Gu Xu? Ha.

Actually, Bian Changxi could guess most of it without asking. It was probably just that people on the mission wandered off, or had bad luck and stumbled into a zombie nest, got battered in all sorts of ways, and ended up scattered or hiding. That’s why the survivors trickled back, with the last group only picked up at midnight—and they even had a car accident on the way.

She also remembered that, in her previous life, the main force evacuated the new district around the tenth day of the apocalypse. Today was the tenth day, so it would be sometime in the next few days.

Should she get a car and drive herself, or hitch a ride with others?

She glanced at a group of people chatting nearby. She’d heard they were wood-type ability users who’d been recruited by the military medical department to form a medical team.

She asked Lu Shaoyang, “Doctor Lu, how are the medical teams arranged during the evacuation?”

Lu Shaoyang glanced over. “There’s more to the medical teams than just those few. People like us from the original system will also be assigned to them, forming teams centered around licensed doctors. They’re still recruiting these days. When the time comes, the teams will be split into smaller groups and distributed evenly—just like the warrior squads.”

Bian Changxi nodded. She’d just participated in the preliminary selection for the warrior squad yesterday, and by the afternoon, a soldier had given her notice to continue with the assessment. She figured it’d be best to get herself an official role in a team.

Her initial plan was to drive her own car and follow the main group from a distance—no benefits, no management, just like many others would do. But now, that seemed unrealistic.

For one thing, leaving Gu Xu’s group felt odd. For another, there was still the issue with Boss Zhang—being alone would make her an easy target.

If she wanted a position, with her abilities, both the warrior and medical teams were within reach. There was also a management team, or something like that. All things considered, she’d go wherever was the most relaxed and free.

Lu Shaoyang joked, “What, Miss Bian, are you thinking of joining the medical team? With your skills, if I put in a good word, you’d definitely get a great position.”

Bian Changxi narrowed her eyes. “Me, huh…”

“Huh? You want to join the medical team?” A woman with a wild, curly afro suddenly appeared, clutching her breakfast and exclaiming, “That’s great! With our abilities, we could easily snag top positions. We could save lives left and right together!”

Lu Shaoyang gave a wry smile, nodded at Bian Changxi, and walked away. Bian Changxi quickly finished her porridge, then leisurely peeled her egg. The afro woman sidled up, all charm and enthusiasm. “I’m Wei Xiaodong. You’re younger than me, so just call me Sister Dong. By the way, I saw you using a crystal core to recover energy last night. How do you use that thing?”

She held out a white core.

Bian Changxi glanced at it, then at her, and said seriously, “You’d better not touch that. It’s dangerous.”

“Dangerous? Why is it fine for you but not for me? I don’t buy it—you just don’t want to tell me.” Wei Xiaodong waved her hand dismissively. “How can you be so selfish? At a time like this, another top wood-type could save so many people. You can’t just think of yourself…”

Bian Changxi couldn’t be bothered. “If you don’t want to die, don’t touch it. And if you’re clueless, at least keep your eyes open.”

Wei Xiaodong was baffled and wanted to ask more, but just then, someone who looked like a researcher came over, his serious face stretched into a stiff smile. “Miss Bian, our institute is very interested in your extraordinary abilities. Would you be willing to have a chat?”

“The institute?” Bian Changxi blinked. “I think I’ll pass. Sounds kind of scary.”

“Miss Bian, we just want to discuss your experiences and insights. We have absolutely no intention of doing any illegal research on you.”

Bian Changxi: “Heh, well…”

“Experience and insights aren’t something you can just give away,” another voice cut in. Boss Zhang appeared, all smiles. “Miss Bian, our Director Xiao would like to meet you.”

Bian Changxi glanced at him but said nothing, biting into her egg white.

A doctor in a white coat, who’d been watching from the doorway while eating breakfast, saw things getting tense and quickly put down his precious meal. He wiped his mouth and came over with a smile. “Quite the crowd here! Miss Bian, you did a great job yesterday. Interested in joining the Ministry of Health? We have lots of medical experts and professors…”

“Miss Bian isn’t a doctor. What’s she got to do with experts and professors?” Boss Zhang said quietly to Bian Changxi. “As long as you’re willing to join us, you can name your terms. Director Xiao won’t treat you unfairly.”

Bian Changxi smiled. “What if my condition is to kick you out first?”

Boss Zhang’s smile froze, but he forced himself to say, “Miss Bian, there’s just a little misunderstanding between us…”

“Sometimes, little misunderstandings can be fatal.” Bian Changxi finished her egg, put the bun in her backpack—she’d save it for the chickens later—then took a sip of water. Just then, two soldiers in dark green uniforms approached. “Miss Bian Changxi? Colonel Yue requests your presence.”

Bian Changxi screwed the cap back on her bottle and replied crisply, “Alright.”

Yue Fushan was a middle-aged man with a square face and jujube-colored skin—both the color and the deep lines made him look prematurely aged, a man who’d clearly weathered many storms.

He was very serious.

“Miss Bian, I’ve heard about your performance last night. I’m sure many people have tried to recruit you, but you can ignore them. Come report to the military—we’ll do our best to meet your requirements and provide you with the best resources.”

“Oh.” Bian Changxi made a noncommittal sound and picked up a white folder from the table. “Huh, aren’t Gu Xu and his people already part of your army? Why are they on this plan too?” It looked like a recruitment plan for special talents, with a list of handwritten names below.

“Gu Xu’s group isn’t part of our system. Mixing them in would be chaotic,” Yue Li, standing by, explained. “They also feel that serving the military and survivors in this capacity is more effective. If you join, you’ll be able to look out for each other.”

Bian Changxi curled her lip. In truth, this plan placed a lot of restrictions on those recruited: you had to follow orders, obey commands, and be on the front lines whenever the military needed you. It was a strict hierarchy—practically a contract of servitude. As for the so-called “best resources,” well, the military was full of talented and privileged people. She wasn’t the most outstanding—by the time any good resources trickled down to her, they’d be several grades lower.

All empty promises. It’d be better to just lower the bar and hire people openly—at least both sides would know where they stood.

She didn’t know what Gu Xu and the others thought, but for her, unequal pay was one thing; being ordered around was intolerable. Anyone who hadn’t been brainwashed or through military training would feel the same.

“I’m afraid I’m not interested.”

“You refuse?” Yue Fushan’s tone turned cold and dangerous.

Bian Changxi thought to herself, This guy’s really domineering. If he ever became the top dog, it’d definitely be “obey me and prosper, defy me and perish.” She decided to play it safe for now. “Not exactly. I just want to wait and see. The military only arrived yesterday—who knows how things will go? I’d like to observe a bit longer.”

Yue Fushan stared at her for a long time, perhaps thinking his imposing presence would make her back down. But she didn’t—she remained calm, with a faint, almost imperceptible smile.

In the end, Yue Fushan looked away.

Bian Changxi got her wish—she ended up in the medical team, but on the margins, like a low-level employee drawing a salary. Her “pay” was a parking spot for her car during the evacuation and a certain degree of protection. Her job was to be on call when people needed saving, but she didn’t have to obey military orders as strictly as the other special talents. Overall, she had a fair amount of freedom.

In short, both sides compromised a little, which was the best outcome. She’d worried that she’d stood out too much yesterday and Yue Fushan wouldn’t let her go. But with so many people on the brink of death, she couldn’t just hold back—her conscience wouldn’t allow it."