"Fan, time is tight. I'll take you to the office inside to register first, then the three of us will head straight to the Gray Realm to clear it."

Outside the Dongjiang Second Bureau Building, Wang Zhifan had just arrived, and Chu Wei, a youthful beauty with short light brown hair wearing a black uniform from the Special Administration Bureau, approached and spoke to him.

Beside Chu Wei, there was another teenager, about seventeen or eighteen years old, also wearing a black uniform, looking at Wang Zhifan with curious eyes.

"Okay, you guys sure are in a hurry."

Wang Zhifan had already chatted a lot with Chu Wei on the way over, understanding her current situation.

To put it simply, due to the increasingly frequent Gray Realm outbreaks, Chu Wei, a newcomer who had only been taken on one assignment by her boss, He Qianqian, was appointed as a temporary team leader because of her strength and performance, starting to lead teams to clean up some low-level Gray Realm areas within Dongjiang City.

Originally, a cleaning squad would have at least five people according to regulations, but the bureau has too much going on and not enough manpower, so Chu Wei, the temporary team leader, was only assigned one helper, another newcomer to the bureau, practically making her a solo team.

Fortunately, like other institutions in Xia Country, the bureau has a tradition of hiring temporary workers from outside, so Chu Wei thought of Wang Zhifan, whom she had previously fought alongside, and invited him to help.

With time being tight, the two didn't chat much further as Chu Wei quickly took Wang Zhifan inside the first floor of the Dongjiang Second Bureau Building, swiftly filling out forms already placed on the table, quickly registering personal information and stamping it, becoming a temporary worker for the Special Administration Bureau, akin to a daily wage job, with high efficiency.

Once registered, Chu Wei promptly led Wang Zhifan to the parking lot next to the Dongjiang Second Bureau Building, boarding a bureau vehicle, where the teenager Wang Zhifan had seen at the entrance was already seated in the back row.

As soon as Wang Zhifan sat in the back row of the bureau vehicle, Chu Wei, who had similarly taken her seat in the row in front, began checking a rectangular special instrument in her hand, which was not her phone but a specialized electronic device equipped by the Special Administration Bureau.

"Driver, we're going to No. 329, Huotan Road, West Suburb, Dongjiang, as fast as possible."

Chu Wei tapped the special electronic instrument with her fingers, then raised her head to speak to the driver in the front seat.

"Alright, I'm familiar with that area, but it will still take forty minutes at the fastest."

The driver immediately turned his head slightly to respond to her, while starting the vehicle to move forward and turn into the parking facility's driveway ahead.

As the vehicle got on the road, Chu Wei turned around again to brief Wang Zhifan and the young man sitting in the back about the mission details:

"Fan, Ah Liao, our first Gray Realm to clear is around a shop on Huotan Road. According to intelligence from the ranker, there's now a forest formed within the Gray Realm, inhabited by creatures lower than Lv5, with low threat level, but the total number exceeds three hundred. We must clear it out by 2 PM or risk the Gray Realm solidifying..."

"Once inside, Ah Liao and I will deal with most of the monsters, while Fan, you're responsible for eliminating any that get close to us..."

Chu Wei quickly explained the scenario of today's first mission, helping Wang Zhifan understand why she invited him to assist.

It turned out she feared significant risks could befall her and her sole helper, the teenager Ah Liao during the Gray Realm cleaning, as both were from summoner and shooter professions, which couldn't let monsters get close. With a deadline set by higher-ups, they couldn't slowly whittle down the monsters but had to push hard, hence inviting Wang Zhifan, a melee class, as a bodyguard was a good choice.

"Sure, I'm pretty adept at slashing monsters, as long as it's not a hundred coming at me at once, I can hold them off."

Wang Zhifan readily agreed with Chu Wei's strategy, confident that with his current level, he could manage the defenses.

"Of course, I invited you because I know your strength is considerable."

Chu Wei then nodded to Wang Zhifan; having had successful collaborations before, she wouldn't think of anyone else first in these circumstances.

"Fan, are you a high-level player? Are you Lv20?"

At this moment, the teenager called Ah Liao sitting in the back seat spoke to Wang Zhifan for the first time, curious about him since meeting him at the building's entrance, being someone recommended strongly by their captain, Chu Wei, presumably strong.

"Lv20... I'm only Lv2..."

The question left Wang Zhifan feeling somewhat speechless. Though confident his strength wasn't inferior to players of higher levels, his level was genuinely low, Lv2 felt almost shameful to mention.

Luckily, Chu Wei was aware of his situation; when they first met, Wang Zhifan was merely Lv1, then questioned by the investigator, He Qianqian, in the car, who lost interest upon hearing his answer due to his low level and melee class perceived as cannon fodder, believing he survived only by riding Chu Wei's coattails when she was Lv6 with a promising strong class.

"Ah Liao, Fan's level is similar to ours, but his skill is strong."

Noticing Wang Zhifan's expression change, Chu Wei directly answered Ah Liao's question for him.

"Oh... So, Fan, why did you choose a melee class? Few people pick that, I hardly saw any melee classes when doing dungeons."

After the level question, Ah Liao continued with another one.

"It's mostly personal preference; I like melee, so I chose it. But you're so young working at the bureau; is there a reason? Do you still study?"

Rather than being peppered with questions by the curious teen, Wang Zhifan asked about his situation.

"I still study, but not at my old school. Since awakening as a player, I switched schools. The subjects at the new school are vastly different, much more interesting; my assignment here is arranged by the school."

Ah Liao, presumably still underaged, shared his personal situation, enlightening Wang Zhifan on how the emergence of players significantly impacted many aspects of Xia Country, though ordinary people had few channels to understand it.

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