Although he did not understand why his new job needed to be done at night, he didn't question it. He decided to agree about this and head back to the hospital and share his news with his daughter. Before he went back, he made sure to buy Miranda her favorite food, which is a meat bun. She barely eats this nowadays, now that she is stuck in her hospital bed and connected to various machines. But since he finally has a new job, there is no need for him to be stingy about leisure foods, and he bought a few for her.
When he arrived at the hospital, the doctors and nurses are once again in Miranda's room and were currently running a few tests on her. Thankfully, It wasn't because Miranda collapsed again. She is still fine, they are just doing some tests to incorporate the new medication that she will be taking soon.
It didn't take too long before the doctors and nurses left the room, leaving Miranda sitting on her bed. She looks so pale, and she clearly does not look like in good condition. Yet, Miranda seems still happy to see Hubert approaching.
"Father. You are back..." Miranda smiles weakly.
"Don't move around too much. How are you feeling, dear? Here, I got your favorite meat bun here."
Her eyes lit up with excitement at seeing the meat bun in her father's hands. Even though she is feeling weak, she is happy and excited about it since it has been a while since she last ate one. She hugged her father the moment he got close, which the former also reciprocated with a teary eye.
"Thanks, Father, you are the best!"
"Alright, you can save those praises for me for later once you have eaten. I have some news I will share while you are eating, so make yourself comfortable."
Hubert prepares a separate plate for the meat bun and puts them over to ensure that Miranda has an easier time eating them, and to also allow her to put it away if she didn't want to eat anymore.
"Let me guess, Father, you found a new job?" Miranda guessed what he was about to discuss with her as she took the first bite of the first meat bun in her hands.
"Uhh..." Hubert was speechless as he didn't expect Miranda actually to guess what he was about to say. He sat on the chair beside Miranda and smiled at her, confirming her guess.
"Looks like I am spot-on, hahaha. Don't be surprised by it, Father. Given that I am already quite well-versed in your mannerisms and how you were fired last time from your job, I have a strong hunch about what you are about to say."
"Haha, was I that obvious?" Hubert chuckles as he ruffles her hair.
"Yeah. Still, I feel like it is my fault that you were fired from your last job, Father. If my sickness have not flared up..."
Hubert stopped Miranda from talking. "No, Miranda. It is my choice, and it isn't your fault. Those people in my last job do not understand emergencies, so I am more than happy to have been fired from the job. So, don't think that it is your fault, alright? And besides, this new job of mine is much nicer and pays a lot. We won't be having any problems with money to use for the payment of your treatment."
"What kind of job is it, by the way, Father? Don't tell me you accepted a job that is illegal?!"
Hubert quickly shook his head and even waved his hand to deny the allegation. "No, no. This job is legitimate and legal. I can assure you on this one."
Miranda sighed and continued eating while asking for more information. "What do you do in your new job?"
"It seems that I will be a handyman this time around. Just kind of weird since we will be starting to work at night tonight."
"That is weird indeed. But Father, if you are sure that this new job is something that is legal and you are good to take the job, then I will approve and support you on that. I will keep on fighting my sickness myself, so you shouldn't worry too much about me while you are working."
"Yeah. Yeah, I will."
The two enjoyed a short quality time as father and daughter. A rare sight for both of them, especially with how volatile Miranda's situation is. Still, Hubert is happy that, even for a short while, Miranda is not suffering from problems related to her sickness at the moment.
...
...
...
Before nighttime fell, Hubert returned to the company. Miss Mendez seems to be waiting for him since the moment he arrived. She quickly approached him and handed him a few things.
"You are here, new recruit. Here, take these and change into your uniform and come back here so that we can assign you to a squad that you will team up with for the day," Miss Mendez shoved a toolbelt, an ID with his face and identification, and a uniform that looks like a military uniform and handyman clothes combined together.
"Huh? Squad?" Hubert frowned in confusion at Miss Mendez's words.
However, he didn't receive an answer as she left to handle other matters that seemed to also involve other people that seems to were also hired along with him. Hubert didn't want to be late, quickly headed to the dressing room and changed into his uniform.
As expected, he is indeed wearing the same uniform that the other people he has seen are wearing. The only difference is that the other uniforms looked a bit flashy, while his uniform looked plain. Of course, he can easily tell that the reason his was plain was because he is a new recruit. Still, he wonders what his job is for having to wear something that seems to be an attire for someone who will enter combat.
Once he changed his clothes, he was given a prompt in the changing room to present his ID, which he did, which then revealed a locker that suddenly popped out. He was confused at first, but it seems that the locker is for his change of clothes and so he put his clothes there and left the dressing room wearing the new uniform.
Like what Miss Mendez said to him, he returned to the hall, and there, Miss Mendez saw him again.
"Good, you are here. You are assigned to group 4. You and the other groups will depart tonight, and the briefing for the assignment will be given to you inside the car. Don't bother talking back to the one giving the assignment, as it is a prerecorded message, understand? Also, once the work is done, return to the vehicle afterwards."
Before Hubert could ask for question once more, he was pushed by Miss Mendez to a group of two adult men and one woman, who all looked fierce for some reason. Just looking at them felt like he was being intimidated. The three also looked like they were aware of what their job is and seemed to be preparing, while Hubert was clueless about what was happening.
As he was still trying to understand his current situation, a guard approached them.
"Group 4, embark inside the van and get ready for deployment. Your gear is waiting inside."
The other three nodded, and they entered the van while Hubert was still hesitant about it, but he decided to follow them while still remaining confused.
Inside the van, Hubert and the others are sitting on their respective seats, and each seats have a screen attached behind them which flickers upon sitting. The screen turned on, and a voice of someone started speaking. It is a female voice.
"Welcome, new recruits. We will now begin the briefing of your current assignment. This assignment is an initial mission that will determine your capabilities and how you can handle the job properly. It is also the method we are going to use to assign you to your permanent group, which you will participate in missions afterwards. Now, for your first mission. Fix the scattered anomalies inside the house by entering a dimensional portal so that one can quickly fix the anomalies and also contain them on that dimension without messing with the real dimension. We have counted 5 confirmed anomalies so far, but there could be more upon entry. Safety will not be guaranteed; therefore, we will issue the tools you can use to stay alive. Work with your team and restore the confirmed anomalies before leaving. Fixing more than the confirmed 5 anomalies will be credited to your account as a bonus."
Hubert felt chills as he listened to the words of the one on the screen. And he is not sure what is going on, especially with the "Safety not guaranteed" line. Wasn't his job related to being a handyman?
As he was contemplating and absorbing all of the confusing elements of what was revealed to him, the voice continued.
"In case someone in your group suffered something or has perished while doing a mission, the group cannot flee the premises until the anomalies are fixed, and no matter what happens, as long as the anomalies are not fixed, the exit is not going to open. Keep calm and fix them before exiting the premises, with or without the body of the casualty. The van will depart immediately upon successful mission and every worker returned, otherwise, the van will remain there for 10 minutes if one or two people returned, waiting for the others, especially if they are left behind the site. If none of them gets out within the allotted time, whether they are alive or dead, the van will leave immediately."
Hubert soon realized that the normal job he thought was high-paying turned out to be something that would risk his life in the process. As he was still trying his best to keep himself calm and composed, a box in front of every recruit suddenly pops out as the voice on the screen explained.
"Take the items inside the box. Those tools are the tools you will need to fix the anomalies. They are the handy tools you will need to use after entering the dimension."
Hubert is now alarmed. His job is indeed related to fixing something. However, it wasn't something related to appliances and the like. It was something else, and to fix it, they will need to risk their lives in the process. No wonder the pay was so big, it was because there is no guarantee for them to survive the job.