Xie Sen's duties at the care center perfectly embody Yang Shun's concept of "no fixed post." He's a mobile worker, willing to help wherever needed.
Yang Shun suggests this will help him familiarize himself with the various duties more quickly and find the department he's best suited for.
Xie Sen has worked across the various departments, including physical therapy, recreation, medical care, and animal husbandry. His duties include cleaning, adjusting the humidifier temperature, feeding, bathing contracted beasts, and assisting with injections.
Since joining, he's been incredibly busy, but the rewards have been immense. In less than three hours, he's gained five energy points, bringing his total to nine.
These were all earned while assisting the caregivers with injections.
Just before four o'clock, his wristband suddenly buzzed, startling him. He remembered it was the alarm he'd set that morning, and as A-Dan had reminded him, he needed to rest at this hour to prevent any accidents.
He excused himself by ordering takeout, using the excuse of missing lunch as a pretext, and bought himself a half-hour break.
He slept soundly, waking groggily after the alarm went off twice, forcing himself to continue working.
As soon as his break was over, he received a new assignment: feeding his contracted beasts. By the time he emerged from the feeding area, it was already 5:15, with only fifteen minutes left until his shift ended.
He desperately wanted help with the injections; his energy was just shy of 10, perhaps activating the plants!
His wristband vibrated, and he immediately answered. The caller said, "Please help in sterilization room 202."
Xie Sen sighed, secretly hoping the little creatures in the sterilization room would be difficult to handle, so that their owners might be grateful.
The sterilization room contained two types of equipment: a sterilizer, which used radiation for sterilization, and a contracted beast bathtub, which used disinfectant for bathing. The second type was mostly used for long-haired contracted beasts.
Xie Sen could only help with the second type.
"Thank you for your hard work," the maintenance worker at 202 had a baby face and pursed his lips when he spoke, looking a little shy. "This time the guest is my friend. His contracted beast is a long-haired Chow Chow. It doesn't like taking a bath and is too lively." "
It's okay. I'm glad to be able to help."
The baby-faced maintenance worker took him into the washing room. As soon as he entered, Xie Sen stopped subconsciously. The floor of the room was almost all wet. A man and a dog were playing a game of chase in the room.
Hearing the noise at the door, the dog chaser stopped. He was wearing a baggy, sweaty short-sleeved shirt and wide-leg shorts, mostly soaked. He patted his buzzed-haired head and said to the caregiver, "Excuse me, Xiao Tu, Xiao Song's been too noisy."
He then looked curiously at Xie Sen, "Is this the colleague you mentioned who could help?"
"Yes, he's very capable," Xiao Tu nodded. "Hold Xiao Song."
The buzzed-haired man crouched down and held out his hands to the Chow Chow huddled in the corner. "No bath, no bath. Brother will take you home."
The Chow Chow's wariness instantly vanished. It trotted over to the buzzed-haired man, licking his hand cheerfully. The buzzed-haired man lifted it into his arms.
"Should we put it in the bathtub?" he whispered, leaning close to Xiao Tu. The Chow Chow let its owner hold it, its round eyes looking toward the exit expectantly, completely unaware of the deception.
Xie Sen couldn't help but caress Xiao Song's wet head lovingly. Xiao Song's eyes instantly flicked to him, tilting his head to be petted.
"Wait a minute," Xiao Tu said, "I'll refill the tub." The two main animals had almost spilled all the water.
After refilling the tub, Xiao Tu pulled a white medicine box from the medicine rack and took out a black pill. He said to Xie Sen, "This is a water-soluble medicine. Just one at a time. It's specifically for dogs."
He placed the pill in the water and warned, "It's fine for humans to touch, but don't swallow it; it's poisonous."
Xie Sen took note and nodded, "I'll be careful."
He and the short-haired man lowered Xiao Song into the tub. As they lowered him, Xiao Tu was on full alert, trying to prevent Xiao Song from escaping. Unexpectedly, Xiao Song stood obediently in the water, constantly rubbing against Xie Sen's hand.
"Wow, I'm so jealous!" the short-haired man exclaimed.
Xie Sen smiled, watching Xiao Tu bathe Xiao Song as he said, "It's your contracted beast and listens to you most. I just have a higher affinity."
Ten minutes later, the bath was over. Xie Sen released his hand. The short-haired man wrapped the drooping Xiao Song in a large towel and said to Xie Sen, "Thank you so much! It hates baths, and this went the best way possible."
Gratitude Energy 1, total 10.
A prompt appeared before Xie Sen's eyes. The next moment, his mind suddenly felt a warm sensation. A green hardcover book appeared in his mind. In the upper right corner of the cover was a five-colored peony, emitting a faint glow. Xie Sen
was excited. The system panel!
He had already had the panel when he first obtained the system, but the peony on the cover was red. Now it seemed that the cover was related to A Dan's energy.
The pages slowly unfolded, and a pattern gradually emerged from the blank first page. The moment the pattern fully revealed itself, a prompt appeared in Xie Sen's mind.
[Congratulations, Master, you've activated the plant: Red Pepper. Each fruit requires one energy. You can choose the spiciness.]
The first page featured a red pepper tree, lush green leaves, but not a single pepper.
At the bottom, the word "Exchange" was written. When Xie Sen looked at it, a reminder popped into his mind: 0 remaining energy, unable to exchange peppers.
In the upper left corner of the image were the words "Go to Battle." When Xie Sen looked at it, a question popped into his mind: Do you choose Red Pepper to go to battle?
Xie Sen mentally replied: No.
"What's wrong with you? Hahaha, you're not shy about my compliments, are you?" Someone gently tapped his shoulder, and Xie Sen, remembering the current situation, quickly shut down the system.
He smiled at the buzz-cut man who was looking at him teasingly, "I'm not shy. I'm a big-time person. I can handle any compliments. I just remembered something."
He checked the clock: one minute to five-thirty. "I'm leaving now. Call me if you need anything."
He left the sterilization room and immediately went to find Yang Shun. "Manager Yang, I'd like to apply for overtime tonight."
The maintenance center is open 24 hours a day, with the main working hours being from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and from 6:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., with only a few people on duty the rest of the time.
His internship contract stated that his working hours were from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., excluding lunch break, and he was paid for nine hours a day.
He wanted to work overtime not only for the salary, but more importantly for the energy.
Yang Shun asked, "When I met you, you were walking down the street. Where is your shuttle?"
"My shuttle? I don't know." Xie Sen was stunned. Did he have one?
Yang Shun laughed. "Why are you so confused? Did you forget where to park? It's okay, just check it on the traffic app in your wristband."
Xie Sen opened the wristband, opened the traffic app, and clicked 'My Shuttle.' A map appeared on the virtual screen with a green dot on it. He zoomed in, and the green dot showed the parking lot of Star City University.
"At school,"
Yang Shun said. "I remember you were from Star City University. It's too far from here. Without a shuttle, it's inconvenient to get home from work at night. Besides, you have your graduation exam tomorrow, so you should get some rest early. I don't approve your application."
Xie Sen then remembered that he still had to take an exam and gave up the idea of working overtime today: "I'll submit my application for the evening shift after I finish the exam."
"Okay, you can leave work now," Yang Shun said gently, "Go home early and don't play outside too late."