Night Journey

Chapter 44 Onboarding
Considering that this job will determine whether Cillian lives a high-class life in Hull or falls on the streets, sleeping with Bruce wrapped in newspaper boxes.

Cillian got up early to prepare, tidying himself up and standing in front of the mirror, looking as presentable as if he were going to a grand ball.

Inside the city garrison, Dai Lin glanced at his watch. "You're here earlier than I expected."

"You know, I'm in dire financial straits."

Cillian remained unfazed, even displaying a certain toughness.

"Haha."

Dalyn was amused by Cillian.

"Do you need me to interview you again?" Cillian asked. "I think that all-night interrogation has given us a good enough understanding of each other, hasn't it?"

Dailin nodded. "That's what I think too."

Cillian thoughtfully suggested, "Would you like to test my work abilities?"

“That won’t be necessary. We have a three-month internship,” Dai Lin explained. “If you’re not capable enough, you usually won’t last those three months.”

"Oh……"

"As you can see, the work intensity of the Urban Management Bureau is very high and the danger is also very high, so we are short of people. Anyone can fill the position."

Dai Lin emphasized again, "Anyway, we might not even survive to the end."

Cillian fell silent.

"It's not too late to leave now, think it over carefully."

After saying that, Dalin crossed his legs and patiently waited for Cillian's reply.

Dai Lin has interviewed many people. Some of them choose to give up and leave during the agonizing response period, while others gladly join and then die for various reasons during the three-month internship.

Only a very small number of people can adapt to the work of the City Guard Bureau, and these people often become stronger through trials and tribulations, turning into the backbone of the City Guard Bureau.

Cillian asked, "Are you in such a rush for new hires because the last batch of interns all died?"

"Yes, they only lasted a month and a half."

"How did you die?"

“There are many reasons, and you will encounter them all later,” Dalin sighed. “That’s what working with death is like; there is no room for error, and you can’t afford to make any mistakes.”

Then he continued.

"Relax, Cillian. According to statistics, once you get through the internship and become a full-time employee, your survival rate will increase significantly. After all, by then, you will be considered a professional who can handle all kinds of emergencies."

Seeing that Cillian had fallen silent again, Daelin asked.

"Are you thinking about how to get through your internship?"

“No,” Cillian shook his head, “I was wondering if you could pay the salary in advance.”

He said sincerely.

"My financial situation is really bad."

"..."

I thought Cillian's long silence was because he was considering the benefits of the job and whether it was worth risking his life for. But in reality, he was just struggling with how to bring up the topic of getting an advance on his salary.

Dai Lin was stunned for a long time, then couldn't hold back his laughter and burst out laughing.

"that's it?"

"if not?"

Cillian frowned, unable to understand what Daelin was laughing about.

"As a stranger in a foreign land, the cost of living in Hull is really high."

……

After a long process of filling out the forms, Cillian signed his name in the corner.

Cillian.

It was merely Cillian.

After handing the form to Dalin, Cillian asked, "Does this mean I've been successfully hired?"

“Of course,” Dai Lin nodded, “but there are still many procedures to go through, so you don’t need to get into the work for now… You can start by getting to know the City Sanitation Bureau.”

"for example?"

Cillian tried to appear patient.

Dalin put away the form and gestured for Cillian to follow him. "Let's get to know your colleagues first."

As soon as he left the reception room, Cillian saw Anya's tall figure. She was leaning against a corner of the corridor, as if she had been waiting for the two of them for a long time.

“This is Anya Polk, you’ve met her before,” Dalin said. “Like you, she also comes from the Torch of Fate. She is a second-tier Fusionist, and her soul essence concentration is only a few tenths of a percentage point away from third tier. She has great potential for promotion.”

Anya remained silent, only smiling with a meaningful look in her eyes.

Cillian nodded slightly. The woman in front of him always gave him a feeling of being spied on, making him want to keep his distance from her.

Dalin led Cillian to the office area, saying as they walked, "Not all the staff of the City Guard Bureau are superhumans; many of their jobs are done by ordinary people."

Arriving at a workstation piled high with documents, a young man wearing glasses was engrossed in his work. Noticing Dai Lin's arrival, he glanced up at the two of them before returning to his work.

"This is Elton Hawke."

Listening to Dalin's introduction, Cillian smiled in goodwill.

"Hello, I am Cillian."

Elton reacted extremely coldly, speaking without even looking up.

"Hello."

Dalyn laughed off the lukewarm start, saying, "Don't worry about it. Elton isn't very good at socializing."

"what is this?"

Cillian noticed a complex piece of machinery next to Elton's workstation, with brass knobs and pointers, and rows of indices that Cillian couldn't understand under the narrow glass window.

Colorful cables peeked out from the gaps in the equipment, and at its core was a sealed source crystal that was continuously emitting a soft light.

"Oh, you haven't seen this before?" Elton became interested and, changing his previous indifference, took the initiative to say, "This is Yanxun Communications Station."

"Mr. Hawke, could you explain this to me?"

Cillian then moved a chair over and sat down next to Elton.

"of course can."

Elton explained with great interest, "It's a communication device. Its technology comes from the Golden Age and was later repaired and improved by the Wanji Tonglu Institute."

"Normally, its communication range is very narrow, only covering Hull City and its surrounding areas, but this coverage is sufficient for its work."

As Elton was speaking, Dalyn interjected.

"Elton is also our communications officer. During operations, he will be responsible for establishing communications for us. As for the communication equipment, it will be distributed to you later."

Elton completely ignored Dalyn and continued speaking.

"Now, the Gray Zone isolates the various city-states, making long-distance communication extremely difficult. However, the spirit craftsmen of the Myriad Machines Academy have taken advantage of the Gray Zone's characteristics, redirecting signals destined for the real world into the Gray Zone..."

Cillian instinctively echoed, "Within the Gray Realm of the Narrow Space... the Spirit Realm inherited some characteristics of the Sea of ​​Origin, possessing chaotic spatial properties."

"That's right!"

Elton's eyes gleamed, as if he had met a kindred spirit.

"We can understand it this way: the spirit world, like the Sea of ​​Origin, has no concept of space. In other words, all signals exchanged in the spirit world exist at the same point."

Therefore, through spirit transmission, the Yan Message technology can traverse vast areas, enabling communication between city-states.

Cillian looked shocked and said, "Just this little thing?"

He got up and carefully examined the Yanxun Communications Station, looking it over thoroughly.

“Yes, such a small thing can connect the city-states.”

Elton gently stroked the rough metal surface, his gaze filled with emotion, as if looking at his lover.

"It's only in theory. In practice, it's not as amazing as Elton makes it out to be."

Anya spoke, crossing her arms like a lecturing teacher.

"Theoretically?"

Cillian snapped out of his daze.

If the Yanxun technology were truly that powerful, the civilized world wouldn't have fallen into such a fragmented era of city-states; it must have some fatal flaw that limited its use.

"The spirit world possesses a chaotic spatial nature, and similarly, it also possesses a chaotic temporal nature."

Elton explained, "Signals sent into the spirit world will arrive at random times, which means there will be a significant delay. The recipient may receive the signal in the next second or decades later."

"A delay? That is indeed a significant limitation," Cillian said disappointedly.

"It's not a delay, it's a random point in time."

Elton's criticism was forceful and extremely serious.

Seeing his strong reaction, Cillian was at a loss for what to do. Dalin shook his head helplessly, while Anya chuckled to herself.

It's clear that Elton is a huge fan of Yanxun technology. Even though Dalyn said he wasn't good at socializing, he turned into a devout believer when it came to this topic.

Elton stared intently. "Legend has it that during the refinement of the Message-Swallowing technology by the Spirit Craftsmen, they received signals from the future."

"Through the chaotic spacetime of the spirit world, can signals even connect with the future?"

Cillian doubted he had heard correctly and searched the entire public library, finding only the authority of two giants concerning the future.

One is the colossus Weaver of Fate, who weaves the threads of the world's destiny, and countless divergences of fate will extend under her loom. The other is the colossus Eclipse, who mysteriously disappeared after the Cataclysm of No Day.

To all accounts, Cillian never imagined that such a mysterious and unpredictable power could be controlled by this tiny machine.

“I know you probably think I’m crazy, and I can’t produce any substantial evidence… but I think this is the correct inference: the interference signal is caused by random time points.”

Elton suppressed his enthusiasm and turned his attention back to the documents he needed to process.

He sighed softly. Few people understood him; they would only think of him as a reclusive eccentric.

"I don't think you're crazy."

Cillian examined the Yanxun Communications Station even more closely, and even considered whether to steal it home and have Bruce disassemble it.

"You believe me?"

Elton looked at Cillian in disbelief. He had told similar conversations to many people, but they all just laughed it off. Only a very few people listened carefully or even believed it, like Cillian in front of him.

“Of course,” Cillian affirmed. “Being able to connect to the future, isn’t that incredibly cool?”

Elton was stunned.

Cillian's approval didn't come from any beliefs, technological endorsements, or anything like that; it was simply because... it was too cool.

Well, that's not bad either; at least Cillian didn't laugh at him.

Cillian reluctantly touched the Yanxun Communications station a few more times before asking, "Are there any other colleagues I need to get to know?"

“That’s it. These are all the people in our group for now,” Dai Lin shrugged. “If you ask me why we have so few colleagues, I can only say that they all died before, otherwise we wouldn’t be so short-staffed.”

Are you telling a lame joke?

You can take it as a lame joke.

Cillian gained a completely new understanding of the workload of the City Guard Bureau.

"Oh, and there's another colleague, but she doesn't seem to be here today."

Dai Lin suddenly remembered someone, looked around, but didn't see her.

"You don't need to worry about that colleague. She's someone with connections; she's just here at the City Sanitation Bureau to build up her resume."

He suddenly lowered his voice, "Her father is a high-ranking official in the Hel City Centipede Merchant Guild branch. He generously funded the City Guard Bureau, and the City Council is also happy about this. It's just that those of us who actually do the work suffer."

Anya reached out and gently patted Dailin's shoulder a few times. Dailin turned around and saw a girl in a red dress standing behind him.

Meifuni kicked Dalin's shin hard.

"I'm not here to just throw together a resume; I have a legitimate job!"

(End of this chapter)