The room was unnaturally clean.
The entire space had been thoroughly cleaned that afternoon-not a single speck of dust lingered in the corners, not even the slightest irregularity.
Using her ability wasn’t interrupted by the lighting.
Xu Dengming hadn’t turned off [Observer’s Eye], yet as she scanned the room, the only thread of fate she could still see was her own.
Leaning against the wall for support, her vision blurred slightly from overusing her skill.
-Ever since awakening her special ability, Xu Dengming hadn’t felt the need to consider getting glasses in a long time.
She eyed the switch by the door, an old-fashioned manual one.
Sometimes, if not pressed firmly enough, the spring would bounce back.
Everything seemed perfectly reasonable.
Xu Dengming even suspected that if she shared her experiences omitting the inconvenient details the responses she’d get would be variations of “You should get your head checked.”
Startled awake, she didn’t bother turning off the light.
Instead, she draped her coat over herself and lay on the bed, resting with her eyes closed, staying alert enough to react at the slightest disturbance.
It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning that she finally drifted into a fitful sleep.
The next morning, Xu Dengming woke to the sound of rain.
Opening her eyes, she first checked her mental state-though her head still ached, after resting through most of the night, her stats had stabilized at [180/200].
Her phone showed 9:00 AM.
The iron bars outside the windows were tangled with everlasting ivy, blocking most of the sunlight, leaving the room dimmer than usual.
A sense of gloom and haziness still lingered in the air, as if the dangerous night hadn’t truly passed.
Realizing she had overslept, Xu Dengming quickly got up, washed, and headed straight to the second floor.
By now, the dining hall was nearly empty among the few people left, only Qin Linge was clearing the table.
She looked at Xu Dengming in surprise.
“You’re only coming now?”
Xu Dengming offered an apologetic smile.
“Accidentally slept in.”
Qin Linge reminded her, “The fried eggs are gone, but there’s still some plain congee and side dishes at the serving station. Hurry and eat.”
Then she added, “I didn’t see you earlier and thought I’d missed you. By the way, there’s a meeting at ten-you got the message, right?”
Xu Dengming hadn’t noticed.
She opened her phone and, sure enough, an unread text lay peacefully in her inbox.
Strangely, for once, she hadn’t received any spam messages today, and all her group chats remained blessedly silent.
Qin Linge was a considerate companion.
Though she had been about to leave, noticing Xu Dengming’s distracted state, she waited until the latter finished eating before walking with her to the meeting.
“Your eyes are a little red today,” Qin Linge whispered.
“Don’t stay up too late from now on. I suspect mental state affects the final evaluation scores.”
Xu Dengming rubbed her temples and sighed.
“I didn’t rest well last night.”
Qin Linge nodded in understanding.
Their living conditions were decent by Outer District standards, but Xu Dengming had only just moved in—it would take time to adjust.
Today’s meeting was on the first floor.
Although the internship officially began on December 7th, those who moved into the dormitory early were tacitly agreeing to participate in various activities organized by their future workplace.
The interns were gradually adapting to post-graduation life.
The first-floor rooms showed no signs of renovation, with bare concrete walls.
The meeting area occupied the building’s original garage space, where chairs had been arranged beforehand.
Xu Dengming and Qin Linge arrived slightly late, but fortunately, Fang Jialing and others had saved some space beside them.
Lin Yunhui and the rest shifted to make room for two more people, fetching additional chairs.
After Xu Dengming took her seat, they waited about ten minutes until a girl walked in.
She moved through the crowd and stood at the podium.
Carrying a document folder, the girl wore an impassive expression.
Xu Dengming’s gaze lingered on her face-she recognized those eyes.
Yesterday, while leaving the cafeteria, she had seen this girl busy working in the kitchen.
Qin Linge clearly recognized her too but quickly masked her surprise, remaining silent.
Now changed out of her chef’s uniform, the girl wasn’t wearing the Bureau’s official attire either, yet carried herself with calm professionalism.
Standing before the interns, she adjusted the microphone and spoke steadily:
“Welcome to the Bureau. I’m Yu Wu.”
The room erupted in applause.
Yu Wu retrieved documents, first outlining the Bureau’s principles, then emphasizing the generous benefits of working there.
Finally, she assigned a pre-employment task: forming teams to collaboratively write two essays-one on “Team Spirit,” the other “Details in Daily Life.”
For these exam-seasoned newcomers, such assigned topics posed little challenge.
An intern raised a hand: “Any content requirements for the essays?”
Yu Wu: “None, as long as they’re thematically relevant. No word limits or format restrictions.”
She added, “Form your teams promptly and register the members with me once decided.”
Recalling their shared meal the previous day, Qin Linge’s group naturally coalesced.
-Still carrying their post-graduation naivety, the interns made decisions without fully considering compatibility, bonding over a single conversation.
Xu Dengming: “If we finalize teams now, what about late arrivals?”
She thought of Wang Yanxing, currently visiting family in the inner city, wondering whether to send a reminder.
Qin Linge: “They either join existing teams or form new ones-the latter seems fairer to avoid perceptions of inflated scores for latecomers.”
Jin Zhiran had a realization: “Actually, we haven’t seen any new arrivals today.”
They sat in the garage space, hearing only wind and rain outside no other movement.
Dong Shaodan rarely spoke up: “Could it be because of the rain?”
Lin Yunhui chimed in, “Probably right.”
Then she complained, “If I’d only finished packing today, I’d have postponed the trip. Who’d want to go out in weather like this?”
Staying on the first floor gave people a clearer sense of the outside.
The cement floor was damp, and with just a turn of his head, Xu Dengming could see the rain outside.
The rain fell in continuous threads from the sky, emitting a sharp, pungent odor-as if someone had mixed a large amount of menthol into the water.
Breathing it in too much made your throat burn.
It was said that before the Great Catastrophe, rainwater had been transparent, odorless, and tasteless.
Even if polluted, it was nowhere near as severe as it was now.
In school settings, conditions like these would have been enough to cancel classes.
While Xu Dengming was staring at the rain, Yu Wu was helping everyone register their team information.
There were forty-seven people at the meeting, divided into ten teams.
Xu Dengming’s group was the largest, with a full six members.
After finishing the registrations, Yu Wu looked at her phone and read out the final requirement word for word:
“Please hurry. Those who submit their articles within three days will receive extra points in the assessment.”
This was the first time the interns had received a clear answer confirming that their current experiences were related to the final evaluation.
Many craned their necks, trying hard to see what was written on Yu Wu’s phone, but she gave them no chance.
After reading it, she turned off the screen and began packing up to leave.
One intern stopped her, “Wait, I still have a question.”
He stood up and asked, “Um, are there any points we should pay attention to during the creative process?”
Yu Wu, who had already started to leave, actually paused at the question and thought for a moment.
“Pay attention to communication, observation, and…”
Her tone was eerily calm, devoid of emotion, like an electronic voice from a machine:
“Maintain good relationships with your teammates.”
A damp, cold wind blew into the first floor of the dormitory, and many interns instinctively tightened their clothes.
It was freezing.
After giving the final reminder, Yu Wu left quickly, leaving no additional tasks for the interns.
Some left immediately to return to their rooms and think about their essays, while others stayed behind to discuss their next steps with their teammates.
Fang Jialing coughed and spoke up, “To be honest, I’m not very good at writing essays.”
Jin Zhiran quickly added, “Me neither, but I can help with errands.”
As someone with years of experience in half-hearted homework, Xu Dengming didn’t think skill was the issue.
“Let’s all give it a try first. If it really doesn’t work out, we’ll figure it out then.”
Fang Jialing asked Xu Dengming, “How’s your Chinese grade?”
Xu Dengming was silent for a moment before smiling and said:
“Pretty average.”
Though his choice of words sometimes left a strong impression-usually an irritating one—it had never been a plus in evaluations.
Fang Jialing: “……”
He fell silent, then turned his pleading gaze to Qin Linge and Lin Yunhui.
Lin Yunhui looked a bit embarrassed. “I went to art school-I’m better at drawing. If the article needs illustrations, I can handle that.”
Qin Linge, the most experienced among them, gave everyone a reassuring smile.
“Just do your best. There are still other interns…”
“He didn’t come. Even if they do grade us this time, the score won’t carry much weight in the overall assessment.”
Hearing Qin Linge’s words, the others felt slightly reassured.
Fang Jialing pondered: “The essay topics are ‘Team Spirit’ and ‘Details in Daily Life,’ right? The first one is relatively straightforward, but the latter… What kind of life should we write about, and what details should we focus on?”
Qin Linge thought for a moment and replied, “Don’t stray too far when writing. It’s best to tie it as closely as possible to our work.”
The group suddenly understood.
Although the Management Bureau had given them the task of describing details in daily life, what they really wanted to know wasn’t how the interns spent their leisure time eating, drinking, and having fun.
Xu Dengming suggested, “So we should write about how we didn’t waste our free time and were always focused on honing our skills, so that after joining the Bureau, we could contribute to the work in better shape?”
Fang Jialing slapped his thigh: “Exactly!”
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