Working Records in a Weird World - 36

 

| WRIAWW | First Notification | 36

The recent harrowing scene left many survivors still shaken, especially after Xue Heguang mentioned that the weird outside was an A-level. Watching Zong Le nonchalantly approach it, the heart-stopping fear was hard to shake off.

However, after calming down, Xue Heguang began to sense something unusual.

He had never encountered such a cooperative A-level weird before. Coupled with his earlier speculation about the matching of survivor levels and mission difficulty, an unbelievable thought began to form in his mind.

Could it be... that this handsome young man named Zong, dressed in a black coat, white shirt, black pants, with black hair and black eyes, really be the mysterious, talented newcomer from the forum whose true face had never been revealed?

Thinking this, Xue Heguang subtly glanced to the side.

He thought his expression was discreet enough, but he didn’t expect to be caught in the act almost immediately.

Zong Le turned his head: “What’s wrong, senior? Is there something you want to tell me?”

“Nothing,” Xue Heguang quickly denied.

As a seasoned A-level survivor who had once nearly reached the S-level threshold, he had witnessed the rise and fall of many prodigies in the infinite space.

In most cases, talented individuals tended to be arrogant. For a long time, Xue Heguang believed that, to some extent, exceptional talent was linked to arrogance.

But he didn't see no trace of that in Zong Le. Even when Zong Le said, “That weird outside seems weak,” his tone was casual, as if it were nothing noteworthy.

‘I must be mistaken,’ Xue Heguang thought, rubbing his temples to dispel his lingering doubts.

If Zong Le were truly the talented newcomer, he would have proudly revealed his identity when questioned during the initial gathering. How could he endure the misunderstanding and let others misjudge him?

Just then, the old-fashioned LED announcement board hanging in the corridor flickered a few times.

This was the hospital’s notification board, reportedly installed on every floor. Besides routine promotions of the hospital’s strong medical team and resources, it also issued various announcements.

For example, it would notify the sterilization supply center to deliver sterilized medical equipment to various departments, or instruct the morgue staff to collect bodies from specific departments.

For departments that didn’t require much movement, the notice board wasn’t crucial. But for departments like theirs, which needed to run errands, its importance was undeniable. Missing a single notice could mean failing to obtain Director Yang’s signature.

The snow-like static on the notice board flickered and disappeared, finally revealing a few blood-red characters:

[Notice: Morgue logistics personnel are to proceed immediately to the operating room to collect the patient’s body.]

No one in the third team had expected to be called to collect a body so soon.

“You guys, go to the morgue equipment room and fetch a movable stretcher, and bring a sheet too,” Xue Heguang instructed calmly, having anticipated this.

“Not everyone can go upstairs. We need to leave some people on the first basement level. That weird outside hasn’t finished filling out the application form yet, and someone will need to stay here to handle the handover of the body with the patient’s family.”

"Besides, we can't guarantee that there will only be one corpse retrieval task on the notice board at the same time. We need to leave someone behind to keep an eye on the morgue's board. If a new task pops up, they should immediately post about it on the forum to inform us."

Hearing this, several quick-witted survivors in the team immediately got excited and raised their hands.

"Boss Xue, I'll stay down here to support you!"

"Boss, let me stay behind!"

Compared to the unknown upper floors of the hospital, staying in the familiar morgue was clearly much safer.

Everyone had just witnessed the black-haired C-level survivor negotiating with the A-level weird outside. The C-level made various demands, and the weird outside obediently complied. It seemed that the weirds queuing outside were more interested in retrieving corpses than killing, and showed little aggressive intent.

Moreover, watching the board was an easy and straightforward task—just keep an eye on it and relay information promptly. Compared to the perilous mission of venturing into the upper floors of the hospital, it was a easy job.

Many other survivors in the team saw through these people's intentions and snorted disdainfully.

"The nerve of some people, even when assigned to a small task, they only think about saving their own skin first."

"Yeah, I look down on such people."

"So what if you look down on me?!" After being called out, Lin Quan, the survivor who had raised his hand first, flushed red with anger. "Every man for himself, or heaven and earth will punish me! Besides, as a D-level, following you upstairs would just be suicide!"

Seeing these low-level survivors with their "I'm weak, so I'm entitled" attitude, Xue Heguang felt a headache coming on.

This was life or death, so he decided to cut the Gordian knot. "Fine, since you low-levels won't be much help anyway, I won't leave all the D-levels here alone. I'll pick a few to stay behind."

He didn't trust to leave all the D-level here. They still need someone who can make quick decisions in case of emergencies, So he pointed at a female B-level survivor: "Stay down here with the rest."

"Me?" Jiang Xueqin was shocked.

"Yeah, they are all low-level so I'm worried, but the rest of us still need to go up to pick up the body."

Xue Heguang explained further, "Besides, the A-level weird outside is still dangerous. Even if it hasn't shown any aggressive intent, we can't let our guard down. You low-levels staying behind must follow the B-level's orders."

"Got it."

"Don't worry, Boss, we'll stay down here and work hard."

Once they all agreed, Xue Heguang turned and said, "Let's go. We'll take the elevator up."

The elevator inside the morgue was incredibly old-fashioned, still using a manual crank, and was covered in unidentified grease and filth.

Everyone squeezed inside, unwilling to touch the walls, so they huddled together in the center, watching the rusted chains behind the grille slowly ascend.

"Damn, this elevator must be a relic from the last century."

"Please don't let it break down halfway. I'm scared."

Taikang Yongle Hospital boasted a massive complex, with hundreds of floors, rivaling some of the most advanced high-tech enterprises, a testament to the financial strength of the group behind it.

Sure enough, as the elevator slowly ascended to the fifteenth floor, the survivors' phones all chimed with a "beep" sound.

Everyone had silently checked the same option in their system settings: any forum post containing the keyword 'morgue' would trigger a red alert notification, ensuring they wouldn't miss any announcements.

Xue Heguang glanced at the screen: "My guess was correct. Not only did the operating room send a notice to receive the bodies, but the intensive care unit did as well."

"How did a new notification come so quickly!"

The other survivors were frantic: "We only pushed one iron bed and didn't bring a stretcher up. What should we do?"

"We'll have to go down and get it again. Should we split into groups?"

"But the operating room is on the 25th floor, and the intensive care unit is on the 72nd floor. There's only one elevator. We will have to allocate transportation when the time comes."

As they spoke, another "ding" came from their phones.

Such frequent death notices cast a shadow over everyone's hearts.

It was only then that the survivors from Team Three realized the sinister intentions of Director Yang.

Not only did they have to transport the beds for the bodies, but they also had to deal with the sheets. With deaths occurring so frequently and only one elevator installed in the morgue, planning how to use resources efficiently became a major challenge.

Hearing this, Zong Le immediately said, "Everyone, don't panic too much. When I went downstairs earlier, I specifically noticed that there are more elevators than just the one in the morgue. There are several empty elevators on the first floor. If we're really overwhelmed, we can walk to the first floor and switch elevators. After transporting the bodies down, we can use the morgue elevator to take them to the seventh basement level. This way, we can ensure continuous operation without wasting extra time."

Xue Heguang was surprised by his words: "Not bad, you're quite clever. It's rare for someone at C-level to have the habit of observing the environment and gathering information."

Zong Le was flattered: "Really? You're the first person to ever praise me for being clever!"

He previously often scored low during the intelligence tests in the psychiatric department. Although the doctors and nurses didn't dare to say it to his face, he still felt disheartened.

"Would I lie?" Xue Heguang retorted. He was a straightforward person, giving praise where it was due and criticism where it was necessary.

"Alright. Given the intensity of this task, we can't act as a unified group. We'll have to split into smaller teams of a few people each. Also, we need to leave one person in the lobby on the first floor to keep track of the usage of the morgue elevator and the lobby elevators. Is there anyone in the team who specializes as a mental specialist?"

A female survivor named He Yi raised her hand: "I am."

"Good, you stay on the first floor. We also need to leave a strength-type survivor on the first floor. If the morgue elevator isn't enough, we'll have to resort to the most labor-intensive method, which is to manually carry the stretchers down to the seventh basement level to ensure the bodies are moved to their designated spots within the specific time."

Although strength-type survivors have more physical power than others, manually carrying stretchers back and forth is no easy task. None of the survivors who had balanced development in strength were eager to volunteer.

Xue Heguang was almost amused by their reluctance: "Are you kidding me? Out of everyone, only five strength-type survivors raised their hands. Do you think survivors have a fourth type specialization? Come on, this is a question-level task. One misstep affects everything. If the team fails to complete the task, we'll all be wiped out. At a time like this, are you still holding back and picking the easy tasks?"

As he spoke, he pointed at Zong Le again: "Look at this C-level guy, he's the first to raise his hand and declare himself a strength-type. How can you B-levels have the nerve to hide behind him?"

His words filled everyone with shame, and they no longer hesitated, standing up one after another.

"Alright, once we get to the operating room, you strength-types will first transport the bodies downstairs. Then we'll split into several teams to receive bodies from other departments."

Soon, accompanied by a "ding-dong" sound, the elevator car, dragged by chains, came to a creaking halt.

The survivors from Team Three wasted no time and hurried outside.

Coincidentally, the red light hanging in the corridor went out.

The doors to the operating room opened, and doctors and nurses in green surgical gowns filed out.

One of the survivors removed his mask and hood, revealing a cascade of silver hair like moonlight.

Joshua, who had just completed a surgery, raised his eyes and scanned the team of survivors before him, his gaze locking onto Zong Le's figure accurately.

 

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