Starting Cultivation in Wasteland-Chapter 486 - 358: A Paycheck

The librarian’s director is named Kadani, a B-level Wood Attribute with an academic background.

She came to the library to retire, usually showing a friendly demeanor, and this situation was just an unforeseen disaster.

Qu Jianlei glanced at Dave and asked indifferently, "Just a Modified Warrior, without awakening, is there much difference from an ordinary person?"

Dave was choked, nearly at his wit’s end. He wasn’t even a Modified Warrior.

But he also knew some Modified Warriors harbored resentment over not awakening, with some even giving up for a long time.

Yet, he softly spoke, "If you filled in Modified Warrior for your identity, your salary would be much higher."

Qu Jianlei looked at him in surprise, "I’m here to lay low, am I short of money? Does this position afford a Modified Warrior?"

Dave was rendered speechless. He knew Panda wasn’t short on money.

In fact, the latter’s point made more sense; if Panda revealed his identity, the library wouldn’t consider hiring him at all.

Though Modified Warriors are somewhat inferior to Superpower Warriors, they still have certain social status, and a monthly salary of a few hundred is insulting.

Dave silently pursed his lips and turned to leave.

Soon after, he returned, whispering, "The director wants to see you."

Kadani was a silver-haired elderly woman, her skin well-maintained, with noticeable grace, she must have been a beauty in her youth.

She was with an assistant from the district and someone from the City Library, frowning lightly, speaking sporadically.

Seeing Qu Jianlei arrive, she nodded slightly, an almost imperceptible motion.

Her first question was, "Were you introduced by Teng Wenli?"

"Yes," Qu Jianlei nodded, unable to suppress some curiosity in his mind, you B-levels are so close with C-levels?

Kadani glanced at the two beside her, explaining briefly, "Teng Wenli is in charge of the Genetic Potions in the Red Lotus District."

"I know him," the B-level from the City Library nodded, "He handles matters fairly steadily."

It then dawned on Qu Jianlei that the director brought up Teng Wenli to signify his legitimate background.

Otherwise, a Modified Warrior working part-time at a district library, earning a meager salary, would naturally arouse suspicion.

Kadani might not have cared about these things in the past, but now with the library facing issues, she had to demonstrate rigorous operations on their side.

Then she asked Qu Jianlei, "Word is that you’re not short on money, why come to work at the library?"

"Precisely because I’m not short on money," Qu Jianlei retorted curiously, "Why would someone short on money come here?"

"Hehe," Kadani chuckled with a bit of bitterness in her smile, "It seems everyone knows how tight the library’s budget is."

The City Library person couldn’t help complaining, "Don’t even mention the district library, the City Library is losing talent rapidly too."

Kadani decisively stated, "I still recommend updating the security system and increasing budget allocation."

The district assistant shook his head, "We can revisit this later. Right now, the priority is capturing the suspect."

Kadani glanced at him, then at Qu Jianlei, "That Zheng Yan is B-level. Weren’t you afraid during the encounter?"

"I didn’t think too much about it," Qu Jianlei shook his head, responding solemnly, "When you take a salary, you must do your duty."

The district assistant interjected, "Why didn’t you continue to engage when reinforcements arrived?"

Qu Jianlei thought for a moment and answered, "Because I only receive one salary."

A mere four hundred a month, what more do you expect me to risk?

Kadani was amused by his statement, "Are you asking for a raise?"

Previously unaware of him being a Modified Warrior, the wage seemed reasonable, but now, clearly, it wasn’t suitable.

"Forget it," Qu Jianlei shook his head, "I’m here to lay low; it’s nice to read a book in my spare time."

This was another way of saying he’d make time for leisurely reading.

The B-level from the City Library spoke up, "Come over to us, we’ll give you a raise, and you’ll get to see more books."

The district library is genuinely poor, but the City Library isn’t. He was just feigning poverty and immediately started poaching.

This wasn’t unexpected, as a Modified Warrior daring to confront B-level warriors would be desirable to the military too.

Kadani huffed lightly, "The City Library is much busier than here. Panda is here to lay low, and we have quite a few books too."

She then turned to Qu Jianlei, "Remain vigilant in your position, courageously protect the Imperial property, and I’ll award you a bonus for encouragement."

A real raise was unaffordable, but a bonus was within her reach.

"One hundred or two hundred?" The City Library person sneered, "Such talent shouldn’t stay with you."

That was quite hurtful, and Kadani couldn’t help but give a cold snort.

"Truly speaking of depth, this new City Library is a bit inferior to us!"

After saying this, her expression changed as if recalling something, then she looked at Qu Jianlei, "You can leave now."

Qu Jianlei nodded and left, contemplating: Does this little district library really have depth?

This incident dragged on for two days in the end, with no particular findings.

Zheng Yan’s confession contained nothing new; he was a successful Superpower Warrior but a failing businessman.

After repeatedly hitting failures and obstacles, he worked as a lone mercenary, taking on some scattered jobs.

Zheng Yan’s temper wasn’t great, but his task completion rate was good, and he had a good reputation.

This time, after taking the job, he didn’t inquire about the client’s information either.

When he triggered the alarm at A-level and fled in disgrace, he also attacked the Rare Books Tower and the main building, proving he indeed had contract spirit.

As for who entered the main building, he only knew the nickname of the other party was "Cyan Wood."

However, two days later, there were rumors circulating in the library saying that this time a rare manuscript was indeed stolen.

The specific rare manuscript was unclear to most people, but it was said to have alarmed the high-levels of Green Water City.

Qu Jianlei was tense about this for a few days, thinking that if the city took it too seriously and dispatched a Supreme, he was considering running away.

He wasn’t worried about his fake identity being exposed but was simply unable to explain why a Superpower Warrior was working a 400 silver coins monthly job.

He was also very curious about what rare manuscript was lost at the library, but considering his own situation, it was clearly inconvenient to ask around.

In the blink of an eye, six or seven days passed without any new information.

That day after getting off work and returning home, Rose and Sofia, the sisters, came over to visit.

Since tomorrow was a holiday, the sisters had found a new black market and invited him to go for a stroll there in the evening.

Green Water is a metropolitan cluster with a permanent population of over fifty million, and of course, there’s more than one black market.

However, this black market was a bit far, taking Qu Jianlei two hours to drive there.

The harvest was not small; he bought two A-level Crystals, and one of them was actually a Mutated Beast Crystal.

He didn’t buy the B-level Crystals, and he encountered Superpower Rice again.

This black market is relatively far from the city center, so the sellers have a bit more courage.

The guy selling Superpower Rice was quite bold, even having a B-level Warrior by his side.

But after Qu Jianlei casually sliced a cobblestone with a Wind Blade, the other party promptly offered fifty pounds of Superpower Rice.

The Superpower Rice was still aged rice, but it was two years old, which was much better than the four-year-old rice.

The vendor explained that there were no places growing Superpower Rice in the entire Hope Star Realm, so importing Superpower Rice takes time, right?

So it’s practically a fantasy to buy new rice on the black market, and new rice tends to be rash, unsuitable for weak bodies.

Superpower Rice’s price is relatively high, ninety silver coins a pound, totalling four thousand five hundred coins for fifty pounds.

Qu Jianlei tried bargaining, but the other party firmly refused, so he had no choice but to accept.

After all, fifty pounds isn’t a small quantity, and it might not be easy to gather that much in Papong Black Market.

Besides that, he actually found an ancient book titled "Array Basics."

The asking price wasn’t high, eight hundred silver coins, and he bargained it down to four hundred coins.

After researching for about ten days, he discovered with annoyance that he had bought a counterfeit.

But he didn’t bother to go back because the book was indeed vintage, and since he was seeking a bargain, he had to be ready to accept the risk.

The key was that he confirmed it was indeed a book about arrays, although he had never dealt with it before.

After purchasing, he didn’t rest locally but instead drove back to the city overnight.

The sisters didn’t drive; they rode back with him, a bit excited to see how a wealthy man spent his money.

However, Sofia, having some experience, reminded the driver, "Be careful, don’t let anyone tail us."

Qu Jianlei dismissively smiled, "The bulk was spent on Crystals, they should inquire how much I spent."

The two A-level Crystals cost four hundred thousand... The key is that the people buying A-level Crystals need to weigh whether they can afford to provoke.

But thinking about money, he couldn’t help but worry again: it’s all going out and nothing coming in; it feels like living off savings.

Because Sofia expressed concern, Qu Jianlei, although feeling it’s a bit unnecessary, still slowed down his driving speed.

His external Spirit could sense threats from the outside, but using it like this in daily life was truly wasteful.

It’s better to slow down a bit, slightly retract his Perception, and he’s not in a hurry, so why race?

So it took him two and a half hours to get home, arriving late at night.

The sisters tactfully expressed that returning at this hour felt somewhat unsafe—you have quite a few villa houses.

However, Qu Jianlei felt driving at night was relatively safe; he gave the two a hundred coins as a guide fee and insisted on sending them off.

This brought some peace, but the faint sense of crisis arose again: should I find a way to make some money?

However, thinking as he might, he contacted Teng Wenli the next morning to say, "I got some Superpower Rice."

He didn’t give much, just gave a pound, knowing that too much kindness turns friends into enemies; appropriate gift exchanges are sufficient.

Teng Wenli wanted to pay, but Qu Jianlei firmly refused: "If you want to pay, I won’t sell it."

That afternoon, as Qu Jianlei was pondering over "Array Basics," he suddenly noticed some odd presence outside the door.

When he stepped out of the room, the presence inexplicably vanished.