Zheng Hong took the voltage tester and meticulously spent more than ten minutes to confirm that all the circuits were completely powered off with no residual charge before waving to Lin Li: "Alright, come in."

"Here I am, Master Zheng, what can I do?" Lin Li stepped forward immediately.

"Grab that small yellow vacuum cleaner from my bag, along with the brush, dry cloth, and flashlight," Zheng Hong pointed to the tool bag:

"Your job is to clean the inside and outside of the distribution cabinet, including busbar rows and insulators.

After cleaning an area, check if the terminals, screws, and connections are loose, and see if there are any parts that are rusted, aged, or cracked. If there are, tell me immediately to register them."

"Don't worry, don't be afraid you won't do well, because I and Liu will check again what you've inspected, so we'll cover for you."

"Okay."

"Liu, go tidy up the wires in this cabinet, they're a bit messy, probably from the last repair," Zheng Hong promptly instructed Liu Feng.

"Alright, Master," Liu Feng replied and went to work.

When Lin Li saw Zheng Hong take off his rubber gloves and walk outside, he curiously asked, "Master Zheng, what are you going to do?"

"Just going to the bathroom," Zheng Hong smiled.

Lin Li initially intended to nod in understanding but suddenly seemed to change his expression and shouted loudly—"Stop!"

Zheng Hong and Liu Feng looked at him in surprise.

The reason Lin Li did that was obviously because of the System.

[Consuming Carefree Powder, though a private matter and personal choice, inherently shouldn't be meddled with, yet it hinders cultivation and obstructs tasks, which is unwise. Moreover, sect rules strictly prohibit this substance, so it must be stopped!]

[Task triggered!]

[Task Three: Prevent this cultivator from consuming Carefree Powder during tasked hours.]

[Task Reward: Physical Improvement: Spiritual Qi absorption rate increased by 100%; System Currency*50]

It's a very understandable task; Carefree Powder naturally corresponds to, and can only be, smoking.

The System wants me to stop Zheng Hong from smoking while at work.

"What's wrong, Lin Li?" Seeing Lin Li not speaking again, Zheng Hong frowned and asked.

"Master Zheng, you're about to smoke, aren't you?" Lin Li straightforwardly pointed out.

Zheng Hong raised his eyebrows at these words, touched his pants pockets, but did not deny it: "Yes…"

"Master Zheng," Lin Li tried to be as polite as possible, "The regulations of Nansang Middle School are clear; smoking is prohibited in any area within the campus. As the air manager of Nansang Middle School, I couldn't remind you previously, but this time I must not allow it.

And I recall that the electrical safety operation procedures also emphasize that smoking is strictly prohibited during work, so please try to hold back and smoke after the work is finished, alright?"

One of the reasons Lin Li felt this task's reward wasn't generous is precisely because the request is reasonable, be it from the perspective of the school or the electrician.

However, even though theoretically, there are regulations—like no smoking in high school campuses—but in reality, many teachers do have this need, for example, Xue Jian also smokes, and sometimes Lin Li would see him puffing away at the window at the end of the corridor during break.

Yet once you take it seriously, there's indeed a theoretical basis for it.

Zheng Hong was at a loss from Lin Li's unexpected seriousness and the rules he brought out, feeling a bit embarrassed, but looking at Lin Li's insistent gaze, he was somewhat intimidated, touched the back of his head, and finally begrudgingly nodded: "…Alright, alright."

As Liu Feng watched Zheng Hong return to put on his gloves again, he humorously advised, "Master, you ought to smoke less, preferably quit; you smoke so much daily, who can tolerate it? You've already got so many health issues."

"Throat pain is due to the voice change period, lung pain is just because they're growing muscles, not that many problems…" Zheng Hong muttered in rebuttal, evidently lacking confidence. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Liu Feng chuckled helplessly: "Master, are you still comforting yourself like this? If you ask me, you'd rather try quitting smoking. I used to be addicted as well during vocational high school, but later tried quitting and genuinely quit. Actually, it's just the first two days of quitting that are uncomfortable..."

Zheng Hong: "Because on the third day, you start smoking again."

Liu Feng: "…Master, are you talking about yourself?"

"Hey, alright, alright, Liu, stop persuading me, get back to work," Evidently, Zheng Hong had no desire to talk much about quitting smoking, and seeing Liu Feng still planning to persuade him, he immediately waved him off.

Ugh, it's not like I haven't quit smoking before.

Quit it every day, became experienced in quitting.

As long as I want to smoke, just have one cigarette, then I won't want it anymore; this method is particularly effective.

Lin Li had no intention of joining the conversation, having prohibited smoking was already enough to be displeasing, no need for more jokes.

And Zheng Hong and Liu Feng also stopped exchanging chatter, so the three of them continued quietly working on their own tasks.

…

After noting down another component that needs replacement, Zheng Hong felt uneasy all over, like ants crawling—his body protesting due to lack of nicotine.

He sneaked a glance at Lin Li, seeing the latter entirely focused on examining the inside of a distribution cabinet.

Lin Li quickly turned his head.

"Picking up a tool," Zheng Hong under Lin Li's gaze, braved himself to walk to the door's tool bag, randomly grabbed a screwdriver, and sheepishly returned to his spot.

Lin Li nodded and turned back.

Zheng Hong frowned slightly, leaving completely unnoticed was indeed too difficult.

It's not just about not making a sound. Once there's a sudden absence of noise, it's impractical.

After pondering for a moment, Zheng Hong had a plan and started preparing.

After enduring a while longer, Zheng Hong stood up boldly, and as anticipated, Lin Li turned to look at him.

"Lin Li, I'm really just going to the bathroom now," Zheng Hong frowned a bit, thought for a moment, and before Lin Li could speak, he continued:

"I know the 'boy who cried wolf' story, so how about this, I'll leave my cigarettes here. You can rest assured then, right?"

Saying this, Zheng Hong took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, displaying it to Lin Li while signaling.

Lin Li nodded: "That's fine, but Master Zheng, you need to also take out the two cigarettes you secretly put in your pocket just now and place them here."

Zheng Hong's face abruptly paled.

The trick he thought could deceive everyone…actually... was seen through.

But he obviously made no sound, and should have always been in Lin Li's blind spot, how did the kid notice?

It seemed Lin Li saw Zheng Hong's confusion and smiled:

"I have 5.0 rear vision."

Zheng Hong: "☉_☉"

Hey wait a minute.