"Pangu Biology," at the entrance of the underground building.

Liu Chengkun, with his team of Security Department employees, guarded the silver-white door, all of them looking rather lazy.

They had brought in a large number of chairs, either slumping or sitting, either spacing out or chatting idly, leaving only four colleagues armed with guns standing next to two new-type security check machines, diligently on duty.

This wasn't them slacking off and being passive; it was that the number of people entering and exiting the underground building each day was quite limited. Liu Chengkun and others had nothing to do most of the time. If they were forced to maintain a state of high alert all the time, it would only exhaust them, making them outwardly focused but actually lax. Therefore, it was better to have them work in shifts when no one was entering or exiting, with each group consisting of four people, each shift lasting one hour.

Liu Chengkun sat on his chair with lumbar support, his gaze sweeping over all his subordinates, nodding with considerable satisfaction.

He was satisfied both with the focus and seriousness of the four on duty, their full vigilance, and with the fact that the rest of the employees, although resting and relaxing, hadn't completely abandoned their responsibilities, still keeping that last string taut.

Such days are truly great… Liu Chengkun leaned back slightly, picked up the iron-black thermos he had found in the graylands, unscrewed the lid, and took a sip.

Few tasks, many contribution points, little danger – that was the true reflection of his current position. Countless people envied him and secretly filed petty reports against him.

Every time he heard his superiors telling him to be careful and not be too lax when guarding the entrance, as that would easily allow some dark individuals to find a loophole, he would always sneer disdainfully in his heart:

Those bastards, I earned what I have today with my life. Did they really think a d8 captain-level position could be achieved through connections and accumulating seniority at such a young age?

Did they really think that without more than ten years of rich experience, the company would entrust me with such an important task as guarding the entrance?

You should know that the casualty rate for Security Department employees on external duty is still quite high. Even with extra subsidies, better food, and occasional gains specific to individuals, not many people volunteered to join. After all, under the same job level, the basic salary was the same for everyone. The subsidies and food, when converted, weren't high enough to make people want to risk their lives. They could save money and get by, not starving or freezing to death, at most eating one or two fewer meals of meat each week.

As for the best benefit for Security Department employees on external duty, "fast promotion," it did exist. But the problem was that everyone who was promoted quickly had emerged from gunfire and various dangerous trials. Behind each one were the limbs and even bones of many colleagues as a backdrop.

The rest of them progressed at a normal pace, the best being a direct promotion upon returning to internal positions. Therefore, every year there were still some ambitious employees who wanted to gamble for wealth and glory and actively participated in the "Security Department's" selection. The vast majority thought that accumulating seniority and years of service could also lead to promotion. They had elderly parents to support, young children to raise, and spouses in the middle, so there was no need to take risks.

Recalling the battles against bandits, mutated monsters, armies from other major forces, and treacherous environments and special ability users in the graylands, Liu Chengkun inexplicably felt a wave of palpitations, his bones a little sore.

Many years ago, he and his colleagues were trapped in the deeper parts of the swamp by a group of "White Knight Order" knights disguised as ruin hunters. At that time, it had been raining continuously for several days. They searched for a way out, stepping high and low, often with people sinking into the mud, rapidly falling, unable to be pulled out. He could only watch helplessly as those familiar, fresh faces were gradually submerged in despair.

Since then, whenever it rained, Liu Chengkun's lower legs would ache faintly, and he would often have nightmares while sleeping.

Such pain slowly subsided only after he transferred back to an internal position.

Rubbing his knees, Liu Chengkun became even more satisfied with his current job and life, hoping it could continue until he reached the age limit, retired from the Security Department, and transferred to another position.

At that time, he could be promoted from d8 captain-level to d9 action group supervisor-level, which corresponded to the senior manager level in other departments, second only to the m-level executives. He could be the supervisor of a floor, the factory manager of a factory, or the director of an order supervision bureau in a large area.

With such a rank, the contribution points would be enough to support a large family, and there would be additional benefits such as being allocated a large room, and holding real power, able to control the fate of many people.

Lost in boundless reverie, Liu Chengkun felt a little drowsy.

Just then, he heard the prompt:

"External employees are returning, having passed the system's initial inspection. Please arrange personnel for a second round of checks to determine whether to open the door."

Liu Chengkun stood up abruptly and said to his subordinates on both sides:

"Xiao Dong, Xiao Ke, you go check it out."

While waiting, he rubbed his face, trying to look more alert, lest someone file another petty report.

Before long, he saw a gray-green jeep drive through the opened silver-white door, saw a tall woman get out of the car, take off the sunglasses perched on the bridge of her nose, revealing her familiar beautiful face.

"Mian…" Liu Chengkun just uttered the first syllable when he suddenly remembered something and quickly changed his words, "You're back?"

He no longer acted too familiar just because he was a good friend of Jiang Baimian's older brother, calling her by her nickname. He already knew that Jiang Baimian was a d9 supervisor-level employee before this mission, on par with his superiors.

This made Liu Chengkun feel ashamed and a little restrained.

According to Pangu Biology's rules and regulations, and true to form, Jiang Baimian might be transferred to directly manage them.

After all, she had risen from d6 to d9 in just over two years, certainly accumulating enough contributions to transfer from external to internal positions. As long as she didn't think about striking while the iron was hot and entering the management team in one go, she could switch positions at any time.

Jiang Baimian smiled and said:

"Yes, it's been almost half a year since we went out this time."

It was now late autumn.

While she was talking to Liu Chengkun, Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen got out of the car, opened the trunk, took out all the items, and began to undergo inspection.

Liu Chengkun knew about the fact that their elite team had two sets of military exoskeletons when he was on duty last year, and was mentally prepared. However, watching one crate after another being taken down and opened, his eyes couldn't help but widen.

"One, two, three… one, two…"

A full three military exoskeletons, two bionic intelligent armors!

For a team of only four people, this was beyond extravagant.

It was simply a waste!

"What's this?" Liu Chengkun couldn't help but ask.

What kind of mission was such a team responsible for carrying out outside?

A similar configuration would be enough to defeat an unprepared action team!

Shang Jianyao explained with a straight face:

"Just like a car needs a spare tire, equipment needs replacements too."

Back then, one action team of ours was lucky to have two sets of bionic intelligent armor, unless it was a dedicated, centralized application team… Liu Chengkun muttered in his heart.

He watched Jiang Baimian and others pass through security in turn with complex eyes, letting out a long, silent sigh.

This team was an exception among exceptions. To continue to be promoted at such an exaggerated speed without any personnel losses was the first time in the history of Pangu Biology.

Others who could surpass their promotion speed were those who had awakened powerful abilities, reaching their positions in one step. That was an individual improvement, not feedback from a team performing tasks.

So, what exactly did they do in the graylands to deserve three military exoskeletons, two bionic intelligent armors, to deserve several leaps in promotion in just over two years, exceeding the contributions of other external employees by ten or twenty years? Liu Chengkun watched Jiang Baimian and the others drive deeper into the parking lot with envy and doubt.

He even suspected that these four would have another rank increase this time.

No, Mianmian shouldn't. If she gets promoted again, she'll be in management. Besides those genius scientists and powerful awakeners, that will be the youngest management, a management team at just twenty-five years old… Liu Chengkun suddenly felt a surge of emotions, impulsively wanting to submit an application to return to the external forces and gamble for wealth and glory.

Of course, he was just thinking about it. After sighing, he sat back in his chair with lumbar support, half-closing his eyes and watching the surrounding employees gradually relax, listening to them chatting about the extravagant equipment of Jiang Baimian's team and various rumors.

Yes, this kind of life is pretty good… Liu Chengkun leaned back, thinking to himself.

…

Level 647, Room 14.

After undergoing disinfection, blood draws, rinsing, and other procedures, Jiang Baimian, as before, threw herself into the chair behind the team leader's desk, adopting a semi-slumped posture.

"Comfortable!" she exclaimed with a smile.

This was the feeling of coming home.

Bang! Shang Jianyao also threw himself into a seat, almost breaking it.

Long Yuehong looked around with joy, then said to Bai Chen:

"I'm going to tell my mom and dad about us today, and try to take you to meet them tomorrow night."

"Isn't that too soon?" Shang Jianyao, an onlooker, replied to him, "It makes Xiao Bai look not reserved enough!"

Bai Chen, who originally didn't care, hesitated.

She still hoped to integrate into the internal society of Pangu Biology and didn't want to be pointed at and gossiped about.

In this regard, she herself was fine, with a strong enough mind. She was worried that Long Yuehong would be depressed because of it.

Long Yuehong thought for a moment and said:

"Yeah, yeah, we have to pick a good day."

There weren't that many formalities within Pangu Biology. The so-called good day was the weekend, when family members were resting.

That way, Bai Chen wouldn't be neglected when she visited for the first time.

"Okay," Bai Chen didn't object.

Seeing this, Jiang Baimian clapped her hands and said with a smile:

"Alright, alright, stop showing off your affection in front of us.

"Let's think about what to eat in the cafeteria later when the test results come out."

Those like them who wandered outside for a long time and returned underground would inevitably be checked for infectious diseases.

Long Yuehong and Shang Jianyao answered in unison:

"Types that aren't in cans!"

After saying that, all four of them laughed.