Chapter 9: Job Opportunity, Identifying Ingredients
What kind of job could she find? Su Ning pondered this question.
Suddenly, inspiration struck — she could use her talent to look for work! With this realization, Su Ning felt a sense of direction.
During her break, she carefully thought about her next steps.
But just as she was deep in thought, a burst of noise erupted nearby.
Frowning in confusion, Su Ning thought, “Hmm? What’s going on? Did something happen?”
The nearby workers stood up, curiously gathering toward the commotion.
Because of the power outage, their electronic devices were useless, and apart from work, there wasn’t much entertainment.
So whenever something happened nearby, people naturally crowded around to check it out.
Su Ning was no different, so she followed the crowd over.
Just as she reached the crowd, she heard someone whispering,
“I heard Old Li’s family got some supplies from the game, but his daughter-in-law stole them! That woman secretly moved everything to her brother’s family. Now Old Li’s family found out and went to cause a scene.”
Su Ning quickly understood what was going on as she listened.
When she arrived, she saw seven or eight people in the middle of a fight.
Old Li’s eldest son had grabbed his brother-in-law and was beating him furiously.
“I’ve really been too nice to your family! You’ve gone too far, trying to take what’s mine. Give back the stolen supplies or I’ll break your legs!”
The brother-in-law, surnamed Wang, didn’t hold back either: “I didn’t steal anything! I just took what my sister gave me. What’s hers is mine!”
Old Li’s eldest son continued hitting him in rage.
His wife, seeing her brother getting beaten up, cried and begged them to stop.
But no one paid her any attention.
“Family traitors are the hardest to guard against!”
Some people felt bad for the Li family; others were just watching the show.
In the end, the Li family retrieved their supplies and even sent their daughter-in-law back to the Wang family.
Wang Juan couldn’t believe her husband didn’t want her anymore.
She had borne his children, and now he was abandoning her.
Su Ning watched for a while before heading back.
To be blunt, other people’s life and death had nothing to do with her.
She’d better focus on her own situation — at least others still had siblings they could rely on.
But her?
When she thought of her so-called “family,” Su Ning’s fists clenched.
Su Ning had finished her work for the day and walked lightly back to her little nest.
But just as she neared the entrance, a few people in military uniforms suddenly appeared in front of her, blocking her path.
Su Ning frowned in confusion. She had never seen these people before.
One of the soldiers stepped forward and asked, “Are you Su Ning?”
Su Ning replied cautiously, “Yes, I’m Su Ning. May I ask what this is about?”
She studied the soldier’s face, trying to read their expressions.
Zhang Xing looked at Su Ning with slight doubt.
He had been ordered by his superior to bring Su Ning to solve a tricky problem.
But he couldn’t understand why his commanding officer believed this ordinary girl could help.
Su Ning also had her doubts.
She noticed they didn’t seem hostile, but she stayed alert.
Looking up at the sky, she saw dawn was approaching.
She had to get home before sunrise — otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to return to her nest.
Su Ning thought: I hope they don’t take too much of my time.
Just then, one of the soldiers pulled out a specially designed electronic device and tapped a few times on the screen.
He looked up and asked, “Is your talent the ability to tell if food is poisonous?”
Su Ning nodded.
She wasn’t sure why they were asking, but since they knew her ability, it probably had something to do with food poisoning.
The soldier continued, “Good. Then come with us. Your work here is done — there’s a more important task waiting for you.”
Su Ning’s eyes lit up.
She had just been worrying about how to find a new job, and the opportunity came knocking so quickly!
She immediately agreed and left with the soldiers.
Su Ning was taken by Zhang Xing to the military zone of Shelter No. 6.
They arrived at a warehouse.
Inside, a group of people were waiting.
Zhang Xing announced, “Sir, I’ve brought the person you asked for!”
Instantly, all eyes turned to Su Ning.
She remained calm, though she was a bit nervous inside.
One man, clearly the officer in charge, stepped forward, “Young lady, don’t worry. A job opportunity lies before you — it’s up to you whether you can seize it.”
Su Ning noticed a pile of strange ingredients behind the soldiers and immediately understood why they brought her.
“You want me to identify whether these things are poisonous and edible?”
Liu Jianjun nodded.
That was exactly his intention.
Su Ning also understood how they learned about her talent — from the registration records at the community.
No one was stupid. In times like these, making the most of everyone’s abilities was the fastest way to rebuild.
She wasn’t going to let go of this chance to work in a shelter.
“Alright, let’s start.”
Liu Jianjun motioned her over.
Su Ning turned to the items awaiting identification.
It was obvious these things came from game instances.
She had already learned that the survival game copies people entered were all different, so the materials they obtained varied.
She first picked up a large, brightly colored mushroom — it looked inedible at first glance.
Activating her [Scavenger’s Eye] skill:
[Sweet Mushroom]: Non-toxic. A giant edible mushroom. The more vibrant the color, the sweeter the taste. Ideal for soup.
Su Ning handed it to a nearby soldier.
“Non-toxic. Edible.”
Gasps came from the crowd.
“So brightly colored and not poisonous? Is that for real?”
Some people started doubting.
But the doubts didn’t distract Su Ning from her task.
She picked up the next item — a fruit that looked like an apple, but she’d never seen this color before.
Its skin was mostly pink, with some white near the bottom.
[Cocoa Fruit]: A special spiritual fruit. Non-toxic. Eating it quickly restores stamina.
Su Ning was surprised — a rare ingredient!
But she didn’t show it on her face and calmly said, “This one is also non-toxic. Edible.”
Zhang Xing was a bit skeptical. First, a vividly colored mushroom. Now, a pink fruit?
“Are you sure this talent really works? You’re not fooling us, are you?”
Su Ning looked at everyone — they all had curious, doubtful expressions.
Without saying a word, she picked up the pink fruit and took a bite.
She moved so fast that Liu Jianjun couldn’t stop her in time.
