Chapter 55: The Daily Life of an Intern

Li Nanke, after glancing at the camera in the corner upon first entering the Dream Study Room, never looked at it again, as if he were entirely unaware or unconcerned about its existence. He was utterly immersed in the ocean of knowledge; when every bit he learned could be applied, when each fragment deepened his understanding of his own power, the sense of accomplishment from learning was unparalleled. It was as if, while attending lectures, the words "Knowledge +1" kept appearing above his head.

He couldn't help but think that if he had summoned such enthusiasm for studying in his previous life, perhaps he could have made it into Tsinghua or Peking University. Alone in the study room, he switched to the next data disk as soon as he finished the previous one. The old man known as "Professor Odd" who taught the dream courses never changed.

Through each session of dream learning, his understanding of forbidden objects and extraordinary powers gradually became clearer and more coherent. Eventually, upon putting on the Dream Synchronizer again, he felt dizzy, his mind clouded, and promptly terminated the study session.

Glancing at the real-world clock, he saw he’d spent eight hours in the study room and had completed nearly a third of over a hundred dream data disks. Eight hours—excluding the time spent falling asleep each session—meant he had spent close to ninety continuous hours in the dream courses. Though Li Nanke possessed exceptional memory and his mental fortitude was far beyond ordinary due to his extraordinary abilities, enduring such relentless, cramming-style education was taxing even for him.

He realized the latter portion of the courses left a less distinct impression; recalling them now, his memory was hazy, some key points already slipping away.

"That's enough for today," he thought. "Tomorrow, I'll reinforce the second half of the courses, and strive to master all the basics within four days."

"Once I officially enter the laboratory, I’ll be able to interact with new forbidden objects..."

Li Nanke set himself a modest goal. Having studied dozens of dream data disks, he understood these were just foundational knowledge. The varieties of forbidden objects in this world were diverse and bizarre; the powers derived from them vast and complex. To truly comprehend and integrate it all was a monumental undertaking—the journey had only just begun.

He removed the synchronizer. His stomach was growling, his vision blurred with hunger, so he left the study room. The Beast Main Trait granted him a powerful physique, but it also brought greater energy consumption. In the dream, he could use source energy as a substitute for food, but now his source energy was depleted; he needed to replenish the caloric deficit with high-fat, high-protein, high-carb foods.

In truth, the physical-type extraordinary power wasn’t as weak as Matthew had claimed. Perhaps a single physical trait wasn’t impressive, but the beast base included countless main traits, effectively merging all related schools of expertise. It was hardly inferior. That Beast could stand alongside the other three bases was proof enough; perhaps when perfected, the beast base could shatter stars with a single punch...

Moreover, Li Nanke did not deliberately seek to strengthen the beast base; it was simply that the Great Beyond bestowed most of his main traits from the beast base—he had no real choice in the matter.

Perhaps it was because he had experienced too few Forbidden Dreams, or perhaps because physical-related powers appeared most frequently in beginner Forbidden Dreams... Or it might have been due to the nature of the forbidden objects he encountered in his previous two attempts.

Shortly after leaving the study room, Li Nanke happened to run into his fellow apprentice at a corner. He saw through but said nothing.

Jiang Lei smiled gently, "Li, have you eaten?"

"I was just about to, but I don’t know where the cafeteria is."

"Come, I’ll show you. You can get familiar with the place, see all the spots you can go, then we’ll clock out."

Li Nanke had arrived at the Bureau of Crisis Management at nine in the morning; now it was five in the afternoon. The Bureau really did embody the nine-to-five routine.

As Jiang Lei led him to the elevator, he explained the daily life of a researcher.

The Research Department was organized into teams led by directors. Directors could be considered the highest-ranking officials Li Nanke would encounter, aside from the minister—Frank was his direct boss.

Within the Bureau’s internal hierarchy, directors were classified as A-level personnel, whereas his intern status was F-level, at the very bottom of the internal food chain.

However, his position was somewhat special. Jiang Lei confided that, for certain hires, the HR department assessed their potential and assigned scores upon recruitment—the higher the score, the easier their promotion. This circumvented the need to wait out seniority or suffer suppression from internal factions or leaders, preventing talented individuals from being buried and ensuring the organization ran efficiently.

In reality, the work of a researcher was not as dull as outsiders imagined. It wasn’t endless days spent poring over forbidden objects in a lab; instead, teams operated according to research topics. When a topic was active, work was busier—eight hours a day, weekends off. When there was no topic and relations with the director were good, it was essentially paid vacation. The Research Department was, arguably, the most relaxed division.

Occasionally, unexpected situations arose. For example, urgent topics required triple-pay overtime. Frank’s team had just encountered such a case; normally Jiang Lei would have needed to work late, but was granted special permission to spend a day shepherding the newcomer.

Another headache was the occasional need to accompany containment specialists to disaster frontlines, assisting them in initial forbidden object containment plans—the most dangerous assignment.

During their conversation, they reached the cafeteria floor via elevator. The floor was on the fifth level above ground; through the corridor’s glass curtain wall, the city’s night neon shimmered like a spilled galaxy, transforming distant neighborhoods into a dreamlike tableau.

Towering, brightly lit skyscrapers rose from the ground, their façades embedded with colorful electronic screens, broadcasting dizzying imagery, as if singing an ode to the city’s sleepless nights.

The tempting aroma of food was already wafting down the corridor, and Li Nanke could not help but swallow.

Stepping onto soft carpet through the restaurant’s entrance, he found the interior spacious and bright. Beyond the glass walls, blue seawater teemed with ornamental fish darting about. Looking up, he realized holographic projectors hung from the ceiling, casting an aquarium-themed ocean scene throughout the space.

Soft music drifted in the restaurant; uniformed android servers moved among the tables. Li Nanke glanced at the central buffet—an array of dishes dazzled the eye: traditional Western cuisine, Japanese fare, Chinese delicacies... nearly every regional specialty was represented.

"Today the fifth-floor restaurant’s theme is ocean. Ten floors above, the theme changes daily," Jiang Lei explained, evidently aware Li Nanke was famished, and led him straight to the buffet. "Some dishes on the central buffet aren’t always available. If you have time, you can ask a server for the menu—the dishes they bring are cooked fresh."

"Some dishes need long cooking times, but you can connect to the Bureau’s internal cloud network via dining services and pre-order or reserve them."

"If a dish isn’t listed, you can even suggest the kitchen develop it. Don’t be shy—ask twice and they’ll usually add it."

"However, some dishes require extremely high-end ingredients that aren’t available here; you need a certain clearance level to enjoy those upstairs..."

"..."

Li Nanke’s face was expressionless as he piled his tray high with food, muttering, "Having money really is a luxury."

His enhanced physique, courtesy of extraordinary power, had greatly increased his appetite. A series of delicious, high-calorie foods vanished into his belly; fried and sugary foods would not cause him to gain weight, for his powerful digestive system converted them entirely into energy for metabolism and daily consumption.

Anyone seeing Li Nanke’s heap of plates would instantly know he was a physical-type extraordinary.

Of course, obtaining energy from food was a primitive method; once his physical powers advanced, other means of energy supply would become available.

Although physical-type extraordinaries ranked low in the overall hierarchy and weren’t respected by their peers, they retained considerable advantages in certain fields.

Redemption City was open-minded; within the Bureau, alongside extraordinaires, many ordinary professionals worked. During his meal, several young women from nearby tables approached to exchange contact details—most had badges from the Logistics or Intelligence Departments. Li Nanke did not refuse; as a newcomer, more friends meant more opportunities.

Jiang Lei chuckled, "Li, want to experience high-salary nightlife?"

"Brother Jiang, what do you mean?"

"Ah, what’s that look—do you still hold stereotypes about researchers? Let me be honest: the more tedious and oppressive the job, the more one needs to relax after work."

Seeing Li Nanke had eaten his fill, Jiang Lei rose and said, "Come on, let’s clock out. Tonight, it’s on me—let me show you the charms of this sleepless city."