While the driver is currently busy talking with Hubert and explaining his responsibilities and what he signed before he was hired, Hubert's report regarding the Anomaly restoration operation that resulted in the death of two people and one in critical and fatal condition, the council gathered to discuss this matter with them. Multiple silhouettes of the members are present, and no one from them has revealed their faces. Their identities are hard to know due to their concealment, and even their voices are masked with a voice changer, making them all anonymous and hard to recognize whether they are a man or a woman, even to the other members.
"I heard there was a Dimension Crack Anomaly that happened during the rookie operation?"
"Affirmative. The reports were precise, and the one spotting the anomalies has also confirmed the appearance of Dimension Crack. It was thought to be an operation failure, but the remaining two, the one who survived and the one who was in fatal condition, worked together to close it and stop the crack from expanding further."
"That still didn't warrant having unprepared rookies deal with a Dimension Crack. Shouldn't the site be an easy clear since they only needed to deal with at least five anomalies to fully stabilize the dimension and stop the anomalies from spawning altogether?"
"Indeed, that should be the case, but it seems we underestimated it and made the wrong call. Two of their targets were an intruder and a hostile anomaly, which resulted in the death of two operators."
"Still, for rookies, these two operators who were still alive are quite capable eh? If they managed to deal with the intruders using just the simple tools they have been issued with and even dealt with a dimension crack themselves, aren't they promising?"
"Unfortunately, the only one we can say to have the promise is none other than the remaining guy who came out unscathed. The other one, who was impaled and gained a big hole in his body, is paralyzed and no longer capable of doing anything. He will be paralyzed forever. Thanks to the contract, he and his family will receive support forever from us as a way of compensation for his current state and for even surviving the tribulations he received from the operation."
"What about the other guy?"
"You mean, the person who didn't have any injuries? Well, he was awarded the panacea and the promised money as compensation for dealing with the Dimension crack. After this, he will be assigned to a team where his skills will be more appropriate for dealing with more anomalies."
"Given how anomalies are becoming increasingly strange and dangerous, I believe we need a diverse range of talents and capable operators to address them. If we just keep the anomalies intact and let them breach into the real world, soon enough, we will die as a result of anomaly invasion."
The council continues to discuss things related to the anomalies, but most of them are no longer related to Hubert's exploits. Only one member of the council remained quiet, but he kept his eye on the profile of Hubert. He grinned and put a red stamp on Hubert's paper, labeling "Team X".
...
...
...
Hubert returned to the hospital with the panacea in hand. Although he was happy that he found something that would help with his daughter's sickness, the fact that the price of it is his eternal employment to a job that is one step away from his death is something that he is not happy about. And the fact that resigning is not an option makes him even madder.
"I can't believe that my skimming tactics backfired. I should have made sure to properly read the contracts I sign next time. But this job is clearly a big risk, much more risky and more life-threatening."
He remembered all of the driver's words about his current employment status and the reason why he can't just resign.
...
...
...
"Remember, our company is a job being run by the government's special task force that deals with anomalies. Due to the confidentiality and danger of the job, we often have to work under rules and anonymity, due to the danger we usually face every day. And since the public has no idea about this other dimension thing and how these anomalies popping up could potentially cause danger, it is our job to restore order and keep these anomalies at bay by eliminating them as much as we can. You should have already gotten a briefing about this when you were scouted, right? I doubt you got scouted, and you didn't even know the basics of this job and what it implies about it."
"Actually...I don't know about that... I was never scouted, and I never got to be given any information about this job prior to me getting hired."
"What? Impossible. We don't just randomly hire people who are civilians in the first place, so how come you are able to get in if you are not scouted?"
"Well, I received this flyer from someone at the job agency centre. Thanks to the labeled wage per work, I didn't hesitate to take the bait and get myself hired! I didn't even know this was something that I was totally unprepared to do!" Hubert complained. After all, if they are a private company that was supposed to combat dangerous enemies, how come their flyer arrived at the job agency and allowed him to get hired in the process? That would risk more civilians being hired in the process.
"The hell? The company doesn't use any flyers in the first place, as we select our potential operators from scouted individuals from the private sector and the military. So it doesn't make sense for a random public job agency to have a flyer related to us and shoving the opportunity to get work to civilians who are more likely to die."
"Then...does that mean I am not qualified and I can safely resign, considering I am a civilian?" Hubert seems to have found a loophole to escape his predicament.
"If you have not taken the first job, then perhaps we could still amend things. But now that you have survived, met the enemies that spawn in the otherworld, and many other things, you are more than qualified to continue the job. There is no reason for us to deny your qualifications, and the fact that you even managed to solve the Dimension crack and survive is a sort of miracle we needed in this job."
Hubert's hope of getting fired was dashed through the window after hearing his words. In short, he still wouldn't be able to quit and leave the chaotic and dangerous job behind.
...
...
...
Although most of the situations related to his new job are mostly bad things for Hubert, the first best thing that happened was obtaining the Panacea in the first place. He just hopes that it is a legitimate medicine and not just a quack medicine that has no good reason to be used in the first place.
Entering Diane's hospital room, he hopes that Diane will be saved from her predicament. He might have gotten the money now, but the cure for his daughter's sickness takes priority.
When he entered, Diane was currently sleeping. The machines attached to her are numerous, and Hubert is more than saddened seeing this situation with Diane. Instead of enjoying her childhood, she is forced to remain inactive and only play from time to time, as she can't exert too much of it either and not suffering the consequences.
Hubert made sure to ask the Driver for confirmation if the medicine is safe and has no drawbacks for such an incredible effect, and after getting the confirmation that the panacea is indeed a miracle medicine, there is no need for Hubert to worry about it.
Sitting beside Diane's hospital bed, his daughter opened her eyes, detecting the presence of her dear father arriving.
"Father...?" Diane is still a bit groggy as she rubs her eyes to slowly adjust her eyesight.
"Diane, at long last, it looks like you will soon return to normal stuff soon enough. You will no longer suffer from any danger in the future."
Hubert then pulls out the potion from his pocket and hands it to Diane. "Please drink this up."