The onboarding process is simple.
Fill out an information form and a risk consent form, and that's it.
I voluntarily accept the corpse-burning job, and agree to fully assume all risks during the course of the work.
Signed: Feng Mu
Date Signed: March 22, Year 233
Just a brief line of description, with a signature and a red fingerprint.
"Consent forms from the previous life at least mentioned what the risks were. Here, no explanation is needed. The word 'all' suffices, haha~"
Feng Mu glanced sideways at Wang Jian, who didn't seem to find anything amiss.
Is this the awareness of the Blank People?
"Other than pollution and disease, are there any other risks with corpse burning?" Feng Mu didn't ask Wang Jian, believing the latter wouldn't know either.
"Forget it, since the Calamity Corpses can yield fragments of Nine Nether Evil Iron, a few unknown risks are bearable." Feng Mu could only temporarily put this question aside.
Wang Jian was very happy that Feng Mu came to keep him company, and he took Feng Mu on a tour around the factory.
"The factory is divided into nine zones, identified by numbers. Zone 1 and 2 are for corpse burning, Zone 3 is the storage area for bodies, Zones 4 to 6 are for burning pollutants, Zone 7 is the quarantine area, and I don't know about Zones 8 and 9."
Wang Jian continuously introduced,
"In short, our daily work is to transport the Calamity Corpses from Zone 3 to an available incinerator in Zone 1 or 2 to burn them."
"The other zones are unrelated to us, and we're not allowed to enter them."
Feng Mu listened quietly, with growing doubt in his heart: "It's just an incineration plant, but why is it organized like a military factory?"
Of course, he was merely puzzled, not curious, nor did he have a desire to investigate.
He thought, "Any secrets have nothing to do with me, I just want to quietly burn corpses every day and explore [blind boxes]."
Burning corpses is purely physical labor, requiring no technical skill. Just wear a mask and you can do it.
In the morning, they burned three Calamity Corpses in total.
They varied in shape, one had a head that blossomed like a trumpet flower, another had a protruding tumor on its back, and one had a sunken face on its chest.
The commonality was that they all vaguely retained a human shape, and none yielded anything, only leaving behind a pile of white ash.
Both Feng Mu and Wang Jian showed a bit of disappointment on their faces.
"Usually, you get one Black Core from ten corpses. Depending on the quality, it can sell for tens to hundreds on the black market. Don't worry, when it appears, I'll take you to sell it on the black market." Wang Jian said.
Feng Mu nodded and went to gather up the ashes.
The ashes of the Calamity Corpses need to be carefully collected into specially made paper bags, then placed in the iron box at the entrance for workers from Zones 4-6 to collect in the afternoon.
They couldn't just scatter them around.
He asked, "Why do people on the black market buy Black Cores? Do they have any special uses?"
Wang Jian took off his mask and smoked a cigarette: "I don't know, anyway, you can sell them for money. As long as there's a buyer, just sell it."
Feng Mu shrugged and smiled: "That's true."
At noon, they ate at the canteen, where the food was notably bad. The ingredients were the cheapest synthetic meals, but there was plenty. Feng Mu pinched his nose and ate five bowls.
You couldn't eat without pinching your nose. The pervasive smell in the air mixed into the taste, making you want to vomit.
Wang Jian just ate half a bowl, staring at Feng Mu with eyes wide, showing a look of admiration.
During the meal, they bumped into Wang Jian's father, whose hair was graying and who didn't talk much, being a worker in Zone 5.
"Why didn't you go to the class reunion yesterday?" Wang Jian suddenly asked while washing the dishes.
Feng Mu was taken aback, then seemed to remember something, and bitterly smiled: "I slept my days away at home, forgot yesterday was a weekend."
This week, he had filled his schedule, with destroying corpses and practicing exercises, and on the one day he finally took a breath, he truly forgot about the class reunion.
Wang Jian didn't think much about it and started chatting: "Everyone's changed a lot. Dong Ni got tattoos on her arm, Tao Fei can't find a job and plans to join a gang, Luo Ji joined the Advanced Team and will enter the Hidden Sect to explore next week, who knows if he can come back alive."
"Luo Ji paid for the meal, saying if he dies in there, having money would be meaningless."
"Oh, right, here you go."
Wang Jian took out a folding knife from his pocket and handed it over, saying: "Luo Ji prepared gifts for everyone, joking that if he doesn't come back, everyone should burn him some paper money in the future."
Seeing Feng Mu not extend his hand, Wang Jian forcibly stuffed it into his pocket and laughed: "Take it, everyone accepted it and agreed that if Luo Ji doesn't come back, we'll all go and burn paper for him next year."
Feng Mu inserted his hand into his pocket, gently squeezing the knife, remaining silent.
It was both a gift and a relic, a joke but also a will.
Feng Mu had been here for three years, and this was his first gift, yet the giver wasn't really a friend.
They hadn't exchanged many words before, and yesterday might have been the last interaction, which he missed.
The gift was a knife. In a previous life, it would have been odd, but in this world, it was quite fitting.
What could be more fitting than giving a knife to a Blank Person, and the giver was a Blank Person heading towards death.
Feng Mu felt strange, not sorrowful, nor mournful, but with a hint of...what seemed like anger!
Feng Mu cursed in a low voice: "This damned world!"
Wang Jian didn't hear clearly: "What?"
Feng Mu released the grip on the knife and held out his hand: "Give me a cigarette."
Wang Jian lit a cigarette for Feng Mu and one for himself, and the two sat on the steps by the incinerator, puffing smoke rings in silence.
Afternoon.
Two more Calamity Corpses came in.
They yielded one Black Core about the size of a red date, of better quality than the one Feng Mu had before.
Feng Mu let Wang Jian have it, and the two agreed that in the future, they would take turns taking the yield, one per person, good or bad, subject to luck.
Wang Jian happily agreed and then lent Feng Mu 300 yuan.
"Thanks, I'll pay you back when the salary comes in next month." Feng Mu thanked Wang Jian.
Wang Jian looked at the Black Core in his hand, squeezed his deflated wallet, and forced a complex smile.
There were two hours left until the end of the shift.
With nothing to do, Feng Mu practiced Basic Boxing in the incineration room.
He didn't practice Body Forging Exercise because his stomach had no iron, making it pointless, and with a knife in hand now, he suddenly had an interest in practicing boxing.
Why not practice Sword Technique?
The Sword Technique involves weapons, and the school doesn't teach it for free, so Feng Mu didn't learn it.
Basic Boxing and Body Forging Exercise are both free.
The difficulty of Basic Boxing is low. Even with Feng Mu's Root Bone, he could perform it flawlessly, without needing video guidance; every move was engraved into his muscle memory.
Wang Jian forgot about his cigarette, looking at Feng Mu in disbelief, filled with questions.
Seriously, we've both given up on school and the citizenship test, what are you doing?
"First Form, Straight Fist."
"Second Form, Charging Fist."
"Third Form, Elbow Strike."
"Fourth Form, Short Spike."
Feng Mu practiced with precision, as always, rigid and devoid of agility; however, he felt something different.
"The movements remain stiff, the punch speed remains slow, and the Stepping Technique remains uncoordinated, but....."
With a punch, his chest drew a bow into an arrow, his spine twisting with a cracking sound, like an iron rod being forcefully twisted.
The next instant.
A crisp explosive sound came from the air.
"Hiss, pulled a muscle." Feng Mu grimaced in pain, feeling like his arm was pulled, with his wrist's skin feeling hot and burning like it was congested.
Wang Jian was stupefied, the burned-out cigarette fell on his shoe, and he stammered in surprise: "The air cracked?!!"