After an all-nighter, Cloud successfully traced an IP address starting from the internet café. He closed the system backstage, ensuring there were no traces left, and stretched his tired muscles.
"Hey, Calvin, I'm here. Sorry I'm late, there was a traffic jam," the substitute network administrator hurriedly greeted Cloud.
Cloud smiled and reassured him, "No worries, I was just finishing up a game. Take your time."
The substitute network administrator marveled at how friendly Calvin was and began the handover process.
"Wait, something seems off with the 25 dollars," the substitute network administrator remarked.
Cloud nodded, "Oh, there was this guy who went crazy and paid with underworld currency to access the internet."
He pointed to two underworld banknotes in the corner and whispered, "Have you noticed anything unusual happening in our county recently? Something that just looks abnormal at first sight?"
The substitute network administrator was scared as he saw the underworld currency!
Oh my...
"Well, nothing out of the ordinary..." The substitute network administrator replied nervously, "There was an elderly lady in the southern part of the city who committed suicide by jumping off a building. But that's unfortunately not uncommon... Could she be the one who was accessing the internet last night?"
Cloud shook his head, "No, it was just a regular young man."
The substitute network administrator pondered for a moment and added, "I did hear about a man getting hit by a bicycle the day before yesterday and being rushed to the hospital. The doctors said he couldn't be saved... But the next day, he disappeared."
Cloud speculated, "Could he have come to our internet café?"
The substitute network administrator cautioned, "Come on, Calvin, don't say such things!"
Cloud realized that he could not find any abnormal people or incidents in the county. He patted his colleague on the shoulder and said, "I was just joking. Let's get on with our work."
The substitute network administrator nodded while sending a voice message to his friend, briefly mentioning the incident of receiving underworld currency at the internet café. However, he quickly added a warning at the end, urging his friend not to talk about it, as it could affect the café's business negatively and the boss might kill him.
Meanwhile, Cloud went inside to retrieve something, and when he returned, he noticed that the substitute network administrator was still recording a voice message:
"Yeah, I'm scared! Hey, why don't I just take up that part-time job you mentioned yesterday? I can earn 2,000 dollars a month just by taking photos, which is only 500 dollars less than my salary as a network administrator, and it's much easier."
Cloud glanced at him, intrigued by the mention of a part-time job involving photography.
"What kind of part-time job is it? Count me in if the pay well!" Cloud joked.
The substitute network administrator replied, "I'm not sure if it's legit though. There's a rumor that an environmental research organization needs people to take photos to document the biodiversity in the western region."
Cloud asked, "What kind of pictures? Is it that hard to take a picture?"
The substitute network administrator shook his head, "Doesn't sound too difficult. It seems they want photos of the vegetation, the overall forest environment, and such. They said they're looking for someone to go to Kongo Jungle for this purpose."
Kongo Jungle was right at the border, and on the other side of the mountain was Grookey. The area was densely forested, but there was a road that led up the mountain. Residents often went up the mountain to collect herbs and mushrooms, and it was also frequented by tourists exploring the county, although it remained relatively unknown.
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