The Happy Farmer Wanderer-Chapter 918 Service for One Person

Li Qing, harboring a mix of belief and doubt, reached out and pressed for the highest ninth floor.

This guy... looks rather unreliable.

He claims he doesn’t have the authority to enter, yet he says his office is on the top floor.

There’s somewhat of a contradiction in that.

The elevator began to move and swiftly reached the ninth floor in the blink of an eye.

The moment the elevator doors opened, an empty corridor appeared before Li Qing, its vintage passageway evoking a sense of traveling through time. The hallway was quite bright, well-lit, and at the moment, the setting sun was casting mottled shadows through the window grilles.

It was just a bit too quiet.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the right side of the corridor.

Li Qing stepped out to see two middle-aged men in suits and leather shoes walking briskly toward him.

The man on the left had a dignified appearance, wearing a pair of black nearsighted glasses, looking like someone with a technical background.

On the right, the man had a resolute face, his cheeks well-defined, a hint of valor in his brows, and muscles that were unusually compact, as if he had a military background, exuding strength in every stride.

"You must be Group Leader Li, right?"

The dignified-looking middle-aged man approached with a radiant smile and immediately took Li Qing’s hand.

Li Qing nodded in response.

He was still somewhat perplexed, having no idea what these two were here for.

"I’m the head of the Ebei Action Group’s Information Department, my name is Hu Shengjie. I will be looking forward to your guidance in the future," said Hu Shengjie with a beaming smile, finally releasing Li Qing’s hand after the introduction.

"Nice to meet you, Director Hu. I’m afraid I’ll have to rely heavily on you both in the future," Li Qing replied with a smile, turning to the man standing on his right. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Meeting Li Qing’s gaze, the middle-aged man suddenly straightened his back and bowed slightly, saying, "Deputy Group Leader, Gao Ming."

"Listening to this, it seems like Director Hu is of higher rank than both of us, isn’t he?" Li Qing asked with a smile.

Hu Shengjie hastily corrected him, "Group Leader is joking. Here in the Ninth Bureau, we distinguish territories by action groups; naturally, the group leader holds the highest rank. My role as department head is equivalent to managing logistics. Besides our Information Department, there’s also a Technical Department, a Medical Team, as well as the actual Logistics Department and Engineering Department, making up the core of the action group’s staff."

"Oh, I see," Li Qing said, nodding with understanding.

At first, he was genuinely confused by the title.

After all, according to the normal hierarchy, a director should hold a rank higher than a group leader.

But here it was the opposite: the ones wielded the most authority were supposed to be the group leader and the deputy group leader, Li Qing and Gao Ming, the resolute middle-aged man. Following them came directors like Hu Shengjie and the leaders of the Medical Team.

Well, it’s essentially reasonable, though it sounds a bit messy.

"Where are the others? May I meet them?" Li Qing inquired.

Gao Ming’s lips twitched into a slight smile as he said, "Group Leader, you can meet them whenever you’d like, it’s always convenient. However, they’ve just gotten off work. They probably just got home, but upon hearing of your arrival, I’ve already informed them to return."

"They just got off work? Then let’s not disturb their rest. We can meet another day. Please give them my regards," Li Qing said with a wave of his hand.

"Group Leader, this is not a trivial matter, we should have them come over," Hu Shengjie said hastily, "Our Ebei Action Group is finally fully staffed now, and we should give you a proper welcome. This is much more important than starting work."

"Now that the Group Leader has arrived, our Ebei Action Group is finally taking shape," Gao Ming also said, "Group Leader doesn’t need to worry about whether they are off work or not, we should all meet next, get to know each other first, and then decide on the following tasks. Without the Group Leader, we didn’t know what to do during this period."

Li Qing then did not refuse anymore. Since you both say so, let’s call them.

He only asked in some surprise, "Has the Action Group been fully staffed for a long time now?"

"Not really, the staff isn’t completely in place yet," Gao Ming replied, "Old Hu and I were transferred to Tongcheng half a month ago. The order from the bureau was to ensure that the most basic personnel were scouted and in place within this half-month. The two of us have been doing this the whole time."

"At the moment, the Intelligence Department is the most fully staffed, roughly at seventy percent. The other Medical Team, Technical Department, Logistics Department, and Engineering Department are mostly at half the required numbers, enough to ensure the normal operations of our Ebei Action Group."

"But the real Action Group needs elite forces, which requires careful selection and extensive vetting, and the procedures are slower. Currently, only thirty percent meets the standard, just over twenty people, barely an action team."

Li Qing generally understood.

He had thought this matter was too simple before, but now he realized the procedures were quite complicated.

"I don’t really understand the specifics; this matter is definitely yours," Li Qing said.

There’s no point in meddling with things one doesn’t understand.

The Ninth Bureau sent the two of them first, so there must have been detailed division of authority.

It’s just that Li Qing currently did not know how much authority he actually had in his hands, so he casually mentioned it.

"Personnel is being gradually filled, and in about a month or so, our entire Action Group will be fully staffed. Most of the personnel we have identified are currently going through the procedures," Hu Shengjie explained, "Because the Ninth Bureau is a highly confidential unit, the background checks and review of the staff are incredibly thorough, completely following the national security protocols."

Li Qing couldn’t help but be startled. Goodness, that level of scrutiny would certainly be considered the highest level, wouldn’t it?

However, given the authority and background the Ninth Bureau holds, this is very necessary.

"How many people are in our entire Action Group?" Li Qing asked curiously.

"At the moment, we have just over eight hundred people," Hu Shengjie said, "The Intelligence Department needs a large number of people to collect massive amounts of information and grasp the entire situation in Ebei, so it has the largest staff. Next is the Medical Team, which will be fully equipped in every department, ready to respond at any time."

"The Technical Department and the Engineering Department have fewer staff, but together they also amount to almost a hundred people. The real Action Group is tentatively a hundred people strong, divided into three main teams for easy deployment in support of the Group Leader’s actions."

Gao Ming looked at Li Qing and suddenly said with a smile, "Since Cultivators are rare, our entire Action Group is actually in service to you alone."

Li Qing had just realized that point.

After all, the Ninth Bureau is to face those evil spirits, and when the real battle comes, it probably still relies on him.

And his two unreliable assistants.

Wait a minute...

He also has assistants.

Li Qing patted his head and said with a smile to Hu Shengjie, "Which one of you two can go out and fetch my two assistants? They probably can’t find the place just like me."

If he hadn’t suddenly remembered just now, he would have almost forgotten about it.