Chapter 14: CJKWhether it was the frivolous and shameless Julio or the twisted and nearly broken Ellie, neither had anything to do with Shan Xiaoxi for the time being.Following Lin Ting’s advice, apart from that day when she delivered the painting to Selena, Shan Xiaoxi had not visited Night Rose alone again. Instead, Selena sent a maid to bring her some things—nothing important, just some small pastries made by the club itself.Shan Xiaoxi knew what Selena wanted. She distributed the pastries to the children at the welfare home and then respectfully presented her self-made eyebrow pencils and eyeliners. She had other homemade goodies as well, but she couldn’t reveal them all at once. Keeping Selena’s appetite whetted would ensure she remained interested.Over the past few days, Lin Ting had been inquiring about smuggling routes from the Fourth Ring to the Third Ring. Some people in her circle were involved in this, though she had never dabbled in it herself.Transporting goods from the Fourth Ring to the Third Ring required paying a bridge tax, which gave rise to smuggling routes.Due to the unique nature of the Abyss, there was only one smuggling route, shared by the big shots in the Inner Ring. Moreover, the powerful forces behind the scenes provided such extensive protection that smuggling across the Abyss had become rampant, almost brazen.If goods could be smuggled, then people could be smuggled too.The big shots wouldn’t specifically open a route for stowaways, so the stowaway passage from the Fourth Ring to the Third Ring used the same route as the goods smuggling.Selena had informed Shan Xiaoxi that she could only take the stowaway route, so Lin Ting planned to take Shan Xiaoxi to scout the smuggling route in advance.Three days later, Lin Ting had secured the connections and was ready to take Shan Xiaoxi to survey the location in person.To avoid the cost of crossing the alloy bridge at night, Lin Ting and Shan Xiaoxi had to set off in the afternoon.Before leaving, Shan Xiaoxi bought a dozen bottles of ordinary Patra Bone Wine from Lin Ting. Patra Bone Wine was essential for nighttime travel, and she couldn’t keep relying on Lin Ting to sponsor her.Ordinary Patra Bone Wine took effect within two hours and had less of a lingering effect compared to the premium version. Shan Xiaoxi felt the ordinary version was more suitable for someone with her low alcohol tolerance.Shan Xiaoxi packed two bottles of the bone wine in her bag. Four hours should be enough.Before leaving, Shan Xiaoxi reminded Xiao Bei again, asking him to remember to guard her door at night.Around three in the afternoon, Shan Xiaoxi arrived at Patra’s Eatery to meet Lin Ting. The two left through the side door, carrying only their personal bags.“No matter what happens, don’t make a sound. If anyone asks questions, let me handle it.”Along the way, Lin Ting repeatedly reminded Shan Xiaoxi of various precautions. Shan Xiaoxi listened carefully, committing each one to memory.After crossing the alloy bridge, Lin Ting led Shan Xiaoxi onward. They walked from the Eastern District to the Northern Third District and arrived at a warehouse belonging to a chicken farm.The warehouse was built not far from the Fallen River, quite a distance from the Eastern District’s alloy bridge and not particularly close to the alloy bridge and docking station in the Northern Third District either.The Northern Third District was an industrial area, consisting only of factories and livestock farms, making it a non-residential zone.Standing at the back door of the warehouse, Shan Xiaoxi looked toward the nearby waters of the Fallen River. Lin Ting whispered an explanation to her: “They deliberately chose a location close to the Fallen River. If there’s an unexpected official inspection, they can dump any contraband goods into the river, leaving no evidence.”What about people who shouldn’t be there? Would they be dumped into the river too? Seeing Lin Ting’s serious expression, Shan Xiaoxi wisely refrained from asking such a foolish question.The warehouse gate bore large blue-painted letters: "CJK." CJK—Chicken Eater, a fast-food chain brand in the Inner Ring.Shan Xiaoxi often ordered CJK takeout when she worked in the Third Ring.First, it was affordable and filling; second, CJK always reminded her of a fast-food restaurant from her memories, evoking a deep sense of nostalgia. Although the texture of the chicken felt a bit strange at first, she grew accustomed to it after eating it frequently.This was CJK's chicken farm. Entering through the back door led to the slaughter workshop, cold storage warehouse, and distribution room.Lin Ting and Shan Xiaoxi arrived at the distribution room.Lin Ting spoke a few words to an elderly warehouse security guard. After scrutinizing them for a moment, the guard tossed each of them a set of work clothes and pointed toward a curtain behind the duty room.Lin Ting frowned slightly but said nothing, pulling Shan Xiaoxi behind the curtain.She pushed Shan Xiaoxi further inside, turning her back to block any prying eyes from outside."You change first; I'll cover for you."Shan Xiaoxi nodded, swiftly undressing and dressing.Even in unfavorable circumstances, it’s best not to complain easily—unless your words can help rather than cause trouble.Shan Xiaoxi had long learned not to waste time complaining. Still, she sometimes couldn’t help feeling disgusted.Because Shan Xiaoxi was smaller than Lin Ting, when Lin Ting changed, her back couldn’t completely shield Shan Xiaoxi’s body.Through gaps in the curtain, leering eyes swept back and forth, utterly unashamed. Shan Xiaoxi even heard the old man’s repulsive, hoarse, low laughter behind them.After changing and emerging from behind the curtain, the guard’s eyes remained glued to Lin Ting. Shan Xiaoxi couldn’t help glaring at him, only stopping when Lin Ting nudged her.The CJK work uniform was a blue jumpsuit that mostly concealed one’s original figure. Perhaps to facilitate late-night shifts, the jumpsuit included a hood, and pulling up the collar served as a mask.Shan Xiaoxi and Lin Ting pulled up their collars to cover their faces, not wanting anyone to remember their appearances."Where do we put our clothes?" Lin Ting asked the guard. Their changed clothes wouldn’t fit in their bags, so Lin Ting had stuffed them into one bag together."What a hassle. This is an extra service and costs extra," the old guard grumbled, still staring brazenly at Lin Ting.Expressionless, Lin Ting pulled a bottle of Patra Bone Wine from her bag and tossed it over. The old man caught it, nodded in satisfaction, and took out a key to unlock a nearby cabinet."This is my cabinet. Only I have the key. Come find me when you leave. You have to return the clothes you’re wearing. If they’re damaged, you’ll pay for them."Both Lin Ting and Shan Xiaoxi frowned at the first part. Neither wanted further dealings with this guard, but hearing they had to return the clothes, they silently endured it.Like ordinary loading workers, Lin Ting and Shan Xiaoxi went to the work area, found the foreman assigning tasks to get their work orders, and began loading and unloading goods like the other workers.The work in the distribution room involved packing different goods into various boxes according to the work orders and loading them onto trucks.Trucks of different colors and numbers were parked at the warehouse exit, waiting for workers to load them.Carrying and loading goods was the most exhausting work. Fortunately, Shan Xiaoxi and Lin Ting’s job was packing.The goods transported from the chicken farm to the Third Ring were frozen chicken meat, including whole chickens, as well as segmented parts like drumsticks, wings, and necks.The chickens were cleaned, cut into pieces, and pre-packaged in the slaughterhouse, then stored in the freezer warehouse before being allocated to the distribution room.Shan Xiaoxi and the other person needed to identify what was in each bag, then sort and pack them into different boxes by type before sealing them.In this way, Shan Xiaoxi and Lin Ting worked until 8 p.m., when dinner was served.

The Fashion Rookie and The Mysterious Gentleman