Chapter 1: Yan Qingfeng

However, it seems that today is not Deng Pangzi's lucky day, as even the two most outstanding employees from the Milan relay station came up empty-handed.

Every byte of bandwidth at the relay station is extremely precious. The responsible Lei Yanling would certainly not misappropriate it. However, the Milan Communication Relay Station possesses several communication antennas with the strongest reception capabilities within several light-years, the most powerful decoding communication cabinets, and a complete set of professional equipment, all without occupying any bandwidth. This is a good idea

Just as Yan Qingfeng thought of this, someone over there was already shouting his name: "Yan Qingfeng, has the B2x3 group communication module resumed normal operation?"

Decryption failed

After a year and a half, after deducting insurance and the scattered deductions from Galaxy Communications, he barely managed to take home 6,000 Alliance Coins each month. He finally saved up a small amount of money, and the relentless hustle also honed his skills. Several telecommunications companies expressed their willingness to hire him at a higher salary once his three-year contract expired. However, Yan Qingfeng was contemplating whether he should push himself further to strive to become a formal employee of Galaxy Communications

She is full of enthusiasm, capable of instantly motivating the men around her, and Yan Qingfeng is no exception. He quickly pointed at the various touch screens displaying communication statuses, saying: "Yan Ling, today's traffic has increased by 2% compared to usual, which is quite challenging to handle"

Two minutes later, both Yan Qingfeng and Lei Yanling smiled. Yan Qingfeng glanced over and said, "It's inter-ship communication, play it out..."

As for interesting matters, Yan Qingfeng casually mentioned that the jokes everyone has heard several times already, while the private topics that should not be discussed are kept hidden in everyone's hearts

Apart from the almost eternally unchanging starry sky, the entire communication relay station lacks any decorations that are exciting or picturesque. When Yan Qingfeng arrived at the communication station, he was filled with enthusiasm, but within less than six months, he became numb.

Before arriving at the relay station, Deng Pangzi had already made all the necessary preparations. He filled his hard drive with short films, but now he has watched each film more than three times. In his words: "I remember every line clearly, I know exactly what the next action will be, how am I supposed to get through this..."

In this distant and desolate star region, where one can hardly find a glimmer of hope, Yan Qingfeng has long understood what it means that "the border relay station of galactic communications is the best place to hone one's skills"

All these advertisements always attract newcomers who are unfamiliar with the market. They arrive here with excitement, only to find that the bandwidth allocated to them is insufficient to vent their frustrations. In various professional forums, Galaxy Communications is consistently the most cursed company—despite the fact that they are merely labor dispatch personnel.

Lei Yanling unexpectedly responded, "Alright, what interesting things are there?"

The intercepted communication signals are pitifully few, and in the rapid decryption mode, failures have been repeated time and again. However, as a highly responsible employee, Lei Yanling approaches everything with utmost dedication: "Yan Qingfeng, go all out!"

That is the time to embody our values

Even when dressed in thick space suits, the biting cold still seeps into one's skin. Gazing at the dim starry river, each day is spent in busyness, just as the predecessors on the forums have said: "Work for forty-two weeks a year, seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, with meal times considered an extra benefit"

Yan Qingfeng looked at the rows of giant machines in front of him, each nearly as tall as himself. Glancing at the countless indices on the screen, he bit his lip and said, "We can make it. Let's try to search for nearby communication signals; perhaps we can discover something interesting..."

Work hard! Lei Yanling is always full of energy, her fingers move gracefully. If it weren't for the heavy space suit she wears, one could almost describe her movements as light and dancing: "What is worth our attention?"

SKF ー 2897 band decryption failed

If only the stars could speak

Once the formal contract is signed with Galaxy Communications, the days of happiness will arrive. Even the two unfortunate souls at the Milan relay station, who have been relegated to the border, already have a nominal monthly income exceeding 10,000, along with many benefits they are unaware of, including three months of paid leave each year

Indeed, apart from the two supervisors who are formal employees, the rest are all recruited from the advertising sector of Galaxy Communications. The advertisement is enticing enough to attract most newcomers to the workforce: "Galaxy Communications welcomes you... All meals and accommodation provided, with employee dormitories, excellent benefits, a three-year work contract, a monthly salary exceeding 10,000, annual salary increases, superior welfare, and a workweek of thirty hours."

Perhaps without Lei Yanling, the morale of the entire communication relay station would have long since collapsed

How could the clients possibly be satisfied? It should be noted that the Milan relay station is currently handling over one million concurrent connections, yet Yan Qingfeng did not refuse Lei Yanling: "OK!"

Yan Qingfeng gazed at the specks of starlight dotted across the black velvet, unsure whether to let out a sigh

He does not regret his choice, even though it is a light-second away from hell. For someone like him, a newcomer from the wild star regions with no work experience, this is the only job that offers a practical income of over 5,000 Alliance Coins. Moreover, just by signing the contract and the book, he receives an advance signing fee of 20,000 Alliance Coins—he was in urgent need of money at that time

Listening to the melodious sounds coming from the headphones, Yan Qingfeng smiled as he picked up the touchpad in his hand: "Everything is functioning normally, Yan Ling!"

Everything is extremely satisfying

Under the supervision of Lei Yanling, the work appeared to be well-organized. Yan Qingfeng even identified two communication modules showing signs of instability ahead of time. Lei Yanling personally worked with a laser detector, a wrench, and a combination screwdriver for fifteen minutes.

Similar activities have been attempted by Yan Qingfeng many times, utilizing the specialized equipment of communication relay stations to search for hyperspace signals within dozens or even hundreds of light-years. He would then find something interesting, such as video chats with strangers, casual conversations among family members, or negotiations between business partners. The most interesting incident was when Deng Pangzi struck it rich, unexpectedly intercepting a segment of a romantic phone call from tens of light-years away, which was truly dear to Deng Pangzi. However, after listening for half a minute, Yan Qingfeng blushed and quickly turned off the headphones—it was simply too stimulating.

This remote star region is a place where even the Alliance military conducts patrols only once every one to two months. The overweight Deng, who switched jobs, said he simply could not endure the environment here any longer. Working day and night without overtime pay, he gritted his teeth and persevered, but he could not find any entertainment at all. Not to mention that taking a shower requires traveling a full four light-years to the nearest space station, what frustrates Deng the most is the damned network conditions. Working day and night without overtime pay, he gritted his teeth and persevered, but he could not find any entertainment at all. Not to mention that taking a shower requires traveling a full four light-years to the nearest space station, what frustrates Deng the most is the damned network conditions

Indeed, the network conditions provided to employees by this communication relay station, which transmits countless pieces of information daily, are difficult to describe with a suitable term. One can only say that it spans distances across the entire galaxy. Yan Qingfeng discovered that apart from chatting through a character interface, there was almost nothing else one could do. Even attempting to play a movie resulted in buffering for an entire day without playback. As a loyal film fan, Deng Pangzi lamented that he had already watched both his own hard drive and the hard drive in the library countless times.

He still needs to spend at least another two months before he can return home. At the thought of this, Yan Qingfeng finally let out a gentle sigh

Succeeded

With men and women working together, the labor is not exhausting. As the princess of the Milan-Ko border communication relay station, this statement was enough to excite Yan Qingfeng for a full eight hours

The distant signal was restored into audio, played through the headphones, the sound carrying blood and power: "Second Fleet, cover the entire fleet! Second Fleet, charge at the enemy!"

Under the inspiration of this melodious voice, Yan Qingfeng began to exert himself to the fullest. However, he was unaware of the profound impact this signal would have on his fate

Even with gloves as heavy as bricks, Yan Qingfeng could still sense a feeling of grace from Lei Yanling's hands: "Hmm, according to the information revealed on the Yintong Forum, there may be a communication quality inspection today"

Do your utmost! Lei Yanling puts in great effort in everything she does, even if it violates the employee code of conduct of Galaxy Communications: "I hope to find something interesting!"

After yet another failure, Yan Qingfeng finally intercepted a communication signal. However, upon seeing the frequency band, he frowned: "Is it a military encryption frequency?"

This girl is very charming; although much of her beauty is concealed by the spacesuit, Yan Qingfeng can still see a jade-like face that makes his heart flutter, and he hears a melodious voice coming through the headphones

All work modules are functioning normally, although based on past experience, issues are certain to arise within four hours

Search failed

BA-6 band search completed, no useful signals found

Through the glass, he saw Lei Yanling, the only woman at the Milan-Ko border relay station, also dressed in a heavy spacesuit. She was diligent and beautiful, a strong competitor for him to become a formal employee of Galactic Communications: "Good m.hetushucomcom, Qingfeng! Next, we will work together for these eight hours! Let's give it our all!"

The commander of the Second Fleet, Zhe Chailong, shares the fate of the fleet!

No problem! Lei Yanling's fingers have slowed down, but they continue to dance lightly: "Let's listen to..."

Located in the most remote wilderness of the galaxy, a full seven thousand light-years away from the capital of the Alliance, this is merely a number. However, Yan Qingfeng understands what it signifies: every three months, a supply transport ship from the company brings them the long-awaited packages.

To this end, Deng Pangzi was willing to pay a penalty of 300,000 Alliance Coins to escape from that damned relay station. However, even after he submitted his resignation letter at the earliest opportunity, he still had to wait a full month and three days before finally boarding the resupply ship.

Sometimes it takes as long as six months to wait for a supply ship, and one must be aware that the nearest inhabited planet is ten light-years away, which exemplifies the wilderness

"Everything is functioning normally, and it can last for at least two hours," Yan Qingfeng said while checking the screen, and then asked, "Is there anything interesting happening?"

Although communication failures arise incessantly every week and every day, sometimes even dragging Yan Qingfeng out of bed to work continuously for forty-eight hours, Milan's work, on the whole, is heavy, tedious, and constantly repetitive. In a word, it can be described as extremely lacking in excitement

Good! Strive wholeheartedly to ensure customer satisfaction

I am here! I will give it my all!" Lei Yanling's fingers moved even more lightly and swiftly: "Coordinate with me!"

The relay station is always lacking in the entertainment it should provide, and the latency in online games often leads to a collapse of confidence. Frequently, after being defeated for half a day, the signal has only just finished transmitting. Several antiquated local area network games have long since lost their appeal, and the food remains perpetually in a paste-like consistency. Although the taste is still acceptable, a year and a half of this can lead to deep-seated aversion.