Could it be that no one else has thought of such a simple solution? Of course they have, but no one has ever dared to actually do it. That’s because there are rules in the duty room: no smoking, no staying overnight, no keeping the door open for long periods. These are to ensure the air in the duty room stays clean, so as not to affect those rather expensive imported monitoring devices. For those employees who follow the rules, they might complain to the boss’s face or even curse, but they would never break these explicit regulations. That’s the number one rule for getting by in a big organization: don’t break the rules, or you’ll become everyone’s target.

But Brian Carter doesn’t care about any of that. He never planned to work himself to death just to secure a stable job in a big ministry. The main reason he comes to work is to satisfy his own needs. To him, these rules are nothing—he just ignores them! On his very first day on duty, he smoked in the duty room. The old employee on shift with him cautiously reminded him once, but after getting a negative response, he said nothing more. After a few times, that old employee also started smoking at the door of the duty room instead of going to the restroom in the hallway. Eventually, he joined Brian Carter in smoking inside the duty room. People are like that—they always need someone to take the lead, as if having a leader absolves them of responsibility.

Director Walker found out about this situation pretty quickly, since he doesn’t smoke and could smell it as soon as he entered the room. But he didn’t say anything, just pretended not to notice. He understood the nature of the operations duty better than anyone. Making someone who smokes stay here for a day and a half, and having to go to the restroom in the hallway every time they want a cigarette—standing there, whether it’s hot in summer or cold in winter, with mosquitoes biting—was really a bit much.

He also knew whether those electronic devices would actually be damaged by smoking. They were basically just a few computers, only more specialized. Smoke residue does cause some harm, but not enough to affect their use. He understood the principle of choosing the lesser of two evils: as long as the ground station’s operations were running smoothly, he had fulfilled his duties. As for whether the equipment would last fifteen or sixteen years, who cares! It’s not like they’re paying for replacements out of their own pockets, so there’s no need to offend employees over such a trivial matter. If he drove Brian Carter away because of smoking, he’d just have to find someone else to take shifts, which would only make more trouble for himself.

Smoking was just a small experiment by Brian Carter to test his boss’s management style. After getting a clear response from Director Walker, he felt confident. This direct supervisor only cared about results, not the process—the kind of boss Brian Carter liked best. “I’ll work my tail off for you and make sure nothing goes wrong on the job. In return, don’t be too strict about work discipline. I’m not looking for promotion or wealth, just a bit of freedom.”

Chapter 0006: A Scourge Lives a Thousand Years

With Director Walker’s tacit indulgence, Brian Carter became even bolder. Less than three months into the job, as soon as spring arrived, he carried his fishing gear up the mountain and started tying hooks and preparing lines during work hours, getting ready for a big catch. This mountain isn’t far from Qinglong Lake—a short drive around brings you right to the lakeside. Since there are always two people on duty, Brian Carter had already made an agreement with his partner: for the first twenty hours, he could do whatever he wanted and would keep watch himself. For the remaining ten-plus hours, it was his partner’s turn, and he wouldn’t care what he did. So what did he do? He took his fishing gear, drove down the mountain to Qinglong Lake to fish for most of the night, even bringing a sleeping bag so he could fish and sleep without missing either. He’d return punctually before lunch the next day, eat, tidy up, and then head down the mountain.

Usually, Brian Carter would bring back a few fish each time. Whoever wanted them could have them; if no one did, he’d take them to the mess hall at the army camp for the soldiers on guard duty to enjoy. Sometimes, if he was lucky, he’d bring back dozens of grass carp or carp weighing two or three kilos each. Then the kitchen would be lively, and even the company commander and political instructor would invite Brian Carter to have a drink with them. After a few times, the soldiers figured out Brian Carter’s routine. Every time he was on duty, they’d prepare cooking utensils and seasonings in advance, knowing they’d get some fish to eat.

The side effect of all this was that Brian Carter got along very well with the soldiers. Others weren’t allowed to come and go from the base at night, but he could! Others couldn’t wander between the various courtyards without proper credentials, but he could go anywhere—those fish were his pass! Other people’s vehicles had to be checked before entering, and many things weren’t allowed into the base, but he had no problem—even air rifles were allowed in for him.

Aside from the base at the top, the rest of the mountain from the foot to the mid-slope was sealed off, so there were plenty of animals around. At dawn, pheasants, hares, and wild pigeons would appear at the summit. As an animal hunter, Brian Carter couldn’t let them go. When he was on duty alone, he’d lie by the window and sometimes get a catch. If it was cloudy or rainy and he couldn’t go fishing, he’d wander the mountain with an air rifle. The game he caught would, as usual, be taken down to the army camp to feed everyone.

With a character like this around, the officers got to eat wild game, the soldiers got fresh fish, he could play basketball, badminton, and table tennis, was good at chess and cards, and was skilled at drinking and smoking—who would want to restrict him? To restrict him would be to restrict themselves!