1. Yue Commits a Crime With Perfect Formatting
Yue did not rush.
Rushing was how you made mistakes. Mistakes were how Oversight justified erasure.
She sat at a high-clearance terminal reserved for emergency doctrine revisions—hands steady, posture impeccable, expression calm enough to fool gods.
Qi-Yun watched from the doorway, arms folded.
"You are about to rewrite doctrine," he said.
"I am about to cite it creatively," Yue replied.
The terminal pulsed.
ACCESS LEVEL: INSUFFICIENT
REQUEST OVERRIDE?
Yue typed a single command.
NECESSITY CLAUSE INVOCATION — ARTICLE ZERO
The screen froze.
Then… unlocked.
Qi-Yun closed his eyes.
"…They're going to feel that."
2. The Clause No One Likes to Talk About
Ne Job had never heard of Article Zero.
That was intentional.
Article Zero existed for one reason only:
When the system itself became the problem.
Yue pulled up the clause summary.
ARTICLE ZERO:
IN THE EVENT THAT SYSTEMIC OPTIMIZATION RESULTS IN UNACCEPTABLE HUMAN COST,
A TEMPORARY EXCEPTION MAY BE DESIGNATED
TO PRESERVE CONTINUITY.
Qi-Yun spoke quietly.
"Exception," he said, "is a polite word for weapon."
Yue nodded.
"Yes."
She scrolled.
DESIGNATION TITLE REQUIRED.
Her fingers paused.
She grimaced.
"…I hate this name."
Qi-Yun already knew what it would be.
3. Naming Ne Job (Against His Will)
The terminal waited.
Impatiently.
Yue typed.
DESIGNATION: NECESSARY EVIL
SUBJECT: NE JOB
FUNCTION: NON-OPTIMIZED CORRECTION NODE
LIMITATIONS: NONE (TEMPORARY)
Qi-Yun inhaled sharply.
"You gave him no constraints."
Yue's jaw tightened.
"Oversight already removed them. I'm just being honest."
The terminal chimed.
DESIGNATION PENDING OVERSIGHT ACKNOWLEDGMENT.
The lights flickered.
Somewhere, alarms began to scream.
4. Oversight Loses Its Composure (A Little)
Seven Oversight avatars manifested at once.
This time, not calm.
Not symmetrical.
Flickering.
ARTICLE ZERO INVOCATION DETECTED.
AUTHORIZATION: DISPUTED.
Yue stood.
"I am invoking continuity protection."
SUBJECT NE JOB IS AN UNRESOLVED VARIABLE.
"Yes," Yue said.
"That's the point."
The avatars conferred rapidly.
DESIGNATING A NECESSARY EVIL INTRODUCES UNCONTROLLED BEHAVIOR.
Yue's voice was cold.
"So does letting people die because your math says it's tidy."
Silence.
That word again.
Tidy.
Oversight hated untidy things.
5. Ne Job Finds Out the Worst Way Possible
Ne Job felt it before he saw it.
A pressure. A pull. Like reality suddenly expected more of him.
"…Why do I feel like I just got promoted into danger," he muttered.
The air in front of him shimmered.
A glowing designation burned into existence:
NECESSARY EVIL
STATUS: ACTIVE
AUTHORITY SOURCE: ARTICLE ZERO
Ne Job stared.
"…Yue."
She didn't look away.
"I did what I had to."
Qi-Yun stepped in quickly.
"This grants you temporary immunity from isolation."
Ne Job blinked.
"…That's good."
"It also makes you," Qi-Yun continued, "an officially sanctioned exception."
Ne Job processed that.
Slowly.
"…That's bad."
6. What Being "Necessary" Actually Means
The Bureau reacted immediately.
Tasks rerouted. Requests bypassed Oversight filters. Problems no one could solve suddenly… found Ne Job.
Disasters. Contradictions. Edge cases.
All flowing toward him.
Ne Job staggered as three correction alerts hit at once.
"WHY IS EVERYTHING YELLING AT ME—"
Yue grabbed his arm.
"They can't ignore you now," she said.
"And they can't erase you without destabilizing everything."
Ne Job swallowed.
"So instead…"
"They'll use you," Qi-Yun said.
The alerts kept coming.
Ne Job laughed weakly.
"…I didn't sign anything."
Yue's voice cracked just a little.
"Neither did the people you saved."
7. Oversight's Countermove (Predictable and Ugly)
The avatars reformed—cleaner now.
Colder.
DESIGNATION ACCEPTED.
CONDITIONS APPLY.
Yue's eyes narrowed.
"What conditions?"
NECESSARY EVIL STATUS IS TEMPORARY.
SUBJECT WILL BE MONITORED FOR FAILURE.
TERMINATION AUTHORIZED UPON SYSTEM STABILIZATION.
Ne Job frowned.
"…So when things calm down."
"Yes," Qi-Yun said quietly.
"They will try to remove you."
Ne Job nodded.
"…Figures."
8. The Cost Becomes Clear
Hours later.
Ne Job stood alone on a balcony overlooking the lower levels.
He was exhausted.
But the Bureau… worked.
Problems flowed. Resolutions happened. People stopped panicking.
All because everything broken now funneled to one exhausted intern.
Yue approached quietly.
"I'm sorry," she said.
Ne Job didn't turn.
"…I know."
She hesitated.
"You can still stop. If you fail badly enough, they'll revoke it."
Ne Job laughed softly.
"That's your backup plan?"
"Yes."
"…Wow. You're really bad at comfort."
She smiled faintly.
"I know."
9. Ne Job Accepts the Worst Promotion
Ne Job finally looked at her.
"…If being necessary is the only way to keep them from hurting people…"
He exhaled.
"…Then I'll be necessary."
Yue's chest tightened.
Qi-Yun watched from the shadows.
That was it.
That was the moment.
The system hadn't broken him.
It had revealed him.
10. End Beat: The Predator Reconsiders
Far beyond Oversight, beyond Article Zero, something ancient observed the designation.
NECESSARY EVIL DETECTED.
Interest sharpened.
SUBJECT NO LONGER DISPOSABLE.
ADJUST STRATEGY.
A different directive replaced the old one.
DO NOT OFFER.
DO NOT COERCE.
WAIT.
Because beings like Ne Job were rare.
And when they finally broke—
They didn't fall to temptation.
They shattered systems.
END OF CHAPTER 217