Besides Jack and Lucy, there were three other new recruits in the company.
The first was a boy with slightly long hair that almost covered his eyes who has soft feminine features. He looked like the quiet nervous type. He looked even worse than Lucy as he looked like he even apologized to walls.
The second was a girl with gave the impression of a pretty tomboy. She was a girl with golden short hair, just like that of a boy's cut, and wore diamond earrings on each ear. he wasn't as striking as Lucy, but she had that confident charm—the kind of beauty that came from knowing exactly who she was.
The last was a boy with cold, sharp eyes—the kind that measured everyone in the room before deciding if they were worth his time. Out of the three, he was easily the most imposing.
Jack, standing with them, kept the same serious face he had when he entered and controlled his expression as he clipped his ID card on the right side of his chest, as did the others, with the exception of Lucy.
"Lucy Lim, here is your ID." The HR officer—a man in his thirties with a calm but intimidating tone—said, holding out the card but not releasing it immediately. "Can I ask where you're from?"
"Eh?" Lucy blinked, flustered, then answered quickly, "I'm from Gunyang Province, sir."
"Ho? I see," The employee said as if thinking something, before glancing at Jack, who didn't dare look at him despite feeling the blatant gaze.
Jack didn't meet his gaze. He could already feel it—everyone's silent judgment, the unspoken hostility that came from being outsiders.
'Figures… they went through some brutal recruitment process while we just waltzed in here. Even I'd be pissed,' Jack thought with a wry smile. Unfortunately, the smile only made a few of the recruits glare harder.
The HR officer cleared his throat, stepping forward.
"Before we assign you to your respective departments, I should clarify something. Some of you may have noticed two new faces who weren't part of the official recruitment trials."
Everyone's attention shifted immediately toward Jack and Lucy.
"These two," he continued, gesturing toward them, "were personally recommended by the Executive Branch. Their admission is… special."
"Of course," the HR officer went on, his tone turning firm, "they did not go through the same grueling process as you did, so it's understandable that some of you—and even your seniors—might find that unfair. Recommendations aren't exactly celebrated here at GH Security. You'll have to earn your place and prove you deserve it."
Jack's expression stayed neutral, but his vision twisted.
He glanced at Lucy. Surprisingly, she seemed calmer than usual.
Now that he remembered, Lucy walked inside his room with Vice-Executive Colminer the first moment they met. Compared to the pressure, it wasn't exactly comparable.
'She isn't exactly a fraud after all. The fraud here is just me!' Jack cried inwardly.
In fact, Lucy was in a completely different league so it made sense for her not to feel the pressure.
The other recruits were all in the Levels 10-15 range, but Lucy was already at Level 20, and was even younger than them in reality.
After the short speech, the HR officer began calling out the new assignments.
"Recruit Ken Havel—7th Division"
"Recruit Mira Jin—3rd Division."
"Recruit Lyle Dross—5th Division."
Then he paused, looking at the final two names on his datapad.
"Recruits Jack Crawluster and Lucy Lim…" He hesitated, almost as if he pitied them. "You will both be assigned to the 12th Division."
Jack frowned. Judging from the reactions of everyone, that was not a very nice division.
The golden-haired girl, Mira, let out a small chuckle under her breath. "Oh… that's that team."
"What do you mean by that?" Jack asked, but she just smirked and walked off with everyone.
Jack's eye twitched.
'At least, I'm with someone I know…' Jack said.
As they left the auditorium, the whispers of the HR employees followed them like shadows.
Outside, David was waiting for them, looking as excited as a kid at a candy store.
"How'd it go?" he asked quickly.
"I don't know much, but I think we have been assigned to a troublesome division." Jack laughed lightly to cope.
"…" David grinned wider.
'Why the fuck is this guy smiling?' Jack thought, finding David smiling annoying. 'Is he one of those who bullies new employees?'
But David, despite being young, was taller and bigger than him, and even have a higher level. He punched concretes with bare hands!
"Anyways, do you know where the 12th division is?" Jack then said trying to be civil to the teenager, maintaining the same friendly expression.
Hearing him, David's grin became even wider and explained.
"12th division indeed is the lowest-performing group in the entire company. Failed missions, almost zero recognition quarterly, constant reprimands—you name it. Most people call it the 'dumping ground' for rejects."
Jack's eyes twitched, as he confirmed his true fate.
"So where is it?" he said flatly, with a grainy disappointment, to which David laughed.
Moments later, they arrived not at a floor at the GH Securities Building, but at a random building in the city, where he saw familiar faces.
David spread his arms wide. "Welcome!" he declared, voice echoing through the hall. "This is Division 12! You're our first new recruits this year!"
Jack stared at the place, speechless.
'Great,' he thought. 'Perfect. I'm working in some shady business.'