For a Backstreets rat like her, joining a Wing was the kind of thing that felt like a dream—
No.
It was bigger than dreaming.
It was the kind of thing that, even if you dreamed it, you'd wake up in the middle of the night, slap yourself twice to make sure you weren't hallucinating, then burn incense for your parents up in heaven.
Anna stared blankly at Zhou Zhuang as he cleaned up the mess at the recruitment site.
How could she have ever imagined that something she didn't even dare to think about… would become reality?
She turned and saw Lien and Siv beside her—both wearing the same vacant, stunned look.
Anna raised a hand and viciously smacked Lien's arm.
"Ah—ow! Boss, what the hell?!" Lien clutched his arm. The hit had not been light.
"Lien," Anna asked, still dazed, "does it hurt?"
"Of course it hurts! Boss, I swear it's gonna bruise!"
Hearing that, Anna still felt like her mind was floating.
She turned to Siv and found Siv had already edged away on her own, eyes full of fear, clearly worried Anna might "test reality" on her too.
Siv's body frame was not as sturdy as Lien's.
Anna watched Siv retreat, then patted her own cheeks hard—smack, smack—and asked Lien again, like she needed the confirmation twice.
"Lien… are we dreaming?"
"Think about it!" Lien blurted, nerves fraying. "We just casually walked past the watchposts and got into L Nest. Then we ran into a Wing—one that hasn't recruited for nearly ten years—recruiting right in front of us."
"And we even passed the interview… I mean, if filling that paper counts as an interview."
His eyes widened in sudden terror.
"What if I'm still dreaming?! Should we find somewhere high and jump? I heard old folks say if you get a strong enough shock in a dream you'll wake up—"
Anna's eyes went dead as she started scanning the area for something tall enough to satisfy that plan.
"Boss, calm down!" Lien and Siv rushed forward at the same time. The reliable "big sister" they knew looked like a different person under the impact of this miracle.
They each grabbed her clothes, trying to hold her back.
Nearby, Jin Shiyong—who had already completed his onboarding form and handed it to Zhou Zhuang—watched the commotion with the warm smile of a close relative.
Then he strolled toward them.
The moment Lien and Siv noticed his movement, their grip on Anna loosened slightly. The two of them moved in step—shoulder to shoulder—placing themselves between their boss and Jin Shiyong like a wall.
Jin Shiyong lifted a hand and gave a crisp, theatrical salute—half "French," half "I'm not a threat."
"Oh my, oh my," he said with an amused curl of the lips. "You two don't need to be so guarded. We'll be colleagues soon, won't we?"
"Or is it that Backstreets rats… taste goodwill the way they taste poison?"
Lien and Siv might not have been literate enough to read big words, but the mockery was so obvious it didn't need translating.
They were about to snap back—
—when a hand reached out from behind them and stopped them mid-motion.
Anna stepped forward, placing herself in front of her two companions.
"If you simply want to make friends," she said evenly, "we'll accept it."
"But I don't believe a young master like you would genuinely want friendship with rats like us."
Her gaze was steady as she looked at him.
"Just like you said—we're Backstreets rats. Do you make friends with rats?"
Jin Shiyong studied her for a moment, then shook his head slightly.
"Of course not." His tone was casual, as if stating a common truth. "Under normal circumstances, Backstreets rats aren't qualified to be my friends, and I wouldn't have anything to do with them."
He smiled again, still polite.
"But as I said earlier—we'll be colleagues."
"And isn't it reasonable to build a good relationship with future colleagues?"
He spread his hands slightly.
"People should act according to their environment. Being unchanged and rigid… makes it difficult to survive comfortably in a new world."
"Bullshit!" Lien exploded. "With the attitude you had earlier, you call that trying to be friends? You were clearly here to cause trouble!"
"Yeah, Boss!" Siv backed him up quickly. "This rich kid's got something wrong in his head! And did you forget what he did when he showed up? He almost ruined this whole chance for us!"
Jin Shiyong clicked his tongue lightly, as if offended by their lack of "gratitude."
"Hey, hey, hey. Yes, what I did earlier was a bit excessive."
"But emotionally and logically, you should be thanking me, shouldn't you?"
"When Lobotomy's recruitment requirements were unknown, I chased off the opportunists who wanted to bite into swan meat."
"Didn't that… help you get in?"
Anna lifted a hand, cutting off her companions before the argument could spiral.
"You're right."
Lien and Siv froze, shocked.
Anna continued, her voice controlled.
"We should thank you for driving away competitors."
"And we would like to obtain your precious friendship—"
She extended her right hand.
"—as future colleagues."
Siv looked at Anna, wanting desperately to stop her, but Lien tugged Siv back and slowly shook his head.
Siv understood.
Their boss had decided.
Jin Shiyong's smile widened. He reached out and clasped Anna's hand.
"Please take care of me in our future work."
A short distance away, Zhou Zhuang stared at the four onboarding forms in his hands and felt his head throb.
Four people.
That was all.
If he didn't count himself and Angela, the grand "company" he was supposed to manage had a total staff count that could fit around a dinner table.
If someone didn't know better, they'd think it was one of those "fake companies" from shady border regions—setting up in the City to scam people.
Zhou Zhuang couldn't help worrying.
He turned to Angela. "Angela… is it really okay that we only recruited four? We still have time before the fourth day, don't we? Should we go somewhere else and see if we can recruit a few more?"
"There is no need, Manager," Angela replied without hesitation.
"This is a special circumstance among special circumstances. It required you to personally select candidates."
She looked at him calmly.
"The mission has already been completed perfectly. We can return to the company now."
Hearing that, Zhou Zhuang's uneasy heart slowly settled.
If they could go back, that meant the "newbie mission" really was done.
Curiosity rose in his voice.
"Do we have to go back to that door and open it to return?"
"No, Manager," Angela said. "The mark on your right wrist allows you to return to the company at will."
"If you desire to return, you may open any door. Behind the door you open will be the way back."
Zhou Zhuang looked down at the shifting pattern on his wrist, eyes bright with fascination.
"So convenient?! Lobotomy had this tech too? Oh, I get it—this is the City's unique Singularity tech."
Angela didn't correct him directly.
"I do not know if the City possesses similar technology," she said instead. "But Manager, this is a benefit available to all company employees."
"However, the convenience and efficiency of that benefit differs greatly depending on employee rank."
"I see." Zhou Zhuang nodded. "Then… let's head back."
He raised his voice toward the four people nearby, fumbling over the phrasing like someone who still hadn't internalized that he had subordinates now.
"Hey, um… my dear employees?"
At the call, the four—who had been holding onto their own tensions and suspicions—immediately set them aside and ran toward the "HR Manager" who had recruited them.
They looked terrified that if they were even a second late, the Manager might change his mind and revoke their employment.
Seeing the three Backstreets recruits sprinting until they were nearly out of breath, Zhou Zhuang waved a hand helplessly.
"You don't need to run that fast. It's fine. Slow down—really. I'm not in a rush to do anything."
"No problem, Manager!" Anna answered loudly, posture straight as a spear. "Your time is our most precious wealth!"
Behind her, Lien and Siv nodded so hard it looked like their necks might snap.
Jin Shiyong also arrived, smoothing his sleeves as if the world naturally waited for him.
"Anna is correct, Manager. I don't know how many tasks the company has assigned you, but this is what we should do."
Zhou Zhuang glanced at him, expression flat.
"Even if there were tasks, you already ruined half of them."
Jin Shiyong's face shifted instantly into theatrical panic.
"Oh… then that truly is my fault. I didn't realize my actions caused you such trouble."
He quickly produced a card with the solemnity of presenting a sacred relic.
"This is my credit card—my father arranged it for me. All spending on this card is reimbursed by my family."
"Please accept it as compensation."
"And I can also recommend contacts for the geniuses I met during my studies—if you would consider forgiving my mistakes…"
Zhou Zhuang stared at the rich boy's desperate flattery and sighed.
"No need. For me, recruiting more or less doesn't actually change much."
"Fewer people is easier to manage."
Jin Shiyong visibly relaxed.
"Thank you for your mercy, Manager."
Zhou Zhuang looked at the group and asked, "Do you need to go home and inform your families? Or pick up anything? I can wait for you to gather your things, then we'll head to the company."
Anna glanced at her two companions.
"No, Manager. We can depart at any time."
"I'm the same, Manager," Lien said immediately.
Siv nodded. "Me too."
Even Jin Shiyong's answer matched theirs.
Zhou Zhuang didn't ask again.
"Then follow closely," he said. "Next stop—Lobotomy Corporation."
Hearing the words Lobotomy Corporation spoken aloud again, Anna and the other two felt their bodies tremble with excitement.
Jin Shiyong's expression, however, looked like he'd been granted a reprieve.
But as Zhou Zhuang and Angela began walking, the four behind them suddenly found their feet… strangely heavy.
They couldn't quite bring themselves to follow.
Zhou Zhuang noticed they weren't moving and turned back, confused.
"What are you four doing? Didn't you say you had nothing to prepare? Hurry up and follow."
Jin Shiyong swallowed, clearly embarrassed, but still forced himself to ask.
"Manager… are you taking us to Lobotomy Corporation now?"
"Yeah. Why?" Zhou Zhuang frowned.
"If you need… convenience, we can wait until you're done being convenient before departing."
"What?" Zhou Zhuang blinked. "I'm taking you to Lobotomy. What do you mean 'convenience'?"
He kept walking.
Then, twenty or thirty steps ahead—
—there it was.
A public restroom.
Zhou Zhuang stopped and turned to Angela, face stiff with awkwardness.
"Why is the nearest door… inside a public restroom?"
"Manager," Angela replied with perfect calm, "doors do not concern themselves with the environment they are in."
"But I do," Zhou Zhuang muttered, pressing a hand to his forehead.
Still, if the nearest door was in the men's restroom, he couldn't be bothered to search for another one.
He turned back to the four.
"No problem. We're going to Lobotomy Corporation now. Please keep up."
The four exchanged looks—you go first / no you go first / we're all doomed—and ultimately had no choice but to follow their Manager into the men's restroom.
Zhou Zhuang nodded approvingly at their obedience, then spoke with exaggerated solemnity, as if about to open a curtain on a grand stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen—your journey as working people is about to begin."
With that, he pushed open the first stall door.
The four, fully convinced this was some kind of Manager's prank…
were struck speechless by what they saw beyond.
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