Free Web NovelChapter 24: Chapter 24: Sea Queen Reappears
At the base of High Tower, southern northern corner.
The most famous place in the southern western corner is the scavenger port, which Bai Wu did not go to. Instead, he arrived at the northern corner, the talent market.
With his Tower Currency running low, he thought of seeking a side job.
Although members of the Investigation Corps receive a salary each month, it’s only enough to cover food and drink. Bai Wu wanted to open up certain channels and obtain some intelligence, such as that from the third and fourth levels, which would cost a fair bit of money.
The status of those at the base level is very low, but with a large population base, opportunities were never lacking here.
The talent market was exactly such a place; like the scavenger port, it was a convergence point for crowds, with all sorts of signs and billboards advertising job openings.
Bai Wu was examining various signboards for information.
"Centaur Group is hiring bodyguards, requiring Innate Force of first order, sixth segment onwards, with generous benefits. Full board included. Starting salary of seven hundred Tower Currency, with three forms of insurance and a provident fund."
First order, sixth segment... The requirements of many companies at the base level seemed lower than Bai Wu had imagined.
But he quickly realized that civilian organizations couldn’t compare to formal military establishments; having first order Innate Force in the Investigation Corps meant doing all sorts of menial tasks.
And the footnote made Bai Wu quickly dismiss this company.
[A company specializing in debt collection with a semi-illegal nature, they have no money to pay salaries. If you believe their promises, Little Dwarf would definitely reassess your intelligence; after all, any sensible boss wouldn’t accept debts as naked collateral.]
"Chosen Training Camp, are you still worried about not being able to increase your Innate Force? Are you depressed because you keep sending out resumes, only to be rejected for not meeting the Innate Force threshold? Join us, and Dr. Wang, the survival master from outside the Tower, will guide you personally, making you a chosen one too."
[No way, no way, don’t tell me someone actually believes in such recruitment? This so-called survival master from outside the Tower is nothing but a swindler. Haven’t you played on Bilibili? That’s exactly the manner of these armchair experts.]
Hmm... This footnote feels a bit too much like the old 2D world.
"Instant Mad Delivery is sincerely hiring couriers. You are required to have first order, sixth segment Innate Force, with all attributes focused on speed enhancement. Price negotiable."
[This is not some serious courier service; they want you to run fast to avoid the pursuit of the Gao Ta Town Garrison Corps. So, you can imagine, would a legitimate delivery service need to watch out for the Garrison Corps?]
Bai Wu felt like he was in Gotham City or Los Santos, looking at a few recruitment ads and realizing that people at the base level either had to honestly mine in the white areas outside the Tower or trade with their lives at stake.
"Looking for business elites, we are different from others. We don’t need you to have Innate Force, just your smart brain. Salaries range from one hundred to one hundred thousand Tower Currency, with no cap, those with ability can earn over ten thousand a month, flexible working hours, and many ladies in the company."
Without even looking at the footnote, Bai Wu could feel the malice oozing out of this recruitment ad.
One hundred to one hundred thousand, it’s a safe bet that ninety percent get a hundred. As for flexible working hours, it’s probably non-flexible for going to work, and flex-time for going home, where 996 is the norm, and even 007 could be possible. And about the company having many ladies, it implies that besides having more female employees, the company has no decent benefits to offer.
After looking at several, Bai Wu was very disappointed with the talent market at the base level.
The world at the base level is very real, lacking almost any formal system of work units. People’s options for advancement were limited to three paths: risking life, deception, or mining.
After some contemplation, Bai Wu decided to start his own business, beginning with life-risking ventures.
...
...
At the scavenger port, Chengzi Store.
Liu Chengzi with tears in his eyes:
"Ren, listen to me, it’s not what you think."
Ren: "You always say you love me and only have me in your heart, so tell me, who is this man?"
"Cheng, tell me it’s not true... I skimp and save every month, working to the bone outside the Tower, all so that you could have a better life... Why, why does this man claim he’s your boyfriend? Why!" another man was on the verge of collapse.
Liu Chengzi, holding his chest, cried out in pain:
"Ren, Feng, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, you both are so excellent, it’s me who’s failed you, but I love you... I love both of you, I’ve just been hiding it because I don’t want to hurt you. I never wanted to separate from you, you both are my wings..."
Ren, Feng, and Liu Chengzi form a triangle.
Bai Wu stood outside of the triangle, watching this heart-wrenching scene with an expressionless face. Seeing Liu Chengzi’s downfall as the Sea Queen, he almost wanted to laugh. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
But Bai Wu quickly dismissed the thought.
Shortly after Liu Chengzi proposed dating both men, who she claimed to love deeply, they showed disappointment and left driven by their male ego.
After Ren and Feng walked away, Liu Chengzi’s demeanor changed in a second. Humming a cheerful tune, she took out a small mirror and started touching up her makeup:
"Yeah, little brother Bai Wu, you came earlier than I expected."
Although Bai Wu was well-versed in many things, he still had a lot to learn about matters between men and women.
"You’ve seen me make a fool of myself."
"So what’s going on here? Did you crash and burn?"
"Not at all, it’s just that these two overstepped their bounds. They always wanted to take things further with me. I mean, if you’re going to be a bootlicker, just stick to that, right? Why try to become official? Besides, I’m not into this type of fresh meat lately. So I called them both over and took care of it at the same time."
Liu Chengzi appeared to be in high spirits; the emotional outburst from earlier seemed as though it never happened.
Bai Wu nodded, understanding.
This wasn’t a downfall; this was vehicle recycling...
By extrapolating, he could guess that after Ren and Feng returned home, Liu Chengzi would still act as if she loved them, willing to do anything.
Either the men would cut ties completely, to which Liu Chengzi couldn’t care less, or they would accept being lower-level bootlickers... In which case Liu Chengzi would come out on top.
A footnote to himself, she is the female version of Cheng. Calling her Liu Chengzi wouldn’t be wrong at all.
"Little brother, what brings you here? Don’t mind how I was just now. I’m actually into your type lately, that’s all."
Liu Chengzi was quite frank in front of Bai Wu. From their last encounter, she had gathered that Bai Wu was very clever and indifferent to women, which made her less inclined to hide her true self.
"The camera is spirit possessed," said Bai Wu, getting straight to the point.
"That quickly?"
Surprise flashed across her face as Liu Chengzi said:
"Let me see! Right, what’s the spirit possession effect?"
Bai Wu brought out the camera, regretting that his rice cooker hadn’t become spirit possessed.
"Simply think of a certain time, take a picture of a scene, and it will capture what happened there at that time."
Liu Chengzi’s surprise turned to shock.
"Really? You’re not lying to me? You’re really not lying?"
If what Bai Wu said was true, then the camera, even without the specific abilities she had imagined it possessed, would undoubtedly be incredibly valuable!
Liu Chengzi knew many secrets and the times they were conceived. The idea made her tremble with excitement.
Bai Wu smirked slightly; nobody was going to take advantage of him for free:
"Let’s talk about the reward first."
(After asking for votes... it doubled the daily recommendation instantly. Thank you, everyone. I hope we can keep this up until the end of the new book promotion. Go Qiu Ni!)
