The Straightening Task Force

Tong Zhao hadn't dared ask what Shu Sizhuo meant by saying his body was already riddled with wounds.

Was he hinting that his parents had both died when he was a child and that he'd had a difficult life, or that his path to power had been so grueling it had left him exhausted in body and mind?

Was it his body that was riddled with wounds, or his heart?

Tong Zhao had only met President Shu a few times, so he obviously couldn't press him for answers. His fingers gripped the seat cushion restlessly, and his heart felt as if it had been tossed into a pan of hot oil, frying and turning over without a moment's peace.

When they reached the company, Tong Zhao stood by the roadside and watched the Cullinan speed away, feeling as though a great stone were lodged in his chest.

He and Shu Sizhuo hadn't exchanged contact information. Perhaps they really would be strangers from now on.

He had gone to great lengths to come to this world on a mission, despite the head institute's objections, because he wanted to see how Shu Sizhuo was doing. If Shu Sizhuo was doing well, he could persuade himself to let go of some of his stubborn thoughts.

But a single, highly ambiguous sentence from Shu Sizhuo had left him restless and flustered.

Shu Sizhuo had suffered enough as a child. He only wanted Shu Sizhuo's adult life to be smooth and happy.

Tong Zhao was staring blankly in the direction the Cullinan had disappeared when a red sports car pulled up in front of her. The window rolled down, revealing Hua Xiaotang's beautiful face.

Hua Xiaotang wore bright red lipstick. She took off the oversized black sunglasses covering half her face and glared at Tong Zhao. "Tong Zhao, why did you just get out of Shu Sizhuo's car? Were you with him last night?"

Tong Zhao was baffled by the shouting.

Wait, how does this person even know my name? And why is she talking to me like that? Are the two of us close, or are you close to Shu Sizhuo?

Before he could answer, Hua Xiaotang pushed the door open and got out. She walked up to him in slender high heels and tapped his chest with her sunglasses. "Everyone's come to clean up your mess, and that's still not enough for you? You have to cause the head bureau more trouble?"

Tong Zhao was stunned. A flash of light split open above his head, and he finally remembered who she was: this was Senior Sister Hua Xiangxiang, a tasker from the head bureau!

"Senior Sister?"

"You recognized me?" Hua Xiaotang rolled her eyes and said in exasperation, "I'm the sixth tasker on the Shu Sizhuo Straightening Task Force. If this mission is going to succeed, stop interfering. Got it?"

Tong Zhao was instantly overcome by a jumble of emotions. Guilt welled up in him, along with a trace of discomfort.

"First, tell me how you two met again this time. Were you together last night? Did you sleep together?" Hua Xiaotang fired off the questions. "I'll have to come up with a new strategy for straightening him out."

Tong Zhao briefly told her what had happened between him and Shu Sizhuo since he'd arrived in this world. Hua Xiaotang frowned repeatedly as she listened, sensing trouble. "Looks like he can't forget that face of yours. We're done for. This mission is getting harder and harder."

Tong Zhao said nothing.

Hua Xiaotang looked at him. "Don't have any more contact with him after this. Just focus on your own mission. Five sisters have already fallen before me. I have to succeed, understand?"

Tong Zhao was a little curious. "Can Shu Sizhuo... really not be straightened out?"

"Mm. From what I can tell, he has no interest in women at all. He'll give men a few extra looks, especially..." Hua Xiaotang immediately shut her mouth and glanced at Tong Zhao. "Anyway, with enough sincerity, even metal and stone can be moved. There's no mission I, Hua Xiangxiang, can't complete!"

Especially?

Tong Zhao caught the key word and was about to ask more, but Hua Xiaotang hurriedly put on her sunglasses and made her escape. "I've got something else to do, so I'll be going. Talk to you later."

She had just gotten into the car when Tong Zhao couldn't help asking another question. "Senior Sister, why does it seem like you're rich after coming here? You even have a luxury car to drive."

"All of us on the Shu Sizhuo Straightening Task Force have short-term missions, plenty of reserve funds, and special privileges to enjoy luxury homes and cars." The corners of Hua Xiaotang's lips curled up smugly. "There's no penalty for failing the mission, but the reward for succeeding is especially generous."

"Huh?" Tong Zhao's expression went blank.

"I'm off, Junior Brother. Remember to stay away from my mission target. Bye!"

The red sports car sped away, leaving exhaust in its wake. Tong Zhao stood there, shattered.

Were they from the same research institute?

Why was there such a huge difference in their benefits and pay?

Thinking of his reserve funds, so meager they could have jingled in his pocket, and the enormous sum he'd borrowed from the institute, Tong Zhao broke down.

Unfair. This is unfair!

Tong Zhao ran to the restroom on the company's first floor and summoned the system. "'You never realize how few books you've read until you need them,' system!"

[Password correct. Tasker 07166, please speak]

"Why is there such a huge difference in benefits between short-term and long-term missions?!"

[Short-term taskers were all admitted with high scores and have successfully completed ten long-term missions. If the system is not mistaken, 071661, you were admitted with the bare minimum score, weren't you?]

"..." Tong Zhao was momentarily at a loss for words, but he still refused to accept it. "At least don't be so stingy with the reserve funds. Short-term taskers have luxury cars and homes, while we long-term taskers have to rent rooms and squeeze onto buses with two thousand yuan in reserve funds. The gap is as wide as the Amazon River. Even if you can't do that, you could at least lower the loan interest a little more, right?"

[The head institute's loan interest rate is currently as low as 3.1. It's already an incredible deal!]

"..."

"Forget it, forget it. There's no getting through to you." Tong Zhao was so angry his head hurt. He asked again, "My mission target shot a commercial yesterday. Do I have one star now?"

[Currently zero stars]

"Why?!"

[The requirement for earning one star is to help the mission target achieve an accomplishment in the performing arts. That low-quality commercial yesterday, which earned only a four-figure sum and aired alongside other low-end household products during prime time, did not help the mission target's performing arts achievements in the slightest]

Tong Zhao: "..."

Fine. You're the system, so what you say goes.

After turning off the system, Tong Zhao leaned against the wall in frustration. He wasn't addicted to smoking, but right now he wanted a cigarette, just like Shu Sizhuo.

Half a year ago, which was eight years ago for Shu Sizhuo, he had returned to his own world after completing his second mission. He had spent an entire week feeling gloomy and listless.

He didn't know whether it was an aftereffect of the near-death experience of falling into the sea or because he had left Shu Sizhuo's world, but he felt an unprecedented emptiness and sadness.

After spending a week at home, he returned to the head institute, where his superior called him into the office and scolded him for using connections to get his second mission. Pursuing the same mission target twice was taboo.

Soon afterward, the head institute had a mission that was neither particularly difficult nor particularly easy. With a touch of escapism, Tong Zhao accepted it without hesitation. When he went to that little world for the mission, he couldn't muster any interest in anything and was bored out of his mind, so he quickly completed it and applied to return early.

After he came back, Tong Zhao discovered that several beautiful female colleagues had gone one after another to Shu Sizhuo's little world on missions. He found it a little strange and also envied them.

Only when his superior called him into the office and scolded him again did he learn, to his shock, that those beautiful colleagues' mission was to straighten Shu Sizhuo out!

"This is all because you wouldn't follow the rules and insisted on pursuing the same mission target twice. Look what happened—you turned him gay! The Shu Group is going to be a major business power. According to the original world's trajectory, he was supposed to enter a marriage alliance with the Intelligent Research Group's heiress! Their two powerhouses would have joined forces for mutual benefit and boosted this little world's economic development! But thanks to you, that's it—he's gay, he doesn't like women, and he has no plans for a marriage alliance anymore! Who's going to take responsibility for this little world's economic development? You?"