Youhe Trading Company

"Woo-woo, woo-woo..."

The piercing wail of a fire engine's siren rang out, disturbing the stillness of Chen City at four in the morning as it sped past like a bolt of lightning.

The sudden noise shattered the city's peace in an instant, jolting sleeping people from their dreams.

"Who's got a fire at this hour?"

"No idea. That direction looks like it's near Fuhua Road."

Billowing smoke poured from a small apartment building, rising into the sky like a black dragon.

The fire raged with extraordinary ferocity, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws. Even a distant glance was enough to strike fear into a person's heart.

The fire had broken out too suddenly, and it was the dead of night, when the people of Chen City had long since gone to bed. As a result, the small fire had attracted little attention at first.

It burned silently like that, with plenty of time to grow, gradually becoming fiercer until it finally turned into a raging blaze.

It was only when a nearby resident got up in the middle of the night to relieve himself and noticed an unusual light that he turned his head and happened to discover the silent fire.

The blaze was like a giant beast run amok, devouring the third through fifth floors of the apartment building.

Worse still, the flames continued to spread outward with the wind, reaching several neighboring homes. The situation grew increasingly critical.

Fortunately, traffic in Chen City was relatively light at night, allowing the fire brigade to reach the scene as quickly as possible after receiving the alarm.

The firefighters sprang into action as soon as they got out of their vehicles. They skillfully and swiftly laid out their hoses, then charged without hesitation into the raging sea of fire.

The minutes ticked by, and after half an hour of intense firefighting, the raging blaze was finally extinguished.

"Members of the press, although this fire has caused a certain amount of property damage, fortunately, no casualties have been found at the scene so far."

"The Chen City Southern District Fire Brigade will conduct a further investigation into this fire."

"In addition, the Southern District Fire Brigade will soon inspect fire safety within its jurisdiction, taking responsibility for the safety of our citizens and their property."

Photographs of the temporary press conference at the fire scene, along with the charred building, appeared in that day's newspaper.

The announcement that fire safety in the city would be subject to spot checks in the future drew a chorus of complaints from the merchants on the commercial street.

"Huh? Another inspection? It wasn't even over here that caught fire. They just checked last month, so why are they back again?"

"Ugh, don't get me started. I had everything in place last month, and then they told me, 'Your smoke detector isn't from the Municipal Fire Department.' Fined me twenty thousand yuan!"

"Fuck! My hose wasn't from the Municipal Fire Department, and I got fined too!"

"Huh? Wait, man, even the hose?"

"Don't get me started. Just buy one from the Southern District Fire Brigade. Fifty yuan a meter. Lose a little money to save a lot."

"Why don't they just rob us?"

"Isn't this outright robbery?"

"It really is."

Shisui carried the trading company job advertisements he had selected the night before as he made his way through the noisy commercial street.

At eight in the morning, most shops had yet to officially open, apart from the breakfast places, but the commercial street was already bustling.

Of the people out and about, though, half were office workers passing through, while the other half were elderly people who went to bed and rose early.

Full of Psychic Energy, Shisui surveyed the area with a discerning eye and decided to come back that evening to look for a target. He then carried the job advertisements into the nearby Youhe Trading Company, the largest trading company in the area.

"Welcome! What can I help you with, sir?"

"Hello, I'm here to apply for the caravan cargo escort job."

Lou Shisui had changed his face again. Beneath his short, choppy black hair was an utterly ordinary face, and his bright black eyes shone with youthful vigor.

His fine control over his body's cells, along with his experience living alone and concealing himself for years as a child, allowed him to easily disguise himself as a young job seeker.

Tch, so he's just a beast of burden in the making. What a waste of a smile!

The salesperson's expression instantly fell. He rolled his eyes and raised his chin, directing Shisui's attention to the corner over there.

"Go line up and wait for your interview."

At that moment, a few people stood scattered around the corner of the trading company, away from the shelves. They were probably all there to apply for the job.

Most of them were at the Fourth or Fifth Realm, and they all held flyers bearing the Youhe Trading Company's name.

"Next."

As Shisui reached the corner, someone happened to come out of the office. The draft from the opening and closing door set the money tree by the entrance swaying.

He paid no attention to the applicants ahead of him. He found an unoccupied stool, settled onto it, and waited for his interview.

"Next... Next... Next."

"Creak... Bang."

Shisui pushed open the door, went in, and shut it behind him.

Inside the office was a middle-aged man with a round face and a broad forehead. He rolled a black ball in his hand, and his small eyes gleamed with shrewd cunning.

"Tell me about yourself."

"Hello, my name is Yue Jian. I come from a medium-sized settlement outside the twelve cities of Huaihuang Continent. My cultivation is at the middle stage of the Sixth Realm.

"I saw that you were hiring cargo escorts, so I came to apply."

Lou Shisui, using the alias Yue Jian, gave a shy smile and briefly introduced himself.

"Huaihuang Continent? Things are pretty chaotic over there right now, aren't they? It's impressive that you managed to escape here."

The moment he heard "middle stage of the Sixth Realm," the owner of the Youhe Trading Company sat up straight, and his tone became much friendlier.

"Yes. I ran out of money halfway here and had to sleep rough the whole way. So as soon as I arrived in Chen City, I thought I'd look for a job."

Experience surviving in the wilderness, strong combat ability, and able to endure hardship.

The trading company owner looked the young man over with satisfaction, then spoke unhurriedly. "Young man, do you have any experience as an escort?"

"No."

"Ah, that makes things difficult."

Shisui knew the fatty wasn't actually reluctant to hire him; he just didn't want to pay him more.

So he went along with what the fatty wanted and hurriedly began to make a case for himself.

"Sir, although I've never escorted cargo, I've worked as a fighter and a guard. I've got plenty of strength for the job!"

"I just want to earn enough to eat."

"All right, I'll take you on for a three-month trial period. Your monthly salary will be three thousand yuan."

"Thank you, boss!"

"Go move cargo in the back."

"Yes, sir."

The boss happily rolled the black jade in his hand, thinking that, as expected of someone from a war-torn region, he had agreed to stay for three thousand yuan.

Shisui turned and left the office, also quite satisfied with the deal.

What a rip-off. Hiring a middle-stage Sixth Realm awakener for three thousand yuan a month—is this what a world without a minimum wage is like?

Forget it. I don't need much Human Race currency anyway, as long as I can get into the Youhe Trading Company's caravan.

After all, the reason Youhe was able to become the largest trading company in this area was that it had passes to enter the territories of other races, as well as a traveling merchant's permit to trade within the territories of all three races!