Awakened Zhongli Template, Terra Retirement

"Too early to say that—I haven't even had the interview yet. By the way, do you know who's interviewing me?"

"Interview? Should be the Boss handling that."

Exusiai pulled a paper cup from under the water dispenser, filled it, and handed it over. After Shi Lei took it and thanked her, she hopped onto the desk as casually as if she were at home:

"Honestly, the Boss is pretty good to us, but there's one thing that really sucks."

If someone could open up to a person they'd only met twice, there had to be more than one door in her heart. Since Exusiai was willing to spill, he had no reason to refuse:

"What's the problem?"

As he spoke, a penguin wearing black sunglasses, a thick gold chain around its neck, and a hip-hop T-shirt like a rapper walked out from the stairwell.

In a city full of beast-eared girls and half-beasts, a pure animal showing up wasn't anything strange.

Shi Lei didn't know who this was, so he quickly signaled with his eyes. Exusiai had her back to the door, acting like she hadn't seen a thing as she badmouthed the boss right in front of him:

"Our Boss is great in every way, except he's way too stingy. Last year's annual employee award was just an autographed poster... and that one time, he gave out records as—"

Under Shi Lei's gaze, the penguin walked up behind her, suddenly jumped, and smacked her on the back of the head.

"Ouch!"

Exusiai yelped, clutching her head. She turned around, saw it was the penguin who'd done it, and immediately laughed it off:

"Haha, Boss, it's you! I've got other stuff to do, so I'll get going."

Catching an employee badmouthing him, any normal boss wouldn't look happy, but the penguin didn't seem intent on digging deeper. Its head dipped slightly, making the sunglasses slide down. Those small eyes fixed on Shi Lei, sizing him up for a moment before asking:

"Here for the job?"

"Yeah."

"Come in."

Watching the penguin swagger in with a file under its wing, he couldn't help but find it oddly amusing.

Shi Lei followed it into the spacious office and was immediately drawn to the display case full of trophies and music records. Many of the posters bore the name "Emperor"—all featuring this very purebred penguin.

"Boss, are you a rapper? That's pretty impressive."

Emperor tossed the file onto the desk and hopped onto the leather chair. At the compliment, his old face flushed slightly. He mused that this kid was pretty sharp—at least not annoying.

Shi Lei's gaze dropped, and he suddenly caught sight of the file header on the desk. His pupils widened, and his eyelids twitched.

"Infected Stronghold and Undercover Informant List"

Damn, how could a logistics company doing transport be tangled up with stuff like this?

003 Texas, Deep Gray Flash

Shi Lei saw the file name, and the shock lingered on his face for over two seconds before he snapped back to normal.

Emperor noticed it right away and casually flipped the file over, showing its blank white back:

"Forgot to put it in the job posting—we have a three-day trial period for new hires. After that, we both decide whether you leave or stay on for the position."

Shi Lei was flat broke right now and had no choice at all. Staying alive took priority over playing the role of Rex Lapis. If he gambled on getting hired by another company today, the cost of failure was too high to bear. Better to stick with this for now and jump ship when he found something suitable.

From keywords like "undercover" and "informant," Shi Lei figured Penguin Logistics had ties with Lungmen's authorities. To access that kind of info, the company itself needed a solid background. That indirectly ruled out it being a shell company and eased his earlier doubts:

"No problem for me. I can start anytime."

Emperor nodded, stretched out a little claw, and dragged the desk phone closer. He pressed a few buttons to dial an internal line:

"Isu, come over and show the new hire the ropes."

Within two seconds, a voice came back from the receiver:

"No time, Boss. I'm heading to Taigu Plaza for a business meeting. This afternoon I've got to handle a compensation lawsuit over a Messenger wrecking some property. Find someone else."

Emperor's face lost a bit of face. He hung up, coughed tactically, and instructed:

"Go find Exusiai. Have her show you around the company and set up a workstation. I've got other things to handle—head out for now."

"Got it, Boss."

Shi Lei stepped out of the office and closed the door politely.

It wasn't mealtime, but a fierce hunger hit him again. He went back near the entrance, picked up the water cup he'd left behind, and downed it in one gulp to tide himself over.

Exusiai saw him come out and tilted her chin up:

"Hey, how'd it go? Did the Boss hire you?"

"Yeah, said there's a three-day trial. He told me to have you show me around and set up a workstation."

She pointed her left thumb back at an empty spot in the office area, looking smug and eager for praise:

"Haha, I knew you'd make it! I already cleared out a spot earlier. Oh, by the way, I don't even know your name yet!"

"Shi Lei. Nice to meet you."

Exusiai, a real chatterbox, started walking and introducing the company's staff as they went.

"Me too. Welcome to Penguin Logistics. This workstation is mine, Texas is over here, and across from us are Kong and Croissant's spots. But Croissant's been busy lately protecting Kong during her concert rehearsals—she'll introduce herself when she's back in a few days."

Growl~

As they talked, Shi Lei's stomach, empty for over twenty hours, let out an untimely rumble.

Seeing Shi Lei's embarrassed look, Exusiai burst out laughing. She pulled open the drawer to the right of Texas's workstation, revealing a stash of cookies, chocolate bars, and other snacks.

"Haha, you didn't have breakfast, did you? Grab some of this to tide you over. Just remember to tell Texas when she gets back. It's only about two more hours till noon—I'll bake you an apple pie then."

Shi Lei was genuinely hungry. He scanned the snack selection, picked up a chocolate bar, and left the rest untouched: "When I get my paycheck, I'll treat you all to a meal."

Exusiai plopped back onto the desk, her black-stockinged legs swinging with youthful energy: "Aw, no need for that. We're all colleagues here, don't be so formal. Where are you from? Do you know your way around Lungmen?"

Shi Lei didn't want to reveal his undocumented status, so he dodged the first question and only answered the second: "I just got to Lungmen a few days ago. I'm not very familiar with it yet—I can't even recognize all the streets."

"Then you'd better take a good look at the map."

Exusiai twisted around, pulled a map from a folder on her desk, and handed it over.

This puzzled him, and he asked in confusion: "Sorry, I don't quite get it. Didn't I apply for a front desk position? What's the map for?"

Exusiai raised an eyebrow slightly, glanced toward the Boss's office, and lowered her voice to explain: "The Boss isn't that generous—he wouldn't hire a front desk on a single salary. If he finds out you can use Originium Arts, he'll have you delivering goods sooner or later. Getting familiar with Lungmen's map early won't hurt you. If you ever end up working as a Messenger, join my team. Texas lives so comfortably now because I've got her back."

In small companies like this, it was common for employees to juggle multiple roles. Shi Lei had already mentally prepared himself, so he wasn't too resistant.

Last night, Exusiai had run off too fast—she'd only seen him release Rock Spine, not what happened after. Since she hadn't pressed him, Shi Lei had even less reason to reveal his abilities: "Got it. I'll start studying the routes."

"Alright, you look over that. I've got a few documents to handle—about half an hour. When I'm done, I'll come get you and take you to see the logistics warehouse."

Shi Lei nodded in agreement and silently studied the map. Once Exusiai left, he went to the water cooler for a cup of warm water. Washing down the chocolate bar, his hunger faded considerably.

Lungmen was divided into the Upper City and the Lower City, with different areas marked by different numbers. The Upper City had complete public facilities—probably the rich district. The Lower City was dense with residential buildings, home to the Civilians and the Slums. The wealth gap in Lungmen was stark: the lower the number, the richer the area.

Before long, Exusiai walked over carrying two submachine guns, leaning one hand on the workstation partition to ask: "How's the studying going?"

Shi Lei was about to answer when he noticed the guns in her hands and couldn't help but look puzzled: "Uh, what's this..."

Exusiai glanced down and laughed as she explained: "Don't worry, they're rubber bullets. The goods we transport are pretty valuable, and sometimes we run into shady types trying to snatch them—like last night. Can't use live rounds inside Lungmen city, so I just bring these for self-defense. Come on, let's go check out the logistics warehouse. You only need a rough idea of the map; you'll get familiar with it the more you run around."

Her mouth never stopped, chattering on and on. From company colleagues to current events. From the Columbia Rap Godfather to the recent spate of infected incidents. It seemed as long as Exusiai was around, there was never an awkward silence.

The logistics warehouse was behind the building. Usually, only intelligence and urgent goods were kept at the office; everything else was sorted and stored here.

After the two finished touring Warehouse No. 1 and No. 2, they suddenly heard a rapid beeping sound. Shi Lei followed the noise and found it coming from a package near the door.

What's that?

The beeping grew faster and faster—it didn't sound like an alarm clock or a music box. Shi Lei suddenly realized it might be a bomb and raised his hand to deploy a shield to protect Exusiai.

In a flash, a deep gray figure darted out from his diagonal rear. With lightning speed, it grabbed the package and hurled it into the air.

The package arced through the sky like a brilliant firework, soaring upward before exploding with a bang.

"BOOM!"

A wolf-eared beauty with deep gray fur stared at the rolling smoke, her eyes cold.

004 Stone's Memory

"Whoa~"

Exusiai's eyes lit up with anticipation, as if savoring the explosion like a work of art. She then whistled at the wolf-eared girl and waved: "Texas, that move was so cool! When Kong and Croissant get back, we've gotta throw a party to celebrate—how about calling it the Kick-the-Bomb Bash?"

She was one of the colleagues Exusiai had mentioned to Shi Lei repeatedly, also his delivery partner, usually handling driving, cargo transport, and personnel protection.

"I think you just want an excuse to party."

Texas's expression was calm, as if she'd just done something as ordinary as eating or drinking. She noticed the unfamiliar man beside Exusiai and asked, "Who's he?"

"Ta-da~"

Exusiai spread her left hand and introduced him warmly:

"This is the new employee, Shi Lei. The Boss told me to show him around the warehouse. Hey, don't keep such a straight face—you'll scare him. Smile a little, won't you?"

Texas knew she had a lively personality, but she wasn't in the mood for jokes right now.

"The Boss will definitely come down once he hears about the explosion here. I'm going to check the manifest first and see which sender's shipment caused the problem."

With that, she didn't even greet Shi Lei, jogging over to the warehouse entrance to pick up the manifest and start checking it item by item.

As a Logistics Company, they registered both the sender's and recipient's addresses. Whether the info was fake or not, a little cross-referencing would yield clues.

Seeing Shi Lei looking toward where Texas was, Exusiai patted him on the shoulder and called out:

"Don't bother her now, come on. By the time we finish touring Warehouse Three, the Boss should be down."

And just as she'd predicted, no sooner had they finished the tour than they heard Emperor's furious roar:

"Damn it, which blind bastard had the nerve to blow up my turf?!"

Shi Lei and Exusiai walked out of Warehouse Three and headed toward Emperor, who was standing in the plaza. He held a document in his hand that looked a lot like that list of undercover Bottom Line informants.

Texas hurried over and reported:

"Boss, the sender info for the explosive package was registered to Jiangqi Street—that's a temporary residence for a bunch of Syracuse gangsters. I'm not sure if this explosion was their doing or if someone's framing them. Give me some time to investigate and find the real culprit."

Emperor looked thoroughly displeased and snorted coldly:

"Fine, leave it to you then. Focus solely on this case today—don't take any other assignments. Some people are really forgetting the rules, using explosives in a busy district. If they dare to ignore the Bottom Line, they'd better be ready to pay the price."

Suddenly, a woman's voice rang out from not far away:

"Sorry to interrupt, everyone. I got a report from a citizen and came by to check. That explosion just now—you guys didn't cause it, did you?"

Shi Lei followed the sound and saw Officer Chen and the One-Horned Green-Haired Policewoman walking over.

Exusiai's expression stiffened, and she immediately turned and slipped quietly back into the warehouse. Yesterday, while delivering Express Delivery, she'd wrecked several fire hydrants and traffic lights. If Officer Chen saw her and mentioned it to the Boss, this month's performance bonus would be docked again. Better to lie low for now.