"It's too early to say that. I haven't even had the interview yet. By the way, do you know who'll be interviewing me?"
"Interview? It should be the boss."
Exusiai took a paper cup from beneath the water dispenser, filled it, and handed it over. After Shi Lei accepted it and thanked her, she sat directly on the desk, looking as relaxed and casual as if she were at home.
"If you don't mind me saying, the boss actually treats us pretty well. There's just one thing that's especially bad."
If someone could bare her heart to a person she had only met twice, there had to be more than one door in her heart. Since Exusiai was willing to spill secrets, he had no reason to refuse.
"What's bad about it?"
As they spoke, a penguin wearing black sunglasses, a thick gold chain around its neck, and a hip-hop T-shirt—a rapper's outfit—emerged from the stairwell.
In a city filled with beast-eared girls and demi-humans, there was nothing strange about seeing a purebred animal.
Shi Lei had no idea who the other party was, so he hurriedly signaled with his eyes. Exusiai had her back to the door and seemed not to notice at all as she complained about her boss right in front of him.
"Our boss is great in every way, except he's way too stingy. Last time, the Employee of the Year award was just a signed poster... And there was that time he used records as..."
Under Shi Lei's watchful gaze, the penguin walked up behind her, suddenly leaped up, and slapped the back of her head.
"Ow!"
Exusiai clutched her head and yelped. When she turned around and saw that the penguin had done it, she immediately laughed awkwardly.
"Hahaha, Boss, it's you. I've got other things to do, so I'll get back to work first."
Having caught an employee badmouthing him, any normal boss would have looked displeased, but the penguin did not seem inclined to pursue the matter. It lowered its head slightly, causing its sunglasses to slide down. Its tiny eyes studied Shi Lei for a moment before it asked:
"Here for an interview?"
"Yes."
"Come in."
Watching the penguin swagger along with a document in its flipper, Shi Lei found the sight oddly amusing.
Shi Lei followed it into the spacious office and was immediately drawn to the dazzling array of trophies and music records displayed in the cabinets. Many posters bore Emperor's name, all featuring the purebred penguin before him.
"Boss, are you a rapper? You seem really impressive."
Emperor tossed the document onto the desk, then hopped onto the leather chair. Hearing the compliment, its old face reddened slightly. This kid knows how to behave. At least he isn't annoying.
Shi Lei's gaze lowered, and he suddenly caught sight of the document's heading on the desk. His pupils widened slightly, and his eyelids twitched.
"Infected Stronghold and Undercover Informant List"
What the hell? How was a logistics company involved with something like this?
Texas, Deep Gray Flash
The surprise on Shi Lei's face lingered for more than two seconds after he saw the document's title, then quickly returned to normal.
Emperor noticed it almost immediately. Without changing expression, it flipped the document over to reveal its blank white back.
"We forgot to mention in the recruitment notice that new employees undergo a three-day probationary period. Once it ends, both sides will make a mutual choice to decide whether you leave or stay and accept employment."
Shi Lei currently did not have a penny to his name. He had no choice. For now, surviving took priority over playing the role of Rex Lapis. If he gambled on being hired by another company today, he could not afford the cost of failure. He might as well work here first and switch jobs once he found something suitable.
Based on keywords like undercover agents and informants, Shi Lei concluded that Penguin Logistics cooperated with Lungmen's authorities. To access such information, the company itself needed a certain level of strength and connections. That indirectly ruled out the possibility of it being a shell company and dispelled his earlier worries.
"I have no problem with that. I can start anytime."
Emperor nodded and stretched out a little flipper to drag the landline closer. It pressed several buttons in succession and dialed an internal number.
"Isu, come train the new employee."
Less than two seconds later, a reply came through the receiver.
"No time, Boss. I'm on my way to Taigu Plaza for a business meeting. This afternoon, I also have to deal with Messenger's compensation lawsuit over damaged property. Find someone else."
Emperor looked a little embarrassed. After hanging up, it gave a tactical cough and ordered:
"Go find Exusiai. Have her show you around the company and clear out a workstation for you. I have other things to handle, so get going."
"Okay, Boss."
Shi Lei left the office and politely closed the door behind him.
It was not mealtime yet, but a powerful wave of hunger struck him again. He returned to the entrance, picked up the cup he had left there earlier, and drained it in one gulp, treating it as something to tide him over.
Seeing him come out, Exusiai lifted her chin.
"Hey, how'd it go? Did the boss hire you?"
"Yeah. He said there's a three-day probation period. He told you to show me around the company and clear out a workstation."
She pointed her left thumb backward at an empty spot in the office area, her face full of smug pride as she waited for praise.
"Hahaha, I knew you'd make it. I cleared out your workspace ahead of time. Oh, right, I still don't know what to call you."
"Shi Lei. Nice to meet you."
Exusiai was like a chatterbox, introducing the company's personnel as they walked.
"Likewise. Welcome to Penguin Logistics. This workstation is mine. Texas is over here, and Kong and Croissant sit opposite us. But Croissant has been protecting Kong while she rehearses for a concert lately. I'll introduce you when they get back in a few days."
Grrr~
As they talked, Shi Lei's stomach, empty for over twenty hours, let out an ill-timed growl.
Seeing his embarrassed expression, Exusiai burst out laughing. She pulled open the drawer to the right of Texas's workstation, where quite a few snacks lay inside—cookies, chocolate bars, and more.
"Hahaha, you skipped breakfast, didn't you? Have some of this to tide you over. Just remember to tell Texas when she gets back. It'll be lunchtime in a little over two hours, and then I'll bake you an apple pie."
Shi Lei was indeed starving. After glancing through the snacks, he picked up a chocolate bar without touching anything else.
"When I get paid, I'll treat you all to a meal."
Exusiai plopped down on the desk again, her black-stockinged legs swinging back and forth with youthful energy.
"Oh, it's fine. We're coworkers, so don't be so formal. Where are you from? Are you familiar with Lungmen's local roads?"
Shi Lei did not want to reveal that he had no legal identity, so he deliberately avoided the first question and answered only the latter.
"I only arrived in Lungmen a few days ago. I'm not familiar with this place and can't even recognize all the roads."
"Then you'd better take a good look at the map."
Exusiai turned sideways, pulled a map from a folder on her desk, and handed it to him.
That left him somewhat confused, and he asked doubtfully:
"Sorry, I don't really understand. Didn't I apply for a front desk position? Why do I need to look at a map?"
Exusiai raised an eyebrow slightly, glanced toward the boss's office, and lowered her voice.
"The boss isn't kind enough to pay someone just to sit at the front desk. If he finds out you can use Originium Arts, sooner or later he'll have you delivering cargo. It won't hurt to familiarize yourself with Lungmen's map early. If you really end up working as a Messenger someday, join my team. Texas gets to live so freely now because I've got her covered."
At companies of this size, employees usually had to wear multiple hats. Shi Lei had prepared himself for that long ago, so he was not particularly resistant.
Exusiai had run too fast last night. She had only seen him summon Rock Spine and did not know what happened afterward. Since she had not pressed him about it, Shi Lei had even less reason to reveal his abilities himself.
"Understood. I'll familiarize myself with the roads now."
"Alright, take a look first. I have a few documents to deal with, probably around half an hour's worth. Once I'm done, I'll come back and show you around the logistics warehouse."
Shi Lei nodded in agreement and silently studied the map. After Exusiai left, he went to the water dispenser and poured himself a cup of warm water. With the chocolate bar, his hunger immediately eased considerably.
Lungmen was divided into Upper City and Lower City, with different districts marked by different numbers. Upper City had complete public facilities and was probably the wealthy district. Lower City was packed with residential buildings and housed ordinary neighborhoods and the Slums. Lungmen's wealth gap seemed obvious—the lower the number, the wealthier the area.
Not long after, Exusiai walked over carrying two submachine guns. She braced one hand against the workstation divider and asked:
"How's the map going?"
Shi Lei was just about to answer when he noticed the guns in her hands, and an odd expression appeared on his face.
"Uh, those are...?"
Exusiai glanced down and explained with a smile:
"Don't worry, they're rubber bullets. The goods we transport are fairly valuable, and sometimes we run into ill-intentioned people like last night who try to steal them. We can't use live ammunition within Lungmen's city limits, so we carry these for protection. Come on, I'll show you the logistics warehouse. You only need a rough grasp of the map. Once you make more deliveries, you'll get used to it."
Her mouth never stopped moving as she talked nonstop, from company coworkers to current news, from the Columbia Rap Godfather to the recent string of Infected-related incidents. It seemed that as long as Exusiai was around, there would never be an awkward silence.
The logistics warehouse was behind the building. Usually, only intelligence and urgent goods were kept at the company; everything else was sorted and piled up here.
After the two finished touring Warehouses One and Two, they suddenly heard a rapid beeping sound. Shi Lei followed the noise and discovered that it was coming from a package near the entrance.
What was that?
The increasingly frequent beeps sounded nothing like an alarm clock or music box. Shi Lei suddenly realized it might be a bomb and raised his hand, ready to deploy a shield to protect Exusiai.
In that instant, a deep-gray figure suddenly darted out from his rear flank. With lightning speed, she grabbed the package and hurled it into the air with all her strength.
The package traced an arc through the air, soaring skyward like a brilliant firework before exploding with a thunderous blast.
BOOM!
A wolf-eared beauty with deep-gray fur stared at the billowing smoke, her eyes cold.
Stone's Memory
"Wow~"
Exusiai looked on expectantly, admiring the explosion as though it were a work of art. Then she whistled at the wolf-eared beauty and waved.
"Texas, that was so cool! When Kong and Croissant get back, we have to throw a party to celebrate. How about calling it the Kicked-Bomb Party?"
She was one of the coworkers Exusiai had repeatedly mentioned to Shi Lei, as well as a Messenger partner responsible for driving, cargo delivery, and protecting personnel.
"I think you just want to throw a party."
Texas's expression remained unchanged, as though what had just happened was as ordinary as eating or drinking. She noticed the unfamiliar man beside Exusiai and asked:
"Who is he?"
"Ta-da~"
Exusiai spread her left hand and introduced him enthusiastically.
"This is Shi Lei, the new employee. The boss asked me to show him around the warehouses. Oh, don't keep such a straight face all the time. You'll scare him. Smile a little."
Texas knew that Exusiai had an upbeat personality, but she was in no mood for jokes right now.
"Once the boss learns there was an explosion here, he'll definitely come down. I'll check the manifest first and see which sender's shipment had a problem."
Without even greeting Shi Lei, she jogged to the warehouse entrance, picked up the manifest, and began checking it item by item.
As a logistics company, they recorded the addresses of senders and recipients. Whether the information was real or fake, comparing it would provide leads.
Seeing Shi Lei looking in Texas's direction, Exusiai patted his shoulder and called out:
"Don't bother her. Come on. Once I finish showing you Warehouse Three, the boss should be down."
Just as she predicted, the moment they came out after touring the warehouse, they heard Emperor shouting furiously:
"Damn it! Which blind idiot dared to blow up my place?!"
Shi Lei and Exusiai walked out of Warehouse Three and headed toward Emperor in the plaza. It held a document in its flipper, and from the appearance, it looked very much like that list of undercover informants.
Texas quickly stepped up and reported:
"Boss, the sender information for the explosive package was registered to Jiangqi Street. A group of Syracuse gangsters are temporarily staying there. I'm not sure whether they deliberately caused this explosion or were framed by someone else. Give me some time, and I'll find the real culprit behind it."
Emperor looked extremely displeased and snorted coldly.
"Fine, I'll leave it to you. Focus solely on investigating this today. You don't need to take any other commissions. Some people are getting more and more ignorant of the rules, using explosives in a busy district. If they dare ignore the rules, they'd better be prepared to pay the corresponding price."
Suddenly, a woman's voice sounded from nearby.
"Sorry to interrupt, everyone. I received a report from a citizen and happened to be passing by to take a look. That explosion just now—it wasn't caused by you, was it?"
Shi Lei looked toward the voice and saw Officer Chen walking over with the One-Horned Green-Haired Policewoman.
Exusiai's expression stiffened slightly, and she immediately turned around and quietly slipped back into the warehouse. Yesterday, she had damaged several fire hydrants and traffic lights while making deliveries. If Officer Chen saw her and took the initiative to mention it to the boss, this month's performance pay would be deducted again. Better to lie low for now.
Before you continue