"Come in."
Only after receiving permission did he walk in. Texas stood at the ten o'clock position, seemingly reporting the follow-up on yesterday's warehouse explosion to the boss.
"Texas, you handled this matter very well. If any more ungrateful fools come looking for trouble in the future, investigate them thoroughly and then do whatever you need to do. You may go now. I have something to discuss with the new employee."
"Yes, Boss."
After she left, Emperor shifted in his chair and sized up the man before him from beneath his sunglasses.
"Have a seat. You've been here for two days now, right? What do you think of our company?"
Today was Shi Lei's second day here. Aside from helping move shipments earlier, he had barely done anything.
"Uh, it's pretty good."
"I've just reviewed your performance over the past few days. After careful consideration, I've decided to officially hire you ahead of schedule. Before that, however, we need to investigate the background of new employees. Just a few simple questions. Please cooperate."
Shi Lei looked embarrassed. He was an undocumented resident—what background did he have? Besides, he couldn't make something like that up on the spot. One online search and he would be exposed.
"Are you a local of Lungmen? Or perhaps, do you have any family members who are locals?"
The arrow was already on the string; he had no choice but to fire it. Shi Lei licked his lips and shook his head.
"No."
"Then do you have any local relatives in Lungmen, or very close friends?"
Huh? Was this what a background check asked about?
Shi Lei found it strange, but it was hard to question it outright. Figuring this might be a standard pre-employment interview question in Terra, he answered uneasily.
"No. I only arrived in Lungmen recently."
Emperor rested his chin on one hand, looking thoughtful. If Shi Lei was from out of town, why was he connected to that stinking rat Lin Gerei?
In any case, Emperor would not easily let go of anyone Lin Gerei was looking for. It was not that they had some deep-seated grudge; Emperor simply did not want Lin Gerei to get his way.
"All right, I have nothing else to ask. Let Isu know later and have him get you an employee badge. Mr. Shi, welcome to Penguin Logistics!"
Normally, if a company set a probation period, that was how long it lasted. Unless an employee made an extraordinary contribution during their internship or landed a major contract, early confirmation was unlikely. Otherwise, everything was handled according to the rules.
Shi Lei had his doubts, but he did not think anything was particularly wrong. Maybe private company bosses were just that willful—when they were in a good mood, they confirmed employees early?
"Ah, thank you, Boss!"
"No need to be so polite. Go on now. I have work to do. If you have any questions, discuss them with the girls first."
Shi Lei left the office and shared the good news with Exusiai. Strictly speaking, she was the first friend he had made in Lungmen. His relationship with Officer Chen was merely that of civilian and police officer; they were not friends yet.
"Haha, congratulations! Now we'll have one more person to invite to parties. I haven't been to a party in four whole days. I'm losing all motivation to work. How about we go have a drink at the bar once Kong and Croissant get back?"
Emperor owned a bar in Lungmen, but employees still had to pay normally when they went drinking there. Texas glanced at her and reminded her.
"Do you still have any performance pay left this month?"
Exusiai pulled out her wallet to check, and her expression immediately froze. She shamelessly moved behind Texas, placed both hands on her shoulders, and smiled.
"Hehe, I'll pay for the drinks. If it isn't enough, you can cover me a little, okay? Work is so tiring. Of course we should have fun after getting off work. We've got a new employee, after all—let's call it a welcome party for him."
Texas looked disgusted, too lazy to expose this Sarkaz who was always slacking off in front of Shi Lei. Exusiai's money would not even cover the bar tab. Calling it an advance payment probably meant making Texas foot the bill.
She looked disgusted, but her body was more honest.
"Don't order anything too expensive."
"Yay!"
Exusiai rushed up to hug her in thanks, only to be shoved away by Texas in disgust. Fooling around like that normally was one thing, but there was an outsider here now.
As the clock struck twelve, the three of them took the elevator down to the Safe House on the first basement floor to make food.
Shi Lei poured everyone a glass of water and brought out a bag of chips and a box of crackers. Exusiai skillfully took out some ingredients, did some rough prep work, put them in the oven, and set the timer.
Texas seemed to have no appetite. She took a box of chocolate sticks and sat on the sofa, legs crossed, her gaze cool and distant. There was an inexplicable aloofness about her.
Seeing that she was eating so little, Exusiai took the initiative.
"It'll be ready soon. Want some apple pie?"
Texas shook her head and raised the box of chocolate sticks in her hand, indicating that this was enough.
"How can you eat only that all day? You need to eat something else too. At worst, I'll bring you along whenever I get a commission. We can do a few more jobs and improve our lives."
Texas was rather speechless. Whenever they worked together, this slacker usually just stood around doing nothing. If someone tried to snatch their goods, Texas was the main fighter.
But she did not want to argue and sour the mood, so she stuffed a chocolate stick into Exusiai's mouth.
Exusiai crunched it down and said.
"Shi Lei, let me tell you a little secret. Actually, Texas..."
Before she could finish, a second chocolate stick was shoved straight into her mouth. When Texas saw Exusiai still trying to speak after finishing it, the third and fourth followed immediately.
Before long, the whole box of chocolate sticks was gone.
Seeing that Texas could no longer plug her mouth, Exusiai chewed while flashing a sly, triumphant grin.
"Hahaha, I was just kidding. Now that the chocolate sticks are gone, you can eat apple pie, right?"
Texas immediately realized what had happened, finding it both infuriating and amusing. Only Exusiai could pull off something so childish. There was really nothing she could do about her.
Watching the scene, Shi Lei could not help but sigh sincerely.
"You two really get along well."
"Hehe, of course we do. As long as I'm looking out for her, I'll never let her go hungry for a whole day."
Texas shook her head and stopped explaining, letting Exusiai brag all she wanted.
"Ding!"
The oven chimed, and Exusiai immediately put on gloves and divided the steaming apple pie among everyone.
This kind of harmonious team atmosphere was something Shi Lei had never experienced in his two and a half years in the workplace.
It felt... pretty nice.
Lungmen City, Where Folks Are Simple and Honest
Top-floor office area, 6:00 p.m.
Penguin Logistics followed a nine-to-five work schedule. If there were large orders or business trips, employees received additional overtime pay and travel expenses.
After getting off work, Texas headed out, seemingly intending to go back and change clothes. Exusiai walked beside her, also preparing to return to her rental. Seeing Shi Lei sitting alone at his workstation, she waved.
"There are still a few hours before we meet up for the party. If you're bored, you can go play some video games in the Safe House. Or take a walk outside. Staying in an enclosed space for too long gets stuffy."
"Mm, I know. See you."
Shi Lei had gone to Isu that afternoon to get his employee badge, so he could now swipe into the Safe House whenever he wanted. He finally had somewhere to sleep and no longer had to spend nights on the street.
He took the elevator down with Exusiai and Texas, said goodbye to them at the entrance of the building, then turned and headed in the opposite direction. He planned to take a long walk before returning to the Safe House.
Layer upon layer of towering buildings formed an impenetrable forest of steel. Car horns beeped constantly at intersections, and crowds flowed endlessly along the streets. Colorful shop signs hung everywhere, displaying all the prosperity of the city.
After wandering around for more than ten minutes, Shi Lei arrived at a small park in the middle of the street. It sat at the center of a three-way intersection, filled with street vendors and tourists traveling with their families.
He slowly browsed the stalls along the way until he came across one that was rather unusual. Besides daily necessities, it sold lubricating oil, maintenance oil, fragrances, and other items. The categories were a complete mess. Shi Lei even spotted a large poster with Emperor's autograph in a prominent spot.
Seeing a customer stop by, the stall owner warmly approached him, clearly preparing to make a pitch.
"Sir, is there anything you'd like to buy?"
Shi Lei looked up at the voice and met the eyes of a horned girl with orange-red hair. He was broke at the moment, so even if he wanted something, he could not afford it. Even if he had money, he would not carry it on him.
"Not for now. I'm just looking around."
Shi Lei's gaze swept over the stall, and he spotted an illustrated book introducing the customs and scenery of many countries across Terra. He could not help crouching down to flip through it.
The book was secondhand, and its cover was somewhat worn. But the landscape photographs inside were absolutely stunning.
The horned girl braced herself against a thick Ballistic Shield with her left hand and leaned forward slightly. She gave him a thumbs-up with her right hand and enthusiastically praised him.
"Sir, you really have an eye for quality. This book contains the hard work of countless photographers and records the customs and scenery of many countries. If you want to travel the world but don't have the time, buying this book can fulfill your dream of traveling. It isn't brand-new, so I'll give you a discount. How does 4,000 sound?"
Whoa, this vendor was quite the salesperson.
Shi Lei gave a polite smile and declined.
"I'm just browsing. If I'm interested, I'll come back and ask about the price."
"Oh, all right."
The orange-haired horned girl stared at him for a moment, still wanting to make one more attempt.
"Sir, this book originally costs 12,000. If you sincerely want it, I can't lower the price any further, but I can give you a little gift."
Shi Lei thought the vendor was good at business, but he really did not have any money on him. Among the people he had met in Lungmen these past few days, Emperor seemed to be the only one with money.
"Mm, I'll think about it some more."
Shi Lei crouched there and leafed through the book. When he looked up, he noticed the Penguin Logistics logo on the vendor's clothes. Before he could ask about it, someone suddenly came up and started shouting.
"Ha! I finally found you!"
He took off his hat and lowered his head, revealing the bald patch on top. His voice was furious.
"It was you! You sold me Hair Growth Cream last time. And look at this—this huge patch of my scalp is going bald. You crooked merchant, compensate me for my hair!"
The horned girl looked puzzled and tilted her head slightly.
"Sir, I've never sold Hair Growth Cream. Did you remember wrong?"
The man pulled out a round tin and waved it in his hand, shouting angrily.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible! I even brought the Hair Growth Cream with me. You crooked merchant, are you still trying to deny it?"
The horned girl glanced at it twice. The tin did not have a product name written on it. But upon seeing the brand logo, she immediately understood and explained.
"Sir, you've misunderstood. This is Rust Remover, used for maintaining protective gear. It contains strong chemical ingredients. Of course it'll make your hair fall out if you use it."
The man lowered his head to inspect it and indeed found the words Rust Remover at the bottom of the tin. He knew he was in the wrong, but so many people had already seen the scene. If he left with his tail between his legs, it would be too embarrassing.
"Hmph, this is clearly a counterfeit product! If you don't compensate me today, I'll flip your stall over!"
The horned girl did not want to keep arguing with a customer. After thinking for a moment, she proposed a compromise.
"Sir, I really never sold you Hair Growth Cream. You made a mistake and applied it to your hair. But you are still my customer, so I'll give you a few small gifts as a gesture of goodwill. Let's put this matter behind us, all right?"
"I lost so much hair, so why should we put it behind us? Pay up already! Do you hear me? Pay me!"
Shi Lei felt that this was no longer about protecting one's rights; it was extortion. He stood up and spoke fairly.
"Friend, there's no need to take it this far, is there?"
"Who the fuck are you? I'm not your friend. Keep fucking yapping and see if I don't kill you!"
Baldy pulled out the dagger tucked into his waistband. He had clearly come prepared.
Whoa, just carrying a knife around on the street.
Lungmen really was a place where folks were simple and honest.
Before he could make a move, the horned girl suddenly raised her Ballistic Shield and charged forward. Baldy was caught off guard. As he staggered back, the dagger fell from his hand and was immediately confiscated.
"According to Lungmen safety regulations, carrying a knife on the street poses a risk to public safety. On behalf of the Lungmen Guard Department, I'm confiscating your weapon."
Knowing he was in the wrong, Baldy left behind a threat and stormed off.
"Damn it, just you wait!"
Seeing that he seemed to be going to call for backup, the horned girl hurriedly packed up her things to make a run for it. Once every item had been stuffed into her backpack, she thanked Shi Lei.
"Thank you so much for earlier! Remember to come to me next time you want to buy something, okay? I'll give you a super special discount!"
She called it gratitude, but she was really trying to hook him with a low-price discount and close a future sale. Shi Lei privately thought this coworker was a business genius, but he did not expose her.
"Sure. We'll meet again."
The horned girl felt that this sale was in the bag. She gave him a thumbs-up, then turned and left.
Before you continue