The Hatred Would Slowly Shift
"Please come in."
As the voices inside the room spoke, Alfred pushed open the door and, along with his stealth drone and a group of spectators, walked into the office.
The HR manager sitting at his desk was a typical greasy middle-aged man. His hair was slightly thinning, but not balding, and he had a slight beer belly, but he was still presentable.
Upon seeing Feng Xue enter, the other party immediately spoke in an unquestionable tone:
"Your resume is excellent, but you're still just a recent graduate. Nobody can say for sure how good your practical skills are. As for school internships, everyone knows what those are all about. And as for having you complete a design or something, you and I both know that's impossible."
[Here comes the first lesson of the job: suppressing the value of new employees.]
[Hilarious, this HR manager's PUA skills are so low.]
It's not that he's incompetent, but rather that he's too lazy to engage in high-level discussions with you. Because normally, no matter what he says, you'll just end up saying "yes, yes, yes."
[Yeah, do you think you can just pull out a project team's chief planner's resume and slap it in his face? If you had that kind of resume, would you even be applying for a job in the No Man's Land?]
A barrage of comments flooded in, clearly from office workers who were constantly oppressed.
However, Alfred didn't seem to care and said:
"I understand everything you're saying, so let's get straight to the point about compensation."
"..." The HR manager frowned slightly upon hearing this, but still handed over the contract he was holding:
"Take a look at the contract. After you sign it, you can start working. Also, our company's contracts have confidentiality clauses..."
"I understand." Alfred interrupted, reading through the Live Broadcast Room line by line. To the surprise of the viewers, the contract...
It seems pretty fair?
"Fair my ass! Look at the intellectual property regulations here, the resignation regulations, and the contents of the confidentiality agreement. Oh, and the most outrageous thing is this final interpretation right... Isn't this a blatant example of an unfair contract term?"
Alfred spoke into the Live Broadcast Room via telepathy, but the resulting chat was—
Isn't this a normal thing?
Looking at these comments, Alfred's lips twitched slightly, and he said speechlessly:
"You guys really haven't even read 'The Work Law'?"
Why look at that thing? Nobody follows it anyway.
[Yeah, what company these days actually follows the Work Law?]
"Fine." Although Alfred had anticipated this situation, he was still speechless at the audience's completely unfazed reaction.
However, he was somewhat prepared for this, but he frowned and pointed to the salary area, saying:
"Everything else is fine, but isn't the salary a little too low, perhaps a thousand a month?"
"Oh, you mean this?" The manager straightened up slightly upon hearing this, but to the audience's surprise, he didn't continue with his manipulative tactics or make empty promises. Instead, he simply explained the basics:
"Our Plot 1774 has its own independent Currency System, and prices are relatively low. Generally speaking, 200 yuan is enough to cover expenses including water, electricity, food, accommodation, and basic medical care. Of course, if you plan to consume Nutrient Paste, it will cost even less. However, please note that we do not offer Capsule Apartment here; housing expenses will be at least 100 yuan per month."
"Isn't issuing currency privately illegal?" Alfred's face showed the innocent naiveté unique to students, but the manager spoke earnestly:
"Do you know what Private Plot is? It's theoretically a plot of land that's entirely 'residential.' Isn't it normal for elders in the family to get a little red flower or Dim Sum voucher? It's just that compared to those things, we can buy much more with our 'Ming Coin' here."
[Damn, this is an illegal plot of land with private currency! This means there are special contraband items circulating inside!]
[Please elaborate, what prohibited items are involved?]
[Who knew that the currency from Plot 117 could be used to obtain Hunter Warhead through certain channels, the currency from Plot 333 could be used to acquire Silver Reaper, Plot 908 had 6...]
[Continue, what's the 6?]
[Don't wait any longer, his account has been banned.]
Seeing the chaotic comments section, Alfred nodded slightly, then said:
"So, Credit Point can't be used on this plot of land?"
"It can be used, but you have to exchange it at the bank. The exchange rate these days is about 1:5, which means 1 Ming Coin can be exchanged for 5 Credit Point. However, you should note that the exchange of Ming Coin is limited. Each person can only exchange 200 Ming Coin per month, which is roughly the price for basic expenses. The bank's total exchange limit is only about 1 million per month. However, there is no limit to the reverse exchange."
The HR manager explained things very carefully, giving the impression that he was a completely different person from the habitual PUA perpetrator from before. Alfred, however, frowned slightly and pondered:
"That's five thousand a month, that's still a bit low."
Hearing Alfred's words, the Live Broadcast Room exploded. Excluding those at the bottom who consumed Nutrient Paste, most people with spare money to watch live streams online could earn 1,000 Credit Point a month, which was already a very considerable income. In fact, if they lowered their standard of living, for example, by consuming Nutrient Paste and staying in Capsule Hotel, enjoying everything in the Virtual World, then 1,000 Credit Point could be enough to last them from birth to death.
The HR manager, however, reacted differently, simply winking knowingly and saying:
"The value of Ming Coin isn't just what it appears on the surface; you'll understand once you stay here longer."
"A specialty of the Lawless Zone?" Alfred nodded knowingly, took out an expensive pen from his breast pocket, and quickly signed his name.
Upon seeing his pen, the HR manager's eyes lit up, and he immediately said:
"Alfred, your pen..."
"Isn't it beautiful? It's a limited edition, a gift from my mentor."
Alfred didn't give the manager a chance to finish speaking, and stood up abruptly, saying:
"Alright, two copies, manager. Is there anything else we need to do?"
The bribery attempt was interrupted, but the manager didn't continue. These young people usually still have the innocent naiveté of someone fresh out of school; after a while, they'll learn what it means to work.
Having thought this through, he stopped pondering it, took out the company seal, stamped it across the seam of each of the two contracts, and then said:
"The Design Department's office is on the second floor, to the right. It's easy to find; you can just go there yourself."
[The streamer got scammed! Even if the manager himself didn't go, they should have found a senior manager to mentor him. It's obvious they've been set up!]
[Exactly, in today's workplace environment, without a senior colleague to mentor you, people in the office might not even notice you.]
[Yeah, when you're new to the company, nobody speaks up for you, and nobody listens to you even if you want to treat someone to a meal!]
Amidst a barrage of workplace complaints, Alfred followed the directions to the Design Department office. Seeing his colleagues busy at their computers, he clapped his hands with an air of superiority, drawing their attention, and then smiled calmly, saying:
"Hello everyone, I'm Alfred Paradox, the new guy. Nice to meet you."