Taking Down the Supervisor

In a spacious office, Bai Xiaowen met the manager of Super God Potion Shop, a tall elderly man wearing reading glasses.

"From what I know of Fan Jianwei, if there really were a problem with the potions from our Alchemy Department, he would have come personally to sell me this favor instead of sending a newcomer who had only just started."

The manager of Super God Potion Shop adjusted his reading glasses. His voice was strong and resonant as soon as he spoke. "Tell me, what exactly did you come here for?"

Bai Xiaowen said calmly, "There's nothing wrong with the potions themselves. The problem is Supervisor Fan."

"Oh?"

Bai Xiaowen set the briefcase on the desk, opened it gently, turned it halfway around, and pushed it over.

The old manager frowned as he picked up the two bottles of potion and carefully compared them against the sunlight streaming through the window.

After seeing the price tags, the old manager's brows furrowed. Clearly, he had noticed that the labels had been switched.

"Tell me what happened. In detail." The old manager did not waste words and went straight to the point.

"I'm a student at Chihuo No. 1 High School. My classmate Li Shuyi introduced me to this job." Bai Xiaowen knew that if he wanted to earn the old manager's trust, he could no longer hide anything.

After explaining his connection to Li Shuyi, he recounted everything that had happened during his meeting with Fan Jianwei.

The old manager smiled when he heard Li Shuyi's name.

"Half an hour ago, I received a call from the young lady saying she had introduced someone here. So it was you."

The old manager nodded, then his smile faded as he said somewhat sternly, "Personally, I can believe you. But without evidence, Fan Jianwei won't admit it. He might even shift the blame onto you."

Bai Xiaowen instantly realized that Fan Jianwei must have some backing within Super God Potion Shop. Otherwise, firing an administrative supervisor would have been a matter of a single sentence for the manager. Why would he need evidence? Mere suspicion should have been enough.

"As for evidence, I have some." Bai Xiaowen took out his battered phone from his pocket and activated the playback function.

Although the phone was old, the recording was very clear. Fan Jianwei's voice came through distinctly. "...Don't worry. I watched you put on the labels the whole time. There's no way they could be wrong."

The old manager was somewhat surprised. "You're quite clever. With this recording, we can at least prove that the incorrect labels weren't your fault."

"I suggest that you carefully investigate the accounts from the past few months, especially the discarded potions. Supervisor Fan's habit of using the shop's assets for personal gain probably wasn't an isolated act. It was organized and premeditated."

Bai Xiaowen drove the knife in deeper. If you did not kill the wolf, it would come back to haunt you. The moment he entered the manager's office, he had become Fan Jianwei's opponent. He had to crush him completely.

After thinking for several seconds, the old manager picked up the office phone on his desk. "Hecheng, immediately suspend Fan Jianwei from his position and detain him. Also, notify Assistant Manager Liu Jiang to thoroughly investigate the Sales Department's recent accounts. The discarded potions from last month haven't been destroyed yet, right... They have already been destroyed? Then carefully inspect this month's discarded potions."

After making the call, the old manager and Bai Xiaowen waited quietly for news.

Auditing the accounts would not be finished quickly, but the lead involving discarded potions produced immediate results. Before long, they uncovered something suspicious. In January alone, seven bottles of discarded potions had falsified labels, with preliminary estimated losses reaching several million.

The old manager frowned deeply as he looked over the results submitted by his capable subordinate, Sun Hecheng.

Fan Jianwei's fraudulent scheme was not complicated. He deliberately put incorrect labels on expensive permanent Enhancement Potions, selling them as low-grade combat potions. His accomplices would then pose as customers, quickly buy them, and resell them on the black market for the price difference.

As for the shortage of high-grade potions, he used low-grade combat potions with switched labels to make up for it, then quickly sent them through the disposal process.

What infuriated the old manager was that Li Qing, the assistant supervisor responsible for handling discarded potions, had also been bribed by Fan Jianwei. They shared the profits, causing Super God Potion Shop considerable losses.

Alchemist Sun Hecheng was a middle-aged man with a square face. He looked like Zhu Shimao from Cops and Robbers—thick brows, big eyes, and even if he wore a traitor's uniform, he would still look like an undercover operative. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Those vermin are far too bold. Teacher Zhang, we can't let them off lightly."

The old manager said slowly, "Old Liu is auditing the accounts. We'll soon know how much they embezzled. Once the results are out, Hecheng, write a report and send Fan Jianwei to the Guild Enforcement Department for handling. As for Assistant Supervisor Li Qing, hand him over to the judicial authorities for sentencing."

Sun Hecheng acknowledged the order.

Bai Xiaowen was curious and could not help asking, "The Guild Enforcement Department? Does it have law enforcement authority?"

The old manager explained, "Super God Potion Shop is controlled by Super God Guild. Fan Jianwei is a member of Super God Guild's Logistics Department. Since he committed a crime at Super God Potion Shop, Super God Guild can handle him internally."

Seeing how natural the old manager found this, Bai Xiaowen was surprised. He knew there were many guilds of all sizes in the world, and Super God Guild was one of Huaxia Country's guilds, but he had not expected guilds to hold such great power.

Seeing the change in Bai Xiaowen's expression, the old manager knew that he had misunderstood. He waved a hand and smiled. "Don't misunderstand. The Guild Enforcement Department can only handle crimes committed internally by guild members. If it involves the outside world, especially crimes that seriously endanger public safety, state authorities will still intervene. The guild has no power to shield them."

Bai Xiaowen nodded.

The old manager then changed his tone and said with a beaming smile, "You're Bai Xiaowen, right? The young lady's classmate? Mm, not bad, very good. You actually recognized the difference between two potions, saw through Fan Jianwei's scheme, and rooted out a parasite from our shop. Young people are formidable indeed."

"You flatter me, Elder Zhang." Bai Xiaowen was very modest.

The old manager wrote a note, stamped it, and handed it to Sun Hecheng beside him. "Go to the finance department and collect one hundred thousand as a bonus for student Little Bai."

The amount was far beyond Bai Xiaowen's expectations. He hurriedly rose and politely protested, "Elder Zhang, one hundred thousand is too much."

Bai Xiaowen had originally thought that a bonus of ten thousand or so would already be good. There was no point comparing it to the several million Fan Jianwei had embezzled; the nature of the two was different.

The old manager was willing to give him one hundred thousand, probably because of Li Shuyi. Otherwise, Bai Xiaowen was merely a high school senior. A few thousand would have been enough to send him away.

"Don't be so polite. You just joined the shop and already rendered great service. Of course you should be rewarded." The old manager waved his hand.

Bai Xiaowen had received a hundred-thousand-yuan bonus for nothing, so naturally he was very happy. However, he had not forgotten his real purpose. "Elder Zhang, I came here to find part-time work. Do you think you could arrange a job for me?"

Sun Hecheng was puzzled. "Bai Xiaowen, you already have a hundred-thousand-yuan bonus. You still plan to work part-time? Your final year of high school must be very demanding, right?"

Bai Xiaowen shook his head. "The two of you may not know much about my family situation. My parents are gone, and there are only my younger sister and me. One hundred thousand is a lot, but it's still money without a source. Part-time work may earn less, but it's steady income... More importantly, working part-time here would let me learn many things that would be useful for the rest of my life."

After hearing this, both the old manager and Sun Hecheng showed approving expressions.

"You're young, but you have a remarkably clear head. How about this? I'll give you two positions to choose from. First, you can work as a salesperson in the sales hall. The work is easy, the environment is comfortable, and you'll earn twenty yuan an hour. If your sales performance is good, you'll also receive commission. Second, you can do odd jobs in the Alchemy Department. The work is harder, the environment is worse, and you'll earn fifteen yuan an hour," the old manager said after some thought.

Sun Hecheng was somewhat surprised. A part-time salesperson was not even as good as an intern. How could he possibly receive sales commission? However, seeing the old manager's serious expression, Sun Hecheng wisely remained silent.

"I choose the second one." Bai Xiaowen did not hesitate. Being a salesperson was easy and paid more, but there was nothing to learn. The Alchemy Department was different. With his Insight Talent and Super Brain, he could try learning alchemy. That was an industry with enormous profits.

Hearing Bai Xiaowen choose the Alchemy Department, the old manager nodded as though he had expected it. "Good. Go with Master Sun. From now on, after school every day, come work at the shop for four hours. The schedule must be fixed, and if you have something to do, you must request leave in advance. Let me make this clear: even if you were recommended by the young lady, I'll still throw you out if you don't perform well."

Bai Xiaowen nodded seriously. "Of course."

His first job since arriving in the Psychic Energy Era was finally settled.

Thinking back on everything that had happened today, Bai Xiaowen once again strongly felt how much he had changed. Not only had he become more confident in personality, but his abilities had also improved greatly. Whenever he faced a difficult problem, he only needed to run through it briefly in his mind to arrive at the most advantageous choice.

That evening, under Sun Hecheng's guidance, Bai Xiaowen worked for four hours in the Alchemy Department's back area. Most of it was miscellaneous work like washing, scrubbing, cleaning, and mopping.

The Alchemy Department had more than a dozen Alchemists. Each Alchemist had a dedicated production room, displaying the Alchemists' distinct and honored status. The old manager Zhang Jing and his capable subordinate Sun Hecheng were both among them. The old manager was one of the shop's finest Alchemists, while Sun Hecheng was also a core member of the upper management.

The more than one hundred apprentices beneath them were also divided into different ranks. The dozen or so who did well had been promoted from ordinary apprentices to assistants. Basically, every Alchemist had an assistant they were used to working with. These dozen assistants received the same pay, but they did not need to perform menial chores. They could learn by assisting the Alchemists, making them practically a different class from the apprentices in the Alchemy Department's main hall.

As a newcomer, Bai Xiaowen was undoubtedly the least experienced and lowest-ranked, so he could only do odd jobs in the main hall.

However, Bai Xiaowen performed his duties conscientiously. When senior apprentices slacked off and pushed the dirty, exhausting work onto newcomers, Bai Xiaowen silently finished it all. As a newcomer, if he lacked even a little patience and easily argued with senior apprentices, he would undoubtedly leave others with the impression that he was impulsive and restless.