"Driver, and you too, bodyguard bro. I'm not bragging, but back then there were at least a hundred security guards surrounding me. I didn't even blink. I fought my way from one end of the alley to the other, killing without batting an eye!"
"Didn't your eyes get dry?"
"I said I killed without batting an eye, and you're asking if my eyes got dry?"
"Cough, don't get the wrong idea, boss. I'm just concerned about your health. Don't give me a bad rating later, okay?"
"Hey, forget about that. We're all bros here. What's a rating between friends? By the way, driver, what do you do for work?"
Li Jinshui sat with one leg crossed over the other, telling the driver all about his personal experiences. The two hit it off more and more as they chatted.
The car drove onward, weaving through a sea of lights. The sky gradually darkened, and the evening glow spread like fire across half the horizon.
At last, as more and more high-rises appeared outside the window, the car reached its destination and came to a smooth stop in front of a towering office building.
"Boss, we're here. Remember to leave me a good rating!" the driver reminded him.
"Don't worry. I'm a high-level executive at Daming Technology. Do you think I'd begrudge you one good rating?"
Li Jinshui waved grandly and stepped out of the car with a flourish.
But when the night breeze blew and he felt his empty pockets, his face turned tragic.
The ride had been far too long. His bank card had already been empty, and now he'd spent all the more than two thousand yuan in cash he'd been carrying on the fare. He didn't have a cent left.
He'd hit it off with the driver, so the man had waived the extra ten-odd yuan. Otherwise, he wouldn't even have been able to get out of the car.
"Take it easy, driver! I'll find a time to treat you guys to a meal one of these days!"
Li Jinshui waved goodbye.
After watching the car merge into traffic, he turned around and took in the prosperous neighborhood, with its broad roads. Thinking back to the old neighborhood where he used to live, he couldn't help sighing at the wealth gap.
This was the most prosperous and central part of Darong City, Chunxi Road in Huayang District, where every inch of land was worth a fortune.
The outer district was right next door, yet its housing prices were worlds apart. They could differ by more than tenfold. It was downright terrifying.
"Heh. And yet, for the next three months, I'll be living right here fair and square!"
Li Jinshui raised his head and gazed at the skyscraper before him, its entire exterior built of glass curtain walls.
Atop the building stood four gleaming characters: Daming Technology.
This was Daming Technology's Rong City branch office. The entire building belonged to the company!
As a subsidiary directly under Daming Technology, the Delivery Youth Training Camp had established branch camps in many cities, nearly all of them sharing premises with their local branch offices.
Darong City was no different. The Rong City Branch Camp was located inside this skyscraper.
It was already evening, but the entire building was still brightly lit.
The lobby on the first floor was unusually quiet, nothing like the noisy rush of people leaving other office buildings at the end of the workday.
Li Jinshui didn't think much of it and walked inside.
There were no guards on duty, and even the doors opened and closed automatically.
Only after entering the lobby did Li Jinshui truly appreciate how spacious it was. The decor looked luxurious, exuding the grandeur of top-tier capital without seeming in the least bit ostentatious.
"Hello, sir. How can I help you?" The receptionist at the center of the lobby asked with a bright smile and a sweet voice.
"Hello. I'm here to apply for the Youth Training Camp." Li Jinshui got straight to the point. He was starving and wanted to get the process over with as quickly as possible.
The receptionist froze, then smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, sir. You may have missed our notice. Interviews for the Youth Training Camp run from ten in the morning until four in the afternoon. You can show me your ID so I can register you, then come back tomorrow morning. Would that be all right?"
"I have to wait until tomorrow?"
Li Jinshui immediately knew he was in trouble. He'd actually freaking missed the schedule.
But those people at the Youth Training Camp worked for such a big company, and they clocked out at four in the afternoon? Didn't their consciences bother them?
Still, this did leave him in a bit of a bind.
He didn't have a cent on him. Skipping dinner wouldn't be a big deal, but where was he supposed to spend the night?
"Uh, well..."
His eyes shifted as he glanced around the spacious, brightly lit lobby. In particular, his gaze landed on the neatly arranged rows of sofas. He immediately changed tack. "Miss, register me first, then I'd like to discuss something with you."
As he spoke, he took his ID out of his pocket and handed it over.
"Certainly."
The receptionist maintained her polite, professional smile. She accepted his ID with both hands and swiped it over the scanner on the counter.
"Miss, the thing is, when I got here..." Li Jinshui started.
But the receptionist was staring at the computer screen in front of her. Her smile abruptly froze, and her eyes widened in shock as she looked at him. "Sir, you're... only seventeen?"
"Yeah, that's right. What's wrong?" Li Jinshui had been interrupted mid-flow, so he nodded.
"At your age, you should still be in high school, shouldn't you?" The receptionist asked uncertainly.
"I was, but some things happened... It's complicated. I'm currently taking a leave of absence, and I don't plan to go back and repeat a year. I've decided to devote my youth to Daming Technology and shed blood and sweat for the company."
As he spoke, Li Jinshui's expression turned solemn. He thumped his right fist against his chest and declared in a ringing voice, "Daming Technology, my loyalty is yours!"
"..."
The receptionist furrowed her brows. Was this kid trying to be funny?
"Sir, Daming Technology isn't a place to fool around. And the Youth Training Camp has strict admission requirements. Applicants must have reached minor mastery in Stake Standing and have at least one martial art at the entry level. Are you sure..." She patiently reminded him.
"Hey, of course I'm sure. I wouldn't be here otherwise. This isn't a joke."
Li Jinshui frowned too. "Besides, how hard can minor mastery in Stake Standing and entry-level martial arts be? I thought they were pretty easy!"
Easy?
The receptionist saw that Li Jinshui didn't seem to be putting on an act. A hint of shock flickered in her eyes, and her expression grew serious.
"Sir, are you really certain you're not joking?" she asked again, her gaze stern.
"I'm certain." Her sudden seriousness affected Li Jinshui, and he nodded earnestly.
"Please wait a moment."
The receptionist's manner immediately turned grave. She solemnly picked up the phone on the desk and called an internal line.
She covered the receiver with one hand and quietly reported something.
A moment later, she hung up and hurried out from behind the reception desk.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Mr. Li. Please come upstairs with me. The Youth Training Camp's HR manager will interview you right away." She bowed slightly and gestured courteously for him to follow.
Her attitude had clearly changed. At first, she'd been merely polite and professional; now, she was deferential.
"Lead the way!" Li Jinshui smiled faintly.
Soon, Li Jinshui took the elevator to the fifty-first floor of the office tower, the floor reserved for the Delivery Youth Training Camp.
The moment the elevator doors opened, another woman was already waiting outside.
She wore a fitted professional skirt suit that accentuated her figure. Her short hair was neatly cropped to her ears, and a pair of half-rimmed gold-wire glasses sat on her refined, youthful face. From head to toe, she exuded the brisk air of a workplace elite.
"Hello, Mr. Li. My name is Ye Mei, and I'm the Youth Training Camp's HR manager. Welcome to our interview."
She wore a professional smile and held a document in her hand.
Without any unnecessary small talk or waiting for Li Jinshui to reply, she raised a hand and pointed toward the corridor on the right. "Time is precious. Let's start with a routine procedure and test... your actual strength."