Yamamoto Toru, Born Evil!

Bai Lin walked to the wooden table in the center of the room and sat down. He tapped his fingertips lightly against the surface, his voice calm yet carrying a sense of penetration: "I have called everyone here today primarily to announce three things."

"Before that, does everyone still remember the code of conduct established when our Everything Shop was first founded?"

"We do!"

A synchronized response rang out instantly in the room. Even those who were usually not good with words followed along, reciting softly: "Death befalls all men; it may be heavier than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather."

"Serve the villagers wholeheartedly, without allowing even the slightest error."

"Very good. It seems everyone has been working hard for this!" Seeing this, Bai Lin gave a lopsided smile. "The Everything Shop is so popular in the village now thanks to everyone's hard work. I thank you all for your efforts."

"It's all thanks to the boss; I'm just doing what I like."

"If it weren't for the boss, I'm afraid I couldn't even afford to eat grilled meat."

"Exactly, my parents are proud that I joined the Everything Shop."

The crowd chimed in with their own thoughts, all of them clearly happy and satisfied.

It's no wonder everyone likes being a leader, especially when they are revered by their subordinates.

Most members were ordinary people, like those from the orphanage. Without ninja talent to enter the ninja academy, there were no extra subsidies, let alone pocket money.

Although they had enough to eat and drink, wanting to buy things they liked or eat things they had never tasted before was simply impossible.

Now that they had joined the Everything Shop, being able to help the villagers while earning a steady wage was something they could never have asked for.

Bai Lin nodded slightly, his fingertips continuing to tap the table: "Uchiha Mikoto, hand me this month's report."

"Yes." Uchiha Mikoto responded, stood up, and walked quickly to Bai Lin to hand it over.

Her fingers were slender and her movements gentle. One could clearly see the dense handwriting in the ledger; every transaction was recorded neatly and clearly, even noting the content of the commission and the name of the payer.

She truly is the ideal Japanese woman—meticulous and proper in her work, gentle and considerate with others. She always handles affairs in a way that puts one at ease.

Bai Lin flipped through the ledger, his expression calm. His fingertips paused on a certain entry: "Xiao Zhi, you completed... this month with zero errors and 100% villager satisfaction. Well done."

Xiao Zhi's eyes lit up, and he quickly bowed to thank him: "Thank you for the praise, Boss! I will work even harder in the future!"

"Xiao Ya, ..., 100% villager satisfaction. Well done." "Tha... thank you for the praise, Boss!"

Xiao Ya: "Tha... thank you for the praise, Boss, I..."

Before the girl named Xiao Ya could finish her sentence, someone else spoke up for Bai Lin.

"Xiao Ya, the boss has never done anything to wrong you, yet you betrayed him. You are not welcome here."

"Get out of here immediately! We don't need selfish people like you in our Everything Shop."

"Damn it, I thought you were a gentle and considerate girl, Xiao Ya. I never expected you to be this kind of person!" A boy who liked Xiao Ya clenched his fists, his face full of anger and disappointment.

Bai Lin watched this scene with satisfaction, though his face remained impassive.

Xiao Ya was one of the members who had intended to leave the Everything Shop with Yamamoto Toru.

When Bai Lin entered, he had already noticed that four members were missing, but he had discovered that Xiao Ya had not chosen to follow Yamamoto Toru, yet she was firmly refusing to participate in this meeting.

"I... I..." Xiao Ya was drowned out by the accusations of the crowd, her face turning deathly pale in an instant.

"Alright, everyone. Since Xiao Ya is still wearing the Everything Shop bracelet, she is still a member of our Everything Shop." Bai Lin tapped the table lightly, interrupting the argument.

"Xiao Zhi, have you collected Yamamoto Toru's bracelet?"

"Boss, except for Xiao Ya's, the bracelets for Yamamoto Toru and the three who followed him have all been collected." Xiao Zhi placed the bracelets in his hand onto Bai Lin's desk.

The bracelets were specially crafted by Bai Lin to increase the cohesion and sense of belonging among the Everything Shop members; they were equivalent to the work IDs of his previous life.

They bore the characters 'Everything Shop' on the front, with the member's name engraved on the back.

"Xiao Ya, I am very disappointed in you. As for the reasons, I don't really want to hear them."

"We were all close-knit family members. If you had any thoughts or opinions about me personally, you could have brought them up. To try and leave without a word now... it truly breaks my heart."

Bai Lin hammered his chest hard, looking utterly heartbroken.

"Boss!" Xiao Ya's face was deathly pale, her body swayed, and tears welled up instantly. "I..."

"There is no need to say anything. I know many of you think I am young, and some may even be dissatisfied with me in their hearts, believing they could do better than I can."

"Members who feel this way are free to follow Yamamoto Toru and leave this place. I won't have any objections."

"The Everything Shop has never been mine alone; it belongs to everyone."

Bai Lin's gaze swept slowly across the room, his tone carrying a hint of deliberate desolation.

The room fell into dead silence. Everyone kept their heads down, no one daring to respond.

"Boss, we will never betray you, and we will never betray the Everything Shop. If anyone has done something to wrong the Everything Shop, we will never forgive them either." Xiao Zhi was the first to break the silence.

"That's right, we only follow the Boss!"

"The Boss is our light!"

"The Boss is our backbone!"

"Whoever dares to betray us, we will be the first to stop them!"

A chorus of support erupted throughout the room, everyone looking at Bai Lin with firm, unwavering eyes.

Bai Lin looked at them, moved; he had never expected that the Everything Shop, founded for his own selfish reasons, would develop into something like this.

The Will of Phosphorus was leagues ahead of the Will of Fire! Bai Lin sighed inwardly.

But I am sorry, everyone; the Everything Shop does not hold enough value for me to extract, so I have no choice but to give it up.

"Alright, everyone, settle down for a moment. We will discuss Xiao Ya's matter later. I am now going to announce three things."

Bai Lin pressed his hands downward, and the lively atmosphere instantly quieted.

"The first thing: I have decided to officially step down from the Everything Shop, and Xiao Zhi will serve as the next boss."

As soon as the words fell, the room erupted into chaos, replaced by a chorus of incredulous gasps.

"Boss! What are you saying?!" Xiao Zhi lunged in front of Bai Lin, his body trembling with agitation. "Why are you quitting? Did we do something wrong? Is it because of the betrayal by Yamamoto Toru and his lot that you've lost heart? We all listen to you; no one will ever dare to betray you again!"

"Boss! You founded the Everything Shop with your own hands; it's like your own child! How can you just say you're quitting? We've only made it this far because of you—if you leave, what are we supposed to do?"

"Boss! You can't leave! The villagers all recognize you, they recognize the Everything Shop! If you leave, the Everything Shop will fall apart!"

"That naturally evil Yamamoto Toru!"

Everyone chimed in with their pleas, their faces filled with panic and reluctance to let him go; even Xiao Ya wore an expression of utter bewilderment and distress.