Interview

"Name?"

"Brian Lee."

"You're a forensic assistant with the Medical Examiner's Office. Why did you choose to change jobs?"

"I've had a dream since I was a kid."

A dim room.

Under the orange light, Brian sat on a high chair, his expression grave as he answered the interviewer's questions across from him.

This whole scene...

If someone added a pair of handcuffs to his wrists, Brian would have started wondering whether he had committed a crime.

This newly established NW Department had a truly bizarre way of doing things.

A military helicopter picked them up and dropped them off.

During the trip, they had even been blindfolded.

After getting off the helicopter, Brian and the others were helped through a security check.

Once they passed, they got onto an elevator.

Only after they reached a vast hall

were everyone's blindfolds removed.

They did not even know where they were now.

Except for Brian.

Brian's enhanced sense of smell let him catch a very faint earthy scent.

Right now, they were deep underground.

If Brian had not lived in this world for more than twenty years and never heard of the Umbrella Corporation, he would almost have thought this base was the Umbrella Corporation's underground facility.

Who knew how long had passed.

Only when Brian's mouth had gone dry

did the interviewer across from him finally stop asking questions.

Under the dim orange light, the interviewer, who had originally had his back to the light and been hidden in the shadows, leaned forward slightly, finally revealing his deathly pale face.

Brian narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the man's appearance.

But under the influence of the light, he could not see the man's features clearly. He could only vaguely see two deep crow's feet at the sides of his cheeks, so he was probably not young.

The interviewer also felt somewhat conflicted at that moment.

The position most suited to Brian was autopsy examiner.

It was a position that required both talent and sufficient experience.

But Brian was too young.

After thinking it over, he asked again, "Mr. Brian, I just looked through your electronic file. The medical examiners you've served under all rated you very highly. May I ask how you managed that?"

Brian shrugged and said very honestly, "I have a lot of high-quality resources."

"Mm?"

"And as it happens, most of those medical examiners were men."

"Mm!"

The interviewer instantly understood what kind of high-quality resources he meant.

The way he looked at Brian immediately changed.

The man, who had still been hesitating a moment ago, instantly stood up and enthusiastically reached out both hands to Brian. "That sounds excellent. What I mean is, our NW Department very much needs talent like you. You've passed my interview, Mr. Brian!"

And just like that, Brian somehow muddled his way through the first round of interviews.

After passing the interview, Brian was led by a tall, cold-looking blonde woman to a very large break room.

The first moment he saw this beauty, Brian knew

he had come to the right place!

He was born to join the NW Department!

Even the widely experienced Brian had to admit that her looks, figure, and aura might not be absolutely peerless on their own, but put together, she was definitely the woman who had stirred the strongest impulse in him across both his past and present lives.

Perhaps this was what they called love at first sight.

Brian very much wanted to admire the early sunrise with this lady.

Unfortunately, his main goal right now was to pass the assessment smoothly, so he did not dare act rashly.

Otherwise, Brian would absolutely have asked her for her contact information.

He watched the blonde beauty's back disappear from view.

Only then did Brian reluctantly withdraw his gaze and start sizing up the lounge.

The lounge was very large.

At the moment, only two or three people were sitting scattered around.

They should also have been people who had passed the first round of interviews.

Brian met their eyes, then found a seat for himself and sat down.

Time passed.

This place seemed to have been forgotten.

By the time everyone's stomachs had started growling, and the number of people in the lounge had more or less reached over fifty, still no one had come to take them to eat, nor had anyone paid them any attention. They had simply been left here.

But everyone here was an adult.

On top of that, after arriving here, the various unusual treatment they had received...

All of it made these candidates understand that this NW Department was not as simple as they had imagined at first.

No one dared show off their personality in a place like this.

At this moment.

In a very large office.

Four men and two women, each holding a tablet that was still not commonly seen on the market, were looking over the information on the tablets while watching the large surveillance screen in front of them. They sized up the people on the monitor as if they were sizing up livestock.

Among them was the tall blonde beauty who had previously brought Brian into the lounge.

On the tablet in her hand, she had already ticked off four people's files.

Brian's portrait was prominently among them.

Knock, knock, knock~

The office door was pushed open.

The white interviewer who had interviewed Brian earlier walked in.

When the four men and two women saw him, they hurriedly stood from their chairs and said in respectful unison, "Mr. Baviel."

This guy was clearly not as simple as an ordinary interviewer.

Baviel nodded. "Ladies and gentlemen, the first round of interview screening has now been completed. Submit the lists you've chosen."

The six of them had long since made their choices.

These internally appointed second-generation team leaders put on blindfolds and, escorted by base security, began leaving one after another.

Only the blonde beauty stayed behind.

Once everyone had left.

The tall blonde beauty's cold expression faded, and she smiled as she looked at the middle-aged man before her. "Uncle Baviel, long time no see."

Baviel looked at his good friend's daughter, and a wry smile appeared on his tired face. "Susan, I really don't understand why your father was willing to let you come to such a dangerous department."

"Simple. I made a bet with him."

Susan was clearly unwilling to talk much about it.

She handed the tablet over and changed the subject. "Let's not talk about those unpleasant things, Uncle Baviel. Take a look at the people I picked. What do you think?"

Baviel curiously took the tablet and looked it over, then was somewhat dumbfounded.

There were four people on the tablet.

All four of these people had been interviewed by him personally.

Susan was secretly watching Baviel's expression, and when she saw him freeze, joy rose in her heart.

She knew it!

Anyone who could pass an interview under Uncle Baviel had to be the best of the best!

Baviel looked at this niece of his, who was secretly delighted, and his lips twitched twice. He did not even know how to begin.

But it also did not seem quite right to trick his own niece like this.

After a moment of silence.

Baviel advised somewhat unnaturally, "Susan, how about you choose four people again?"

"Why?"

Susan looked at Baviel with a hint of wariness.

This uncle of hers couldn't have been tipped off by her father already and be trying to set her up, could he?

"Because none of them are suitable!"

"Why aren't they suitable?"

Susan pointed at Brian's profile picture on the tablet and demanded, "Uncle Baviel, tell me exactly what's unsuitable about him."

Baviel looked at Brian's portrait, his scalp tingling.

He couldn't very well say in front of his niece that the man was a slacker.

The reason he had let him pass was because of certain reasons that were hard to explain openly.

Wasn't that abusing his power for personal gain?

It would damage his image too much.

Baviel could only say vaguely, "He's too young. A medical examiner is a profession that requires a lot of experience."

Susan noticed Baviel's unease and sneered twice. Without replying, she pointed straight at another candidate, an old man who looked to be in his sixties or seventies. "This one is old enough, right, Uncle Baviel? Please tell me what's unsuitable about him."

She was already certain.

Uncle Baviel must have seen how good her eye was and realized she had picked out everyone he was optimistic about. He was worried she would complete her bet with her father, so he wanted to stop her from taking these talents away!

At the sight of the old man's portrait, Baviel was struck silent again.

He couldn't very well tell his niece that this old man was his gaming buddy of many years, and that he had selflessly provided him with lots of cheats, which was why Baviel had picked him, planning to bring him in for some enjoyable duo-queue stress relief.

Pulling strings, Wasn't something you could put out in the open!

Seeing that Baviel could not speak, Susan tapped the portraits of the remaining two men, both with upright faces, clearly elites at a glance. "What about these two? They're neither old nor young, they've worked as detectives for years, and they're experienced. May I ask what's wrong with them?"

Baviel looked at these two righteous-looking fellows, speechless and choked.

He couldn't very well tell his niece that because of their bizarre ways of doing things, their superiors truly couldn't stand them anymore and had taken this opportunity to invite him out for several hair washes, preparing to transfer them in first and then fire them.

It wasn't suitable.

There really was no way to explain.

If he said it, it would be abusing power for personal gain.

If he didn't, he would be screwing over his own niece.

In the end, Baviel could only silently raise his head and stare blankly at the ceiling.

He was at a loss for words.

He had interviewed twelve people.

Only four had been passed by him with lowered standards for various ulterior purposes.

And in the end, Susan had taken a liking to all four of them.

What a sin!

Seeing Baviel respond with silence, Susan seemed as if she had won a battle and gave a cold snort. "Uncle Baviel, I'm going back to prepare for the second round of assessments!"

Old geezer!

Still trying to trick me!

She whistled happily and strode off with the steps of a victor. Putting on her blindfold, she placed her hand on the shoulder of the female security guard waiting outside the door and prepared to leave.

Baviel did not dare imagine

How badly those four guys would screw over his niece Susan if they were put together.

Unable to bear it, he called out to Susan just as she was about to leave, wanting to make one last attempt to save this silly girl. "Susan, there are still more than twenty backup candidates in this batch for you to choose from. Pick again. Otherwise, you'll definitely regret it."

"I never regret my choices!"

Susan tossed out that proud line and, without looking back, disappeared from Baviel's sight.

Baviel shook his head, took out his phone, and called Susan's father.

Although he did not know about the bet between Susan and her father, judging by the current situation, the team Susan led probably would not even pass the second round of assessments. This was perfect for claiming credit ahead of time and extorting a few bottles of treasured wine from his old friend.

It was just a pity about that Brian.

Such a good young man.

You could tell at a glance that he knew how to care about his superiors and had great ambition.

What a shame.

He suddenly remembered the first time Dean had walked into the detective bureau.

That had still been in '22.

Now it was already '24.

The wheel of fate turned.

Brian, too, began to step onto the stage that belonged to him, to play out the story that was his.