Jiang Qian followed the young woman in the white suit dress down a carpeted hallway and into a private reception room.
The young woman knocked on the door with a bent finger, then gestured for Jiang Qian to go in. She didn't follow him inside. Her manner was polished and professional throughout.
"Please come in. Your personal training instructor is already waiting for you."
Jiang Qian thanked her politely and entered the reception room.
A poised, mature beauty with an aloof air sat on one of the sofas—yes, a sofa. She had shoulder-length hair and wore a black casual blazer and skirt. Her crossed legs, accentuated by black stockings, were long and shapely, lending her an air of elegance and mystery.
She was like a bewitching, haughty black cat.
"Jiang Qian? Please, have a seat." The mature, catlike woman gestured toward the sofa across from her and smiled invitingly.
His laptop and security equipment were laid out on the table beside the sofa.
The laptop was a top-of-the-line lightweight model, while the security equipment included a device resembling a stun baton and a monocle with a radar locator and alarm.
As a License Holder, Jiang Qian received one-on-one training. A dedicated onboarding instructor would help him learn the company's rules and regulations, code of conduct, License Holder culture, and compensation and benefits.
Following Teacher Su's instructions, Jiang Qian first opened his phone and connected to the company intranet to download the CP (Card Player) app. He then registered using his Super-species Player ID.
He'd heard the app's information was linked to the headquarters' system. Anyone caught falsifying information would face serious consequences, so everyone had to provide accurate details.
After Jiang Qian filled in his information, his profile read:
ID: Hidden Dragon
Gender: Male
Age: 20
Position: Intern
Rank: Specialist
He hadn't uploaded a profile picture.
He had no time for that sort of frippery. All his attention was on the License Holder profiles in the system.
He browsed through each department in the Jinping Branch's organizational structure, working his way through the ranks. Before long, he could match most IDs to their respective departments.
This would help him gain a broader picture of Wanzhong in the future and use his items when necessary.
For example, while Teacher Su was going through her presentation, Jiang Qian opened the Secret-Seeking Notebook and entered her ID...
"A black cat who likes to sleep naked."
Sure enough, she was just like her name.
Jiang Qian raised an eyebrow and paid a secret: "Before leaving home today, I went to the bathroom and didn't wash my hands."
It was accepted.
He'd only gone in to look in the mirror before leaving. Why would he need to wash his hands...
The Secret-Seeking Notebook didn't reject even a half-hearted secret like that, much to Jiang Qian's satisfaction.
At the end of the training, the black-cat beauty brought up the salary.
At that, Teacher Su suddenly looked apologetic. "The Group keeps a strict rein on intern salaries. They're usually not very high, so you should prepare yourself."
Thankfully, I already have a decent side gig... Jiang Qian nodded. "Go ahead."
Teacher Su tentatively began:
"Your monthly salary is 20,000. We pay the maximum rates for your five types of social insurance and housing fund, and you get weekends off and all statutory holidays. Overtime is only required when necessary, and you get 20 days of annual leave. In addition, missions above Rank D come with bonuses and items based on their difficulty. Once you become a full-time employee, you'll also receive company shares."
"As for housing, transportation, and meal allowances, the high-temperature subsidy, afternoon tea allowance, and so on, they're all listed in the employee handbook. There are too many to go through one by one, so I recommend reading it carefully."
Jiang Qian was stunned.
With benefits like these, what did she have to apologize for?
A monthly intern salary of 20,000, plus all these benefits—Wanzhong was practically chasing its employees down to stuff money into their pockets... He thought it over for a moment without showing his reaction, as though making a solemn decision. "That's acceptable."
"Wonderful!" Teacher Su let out a breath, looking relieved.
Then she asked tentatively, "Your buddy is Mr. Lan from the East Sea Branch?"
Jiang Qian paused, then nodded. "That's right."
Teacher Su immediately regarded him with new respect!
She'd clearly taken him for a big shot among the company's "well-connected" hires.
While Jiang Qian was in onboarding training, his new colleagues in Team Bear Two of the Security Department were also talking about the incoming intern.
"We agreed ahead of time, everyone. Give your little sister a hand and let me look after this handsome guy, okay?" A rabbitlike young woman put her palms together and pleaded with her colleagues across the table.
"Haha, don't tell me you've got your eye on him because he's good-looking?"
"The little bunny wants to nibble on the grass close to home!"
Her colleagues burst out laughing.
"Oh, give me a break..."
The rabbitlike girl's protest was entirely without force, and the others kept teasing:
"Our work can be dangerous. What if you're too busy flirting and get the handsome guy into trouble?"
"Exactly! If you get into trouble, a rookie probably won't be much help!"
"I say we rotate the newbie through all the teams! That way, the little bunny is still ours~"
"Agreed, agreed."
"Hahaha..."
Laughter echoed through Team Bear Two of Wanzhong Group's Security Department from time to time.
A new intern was about to arrive. Since no one had met him yet, all they could talk about was this sort of office gossip.
No one would assume, for no reason, that a rookie License Holder was some kind of pillar of strength.
If they knew Jiang Qian was the "monster" who had cleared Whispers of the Inner Demon, those grinning colleagues would probably have exploded on the spot.
An hour later, the onboarding training ended.
Jiang Qian left the training room with the mature black-cat beauty and spotted a sweet-looking rabbit girl waiting in the stairwell, smiling brightly.
She had delicate, Korean-style features and fair skin. Her small, refined face lit up with a sweet, innocent smile. She was the kind of beauty who grew on you.
She wore a white long-sleeved crop top, bright white cargo pants, and lace-up boots. Her mid-length hair was parted into two braids that hung over her shoulders. She had the look of a school beauty from a high school.
"She's here to pick you up. I'll be off now. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me on CP." HR rep Ms. Su, who had gotten along well with Jiang Qian, smiled warmly.
"Okay. Thank you, Teacher Su."
Jiang Qian headed toward the rabbitlike girl.
"You're Jiang Qian, right?" She stepped forward to greet him.
"That's me. Hello." Jiang Qian nodded.
"I'm here to pick you up. You can call me Snow White. Welcome to Wanzhong Group's Security Department!"
Jiang Qian smiled and looked her over, quickly matching her appearance to a profile picture he'd just seen in the CP app.
The rabbitlike Snow White was about Jiang Qian's age, yet she was already a veteran employee at Wanzhong Group. She hadn't gone to college; after graduating from high school, she'd started working here.
Jiang Qian later learned that many young License Holders recruited by Wanzhong had given up their education early.
The reason was simple: in the world of License Holders, academic qualifications had fallen entirely out of the order of value. They were worthless.
By comparison, the various training programs Wanzhong Group offered to help License Holders survive and thrive addressed their real needs and had practical value.
On the way, Snow White gave Jiang Qian a brief introduction to Team Bear Two in the Security Department. She also showed a keen interest in his personal details.
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
The question was loaded with implications.
Jiang Qian was still trying to work out how to say "no" while making it clear that he wasn't considering a relationship right now when they reached the Security Department's work area.
His new teammates crowded around to greet and welcome him, treating the new intern with great warmth.
Jiang Qian immediately recognized Team Bear's younger brother, known as Xiong Er, the captain of the Security Department's Second Team—Xiong Youchengzhu.
He didn't even need the Secret-Seeking Notebook to infer what card the man held from the structure of his ID.
This could be a treasure...
Captain Xiong Er came over first and enthusiastically introduced Jiang Qian to everyone in the department. Then he waved his hand and announced that they were going out for a welcome meal to celebrate the new hire!
The whole group headed downstairs and piled into the seven-seat SUV Captain Xiong Er had brought. They drove to the best-known hotpot restaurant nearby and spent the entire afternoon eating, drinking, and making merry.
From onboarding to the team meal, Jiang Qian put his social skills to good use and quickly hit it off with his new colleagues.
He noticed that although these employees in Wanzhong's Security Department were, like the official License Holders he'd met before, law-abiding Super-species Players, their attitudes and behavior were quite different.
These office workers thought more like ordinary people. Their conversations were full of everyday worries and desires.
They seemed to care about the usual things that happened in the mundane world: which restaurant was good, where to go that weekend, which department had just hired a pretty girl, who'd made a fool of themselves in front of the boss, and so on...
They rarely even mentioned Evolution Dungeons.
As this was his first real job, Jiang Qian couldn't help feeling a little dazed. Was this what life was like for low-level players?
Of course, it was also possible they deliberately avoided the subject. Wanzhong's confidentiality rules were extremely strict, and anyone who revealed their identity would face severe punishment: dismissal and permanent blacklisting.
In any case, Jiang Qian had spent a carefree afternoon with the team and still wasn't sure what his actual duties were.
He only found out when he later asked Snow White in private. That was when he learned the department's true secret: their work was extremely "flexible"!
Put simply, they were there to serve the License Holder employees and solve all kinds of problems.
When there was trouble, everyone stayed busy; when there wasn't, they took it easy. That was the Security Department's normal state of affairs. It was also common for people to spend entire days at home when things were quiet.
After all, Wanzhong Group didn't rely on them to generate revenue. As long as they didn't endanger society, they were good employees.
"Just make sure you don't get carried away by youthful hotheadedness. For our department, no achievements is the best achievement!" Snow White kindly reminded him.
Jiang Qian wasn't disappointed in the slightest.
No workload, but still getting paid in full?
Wasn't that a godlike life?
He had plenty of things of his own to prepare and work on. A laid-back job like this was a gift!
All in all, he'd gained a lot on his first day:
First, the roster of Wanzhong's Jinping branch office. Jiang Qian had already begun absorbing this information, which would make it much easier to match law-abiding personnel in the future.
Second, the Wanzhong Biological R&D Center and the laboratory. He'd marked those departments as priorities in case he got a chance to obtain some highly concentrated toxins. That way, he could avoid regretting not having enough poison when he needed it.
Third, Wanzhong's in-house gym had the most advanced access-control measures. Employees could book private rooms for training, and everything was completely free.
Jiang Qian had made up his mind. During his internship at Wanzhong, whatever else he put aside, he had to work on improving his combat strength.
So, during some downtime that afternoon, he proactively arranged to meet Ye Xiaojing at Wanzhong Group's gym.
He wanted to test the two ordinary items he'd just received: a stun baton and a monocle locator.
Wanzhong Group's gym was bigger than a medium-to-large commercial fitness club.
Jiang Qian left his jacket in the locker room and headed for the private room he'd booked.
As soon as he walked in, a burly man came flying toward him!
The man was covered in bulging muscles, yet he was sent hurtling into the wall like a balloon. From the look of it, he'd be stuck there for a while...
Jiang Qian's mouth twitched.
Then he saw Ye Xiaojing walk out, wearing a brown short-sleeved T-shirt and camouflage workout shorts, yawning.
She glanced calmly at Jiang Qian. "I'm warmed up. I suggest you look into the workers' compensation claim process first."
Before you continue