Humble

Though he knew graduation meant unemployment, Chen Yu had not expected the job market to be this grim.

Heaven Origin's college entrance exam acceptance rate was low. Across the five high schools, only ten percent got in, meaning most high school students could only seek employment after graduation.

High school students received a five-hundred-yuan monthly subsidy, but graduates did not, so they had no choice but to fend for themselves.

Cultivators could not do ordinary jobs, because if their daily earnings failed to make up for their depletion of spiritual power, their cultivation realm would instead keep falling. Cultivators earned a lot, but they spent just as much.

Moreover, cultivators were managed according to their registered place of origin. Unless another city accepted them, cultivators who drifted elsewhere usually had only one fate: repatriation. In the end, they had to remain active in their hometowns.

There were around a thousand cultivators in the entire talent market. That was only because it was already past eight in the morning, and most cultivators had decided to become spiritual-energy miners.

Seeing these people, Chen Yu's eyes lit up.

Fifty yuan a day was dirt cheap. He could hire these people himself.

But after checking the relevant regulations, he discovered that his company had only just been established and lacked complete tax and employment records. For now, it could employ no more than four people.

"What a pity. Still, this is fine. If I hired them all, they'd definitely be deeply grateful to me. If I ended up earning more than I spent, that would be terrible."

Taking his current plans into account, Chen Yu decided to finish building the dream's question bank first.

Since it was an intelligence competition, it needed an enormous question bank so that players would encounter different questions every time they entered.

The questions also needed to be sufficiently difficult and cover many fields. He absolutely could not finish them alone, so he needed several people to help.

That meant he needed graduates from Second High School—the Culture High School—because culture was their major focus.

Once the results improved, he could bring in graduates from the other schools as well, continue expanding the questions, and continue harvesting negative emotions.

After all, forty people would compete, but only one could win in the end. That one person's joy would be built upon the disappointment of thirty-nine others, which would definitely help him quickly obtain negative emotions.

After sorting out his business plan, Chen Yu walked through the aisles of the talent market and began searching for people who caught his eye.

When some people realized that Chen Yu seemed genuinely interested in hiring, their minds began to stir.

Noticing Chen Yu wearing a Sports High School uniform, several burly men immediately stood up. Their firm pectorals rose and fell rhythmically as they displayed their strength with muscle, casting flirtatious glances at Chen Yu:

"Junior, we're fierce."

Not wanting to make eye contact with them, Chen Yu looked away, only to meet the gazes of several Art High School graduates.

He had thought they would display their artistic accomplishments, but instead, they too ripped off their shirts, revealing solid muscles. Accompanied by whistles from their mouths, they began shaking rhythmically.

"Junior, our rhythm is fierce."

The rhythm and muscles worked together in a dreamlike spectacle, making Chen Yu sigh at how this place was brimming with talent—crouching tigers and hidden dragons were everywhere.

If the overall environment had not been so poor, how could they possibly fail to find work?

Unfortunately, he only had four employment slots, and his targets were Culture High School students. Otherwise, he truly would have wanted to take them all back.

Shaking his head regretfully, Chen Yu wandered around for half the day before finally finding a Culture High School graduate in a corner.

Heaven Origin Second High School, otherwise known as Culture High School, had the highest entry threshold and the highest university admission rate among its students. At one point, it had reached thirty percent.

And those who failed to get into university often chose to repeat the year or take positions at stable local small companies. Few came here.

The graduate before him appeared to be a newcomer. Sitting on a mat, he was still extremely restrained, unlike the others who were so open. Even when he saw Chen Yu, he did not show off any talents.

When he sensed Chen Yu's gaze, he lowered his head shyly. Yet he raised the red sheet in his hands a little higher, shielding his flushed cheeks while letting Chen Yu see it more clearly.

"Luo Tong, class of '98 graduate. From last year..."

"Mm," Luo Tong said softly from behind the red sheet.

"Morality 84, culture 77, sports 65, art 75, labor 82, total score 383. Wasn't that above the second-tier university cutoff the year before last? Why didn't you go to college? And why is your culture score so low?"

"I want to enter the Profound Law Sect..." Luo Tong's voice became even softer.

Chen Yu was even more astonished. "The Profound Law Sect is first-tier! And don't they require a total score above 400, with perfect marks in culture?"

"Yes. I wanted to repeat the year, but I couldn't afford the tuition, so I could only take odd jobs."

"But your culture classes..."

"I didn't perform well before. This time, I definitely will."

With that, Luo Tong lifted his head, gathered his courage, and looked at Chen Yu. "This classmate, you must be looking for someone to tutor cultural subjects, right? Um, if you don't mind..."

"Oh, I got 93 in culture."

"Sorry to bother you..."

Luo Tong's face turned so red it was nearly bleeding.

He lowered his head shyly, completely unable to understand why a student from a sports school had scored so highly in culture.

Shouldn't you have gone to Second High School?

But when he realized Chen Yu still had not left, he began to feel a faint glimmer of anticipation.

Chen Yu really was interested in Luo Tong.

Although the other man's culture score was rather poor, his total score was high, making him well-suited for later expansion.

And since he was a Culture High School graduate, perhaps he truly had underperformed. He was worth trying out.

So Chen Yu helped him up. "Student Luo Tong, please come with me. That's the negotiation room. Let's go in and talk in detail."

As Luo Tong was helped to his feet, he felt as though he were dreaming.

He had been here for several days, but he was naturally thin-skinned and did not know how to show himself off, so few people paid him any attention.

And despite clearly being a Second High School student, his culture score was not even ninety, making others suspect that he had somehow muddled his way through.

Now, someone was finally willing to invite him into the negotiation room. Even if it did not work out in the end, it was still an affirmation. He was so moved that he nearly cried.

The moment he entered the negotiation room, Chen Yu felt a gaze settle on him.

The gaze came from an idol placed in the negotiation room: the Contract Star Lord.

In this world, every region was sealed off and isolated from the others. Only one kind of existence was an exception.

That was the Star Lords.

Star Lords possessed different authorities. They were manifestations of the will of Heaven and held different divine powers.

The Contract Star Lord was the deity who governed contracts. Contracts signed under its witness would be protected by it, though one had to pay a portion of spiritual power or cash as compensation for drawing up the contract.

Aside from faith, the money gained through making use of their related authorities was an important source of income for Star Lords.

Feeling the Star Lord's gaze, Luo Tong calmed down slightly and hurriedly said, "This classmate, my pay requirements are very low. Fifty yuan a day is fine, daily payment accepted, and I don't need social insurance or a housing fund. I can start work an hour early and finish an hour late, for a total of twenty-six hours a day. If you're still not satisfied, we can freely redefine the length of a day to guarantee your satisfaction."

"...No, your hourly wage isn't even two yuan!"

"One yuan is fine too."

At that moment, Chen Yu saw only two words on the other man's face:

Humble.