The Leader's Call

## Chapter 13: A Call from the Boss

Even though it was a bit embarrassing for a transmigration senior, Lin Xinyi decided to work honestly.

There was no other way; the original owner hadn't left any capital for investment or wealth creation.

And he didn't know music or art, hadn't watched many anime or movies, and his writing skills were poor.

It was hard enough for him to write an 800-word essay in school. Now, trying to recreate a bestseller from an incomplete novel outline he barely remembered? That was far too unrealistic.

Lin Xinyi basically couldn't learn any of the wealth-building methods used by his transmigration seniors.

Thinking about it carefully, besides knowing how to dissect a corpse, he was only good at fighting—

If he were to use the Criminal Law as a guide to wealth, then these two skills combined would indeed allow him to get rich quickly.

But if he wanted to be a law-abiding good person, these two tricks would basically have nothing to do with wealth.

So how was he supposed to make money?

Should he use his current identity as a "Japan friend" to return to his home country and transfer money, or directly apply for a scholarship and cheat his way through?

No, even though it was a path, it was too unpromising.

"I'll just take over the original owner's job."

"As long as I can muddle through for a while, even just three or four months, the accumulated salary will make me much more financially comfortable."

Lin Xinyi had his eye on the original owner's high income.

A monthly inflow of 890,000 yen.

If he could just pretend to be competent for three or four months, even if the company found out he was incompetent and fired him, he would still get an additional severance package.

Adding it all up, it would be a few million yen, enough for Lin Xinyi to spend for a while.

Of course, if he could keep muddling through like this...

If he muddled through for a full year, the accumulated salary would be enough for him to resign, return home, and get rich.

With a slight sense of guilt, Lin Xinyi began to plan how to take over the original owner's position at the company and be like Mr. Nanguo, just coasting along.

Just then, his phone in his pocket suddenly rang.

Someone was calling.

"Who could this be?"

Lin Xinyi frowned slightly.

He had actually thoroughly checked the phone during a break in taking notes.

There were no call records on the phone; it seemed the original owner had completely cleared it before committing suicide.

And the number of contacts saved in the phone's address book was pitifully small.

There were only two in total.

The first number's note was "Laboratory," clearly a work number.

The second number's note was "Most Important Person."

This was also the number that worried Lin Xinyi the most.

Who exactly was the "Most Important Person"?

Parents, relatives, close friends, or a girlfriend?

No matter what the answer was, Lin Xinyi didn't want to receive a call from that number.

After all, he wasn't the real Lin Xinyi and didn't know how to interact with that "Most Important Person."

So, with a slightly nervous feeling, Lin Xinyi took out his phone and saw that the incoming call was from an unknown number without a name saved.

And just as he was guessing that this unsaved caller might not be someone the original owner knew, the call connected, and the voice on the other end sounded very familiar with the original owner:

"Hello, Lin."

The other party directly addressed Lin Xinyi by his surname:

"I just went to the lab, and you weren't there."

"What's going on?"

It was a man's voice, neither young nor old, but it conveyed a sense of steady composure.

The words clearly carried a tone of questioning, but there was no emotional fluctuation.

And the feeling this voice gave...

Could only be described by one word: "cold."

Even over the phone, Lin Xinyi could imagine a dignified man with a cold face issuing orders.

Asking about an unexcused absence right away, it seems the caller is 'my' boss.

Seriously, why didn't 'I' save my boss's number?

Lin Xinyi silently grumbled about his original self's laziness.

Then, he inadvertently glanced at the clock on the wall beside him:

"9:10."

Although a lot had happened that morning, it was still just past 9 o'clock, not much later than the usual start of the workday.

However, judging by the tone on the other end of the phone, The person was probably "his" boss.

And his boss had, for once, come to the company to check up on things today, catching him in an unexcused absence.

"My apologies!"

Lin Xinyi still planned to work under this person for a few months to make a living, so his tone naturally sounded very humble.

His voice was like that of an honest subordinate, which didn't arouse any suspicion from the leader on the other end of the phone.

He also didn't know how his original self usually addressed his leader, so he simply omitted any form of address:

"I just got back from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and haven't had time to go to the lab yet."

Lin Xinyi explained vaguely.

He deliberately didn't state everything directly, leaving half of it for the other party to ask.

After all, "being delayed from work because the police considered me a suspect" sounded a bit outlandish as an excuse for skipping work. A gradual explanation would be more convincing.

"Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department?"

A subtle ripple appeared in that cold voice.

But a leader was a leader; his presence was strong.

He didn't impatiently ask out of curiosity as Lin Xinyi had imagined. Instead, after a brief silence, he calmly asked:

"I need an explanation."

What a leader with gravitas, Lin Xinyi secretly lamented, then honestly explained:

"I was unexpectedly caught up in a Dismemberment Case during my morning exercise, so I was taken to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department to give a statement."

"I even saw the somewhat famous detective Kudo Shinichi; he was there at the time too."

To strengthen his credibility, he specifically mentioned the famous detective's name.

But a leader was a leader, after all.

Upon hearing his subordinate's bizarre story of being involved in a Dismemberment Case and even meeting the famous detective Kudo Shinichi, he showed no surprise whatsoever.

The other party just silently contemplated for a moment, then said in a deep voice:

"I understand."

"Since that's the case, you can go to the lab now."

Lin Xinyi: "..."

Hearing that an employee was involved in a Dismemberment Case, the first reaction is to tell them to get back to work at the company as soon as possible?

What a ruthless surplus value extractor.

"Do your job well."

Before Lin Xinyi dared to voice his complaints, the leader on the other end of the phone lectured him again in that voice that could freeze penguins to death:

"Your recent state seems a bit poor, and that's not good."

"The lab is under your management, after all."

"Lin, don't disappoint me."

Lin Xinyi really didn't want to deal with this leader who lacked any human consideration.

But after calmly thinking about the 890,000 yen salary that came in every month, he eventually tolerated it:

"Yes, I guarantee I'll complete the task!"

The leader didn't even respond with a "hmm" before hanging up the phone directly.

"Phew..."

Lin Xinyi let out a long sigh of relief:

"My boss seems difficult to deal with."

"But from what he said, he probably doesn't come to the company often, so I won't have to deal with him every day."

"That's a good thing."

"But 'the lab is under my management'?"

After hearing from his leader that such a heavy responsibility was placed upon him, his scalp couldn't help but tingle:

He could manage the forensic lab...

But how was he supposed to manage this biology lab?

I can't blow my cover on the first day, can I?

Lin Xinyi felt his head ache even more at the thought. Being a key leader in charge of a lab clearly wasn't an easy job.

But he had no choice. The arrow was already on the string.

Since his boss was urging him to start work quickly, and he happened to need the salary, he could only bite the bullet and go clock in at the company.

"No matter what, I'll just try it first."

"After all, it's 890,000 a month…"

Lin Xinyi gritted his teeth and made up his mind. He turned and walked to the closet, ready to change clothes before heading to work.

There was nothing wrong with wearing his current black suit directly to work, but his pant legs and shoes had been soaked with water. If he didn't change soon, they'd start to smell.

And when he opened "his" closet, wow…

It was all black clothes.

Not a single item of a different color.

"This taste… probably because black doesn't show dirt, so you can wash clothes less often, right?"

Lin Xinyi unceremoniously speculated about the not-so-clean original owner.

After all, sloppy people liked black clothes. They'd take them off before bed, sniff them, and if they didn't stink, they'd wear them again the next day.

Thinking that, the clean clothes in front of him suddenly seemed a bit off-putting.

Lin Xinyi tried hard to shake off that terrible thought. He rummaged through the closet and finally could only pick out a suit similar to the one he was wearing.

He put on the full suit, adjusted his cuffs, tied his tie, and then clipped on his company badge.

He looked in the mirror:

Heh, this look…

What a handsome and dashing real estate agent.

He'd definitely make a good impression on clients if he went out to sell houses.

Lin Xinyi was quite satisfied with his image.

Then, he walked to the entryway, put on his leather shoes, and pushed open the unfamiliar front door.

"I have to go to work so soon."

As soon as the door opened and he saw the vast world outside, Lin Xinyi felt a bit nervous again.

He was worried that he would be found out by his colleagues as soon as he started work and be kicked out of the company before he earned much salary.

But after this subconscious worry, thinking calmly, his starting situation was actually acceptable:

"Oh well, getting fired isn't a big deal."

"No matter how bad the situation is now, it's always better than what I was worried about back then."

When the case first happened, Lin Xinyi was genuinely worried that he would go to jail.

After all, he had no memory of the original owner. Even if he vaguely guessed that "he" came to the park to commit suicide, he couldn't completely rule out "his" suspicion.

And now, compared to that worry, no matter what…

"At least I'm not a 'criminal' anymore."

Lin Xinyi cheered himself up and walked out of the house, dressed in all black.