Settling Accounts with the Principal and Collecting Damages for Emotional Distress
Lupa's fingertip hovered over the crumpled notice—the paper was of terribly poor quality, and the contrast with her exorbitantly expensive mahogany desk in her office was almost comical.
She looked up, and the pale blue holographic projection light reflected on her glasses, making her expression difficult to discern.
"Illegal construction."
"Zhou Yu, what are you trying to say?"
Zhou Yu didn't reply. He took out another stack of papers from his canvas bag. This time, they were printed neatly and clipped with binder clips, making them look quite professional.
He placed the document next to the "Notice of Demolition of Illegal Buildings within a Time Limit" and pushed it over.
"Application Form from Comrade Zhou Yu, Special Consultant of the Logistics Department Flamebearers' Academy, Regarding Reimbursement of Work Hours and Compensation for Mental Distress During the Special Mission at the Seaside Resort Area."
Lupa gaze from the outrageous notification to the even more outrageous expense report.
Lupa:(._.?)
She turned to the first page.
Project 1: Forced overtime work on weekends, basic working hours 24 hours, paid at triple wages according to labor law.
"Project Two: Emergency Crisis Management, Physical Dispersal of an Unknown High-Energy Reactor (Tentative Name: Aleph One's Perverted Hand), Under High Mental Stress, Request for Top-Level Risk Allowance."
Project Three: Comfort the frightened core protected individual (Dania), accompany her for meals, entertainment, and strolls through the night market, generating additional emotional labor, and apply for nursing care fees.
"Item Four: Personal property damage, including a jacket used to protect against unidentified attacks, cleaning fees, and depreciation costs."
Turn to the second page and paste a photo.
Dania clung to Zhou Yu and made a peace sign, with the alpaca behind her, who had spat all over him, looking completely innocent.
Below the photo is a line of smaller print. "Mental pollution cleanup fee; see Appendix 3 for the specific amount."
Lupa.
She closed the expense report and tapped her knuckles on the table.
Zhou Yu.
"We're discussing a Primordial Threnody that could potentially overturn the existing laws of the world, and you're here asking me to reimburse you for cleaning up the alpaca spit on you?"
Zhou Yu took a leisurely sip of the goji berry water, and steam rose up from it.
"Saving the world without overtime pay is no different from being a scoundrel."
"Principal Lupa, we are a legitimate academy, not a sweatshop."
"If employees can't even have their basic rights protected, how can you expect them to work their lives for you?"
The office fell silent for a moment.
Only the holographic energy map flowed silently, and the red peak that pierced the sky hung there, looking utterly ironic.
Lupa laughed in exasperation.
She pulled up another hologram—a surveillance photo. In the photo, Yeqi was wearing a cleaning uniform, holding a toilet brush, and standing at the entrance of the men's restroom in Building 8 with a look of utter despair.
"An elite member of the Northern Territory Fractsidus, codenamed 'Night Owl'."
"Here, I'll unclog the toilet."
"You're talking to me about labor law? Do you think what you did to him complies with labor law?"
Zhou Yu glanced at the photo and nodded.
"Of course it fits."
"I signed a work-study contract with him, which included three meals a day, accommodation, and a basic salary."
"This treatment is much better than him having to endure the elements in the Northern Territory."
He paused, leaned forward, and placed his hands on the table, crossed.
"To put it bluntly, the Logistics Department doesn't have enough authority and the budget isn't sufficient."
"If I had sufficient authority, I would directly designate him as a 'high-risk intruder,' go through the special talent recruitment process, and have him work in the power furnace as a boiler operator, making the best use of his talents."
"Unlike now, where he can only waste his talent in the toilet."
Lupa:(눈_눈)
She found herself completely unable to keep up with this person's thought process.
Every time she tried to steer the conversation to a macro-strategic level, the other person would use impeccable workplace logic to pull her back down to earth, leaving her with nowhere to start.
"So, what exactly do you want?" Lupa to the chase.
"Simple."
Zhou Yu pushed the expense report forward again.
"First, settle the payment."
"Secondly, promote me."
"Promotion?"
"I'm just an equipment administrator right now, my authority is too limited, and many things are difficult to handle."
Zhou Yu pointed to Yeqi's photo.
"For things like this, I always have to find loopholes in the system, and it's exhausting."
"I want a formal position with sufficient authority, specifically responsible for Dania's safety and all related matters."
"Independent budget approval authority, personnel appointment and dismissal authority, and the power to deploy college security forces in special circumstances."
Lupa an expression almost like she was looking at an alien.
"You want the power of a department head, just to protect a girl and incidentally get your overtime pay reimbursed?"
"Otherwise what?"
Zhou Yu countered with a question.
"Is it for love and peace? That's the job of the Sunspeakers; they get high salaries and permanent positions."
"I'm just a support staff member. All I want is to live a peaceful life with my girlfriend, enjoying sweet and sour pork ribs, having weekends off without overtime, and receiving social security and housing fund benefits when I'm old."
Lupa silent.
She looked at the man in front of her.
He had no grand ambitions, no zeal for saving the world, and showed no reverence for power.
All his actions are based on a foundation that is ridiculously simple, yet as hard as a rock.
Protect the girl named Dania.
Let her eat well and sleep well.
In his eyes, everyone or everything that gets in his way is a "work bug" that needs to be dealt with through proper procedures. Aleph One, and so is the Fractsidus.
"You win."
Lupa finally spoke, her voice carrying a weariness she herself was unaware of.
She took out a document she had prepared beforehand, along with a pen, from the drawer.
"A specially appointed security supervisor will report directly to me."
"The Logistics Department will open a separate account for your budget, and the first payment will be approved from this expense report."
She signed her name at the end and pushed it over.
Zhou Yu picked up the contract and read it carefully twice, focusing on the clauses about "triple pay for holidays" and "no upper limit on special contribution bonuses".
Zhou Yu:(≖‿≖)
I folded it neatly and stuffed it into the canvas bag.
Then she stood up, walked to Lupa's desk, and casually picked up the unopened can of tea on the corner of the desk. The can was marked with the Huanglong Special Supply logo.
"Consider this as interest on the compensation for emotional distress."
After saying that, she turned and left without waiting for Lupa's reaction.
Zhou Yu.
He put his hand on the doorknob and turned around.
"Anything else? There will be an extra charge for exceeding the time limit."
Lupa looked at the tea canister in his hand, then at his matter-of-fact expression, and suddenly felt like laughing.
"They won't just let things go like this in the Northern Territory."
"Next time, it might not be a 'student' who needs to go through the transfer process."
Zhou Yu turned the doorknob.
"It's alright."
"Our Logistics Department happens to be hiring a few new cleaners."
The door opened, then closed again.
The office fell silent again.
Lupa leaned back in her chair, gazing at the night view of the Flamebearers' Academy outside the window, and took a sip of the now-cold red tea.
She picked up the expense report that Zhou Yu hadn't taken with her from the table and turned to the last page.
Below the total amount, there is a line of small handwritten text.
Note: This task's KPI has been exceeded, and an additional reward is requested—we earnestly request the cafeteria to add one more sweet and sour pork ribs day this week, exclusively for Dania.
Lupa put down her teacup and chuckled softly.
Tsk, entrusting the safety of the academy to a guy who only wants to eat sweet and sour pork ribs... doesn't seem like such a bad thing.