Huan Zixu was very curious about Yu Hua. When you came right down to it, his stratagem to sow discord between the Protection Organization and the black-cloaked man had run afoul because of Yu Hua. 

He had thought that in a studio full of Protectors and Destroyers, Yu Hua’s position would be the lowest, and that President Zhen Li and Director Yuan Luori would be ganging up to order him around every day. Therefore, he had controlled the two of them to make them send that sort of message to Yu Hua. 

This originated from a leveler’s habit of looking down on the ordinary people in their levels. Even someone as astute and circumspect as Huan Zixu couldn’t avoid falling into this common trap. While following Yu Hua and his husband, he had discovered that Yu Hua was a person with a strong desire for control and a high IQ. He was even a little sinister. His desire for control over his husband reached terrifying levels. 

But Huan Zixu had thought at the time that a desire for control in familial relationships was precisely a sign of foiled ambitions at work, making up for a lack of satisfaction in community relationships with another type of relationship. That was common. 

As it turned out, underestimating Yu Hua had been the reason this operation had failed. 

Yu Hua not only oppressed the two levelers, even Lian Yufan, who was a Protector, had instructed Huan Zixu on the way: “We’ve settled behind closed doors than you’re going to be the studio’s marketing director, but we still have to respect appearances. Yu Hua is the human resources director. The employment contracts and the official seal are in his hands. He may want to interview you again when we get to the studio. He’s a little… Well, you’ll know when we get there. Above all, remember one thing, though we handle secret work, we still need to have a comfortable working environment. If you want to do your work without trouble, it’s best to get on Yu Hua’s good side.” 

These words had surprised Huan Zixu. He had thought that the reason Yu Hua could oppress Zhen and Yuan was that the two of them were Destroyers who had committed crimes. Lian Yufan oversaw the studio, and Lian Yufan would no doubt take good care of an ordinary person like Yu Hua. That was why Zhen and Yuan were polite to Yu Hua. 

But hearing Lian Yufan talk about it… Did that mean even a Protector was oppressed by Yu Hua? What was his actual position in the studio? 

Holding these doubts, Huan Zixu arrived at the studio and met with Yu Hua’s attitude during work. 

He held a pen and sat in the office’s best president’s chair, interrogating Lian Yufan about why he had exceeded his place and meddled in Yu Hua’s affairs, going around the human resources director to hire an employee. 

Lian Yufan said, “Huan Zixu’s working abilities are excellent. He’s a former champion salesman, and a talent personally located by President Zhen.” 

Hearing Lian Yufan mention him, Zhen Li inadvertently drew in his neck. Being a boss like him really meant he might depart this life at any moment. 

“Let me see his resume,” Yu Hua said. “Zhen Li is in fact the boss. He suspended his university education to start a business. His courage is commendable. But he admits himself that his social experience is insufficient. To prevent himself from being duped by people with sinister intentions, he was willing to let me oversee things. This is written in my contract in black and white.” 

“Yes, yes! It’s written, I’ll listen to you,” Zhen Li said fawningly at once. 

Lian Yufan quickly offered the resume that the Protection Organization had worked through the night to falsify for Huan Zixu. The System had thrown together an identity for Huan Zixu of a middle school graduate who had gone out to work, alone in the world with no one but a cousin (Feng Kui) to support him. They couldn’t use that resume. 

Yu Hua took the resume and flipped through it. Seeing the university, he laughed and tossed the resume on the table. “Not even a Project 985 or 211 university? Just this?”

“For a new graduate, you do have to consider the school they graduated from, but for a person with work experience, their track record is of top priority,” Lian Yufan said. 

Yu Hua glanced at him, turned on his work computer, searched online, opened at video, and turned the computer towards Lian Yufan. 

The video was a recording of the time when Zhen Li had hired Yu Hua. Zhen Li was as proud as a peacock, wearing a white scholarly gown and waving a fan. He was saying haughtily towards the camera, “Our position here requires that you be a graduate of a top three university or better.” 

It was accompanied by a comment on the barrage: [Right, right, our studio’s requirements are high. We have no time for an average person.]

Lian Yufan turned his head and glared at Zhen Li. 

Zhen Li lowered his head even further. He thought that the elegant, beautiful, and haughty self in the video…was a thing of the past. 

“You also have to be proficient in five or more foreign languages.” 

“Also, three years or more experience in senior management at one of the country’s top one-hundred enterprises.” 

“What I need is someone who can collaborate and struggle with me in the long-term.”

The more the white-clothed, ancient-styled, long-haired, floating and elegant Zhen Li in the video said, the more sweat broke out on the real Zhen Li’s forehead. He went from lowering his head to bending his waist to going down on his knees, only a centimeter away from kneeling. The reason he didn’t really kneel was that the acupressure mat wasn’t in position. 

“I thought that these were our company’s employment requirements,” Yu Hua said, smiling faintly at Zhen Li. “Yuan Luori’s education record is inadequate, but we all know that his true position isn’t director. He’s the janitor, and he takes care of the dog. ‘Environmental maintenance director’ is a pleasant-sounding polite fiction, just because there are few people in the company. And as for his contract, Director Lian knows all about that, right?” 

Seeing Zhen Li in the video going on about “needs a good education record,” “needs to be able to operate transnationally,” “needs to have work experience,” “work experience can’t be too good”; he wished he could throttle the quail next to him. 

“What was going through your head when you were first setting up the studio?” Lian Yufan nearly roared at Zhen Li. 

“I was just thinking beautiful thoughts about showing off my wardrobe and my face in front of the livestream camera. Yu Hua said he could make it so more people saw me, so I hired him,” Zhen Li said quietly. 

“While Director Lian is an employee that President Zhen went around me to drop on me out of nowhere, his education is adequate, and he can in fact speak five foreign languages,” Yu Hua said. 

Lian Yufan was one of the Protection Organization’s carefully trained elite, first every year in the nationwide contest. His top school graduate student experience was the result of sitting the examinations himself, and the United Nations’ commonly used languages were necessary study materials. His record was flawless, even better than Yu Hua’s own, and he was single. He completely fit Zhen Li’s initial requirements. This was the reason that Yu Hua hadn’t made trouble about Lian Yufan being employed. 

But Huan Zixu was different. 

Yu Hua casually asked a few questions in foreign languages. He knew well that when a leveler came to a new world, the System would load them with the language of the country their body was in, but if there were other languages, it was necessary to use points to equip translation devices or knowledge of the language. How many languages could Huan Zixu, who had lost the power of the System, understand? 

Huan Zixu couldn’t answer. Parallel worlds did in fact have comparable languages; other worlds had languages similar to English and Chinese, but they had gone through on those other worlds. The differences in grammar and pronunciation were very great. He had come to this world less than five days ago. Where would he have learned five languages? 

“Oh, a marketing direction who only knows one language. If you encounter a foreign businessman, how will you communicate?” Yu Hua said. 

“He’s very young. He can learn!” Lian Yufan said on Huan Zixu’s behalf. 

“We’re a company, not a school. If you want to learn, please go back to school,” the human resources director said. 

Lian Yufan wanted to say something else. Huan Zixu held down his shoulder and politely said, “Director Lian, thank you for your approval, but, after all, I’m the one being interviewed, and it’s my professional ability being interrogated. Let me explain myself to Director Yu.” 

In a single confrontation, Huan Zixu had seen that Yu Hua had been leading these people by the nose from the start. They were acting within the limitations of the rules he had set out and couldn’t conceive of the notion of rebelling. 

According to common reasoning, never mind Zhen Li and Yuan Luori’s powers, even Lian Yufan’s social background alone should have been enough to keep Yu Hua down. It was very simple. All that was necessary was to reveal the public relations director’s connections. Resources, policies, influence would have come crashing down, and Yu Hua would have been hard pressed not to compromise. 

But instead they were using business reasoning to resolve the problem. If you threw out their resources outside of the studio and only discussed based on the conditions of the contracts and topics that had been previously discussed, then who could outdo Yu Hua, who had drawn up the company’s rules? 

This was a thought trap. 

This was Huan Zixu’s first time seeing an ordinary person use nothing but thought limitations to trap three special ability users in his game, leaving them unable to escape and look at events. This ability to subtly influence thought limitations was actually something like the ability to alter natural laws within a space. This was an ability that only experts who had passed over five hundred worlds could use. Huan Zixu had only encountered this sort of power when he had watched from a distance as two experts hunted and killed each other. 

As a mental ability type user, Huan Zixu naturally understood how frightening the power of thought was. If a human bound a young elephant to a tree stump, the young elephant would have no way to escape before it grew up. When it grew up, it could easily escape, but because of the habit of thought from its childhood, it would think that there was no way to resist. It would have lost the ability to escape. 

It was this ability to subtly influence that Yu Hua was using. Letting Lian Yufan keep discussing his treatment would only make things worse. Huan Zixu decided to come to his own rescue. 

“If you’re going to be interviewed, then please sit down across from me.” Yu Hua gestured at Huan Zixu. “President Zhen and Director Lian belong to the company’s executive level. Naturally you’re also examiners. Pull up a couple of chairs and sit next to me.” 

Zhen Li did indeed bring over two ten-yuan-a-piece plastic chairs. Naturally these had been bought by Yu Hua. Lian Yufan and Zhen Li obediently sat on either side of Yu Hua. The three people’s positions were evident at a glance. 

Huan Zixu: “…” 

He had just seized the initiative, keeping Lian Yufan from being led by the nose by Yu Hua again. Yu Hua had spoken and turned the mode of thinking back to the business interview mode once again, and cleverly established himself as the head examiner, while the others could only put forward views, not make decisions. 

This ordinary person…was very hard to deal with. 

Huan Zixu had originally thought that Yu Hua’s control towards his husband You Zhengping was frightening. Now that he had observed his conduct in the studio, he thought that Yu Hua did his best to restrain himself in front of You Zhengping, hiding his talons and teeth, desperately holding down his desire for control, displaying his best aspect in front of You Zhengping. 

“I’m very sorry. In the interview just now, I let my feelings gets involved. It was unprofessional behavior,” Yu Hua said gently. “I keep thinking that when I was hired, I was faced with criticisms from all sides, but others are hired so easily. It makes me feel society is a little unfair. But in reality, as our company shifts direction, a suitable change in our hiring requirements is a positive phenomenon. I hope that the company will be able to hire more talent and produce more value.” 

Lian Yufan nodded inwardly and met Zhen Li’s eyes. It seemed that Yu Hua would agree to allow Huan Zixu to be hired. After all, Huan Zixu’s ability was in fact up to the test. 

But Huan Zixu wasn’t optimistic. Yu Hua was a typical case of alternating the carrot and the stick. First he had entirely refused, mentioning the harshest requirements. He had touched off antipathy, then displayed weakness. Then he would mention comparatively relaxed yet still harsh requirements. At this point, the other party would agree. This was a commonly used move, but it was well-tried and very effective. 

“I’ve taken a serious look at your resume, Mr. Huan Zixu. You truly are outstanding. This report of your marketing achievements is astonishing. You actually managed to prevent your previous employer from going into bankruptcy entirely through your own efforts. One does not ask for a hero’s origins. While your educational record isn’t good, your work record is sufficient to make one overlook that and relax requirements for you. Naturally I’ll give the green light. I also understand Director Lian’s frame of mind in hiring you,” Yu Hua said. 

Lian Yufan nodded repeatedly, thinking that Yu Hua had behaved decently for once. 

Huan Zixu’s expression, however, was getting colder and colder. He would have preferred that Yu Hua berate him as entirely devoid of merit. That would have made it more convenient for him to rebound after hitting bottom. 

“But…marketing director? What marketing work does this company have?” Yu Hua said. “Your position doesn’t seem to accord with this company’s position. We may not be able to provide you with a platform to develop your ability…” 

“What about promoting products on the livestreams?” Lian Yufan said quickly. “Haven’t you already consulted with several clothing and makeup advertisers? Leave that to him, he’ll definitely be equal to it.” 

“So will Huan Zixu be working behind the scenes on the livestreams, or will he appear on camera?” Yu Hua asked. 

“Of course he’ll appear on camera. His eloquence and looks would be wasted in the background,” Lian Yufan said. 

Yu Hua smiled almost imperceptibly. 

Huan Zixu saw that things were going badly. “No, I want to work behind…” 

Before he could say “the scenes,” Yu Hua interrupted him. “If he’s going to appear on camera, then he won’t be a marketing director. He’ll be an internet celebrity and promoter. That coincides with our ideas. You’ll be a commodity yourself. We will supply you with a persona, a plot, and lines, use this company’s resources to make you popular. You’ll be only a ‘product’ turned out by this company. All the value you earn will have everyone’s exertions behind it. We’ll let you take a commission.” 

As he spoke, Yu Hua pulled over his computer and typed a contract no better than Yuan Luori’s. A contract with a base salary of 1,500 plus commission, food included (instant noodles), lodging included (the studio), practically no personal freedom. Within the five year term of the contract, it was impossible to resist. A contract in which even his face didn’t belong to him, because Huan Zixu’s face was also a commodity turned out by the company. 

Huan Zixu silently read this contract, in which even portraiture rights didn’t belong to him. It read as an employment contract, but it had been written as an indenture.

“This contract…” Lian Yufan thought it was rather harsh. 

Yu Hua said, “When we use our resources to cultivate an internet celebrity with a large number of fans, shouldn’t we guarantee our own interests? A presupposition of Huan Zixu’s future popularity is that, in the early period, he’ll draw fans away from Zhen Li and Yuan Luori. Aren’t we worthy of taking this much of a cut? What will we do if he runs off after getting big? I don’t want to be betrayed.” 

The word “betrayed” jabbed into Lian Yufan’s heart. He remembered Huan Zixu’s performance at the base, when he had attempted to brainwash the Protectors, as well as Director Xiao’s precaution against him. He suddenly thought that Yu Hua was right. They had to attack the problem from both angles to confine Huan Zixu. 

Huan Zixu was a sharp knife. A good knife requires good sheath to keep it from killing its owner. 

So Lian Yufan passed the contract to Huan Zixu and said approvingly, “Sign it.” 

Huan Zixu: “…” 

Look at Lian Yufan. Before walking through the door he had been protecting him, indicating that he was willing to help him resist Yu Hua. Now he had turned around and was ganging up with Yu Hua against him! 

Feng Kui was in the Protectors’ hands. Lian Yufan was the one who could really pressure him. But this contract had been drawn up by Yu Hua. When he signed it, he would be inside the rules Yu Hua had laid down, controlled on all sides. 

While Huan Zixu signed his name with a trembling hand, Yuan Luori walked out, carrying the freshly washed husky. 

Yuan Luori said, “Director Ha can really make trouble. It splashed my glasses. They’re covered in water.” 

Yuan Luori took off his glasses, intending to wipe the water off with his clothes. Suddenly, everything went dark. He couldn’t see anything. 

“Did the sky go dark, or did I go blind?” Yuan Luori said, a little panicked. 

In his panic, he put on his glasses, which calmed him down. The sky lit up again. 

“Huh? Why could I see again once I put my glasses on?” Yuan Luori clutched his head. “Lian Yufan, is there something wrong with my eyes? Take me to get another detailed exam later.” 

When Lian Yufan heard him mention his eyes, his head turned. A perfectly good assassin type Destroyer had been beaten until he was half blind by the black-cloaked man, and when he took off his glasses, he was also half deaf. He spent all day looking for his glasses. It would have been better if he had truly gone blind. At least then his hearing would have become more acute. 

Yuan Luori hadn’t done anything very bad, and he had ended up like this. He wondered how badly Destroyer 192, who had attempted to blow up the park and the mall, had turned out. 

As Lian Yufan sighed, he went around Director Ha, whose fur hadn’t dried yet, and went up to Yuan Luori carrying the contract. Pointing to the largest characters on it, he asked, “With your glasses on, can you see what’s written here?” 

“Employment contract. I can see it perfectly,” Yuan Luori said. “So did the sky really go dark just now?” 

“You were crouching too long while you gave the dog a bath. When you got up too fast, your vision went dark,” Lian Yufan deduced according to common sense. 

“That makes sense.” Yuan Luori nodded. 

Only Yu Hua raised his eyebrows. 

---

Author's Note

Huan Zixu: Lian Yufan, you’re a pig of a teammate! 

Yu Hua: I can sell this one, right? A five-year contract will fetch a good price. I can launder a hundred million.