Chapter 404: Job Hunting Is Hard

"Here to apply, right? What's your name?"

"Li Ang… Leon Lane."

Lane?

Hearing the familiar surname, the bored female interviewer behind the desk raised her eyebrows, looking up at the thin, pale-faced young man before her, her tone laced with surprise:

"Lane… as in the Lionheart Duke's Lane?"

"No…"

The job applicant seemed used to this question; he shook his head slightly and explained smoothly:

"The pronunciation is the same, but the Duke's surname comes from the golden lion on his family crest—'Lane'—while mine comes from the 'Lane' in Lane County. My ancestors were commoners from there."

"Oh… I thought so."

The red-haired woman nodded knowingly, amused at her own overreaction.

That arrogant family, proud of their pure gold hair, had never produced many with any other hair color—how could they have a descendant with black hair and black eyes? And one who had sunk so low as to come here to apply for a job?

She glanced at Leon's attire, lingering on his old coat—cleanly washed but frayed at the edges, revealing the lining—then seemed to lose interest, lowering her head again as she absentmindedly scribbled on the form with a feather pen:

"Then list your family status as commoner. Now, go through the rest: education level, religious belief, whether you've undergone cybernetic augmentation, if you have a micro-differential engine implanted under your skin, and what specific crime you committed."

Huh? Wait—what crime?

Leon froze slightly at her words, then asked hesitantly:

"Excuse me, the last item you mentioned—does it mean 'do you have a criminal record'?"

"?"

Frowning at his question, the red-haired woman sharply tapped her knuckles twice on the desk and snapped:

"Better be honest! This is the Cleanup Bureau, not a courtroom! If you hadn't committed a crime worthy of hanging, why would you come here to apply? Just tell me what you did—don't try to play games with me!"

?!

What the hell? I'm just looking for a job—why am I being linked to hanging?

Tsk. Hiding things like this—clearly up to no good.

Watching Leon, who couldn't answer right away, the woman snorted in disdain, then slammed her fist on the desk again, her face cold as she interrogated him:

"Let me say this one last time: this is the Cleanup Bureau, not a courtroom!

I won't and don't care to judge you. I'm asking what crime you committed because we have to report your name to lift the Kingdom's warrant for your arrest. So tell me the truth—don't make trouble for yourself. Understood?"

Warrant?

Repeating her words, Leon's pupils shrank slightly as he realized something was wrong. He asked cautiously: "Excuse me… is this the First Cleanliness Bureau of the Capital?"

"… "

Cleanliness Bureau?

This time, it was the red-haired woman who was stunned. After a moment's thought, she seemed to understand.

Looking at his frail, malnourished frame, the woman—who had just moments ago looked disgusted—fell silent for a moment, then sat upright, pointed out the window, and lowered her voice, frowning:

"You're in the wrong place. This is the Sixth Abnormal Cleanup Bureau—a department outside the Police Department's official structure. The Cleanliness Bureau you want is under the Road Administration Department—it's the building across the street, the one with the long line at the door."

"Oh oh!"

Realizing he'd gone to the wrong place, Leon let out a long breath. Damn, that scared me—I thought I had to be wanted by the law just to become a street sweeper. Turns out this isn't the Cleanliness Bureau I needed.

And hey, didn't they only hire ten people total? Why is the line at the Cleanliness Bureau so long? So many people want to sweep streets?

"Sorry to have disturbed you."

After politely apologizing, Leon gazed again through the window at the long queue across the street, then, almost against his will, turned to the red-haired woman and asked softly, eyes full of hope:

"Um… if you're also short-staffed here…"

"You're not suitable."

"… "

Seeing the sudden dimming of the sixteen- or seventeen-year-old's expression, the woman hesitated, then explained:

"The Cleanup Bureau pays well—higher than most municipal civil servants—but the death rate is about eight per thousand. Unless you're truly desperate, you shouldn't come here."

Eight per thousand?

Hearing the cold word "death rate," Leon wasn't frightened—he even felt a flicker of excitement.

Come on, that's barely one percent!

In his past life, that might've been bad—but in this strange world of steam carriages, workers in furnace mines, magic-energy infusion, and potion purification face a baseline annual death rate of nearly two percent. The number of disabled or poisoned workers is several times higher.

Given their average thirty-year work lifespan, almost no worker survives their career without illness or injury. A death rate under one percent per year? That's practically…

"I may not have made myself clear enough."

Seeing Leon's interest, the woman shook her head:

"The Cleanup Bureau's death rate isn't annual—it's monthly."

"… "

Monthly? Eight per thousand per month? That's nearly ten percent per year! This Abnormal Cleanup Bureau kills one in ten employees every year?!?!?!

Watching Leon's stunned expression, the red-haired woman shook her head and waved him off:

"Now you understand—go. We only hire those who've committed capital crimes or already carry a controlled 'abnormality.' Someone like you—a normal person—can't handle Cleanup Bureau work. This isn't for you."

"Then… sorry to have bothered you…"

As the woman's gentle but final refusal echoed, Leon felt a sharp pain behind his eyes, followed by a piercing, deafening buzz:

【Due to your twentieth job application failure, you have successfully activated the Iron Badge: "Unemployed Youth"】

【Unemployed Youth: A young person temporarily unable to secure employment due to insufficient education, lack of experience, or economic hardship】

【Wearing Effect: When your parents converse with peers their age, they will reliably trigger the special state "Evasive," automatically avoiding any topic related to you】

【Upgrade Path: If you wear this badge for over two months without securing employment, and live with your parents, it will automatically upgrade to the Bronze Badge: "Freeloader"】

【Hidden Trait (no need to wear): When the "Unemployed Youth" badge is activated and your household assets are below 200 Gold Wheels, your chance of finding a romantic partner through matchmaking drops by 80%】

"… "

(End of Chapter)