Chapter 66: People Will Naturally Resist Work

By the second day, Aomo had already gotten the mercenary startup procedures mostly figured out.

And he was full of confidence in the supportive policies!

High scores on the college entrance exam aren't that useful; what matters is having the director of education vouch for him, and even more important is his current family situation.

His foster father had just 'passed away', making him the household's only able‑bodied adult and financial pillar; because his foster father became an electronic ghost, there was no inheritance to divide, and all he received was the insurance payout.

The insurance money would disqualify Aomo from poverty relief, but it wouldn't interfere with applying for the mercenary startup subsidy.

Unfortunately it's only 100,000, but at least it's 100,000.

For Aomo, who had been spending money with no income these past few days, that six‑figure sum was a rare comfort; otherwise, after a few more days like this he'd have to consider going back to horse‑race gambling and resuming his old trade.

Oh... even if he doesn't go in, he'd still have to take up the old trade......

He still remembered the invitation sitting in his own mailbox; Aomo stroked his chin and suddenly had a bold idea.

When people think of the mercenary profession, their first idea is either going to the battlefield personally or doing adventure livestreams.

Just like the adventurers in traditional RPG games, they're free and unrestrained, gratifying grudges and repaying kindness.

This idea isn't wrong, but since it exists in reality, there's a very real problem.

This problem is called connections.

Being a mercenary is a profession that lives off connections.

Mercenaries who join a mercenary corps enjoy the corps' developing network; lone wanderers who are cosmic drifters mostly have their own connections, otherwise they're pure cosmic refugees, and whether they land a suitable commission depends entirely on luck.

Besides that, there's a third type: mercenaries who set up an agency. Their positioning is similar to a mercenary corps, but their stance leans more toward the official side, and they enjoy a better reputation among ordinary folk—yet they, too, need connections!

Aomo chose this third option, though its drawbacks are also obvious.

First, it's easy to plunge straight to the bottom of the industry's contempt hierarchy.

Comments like 'Soulless things!', 'What's the difference from sitting in an office? Not romantic at all!', 'Leave slip! Damn it! Leave slip! Hit!'—such remarks judging agency mercenaries in mercenary circles appear frequently, but to Aomo they don't matter.

After all, he never dreamed of being a mercenary adventurer; from the start he aimed to excel as a civil servant within the system, running horses well, when suddenly someone showed up with a monster, braking and creating, twisting the track for him, and now he can only run in the Paralympics.

But that's fine; the Paralympics don't prohibit prosthetics, and the spectacle is far more chaotic than a regular competition.

Even agency mercenaries who receive official policy support are freer in their handling and timing than Executors, which nicely balances against the invitation from Teleisen Academy.

And now the main problem facing Aomo is that, after securing the first step of establishing an agency, he still has to confront the two words 'connections'.

Fresh out of his hut, Aomo obviously lacks connections; he can't readily borrow David's ties, so all he can rely on is his foster father's phone book.

Three‑fifths are colleagues, one and a half‑fifths are mercenaries, and half‑fifths are friends well‑known to the Safety Bureau.

——Totally insufficient!

Although being this direct is a bit disrespectful to the person involved, since that person is still gallivanting in the game world, we might as well toss that respect aside.

Having lived over a hundred years, his phone book is fewer than ten pages; Aomo reflected on the man's past conduct and admitted that hoping for help was his own problem.

At the same time, he himself indeed has a problem: being young and without a proper teacher.

Even though Mo Liseng Lin Dun's relatives and friends are quite friendly, when it comes to formal work, few dare to guarantee for Aomo, act as a recommender, or serve as an intermediary.

By rights, he needs to find an opportunity to prove himself.

But when faced with these scattered contacts, Aomo realized he needs not only a chance to prove himself, but also enough fame to let all those acquaintances of his foster father receive the news.

As for that, his deeds in Heaven Gate City were actually enough, but Aomo feels that situation can't be replicated; he hasn't tried those two cards yet, and there's been no news that the official toys have arrived, so this title lacks the confidence to make a splash.

So he originally intended to put this somewhat troublesome issue on hold, handle other matters first, then think of a solution; but after finishing his research on the startup procedures and his mind went off the rails, an idea popped straight out——

——What if he didn't rely on his foster father's connections and instead built his own network from Teleisen?

More directly, the goal is to have Thus we output: Thus we output: QiuChuan, the chairman, become the referrer and intermediary for his agency's future business.

This idea is bold, but it's quite feasible.

First, you can't merely regard Central Teleisen Academy as an ordinary school.

This place is the 'Central'.

Under the Holy Terra Federation's rule, Earth hosts no fewer than twenty local Teleisen Academies, plus Horse Girl Academies directly tied to Teleisen; only the Border Gate District may bear the name 'Central', the very land where the three goddesses first set foot in this world.

At the same time, it is the first Teleisen Academy and the first Horse Girl Academy built on Earth.

Moreover, behind it lies the Border Gate District Central Racing Association, namely the URA Association's support.

Just imagine how fervent the horse‑girl races in this world are; the events that Heart of Terra once promoted have already swept the entire federation.

And consider that even Heaven Gate City is one of the venues for these competitions; the horse‑girl races have already reached a level of grandeur that spans the stars.

As the chairman of the premier institution for cultivating horse‑girls, Central Teleisen Academy's chairman—

—what kind of energy and connections does Chairman Thus we output: Thus we output: QiuChuan wield?

Well‑known agencies mostly have a legitimate patron, and those patrons are also one reason agencies fall to the bottom of the contempt hierarchy—especially when the patron is official, namely the Two Worlds Safety Bureau—the very group that is Aomo's target.

But when his thoughts veered toward Teleisen, he unexpectedly realized... it seems Central Teleisen is a far vaster backing than the Two Worlds Safety Bureau.

Furthermore, the Two Worlds Safety Bureau also handles horse‑girl‑related cases, so he can completely use this opportunity to become properly and openly linked with them.

This is far more respectable than meekly saying, 'I'm the foster son of Mo Liseng Lin Dun; I hope you'll look after me a bit.'

But it seems it can't be rushed into existence......

Thinking about the horse‑girls' training schedule and then those races' cycles, Aomo's newly heated blood cooled down again.

But there's no need to retreat to other routes.

Because when the agency first opens, there definitely won't be any jobs ready to take.

Rather, it's normal to have hardly any decent jobs at the start, and he should use this chance to take a few exams and boost his proven ability.

Only then should he consider actually taking up work.

This also means Aomo will have at least a month with no income, purely spending money.

Hiss——

Few things make Aomo suck in a cold breath, and this feeling of 'sitting and eating the mountain bare'—that is, depleting his savings—is one of them.

Although his mountain will take a long time to be eaten empty.

We need to go to Tresen Academy to have a proper talk; at least being a special recruitment newcomer trainer would let us get an advance on pay, right?

Aomo was thinking in his heart, but he actually picked up two bags of gifts and hung them on his wrist, freeing his hand to feel for the terminal and start calling people.

He was calling Bi Ze and David; after receiving a reply, he started entering the rendezvous address.

It's already been a day since I got back, and I still haven't seen my good brothers.

The gifts I brought back haven't been given out yet; it's time to arrange a meetup, to chat about the experiences that couldn't be explained clearly in the chat software.

Let's still wait until the agreed-upon next day to go to Tresen.