Chapter 940: Salary (Thanks to Old Koller

At noon, Zhang Qing, the deputy head of the administrative department who had just conducted the interview, stepped out of the Tech Tower, preparing to meet a friend at a nearby mall.

Inside the gray sedan parked by the roadside, Francia turned her body and gave Anthony a serious nod.

Anthony immediately opened the door and stepped out, blending into the crowd of passersby as he hurried toward Zhang Qing from the side.

Thud—he accidentally bumped into the thirty-something man, causing the phone in his hand to fall to the ground.

“Sorry, so sorry,” Anthony apologized repeatedly, bending down to pick up the phone, wiping it against his clothing a few times, then handing it back to Zhang Qing.

Zhang Qing’s face darkened as he scolded Anthony:

“How do you walk? Don’t you have eyes?”

“Sorry, sorry,” Anthony responded with an exceptionally sincere and earnest attitude.

Zhang Qing stared into Anthony’s eyes, darkened by the “Lie” ability, as if trying to discern whether the apology was genuine or merely superficial.

After a few seconds, he took back his phone—and suddenly felt a momentary daze.

Zhang Qing shook his head, carefully inspecting the phone, and found no actual damage.

“Forget it, forget it—watch where you’re going next time!” The deputy head of the Intis Group’s headquarters administrative department waved the phone slightly, choosing not to press the matter further.

“I’m truly sorry—how about I buy you an iced coffee?” Anthony pointed to a nearby Xing Coffee shop in the corner of the first floor of the Tech Tower.

Zhang Qing’s expression softened:

“No need, I’m in a hurry.”

“You’re not young anymore—be more careful in the future.”

With that, Zhang Qing walked toward the mall just across the intersection, braving the scorching sun.

Seeing a long line at Xing Coffee, Anthony immediately dashed into the convenience store beside the main entrance of the Tech Tower and quickly bought a bottled coffee.

He ran after Zhang Qing with the bottle in hand:

“I’m truly sorry—this is my apology.”

He handed over the coffee.

Zhang Qing studied Anthony for a few moments, met his gaze for two seconds, then took the bottle and said:

“You’re not a bad guy.”

He had no intention of drinking a stranger’s beverage, but he accepted the apology as sufficient.

As soon as he took the bottle, Zhang Qing felt another momentary daze—and suddenly found Anthony’s apology deeply sincere, his actions decisive, and his age similar to his own, sparking an instant sense of kinship.

Seeing this, Anthony relaxed slightly inside.

This was the second “hypnosis”—and it had finally succeeded.

The first time had been when he returned the phone, but it had failed.

—After becoming Sequence 6 “Hypnotist,” Anthony’s “psychological suggestion,” or “hypnosis,” no longer required candles, essences, or other media—only by making the target truly focus on something, especially his eyes, could he open the target’s “mental body.” If the process included giving and receiving, the effect improved and the success rate rose.

Later, when Anthony advanced to Sequence 5, his application of “hypnosis” improved further.

But now, he was suppressed by the dream to Sequence 7. Though he still didn’t need candles, essences, or pocket watches to perform “hypnosis,” his success rate had dropped significantly—he had rarely failed when hypnotizing an ordinary person, and had been forced into emergency remediation.

“I just finished my interview and was rushing to the next one,” Anthony added.

“You just finished an interview?” Zhang Qing smiled. “So did I—but I was the interviewer.”

“You’re with Intis Group?” Anthony feigned curiosity.

Seventy percent of white-collar workers leaving the Tech Tower were likely from Intis Group.

“Yes, headquarters—we’re hiring an administrative assistant,” Zhang Qing, inexplicably feeling unusually relaxed, spoke his mind: “We’ve got a candidate, but I don’t know if Huang Zong will reject him. Technically, hiring an admin doesn’t need to report to him—the HR director can decide—but he likes to wander through the administrative department…”

Here, Zhang Qing suddenly fell silent, realizing he shouldn’t gossip about Huang Zong in front of a stranger.

“Your boss, Huang Zong? Everyone in the country knows what he’s like,” Anthony said, feigning sudden understanding.

Zhang Qing chuckled:

“Yeah, uh, this candidate doesn’t quite match Huang Zong’s taste—well, mainly in style. His build’s fine, but who’s to argue? It’s Huang Jiajia’s pick.”

“It’s actually good—half the staff in the admin department spend their days applying makeup, bickering, waiting for Huang Zong to stroll by. Sometimes I feel like I’m not just a eunuch’s assistant—I’m managing his harem, worse than ‘The Legend of Zhen Huan.’ Now, with one more capable person, my workload eases. Otherwise, I’d think that lazy Rosan is a model worker…”

Speaking of this, Zhang Qing overflowed with complaints.

Anthony played along perfectly, letting Zhang Qing vent further until he felt utterly relieved.

After a while, Zhang Qing glanced at his watch:

“I still have to hurry.”

He hesitated—whether to add Anthony’s WeChat. At his age, finding someone so compatible was rare.

In the end, Zhang Qing, mindful of his status, did not speak first.

Anthony also hesitated—adding Zhang Qing’s WeChat could greatly aid Francia and Lu Mi’s operations within Intis Group.

But in the end, Anthony did not add him—he felt he couldn’t link every thread directly to Intis Group; that would make them vulnerable to the Celestial or His servants sweeping them all up at once.

After bidding farewell to Zhang Qing and watching him disappear, Anthony turned and walked toward the gray sedan parked by the roadside.

He did not get in. Instead, as he neared the car, he raised his right hand and made a concealed “OK” gesture.

Then he passed the gray sedan and headed toward another intersection.

From now on, he had to remain alone until tomorrow.

This was because he had deeply interacted with Zhang Qing, using his supernatural ability on the deputy head of Intis Group’s headquarters administrative department—someone near, though not close, to the Dream Image of the Fool.

Seeing Anthony’s gesture, Francia slowly nodded, her expression calm as she drove the gray sedan onto the road.

Once they were far from the Tech Tower, she curled her lips into a smug smile and said to Lu Mi in the passenger seat:

“The moment I saw Huang Jiajia in the meeting room, I knew our original plan had to be scrapped.”

“In a flash, I figured out what to do!”

“What’s this called? This is quick thinking—adaptability!”

After Francia finished boasting, Lu Mi chuckled:

“Perhaps that was the real Princess Bernadette, entering the dream specifically to help you infiltrate Intis Group.”

“...” Francia quickly adjusted her mood and asked, puzzled, “Can Princess Bernadette truly enter dreams and manipulate Huang Beibei’s dream image? How many times has she been kicked out?”

“The Major Arcana don’t know for sure,” Lu Mi recited from the dossier. “We only know she was kicked out once after entrusting Zhou Mingrui with investigating the quality of the Dream Tutoring Center. Whether she was kicked out before, or how many times, she never told anyone. But we can confirm the Major Arcana have synced our situation to her—they trust her and believe she will assist.”

Francia hummed:

“I hope it’s true—if Huang Zong really starts eyeing me, I can ask her to rein in her father.”

Neither Francia nor Lu Mi had any confidence in the moral restraint of Emperor Luo Saier or his dream image regarding women.

…………

In the afternoon, in a rented apartment in Xinhong Community.

Lu Mi received a phone call.

After the conversation ended, he smiled at Francia:

“Successfully hired!”

“Phew…” Francia exhaled, her relief unhidden.

Now, even if her offer was ultimately rejected by Huang Zong, their plan to contact Zhou Mingrui through Intis Group could still proceed—though it would be much harder.

Immediately after, Francia asked curiously:

“How much is the salary?”

“3,500 during the one-month internship, 4,500 after confirmation. Currently, we’re only rotating between guarding the front and back entrances, patrolling floors, and monitoring cameras. If transferred to a more critical security position, the pay increases significantly,” Lu Mi repeated the phone’s contents. “The onboarding benefit is two uniforms.”

“Intis Group is generous. For this city’s salary standards and typical security jobs, it’s decent,” Francia thought of the team’s stable income and felt even happier.

Before she could worry about her own offer, her phone rang.

After listening for a few moments, Francia’s face lit up with a smile, and she raised her free hand to Lu Mi in a triumphant gesture.

Her offer had come too!

“Good.” “Yes.” “No problem.”—a string of replies later, Francia’s smile froze abruptly.

After she hung up, Lu Mi, having clearly heard the entire conversation through his “Hunter” hearing, said nothing, waiting for her to speak.

Francia spoke blankly:

“Internship is also one month—6,000, confirmed salary 7,000, plus a clothing allowance. Intis Group really is generous.”

“But…”

Here, her lips trembled slightly, her expression growing confused:

“But there’s a dress code—summer uniform: women’s blouse, skirt, stockings, high heels…”

“Can you refuse to wear them?” Lu Mi asked, suppressing his laughter with a serious tone.

“No,” Francia shook her head. “This must be Huang Zong’s rule.”

Then she whispered:

“Can I not go? Let Jianna apply instead.”

“Do you think she’d get hired?” Lu Mi countered.

Francia thought for a few seconds:

“No.”

She clenched her teeth:

“I won’t let Huang Zong harass her!”

…………

Room 3, 23rd floor, Building 5, Dechuang Garden.

Jianna stood by the window, considering whether to sneak into Rosan’s room today for further investigation.

After hesitating, she chose to wait—she sensed Rosan’s current state was strange; she still retained her role as the neighborhood’s protector. Jianna feared her actions might provoke Rosan, shatter that fragile balance, and cause Rosan to be further influenced, losing her protective will.

Although Rosan was merely a dreamlike image, Jianna still couldn’t bear to destroy what little beauty remained of her.

That unwavering commitment to protection moved her.

“Maybe she can still be saved? Maybe, if she doesn’t ascend further or suffer greater corruption, she can preserve her self? Hmm, having a demon god’s blessing doesn’t necessarily mean becoming evil—just like Lu Mi…” Jianna formed these thoughts.

PS: Thanks to Old Koller for the Silver Alliance chest for Franca~ Old Koller is now a Gold Alliance member; the extra chapter, as he requested, will be posted on September 1st.

(End of Chapter)