Era of Mist

The off-the-books jobs Shi Tiexin used to work paid only four or five points for a day of back-breaking labor. The shadiest ones paid as little as two. So, Shi Tiexin was quite satisfied with this wage.

"No problem."

"Alright then." Captain Chen said something that took Shi Tiexin completely by surprise. "Pay up."

"Pay up?"

Shi Tiexin thought he must have misheard. ’I’m here to work and earn money. I haven’t made a single point yet, and you’re already asking me to pay you? What the hell is this fee for?’

"That’s right. One hundred and sixty points." Captain Chen looked like he couldn’t be bothered to explain. "Hurry it up. Don’t hold things up."

Shi Tiexin asked tentatively, "A security deposit?"

Some unscrupulous companies would charge temp workers a security deposit, then find all sorts of excuses to find fault and deduct money. If you worked for a place like that, you wouldn’t just fail to make money—you might even end up losing your entire deposit. If this was one of those companies, Shi Tiexin would turn around and walk out without a second thought.

Only an idiot works for a loss. He wouldn’t touch a job like that with a ten-foot pole, and he would also make sure to warn Baldy to stay far away from this security company.

"Security deposit?" Captain Chen frowned. "What do you take us for? Some fly-by-night scam? Besides, Situ Zhennan already put his own reputation on the line for you. There’s no need for a deposit. You might be able to run, but that old geezer can’t."

Shi Tiexin couldn’t help but ask, "Then what’s the one hundred and sixty points for?"

"Isn’t it obvious? It’s the uniform fee!" Captain Chen pointed at the guard standing watch at the building’s entrance. "You didn’t really think the company would just give you a uniform and a full set of protective gear for free, did you? Look at that hat, the gloves, the duty belt... and look at those epaulets. You think a hundred and sixty is too expensive for all that?"

"Well..." Shi Tiexin looked at the guard, especially at the impressive-looking epaulets on his shoulders, and had to admit, "No, it’s not."

"Then pay up."

"I don’t have the money."

"Huh?" Captain Chen’s eyebrow shot up and his expression darkened. ’Is this kid messing with me?’

But Shi Tiexin didn’t beat around the bush. He explained earnestly, "I really don’t have it. I just got out of the hospital yesterday, and I’m already a thousand points in debt. I truly don’t have one hundred and sixty points for a uniform."

Captain Chen scrutinized Shi Tiexin. After a moment, he seemed to decide the kid wasn’t lying and relented a bit. "Alright, how about this: if you can’t buy it, you can rent it. You’re just a temp, anyway. You won’t be here for long. When you leave, the company would just have to buy it back at a depreciated price. It’s too much of a hassle."

"Thank you, Captain Chen! How much is the rental fee?" Shi Tiexin didn’t even think to ask if he could just borrow it. In this world, everyone had it tough. Why would anyone help you for free? Just as you couldn’t expect someone to give you a Heart Skill Secret Manual, you couldn’t expect them to lend you a work uniform.

It sounded ridiculous, but in essence, the two things were the same.

"Three points a day."

Three points?!

That was not cheap at all. This Captain Chen was probably renting out his own uniform. Not only would Shi Tiexin only wear it for a few days, but the captain would also make a nice little side-profit. With those three points gone, his daily income would drop to just seven.

Seven points wasn’t a small amount, but the key problem was that dropping from ten to seven created a significant shortfall for his first debt payment. If he was late... he figured Captain Chen wouldn’t be able to stop that head nurse. Of course, the captain certainly wouldn’t try to stop her on his behalf, either.

’What should I do?’

’Find another job? But I can’t find another one that pays ten points, or even seven.’

’What about going back to borrow money?’

’Heh! It’s not to brag, but out of the two thousand-plus minors in the entire Orphanage, I, the Iron Tyrant, am the only one who could scrape together enough to buy the secret manuals for the Six Basic Heart Techniques, the basic Essence Nourishment Technique, and basic Fist Arts, and still have a little bit of savings left over. In the whole Orphanage, I, Old Tie, am already the richest kid on the block. There’s no way anyone could help me clear my debt.’

’Besides, everyone is just struggling to survive. No one can help anyone else. Even for the so-called Iron Tyrant, the title might let me throw my weight around normally, but it’s useless when it comes to borrowing money.’

Seeing Shi Tiexin’s hesitation, Captain Chen said impatiently, "So are you renting or not? Buy it, rent it, or get out. Make a choice."

"I’ll rent."

There was no other choice. He had to rent it for now and figure out how to cover the shortfall later. ’Worst case, I’ll find another temp job and work two at once. No point overthinking it now. Just take it one step at a time.’

"Should’ve just said so from the start. Wasting my time." Captain Chen turned and started walking. "Follow me!"

Shi Tiexin followed Captain Chen. As he left, he saw the receptionist again. This time, she didn’t have a sweet smile or a gentle gaze. But there was no contempt or ridicule either—just coldness, indifference, and a complete lack of concern.

’That receptionist is probably just another person struggling to survive,’ he thought. ’She has to conserve every bit of her strength, every ounce of emotion, even every facial expression, and only use them where they count the most.’

Shi Tiexin was all too familiar with that kind of almost ruthless, meticulous calculation.

Many of the boys and girls living on the seventeenth floor were just like that. In fact, the ones who were like that were already the most ambitious of the bunch.

A short while later, Captain Chen led him to a changing room, yanked open a locker, and tossed a pile of clothes into Shi Tiexin’s arms. "Shirt, pants, shoes, hat, duty belt, gloves. This set was a bit big on me when I bought it, so it should fit you just about right. Hurry up and get changed."

So the clothes really were Captain Chen’s.

Shi Tiexin didn’t stand on ceremony. He stripped off his own clothes right there and started changing. Captain Chen glanced over, his eyes taking in the bruises on Shi Tiexin’s back, his dark skin, his powerful build, and his well-proportioned, solid, and highly defined muscles. The captain suddenly turned back to the locker, pulled something else out, and tossed it over. "Here, take this too."

Shi Tiexin caught it. It was a pair of sunglasses, dark and reflective. They looked pretty cool.

"The sunglasses are free, a little bonus from me. But don’t you dare break them. If you do, you’ll owe me a thousand points." Captain Chen looked Shi Tiexin up and down. "You’ve got a decent build, kid. Work hard, and I might recommend you for related work in the future."

’Related work?’ Shi Tiexin was startled. He quickly finished putting on his jacket, discreetly covering up his physique. ’Could Captain Chen be a part-time pimp? No way, no way! I, Old Tie, am not that desperate yet. I’m not ready to sell my body!’

"We’ll talk about it if the opportunity comes up," Captain Chen said without explaining further. "Once you’re dressed, get to work."

’That’s it? I’m just supposed to go? No training at all? I guess you really get what you pay for with temps.’

"Where am I going?"

"Star Worker Meat Processing Plant. Be there before eight o’clock. You have twenty minutes. Find Old Wei when you get there; he’ll give you your shift assignment. Any other questions?"

"Just one."

"Go on."

"Captain Chen, what’s your rank?" Shi Tiexin asked, pointing to the epaulets on his own shoulders. "Yours look really impressive."

"All security guard epaulets look impressive. They’re custom-printed. You can get them as impressive as you want. If you buy your own set, they’ll print you some impressive ones too! Now, if there’s nothing else, get going. You’re a minute late, I dock you a point!"