CH 63

Translator: Abo Dammen

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Liang Ziang hadn’t been captured in the frame of Ruan Zhou’s video, yet Lin Lin had somehow known someone else was beside him.

Ruan Zhou replayed the video clip several times before he finally spotted it. A portion of Liang Ziang’s shadow had been recorded, just the faintest sliver at the edge of the shot.

Truly the observational skills of a professional. Ruan Zhou felt the urge to give him a thumbs up.

[It’s the investor’s son.]

[Oh? What’s the investor’s name?]

Ruan Zhou sent over the name of Father Liang.

“Mr. Ruan,” Liang Ziang called.

“Yes?” Ruan Zhou looked up. “What is it?”

Liang Ziang offered a small smile. “You seem rather busy.”

“My apologies,” Ruan Zhou said. “I just wanted a friend of mine to see this place too. He also said the beach looks stunning.”

The capital had no sea. Lin Lin probably had few opportunities to visit the coast, and even then, it would likely be during the occasional work trip or a rare vacation. But as far as Ruan Zhou knew, as a pillar of his unit, Lin Lin practically never took time off.

“Is your friend also a CEO?” Liang Ziang asked, curious.

“For a while, he was.” Not Lin Lin himself, but his alias, Lin Mou, certainly had been.

“By the way, I heard you used to work within the Mingyu Group…”

The two of them chatted for a while about professional matters. Ruan Zhou possessed a wealth of work experience and held unique, insightful views on the commercial trends of the coming years. It was no wonder President Lou wanted to entrust the company to him.

A look of genuine admiration surfaced in Liang Ziang’s eyes. Then, he shifted the topic. “Mr. Ruan, since you’ve been in Xinhai, have you ever heard of the Bode Time Restaurant?”

Ruan Zhou was surprised. “That restaurant is so famous even you’ve heard of it all the way out here?”

“I saw it online. That restaurant is connected to anomalies,” Liang Ziang casually dropped the bombshell.

Ruan Zhou’s expression remained perfectly composed. “It was certainly an unusual place. I ate there a few days ago. The hygiene standards were appalling, they were severely understaffed, and the food was thoroughly mediocre. I would strongly advise against dining there.”

Liang Ziang was momentarily stumped by this response.

He had clearly stated he knew about the anomalous situation at the restaurant. Yet Ruan Zhou showed absolutely no reaction. Had they really reached a point where there was no further need to play dumb?

In the verbal parry that followed, Ruan Zhou recounted the events of that day from a completely different perspective, one so utterly mundane and grounded that Liang Ziang began to doubt his own memory.

No matter how he probed, Liang Ziang could not elicit the answer he sought.

Was Ruan Zhou not a transcendent ability user after all? Or had his memory already been modified?

He had read on the forum that after anomalous incidents, ordinary civilians had their memories altered during the debriefing process. But some transcendent ability users were less susceptible to the effects of the memory spray.

Though a twinge of disappointment surfaced, it didn’t truly matter. If Ruan Zhou was an ordinary person, didn’t that mean he, Liang Ziang, finally had a chance?

Recalling the jolt of attraction he’d felt while watching that live stream, Liang Ziang found himself instinctively edging closer.

“Mr. Ruan, do you have a boyfriend?”

Liang Ziang was a man who acted on his impulses. It was rare for him to feel such a spark for someone. Even having watched the live stream, he wasn’t about to give up. What was wrong with trying to dig at the corner of a wall, so long as the wall eventually came down?

Ruan Zhou paused, saw the look in Liang Ziang’s eyes, and understood immediately.

Liang Ziang was acceptable as a friend or a business partner, someone who spoke his mind openly and wouldn’t resort to underhanded scheming. But one thing was one thing, and another was another.

He recalled what Lin Lin had said that day at the restaurant. “If I hadn’t said you were taken, that guy would have kept pestering you.”

Ruan Zhou smiled. “Yes, I do. I’m already with someone.”

It was a clear, polite rejection.

“Oh.” Liang Ziang didn’t seem disappointed. It was entirely expected. Besides, having watched the live stream, he already knew exactly what the man looked like.

“That’s alright. I’ll wait until you break up,” he stated plainly.

Ruan Zhou was left utterly speechless.

That night, back at the villa, Lin Lin initiated a video call.

“Did you just get back?”

Ruan Zhou was toweling his hair dry, his phone propped up on the bedside.

“…Something delayed me a bit,” Ruan Zhou mumbled vaguely. The loud whir of the hairdryer drowned out the sound from the other end as he dried his hair.

Once he finished and the noise ceased, Ruan Zhou noticed the line had gone quiet. He picked up his phone.

Lin Lin was reviewing documents, dressed in a uniform slightly different from his usual attire. The desk lamp cast sharp shadows across his face, accentuating the clean lines of his brow and the crisp angle of his jaw and neck. There was a sharp, striking handsomeness to him at that moment.

Ruan Zhou had never seen Lin Lin in full work mode before. The unexpected sight made him pause and stare for a moment.

But he shouldn’t disturb him while he was working. He decided to browse his phone instead.

Ruan Zhou lay flat on his back on the bed, holding his phone parallel to the mattress and level with his eyes, and began surfing the web.

The entertainment shows and memes in this world were genuinely amusing. He found himself scrolling with great interest.

Just then, Lin Lin glanced towards his camera. On his screen, Ruan Zhou was gazing directly at him, a brilliant smile spreading across his face.

It felt as if something had struck him directly in the heart. A numbing jolt, followed by a fierce, rapid pounding.

From this angle, he could clearly see the other man’s collarbone, shifting subtly with each breath. The perspective was so intimate, as if Ruan Zhou were lying just beneath him.

Lin Lin’s breathing grew unsteady. “I have something to attend to. You should get some rest.”

He ended the call, set aside the work in his hands, and leaned back heavily in his chair.

He closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and slowly exhaled.

Xiao had spent a long time searching online for any information about Ruan Zhou’s company.

Finally, in a dusty, overlooked corner of a job listing website, he located its name and the positions it was hiring for.

Companies that didn’t pay extra fees for promotion were always relegated to the obscure corners of such sites.

Xiao frowned. The man was supposedly running a company now. How could he still appear this destitute?

The job listings covered everything imaginable: administrative clerks, janitorial staff, IT technicians. It was clearly a scrappy startup, lacking everything and needing everything all at once.

A glance at the company address showed a mixed-use commercial-residential building in the old city district.

Any normal job seeker seeing this information would instantly steer clear. But Xiao had a reason that compelled him to go.

The best way to understand an enemy is to infiltrate their ranks.

Ruan Zhou lived a secluded, low-profile life and was under the intense scrutiny of the Anomaly Control Bureau. If Xiao revealed even the slightest hint of abnormality, he would be detected instantly.

He submitted his resume. Before long, the HR department notified him to come in for an interview.

Xiao took the public bus. The person who greeted him and led him inside was an utterly unremarkable-looking man.

“Please wait here for a moment.”

“Of course.” Xiao sat down to one side, surveying his surroundings.

Though the building’s exterior and hallway had been somewhat shabby, the interior of the office wasn’t bad. The space, a few dozen square meters, had been partitioned into three sections: a small reception area, a private executive office, and, in the center, the main workspace with several desks. A faint scent of fresh paint lingered in the air.

Any seasoned job seeker could tell at a glance that this was a recently cobbled-together operation, barely standing on its feet.

Xiao could scarcely believe it. The man who had so easily toppled the Mingyu Group was operating out of such threadbare conditions?

Could this be the secret to Ruan Zhou’s method of growing stronger?

The two employees currently present at the company were both faces he recognized from the intelligence files: one named Fan Lai, the other Xie Tingting.

At the moment, one was serving as both receptionist and HR manager, and the other as a general handyman and security guard.

“You are Zhou Xiao, correct?” Xiao Xie asked him.

“That’s right.” Xiao smiled, his dimples emerging on cue.

“Your presentation isn’t bad. I see you’re applying for the janitorial position?”

Xiao’s smile dimmed slightly. “Yes.”

He lacked the technical skills for the IT job. The clerk position required proficiency in office software, which he didn’t possess. There were other odd positions listed as well, but Xiao had been disconnected from normal society for far too long. He could no longer seamlessly integrate into a regular work environment.

It was a good thing he wasn’t an ordinary person; otherwise, someone like him would have likely starved to death by now.

But janitorial work was perfect. A janitor could freely enter and exit every office, rummage through the trash bins, uncover the company’s secrets, and blend in seamlessly with all the employees, making it easy to extract information.

While Xiao might not rely on his looks to make a living like Lin Xuezhu, his affable charm was absolutely beyond reproach.

“Alright, I have no issues on my end. We’ll just need President Ruan to take a look. He’s currently out of town. Please hold on while we connect via video.”

Xiao allowed himself a disdainful inner smirk. Such a small-time operation. They even need Ruan Zhou to personally sign off on hiring a janitor.

The video call connected swiftly. That familiar face appeared on the screen.

Xiao straightened his posture. “Hello, I am the applicant, Zhou Xiao.”

“It’s you?” The person on the other end seemed surprised to see a familiar face.

Xiao feigned a look of delighted astonishment. “Ah! You’re the person from the airport that day!”

At the airport, Ruan Zhou had accidentally knocked his phone to the ground and picked it up for him. Xiao had declined any further apology.

With this serendipitous connection already established, combined with his own exceptional capabilities and demeanor, Xiao was confident Ruan Zhou wouldn’t turn him down.

Just as he predicted, after asking a few standard questions, Ruan Zhou approved the hire.

But then, just at the end, something seemed to occur to Ruan Zhou. He asked one final question. “How would you rate your psychological resilience?”

Xiao blinked, puzzled as to why this would be asked. Still, he answered honestly. “Quite strong.”

He was a veteran operative of ten years, having waded through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. His mission success rate spoke for itself. Even when missions failed, he had never once broken composure.

Ruan Zhou beamed. “Your interview is approved. Congratulations. For the remaining details, you’ll coordinate with Assistant Xie. She’ll get you sorted out.”

The call ended. Xiao turned to Xiao Xie, his face full of anticipation.

Xiao Xie produced a stack of documents. “Your interview has been approved. You can report to this address starting this Monday. It’s a half-day shift, beginning at ten o’clock—”

“Wait a moment.” Xiao couldn’t stop himself from interrupting. “Isn’t this position for a janitor at this company?”

Xiao Xie smiled. “Our little company hardly needs a janitor. I handle the cleaning myself.”

“Then why—”

“Oh? Didn’t I mention it earlier? We are a human resources company!” Xiao Xie said, looking genuinely surprised.

A human resources company, commonly known as a staffing or recruitment agency. Businesses needing workers would contact them, and they would use their networks and resources to recruit employees, collecting a fee on the margin.

It was an industry with notoriously murky waters, a hotbed for scams.

Xiao felt, at that precise moment, as if he had been thoroughly scammed.

“You can’t do this,” he said flatly. “I came here specifically to work for your company.”

“I’m sorry,” Xiao Xie replied. “At present, our company simply doesn’t have a need for an in-house janitor. If you possess IT skills, we could certainly try you out here. If you’re unwilling to take the janitorial assignment we’ve secured for you, then I will withdraw your application information.”

Xiao’s chest heaved as he forcefully adjusted his state of mind. “Fine,” he said at last. “I’ll take the assignment. But doesn’t your company need any janitorial help at all? I could come here in the afternoons. I’d only require half the wage that the other company is offering.”

Xiao Xie considered this. “I’ll need to consult President Ruan on that. I’ll contact you with an answer.”

“Alright. Thank you very much.” Xiao affixed his smile back into place.

The moment Xiao walked out the door, Fan Lai grumbled, “Young and able-bodied, and yet he’s fighting over jobs with middle-aged aunties.”

Xiao Xie poked him. “And you’re fighting over jobs with old grandpas, aren’t you? Don’t think I haven’t noticed. And after everything we’ve been through, you still can’t see it? That man came here specifically targeting our company.”

Fan Lai was startled. He hadn’t realized Xiao Xie was so sharp.

“So that’s why you told him we were a human resources company?”

To keep the company’s operations running, they were currently taking on practically any work that came their way, including some staffing agency work. What Xiao Xie had said wasn’t technically a lie.

In truth, both of them had come here with full mental preparation.

When President Lou had extended the invitation, he had been completely upfront about the circumstances. If they were unwilling to join, that was perfectly fine. The Anomaly Control Bureau would modify their memories and return them to a normal life.

Both Xiao Xie and Fan Lai had received life-saving kindness from President Lou and Ruan Zhou. They hadn’t hesitated much before agreeing to come on board.

The other former employees, however, had been utterly terrified by the Mingyu Group incident. No matter what, they wanted nothing more to do with anomalies ever again.

“Our President Ruan made quite a splash last time,” Xiao Xie remarked. “A massive criminal syndicate like Mingyu Group, wiped out just like that. There’s no guarantee that all sorts of shady characters won’t come knocking.”

Fan Lai countered, “And yet you still let him in.”

“Better to channel the flow than to dam it. I’d bet anything President Ruan shares my thinking on this.”

Fan Lai was skeptical. “No way.”

Just as she predicted, after learning of Zhou Xiao’s self-recommendation, Ruan Zhou paused thoughtfully, then said, “It works out well. We’ve just secured investment. The price for a half-day janitor is reasonable, and it saves us the hassle of any office squabbles. If we’re going to hire, let’s hire. Have him come in for a short afternoon shift.”

Xiao Xie shot Fan Lai a knowing look. “President Ruan always phrases things so beautifully. As expected of someone fit to be CEO. He knows perfectly well that the best place for a dangerous element is right under our noses.”

Fan Lai pouted. “Fine, you’re both geniuses. I’m the idiot.”

Xiao Xie shook her head. “That’s not true. Your talents simply lie elsewhere.”

Fan Lai reflected on this. She had a point. His true talent was clinging to the right powerful patrons.

With that thought, he produced a small wooden figurine from his pocket and placed it on the highest shelf mounted on the wall.

Then, he pulled out an electronic incense burner, switched it on, and set it before the statuette. The red glow of the faux embers illuminated half the wall, casting an atmosphere that was distinctly eerie.

Once everything was arranged, Fan Lai assumed an expression of deep reverence. He pressed his palms together and bowed deeply at the waist.

Xiao Xie leaned in for a closer look. “Who is that?”

Fan Lai beamed with pride. “Our CEO. I carved it myself. So, what do you think? Handsome, right?”

Xiao Xie stared at the small, crooked-faced figure with its askew mouth and misaligned eyes. A long, profound silence stretched between them.