Chapter 155: New Employee |
"What the hell? With so little time, where am I supposed to—damn it!"
A loud complaint echoing from the corridor woke Shi Rang from his slumber.
Staring at the unfamiliar ceiling and the sunlight filtering through a small window, his memories slowly pieced themselves back together.
He was in the employee dormitories at the Charity Foundation headquarters.
After verifying his identity with the security guard in the early hours of the morning, he had been assigned an empty dorm room.
However, the supply department for daily necessities had long since closed, so Shi Rang had borrowed a folding bed to make do for the night.
He was not sure what time he had finally fallen asleep. After turning off the lights, his mind had been entirely consumed by thoughts of Ying Shang. He constantly deduced and guessed what he might encounter during his next visit to Number 210, running through every scenario from the best to the absolute worst. He had fully expected to stay awake all night.
The folding bed left his entire body numb. After getting up, Shi Rang checked his mobile phone. It was exactly seven in the morning.
'The employees here certainly start their shifts early.'
Shi Rang pushed open the door, raising a hand to block the glaring sunlight.
The dormitory building was shaped like a concave U. Every room door opened toward the inner courtyard, directly facing the windows lining the corridors. Bathed in the morning light, the hallways were currently packed with employees rushing to wash up. Shi Rang stood in his doorway, watching them hurry back and forth with a sense of bewilderment. He felt quite uncomfortable with this military-camp atmosphere.
He had assumed the internal atmosphere of such a massive enterprise would be a bit more relaxed.
"Still half-asleep?" A man paused next to Shi Rang, his gaze sweeping over his collar. "No ID badge. Are you a new hire for the procurement department too?"
"Yeah, I just arrived last night," he replied.
"I figured. Good thing you ran into me. They actually gave you a single dorm; if you had overslept, no one would have come to get you. Let's go, I will take you all around to learn the layout." The man waved behind him, and several young people who had been gazing out the windows nearby hurriedly caught up.
Remembering that he was indeed here for his onboarding, Shi Rang naturally blended into this group of "newbies." He followed the man down the stairs and stepped into the daylight-bathed Operations Zone.
During the night, he had only seen towering perimeter walls and a few sweeping searchlights. Now, standing within those walls, Shi Rang could not help but marvel at the dense clusters of buildings towering before him.
Although there was a small town outside the Operations Zone, the interior housed what was essentially a fully self-sufficient city. The glass-fronted office buildings gave him the illusion of being back in the downtown area of Yunling City. There was even a school, a hospital, a fire station, and an entire shopping mall. As the morning shift approached, the streets were packed with a steady stream of people.
The man leading the group introduced the area as they walked.
"Counting from over there to here, these five buildings are all administrative centers. We usually work in building one, and the cafeteria is further back.
"That shorter building is the main hub, where meetings and such are held. Our department's lounge is on the first floor of the west wing, but do not sneak in there to slack off during work hours—the boss's office is right overhead.
"Across that road is the living area for the beneficiaries. Do not cross the line without submitting an application first. If the patrolling security catches you, you will be in for a harsh scolding."
"Why are we not allowed to go over there, man?" one of the new employees asked. "Is not our job to help them?"
"Unless your assigned task is to investigate their living conditions, do not go causing trouble. Many of these orphans were abandoned or experienced tragic accidents. Recently, due to the regional wars, we have also taken in quite a few refugee children. Do not go parading your good fortune in front of them."
Hearing this, the employee who asked the question nodded guiltily.
Shi Rang, however, cast a deep gaze in that direction. He watched a group of teenagers being led across the playground by caretakers to get their breakfast. The teachers leading them were psychologists from the Management Authority's logistics department.
The density of communication devices in that "orphan living area" was nearly identical to that in the main building, yet he saw no extra fortifications or armed forces...
The Management Authority definitely had other ulterior motives besides using this Charity Foundation to amass wealth. Otherwise, why would both the Ascension Society and the Alliance want to investigate this enterprise?
What kind of secrets were hidden within the independent servers here?
The group took a lap around the Operations Zone, and everyone began to feel hungry. The man leading them—who introduced himself as Qi Ta—suggested, "It is about that time. I will take you all to get some breakfast. Meals are served a bit late here, but Monday breakfasts are always very lavish."
Shi Rang happened to be starving as well.
The group followed him into the cafeteria, full of expectations for a grand breakfast in this massive Operations Zone, only to be greeted by a chorus of complaints the moment they walked through the doors.
"At least give us a slice of pizza!"
"I wouldn't say anything if you had just added a little less water, but this is practically translucent! How do you have the nerve to serve this?"
Waves of grumbling echoed from the serving counters.
Even though it was breakfast time, the number of people sitting in the cafeteria could be counted on one hand. Most people merely approached the window, took one glance, and walked away in silence, looking as if they had suffered a grievous blow.
Qi Ta, who was leading the group, stepped closer and peered through the glass. His face immediately fell. "Did the kitchen blow up? It is early morning, and all you have are these flimsy slices of bread and some milk?"
The chef holding the serving tongs completely brushed him off. "Everyone was transferred to the main building's kitchen. You should be glad you even have this.
"
"Can you honestly stomach this stuff yourself?"
"Why couldn't I? If you do not want it, I will take it away. I went through the trouble of rummaging through the cabinets to scrape something together, and you are still complaining."
Qi Ta returned to the group, looking rather embarrassed as he tried to explain. "I forgot, today is the new employee welcome ceremony... I will just take you straight to the department lounge to wait. There will be plenty of good stuff over there."
Naturally, the new employees would not let their senior lose face. They chimed in with agreeable responses and eagerly followed him toward the main building.
The Charity Foundation's headquarters relocated frequently. Based on the documents he had read, they moved almost every five years, which was highly unusual for a massive global enterprise. To accommodate such large-scale architectural shifts, almost all the buildings were constructed using a modular design, making them easy to dismantle and reassemble—the town outside was also part of this relocation process, consisting entirely of model homes.
Shi Rang had not expected that this modular structure would make it so easy to get lost.
After entering the main building and turning two corners, Shi Rang was thoroughly disoriented. No matter which way they went, similar corridors and layouts greeted them. He could not help but constantly glance over his shoulder to ensure they had not stumbled into some sort of Spatial Anomaly.
If they had not finally stepped into the employee lounge, he genuinely would have believed the group was just walking in circles.
The other new hires were just like him, touring the Charity Foundation headquarters for the first time. The mixed impressions left from the morning were finally redeemed in this moment—the wealthy side of the Charity Foundation was finally on full display.
Each department had its own dedicated lounge. The procurement department's employee lounge was incredibly spacious, nearly the size of a conference hall. The interior was comfortably furnished, with a row of booths and sofas lining the walls. There were card tables and pool tables, a round-the-clock supply of tea and coffee, and a vending machine fully stocked with snacks standing by the wall.
Upon entering the room, the group eagerly dispersed. They chatted with the veteran employees who had arrived early for the welcome ceremony, or went to buy some snacks to stave off their hunger.
What caught Shi Rang's attention the most was the banner on the other side of the Chamber Hall that read "Welcome New Employees to the Procurement Department"... and the long row of tables set up right beneath it.
It was not even half past eight in the morning, yet the tables were already laden with a wide assortment of pastries and desserts. Many of the treats were still steaming hot, clearly fresh out of the oven. No wonder all the chefs had been borrowed.
Due to his Rapid Regeneration, Shi Rang already had a massive appetite. The slapdash and freezing cold breakfast at the cafeteria had only amplified his craving for food. He was so starved that his stomach was practically touching his spine.
After eating chocolate as emergency rations for so many days, even the sight of chocolate now left a bitter taste in his mouth.
He walked straight toward the long banquet tables.
Just then, the door to the lounge opened. An employee struggled inside carrying a massive box. She crossed the room and hoisted it onto the long table. Still panting heavily, before she could even find a proper spot for it, she caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of her eye.
"W-What are you eating?!"
Her shriek was so loud it brought a dead silence to the entire room.
Qi Ta, who had been standing nearby educating the new hires about the corporate culture, looked toward the source of the noise just like everyone else. He was equally startled by the sight.
The person standing there, holding a small jam tart with a fresh bite taken out of it, was none other than Shi Rang.