Chapter 78: New Contract and New Position
Chapter 78: Chapter 78: New Contract and New Position
The next day.
Just as Wang Xi had expected.
After learning that he was unharmed, various departments and organizations sent representatives one after another to try and recruit him.
Throughout the morning, Wang Xi dealt with wave after wave of people in his hospital room. The Overlook Bureau, the Defense Team, the Security Bureau, the Hermes Trade Alliance, the three major corporations, and seven or eight small and medium-sized groups...
This was the value of being Valley City’s one and only Four Stars commoner, a dark horse who had broken two records in the first revised Professional Warrior assessment!
The three major official departments, headed by the Overlook Bureau, were quite approachable, and the terms they offered were actually very good.
Aside from the salary not being high—a few tens of thousands at most—the benefits were excellent. The most tempting part was that he would be appointed to a high-ranking position right away, with no need to climb up from the bottom.
The Overlook Bureau offered the position of Deputy Section Chief of the External Affairs Division, the Defense Team offered Deputy Captain, and the Security Bureau offered Senior Police Chief.
Unfortunately, Wang Xi had no interest in being an official. The various constraints of the government system were also quite off-putting to him, so he used the excuse of needing time to consider and gave no immediate answer.
The terms offered by the three major corporations, on the other hand, were incredibly generous. There were invitations to serve as a high-level executive in a security department, proposals to groom him as a brand spokesperson, and even a direct high-price offer of a 500,000 monthly salary.
It would be a lie to say Wang Xi wasn’t tempted.
He almost accepted.
However, when he saw the tome-like contract and its red-flag clauses, he was stunned speechless for a few seconds.
He opened it. The contract had no date, and scrawled across every page in large, gilt letters were the five words: "For the Welfare of Heroes." Wang Xi couldn’t make heads or tails of it. He stared at it for a long time before he could finally read between the lines. The entire book was filled with just two words: "A Blessing!"
The dense, fly-speck fine print of the clauses was like little centipedes hidden under a cake, crawling in the dark, screaming as they tried to climb into his eyes:
"Voluntary acceptance of human modification," "non-compete period of 99 years," "deduction of monthly salary for mission failure," "unconditional compliance with company-arranged travel," and so on...
Every word seemed to tap dance on the page, leaving behind bloody footprints. This was especially true for the two words "Stock Options," which were big and red, as if afraid he was too nearsighted to see them.
However, a few pages later, the terms changed to things like, "Daily work hours to be flexibly adjusted according to disaster intensity."
And that wasn’t even the worst of it.
Wang Xi even found supplementary clause number 996 in an inconspicuous corner:
"Party B permanently transfers ownership of their brain and heart to Party A (The final right of interpretation for this clause rests with Party A)."
Totally nuts.
It made him laugh.
Sign?
No way!
That was so ridiculous it was actually funny.
No.
It should be, "so ridiculous it’s gonna be the death of me!"
Son of a bitch, I almost fell for that trap.
Every single one of these corporations is a piece of work.
Wang Xi didn’t even bother with the excuse of needing time to think. He rejected them on the spot.
He was poor, but he wasn’t poor in spirit.
Selling his soul? Not a chance.
If even the three major corporations were like this, there was no need to even mention the smaller groups. Their terms were far inferior, but their contracts were just as impressive—each one thicker and more draconian than the last.
They stopped just short of pinning him to the bed to sign and fingerprint the documents.
At that moment, Wang Xi had to seriously resist the urge to use Spraying Water, almost unleashing his terrifying "Blueberry Jellyfish" to skewer each and every one of them.
After chasing that bunch away, the people from the Hermes Trade Alliance finally arrived.
Just as Yu Jiali had said.
The Alliance was indeed a good option.
The person sent to meet with him was a beautiful young woman with a neat ponytail and light makeup. She wore a stylish woman’s suit with a pencil skirt and had a very refined air. Trailing behind her were two young assistants carrying briefcases.
The woman was friendly and polite, and the terms she offered were excellent. According to her, the Alliance valued his talent and abilities and was inviting him to be an "Advanced Postman" for their "Wilderness Mail Delivery" project.
Don’t be fooled by the unimpressive job title.
The benefits were amazing!
A monthly salary of 100,000, and complete freedom outside of missions!
On top of that, there was a 10% commission for every trip out of the city. He would be equipped with the Alliance’s finest Universal Cards, ride a single-wheel hover-motorcycle, and travel freely through the Wilderness, speeding between human settlements.
Wang Xi immediately ranked the Hermes Trade Alliance’s offer as his second priority.
As for his first priority...
He was a sentimental person.
...
...
Near noon.
The people from Cupid Housekeeping finally arrived.
Three people came this time as well.
Aside from Supervisor Yang Fu from the Cleaning Department and a female assistant with short hair, there was a middle-aged man wearing a white tank top and pink beach shorts.
From their positioning as they entered, it was clear the man was the one leading the conversation.
"Wang Xi, are you feeling alright?"
The man had short hair, with some gray at his temples. He had a kind face but also a roguish, carefree air about him. He entered the room, walked straight to the bedside, and extended his hand with a smile.
"I’m the Branch Manager of Cupid Housekeeping’s Valley City Branch, Zhang Huaijin. You can call me Uncle Jin."
"Uncle Jin." Wang Xi shook his hand and smiled. "I’m fine, nothing serious."
"Glad to hear it."
Zhang Huaijin nodded.
He casually pulled a chair over, sat down by the bed, and started chatting with Wang Xi as if they were old friends:
"I watched the entire assessment. Watched it with my wife, in fact. She was praising you, saying our Valley City has produced another genius of this generation."
"She’s a great judge of character. She wasn’t impressed with any of those six seeded candidates, but she singled you out for praise."
Zhang Huaijin laughed heartily.
"I didn’t tell her that this incredible dark horse is actually one of our company’s own employees... I held an emergency meeting this morning to convince the board of directors and secure a new contract for you. That’s why I’m a little late."
As he spoke, he took a contract from his assistant and handed it directly to Wang Xi.
"I won’t waste time with pleasantries; let’s get straight to the point. On behalf of Cupid Housekeeping, I am inviting you to take on the position of ’Senior Deacon’ at our company."
"This transfer contract details your future salary and benefits. You can take a look. I’m sure other factions have already approached you, but after reading this, I believe you’ll make a wise choice."
Wang Xi took the contract and began to flip through it.
This contract wasn’t complicated, only seven or eight pages long.
The more he read, the more surprised he became.
The reason was simple: it was a genuinely sincere offer.
It was even significantly better than the terms offered by the Hermes Trade Alliance.
The specific arrangement was a transfer from the Cleaning Department to the Miscellaneous Affairs Department, to serve as a "Senior Deacon."
The Miscellaneous Affairs Department was Cupid Housekeeping’s most unique department. Its scope of business was very broad, but it primarily provided custom services for the company’s VIP clients.
To become a "Deacon," the minimum requirement was to be a "Professional Two Stars" Hero. There were no explicit requirements for a "Senior Deacon," but very few held the title.
In a sense, the status of an employee in the Miscellaneous Affairs Department was even higher than that of a department supervisor. And a Senior Deacon’s status was more exalted still.
As for the compensation.
A base salary of 100,000, with a 20% commission on services. Outside of custom service requests, he wasn’t required to be on-site... In other words, when there was no work, he didn’t have to *make* work. It was incredibly freeing.
Wang Xi also noticed something else.
At the end of the contract, there was an additional clause.
If Wang Xi agreed to be Cupid Housekeeping’s advertising spokesperson, he would receive a talent bonus of 500,000, as well as an endorsement fee of 1,200,000, though it would be paid out in installments with his salary over the next year.
That meant his monthly salary for the next year would be 200,000.
"Uncle Jin," Wang Xi said, closing the file and looking up hesitantly. "Can I ask something?"
"Go ahead," Zhang Huaijin chuckled.
"During my last field assignment, I was attacked, and the ’Cupid’s Protective Suit’ was damaged. Do I need to pay for it...?"
The three of them paused at his words.
"Is that what you were worried about?"
Zhang Huaijin burst out laughing and waved his hand dismissively.
"Why would we make you pay for that? Don’t worry about it. We’re also giving you the ’Cupid’s Chainsaw’ and the ’Hovercar Basic Driving’ card. Just keep them as mementos."
Wang Xi’s expression immediately turned serious.
He snatched up a pen and signed his name on the contract, also putting a checkmark next to the additional clause.
1.7 million. It would be foolish not to take free money.
His swift and decisive action left Zhang Huaijin very satisfied.
"It seems you’ve made a wise choice."
Zhang Huaijin took the contract and, without even looking at it, passed it to his assistant to file away. He stood up and extended his hand again, this time with a noticeably more formal air.
"Well then, Mr. Wang Xi, from now on, you are our company’s ’Senior Deacon.’ In the next few days, find some time to come by the office. The head of the Miscellaneous Affairs Department, Miss Xia Ling, will walk you through the operational procedures."
"Okay."
Wang Xi also stood up and shook the branch manager’s hand.
...
...
After mooching another free meal at the hospital, Wang Xi finally filled out his discharge forms and left the association’s medical department.
But before going home, he did one more thing—a very important thing.
He went to the association’s main hall and applied for the "Valley City Talent Subsidy." He had remembered what Chu Nai told him: after becoming a Professional Warrior, Valley City officials would grant 300,000 Credit Points, distributed over three years.
If you didn’t apply for it, the money wouldn’t just appear in your account. He might not be proactive about other things, but when it came to getting free stuff, Wang Xi was always on the ball.
Thanks to his current fame, the association staff were very enthusiastic and helped him complete the paperwork with almost no effort.
And the association’s efficiency was even higher than Cupid Housekeeping’s. Wang Xi had just walked out the main entrance when his phone buzzed with a transfer notification.
100,000 had been deposited.
By the time he reached the rail station platform near the association, his phone vibrated again.
This time, it was the transfer from Cupid Housekeeping.
A total of 523,000.
It included the 500,000 bonus, his 20,000 monthly salary as a Cleaner, and 3,000 in overtime pay.
"Dear Mr. Wang Xi (First-Class Citizen), your current account balance is: 691,200 Credit Points."
A balance of over 690,000!
Wang Xi clutched his phone, grinning gleefully.
He was gloating inwardly.
The best part was that since joining Cupid Housekeeping, he had only gone to work for a single day.
Yet, all in all, he had managed to fleece the company for over 600,000.
’Slacking off in the bathroom during work hours? That’s nothing. *This* is what you call a real salary thief,’ he thought.
WHOOSH—
A silver, bullet-shaped railcar pulled into the station.
Wang Xi boarded the car in high spirits.
He scanned the code on his phone to pay.
BEEP.
"Esteemed First-Class Citizen, ’Professional Four Stars’ Hero, Mr. Wang Xi. The Valley City Floating Rail Transportation Group and all its crew members salute you!"
A sweet, female voice broadcasted throughout the entire railcar.
Instantly, the car fell silent.
The other passengers all turned to stare at him in astonishment.