Chapter 124: The Atmosphere Becomes Tense - It’s the Cyber Age—Still Playing a Traditional Villain?

Chapter 124: The Atmosphere Becomes Tense Twenty minutes later. At the "Serpent Circle" headquarters, inside the interview hall. The group of people Su Lin brought back had already commenced the second round of interviews in an orderly manner. The city's initial selection was merely a preliminary screening; assigning concrete responsibilities required another round of assessment. Naturally, the "Serpent Circle" attached great importance to this, appointing department directors as interviewers. For instance, Jiang Cheng Cheng, the director of the Engineering Department. Many of the "Forgotten" long to return to Night Sin City, as they can see the stark contrast between the two sides. Especially the younger generation, who hold no grudges from the past. Their priority is a life well-lived. Being among the first batch to settle here, and joining a place like the "Serpent Circle," is indeed a significant opportunity. They are confident in their abilities and, seeing their future supervisor is such a beauty, they assume the working environment will be pleasant and accommodating. However… They quickly experienced Jiang Cheng Cheng's rigorous approach. The assessment content she provided was unforgiving, and even the interview phase left them breathless. "Can’t even answer such a simple question? This is most disappointing." "Are you really still using such outdated methods? Is your mind stuck decades in the past?" "If this is the level you offer, you better leave before you embarrass yourself." She spared no faces and was remarkably critical due to her loyalty to Xu Shi, adhering to the principle of preferring scarcity over mediocrity. In the end, less than one-tenth successfully passed the interview. The remainder were distributed to various subsidiaries at the discretion of the chief interviewer, Su Lin, in hopes of better luck. "Aren’t you being a bit too harsh?" Honestly, Jiang Cheng Cheng's nitpicky nature was even a bit too much for Director Su to overlook. She gently reminded her dear friend. "My subordinates don’t need to be useless, Lin." Jiang Cheng Cheng replied with a smile. In truth, she would rather handle everything herself, believing it would live up to Xu Shi's expectations of her. "…As you wish." Su Lin couldn’t say much. Being too strict wasn’t necessarily wrong. Nonetheless, her dear friend's transformation was indeed remarkable; her former timidity was nowhere to be seen. This… might be for the best, right? Also present, albeit remotely, was Gu Yi, the head of the Cybersecurity Information Department. She didn’t personally attend but instead made a brief appearance via projection. Given that the "Forgotten" were relatively weak in this area, finding competent talent was challenging, allowing Gu Yi to handle it effortlessly, managing her tasks with a lollipop in her mouth. She barely paid attention to the interview. Her thoughts were preoccupied with when Xu Shi would return home, as they arranged to play games together, but the rascal hadn’t been home, leaving her ignored. The jerk leaves after sleeping with her, so unreasonable! Unlike the relaxed atmosphere of others, Shen Qin, still awaiting her interview, felt somewhat anxious. For her, infiltrating Xu Shi’s inner circle was already a marked step forward. The "Forgotten" had managed to settle in Night Sin City, but things were not as she anticipated. Judging by others’ performances, the corporation's strictness was intimidating; truly few made it to the headquarters, most were distributed to various subsidiaries, merely serving as cogs. Including herself. Even as one of the "Forgotten" leaders, the "Serpent Circle" extended no special courtesy to her. The job assigned wasn’t even within the Engineering Department but the External Affairs Department. She didn’t even have the chance to engage in research and development. "Leader…" A fellow interviewee noticed her distraction, offering a kind reminder. "…Don’t call me leader." Shen Qin brought herself back to reality, earnestly gesturing, "Just like you all, I am merely a citizen of Night Sin City." The reality is such. Xu Shi set the precondition during the meeting, already laying the groundwork. Once in Night Sin City, everyone’s a worker, no special privileges. One has no choice but to abide by his rules. At least, outwardly, they can’t let anyone call her leader, lest someone with ulterior motives stirs up trouble. For those like them, despite seeming to be the first to settle, accessing the core areas was indeed challenging, relegated mostly to basic labor tasks. Technical resources were long secured independently—they didn’t need them for research, whereas they were destined to serve as labor. It wasn’t just here; she had intel from other places too. Everywhere was nearly the same. This being the first batch, future arrivals would face even fewer prospects. Coupled with the prevailing adverse public opinion against them, in truth, entering Night Sin City merely solved survival issues; the rest was arguably worse than before. Sigh. With such agitation, she was finally called for her turn, "Next, Miss Nan Qian." Rising to enter the interview hall, seeing who awaited her made Shen Qin feel unnerved. Dressed in combat attire, naturally, it was Xia Wu You. "Miss Nan Qian? Correct?" Xia Wu You had shed her previous shyness, looking at her with a blank expression. "…That’s me." "Good. Let me introduce myself: Group Leader of External Affairs Department Group Three, Xia Wu You." Xia Wu You nodded, "Director Du is on sick leave, so the External Affairs Department interview will be conducted by me." There was no need for an introduction; Shen Qin knew the person before her thoroughly. Formerly known as Miss Ling of "Reflection," her brother’s childhood friend. However, she was instrumental in the downfall of "Sparks." Deep down, Shen Qin understood that Shen He’s defeat was not majorly due to Xia Wu You, but the previous ties made her naturally hold resentment. "I see your file states you’re an 'Ascendant,' with formidable combat skills? No wonder you’re assigned to External Affairs." Wasn’t this forcibly arranged by you all… Shen Qin was seething internally but couldn’t show it, weakly nodding, "Yes, I am a combat-specialized 'Ascendant.'" "Then there’s no need for further words." Xia Wu You gave a slight nod, waved her hand, and transformed the interview hall into a training ground, "Let’s spar to assess your real combat capability." This played right into Shen Qin’s desires. She indeed wanted to teach a lesson to this woman who betrayed her brother. Naturally, taking her down wasn’t practical, but making her suffer a bit would suffice. Unbeknownst to her, Xia Wu You harbored similar thoughts. She was internally frustrated as well; such incidents being interrupted halfway couldn’t be resolved with just a peck… But where could she vent this anger? At Xu Shi or Su Lin? Clearly, neither was feasible. Hence, only Shen Qin stood in her path. Thus, the atmosphere between them became increasingly tense. (End of Chapter)