Great, I'm surrounded by villains.

Chapter 3 Black Heart Company
September held her breath and listened very carefully.

According to "industry standards", when fighting against evil spirits, humans should avoid physical contact with them as much as possible. Although evil spirits do not have the ability to think, they are far superior to humans in strength and speed. However, this man not only touched the evil spirit, but also kicked its head in return.

"powerful?"

Duan Mingyuan disagrees. "I think it's just basic professionalism. I've seriously considered it as a future career."

The premise of this decision is that he can calmly deal with various emergencies.

If you take the money but can't help the customer solve their problem, then aren't you no different from a scammer?
"Before we can talk about the specifics of the job, I need to confirm something."

Duan Ming said, "First of all, let's talk about the job content. If I understand correctly, your company's main business is to defeat evil spirits, right?"

He needs to know whether the industry has changed after so many years.
As far as he knew, there was no company in the market that openly promoted this kind of business, and people knew very little about evil spirits, which meant that as long as the business could be promoted, this company was likely trying to develop a new industry.

Duan Mingyuan first encountered evil spirits when he was 7 years old.

On the way home from school, I saw a few shirtless old men playing chess together. One of them had a black shadow behind him. The shadow's facial features were blurry, and its hands were hanging on the old man's shoulders. It stuck its head out to look at the chessboard and muttered something in a persuasive manner.

Three days later, the old man's missing person notice was posted on walls and telephone poles near the community.

He told the family of the missing elderly man what he had seen, but was kicked out.

Since then, evil spirits of different appearances have often appeared in his life. Some of them can still be vaguely seen as human outlines, while others are completely distorted into other creatures. The only thing they have in common is that all the people followed by the evil spirits eventually disappeared.

At first, he would remind those who were targeted by evil spirits to consider incorporating this talent into their future career plans. For this purpose, he even had close contact with evil spirits. After repeated attempts, Duan Mingyuan discovered that most of the evil spirits were just paper tigers with scary appearances. If they were to get serious, they would shatter at the slightest touch like the enthusiastic evil spirit he met today.

However, after being driven away as a psychopath many times, Duan Mingyuan understood one thing.

It's a thankless, crap job.

Not only will no one thank him, but he will also be treated as a suspect and questioned afterwards.

It was from then on that he decided to respect the fate of others, focused on himself, completed various exams, and finally got a stable job in the eyes of others.

Several years of work experience have taught him another truth.

The job he is doing now is also a rubbish job.

Endless overtime, scheming office politics, and companies that try to squeeze every bit of value out of their employees.

Every day when he punched in and sat down at his desk, he seemed to be able to see his life twenty years later.

So when he was about to turn 30, Duan Mingyuan decided to make a change.

Jiu Yue took out a notebook with beautiful handwriting and densely filled notes. "We usually start investigating from the place where the disappearance occurred. Evil spirits often go into a dormant state after finishing their meal and will not leave too far."

"I see. The police department is the main recipient of the commission. Your company's main business is currently helping the police department investigate some difficult missing cases."

Duan Mingyuan supported his chin with his left hand, looking thoughtful.

It would be good if the main business service targets official institutions, at least they will have stable financial support.

"No, you misunderstood."

September shook his head and explained, "The missing cases are our main source of intelligence. If necessary, we also need to try to sneak into the police station and obtain some undisclosed clues."

“…So the client is not the police.”

"Ah."

“Those are the families of the missing.”

Could it be that during the years he has been working, people's understanding of evil has changed, and more and more people are willing to believe that disappearances are caused by supernatural forces?
But no matter what, compared to stable official agencies, having the families of the missing bear the costs means that the source of funds is extremely unstable. Depending on the financial resources of the missing person's family, there are often huge upper and lower limits for a commission.

If this must be the case, then the company should focus on the upper class and provide assistance specifically to the powerful who can afford the high fees.

"Not at all."

However, Jiu Yue's next words confused Duan Mingyuan again, "Then who will pay for this?" "No one."

The interview fell into dead silence for a while.

The two of them looked at each other across the table. Jiu Yue's eyes were so clear as if they had never been polluted by the world.

Duan Mingyuan admitted that the monster girl's frank answer shocked him greatly, but he had to double-check that he had heard correctly. "If I understand correctly, you mean that no one will pay us."

"Yep."

Still answering without any hesitation, as if everything was so natural.

Duan Mingyuan stared at Jiu Yue for a long time, as if he saw himself who once knocked on an old man's door and was eventually chased across several streets by the old man's daughter with a broom because he told the old man's family about the existence of evil spirits.

"If no one pays them, how will the company's employees make a living?"

"The organization will reimburse members for their daily living expenses. As far as I know, some people will do odd jobs when there are no commissions."

Although Duan Mingyuan had a hunch in his heart, he still asked, "How much will the monthly salary be after joining the company?"

"salary?"

Jiu Yue thought about it in confusion for a while, and suddenly realized, "If you mean the meal and travel expenses, you can apply for reimbursement from the organization."

Duan Mingyuan had originally planned to ask about many details of the work, but after hearing Jiu Yue's answer, he suddenly smiled with relief and summarized the job, "In other words, this is an unstable job with upside-down days and nights, and it also involves risking one's life, and the compensation given by the company is to maintain the most basic food and clothing."

Jiu Yue thought about it and always felt that something was wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Duan Mingyuan decided to put the work aside. He looked up and down at Jiu Yue. This fox demon girl looked very young, so young that she didn't even seem to be old enough to work. So he asked, "How old are you?"

“I’m going to be 19 this year!”

Compared to the previous series of complicated questions, this question was much simpler. September answered immediately, puffing out her chest proudly.

At the age of 19, he is already an adult monster who can stand on his own.

"Excuse me, but do your family members know that you are doing this job?"

"I don't know. I ran away from home when I was very young, and a kind person in the organization took me in."

No wonder.

Duan Mingyuan understood. Although he did not know the difference between the family structure of monsters and humans, he believed that no parent would support their children to engage in such a profession.

“It’s not a long-term job.”

Perhaps it was because September reminded him of his past self, and he couldn't help but remind her.

This is obviously a taboo in the workplace. If you say in front of the interviewer that you won't be able to work for the other company for long, if it is taken too seriously, it would be considered a breakup.

Duan Mingyuan was not usually so outspoken; respecting the fate of others was something he had learned at a very young age.

As long as there are shady companies in this world, there will always be people working for them.

"I know that many people died in the battle against evil spirits."

Jiu Yue was honest. She never intended to hide the danger of this job. But then she changed the subject and said, "But so many people have been killed by evil spirits. Someone has to do something, right?"

"I support your company's high ideals in spirit."

Duan Mingyuan said, "But I'm looking for a stable job with room for advancement. Your company's job is not suitable for me. Please go back."

After the interview, he had a new understanding.

Perhaps all the garbage jobs in this world are created by comparison. After hearing September’s overview of the company, he actually found that his current job didn’t seem so unacceptable after all.

(End of this chapter)