âXiaoqi, take Lin Xun to the conference room for now. Wait for my updateâŠâ
âWait!â
Li Xingyue was about to dismiss them when she suddenly remembered something. âLin Xun, which game chapter are you currently in?â
Lin Xun thought for a moment. He happened to be stuck in his current chapter and needed more informationâpreferably a walkthrough. âIâm still in the first chapter I enteredâChapter 323.â
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Ye Xiaoqiâs face twist into another look of exasperation.
Ah, I must have flexed again without realizing it.
Is there something unusual about the chapter I entered? Lin Xun wasnât sure what expression to make.
Li Xingyue narrowed her peach-blossom eyes. âXiaoqi, take Lin Xun to the conference room first.â
Ye Xiaoqi acknowledged the order, and the two left the office.
Li Xingyue watched Lin Xunâs retreating figure, her gaze contemplative.
â
Yunjing City, Headquarters of the Apostle Security Council.
In a spacious office at the top of a towering skyscraper, a middle-aged man in a black Zhongshan suit sat cross-legged, eyes closed.
Strangely, his body floated mid-air, suspended in silent meditation.
Knock, knock, knock!
The office door was rapped sharply.
The man frowned slightly. He had given strict orders not to be disturbed during his âtraining.â
âEnter.â
A stunning secretary stepped inside, unfazed by his levitation. She bowed slightly.
âVice-Chairman Li, Team Leader Li Xingyue from the Wen City Intelligence Division requests urgent instructions.â
She handed him the phone.
The man chuckled. âThis girl⊠Whatâs so serious that she canât call my private line? She had to go through official channels to reach her uncle?â
âLittle Xingyue, whatâs the matterââ
The secretary quietly retreated as the vice-chairman took the call.
Just before closing the door, she stole a glance at his expressionâand froze.
Shock.
Disbelief.
What could possibly make the unflappable vice-chairman react like this?
She didnât dare linger, swiftly shutting the door behind her.
Thud.
The sound of a body hitting the floor was audible even through the door.
âWhat?! A Soul Talent like that actually exists?!â
The secretary kept her eyes down. See nothing. Hear nothing.
â
The conference room was empty, dominated by a long table surrounded by black chairs.
Ye Xiaoqi smirked. âWant to know why youâre special again?â
Lin Xun nodded. Obviously.
She patted his shoulder like a senior mentoring a junior. âNo teasing. Ever played arcade games?â
âOf course. King of Fighters, Raiden, Three Kingdoms, Metal Slugâif it was in an arcade, Iâve played it.â
He wasnât bragging. As a hardcore gamer, the coins heâd dumped into arcade machines probably outweighed him.
âThen thisâll be easy to explain. Based on our intel, the last digit of a chapter number usually indicates its difficulty.â
âZero to nine, easiest to hardest. Ten chapters form a volumeâa complete game world.â
âThink of it like stages one, two, and three in an arcade game.â
âThese are ultra-easy, basically tutorials. Anyone with half a brain can clear them.â
âFor example, you should have entered Chapter 320.â
âBut you got Chapter 323. That means the game rated you way beyond beginner difficulty.â
Lin Xun nodded. No wonder. Without his Thousand Faces, Ten Thousand Forms talent, heâd have been hard-stuck at the monster horde.
Ye Xiaoqi pulled out her phone and typed a message.
âThis is the Apostle Forum URL and your login. You can check the intel there. Iâve set your permissions to Intelligence Division levelâlots of juicy secrets await~â
Once he received the text, she suggested heading to the second floor to meet the team.
â
The second floorâs layout was completely differentâno individual offices.
Most walls had been torn down, leaving only a few large rooms on either side.
Glancing around, Lin Xun spotted labels like Gym, Lounge, Break Room, and Cafeteria.
The center was lined with modern workstationsâmostly empty, except for three occupied ones.
At two adjacent desks, two women huddled together, seemingly binge-watching a show.
In the corner, a bespectacled young man scowled at his phone, oblivious.
The elevator doors opened.
The womenâs heads snapped up in unison.
The man didnât react.
Lin Xunâs eyes lit up.
The woman on the left had voluminous wavy hair, flawless makeup, and blood-red lips. Her body-hugging dress had a thigh-high slit.
Late twenties, maybe thirty. A classic bombshell.
The woman on the right?
Identical.
Twin bombshells?!
Ye Xiaoqi dragged him over. âThis is Lin Xun, our new colleague.â
The twins smiled demurely, each extending a delicate hand.
âWelcome aboard.â
âIâm An Yun.â âIâm An Ying.â
Lin Xun shook their hands. âLin Xun. First day here at this⊠uh, unit. Looking forward to working together.â
âLikewise~ Wanna add each other as Book Friends?â
ââŠâ He didnât know how to respond.
Ye Xiaoqi cut in. âHeâs a newbie. First-timer. Not ready yet.â
âOhhh~ Got it.â They made an OK gesture.
Lin Xun glanced at the motionless guy in the corner.
âThatâs Fang Yifei. A hardcore otaku. Just finished a missionânow getting wrecked in-game. Donât bother him.â
Ah, grinding diligently. What dedication.
Respectfully, Lin Xun held back from interrupting.
The four chatted casually. From them, Lin Xun learned.
The Wen City Intelligence Division was extremely laid-back.
The core team had over a dozen members.
No clock-in systemâmost worked remotely.
He wouldnât need to come in daily, only for assigned tasks.
This job sounds like a dream.
No fake busywork. Barely any office time. Paid to laze around unless called in.
After a while, Li Xingyue summoned Lin Xun upstairs.
The black-stocking wearing team leader looked very pleased with herself.
She slid him an offer letter stamped with the Wen City Cultural Bureauâs official seal.
Lin Xun skimmed itâthen immediately accepted.
The 100,000-yuan monthly salary alone was enough to make him emotional.
And that wasnât counting mission bonuses, holiday perks, or year-end rewards.
Li Xingyue smiled, filing the contract away.
âAlright, you can head home. Report here tomorrow at 12 PM sharp.â
Lin Xun blinked. âHuh? I thought we didnât have to come in?â
âTrying to skip work on day one?â
âTeam Leader, you meanâŠ?â
âMhm. Mission tomorrow.â