Tower of Overturn

The young minister in his early twenties spoke with such a gentle and relaxed tone that it gave Russell a sense of comfort akin to that of a mother's presence.

But fortunately, Russell's rationality held firm at the crucial moment.

He stifled the urge to ask "Have you ever heard the name Nan Liujing" and, riding on this sentiment of wanting to speak but stopping himself, he naturally turned to Cui Que to inquire:

"…I'd like to know, what is our usual work content? What about work hours? And how is the compensation?"

Three very pragmatic questions in quick succession.

After all, Russell was directly assigned—only by joining the Special Execution Department could he avoid losing control and turning into a demon.

However, no matter how you sliced it, he was still a double master's graduate from Chongguang University. If the salary was really too low and the work both busy and dangerous, he might still consider looking for a psychologist to erase his spiritual energy...

—Even though in many shonen manga, young saviors seemed to forsake their studies to save the world... And in special-effects dramas, there were reliable adults who left their good jobs to join some secret organization to save the world, ending up maimed or even dead in the process.

But Russell was well past the age of youthful passion.

The current him had become very pragmatic.

To fight and risk his life against demons as a savior? To use superpowers to covertly fight enemies and protect civilians?

That wasn't out of the question.

Even Russell, who wasn't particularly adept at combat, had prepared himself for the prospect of sustaining injuries on a regular basis.

But to save the world once or twice, to fight against an enemy now and then, that was fine, thought of as the valiant deeds of a good youth—but the fiery spirit of a hero wasn't an excuse for kings, princesses, and Great Sages to exploit without limit.

Appropriate wages, decent vacations, and medical and accident insurance for severe injuries or death in battle were definitely necessities.

If there were none, he'd have to negotiate for them; if there were, he'd have to bargain even harder. After all, he was part of an armed department directly under the Seven Giants...

And facing this question, Cui Que was obviously well-prepared.

"Unlike those gentlemen and ladies in the Execution Department,"

Cui Que nodded with a somber expression, "our working hours, relatively speaking, have 'more flexibility possible'."

"… Flexibility?"

Russell's expression became somewhat peculiar.

"Yes. Our workload depends entirely on whether 'suspected demons' appear, and the number and urgency of such suspected demons. In other words, there is a possibility of overtime—and it's not regular. It might occur consecutively too."

Although a prone-spiritual Samoyed, it gave off a fox-like impression.

Quite smoothly, Cui Que said, "Simply put, our work is to 'solve incidents'. But when there are no emergencies, we are extremely free.

"As long as you can guarantee to arrive at the designated location within one hour of receiving an emergency notice, whether you sit here at work or not doesn't matter. You can go play games, or you can read books here, or find a part-time job with flexible hours.

"Of course, you can also—like an Inferior—help colleagues from the Execution Department catch mercenaries in the Lower City District during your free time. That can also count as part of your performance and be calculated into your monthly wage. The threat from mercenaries certainly isn't as severe as from demons, but they're still good for practice.

"As for the income—well, you don't need to worry about that."

As Cui Que spoke, she reached into the void and opened an image, then set the image to be visible to everyone around.

This wasn't merely projecting an image. If you tried to record it with a camera, you wouldn't be able to capture this image—Cui Que was merely sharing what she saw with the people around her. Only those with a Chip could see it... It's probably similar to the sensation of 3D glasses.

Russell took one glance at the image and his eyes lit up immediately.

Cui Que explained from the side, "The base monthly salary is fifty-five thousand, and for each overtime hour during a demon event, you are paid three thousand. If you end up finding the demon, everyone shares a hundred thousand bonus; if you arrest the demon, there's an additional hundred thousand, which I will distribute based on contribution. However, if the demon is killed, there's no hundred thousand bonus.

"But if three days pass after receiving 'suspected demon' reports without finding the actual demon, allowing it to harm innocent civilians, then with each death, ten thousand will be deducted from performance."

"Ten thousand, huh..."

Russell murmured to himself.

It wasn't too much.

—He felt it was a little too little.

To lose just ten thousand for a person's death?

Of course, ten thousand isn't a small purchasing power.

Take for example the salary of a skilled prosthetic doctor with a master's degree and normal university graduation, his monthly salary is about fifteen thousand. In a less bustling area, monthly rent is around eight hundred to one thousand...in Tianen District, rent would be about three to four times that amount.

A forty-square-meter single room suite, if we don't count the annual 1% property tax paid to the local head office, would cost about two to three hundred thousand to buy outright. But with property tax included, renting is still more reliable.

Moreover, theoretically, a person can only own one housing unit. Generally speaking, starting from the second property owned under one's name, the annual property tax becomes tenfold—i.e., 10% of the property's value.

Among the Seven Sky Islands, only God Communication Island exempts residents from property tax and even allows free housing allocation.

But the residents of God Communication Island have at least twelve hours of basic work time every day, which basically extends to fourteen hours, and the allocated housing cannot be bought or sold. Hence, there are quite a few vacant houses on God Communication Island.

So who should these vacant houses be sold to?

The answer is that they don't need to be sold. Because the ownership of these houses has always belonged to the local "head office."

The land use rights and building ownership of Happiness Island are all owned by Tianen Group.

Even if other Seven Giants want to set up branches here, they must buy land use rights annually from Tianen Group.

As for the rental business, only those connected with Tianen Group are "legal rentals." In other words, the houses purchased by ordinary people cannot be rented out, but only used by themselves or lent to relatives.

Of course, they could also take money and lodge people in their houses, but if anything happens, the Execution Department won't intervene.

For instance, if a landlord lost something, they couldn't report the tenant for "theft" or "home invasion;" if a tenant was kidnapped or assaulted by the landlord, they couldn't report the landlord. Because the act of "staying in someone else's house" assumes "a relationship as close as relatives."

With a starting salary of fifty-five thousand a month, and the potential to jump to over a hundred thousand if there is work, this indeed qualifies as a high-paying job. Even the houses in Tianen District could be afforded after just half a year of work.

——Although people in this world are accustomed to renting, Russell still subconsciously believed that without buying a house, he wouldn't feel secure enough.

"Moreover, the company provides free housing and food, and you can get reimbursements for consumer goods below the second level."

Cui Que stretched out her finger, swiped it in the air, and sent the architectural image to Russell, "Theoretically, we all live in this three-story villa, I'm in the room closest to the main door on the first floor, and you can live on the second floor...the whole second floor is yours. You can go to the third floor if you want. Of course, if you don't want to live with others, you can rent outside like an Inferior. The Group will reimburse all rental expenses.

"Getting meals from the company cafeteria is completely free, and in addition, ordering takeout or dining out, you also have a three-thousand-yuan reimbursement limit per month. Your uniform has been sent to your room, remember to wear it to work tomorrow. You can also apply for any non-lethal weapons you wish to use, and it can be approved within a week."

As she spoke, Cui Que took out her electric shock gun from her waist, signaled Russell with it, and then put it back.

It appeared to be a magnetic type of weapon placement, for there was clearly no spot on her waist to hold a weapon. Yet as Russell observed Cui Que's pale waist, he couldn't understand what she relied on to secure the gun.

"...So, what are our job responsibilities?"

Russell couldn't help but ask, "What is this 'Suspected Demon Report'?"

The more Cui Que continued detailing the lucrative benefits of the position, the more anxious Russell felt.

According to his common sense, capitalists wouldn't be charitable without reason.

At this point, Cui Que became serious and sat up straight.

"I remember you're from Chongguang Island, right?"

"Yes."

"How they detect demons there...even if you don't know, you could guess by now, right?"

"Are you talking about...artificial intelligence?"

Russell guessed, "But isn't it unpopular to use artificial intelligence on Happiness Island?"

"Right. Each Sky Island has its own methods of detection. Happiness Island uses 'Happiness Detection.'

"...What is that?"

The overly dystopian term left Russell momentarily stunned.

"—Here, 'Happiness is mandatory,' Mr. Russell. I feared you were unaware, so I thought I'd remind you," said the Inferior, interrupting their conversation with a slight sneer in his eyes but a tone that was completely calm, "This is the basic principle of Happiness Island...the 'rule' of this wretched place."