Chapter Four: The Ocean Liner, Part Three

The two wandered aimlessly on the deck. Zhao Jinchu had somehow found a hat and placed it atop Qi Yan’s head.

Qi Yan frowned displeasedly. "I don’t like wearing this."

His resistance was futile; Zhao Jinchu pressed the hat down gently. "Just wait until we get home. For now, bear with it."

Though still unhappy, Qi Yan obediently stood there, allowing her to fuss over him.

From a distance, a man in uniform approached, a red badge hanging from his neck labeled: "Manager."

The manager spotted them immediately, wielding a spiked club that he swung impatiently. "What are you two doing here? Everyone’s waiting for you."

Zhao Jinchu looked up, scrutinizing the man before her. "Who are you?"

The manager clicked his tongue, muttering, "Newbies are always trouble, knowing nothing."

His narrow, triangular eyes squinted as he motioned for them to follow. As the three walked, he explained, "I’m in charge of your work this time. There are nine of you, and I’m the one assigning tasks and inspecting results. When time’s up, I want to see the job done. If not, hmph, you’ll be stuck on this ship—no way home."

With that, they reached a room. The door swung open with a click, and the manager led them inside.

Zhao Jinchu looked up and saw seven others already there.

---

All seven wore blue badges around their necks. Their expressions varied—some calm, others pale and visibly distressed, having broken down multiple times already.

The manager glanced up, counting them off. "Nine in total. Everyone’s here."

He muttered under his breath while scanning the room. When his gaze landed on Qi Yan, it faltered for a moment, a strange flicker crossing his face. But he quickly averted his eyes, continuing to mutter.

One of the newcomers couldn’t hold it any longer; breaking down, tears streaming, she cried, "Where is this place? I don’t want to stay here. I want to go home."

The manager sneered with contempt. "Cry, cry, cry. All you do is cry. You’ve used up all the good luck on this cruise with your whining. Low level."

With that, he pulled a yellow card from his pocket and slapped it onto the worker’s badge.

The newcomer’s face turned even more panicked, not understanding what the yellow card meant.

The manager narrowed his eyes, issuing a threat, "Keep crying and it’s a lower-lower level. Cry away."

The newcomer shivered, immediately falling silent, not daring to make a sound.

The young man’s mental test didn’t beep, but the three high school students’ electronic badges started shrieking incessantly. They silently covered their badges, afraid of the manager’s rebuke.

The manager rolled his eyes, clearly unwilling to bother with those three.

---

Zhao Jinchu’s gaze flickered casually around the room.

Qi Yan claimed her, resting his head on her shoulder, the hat brim pulled low. Every now and then he lifted his head to watch the scene unfolding, a genuine smile breaking across his face as he seemed amused.

Zhao Jinchu quickly covered his mouth. He looked innocent, then buried his face into her shoulder.

Fortunately, the manager only twitched his ears and didn’t glance their way.

After scanning the room and seeing everyone subdued, no one daring to speak, the manager was satisfied and finally spoke.

"This cruise commissioned your Infinite Labor Company to send workers. We hoped you’d send some capable people, but instead, you sent this bunch of rubbish."

He spat out a string of insults.

No one dared to reply. When he finished, he moved on to the main point.

"We have a custom order from a guest for a mermaid clay sculpture. We’re short on hands, so you’ll be making it."

He paused. "You have fourteen days. The cruise sets sail at 2 p.m. this afternoon. In two weeks, it will dock here temporarily. I’ll inspect the work at that time. If it passes, you get off the ship. Understood?"

A mermaid clay sculpture? What on earth was that?