Chapter 14 The Second Contract

Chapter 14: The Second Contract

On the second floor, inside the conference room.

Li Yi, Zhang Gao, Zhao Xiaoxiao, and seven other practitioners came to apply for the Guiding Staff position.

Supervisor Xu Ming said, “This Guiding Staff recruitment is quite special, so everyone who participates will receive two contracts. You can decide which contract to sign based on the content and requirements of each, but no matter which one you sign, you will also need to sign an additional non-disclosure agreement.”

“Because this matter involves the employer’s privacy, we hope for your understanding.”

After speaking, Xu Ming arranged for an assistant to distribute the two paper contracts.

Everyone took them and began to read them carefully.

Li Yi also flipped through his. At first glance, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement: “Nine thousand yuan an hour? That price is really high, but the working hours are a bit long, and it requires six continuous hours. If the guiding stops midway due to personal reasons, then the salary for those six hours will be halved.”

“This is the first contract; let’s look at the second one.”

“The second contract is actually based on quantity? One hundred yuan is obtained for each Cosmic Energy guided, with no upper limit, six hours of working time, and breaks are allowed.”

“This is truly a difficult choice,” Zhang Gao, who was nearby, couldn’t help but exclaim.

Someone immediately nodded in agreement: “It is indeed a bit difficult to choose. A fixed salary of nine thousand an hour is already very high, but the income of one hundred yuan per Cosmic Energy is even greater. However, there are also risks. If you’re lucky, you can earn tens of thousands of yuan an hour, but if you’re unlucky, you can’t even earn three thousand yuan an hour, because the Cosmic Energy overflowing from captured wormholes is too unstable.”

“Fixed salary isn’t completely without risk either. Six hours of meditation time tests a practitioner’s stability. If one exits meditation midway and their salary is halved, it might as well be better to sign the second contract,” Zhao Xiaoxiao said.

“There are pros and cons to both; it depends on how everyone chooses.”

The seven people discussed among themselves.

But soon, someone signed the contract: “I’m not going to gamble; I’ll sign the first contract.”

“That makes sense. A stable salary is very important to me. I’ll also sign the first contract.”

Watching several people sign quickly, Zhang Gao asked, “Li Yi, which contract are you leaning towards?”

“The second one.” Li Yi signed his name on the second contract without hesitation.

He had qi objects and could guide a large amount of Cosmic Energy. He wouldn’t let go of such an opportunity to make money.

Moreover, he wasn’t worried about the qi objects being exposed.

The energy field of the incomplete qi objects was too small. Even Lin Yue, who was so close to him, couldn’t sense it, so others wouldn’t either. Plus, he could take the opportunity to cultivate during work, killing two birds with one stone.

Because there was also a clause in the contract that provided free food and accommodation during his work here.

Seeing Li Yi’s decisiveness, Zhang Gao hesitated for a moment but still chose to sign the first contract.

“Forget it, I won’t take the risk either. I’ll choose the first contract.” Zhao Xiaoxiao saw that most people had made their choice, and after thinking about it, she also signed her name on the first contract.

Of the seven people, only Li Yi chose the second contract; everyone else chose the first contract.

After the contracts were signed, Xu Ming said, “Everyone’s dormitories are on the third floor, and each person will be assigned an independent suite. Working hours are from midnight to six in the morning. I will notify you half an hour in advance, so please be prepared. Salaries will be settled daily and paid in cash, so please understand.”

Afterward, Xu Ming arranged for an assistant to take everyone to their dormitories to rest, with work starting in the evening.

Soon, Li Yi was assigned to Room No. 4.

The room was spacious, bright, clean, and tidy, much better than his house in the Old City.

However, he couldn’t stay here for long; he had to go back every few days because his parents were still lying in the medical pods at home, and he needed to occasionally take time to go back and change their nutrient solutions.

But he wasn’t worried about problems at home.

He had installed cameras at home, allowing him to monitor the situation in real-time via his phone. Additionally, the medical pods had specialized monitoring software, which also allowed him to stay updated on their operational status. If anything urgent happened, his phone would alert him, and Li Yi would know immediately.

“It’s two in the afternoon now, and work starts at twelve at night. During this time, I can meditate and cultivate a bit, and also get a free dinner,” Li Yi calculated carefully, making full use of his free time.

But just as he was about to meditate.

Suddenly.

“Dong! Dong!”

There was a knock on the door.

“Is Li Yi there?” Zhao Xiaoxiao’s voice came from outside the door.

“I am.” When Li Yi opened the door, he saw Zhao Xiaoxiao and several other unfamiliar practitioners standing at the door.

“You’re Li Yi, right? Hello, I’m Wu Zhen; we met earlier.” The speaker was a young man around twenty-five or twenty-six, with a buzz cut and a white short-sleeved shirt. He had a strong build, giving off a powerful, aggressive aura.

“Hello, is there something you need?” Li Yi nodded.

“It’s like this: Zhao Xiaoxiao just told me that you signed the second contract in the conference room earlier, right?” Wu Zhen said.

Li Yi said, “Yes, I think the second contract suits me better. Is there a problem?”

Wu Zhen smiled and said, “Of course there’s no problem. I just wanted to give you a heads-up. You know, when Guiding Staff guide Cosmic Energy, it’s unstable. Sometimes there’s a lot of Cosmic Energy, sometimes there’s little. I’ve calculated before that a practitioner can guide an average of about sixty Cosmic Energy per hour while meditating.”

“So, a few of us have reached an agreement, which is that we will control the Cosmic Energy we guide each hour to an average number. This way, the employer won’t think we’re slacking off, and we can also take some time to cultivate during work hours, killing two birds with one stone.”

“What average value have you set?” Li Yi asked.

Zhao Xiaoxiao, who was nearby, said, “Considering this job is quite important, we’ve set the number at around seventy, with a fluctuation of no more than ten. Li Yi, what do you think?”

“You mean, I can’t guide more than eighty Cosmic Energy per hour at most?” Li Yi now completely understood what these people meant.

“That’s right,” Wu Zhen nodded and said, “Because your contract is different from ours, I felt it was necessary to tell you.”

“If I guide eighty Cosmic Energy per hour, my hourly wage would only be eight thousand, while you all get nine thousand. Wouldn’t that mean I’m losing a thousand?” Li Yi said.

Zhao Xiaoxiao said, “Li Yi, you can’t say that. You can use the extra time to cultivate yourself, which is also a win-win.”

“It’s a win-win in your eyes, but in my eyes, it’s a big loss. I’m very short on money, so I’m very eager to accumulate a sum of money in a short time. This kind of quantitative Guiding Staff job isn’t always available, and I only managed to get this job through a friend’s introduction. I reject your proposal.”

Li Yi decisively rejected their plan.

“No room for discussion?” Wu Zhen narrowed his eyes, with a faint glow flickering within them.

Li Yi said, “I understand that you want to slack off and get paid, but I want to improve. Otherwise, why would I sign the second contract? And by signing the second contract, I’m also taking a risk. If I only guide less than ten Cosmic Energy in an hour, I bear the loss myself.”

“I’m betting that my luck isn’t bad and that I’ll encounter a large overflow of energy from the wormhole, allowing me to earn a large sum of money in a short time. If I cooperate with you, when I’m unlucky, I bear the loss myself, and when I’m lucky, I can’t exceed the eighty limit, watching the money slip away. In the end, I lose either way, so there’s no room for discussion.”

He looked at Wu Zhen very seriously.

Being rejected twice in a row, Wu Zhen, Zhao Xiaoxiao, and the other practitioners all had unpleasant expressions.

“What if I want you to agree? Can you give us some face?”

Wu Zhen now extended his strong arm and placed it on Li Yi’s shoulder, staring intently at him. The light in his eyes was no longer just a gaze, but a fierce glint.

The threat was undisguised.

The others also looked at Li Yi, saying nothing.

“I don’t want to cause trouble.”

Li Yi glanced at the arm on his shoulder, feeling the hand constantly increasing its pressure.

Wu Zhen said with a smile, “When you’re out and about, everyone’s looking to make money. We don’t want to blow things out of proportion.”

Li Yi said expressionlessly, “Alright, I’ll give you face and agree to your request, but if something happens in the future, can you also give me some face?”

“That’s certainly no problem.”

Wu Zhen immediately burst into laughter, then patted Li Yi’s shoulder: “Thank you, friend.”

The others also breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Li Yi agree.

“Li Yi, then you rest well. We won’t disturb you. Thank you for your understanding,” Zhao Xiaoxiao also said with a smile.

“Let’s go.” Seeing that their goal was achieved, these few people left.

“Wu Zhen.”

However, just as the few people had turned around and walked a few steps, Li Yi’s voice suddenly rang out.

“What?” Wu Zhen instinctively turned his head.

But the next moment, his face drastically changed. He saw Li Yi’s figure instantly close in front of him, and then he felt a huge force on his waist.

“Bang!”

Wu Zhen was sent flying, rolling several times on the ground, and then crashing into the corridor wall before stopping.

“You dare to ambush me? You’re asking for death.” He instantly reacted, then, consumed by rage, subconsciously wanted to stand up and fight.

“Wu Zhen, be careful.” Someone suddenly cried out in surprise.

Suddenly, Li Yi’s figure lunged forward again, right in front of him.

Wu Zhen’s pupils sharply contracted. He only saw a knee violently striking towards his face.

“Bang!”

With a dull thud, Wu Zhen’s nose immediately gushed blood, his head slammed against the wall behind him, and his consciousness blurred, followed by a violent dizziness.

But before he could adapt, another knee strike came.

“I’m going to kill you! Bang!”

The third knee strike, the fourth… Wu Zhen’s consciousness was chaotic. He only felt someone grabbing his hair, repeatedly hitting his head with a knee.

“Stop, stop hitting…”

The intense pain and severe dizziness made him unable to even retaliate; he could only instinctively raise his hand to try and stop it.

However, Li Yi remained expressionless, gripping his hair with one hand while delivering heavy blows with the other.

The powerful physique and astonishing explosive power brought by being a practitioner made his knees strike Wu Zhen’s body like iron hammers.

Zhao Xiaoxiao and the others were stunned, falling silent for a moment, completely daring not to step forward and intervene.

At this moment, Li Yi was not like a human; he was like a beast fighting desperately for food, instilling fear in people.

Is this an honest person getting angry?

Or rather, is this the guy’s true nature?