We offered you a summer job, but you went and became a mercenary?

"Hmm? Oh, I'm listening." Lin Ye's mouth was full of cake, and he responded indistinctly. Then he looked up and asked a question that almost gave Zhao Jianguo a heart attack on the spot.

"Director Zhao, I'm just curious. If... I mean, if a piece of the leather seats in your car were accidentally pried off and sold on the secondhand market, how much would it be worth?"

"..."

Zhao Jianguo felt that his worldview was being repeatedly crushed by a speeding dump truck.

It took him a full minute to find his voice again.

He decided to abandon all preamble and reveal his hand directly.

Zhao Jianguo gritted his teeth, as if making an extremely difficult decision. He slapped his thigh and said in a deep voice:

"Mr. Lin! Let's cut to the chase! On behalf of the Dragon Kingdom's Security Bureau, I formally invite you to join us!"

"If you just nod your head, you'll be awarded the rank of colonel! You'll enjoy the highest level of allowances and security benefits in the country! All your files will be classified as top secret! We can even..."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw Lin Ye's eyes suddenly light up.

It's the kind of gleaming light that a hungry wolf emits when it sees a piece of fat meat!

Is there a salary?

Return the military rank?

Lin Ye immediately stopped scratching the seat and quickly started calculating in his mind.

How much does a colonel earn per month?

...Does this money need to be taxed?

Which would be more profitable, taking down a terrorist one by one on the dark web or doing it yourself?

Seeing the ever-changing expression on Lin Ye's face, Zhao Jianguo was extremely nervous. He thought his offer had impressed Lin Ye and was preparing to press the issue further.

But just then, Lin Ye finished calculating the accounts.

The excitement and greed on his face vanished instantly, replaced by an unprecedented, righteous seriousness.

He sat bolt upright, put the cake aside, looked at Zhao Jianguo, and spoke in a firm tone filled with patriotic fervor and proletarian consciousness:

"No!"

"I'm not doing this job!"

The smile on Zhao Jianguo's face froze completely.

"Why...why?!"

Colonel rank!

The highest level of national allowances and security benefits!

The file is classified as Top Secret!

These conditions, let alone for an eighteen-year-old, are an unparalleled honor that would keep him awake for three days and three nights, even for an old guy like him who has spent his whole life struggling within the system!

He had considered that Lin Ye might try to negotiate, might propose even more outrageous conditions, or might even politely decline due to his indifferent nature.

But he never expected that the other party would refuse so decisively, so... without hesitation!

Looking at Zhao Jianguo's astonished expression, Lin Ye felt that the other man was making a fuss over nothing.

He put down the Coke bottle in his hand, and spoke with righteous indignation, every word filled with the blood and tears of a working-class person's accusation:

"Director Zhao, you haven't grasped the key point!"

"What you call full-time work! You have to clock in and out!"

Lin Ye's voice suddenly rose, filled with a deep sense of grief and indignation at being deeply harmed.

"I, Lin Ye, hate nothing more than clocking in and out of work! Being woken up by an alarm clock every day, squeezing onto the subway to go to the company, staring blankly at the computer, and then squeezing onto the subway home at night! Just thinking about that kind of life makes me feel suffocated!"

He looked at Zhao Jianguo with a serious expression, emphasizing his identity.

"I'm just a soon-to-be college student who wants to experience life, and this is just a summer job! I'll be going back to school after summer vacation!"

"..."

Zhao Jianguo was completely dumbfounded, his mouth agape, unable to close it for a long time.

Going to college?

He turned his head and looked at the eagle behind him with a questioning gaze, as if asking:

Am I right?

The eagle's face remained expressionless, but the slight twitching at the corner of his eye betrayed the turmoil within him.

Zhao Jianguo suddenly turned around and stared straight at Lin Ye, his eyes looking as if he were looking at a rare species from another planet.

"Go to...college?!"

His voice was distorted.

"Mr. Lin! You, a monster who can dismantle a Gundam with your bare hands, break the sound barrier with your bare body, and single-handedly wipe out the 'Abyss' organization... no, you're a peerless master! You're going to do military training, morning exercises, and memorize English vocabulary with a bunch of barely-adult kids?!"

Just thinking about that scene made Zhao Jianguo feel like his brain circuits were about to be burned out.

"yes!"

Lin Ye puffed out his chest confidently, his expression as if he were defending some sacred and inviolable truth.

"If you don't go to university and get a diploma, how will you find a good job? If you can't find a good job, how will you buy a car and a house? How will you get married?"

"..."

Zhao Jianguo was completely stunned and rendered speechless by this impeccable combination of "ordinary people's logic".

He found himself unable to refute it.

Because every single word Lin Ye said was absolutely correct!

The problem is, these correct but useless statements, coming from the mouth of a monster who can slap the Lord of the Abyss to death, seem incredibly surreal!

Zhao Jianguo felt his blood pressure skyrocketing. He raised his hand to wipe away non-existent cold sweat from his forehead, knowing that if they continued talking like this, he might end up in the ICU today.

We must change our strategy!

"Ahem!" Zhao Jianguo cleared his throat, forcing back a smile that looked more like a grimace, trying to salvage the situation.

"Mr. Lin, you see, I wasn't clear. We absolutely do not want you to clock in and out! Your time is so precious, how can you waste it on such trivial matters?"

"What I mean is, we're not forcing you to work full-time. You can have a nominal position as a 'Special Advisor' to our Dragon Kingdom Security Bureau! You don't need to come to the office at all; you can go to school or play games as you please, and we won't bother you!"

"Only when the country encounters some particularly difficult problems that we cannot solve will we need to ask you for help."

Zhao Jianguo carefully chose his words, afraid of touching any sensitive nerve of this man.

"Oh?"

Lin Ye's eyes lit up when he heard that he "didn't have to go to work normally".

But this gleam lasted for less than two seconds before being quickly replaced by a deeper sense of vigilance.

He narrowed his eyes and looked Zhao Jianguo up and down with the scrutinizing gaze one would give a ruthless boss.

"So that's a temporary worker?"

Do temporary workers receive the five social insurances and one housing fund? Are they paid at the highest or lowest rate?

"If something goes wrong, are we temporary workers supposed to take the blame and scapegoat?"

"Also, how is the business trip allowance calculated? Is it calculated per day or per project? Is there personal accident insurance? What is the coverage amount?"