SLLBTT Chapter 65
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
⋇⊶⊰Chapter 65⊱⊷⋇
Xiao Xiezi, accompanied by the Snow Wolf King and Liu Jiao, toured the company and familiarized themselves with the environment. With that, the day's tasks came to a close.
The next day, the General Manager found them. "Since you're familiar with the surroundings, let's practice with a task!"
So, Xiao Xiezi's team received their first task — collecting high-interest loans.
The three ran to a household, splashed chili oil outside, and blared on the loudspeaker, "Please repay the money — please repay the money — please repay the money..."
However, the household remained unmoved, with tightly closed doors.
Xiao Xiezi loudly shouted, "If you don't pay back the money, I'll sting your whole family!"
As soon as the words fell, the household's door opened, revealing a massive figure — a black bear demon.
"What are you saying?" The black bear demon glared at Xiao Xiezi with a fierce expression.
Xiao Xiezi immediately shrunk behind the Snow Wolf King and Liu Jiao. "I'm just a little guy. These two are the big shots in our department. Talk to them."
Even though Liu Jiao had been through numerous battles, he admitted that he wouldn't stand a chance against a black bear. Honestly, even a tiger might not win against a black bear!
Xiao Xiezi finally understood why the General Manager said this account was hard to collect!
The black bear demon looked at the cat, the dog, and the little bug in front of him, spat, and said, "Now even elementary school chicks are into loan sharking?"
Liu Jiao had to say, "Big Brother Black Bear, reason doesn't come from being loud—"
The black bear demon opened its big mouth, let out a roar that echoed for miles. Xiao Xiezi, scared out of its wits, reverted to its original form, curled up, trying to minimize its presence.
Liu Jiao was a bit bewildered too.
The black bear demon contemptuously glanced at Liu Jiao. "See, being loud makes sense!"
The Snow Wolf King said, "So, Big Brother, are you planning not to repay the money?"
"Exactly!" the black bear demon asserted confidently, "If you've got the guts, use violence for debt collection!"
The Snow Wolf King said, "I get it. Sorry for the disturbance."
After saying that, the Snow Wolf King grabbed Liu Jiao, and they left. Xiao Xiezi quickly hurried after them.
The three arrived at a nearby restaurant, ordered some milk tea, and sat down. Xiao Xiezi, still in its scorpion form, sat on the table, waving its pincers. "Why did we leave so soon? We haven't even gotten the payment yet!"
The Snow Wolf King picked up the IOU handed by the General Manager and glanced at it. "This debt is quite old. It's been ignored for so long. We're newcomers. If we can't collect it, it's normal. Just stay calm about it."
"Calm my foot!" Xiao Xiezi said angrily, "How did I end up following you two useless big brothers! You just arrived, don't you want to perform well and establish your authority? Otherwise, no one will respect you!"
The Snow Wolf King curiously asked, "What would happen if they don't respect us?"
"Uh..." Xiao Xiezi froze.
Liu Jiao, not grasping the logic, but always siding with the Snow Wolf King, echoed, "What would happen?"
"Nothing would happen," the Snow Wolf King concluded in a self-answering manner.
"Nothing would happen." Liu Jiao nodded emphatically, showing support for the Snow Wolf King.
Xiao Xiezi, however, was furious, clacking its pincers on the table. "Other squads will look down on us!"
"What would happen then?" the Snow Wolf King asked.
"What would happen then?" Liu Jiao repeated.
"Well..." Xiao Xiezi, puzzled by their questions, hesitated and said, "Maybe we'd be bullied?"
The Snow Wolf King laughed. "I'd like to see who dares to bully us. Aren't you aware of my wife's combat prowess? While he might not beat a black bear, can't he handle a venomous creature?"
Xiao Xiezi was immediately convinced by the Snow Wolf King's logic. "Exactly! Our colleagues are mostly venomous creatures, and almost all venomous creatures have cats as their natural enemies! With a cat on our side, what do we have to fear!"
"Right," the Snow Wolf King nodded. "While we may not be able to deal with external threats, we can handle our own people! It's an effective management style!"
The Snow Wolf King continued with his questionable remarks. Liu Jiao didn't see any issue, nodding in agreement and echoing, "It's an effective management style!"
Xiao Xiezi was amazed, "Heavens, Leader, you're so wise!"
The Snow Wolf King modestly said, "It's just right, just right."
Liu Jiao added, "Just right."
The Snow Wolf King then told Liu Jiao, "Oh, Xiao Jiao, when we get back, regardless of who mocks us, don't argue back."
"Why? Do you think I'm not good with words?"
"Well..." the Snow Wolf King laughed again, "Verbal arguments are pointless. Just punch them directly."
Liu Jiao heard this and nodded. "Alright, I can do that!"
Xiao Xiezi, usually disrespected in the Poison Department, now felt the chance to assert himself. Excited, he suggested, "To enhance our presence, Xiao Jiao, transform into your original form! It'll instinctively terrify them. Just sit there, and no one will dare to provoke you!"
Liu Jiao was about to agree, but the Snow Wolf King said, "I disagree."
"Why?" Xiao Xiezi asked.
The Snow Wolf King couldn't admit it was because Liu Jiao's true form was a snow leopard. Revealing that would be a giveaway. So, the Snow Wolf King said, "Transforming means being naked, right? I might be a freeloading pretty boy, but I can't let my wife undress in public."
After some thought, Xiao Xiezi asked, "So, am I technically undressed in public right now?"
The Snow Wolf King said, "Seems like it."
Xiao Xiezi suddenly felt a bit shy.
With the plan settled, the three finished their meal at the restaurant and returned to the Poison Department. The people there knew the trio went to collect the debt from the black bear demon and were eagerly waiting to see the newbies' blunders.
When the three returned, the venomous creatures gathered, asking with smiles, "How did it go? Did you collect the debt?"
Before the Snow Wolf King could answer, Liu Jiao rushed forward and delivered a series of Cat King Eight Punches. The centipede demon who asked was caught off guard and tried to retaliate, but found Liu Jiao was agile. Each attempt to bite back was met with a fiercer slap. Recalling the importance of not provoking cats, the centipede hastily withdrew, only to discover that the cat matched its speed, pinning it flat on the ground.
The centipede demon had no choice but to plead tearfully, "Lord Cat! Lord Cat! Please spare me!"
Liu Jiao glanced at the Snow Wolf King, who then said, "Since he's sincerely repentant, let him go. We're all in the same department. It's better to be amicable."
Liu Jiao released the centipede demon, and the other venomous creatures dispersed quickly, whispering as they went, "That cat is super fierce!"
The Snow Wolf King said to Liu Jiao, "Why did you act so quickly? Didn't we agree to retaliate when they mock us?"
Liu Jiao looked puzzled. "Actually, my comprehension skills aren't great. I didn't really understand what counts as mockery. But he looked smug, so I thought he was mocking us."
The Snow Wolf King thought for a moment and said, "Actually, you're not wrong..."
While the trio was conversing, the General Manager walked over with a stern face. "Heard you didn't complete the task and came back to assault a colleague?"
The Snow Wolf King asked, "Who told you that?"
The General Manager smiled. "Did you complete the task?"
"No," the Snow Wolf King answered truthfully.
The General Manager asked, "Did you assault a colleague?"
After some thought, the Snow Wolf King said, "I didn't."
Liu Jiao was honest, raising his hand to claim responsibility. "I did the hitting!"
The Snow Wolf King sighed helplessly.
The General Manager sternly said, "You're being too unruly! I won't blame you for not completing the task, but you must recognize your shortcomings and seriously reflect! Instead, you're getting more audacious and even assaulting colleagues!"
As Liu Jiao was about to apologize, the Snow Wolf King stopped him with a gesture. "I checked the records. Many people tried to collect debts before, and they all failed. Did they reflect on their actions?"
The General Manager was displeased, not expecting this new intern manager to challenge him like this. "Of course, they reflected. What? Do you want evidence of their reflections? This is a gang. We don't do that here! They reflect under the punishment of sticks! You want to follow suit?"
"No need," the Snow Wolf King replied.
"You decide not to do it just like that?"
"Yes," the Snow Wolf King answered.
The General Manager sneered, "Who do you think you are?"
"I am well-connected."
The General Manager was momentarily taken aback.
Later, the General Manager called Big Orange Brother to complain, only mentioning that the cat and dog newbies weren't obedient and were hindering their work. Big Orange Brother responded, "Just because they didn't collect the debt? That's nothing! Last time, when they went to the Film and TV Department, they even lost our star performer! I haven't complained about that yet! They are under Master Kongque's protection! Just endure it!"
The General Manager was nearly infuriated.
When they returned, the General Manager didn't assign any tasks to the Snow Wolf King's team. Instead, he let them sit in the office, drink tea, and enjoy the air conditioning. Originally, the General Manager wanted to assert authority over the newbies, but now he thought, as long as the newbies didn't cause trouble, there was no need for them to bow down to him. He had initially wanted to investigate whether the new "rookie" was really a dog. Now, considering their backing was Master Kongque, it didn't matter if they were a dog or a pig. They had to be respected. What was the point of delving further?
The Snow Wolf King said again, "It doesn't seem good for us to sit in the office doing nothing all day."
The General Manager chuckled. "Of course, of course. There's a saying: 'Work, work, do nothing at all.' Who goes to work to actually work? We're here to enjoy. Both of you, is the air conditioning not comfortable, or are the chairs not suitable? I'll have Big Orange Brother prepare a cat bed and a dog bed for you, so you can take a nap during work. How about that?"
Liu Jiao was a bit surprised. "So, this is what working is like? I had no idea! I envy office workers now!"
The Snow Wolf King, however, said, "It's not uncomfortable, but drinking tea and reading the news every day gets a bit boring. We'd like something to do... Hmm, but we don't want to go out, and we still want to enjoy the air conditioning. Ideally, something we can do while sitting, without a deadline — something we can take our time with."
The General Manager really wanted to scold and berate these newbies passionately, but he couldn't. He smiled and said, "Aiya, we happen to have such a task..." After pondering for a while, he tasked the Snow Wolf King, Liu Jiao, and Xiao Xiezi with organizing files in the archive room. "It's not urgent. Take your time."
This was exactly what the Snow Wolf King wanted to do. With access to the archive room and system, he began searching for personnel resembling the snake assassin. Indeed, he found a match.
"Employee number 19833889, name: A Very Long Snake." The Snow Wolf King thought for a moment. "It should be him."
Opening the file, they found the profile picture was in grayscale.
The Snow Wolf King turned and asked Xiao Xiezi, "Do you know this 'A Very Long Snake'?"
Xiao Xiezi said, "I vaguely remember—oh, I recall now. He seems to have retired."
"Retired?" the Snow Wolf King asked, "Why?"
"We in this line don't ask too many whys," Xiao Xiezi said. "Maybe he quit, or maybe he passed away."
"When did he retire?"
"In't it in the file?"
The Snow Wolf King took a closer look and indeed found it—six months ago. The Snow Wolf King accessed the task records for "A Very Long Snake" and discovered one entry: Seduce Bai Lingling.
"?" The Snow Wolf King looked utterly confused.
Reading further, he found the mission summary. Failure. Reason for failure: Viscount Bai's manor is heavily guarded, unable to approach Bai Lingling.
The next entry: Apply to work at Viscount Bai's manor, become Bai Lingling's servant first, then seduce him.
Mission summary: Failure. Reason for failure: Viscount Bai's manor doesn't hire unattractive personnel.
The next entry: Approach Bai Lingling after plastic surgery, become his confidant first, then seduce him.
Mission summary: Failure. Reason for failure: Bai Lingling immediately recognized the surgically altered face.
"A Very Long Snake" self-summary and next steps: Bai Lingling is a damn fool! I'll f*ck him up!
Supervisor's evaluation: This employee is mentally unstable. Recommend retirement.