1. Oversight Declares an Emergency (And Hates Every Second of It)
Oversight did not panic.
Panic was inefficient.
What Oversight did was far worse.
EMERGENCY DIRECTIVE ISSUED
THREAT CLASSIFICATION: IDEOLOGICAL CONTAMINATION
SOURCE: ANOMALOUS CONSTANT (FORMERLY NECESSARY EVIL)
Across Heaven's administrative layers, alarms rang—not loud, but absolute. Forms auto-filled themselves. Protocols awakened from centuries of disuse.
Oversight analyzed projections.
Too many deviations. Too many "exceptions." Too many people choosing wrong outcomes and surviving anyway.
ROOT CAUSE IDENTIFIED.
INTERN NE JOB.
Oversight recalculated.
SECONDARY THREAT:
THOSE WHO HAVE LISTENED TO HIM.
That variable spiked alarmingly.
2. The Crackdown Committee Convenes (Everyone Hates This Meeting)
The Emergency Oversight Council assembled in a floating chamber shaped like a hexagon of bad decisions.
Present:
Lord Bureaucrat Xian (already sweating)
Three Senior Auditors
One Compliance Deity
And a hovering Oversight projection, radiating displeasure
"This is highly irregular," Xian said, adjusting his robes.
"We don't issue emergency directives over interns."
HE IS NO LONGER AN INTERN IN PRACTICE.
One Auditor frowned. "But officially—"
OFFICIALLY, HE IS A PROBLEM.
Another Auditor flipped through glowing pages. "He's caused localized empathy spikes."
The Compliance Deity hissed. "Empathy spreads."
Xian swallowed. "…So what's the directive?"
Oversight did not hesitate.
ISOLATE.
SILENCE.
PREVENT TRANSMISSION.
A pause.
Xian raised a hand weakly. "…Transmission of what?"
IDEAS.
That landed badly.
3. Ne Job Accidentally Starts a Support Group
Ne Job did not know an emergency directive had been issued.
He was busy arguing with a mid-tier clerk in Corridor C-17.
"I'm telling you," Ne Job said, pointing at the form,
"this section doesn't make sense."
The clerk hesitated. "Well… it is standard."
"Yeah, but it contradicts Section 9."
The clerk stared.
"…It does."
Another clerk leaned over. "Oh my god. It really does."
A third whispered: "…We've been enforcing that for centuries."
Ne Job blinked. "…Wait. You didn't know?"
Silence spread.
Somewhere deep in Heaven, a warning light turned red.
4. Oversight Detects Spread (And It's Not Happy)
CONTAMINATION EVENT DETECTED.
LEVEL: MINOR → ESCALATING.
Oversight zoomed in.
Ne Job was sitting on a stack of ledgers, surrounded by junior staff.
"…So you're saying," one clerk asked cautiously,
"we can flag a case instead of auto-processing it?"
"Yes," Ne Job said. "That's literally why the flag exists."
"But no one ever—"
"—uses it because everyone's afraid of delaying metrics," Ne Job finished. "I know."
That statement hit like a hammer.
Oversight's projection flickered.
THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.
5. The Enforcers Are Deployed
The sky above the Archive darkened.
Not with clouds.
With Notices.
Compliance Enforcers descended—tall figures wrapped in stamped seals, faces hidden behind glowing verdict masks.
Their arrival froze the corridors.
A booming voice echoed:
BY ORDER OF OVERSIGHT
CEASE ALL NONESSENTIAL DISCUSSION
The clerks panicked.
Ne Job looked up.
"…Oh. You brought the scary HR."
An Enforcer pointed at him.
ANOMALOUS CONSTANT.
YOU ARE TO BE DETAINED.
Ne Job slid off the ledgers. "Can I ask why?"
NO.
"…Okay but that feels unfair."
The Enforcers advanced.
6. Ne Job Does the Worst Possible Thing (Explains Himself)
"Listen," Ne Job said, holding up his hands.
"I'm not overthrowing anything."
Oversight's voice thundered through the chamber.
YOU ARE ALTERING BEHAVIOR.
"Yeah," Ne Job said.
"Because the behavior was bad."
YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO DEFINE 'BAD.'
Ne Job laughed once.
"Then why does everyone relax when I explain things?"
The clerks behind him straightened slightly.
One whispered, "…He's right."
Oversight registered another spike.
7. Qi-Yun Intervenes (Reluctantly, But Absolutely)
A ripple of pressure swept the corridor.
Qi-Yun appeared between Ne Job and the Enforcers.
"Stand down," he said calmly.
The Enforcers hesitated.
Oversight flared.
YOU WILL NOT INTERFERE.
Qi-Yun's eyes hardened.
"You already classified him as an Anomalous Constant."
YES.
"Then he is no longer a variable you can suppress without consequence."
The corridor trembled.
Ne Job leaned sideways. "…Sir, are we winning?"
Qi-Yun did not look away. "No."
"…Are we losing?"
"No."
"…Oh. Middle ground terror."
8. Yue Understands the Real Threat
In the Void Storeroom, Yue staggered as the pressure hit.
Ling caught her.
"It's happening again, isn't it?"
Yue nodded slowly.
"Oversight isn't afraid of Ne Job."
Ling frowned. "Then what—"
"It's afraid of everyone else becoming like him."
Yue closed her eyes.
"He's teaching them to question outcomes."
Ling's eyes widened. "That's… contagious."
"Yes," Yue whispered. "And Heaven has no cure for that."
9. Oversight Changes Strategy (And That's Worse)
Oversight recalculated.
Containment was failing.
Suppression created resistance. Resistance created solidarity.
A new directive formed.
UPDATED STRATEGY:
CO-OPTION.
The voice boomed through the Archive.
ANOMALOUS CONSTANT.
YOU WILL BE REASSIGNED.
Ne Job blinked. "…Reassigned?"
NEW ROLE:
INTERNAL CONSULTANT FOR IRREGULAR CASES
Qi-Yun stiffened.
Ne Job frowned. "That sounds suspiciously like giving me a platform."
MONITORED PLATFORM.
Ne Job thought.
Then smiled slowly.
"…You're trying to control the damage."
CORRECT.
Ne Job nodded. "Cool."
Oversight paused.
"…Cool?"
Ne Job turned to the clerks.
"Hey," he said casually,
"looks like I'm official now."
A ripple went through them.
Hope.
Small. Dangerous.
Oversight felt something destabilize.
10. Ending Beat: The Line Is Crossed
As the Enforcers withdrew, Oversight logged the outcome.
DAMAGE CONTAINED: PARTIAL
RISK: ONGOING
ANOMALOUS CONSTANT: ACTIVE
For the first time, Oversight added a note.
WARNING:
IF LEFT UNCHECKED,
ANOMALOUS CONSTANT MAY NORMALIZE DISSENT.
In the corridor, Ne Job exhaled.
"…I think I just got promoted."
Qi-Yun looked at him gravely.
"You just became visible."
Yue's voice echoed faintly through the layers.
"And once people see you…"
Ne Job swallowed.
"…They won't unsee me."
Somewhere deep in Heaven's machinery—
Oversight prepared for a future it could no longer fully predict.
END OF CHAPTER 220