1. The Orientation Email Nobody Believed Was Real
The email arrived at exactly the wrong time.
Ne Job was mid-bite into a contraband peach bun when his communicator chimed.
SUBJECT: Mandatory Orientation — Irregular Case Division
LOCATION: Sublevel Archive Wing (Temporarily Unclassified)
ATTENDANCE: REQUIRED
DRESS CODE: FUNCTIONAL
NOTE: You Have Not Been Mistaken For Someone Else
Ne Job stared at it.
"…That last line feels personal."
Qi-Yun, standing nearby with arms folded, said nothing.
Ne Job scrolled.
There was an attachment.
A seating chart.
Ne Job squinted.
"…Why are half the names crossed out?"
Qi-Yun finally spoke.
"Those people officially do not exist."
Ne Job choked on his bun.
"WHY ARE THEY INVITED?!"
Qi-Yun's mouth twitched. "Because Oversight believes gathering anomalies into one place makes them manageable."
Ne Job wiped his mouth slowly.
"…Has Oversight never read a disaster report."
Qi-Yun did not answer.
That was the answer.
2. The Room That Should Not Be On Any Map
The Sublevel Archive Wing was not on Heaven's official layout.
The elevator hesitated before reaching it—doors shuddering like they regretted opening.
Inside was a lecture hall.
Sort of.
The seats did not match. The walls were mismatched layers of architecture from different eras. One corner still looked like a cave.
A banner floated above the podium:
WELCOME, IRREGULARS Please Remain Calm. This Is Already A Mistake.
Ne Job stared.
"…Did the banner write itself?"
"Yes," Qi-Yun said. "That's the problem."
People—beings—were already seated.
Ne Job's eyes widened.
There was:
A junior clerk who processed appeals after rejecting them
A battlefield messenger who arrived before being dispatched
A quiet woman who flickered between three recorded identities
A janitor whose mop erased memories if used clockwise
They all looked tired.
They all looked cautious.
And they all looked up when Ne Job entered.
The room… leaned forward.
3. Ne Job Is Introduced (Against Everyone's Will)
An automated voice cleared its throat.
"Orientation will now begin.
Please welcome your—"
The system paused.
"—Consultant."
Ne Job flinched.
"…Consultant."
He walked to the podium.
The podium immediately adjusted its height.
Ne Job glared at it. "Don't get used to me."
The podium glowed nervously.
He turned to the room.
"…Hi."
No one spoke.
Ne Job shifted.
"So. Uh. I'm Ne Job."
Murmurs rippled.
Someone whispered: "That's him."
Another: "He survived Oversight review."
A third: "He yelled at an Auditor and lived."
Ne Job winced. "Okay, let's… lower expectations."
Qi-Yun stood at the back, unreadable.
Ne Job took a breath.
"You're all here because something about you doesn't fit."
A pause.
"That doesn't mean you're broken."
That landed harder than expected.
Several people straightened unconsciously.
4. The Curriculum From Hell (And Worse, Hope)
A screen behind Ne Job flickered to life.
ORIENTATION TOPICS:
— Identifying Contradictions
— When Rules Conflict, Who Bleeds?
— Filing Exceptions Without Being Erased
— How Not To Internalize the System's Guilt
— Lunch (Tentative)
Someone raised a hand.
"Yes," Ne Job said automatically.
"…Are we allowed to ask questions?"
Ne Job smiled.
"Yes."
The room stilled.
"That's… allowed?" the person whispered.
Ne Job blinked. "…Of course."
Oversight felt something itch.
5. The First Question (And the First Crack)
A young clerk stood slowly.
"What happens," she asked carefully,
"if we're right… and the system is wrong?"
The room held its breath.
Ne Job looked at her.
Then said:
"Then the system needs to change."
The silence was loud.
Somewhere far above, Oversight's monitoring array spiked.
Another person stood.
"…And if it won't?"
Ne Job did not hesitate.
"Then we push."
Qi-Yun closed his eyes briefly.
6. Oversight Listens (And Does Not Like What It Hears)
Oversight observed through layered perception.
The anomalies were no longer isolated data points.
They were aligning.
Language patterns converged. Stress metrics dropped. Compliance fear weakened.
UNACCEPTABLE TREND IDENTIFIED.
Oversight prepared countermeasures.
Then paused.
…OBSERVATION REQUIRED.
Because something else was happening.
They weren't revolting.
They were thinking.
That was worse.
7. Ne Job Teaches the Unthinkable
Ne Job paced the podium.
"Here's the thing," he said. "Rules exist to serve outcomes. Not the other way around."
A murmur.
"When a rule causes harm," he continued,
"it stops being a rule and starts being a problem."
A janitor raised a hand. "What if the problem is… everything?"
Ne Job considered.
"…Then we start small."
He pointed at the seating chart.
"You. You're already proof."
The room leaned in.
"You survived being different. That means the system can't fully erase exceptions."
Qi-Yun opened his eyes.
Ne Job grinned nervously. "So now we document them."
A ripple went through the room.
Hope again.
Dangerous. Addictive.
8. The System Pushes Back
The lights flickered.
A compliance alert blared.
WARNING:
UNAUTHORIZED PHILOSOPHICAL DEVIATION DETECTED
The walls tightened.
Some people shrank.
Ne Job slammed the podium.
"Hey."
The room froze.
"You're not in trouble," he said firmly. "This is what happens when the system gets scared."
Qi-Yun snapped to attention.
Ne Job looked up at the ceiling.
"You listening, Oversight?"
The alert stuttered.
"…You don't get to call curiosity a violation."
Oversight registered something unprecedented.
DIRECT ADDRESS FROM ANOMALOUS CONSTANT.
Qi-Yun moved.
But Oversight did not strike.
It watched.
9. The Name Nobody Expected
A voice spoke from the back.
"What do we call ourselves?"
Ne Job turned.
"…What?"
"If we're not mistakes," the person said,
"if we're not errors… then what are we?"
Ne Job opened his mouth—
—and stopped.
He thought of the line. The waiting. The forms. The fear.
Then he said:
"Corrections."
The word spread.
Soft. Sharp. Final.
Qi-Yun inhaled sharply.
Oversight logged the term.
NEW IDENTIFIER DETECTED: "CORRECTIONS"
STATUS: UNCLASSIFIED
THREAT: UNKNOWN
10. Ending — Yue Sees the Shape of What's Coming
In the Void Storeroom, Yue pressed both palms to the wall as power rippled outward.
Ling watched her.
"…This is bad, isn't it?"
Yue shook her head slowly.
"No."
Ling frowned. "Then why do you look terrified?"
Yue whispered:
"Because this isn't rebellion."
She closed her eyes.
"It's infrastructure."
Far below Heaven's perfect machinery, something new was forming.
Not chaos.
Not revolution.
A correction.
And Ne Job—
Ne Job was standing at the center of it, holding a pen the universe had never intended him to use.
END OF CHAPTER 221