In the corridor, Zhou Zhuang walked side by side with Angela.
Still thinking about what had just happened in the cafeteria, Angela asked with mild puzzlement:
"Manager—why did you leave in such a hurry at the end?"
Zhou Zhuang considered it for a moment, then answered honestly.
"Mm… I'm just not used to people thanking me that formally."
"Or rather—what I really dislike is when someone I know accepts my help and immediately puts on this 'I'm beneath you' posture."
"You can smile and say thanks. You can crack a joke and move on. You can even take what I give without reacting at all."
"But you can't throw away your dignity as an independent person just to flatter someone else."
He paused, then added more quietly:
"Maybe… it's because I saw myself in them—how I once chose to abandon everything just to survive. That kind of pathetic mess."
As he finished summarizing his mood, Zhou Zhuang noticed that they had arrived at the Control Team—the area where employees were being trained.
Not far ahead stood two department heads from the upper levels: Malkuth and Hod.
The two seemed to be arguing about something. Hod looked like she had only just opened her mouth when Malkuth cut in again—pretty clear who held the conversational "right of way" here.
Hod, timid as always, watched Malkuth passionately describe her "perfect" plan—one allegedly "tailored" to the employees.
At some point, Hod heard a certain "measure" in the plan and immediately grew anxious, but she couldn't persuade Malkuth at all.
Then she spotted the Manager and Angela approaching from behind Malkuth.
An idea sparked.
Hod raised her hand and called out loudly:
"Manager!"
Zhou Zhuang saw her waving. Since he was already curious what they were plotting, he decided to use Hod's opening to join the discussion—and also ask what had him wondering.
Malkuth wore a victorious smile and said smugly:
"Heh heh, Hod, don't think the Manager will come over."
"Even if he is here, he'll agree with my training plan."
She clearly assumed Hod was stalling.
Then, from directly behind her, a voice spoke:
"What exactly am I going to agree to?"
Malkuth jumped.
"Wah—Manager!"
Zhou Zhuang blinked at her reaction and turned to Angela.
"Am I… that scary?"
Malkuth hurried to explain.
"Manager, I didn't mean it like that! It's just—at this hour, shouldn't you be resting in your room?"
"Oh, that." Zhou Zhuang nodded as if it made perfect sense. "I was going to. But I saw you two discussing something, and it caught my interest, so I decided to join in."
He even nodded again, satisfied with how "reasonable" that sounded.
"Anyway—don't mind me. Think of me as a random spectator NPC who spawned in for entertainment."
"So. What were you arguing about?"
Malkuth straightened, full of energy, and reported like an eager subordinate.
"Reporting to the Manager! I'm helping Hod design a training program suitable for the employees you recruited!"
Hod immediately objected, sounding braver now that the Manager was present.
"But Malkuth, your plan is way too aggressive! We shouldn't squeeze the employees like that!"
Malkuth frowned, clearly annoyed.
"How is it aggressive? I designed it step-by-step based on their abilities."
"And I already split it into multiple parts like you asked—so they wouldn't collapse from stress!"
Besides, judging from the morning training, even though the first four employees didn't perform well at the start, their improvement was obvious.
Even the employee who joined midway looked quite comfortable.
Yes—Malkuth admitted—she eventually removed all suppression energy from the "training bunny," causing the difficulty to spike and the employees to be wiped out.
But before being wiped out, they could still hold on for a while!
Seeing that he was caught between the two, Zhou Zhuang decided to look at the actual plan.
"Malkuth—let me see what you wrote."
Malkuth happily handed over the document, but immediately puffed up in irritation at Zhou Zhuang's nickname for her.
"Manager—who are you calling 'Ma-ku-ku'?!"
"Seriously—either call me by my code name Malkuth, or call me Iliya. What even is 'Ma-ku-ku'?!"
"Mm-hm, sure, sure," Zhou Zhuang said absentmindedly, already scanning the page.
Then he froze.
The title line basically read: Employee Training: Beginner Course for Idiot Trash Tier-1 Employees (paraphrased, but the vibe was absolutely that).
Zhou Zhuang looked up.
"Why is your plan's title so brutally direct?"
"And are you saying the employees I recruited can only be compared to 'idiot trash'?"
Malkuth laughed awkwardly.
"It's not like that, Manager! The people you recruited do have their strengths."
"Especially the one named Faust—her evaluation is already comparable to a skilled Tier-1 employee."
"If she completes the plan I designed, you might have a Tier-2 employee on your very first day!"
She said this with obvious pride.
Zhou Zhuang internally acknowledged it.
The first four were "normal pull rates."
Faust was basically the guaranteed SSR.
He kept reading.
And the content got worse.
Lines like:
The boundary between life and death
Struggling with all four limbs broken
Muscle memory forged through mental collapse
Everything around you is a weapon…
…and so on.
Zhou Zhuang's soul nearly left his body.
"Malkuth—what is this?"
"No wonder Hod says your plan is too aggressive."
"With this written here… if they survive training, they'll come out basically insane."
Malkuth looked offended.
"Manager, how can you slander me like that? I think this plan is flawless!"
"If they finish it, tomorrow you'll have four Tier-1 employees and one Tier-2 employee!"
Zhou Zhuang stared at her.
"Oh, so all of this is supposed to be finished today?"
He was genuinely shocked by her impatience.
But after thinking it through, he chose not to scold her.
"Malkuth."
"Yes, Manager?" Malkuth smiled, waiting.
"Rewrite the plan with Hod."
"For the afternoon, Hod will take the lead on training."
"You support her by covering the parts where she's too soft-hearted."
"And Malkuth—we don't need to rush like this."
"I don't know what tomorrow will look like, but having one reliable 'firefighter' employee is enough. The rest can improve gradually."
Malkuth looked disappointed, but she still nodded and accepted the order.
Zhou Zhuang rubbed his temple.
"Honestly—your talent shouldn't be wasted on employee training. That's a misuse of your abilities."
"In the future, I'll give you truly challenging projects."
"I hope that day, you'll complete the task perfectly."
Malkuth clearly knew she'd just been handed a "motivational cookie," but she still chose to believe in that future.
"Yes, Manager. I'll keep sharpening myself so that one day I can complete your mission."
"And Manager—stop calling me 'Ma-ku-ku'! I have a name, you know!"
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