"What is it? Can't you see I'm busy?"
The girl at the workbench sighed and set down her work. She pushed up her protective goggles, letting a cascade of raven-black hair fall around her shoulders.
Upon seeing Xu Xiaoyou's face, the girl—called Glos—had her eyes light up with excitement. "Oh my god! Is it a girl? Did a girl actually join our department? Seriously?!"
"Eh, what girl? He's a real man, alright?" the bald, burly man said. "Calling a guy a girl... that’s a real blow to his self-esteem!"
A flicker of disappointment passed through Glos's eyes, but she quickly adjusted her expression. She scooted her chair closer and leaned into Xu Xiaoyou's space, inspecting her carefully.
"Strange. No matter how I look at it, he looks like a girl."
"My name is Xu Nian. You're too close."
Feeling her get too close, Xu Xiaoyou silently took a step back, her expression cold.
"My god!" Glos exclaimed. "He's even prettier than I am!"
"I told you, that's hurting the man's pride!" The bald man couldn't take it anymore and patted Xu Xiaoyou on the shoulder. "See? He can talk. Xu Nian... that name sounds familiar. I feel like I've heard it somewhere before."
Suddenly, the bald man's brow furrowed as something occurred to him. He stared at Xu Xiaoyou's face, seemingly trying hard to recall a memory.
"Alright, alright, Tailu, stop joking around."
Glos pulled over a chair for Xu Xiaoyou. Once she sat down, Glos tossed a book onto the table in front of her.
The cover was simple, bearing the title: 'The Art of Communication'.
"This is a guide to speechcraft. If you have time tonight when you go back, memorize it."
Xu Xiaoyou: "?"
Did she accidentally walk into some kind of scam den?
"Don't give me that look. Relax, we're not some unscrupulous scam organization; only those dwarf green-skins enjoy that kind of thing. This is for online debt collection."
Debt collection?
Xu Xiaoyou realized what was happening but kept her face neutral.
"In our security department, what we do is simple. We go after people who owe money to Universal Heavy Industries. For example, someone might take out a 'Sunshine Cybernetics' loan to buy our mechanical prosthetics in installments. When the payment is due, we give them a call."
"If they cooperate, then it's easy. They just transfer the money through online channels, and that’s it."
"And if they don't cooperate?" Tailu asked.
"Don't go asking questions for the rookie, okay?" Glos shot the burly man a glare.
"If they don't cooperate..."
As she spoke, the girl's gaze grew cold, and the air around them seemed to drop several degrees.
"Turn off the air conditioner, Tailu."
"Oh, I thought we needed the mood."
The bald man obediently switched off the AC.
Xu Xiaoyou looked up briefly before turning her attention back to the girl in front of her.
"Then we have to resort to some violent measures and collect the debt in person," Glos said with a dark look. "Repaying debts is only natural, isn't it?"
"If their family has money, we make them sell their belongings. Whatever can be sold is sold until the debt is paid."
"If they have no money, that’s fine too. we find a way to get the money from them personally. In this city, a person always has value."
Glos didn't elaborate further, simply maintaining a smile—though it now appeared somewhat bone-chilling.
Xu Xiaoyou thought of the massive amount of unidentified organs circulating in the black markets of Sector 13. That was the territory of the Fresh Meat Restaurant. Every day, the city sent countless truckloads of 'fresh goods' to that restaurant for those lunatics with special tastes to enjoy.
She lowered her eyes slightly.
No wonder that veela girl, Aphrah, had changed her attitude so drastically upon learning she was part of the security department.
On the surface, it was called the security department, but in reality, it was Universal Heavy Industries' violent enforcement arm for debt collection.
"Should I say you're lucky or unlucky? Debt collection is only the job for us in Section C. Section A handles company security, and Section B collects taxes from the residents living in the district."
"Only we in Section C do the thankless work. We do the most dangerous jobs and bear the bad reputation from the outside world."
"It’s fine if the debtors are just narrow-minded losers, but if we run into tough characters, like gangs and such... if you don't handle it well, you'll lose your life. If a debt goes bad, the company counts it against our department's funds, and we all have to split the loss!"
Glos complained, then her eyes darted around as she leaned in toward Xu Xiaoyou. She grabbed Xu Xiaoyou's hand, her gaze sincere.
"That’s why I said I don't know if you're lucky or not. How about this? Forget all that fighting and killing—follow me!"
"Hey, Glos, the security department only gets a few new people a year—"
"Shut up, Tailu."
Xu Xiaoyou’s face twitched slightly. She realized that despite the girl’s slender appearance, her strength was not small at all; she couldn't break free from her grip.
"I like pretty ones like you! If you end up like Andrew and turn into some muscle-bound brute, it would be such a waste of talent! Why not learn a craft from me?"
As Glos spoke, she quickly leaned over her workbench, picked up an item from a mold, and placed it in front of Xu Xiaoyou.
"Look at this. This is a Glis-model mechanical arm. You must have heard of this model, right? It's very popular among gangs and grade 1 fixers. I designed it. Impressive, right?"
The mechanical arm had a streamlined surface with a metallic luster, covered in a blue glow. Under Xu Xiaoyou's gaze, it began to shift; the metallic forearm retracted and transformed, and a dark cannon muzzle emerged, looking like something out of a sci-fi movie.
"These kinds of mechanical prosthetics are very expensive. Just this B1 model can sell for several thousand credit points! And people are lining up for them!"
"Every year, the higher-ups allocate a lot of funding to designers, especially for things like prosthetic nerves—that's Universal Heavy Industries' main field. As long as you propose a better design improvement or create a new model, you can spend the next six months lying in bed counting so much money your hands will get sore! You even get a commission for every unit sold!"
"How about it? Interested?" Glos blinked repeatedly. "Even if you don't know anything right now, it’s fine. Follow me for a few years, and you'll get the hang of it!"
She expected the girl to hesitate, but to her surprise, the girl rejected her outright.
"I'm sorry, but no."
"Huh?" Glos was dumbfounded.
Tailu, standing nearby, also looked shocked.
Countless people broke their necks trying to become a designer for Universal Heavy Industries, yet this newcomer had rejected the offer so decisively!
"Thank you for your kindness, Miss Glos, but no," Xu Xiaoyou repeated calmly.
Glos looked disappointed. "Fine then..."
Xu Xiaoyou naturally had her own considerations.
Designing from scratch would take years just to learn the basics, not to mention the energy involved. When would she actually start earning her first pot of gold?
She didn't have that much time or patience, let alone the three-winged investigator who was likely investigating her—a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment.
She needed to make quick money and raise her status within the company as fast as possible.
High risk meant high reward. Those walking on the edge of a steel wire weren't just the desperate, but also the gamblers.
Debt collection—what other path could be more suitable for her current situation or more to her taste?
Rate on N.U.
