Chapter 9: What to Do When You Are Caught Slacking Off by Your Boss

Chapter 9: What to Do When Your Boss Catches You Slacking Off

In the Rhodes Island Personnel Department office, Orchid sat with a look of utter boredom, a black fountain pen clamped between her teeth. She had her long legs propped up on the desk, completely unconcerned with maintaining a professional image. She had heard that the Doctor had been back for a few days, and she mused to herself that, as usual, he probably wouldn’t even notice this corner of the base.

The day she met the Doctor was a dusk that bled like an open wound. Chernobog had been struck by a sudden Reunion assault; traffic had collapsed entirely, and the police and city guards had gone dark. Even from the base of her apartment building, she could see columns of smoke rising everywhere, and all she could see were people fleeing in a panic. Looking back on it now, even with her current self, she probably wouldn't have been able to escape that city that claimed over a million lives.

Orchid had originally been an editor for a fashion magazine. Due to an accident, she had the misfortune of becoming Infected. To the bewildered stares of her boss and colleagues, she had quit her job and spent her days in a daze, huddled in her rented apartment.

Everyone knew that Oripathy was a terminal illness. Modern medical conditions could not cure it; at most, they could delay the progression, allowing one to drag out their existence on the conveyor belt to hell for a few months, a few years, or maybe a decade. If one were lucky, they might die of old age. From the moment she discovered she was Infected, she knew her social life was effectively over.

Then, Reunion descended with the catastrophe.

Not yet fully grasping the situation, Orchid packed what portable wealth she had, tossed aside her beloved fashion wardrobe, donned a faded, washed-out old work uniform, and merged into the tide of refugees, desperate to flee Chernobog.

Her luck was abysmal. No sooner had the group of refugees left the main city district than they were spotted by a roving Reunion squad. Just as she thought she was doomed, a task force appeared out of nowhere and annihilated the enemy in a few swift maneuvers.

Of course, everyone knew that in such a situation, one could not expect help, yet the young Sarkaz girl leading the team had defied her teammates' objections and firmly agreed to the refugees' plea.

That was the first time Orchid saw Amiya. Later, she met the person who directed the battle—a man entirely wrapped in a heavy coat, his face obscured by a wide hat brim. Aside from combat, he wouldn't utter a single unnecessary word. Amiya called him "Doctor," a mysterious man indeed.

How strange, she thought, for someone to use "Doctor" as a name. Perhaps it was a codename. They were members of Rhodes Island Pharmaceutical, and as her former colleagues had said, the members of Rhodes Island were all oddballs.

The ensuing battles were brutal. Most of the task force operators were of C-grade strength; there wasn't a single Elite operator among them. They encountered multiple ambushes by Reunion, and even Amiya was injured, making it impossible to protect all the refugees. In the end, Orchid was the only one left who could keep up with them.

At the most critical juncture, Orchid unexpectedly awakened her Arts. Using the umbrella she carried, she fired a ball of light that successfully slowed an enemy's movements, buying her companions enough time.

From that moment on, Orchid became an operator for Rhodes Island. Rhodes Island promised her effective treatment for her Oripathy, and in return, she fulfilled her duties, becoming a clerk in the Personnel Department and being appointed captain of the A6 reserve team—dealing with a bunch of problem children every day.

***

Since then, Orchid rarely saw the Doctor. Aside from working in Personnel, she had to deal with all sorts of job applicants.

At first, she had to rise early and work late, sometimes putting in over 20 hours a day. However, once Miss Provence and Miss Eyjafjalla joined the staff, things became much more relaxed.

As for going out on combat missions, she had never even considered it.

The Doctor favored powerful operators. Even B-grade (4-star) operators rarely made it into combat squads, let alone C-grade (3-star) operators like her.

Miss Eyjafjalla complained every day that she didn't have enough time to rest, read, or conduct research, and she was forced to work overtime in Personnel without extra pay.

Conversely, Miss Provence was quite idle. She would randomly pull a few resumes to form five tags and let the Doctor play "match-three." Tags like "Top Operator" never even appeared, for which she was often scolded, but she didn't care—in fact, she found it quite amusing.

In a casual conversation, the wolf girl had let it slip that she had seen a "Top Operator" tag before, but since the Doctor constantly exploited powerful operators, she decided that a heartless boss didn't deserve an excellent employee, so she had secretly removed the tag. She wondered what the Doctor would think if he knew.

"Ah~ ugh~"

She let out a yawn. She was getting sleepy. She truly missed the days when they were still around; when would the burden on her shoulders ever lighten? The Doctor’s return was a good thing; he certainly wouldn't pass up those powerful operators, and then she would be able to slack off every day again.

Having worked at a fashion magazine, Orchid knew very well how to reasonably slack off during work hours. For some reason, she felt a faint sense of anticipation.

*Knock, knock, knock.*

There was a rhythmic tapping at the office door. Orchid kept her eyes closed; at this time of day, it had to be Kroos, that lazybones, coming to mooch on the sofa.

"Wait, isn't Kroos out on a mission?"

Orchid realized something was wrong and snapped her eyes open. Standing in the doorway was a tall, thin man with a subtle expression on his face.

***

Composedly, she lowered her legs and reached out to smooth the wrinkles in her dark blue skirt, turning a page of the document on her desk without changing her expression. That was terrible—from that angle, he couldn't have seen anything, right? Hopefully.

That outfit, that build—even after more than a year, Orchid could confirm his identity.

It, it was actually the Doctor. He looked decent enough; why had he always been so secretive before...

Ah, what should she do now? She’d been caught slacking off on the job by her boss. Was there any way to talk her way out of it? He’d definitely dock her bonus. The Doctor was such a stingy, miserly man; her bonus for this month was surely gone. How unlucky...

The more she thought about it, the clearer her mind became. As an experienced workplace veteran, she calmed down. She reached into a pile of papers, pulled out a purple plastic box, and said, "Doctor, let's play a game."

As she spoke, she grabbed a handful from the box and laid out a row of tags.

Zhou Jinru walked in with long strides, his expression natural. He had seen nothing; he would pretend nothing had happened. He leaned in close and looked down:

*Defender, Guard, Newbie, Melee, Survival.*

Good grief, it was clearly a 3-star pull. He reached out and swept all five tags into his palm. "Just give me one."

Orchid nodded and randomly pulled a resume from the pile. "Congratulations, Doctor."

Zhou Jinru glanced at it, his face turning pale. He turned and walked out. He shouldn't have been struck by the whim to visit the Personnel Department; his mind was filled with a flash of purple. As he walked out, he nearly bumped into the doorframe.

Watching the Doctor leave the Personnel Department, Orchid bit off the cap of her black fountain pen and looked down to write in the recruitment log: "No tags selected. Pulled one C-grade Sniper operator resume. Operator Kroos continues her streak as the monthly champion. Total cost for this Open Recruitment: 602 LMD. Recorder: Orchid."