The interview had barely begun, and things were already off to an awkward start.
Nicole shot Billy a glare and muttered through gritted teeth, "Didn't I tell you to erase the neighboring company's name from the cover?"
Billy looked equally flustered. "I thought Anby had already done it..."
At this point, there was no point in arguing.
The only option left was to push forward and pretend nothing was wrong.
Nicole sighed, rubbing her temples as she racked her brain.
Then, as if struck by sudden inspiration, she clapped her hands together and laughed.
"Haha! As expected of my top candidate! Sharp eyes—you saw through our first interview test in an instant! We wanted to assess your attention to detail, to see how quickly you'd catch the mistake on the recruitment plan. Your performance was very impressive..."
As she spoke, she grabbed the recruitment plan from the table and—slam—tossed it under the table like it was offensive to look at.
Billy, catching on fast, started clapping too.
"No wonder Boss Nicole is in charge—her interview test almost fooled me and Anby!"
Anby: "..."
Sam Li: "..."
...
Nicole cleared her throat to break the silence. "Do you have a résumé?"
Sam Li shook his head. "Didn't bring one. Do I need one?"
Nicole waved her hand quickly. "No, no, no, it's fine! Just to keep things simple, fill out your personal details here."
She handed him an A4 sheet with fields for basic information: name, age, address, contact details…
Of course, having only arrived in this world today, Sam Li had no phone and no place to stay.
So, he only filled in his name and age.
Nicole took a quick glance.
"Sam Li... Not a bad name! Wait a second—Billy, doesn't this name sound familiar?"
Anby responded seriously, "Yes. That is Sam Li."
"Sam Li… Sam Li… Hold on—could it be—"
Billy muttered the name under his breath while sizing Sam Li up.
The retro outfit, the empty birdcage beside him…
It perfectly matched the description Anby had given earlier.
Wait—isn't this the guy who led Anby out of the Hollows today?!
"What are the odds?!" Billy looked genuinely shocked.
"I wasn't expecting him to be the applicant either," Anby added.
Hearing this, Nicole's expression relaxed considerably, and she broke into a laugh.
"Ohhh, so you're Anby's savior! Well, that makes things a lot easier. Let me introduce you to the amazing benefits of working at the Hare's House—you're gonna be blown away!"
"At Hare's House, food and housing are completely covered! The moment you join, this agency becomes your home..."
"No forced overtime! Finish your work, and you're free to do whatever you want..."
"Fast promotions and salary raises..."
"We're ranked among the Top 500 agencies in the industry—our future is limitless..."
Nicole rattled off a long list of benefits, painting an incredibly rosy picture of life at the agency.
In summary:
She promised everything... except an actual salary amount.
With a confident pat on her chest, she declared, "These benefits are way better than acting in movies! You won't find another company like this in all of New Eridu!"
...
Under normal circumstances, any rational applicant would have seen through Nicole's empty promises and walked out the door immediately.
Fortunately for her, Sam Li didn't care about Dennies.
Nor was he worried about whether Nicole would actually deliver on any of this.
"I'm satisfied. When do I start?"
...
The hiring process had gone too smoothly.
Billy and Nicole were both caught completely off guard.
Billy panicked. "Wait a minute! We still haven't discussed job duties, salary— OUCH! Nicole, why did you hit me?!"
Nicole shot him a fierce glare.
Billy had really hit a nerve by bringing up the most sensitive topic—salary.
With the Hare's House deep in the red, where were they supposed to find the Dennies to pay Sam Li?
Nicole had been hoping to gloss over the issue with grand promises, but now that Billy had let the cat out of the bag, she had no choice but to address it directly.
Nicole frowned, looking troubled. "About the salary..."
"I don't want a salary."
Sam Li cut her off mid-sentence, making his stance clear.
What use was a measly paycheck? What he wanted was the same deal as Zhongli—one or two permanent wallets.
However...
Nicole, Billy, and Anby had no idea what he was thinking.
The moment Sam Li spoke, all three of them froze.
He didn't want a salary?
Just one sentence was enough to send Nicole into silent celebration, laughing internally.
In this world, someone was actually volunteering to work without pay? And she had the luck to run into him?
Was this... a miracle?
Nicole barely held back her laughter, confidently declaring, "It's a deal! You said no salary, so no salary it is! If anyone goes back on their word, they're nothing more than a Husk Beast!"
Sam Li chuckled. "Naturally. But I do have one small request—I'd like to be a guest consultant at the Hare's House."
Nicole didn't even hesitate. "Done! You're now a guest consultant."
To her, whether it was a guest consultant or any other title, it made no difference—the work would be the same anyway.
Nicole grinned.
Sam Li grinned.
Watching this exchange, Anby and Billy glanced at each other, feeling like something was off, but they just couldn't put their finger on it.
Once she had laughed her fill, Nicole kept spinning her tale.
"Don't worry—from now on, you're part of the Hare's House! This agency is your home. Sure, it might seem like you're not getting a salary, but trust me—it's way better than a paycheck! Your food, housing, and all expenses are covered by the agency. That's the same employment model for both Anby and Billy."
As if afraid Sam Li might change his mind, Nicole urgently shot Billy a look.
Hurry up and get the contract.
Once the contract was signed, it would be too late to back out.
Billy understood immediately. He opened a drawer and pulled out a pre-prepared contract.
"Just sign your name here—yes, right here... Now press your handprint. Alright! Congratulations, Sam Li, from this moment on, you're officially one of us!"
Nicole was so eager that she practically shoved the contract at Sam Li, urging him to sign and seal it.
Then, she quickly signed her own name and stamped it with her handprint as well.
...
With everything finalized, she finally let out a relieved sigh.
But just then—
A deep, resonant voice echoed through the room.
"The contract is sealed! Those who break their word shall face the punishment of stone."
In an instant, a chill ran down Nicole's spine, and she shuddered.
She turned her head—only to realize it was Sam Li who had spoken.
Dressed in his retro outfit, speaking in such strange terms…
Nicole immediately assumed he was just acting again.
"Great performance! Now cut it out! Starting today, your job is to bring in clients and find more commissions for the agency!"
Looking at Sam Li, Nicole couldn't help but laugh again.
She had basically gotten an elite employee for free. Just thinking about it made her ecstatic.
She couldn't wait for tomorrow.
She could already picture it—when the Hare's House opened its doors, the first thing she'd see would be new clients and big commissions rolling in.
However…
What Nicole never could have expected was that tomorrow's first arrival might not be a client…
It might just be a bill from the burger shop.