Jiuyue held his breath, listening intently.
According to "professional standards", in the process of confronting evil spirits, humans should avoid physical contact with them as much as possible. Although evil spirits lack cognitive abilities, they possess strength and speed far beyond humans. However, this man not only touched the evil spirit but also kicked its head to pieces.
"Powerful?"
Duan Mingyuan did not agree, "I think this is just basic professional ethics. I once seriously considered making it my future career."
And the premise of this decision was that he could calmly handle all kinds of emergencies.
If he took money but failed to resolve the client's troubles, wouldn't that make him no different from a scam artist?
"Before we discuss the specific job content, I need to confirm a few things."
Duan Ming said, "First is the job content. If I'm not mistaken, your company's main business is to subdue evil spirits, correct?"
He needed to know whether, after all these years, the industry had changed.
As far as he knew, there was not a single company that publicly promoted such services, and people's understanding of evil spirits was very limited. This meant that as long as they could promote their services, this company might be trying to pioneer a new industry.
Duan Mingyuan first encountered an evil spirit when he was seven years old.
On his way home from school, he saw a few shirtless old men gathered around playing chess, one of whom had a black shadow on his back. The shadow had vague features. Its hands rested on the old man's shoulders as it leaned forward to watch the chess game, all the while muttering something under its breath.
Three days later, the old man was featured on missing person posters plastered on nearby walls and utility poles.
He told the missing man's family what he had seen but was driven away.
Since then, evil spirits of various appearances began to show up in his life regularly. Some still vaguely resembled humans, while others were completely twisted into other creatures. The only commonality was that all the people followed by the evil spirits eventually went missing.
At first, he would warn people targeted by evil spirits and considered incorporating this talent into his future career plans. For this, he had even made close contact with evil spirits. After several attempts, Duan Mingyuan found that most of the evil spirits were nothing more than paper tigers that looked frightening. If confronted with real force, they would shatter upon contact, just like the helpful evil spirit he encountered that day.
However, after being repeatedly dismissed as insane, Duan Mingyuan understood a truth.
This was a thankless and crappy job.
Not only would no one thank him, but he would also end up being treated as a suspect and subjected to interrogation and investigation afterward.
It was from that time on that he decided to respect the fate of others, focus on himself, passed various exams, and eventually secured a job considered stable in the eyes of others.
Years of work experience taught him another truth.
The job he was engaged in was also a crappy one.
Endless overtime, cutthroat office politics, and a company trying to drain every ounce of value from its employees.
Every day he punched in and sat at his desk, he could envision his life twenty years later.
So, about to enter the age of 30, Duan Mingyuan decided to make a change.
Jiuyue took out a notebook with neatly written, dense notes. "We usually start investigating from the location where the disappearance occurred. Evil spirits tend to go into a dormant state after feeding and don't move too far away."
"I see, the police station is the main source of commissions, and your company's primary business for now is helping the police with some tricky missing person cases," Duan Mingyuan said, supporting his chin with his left hand in contemplation.
If the main business service targets were official institutions, that would be quite decent, at least ensuring stable financial support.
"No, you've misunderstood," Jiuyue shook his head and explained, "Missing person cases are our main source of intelligence. When necessary, we also need to find ways to infiltrate the police and obtain some undisclosed clues."
"...So the clients aren't the police."
"Mhm."
"It's the relatives of the missing people."
Could it be that during the years he worked, people's understanding of evil spirits had changed, with more and more people willing to believe that disappearances were caused by Supernatural Power?
But regardless, compared to stable official institutions, having the missing people's families bear the costs meant that funding was highly unstable. Depending on the financial status of the families, the range for a commission could vary greatly.
If it must be so, then the company should set its sights on the upper echelons of society, offering assistance specifically to those nobles who can afford the hefty fees.
"Not quite."
However, what Jiuyue said next plunged Duan Mingyuan into confusion once again, "Then who will pay for these expenses?"
"No one."
The interview fell into a dead silence for a moment.
The two looked at each other across the table, Jiuyue's eyes so clear it seemed as though they had never been tainted by the secular world.
Duan Mingyuan had to admit that the straightforward answer from the monster girl shook him profoundly, but he needed to make sure he hadn't misheard, "If I haven't misunderstood, you mean to say that no one is going to pay us."
"Mm, that's right."
The answer was still delivered without the slightest hesitation, as if it were all completely natural.
Duan Mingyuan stared at Jiuyue for a long time as if he were seeing himself when he had knocked on an old man's door and, after revealing the presence of a sinister spirit to the family, got chased down the streets by the old man's daughter with a broom.
"If nobody pays, where does the company staff get their living expenses from?"
"The organization will reimburse the daily living expenses of its members. As far as I know, some people also do casual jobs when there are no commissions."
Although Duan Mingyuan had a vague premonition, he still asked, "How much is the salary each month after joining?"
"Salary?"
Jiuyue pondered in a perplexed manner for a while, then suddenly enlightened, "If you mean meal and travel expenses, you can apply to the organization for reimbursement."
Duan Mingyuan had planned to ask many more detailed questions about the job, but after hearing Jiuyue's response, he suddenly laughed in resignation, summing up the job, "So, this is a precarious job that turns day and night upside down and involves risking one's life, and the compensation offered by the company is just enough to maintain the most basic subsistence."
Jiuyue thought for a moment, feeling that something seemed not quite right, but couldn't quite pinpoint it.
Duan Mingyuan decided to put aside the matter of work for the moment. He sized up Jiuyue, the young fox demon girl who looked so young, young enough that it seemed she was not of age to work, and asked, "How old are you?"
"I'm going to be 19 this year!"
Compared to the complex questions before, this question was much simpler. Jiuyue answered immediately and puffed out her chest with pride.
At 19, she was already an adult demon capable of handling things on her own.
"Forgive my presumption, but does your family know you're engaged in this profession?"
"They don't know. I slipped away from home when I was very young, and it was a kind-hearted person from the organization who took me in."
No wonder.
Duan Mingyuan understood, even though he didn't know how the family structure of monsters differed from humans, he thought no parent would support their child in such an occupation.
"This is not a long-term job."
Perhaps because Jiuyue reminded him of his past self, he couldn't help but warn her.
It was a clear breach of workplace taboo, telling the interviewer to their face that their company wouldn't last long. If pushed, this could be seen as a downright confrontation.
Normally, Duan Mingyuan would not be so blunt; respecting another's fate was something he had learned from a young age.
As long as there are unscrupulous companies in the world, there will surely be people who work for them.
"I know, many people have died in the process of battling evil spirits," Jiuyue said candidly. She had no intention of hiding the dangers of the job. But then she shifted the conversation, "But with so many people killed by evil spirits, shouldn't someone do something?"
"I support your company's noble ideals in spirit," Duan Mingyuan said. "But I am looking for a stable job with room for advancement, and your company's position isn't suitable for me. Please leave."
After the interview, he had a new realization.
Perhaps all the lousy jobs in the world are only apparent by comparison; after hearing Jiuyue's description of the company, he actually found his current job not so unbearable after all.