Lin Xiao stared at the job listing on his phone screen. The muffled hum of an air conditioning unit buzzed outside the window, making the cramped rental room feel even more stifling.

A multinational tech company was offering a position—25,000 RMB per month, meals and accommodation included, job location: Bangkok.

"This is too good to be true…" he murmured, swiping his finger across the screen.

Less than half an hour after submitting his résumé, his phone rang. The caller ID displayed "HR Zhang".

"Mr. Lin? Congratulations, you've passed the initial screening." The woman's voice was professional yet sweet. "Our company is expanding into the Southeast Asian market, and we urgently need IT talents like you. If you're available, we'd like to schedule a video interview tomorrow."

Lin Xiao's heart raced.

Six months out of college, he had submitted over a hundred applications in this second-tier city—most of them were ignored, and the rest offered meager salaries of four to five thousand yuan a month. His parents had poured everything they had into running a small convenience store back home, just to put him through university.

He needed this job.

The video interview went surprisingly well.

The interviewer—a middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses who introduced himself as the technical director—only asked a few basic programming questions before smiling.

"You're hired."

"The company will handle your work visa, and we've already arranged your flight and airport pickup."

The HR representative sent over an electronic contract.

"Just sign here if everything looks good."

Lin Xiao's hand hovered over the mouse.

The contract was entirely in English. He could only understand bits and pieces, but everything seemed legitimate.

After all, the interview had been so formal.

What could go wrong?

Bangkok: Arrival

The airport's air conditioning was blasting.

Dragging his suitcase, Lin Xiao scanned the crowd for someone holding a sign with his name.

"Mr. Lin?"

A dark-skinned man approached, speaking Mandarin with a thick accent.

"I'm with the company. Here to pick you up."

Relief washed over Lin Xiao. He followed the man into a black van.

As they left the airport, the cityscape gradually faded—the glass skyscrapers and bustling streets replaced by abandoned factories and overgrown fields.

Something felt off.

"Where are we going?" Lin Xiao asked uneasily.

"New business park," the driver replied curtly. "Almost there."

The van turned onto a muddy side road and finally stopped in front of a gray and white compound.

A metal gate creaked open.

Inside, a group of men in camouflage uniforms stood guarding the entrance, walkie-talkies clipped to their belts.

"Welcome to your new home."

A fat man wearing a gold chain stepped forward, his grin unnerving.

"I'm Wang. You can call me 'Boss Wang'."

Lin Xiao was ushered into an office.

Boss Wang handed him a contract.

"Sign this. It's just a standard employment agreement."

The document was in Chinese, filled with dense legal jargon.

Lin Xiao skimmed the first few lines—

And his stomach dropped.

This wasn't a contract.

It was a slave agreement.

"What is this?!" He shot to his feet. "I want to leave!"

Boss Wang laughed coldly.

"Leave?" His voice was mocking. "You think this place is a hotel?"

The office door swung open.

Two burly men stormed in.

Lin Xiao barely had time to react before he was slammed onto the desk, his arm pinned down.

Boss Wang grabbed his hand and forcibly pressed his fingerprint onto the contract.

"Take him to the dorms."

Boss Wang waved dismissively.

"Training starts tomorrow."

The Dormitory

The room was cramped, barely twenty square meters, packed with eight bunk beds.

The air stank—a mix of sweat, mildew, and stale air.

In the corner, a pile of tattered suitcases sat gathering dust.

"New guy?"

A thin young man poked his head down from the top bunk.

"I'm Ah Kun. Been here three months."

Lin Xiao collapsed onto the mattress, his whole body trembling.

Ah Kun climbed down, handing him a bottle of water.

"Don't even think about running." His voice was tired. "There's an electric fence. And armed guards. Every escape attempt ends the same—they bring you back, and you wish they hadn't."

Lin Xiao's voice was hoarse.

"What… what do they want us to do?"

Ah Kun gave a hollow laugh.

"Make phone calls."

"We scam people—convincing them to invest in fake projects or straight-up stealing their money."

"Every day, we have a quota. If you don't hit it, you get beaten. No food. No sleep."

Day One of Training

The training room was covered in propaganda—

Banners reading "MAKE 100K A MONTH—NO DREAM IS TOO BIG!" hung from the walls.

The instructor, a middle-aged woman in glasses, stood at the front.

"Remember—" she said smoothly, "you're not scamming them. You're helping them."

She smiled.

"Make them trust you. Let them think they need you."

Lin Xiao's palms were drenched in sweat.

He thought back to all those months desperately searching for a job, to his parents' hopeful voices on the phone—

And now—

He was about to become an accomplice to fraud.

The Work Floor

The "office" was a massive room, packed with hundreds of desks.

Each workstation had a computer and a phone.

The air buzzed with a chaotic chorus of voices—

Some persuasive. Some pleading.

"Sir, this is a once-in-a-lifetime investment—"

"Please, madam, if you don't act now, you'll lose your entire savings—"

Some begging.

"I swear, just one more chance, I'll make the quota—please—"

A guard paced between the desks, holding a walkie-talkie.

"Minimum quota today: 50,000 yuan." He snapped. "If you don't hit it—no dinner."

Lin Xiao's hands shook as he picked up the phone.

Dialed the first number.

A frail elderly voice answered.

"Hello?"

Lin Xiao's throat tightened.

"Good evening, sir. I'm calling from XX Bank—"

His voice trembled.

"We've detected unusual activity on your account—"

Before he could finish—

Click.

The line went dead.

A sharp kick slammed into the back of his chair.

Lin Xiao gasped.

"Useless!" The guard barked. "You can't even con an old man?!"

Lin Xiao's head hung low.

His tears dripped onto the keyboard.

At that moment, he realized—

He had already fallen into the abyss.