Circle of Inevitability

At noon, Zhang Qing, the deputy director of the administrative department who had overseen the earlier interview, walked out of the Tech Building, heading to a nearby mall to meet a friend.

Inside a gray sedan parked by the roadside, Franca turned her body slightly and nodded seriously at Anthony, her expression stern.

Anthony immediately got out of the car, mingled with the crowd, and hurriedly approached Zhang Qing from the side.

Bump! He "accidentally" bumped into the man in his thirties, causing Zhang Qing's phone to fall to the ground.

"Sorry, sorry," Anthony apologized repeatedly, bending down to pick up the phone. He wiped it on his clothes a few times before handing it back to Zhang Qing.

Zhang Qing, with a dark expression, angrily scolded Anthony, "Are you blind? How can you walk like that?"

"Sorry, really sorry," Anthony responded sincerely, with an attitude full of remorse.

Zhang Qing stared into Anthony's eyes, which had been adjusted to a deep brown color using the Lie earring, as if trying to determine whether the apology was genuine or just a perfunctory excuse.

After a few seconds, he took back his phone and suddenly felt a moment of confusion.

"Forget it, just watch your step next time!" The deputy director of the administrative department of Intis Group's headquarters, showing some class, waved his phone dismissively, no longer pursuing the matter.

"Really, I'm sorry. How about I buy you an iced coffee to make up for it?" Anthony suggested, pointing to a coffee shop in the corner of the Tech Building's first floor.

Zhang Qing's expression softened. "No need. I'm in a hurry.

"You look around my age; be more careful in the future," Zhang Qing added before heading towards the mall at the intersection, braving the scorching sun.

Anthony noticed that there was a long line at the coffee shop, so he quickly ran into the convenience store next to the Tech Building's main entrance and bought a canned coffee.

Holding the coffee, he jogged to catch up with Zhang Qing. "I'm really sorry about earlier. This is to show my apology."

He handed over the coffee.

Zhang Qing glanced at Anthony with some suspicion, met his eyes for a couple of seconds, then took the canned coffee and said, "You're pretty considerate."

Zhang Qing didn't intend to drink the beverage from a stranger, but he felt it was acceptable to accept the apology.

Just as he took the coffee, Zhang Qing had another brief moment of confusion. Then, he felt that Anthony's apology was incredibly sincere, and with his proactive actions, combined with the fact that they seemed to be around the same age, Zhang Qing suddenly felt a sense of closeness.

Seeing this, Anthony felt a bit of relief.

This was his second attempt at Hypnosis, and it finally succeeded.

The first attempt was when he returned Zhang Qing's phone, but unfortunately, it failed.

After becoming a Sequence 6 Hypnotist, Anthony's Psychological Cue" or Hypnosis, no longer required the assistance of candles, extract, or other mediums. He only needed the target's attention to be genuinely focused on something, especially his own eyes, to open the door to their Body of Heart and Mind. If the process involved actions of giving and receiving, the effect would be even better, and the success rate would be higher.

Later, when Anthony advanced to Sequence 5, his application of Hypnosis improved even further.

But now, he was suppressed to Sequence 7 in the dream, so while he could still perform Hypnosis without the help of candles, extract, or pocket watches, the success rate was much lower. It was rare for him to fail when hypnotizing an ordinary person, so he had to urgently make up for it.

"I just finished an interview and was in a hurry to get to the next one, so I was rushing," Anthony explained further.

"Just finished an interview?" Zhang Qing, who had been influenced, smiled and said, "I just finished one too, but I was the interviewer."

"Are you with Intis Group?" Anthony pretended to be curious.

Seventy percent of the office workers coming out of the Tech Building were likely from Intis Group.

"Yes, with the headquarters. We were hiring for an administrative position." Zhang Qing, for some reason, felt unusually relaxed and ended up saying what was on his mind, "We've chosen someone, but I don't know if Mr. Huang will reject it later. Although hiring for an administrative role doesn't require a report to him, the HR Director can decide, but he likes to visit the administrative department…"

At this point, Zhang Qing suddenly shut his mouth, realizing he shouldn't be gossiping about Mr. Huang in front of an outsider.

"Your boss, Mr. Huang? He's well-known nationwide," Anthony said, pretending to suddenly realize.

Zhang Qing smiled.

"Yes, well, the person we hired this time doesn't quite fit Mr. Huang's aesthetic. Uh, mainly in style, though her figure is up to standard. But since Miss Huang personally selected her, it's a done deal.

"Actually, this is a good thing. Half of the employees in the administrative department spend their days focused on makeup and gossip, waiting for Mr. Huang to drop by. Sometimes, I feel like a head eunuch—no, the assistant to a head eunuch—managing the emperor's harem, like something out of Empresses in the Palace. But now, with a capable person joining, my stress will be much less. Otherwise, I'd consider that slacker Luo Shan a model worker…"

Talking about these things, Zhang Qing was full of complaints.

Anthony played along perfectly, letting Zhang Qing vent a bunch of frustrations, making him feel completely at ease.

After a while, Zhang Qing checked his watch.

"I have to go. I'm in a hurry."

He hesitated whether to add Anthony on WeChat, thinking it was rare to meet someone he could chat with so effortlessly at this stage in life.

In the end, Zhang Qing decided not to, out of a sense of self-importance.

Anthony hesitated as well. Adding Zhang Qing on WeChat could provide significant convenience for Franca and Lumian's operations within Intis Group.

But in the end, Anthony refrained, feeling that it was unwise to tie all their connections to Intis Group, as it might be easier for the Celestial Worthy or His subordinates to catch them all at once.

After parting ways with Zhang Qing and waiting for him to walk away, Anthony turned and walked towards the gray sedan parked by the roadside.

He didn't get in but, as he approached the car, subtly raised his right hand and made an "OK" gesture.

Then, he walked past the gray sedan and headed towards another intersection.

From now on, he would have to stay alone until tomorrow.

This was because he had closely interacted with Zhang Qing and used Beyonder powers on him. And Zhang Qing was someone close to the dream manifestation of Mr. Fool, even if not directly.

Seeing Anthony's gesture, Franca slowly nodded, then calmly drove the gray sedan onto the road.

Once they were far from the Tech Building, she allowed herself a satisfied smile and, feeling triumphant, said to Lumian in the passenger seat, "The moment I saw Miss Huang in the conference room, I knew we had to scrap all our original plans.

"In a flash, I figured out exactly what to do!

"What do you call that? Quick thinking, the ability to adapt!"

After Franca finished boasting, Lumian chuckled and said, "Maybe that was the real Princess Bernadette, who entered the dream specifically to help you infiltrate Intis Group."

"…" Franca quickly adjusted her mindset and said doubtfully, "Can Princess Bernadette actually enter the dream and control Huang Beibei's dream manifestation? How many times has she been kicked out?"

"The Major Arcana card holders are unsure. They only know that she was kicked out once after commissioning Zhou Mingrui to investigate the quality of Dream Tutoring Classes. Whether she had been kicked out before that or how many times, she hasn't told anyone," Lumian recounted from the data. "What is certain is that the Major Arcana card holders have synchronized our situation with her and believe she's trustworthy and willing to help."

Franca concurred succinctly, "I hope it's true. If Mr. Huang really has an eye for talent and comes to bother me, I can ask her to rein her dad in."

Neither Franca nor Lumian had any faith in Emperor Roselle's or his dream manifestation's restraint when it came to women.

…

Xinhong District, in the rented apartment, afternoon.

Lumian received a phone call.

After finishing the conversation, he turned to Franca with a smile and said, "I got the job!"

"Phew…" Franca exhaled in visible relief.

With this, even if her own job offer ended up being vetoed by Mr. Huang, they could still move forward with their plan to access the dream manifestation of Mr. Fool, Zhou Mingrui, through the Intis Group—though it would be more challenging.

Franca, now curious, asked, "What's the salary?"

"It's 3,500 yuan a month during probation, and once confirmed, it's 4,500. For now, it's just rotating between guarding the front and back entrances of the building, patrolling different floors, and monitoring the surveillance cameras. If I get assigned to a more important post in the security department, the pay will go up significantly," Lumian repeated the details from the call. "Plus, the job comes with two uniforms."

"The Intis Group is quite generous. Given the salary standards in this city, that's decent for a security job," Franca said, feeling happier now that their team would have a stable source of income.

Before she could start worrying about her own offer, her phone rang.

After listening for a few moments, Franca's smile slowly blossomed. She raised her free hand and gave Lumian a thumbs-up, signaling success.

Her offer had come through too!

"Yes, yes. No problem." After a series of confirmations, Franca's smile suddenly froze.

After she hung up, Lumian, who had heard the conversation clearly thanks to his Hunter's hearing, remained silent, waiting for her to speak.

With a wooden expression, Franca said, "The probation is also one month, with a salary of 6,000, and once confirmed, it's 7,000, plus an allowance for clothing. The Intis Group is indeed generous.

"But…"

She paused, her lips moving slightly, her expression turning a bit dazed, before continuing, "But there's a dress code: summer attire requires a blouse, skirt, stockings, and heels…"

"Can you opt out of that?" Lumian asked, keeping his laughter in check.

"No." Franca shook her head. "This must be one of Mr. Huang's rules."

After a moment of silence, she quietly asked, "Can I not go? Maybe Jenna can apply instead."

"Do you think she'd get the job?" Lumian countered.

Franca thought for a few seconds and said, "No."

Immediately, she gnashed her teeth. "I can't let Mr. Huang harass her!"

…

Dechuang Garden, Building 5, 23rd floor, Room 3.

Jenna stood by the window, contemplating whether to sneak into Luo Shan's room tonight for a more thorough search.

She hesitated for a while before deciding to wait. Luo Shan's current state was odd, still retaining her role as the neighborhood's guardian. Jenna worried that her actions might provoke Luo Shan, shattering that balance and causing her to lose her protective instincts entirely.

Even though Luo Shan was merely a dream image, Jenna couldn't bring herself to destroy the last traces of goodness within her.

That dedication to protection had touched her.

Maybe she can still be saved? Maybe, as long as she doesn't advance further and endure more severe pollution, she can retain her sense of self? Hmm, having a boon from an evil god doesn't necessarily mean turning bad, just like Lumian… Jenna mused as these thoughts crossed her mind.

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