Seeing Ziye arrive, Jiunian quickly rose to offer her his seat. Ziye shook her head, gesturing for him to sit back down, and asked, "What's the situation?" Jiunian opened his mouth, ready to howl, but Ziye shot him a sharp glare: "No howling!" In front of so many people, letting out a howl would completely ruin the reputation of the Wolf Den.

Jiunian forcibly swallowed the cry rising in his throat, looking at Ziye with a pained expression: "Hundreds of people come to apply every year, and less than half are actually usable." Xiao Hei, who was idling nearby, blurted out upon hearing Jiunian's words, "Most of them are just here to see the twins." Ziye looked at the twins, who both shrugged simultaneously, looking helpless. Ziye asked curiously, "Didn't Datou say the recruits were excellent?

Why does everyone look utterly defeated?" Jiunian slumped onto the table, utterly dejected. "Do you know how many people we interviewed these past few days?

Thousands! And we only hired thirty!!" Ziye glanced at the long line, suddenly realizing that too many people weren't necessarily a good thing.

She patted Jiunian's shoulder. "Hold on a little longer; tomorrow is a rest day." Jiunian snapped upright instantly: "Yes, Boss!" Ziye playfully smacked him on the head, grabbed a stool, and sat down between Tang Wan and Aikes, immediately reviewing the resumes of the successful candidates.

The specializations were diverse: some were in construction engineering, some in space station design, others in metal measurement and control. It had to be said that every single one was talent needed for post-war reconstruction—no wonder Datou was so pleased.

Aikes pointed to a few resumes on the small team's shared drive. "These are the ones Jiunian kept back to place in the Mengya Group." Just as Ziye was about to look, Splinter suddenly nudged Aikes's elbow.

"Hey, hey, there’s someone over there who seems to be waving at us, Aike. Do you know him?" Ziye casually glanced over and suddenly felt the person looked somewhat familiar.

She thought for a moment—wait, wasn't that Shabi, a classmate from her first-year class in the Mechanical Repair Department? She had seen him twice when they enrolled, but he later transferred to another department.

If it weren't for the overly prominent feature of his nostrils pointing straight up, she wouldn't have recognized him. As she was thinking, she heard Aikes say, "No, I don't know him." Perhaps he was looking for her?

She looked toward Shabi and pointed at herself; Shabi immediately nodded emphatically. Well, that was unexpected.

Ziye stood up from her seat and walked toward Shabi. Before she even got close, Shabi eagerly said, "Hi, you must be Ziye.

Long time no see." Ziye smiled. "It has been a long time.

Are you looking for me?" Shabi appeared slightly flustered. He glanced at the crowd waiting in line and noticed quite a few people were watching him, instantly feeling entitled to some privilege.

His posture straightened considerably. "Yes, I am.

Is the Wolf Den Legion recruiting here? Can I join?" Ziye wasn't sure what to say.

Feeling like she was being seen as a source for backdoor entry was surprisingly comical. She didn't directly refuse, nor did she agree, only asking, "Aren't you only a junior?

You still have a year until graduation, why the rush?" Shabi said, "Isn't this the perfect opportunity? The Wolf Den needs people now; getting in now would be much better than waiting until next year.

You’ve been in there so long, surely you know that." Ziye: "..." —Of course, she knew that. What she didn't know was what exactly he was trying to achieve.

Shabi continued, "Are you familiar with the Wolf Den?" Ziye nodded. "Reasonably familiar." Shabi beamed.

"Then have you made contact with any of the Wolf Den higher-ups while in the Mengya Group? While the legion is hiring, we could join headquarters together.

Then, anyone who joins later will have to listen to us..." His smile grew wider, a look of self-satisfaction blooming on his face, as if securing a position in the Wolf Den Legion headquarters was as easy as picking something up from his pocket. Little Sprout rolled repeatedly around Ziye's waist, its exaggerated laughter echoing in Ziye's consciousness.

"Kaka-ka. I bet the old man he is, he definitely doesn't know you've held a top spot in headquarters for years.

Utterly hopeless fool, no wonder they call him 'Sha-Bi' [idiot/dumbass]." Ziye reached out and pinched Little Sprout's cheek, saying mentally, "You're foolish too. If you don't reveal it and I don't reveal it, how would anyone know?" She looked up and gave Shabi a faint smile.

"Then I wish you the best of luck. I’m quite happy at the Mengya Group for now and don't plan on moving to Legion Headquarters." Shabi looked at her as if wishing she were made of steel, not iron.

"You're too easily satisfied. Think about it: there, you can interact with so many high-ranking officials, and even officials from other legions.

How can a tiny Mengya Group compare? You're being dense!" Ziye shrugged.

"I don't have such grand ambitions, sorry." Having said that, she turned to walk back toward the twins. She had only taken two steps when Shabi grabbed her arm.

She frowned and turned back. Shabi smiled obsequiously, "It's fine if you don't want to go yourself.

Can you introduce me to those few people at the recruitment fair? I know you know them." Ziye pulled her hand free and looked back at him.

"There are hundreds of people queuing here. If I lead you right up to them, what will others think?" Shabi laughed.

"Who cares what they think? As long as I can get in, right?" Ziye felt a profound disgust for Shabi from the bottom of her heart.

She suppressed her irritation. "I went through a rigorous process to get in, and I have no real authority there either.

You should just queue up." With that, she walked away without looking back. Shabi clenched his fist behind her.

Ziye returned to the recruiting desk, her expression still cold. Aikes noticed her poor mood and secretly nudged her arm.

"What's wrong?" Ziye shook her head. "Nothing.

It’s almost five o'clock. Let's pack up together and grab dinner later.

Let's finish early today; you all worked hard." Aikes pouted. "What about these interviewees?" Ziye said, "Collect the resumes.

Decide whether to interview based on those first; it will save you some trouble." In truth, many of these recruitment tasks could be handled by robots. However, having robots interview humans felt insulting to the applicants, which was why this time, they had used entirely real staff.

After interviewing for several days and seeing so many applicants, only a few dozen suitable candidates were found—that ratio was too small. They didn't have time to waste at the recruitment fair either.

Once the legion sent a specialized team tomorrow to take over, this group of half-baked recruiters could return to their actual jobs. Regardless, the name had been established; they wouldn't worry about a lack of future applicants.

That evening, after packing up, the group went to Li Gong for a large celebratory meal. The next day, the twins departed to report to the Kaga Army, and Jiunian, along with his beloved mechanical white tiger and the interviewees he favored, prepared to set off for the Mengya Group.

Before leaving, Ziye remembered something and asked, "Jiunian, if I offered not to transfer you to the Wolf Den's Strategic Weapons Department as a designer, would you agree?" Upon hearing this, Jiunian abruptly stopped in his tracks and gave Ziye a bear hug. Ziye was stunned.

Jiunian shouted with laughter, "I knew that's what you were thinking. But unfortunately, I won't go." Ziye puffed out her cheeks.

"Why not?" Jiunian replied, "I really like working at the Mengya Group. I like its design philosophy, and I like the working atmosphere—being able to skip work whenever I want." The latter sentence seemed to be the real emphasis.

Ziye punched him lightly in the stomach. "Tell me the truth." Jiunian waved his hand.

"Honestly, I feel both the Mengya Group and the Wolf Den's Strategic Weapons Department have huge development potential, Ziye, because you are there. The biggest difference between Mengya Group and the Strategic Weapons Department is that one faces the market, and the other faces war.

I like seeing my work on the market, seeing people enjoy what I create. At Mengya Group, I have no constraints—I like that feeling." Ziye sighed.

"Fine, I won't force you." Jiunian flashed her a toothy grin and added, "I almost forgot one thing. Although I don't care much for that stock thing, I’m still very grateful that you gave me two percent of the Mengya Group's shares.

I'm leaving now, goodbye." After everyone else boarded the shuttle, Jiunian waved to Ziye and stepped into the cabin. Ziye waved back and let out a soft breath.

Regarding the Mengya Group shares: she personally held thirty-six percent, Black Beard held twenty-five percent, Red Hair fourteen percent, Dead Pervert eight percent, An Junlie five percent, Jiunian two percent, and the remaining ten percent was held by widely dispersed investors. The reason she had given Jiunian two percent initially was because she intended to focus her main efforts on the Wolf Den's Strategic Weapons Department and was afraid of losing the pillar that was Jiunian, so she had reluctantly done it.

Looking back now, she had made the right decision. In the past two years, the value Jiunian created for the Mengya Group far exceeded that two percent.

Of course, with the Mengya Group's rapid growth, Jiunian had become instantly wealthy just from those shares. "Oh dear," Ziye suddenly recalled a very important matter, frustratedly hitting her left palm with her right hand.

"I was so foolish just now, how could I forget to ask him to invest in the Air Force Assembly Workshop? That was a huge oversight." The major shareholders of the Mengya Group—Black Beard, Red Hair, Dead Pervert, and herself—should have been the wealthiest people in the legion.

Instead, they had poured all their capital into the Air Force Assembly Workshop, turning them into the 'Fourth Level Paupers.' The minor shareholders, meanwhile, were actually richer. Perhaps it was time to extort the minor shareholders?

Tang Wan ran up to Ziye, seeing her face shift between cloudy and sunny, and couldn't help but ask, "Hey, hey, did you develop a crush on that guy?" Ziye instantly remembered Jiunian’s earlier howling and shuddered. "Don't joke with me.

I would never like him." Tang Wan nodded. "True.

He couldn't handle you." Ziye shot her a sidelong glance. Tang Wan giggled.

"Bran said there's something really fun happening over at Fia. I haven't been there yet.

Shall we go take a look?" Ziye poked her forehead. "Don't even think about it.

We’re heading back to the Xi Lian Galaxy to continue building the space station." Tang Wan pouted, let out a hum, and muttered under her breath, "Fine if you won't go. I'll just ask Bran to tell me about it." Bran, currently on Fia, suddenly sneezed violently.

-RL