Bai Liu scanned the surroundings and joined the queue for the printer. Usually, in a real-world job market, people would print multiple copies of their resumes to distribute repeatedly. However, the job seekers here were clearly not wealthy, and the cost of printing was relatively high, so Bai Liu noticed that most of them only printed a single 10-yuan [hard card-style] resume.
This type of resume was just a piece of hard cardstock the size of an A4 sheet, densely packed with all the details of the applicant's resume, with a hole punched at the top.
After printing their resumes, these people would naturally take out a piece of string, thread it through the hole, and hang the resume around their necks before heading into the job market.
This peculiar style of resume caught Bai Liu's attention. He followed the movements of these people with his gaze and watched them walk through a long corridor, turn a corner, and enter the job market.
Bai Liu turned his head, then paused.
In fact, after understanding the system here, Bai Liu had already realized that this group of temporary residents who needed work to survive and pay off loans occupied the bottom of the food chain in Sunshine City.
Given that a large number of residents needed work just to maintain a basic livelihood, the supply-and-demand relationship determined that jobs here were certainly not easy to find. This also meant that those offering positions held an extremely high status relative to the job seekers, while the job seekers themselves occupied an extremely low position.
The job hunting here was unlike job hunting in reality—not the kind where you were given basic politeness and respect, sitting in front of an office desk, going through rounds of written tests and interviews before being informed whether you had been hired.
Instead, it was as chaotic and naked as a marketplace.
Job seekers with resume cards hanging around their necks squatted densely along both sides of the corridor like beggars. Their faces were sallow, and they clutched instant noodles and half-eaten bread in their hands, their eyes filled with longing as they watched recruiters in suits and ties walking through the middle, like a pile of human merchandise waiting to be purchased, complete with labels and prices attached.
The recruiters looked left and right indifferently, as though picking out cuts of pork, before pointing at someone. "You, stick your head over here."
The chosen job seeker immediately stretched their head over impatiently, trying their best like a dog to extend their neck so the recruiter could clearly see the resume hanging there. They spoke carefully: "Hello, hello."
The recruiter glanced nonchalantly at the resume hanging on the man's chest. "…Graduated from an average university, three years of work experience, previous company was alright…"
"Salary requirement is five thousand?" The recruiter's tone changed as he read that.
The job seeker immediately spoke, trembling with fear: "It can be negotiated! How much do you think is appropriate?"
"Our expected salary for this position is three thousand eight to four thousand," the recruiter said flatly.
The job seeker hesitated for a moment. Lowering his head, he touched the resume card hanging from his neck and spoke with difficulty: "Four thousand is too little. This position requires ten hours of work a day, and I have to spend three thousand dollars a month on land fees. I can only save eight hundred to one thousand. The instant noodles here cost eight yuan per cup. Even if I only eat two meals a day, that's already four hundred and eighty, plus other expenses…"
"I also want to save money to buy a house." He half-knelt on the ground, almost as though he were kneeling completely, looking up at the recruiter with pleading eyes. "I can't survive on four thousand. How about four thousand five…"
A job seeker with bloodshot eyes beside him suddenly stood up and roared loudly: "I don't need four thousand five! Give me three thousand five! Let me do it!"
Another person desperately squeezed closer to the recruiter, grabbing his pant leg and raising the resume hanging from his neck. "Look at me! I can do it for three thousand two!"
"Three thousand! I'll do it for three thousand!"
"Two thousand nine!"
"Two thousand eight!"
Under the blank gaze of the original job seeker, the salary dropped all the way to two thousand five, finally stopping there as countless people fought over it.
The recruiter seemed to have anticipated this scene long ago. He yawned lazily, waited for the crowd to finish arguing, then turned back to the original job seeker and asked indifferently, "Two thousand five. You taking it or not?"
The job seeker's eyes filled with tears, one drop after another. He lowered his head and said nothing. Without pausing, the recruiter shifted his gaze elsewhere. "You, stick your head over here…"
"Wait!" The job seeker gritted his teeth and interrupted the recruiter. He looked as though he were about to cry. "Can it be three thousand? I really can't survive here in two thousand five!"
The recruiter looked coldly at the job seeker kneeling on the ground. "You can't survive—what does that have to do with our company?"
After speaking, the recruiter brushed past the stunned job seeker and pointed at another person. "You, stick your head over here. Let me take a look."
The chosen person hurriedly stretched his head over and said, "I can accept a salary of two thousand five!"
"Mm." The recruiter nodded as though this were completely ordinary. "There are plenty of people willing to accept it. It's not like you get the money just because you say yes."
The man stuttered before squatting back down, shrinking into himself as he replied quietly, "…Yes."
The recruiter turned and ordered the person beside him, "Give them all a test paper. Grade them, and notify anyone who scores above ninety for an interview."
After speaking, the recruiter left beneath the eager gazes of the crowd. Those who had already finished the test and handed in their papers clutched their phones and waited blankly, hands clasped together as they prayed incessantly:
"Bless me, let the phone call come quickly, let the phone call come quickly!"
"Let me get this job!"
The original job seeker sat on the ground in a daze, clutching his resume. He was clearly a newcomer. "Why is there still someone fighting over a job that only pays two thousand five? It's impossible to survive on that…"
The job seeker beside him, who had finished the test, looked at him strangely. His eyes were bloodshot from staying up late. "Of course you can't survive on one job."
"We all work two or three jobs."
The man asked in disbelief, "Two or three jobs?! One job already requires seven days a week, not even counting overtime, ten hours a day. How do you still have time to work two or three jobs?! Don't you sleep?"
"Sleep? We don't have houses, so where would we sleep? We can't sleep on the street, so we can only sleep at the company." The man yawned, looking excited as he held up five fingers. "Besides, if you're lucky enough to work at a real estate company, because the land belongs to them, the land fee while working there is only five yuan per hour! And you can even sneak in a little sleep! It's a huge profit, you know!"
"The company that was just about to hire you is a subsidiary of a real estate firm. You really lost out by not agreeing." The man advised him sincerely, "Next time someone offers you a job, you can accept two thousand five."
"A salary of two thousand five is the average rate here. In their eyes, we're only worth that much—just enough money to keep us alive."
Bai Liu withdrew his gaze. He printed a resume, but instead of hanging it around his neck, he held it in his hand and walked toward the job market.
Most of the people here were temporary residents and mortgage slaves, desperately in need of money.
Everyone's eyes were bloodshot. Their numb expressions concealed persistent anxiety and despair. Every recruiter who passed by would ignite a spark in their eyes, but as the recruiter left with someone else, that spark would extinguish again, growing dimmer and dimmer.
When he completed the second round through the market, Bai Liu found his own teammates squatting together among the job seekers.
When he found them, Mu Shicheng was arguing with a recruiter.
"You want to hire me for two thousand five?!" Mu Shicheng sneered while holding his resume board, murderous intent hidden within his smile. It felt as though he might smash the recruiter with the board the very next second. "At that price, why don't you just hire a dog to work the front desk for your company?"
"A dog receptionist and a dog company sound like a perfect match."
Anger appeared on the recruiter's face as well. "I only approached you because you have a good appearance; our sales front desk needs someone like you. Don't be ungrateful. If you don't want this two-thousand-five-yuan job, there are plenty of people who do!"
As soon as the recruiter finished speaking, the heads of the surrounding crowd immediately lifted.
Mu Shicheng had clearly encountered this kind of scene before. The moment he saw their reactions, he knew what was about to happen, and his anger flared even further. "The boss just insulted you by saying only dogs would do this kind of work! And you people are still rushing to take it—don't you feel pathetic?!"
No one paid attention to what Mu Shicheng was saying. Everyone simply raised their heads and stared intently at the recruiter, waiting for him to speak.
The recruiter looked around at the surrounding crowd and folded his arms, proudly facing Mu Shicheng. "If you don't want the job, there are plenty of people who do. Let me tell you, forget two thousand five—there are plenty of people willing to do it for two thousand or even one thousand five."
"What's the difference between these low-class citizens who can't even afford to buy a house and dogs?" The recruiter's expression was full of disdain and contempt. "Giving them money, letting them work, allowing them to stand on the land of Sunshine City a little longer, allowing them to live here a little longer—that's already a blessing for them. We're basically doing charity, alright?"
Mu Shicheng bared his teeth. "You motherf—"
Tang Erda reached out and blocked him with a dark expression. "We can't use violence. If you hurt someone, your identity card will instantly turn red-named. Once you're red-named, you'll be expelled by the patrol team and won't be able to…" buy five buildings.
Before Tang Erda could finish speaking, a sharp bone whip suddenly appeared around the recruiter's neck, slashing cleanly and decisively to the right.
Blood gushed out. The recruiter clutched his bleeding throat, the pride on his face instantly turning to panic. Gasping for air, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, trying to call the police.
A pair of bloodstained hands calmly took the phone out of the recruiter's pocket. Bai Liu smiled as he half-knelt down, lightly shaking the phone in front of the recruiter, who lay on the ground struggling while clutching his throat. "Is this what you're looking for?"
[System Warning: Detected that player Bai Liu killed an NPC. City ID card has turned red-named, changing from temporary resident status to wanted criminal status!]
Tang Erda stared fixedly at Bai Liu, who was squatting on the ground. "Bai Liu, our mission is to own five buildings. Killing people will get you expelled and strip you of your Sunshine City resident status, let alone allow you to own houses here."
Bai Liu waited until the recruiter stopped breathing before looking up at his teammates. He smiled faintly. "Captain Tang, you misunderstood the key point. The requirement is that we collectively own five buildings, not that I personally have to own five buildings."
"It's impossible to clear this instance within a week and obtain five buildings through normal means. We'll have to take some unconventional routes. Besides, this is a team instance, so everyone needs to work together. As long as one member of our team remains a normal resident who can legally own property, the others don't need to care so much about their resident status in this city."
Bai Liu extended two fingers and searched the recruiter's body, pulling out a resident ID card, several recruitment test documents, and finally a property deed from an inner pocket.
[System Notification: Congratulations to player Bai Liu for killing a homeowner! Obtained the property deed for a unit on the 18th floor of Building 17, Zone A!]
[After a homeowner dies, they will turn into a ghost and wander within their own room, attacking anyone who enters and turning the house into a haunted house—that's not very good!]
[System Notification: Please proceed to the location, player Bai Liu, and deal with the homeowner's ghost to obtain a haunted house!]
Bai Liu smiled and stood up, holding the bloodstained property deed between two fingers. "It seems my line of thinking was correct."
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Author's Note:
The system here refers to a society with a system of private land ownership, which doesn't have much to do with the domestic situation; domestically, land is publicly owned.
The method of obtaining houses in this instance is not something that can be referenced in reality! This is a game; these are not real people, they are NPCs!