Chapter 19 Inferior

The next morning, Russell took Amirus's floating car to the Tianen Group's downtown headquarters.

The good weather had lasted for only a short day.

It was just seven in the morning, but the sky had already turned a dark shade of gray.

It was mid-May by now, not long after Russell's birthday had passed, but the weather still showed no signs of warming.

The cold, damp wind drumming against the window carried tender young leaves with it, bringing a warning of an imminent downpour.

[May 18th, 8:10 am, Rainfall warning for Compass District and Tianen District]

[It is detected that you are in Tianen District. Moderate to heavy rain expected within an hour at your current location, please take shelter from the rain in advance and be careful not to catch a cold]

As the floating car gradually came to a stop and began to descend, two notification lines appeared in front of Russell.

This information came from a special institution belonging to the Hudson Ocean Mining Company called the "Quenching Neural Center".

It was built on every Sky Island, inside the headquarters and branches of the Hudson Ocean Mining Company. The specific equipment was a business secret, and even other companies among the Seven Giants had no right to inquire about it.

Every day it continuously analyzed and calculated numerous data for accurate prediction of rainfall, typhoons, abnormal waves, and other natural phenomena.

The analyzed data would be delivered to each terminal as soon as possible.

"Please extend my thanks to Lord Amirus."

Russell stood outside the car, bending politely to the driver who had only leopard ears and showed no signs of being prone-spiritual.

——On Chongguang Island, a floating car's driver could only be an AI.

However, on Happiness Island, job positions were an important data metric—every chip holder was required to have at least the possibility of three different jobs. If one lost their job, they could immediately enter a lower choice; or, with adequate preparation, make a leap to a higher choice.

Any job that could be done without the use of AI and could be non-automated was to be filled by real people as much as possible... such as drivers, waiters, couriers, and other "outdated professions" that have long been replaced by artificial intelligence on other Sky Islands.

The Tianen Group created as many meaningless job positions as possible in this way. Even if social efficiency was significantly reduced, the error and failure rates increased, they seemed to have no intention of changing this strategy.

"Please also take good care of yourself, sir."

The driver too gave a raspy yet magnetic reply and raised the car door once more.

Watching the floating car ascend and depart, Russell turned to look at the park behind him.

This was the headquarters of the Tianen Group.

Just the park alone occupied half of the area of Tianen District, with the rest being surrounding residential units and business districts. Russell didn't even want to think how high the property prices in Tianen District must be...

"Tianen Group" wasn't just a tall building or a grand building, it was an entire park. It wasn't just about the built-up area—the park covered sixteen million square meters of land, housing one hundred thousand direct employees working in the various branches of the Tianen Group, complete with built-in flyovers, highways, and an airport.

There were artificial lakes, rivers, waterfalls within the park. Enclosed sky trains ran continuously, while sightseeing cable cars were used for elevation... and boats that traversed the rivers like buses.

In the very center of the park stood a gigantic statue that Russell could see from the park's entrance.

It was not made of stone, but was a colored statue with an almost lifelike texture.

It depicted a slender and beautiful female Elf with delicate features. She wore a floor-length white dress, her wavy platinum hair cascading like a cloak down to the hem.

She had a smile like a tender mother, her hands clasped in front of her chest, holding a pink radiant crystal ball that resembled the sun.

The ball hovered between her hands, and from every angle, you could see a cartoon heart shape in a darker color right at the center of the crystal ball, which was also the logo of the Tianen Group. What was strange about it was that, though Russell could see the pink glow of the crystal ball from the entrance of the park, it did not cast a pink hue on the statue or the surrounding buildings.

The Elf woman, akin to a Goddess, was Saran, the CEO of Tianen Group. She was one of the "Eighty-four," and in terms of status and position, even higher than Amirus.

Russell stood at the entrance of the park, hesitating for a moment.

He decided to take a look at the map near the entrance.

It seemed like the results of the interview from yesterday were better than he had expected. After getting off the car, Russell clearly felt that almost everyone's gaze would pass over him.

They were quite polite, only staring at Russell or stealthily snapping a photo or two, without rushing up to ask to add friends or seek a photo together... If they were to act like those people from last night, chatting with him upon every encounter, Russell would feel faint.

——Indeed, he couldn't be considered socially anxious, but this rate of turning heads was a bit too high.

After studying the map for a while, he took the number three Sky Train and headed for the Execution Department building in District 1, following his uncle's guidance.

Perhaps because of his fame or because he had a cute and harmless appearance, once he got on the train, he was continuously greeted enthusiastically and pulled this way and that to offer him a seat. Eventually, he was pulled to the last row and squeezed between two big sisters with cow horns and horse ears.

To avoid touching the people next to him or to make the people think he needed more space and move away, Russell was forced to sit up straight, legs together, taking up as little space as possible.

This actually made Russell even more tired. It even reminded him of his experiences squeezing onto the subway during the morning rush hour years ago.

But fortunately, it didn't last too long.

When Russell got off the Sky Train, the crowd around him noticeably thinned out, and the atmosphere changed drastically.

If entering the park area was filled with a mix of golden and pink joy and a relaxed feeling...

Then the environment of District 1 was like applying a grey and black filter.

It would make people think of attending someone's funeral in a fine drizzle... that kind of feeling.

Russell looked around as he made his way to the Execution Department building.

Suddenly, he felt a shadow cast in front of him.

"—Mr. Russell?"

A voice rang out like so.

Russell looked up.

It was a man who Russell had not noticed before, appearing silently, like a shadow, right in front of him without any warning.

The man appeared to be in his thirties, and even without counting the tall deer antlers on his head, he was close to six feet tall.

He wore a dark black tailored overcoat, and his pale golden hair cascaded down his back. His posture was erect, bearing the quality of an Assassin, and the antlers on his head were shaped like those of a fallow deer. His ears were slightly pointed, which would make those seeing him for the first time think of an Elf.

His expression was icy cold, and through the visible dark circles under his eyes and his pale face, one could see his weariness.

"Just to confirm, Mr. Russell..."

The young man's icy voice contained not the slightest fawning or flattery, no eagerness to please or worship, but was filled with vigilance and scrutiny, "The newly famed Hero from yesterday... right?"

"...That's me."

Russell nodded lightly.

He did not offer the false defense "I do not consider myself a Hero" or anything of the sort.

That would have seemed pretentious and tiresome to others.

"Director Dodgson sent me to escort you to your inaugural medical exam."

The young man with deer antlers gave a respectful yet distant bow to Russell and said evenly, "Please follow me."

Although he was sent by the Director and was there to meet the revered "Hero," the young man's spine remained straight as though nothing could shake his will.

"May I ask... how should I address you?"

"Inferior," answered the young man with antlers briefly. "You should also choose a code name for yourself, Mr. Russell. Life and work should be kept separate."

"Ah, I've been thinking about that too..."

Before Inferior's presence, Russell subconsciously revealed an innocent and harmless smile, "It's just that I haven't decided yet what kind of code name to take. After all, if things go as expected, this code name will accompany me for life."

"Then you can take your time to think about it."

Inferior walked ahead, not looking back.

His voice, reminiscent of snow, cold and pale, yet clear, reached Russell's ears:

"The work at the Group will be very long, maybe for the second half of your life... or perhaps for the next life."