Arknight Team Leader Chapter 1

Chapter 1: HR Life from Scratch

7:08 PM, Weather: Clear

Central Kazimierz, Four Cities Alliance, led by the Great Knight Kavaleria .

"Wait! Miss Platinum! hold on for a second!" he said urgently, his voice laced with a tinge of desperation.

"Miss Platinum," Shen Cangye said, his voice calm and measured, "although I did indeed follow you for a few hours, and I know I must look suspicious, I swear to you that I have no intention of gathering any intelligence from the Armorless Union. I am not a spy, nor am I working for anyone else. I simply want to show you something."

Just as Shen Cangye began to introduce himself and prepare to open the conversation, he was suddenly interrupted by the Kuranta assassin in front of him. In the blink of an eye, she had launched herself at him, wrapping both arms tightly around his neck and pressing her warm body against his.

For a moment, Shen Cangye was taken aback, surprised by the suddenness and skill of the attack. He could feel the weight of her body bearing down on him, the warmth of her breath on his neck. His heart raced with a mix of fear and excitement.

Shen Cangye felt a chill run down his spine as the girl's head was buried in his ear, whispering softly. He could feel her warm breath against his skin, sending shivers down his spine. However, the moment was short-lived as he realized that she held a blade between her fingers, pressed against his neck.

As he struggled to breathe, Shen Cangye could feel the cold metal of the blade against his skin, and the weight of the girl's body pressing down on him. With a blade held so close to his carotid artery, the slightest movement could mean instant death.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of the noisy street, it seemed that no one had noticed that Shen Cangye was standing at the edge of death. Despite the chaos around him, he was completely focused on the Kuranta assassin's blade, which was poised dangerously close to his carotid artery.

As he looked around him, Shen Cangye realized that he was completely on his own. No one seemed to notice the dangerous situation that he was in, and if the assassin were to make a move, it was unlikely that anyone would come to his aid.

The reality of the situation hit him hard, and he knew that he was truly alone in this dangerous situation. The Kuranta assassin's grip was firm, and he could feel her warm breath on his neck as they held each other tightly.

Despite the perilous situation that he was in, Shen Cangye knew that he had to remain calm and focused. He could not afford to panic, or to make any sudden movements that might provoke the assassin. He had to wait patiently for an opportunity to present itself.

It was a surreal moment, as the two of them stood there, tightly hugging each other, while people came and went on the busy street. To any casual observer, they might have appeared to be lovers locked in a passionate embrace, and not two people engaged in a deadly struggle for survival. But for Shen Cangye, the situation was all too real, and he knew that he had to find a way out, no matter the cost.

Platinum's warm breath softly fell on Shen Cangye's earlobe as she spoke, her voice both lazy and smooth, with an undeniable charm that was pleasing to the ear. But despite the seductive tone, her words were far from gentle, and carried a deadly warning.

"You better not be lying," she murmured, her grip tightening around his neck.

Shen Cangye felt a shiver run down his spine as he struggled to remain calm in the face of danger. He knew that any sudden movements could prove fatal, and so he spoke with a trembling voice, trying to convey his sincerity.

"Can you please let me go first?" he asked. "If you are still this close, I didn't dare to move at all."

Platinum hesitated for a moment, her blade still pressed against his neck. But then, with a quick flick of her wrist, she withdrew the blade and stepped back, releasing her hold on him.

As Platinum stepped back from Shen Cangye, he felt the tension in his body slowly start to ease. Her warm breath had been so close to his ear, and her blade had been so dangerously close to his neck, that he had feared for his life. But now, with her hands gently tidying his collar, he couldn't help but feel a strange sense of intimacy with this deadly assassin.

It was a strange sensation, almost like being dressed up by a loving partner before heading out for the day. And yet, even as she touched him with such tenderness, he knew that she could kill him in an instant if she chose to.

Platinum's disguise was flawless, her soft touch belying the deadly weapon hidden in her palm. It was only her sharp gaze that betrayed the truth of the situation, reminding Shen Cangye that he was in grave danger.

Shen Cangye nervously swallowed before pulling out a folded poster from his pocket.

"What I want to show you is this," he said, his voice shaking slightly. The poster in question was Rhodes Island's recruitment advertisement, and it was clear that he had been carrying it with him for some time.

The poster was designed to catch the eye, with a bold "I WANT YOU" emblazoned across the top, and a figure pointing directly at the viewer. But what really caught Platinum's attention was the head of the figure, which had been poorly photoshopped to resemble a light green haired Feline with the name tag ‘Kalt’sit’ on her chest.

Platinum glanced at the poster, unimpressed. "Did you make this yourself?" she asked, her mouth curving in a smile.

Shen Cangye's nerves jangled at the sight of her smile "Yes," he stammered, feeling his head spin with embarrassment..

"I have never seen such an unprofessional headhunter like you."

"I-I'm a part-timer," he stammered, his head feeling light and floaty with nerves.

He really doesn"t want to... He really doesn’t want to do HR work!

Shen Cangye's aversion to HR work was palpable. The tedious task of sorting through job applications and conducting interviews held no appeal for him. But duty called, and as a "Worldline Repairman" sent to Terra to fix a catastrophic problem, he couldn't afford to shirk his responsibilities.

The collapse of Terra's worldline had sent shockwaves through time and space, and the root cause was the premature death of a person known only as "Doctor." It was a daunting task, but Shen Cangye was determined to succeed, no matter what.

However, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of bitterness as he thought about the reason behind "Doctor's" death. The evil spirit of Babel - chief commander of Rhodes Island and strategist of Terra - had met an untimely end due to a choking incident while eating instant noodles. To make matters worse, the noodles were seasoned with five extremely pure Originum rocks.

It was a tragic and absurd turn of events, and Shen Cangye couldn't help but wonder if fate was conspiring against him.

As a "Worldline Repairman," Shen Cangye's job was to keep various sub-dimensions running smoothly. In most cases, each dimension progressed along a normal worldline without any issues. But when anomalies cropped up - such as the arrival of a Transmigrator or a time traveler, a sudden 180-degree shift in a character's personality, or unexpected events caused by unknown factors - it was his responsibility to intervene.

These abnormal situations had the potential to twist the worldline of a particular dimension, leading to unforeseeable consequences.

The job of a worldline repairman is to enter various sub-dimensions and repair and restore the deviated worldline.

As for the world of Terra.

Despite the best efforts of the system AI of the worldline repairman, the absence of the Doctor had far-reaching consequences that were hard to rectify. While the AI managed to perform tasks that were previously handled by the Doctor, such as creating the Rhodes Island battleship and PRTS, the Rhode Island Pharmaceutical Company underwent significant changes.

The influence of Rhode Island, once led by the Doctor, was now greatly diminished, leaving many of its operators scattered around the world in a "Beta world line." It was as if the death of the Doctor had plunged Terra into an entirely different timeline, and the destiny of everyone had been altered to some degree.

Shen Cangye, who had been idling in the high-level dimension, was abruptly assigned to Terra to undertake a long-term repair mission. The task at hand involved two main objectives: to boost the influence of Rhode Island and to reclaim the operators who were meant to be a part of it.

When he received this task, Shen Cangye was extremely frustrated and wished he could just travel back in time and smack away the boiling instant noodles from the young doctor’s hand.

Who gave such a thing to a young child!

Recruiting the lost operators proved to be a daunting challenge for Shen Cangye. Many other companies, eager to acquire talent, offered enticing salaries and extravagant benefits that Rhode Island couldn't possibly match in this world line. Despite the odds, Shen knew that he had to find a way to bring the operators back to Rhode Island, but simply throwing money around was not a viable option. With limited resources at his disposal, he had to come up with creative solutions to persuade the operators to rejoin Rhode Island's cause.

In the face of fierce competition from larger companies with more resources, Rhode Island could only offer a few meager benefits to entice the lost operators to return. These included a flexible work system that didn't require overtime work, a salary that was not guaranteed but had no cap, and a team atmosphere that thrived on the infamous 996 working schedule. However, the only benefit that seemed to hold any appeal was the promise of a "just eat and sleep, and do nothing else" work style, which had a somewhat unnerving connotation. It was like a small company with lofty ideals trying to poach technical talent from industry leaders, without the financial perks that those leaders could offer.

So, a colleague gave Shen Cangye a "friendly" suggestion: "If you can't recruit them, just try to conquer them romantically and make them come to Rhode Island for you!"

Shen Cangye didn"t know how to conquer them.

In the midst of traveling between multiple dimension, Shen Cangye had learned swordsmanship under the tutelage of Juuzou Shishimi, being taught the special skill "Iron Boxing" from Gongseob Ji, and obtained a Stand in the world of Jojo... in combat, he is undoubtedly far above anything in Terra.

However, despite his combat prowess and diverse range of skills acquired from various dimensions, Shen Cangye felt clueless when it came to interacting with girls. His expertise in swordsmanship, special skills, and stands did not translate to the realm of romance. As a worldline repairman, he had been too focused on his tasks to cultivate his social skills.

He had no choice but to veto this "friendly proposal" and instead search for HR job skills, braving his way to the human resources department.

Shen Cangye knew that he had to be careful and blend in seamlessly with the world he was tasked to repair. As a Worldline Repairman, he received a new identity in each dimension he visited, which he had to uphold without arousing any suspicion. In Terra, he was given the identity of a medical operator at Rhodes Island, trained by Kal'tsit and Warfarin.

Upon hearing that his mentor Kal’tsit was sending him to a hospital in Kazimierz for further training, Shen Cangye spent ten minutes preparing this poster.

On his way home from buying groceries after work, he encountered this platinum-ranked assassin. Shen Cangye had been following her all the while, trying to find an opportunity to strike up a conversation with the female assassin and when he warmed up with her, he would then show her the poster.

Shen Cangye watched as Platinum read the poster silently, thinking that he should have added a beauty filter to Kal’tsit"s picture and added a smiley face or something.

"Hey, little doctor." The Kuranta girl handed the poster back to him. "It's very rude to follow me for hours and then show me something like this-"

As she cast another glance at the poster, a faint smile danced across her lips, as though she was trying to contain her amusement. "Surely, you can't be serious about using this amateurish poster as a means to entice a platinum-ranked assassin such as myself to join your organization, which I must admit, I've never even heard of until now," she remarked with a hint of skepticism. Despite her doubts, there was a glimmer of curiosity in her eyes

"Huh?" Shen Cangye was taken aback upon hearing that.

Was that a rejection? It was, wasn"t it!

Shen Cangye's grip on Platinum's shoulder was firm, yet gentle. "Please, allow me to make it up to you for my rude behavior earlier. Let's have a meal together and discuss Rhodes Island. I promise to treat you," he pleaded, hoping to convince the platinum-ranked assassin to give him a chance.

Platinum raised an eyebrow, surprised by Shen Cangye's direct approach. "Is this your idea of inviting a lady to dine, or are you just worried that I won't agree to come to your organization unless you offer to pay?" she teased, her tone laced with playful sarcasm.

Shen Cangye blushed in embarrassment, realizing that he may have come on too strong. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. Please forgive my clumsiness," he apologized, quickly removing his hand from Platinum's shoulder.

Platinum let out a soft snort, amused by Shen Cangye's flustered demeanor. "Well, I suppose I can agree to your offer for now," she conceded, her eyes glinting with curiosity. "But don't think that a free meal will automatically convince me to join your organization."

To avoid any further awkwardness, Shen Cangye hastily tucked his right hand into his pocket and fished out his phone. "Let me search for a decent restaurant nearby... Aha, this one seems promising. Shall we?" he suggested, hoping to steer the conversation away from his previous misstep.

As he slipped his phone back into his pocket, Shen Cangye suddenly let out an exclamation. "Oh no!" he exclaimed, his face contorting into a frown.

Platinum arched an eyebrow, curious about what had caught Shen Cangye's attention. "What's the matter?" she inquired.

"My wallet...it's gone," Shen Cangye said, his expression turning serious. "The people in Kazimierz aren't as honest as I thought."

Platinum nodded in understanding, having had her fair share of run-ins with pickpockets and con artists over the years. "You need to be careful of those who bump into you on the street," she cautioned, her tone tinged with a hint of concern. "They're experts at creating distractions and slipping away with your valuables unnoticed."

"Did you happen to notice anyone acting suspiciously around us?" Shen Cangye inquired, his eyes scanning the bustling street for any signs of the pickpocket.

Platinum paused, her finger pressed to her lips as she contemplated Shen Cangye's question. "Well, from my perspective, you seem to be the most suspicious person around here," she remarked wryly, a hint of playful mischief in her tone.

Shen Cangye chuckled nervously, feeling slightly embarrassed by Platinum's response. "Ahem, well, how about we head to my place instead?" he suggested, hoping to change the subject. "I just bought some groceries, and I can whip up a quick meal for us."

While he had intended to treat Platinum to a nice dinner, Shen Cangye suddenly realized that he had only brought enough groceries for a single person meal!

However, the seasoned assassin saw through Shen Cangye's scheme almost immediately. "Ah-ha! I see what you're up to now. You never lost your wallet, did you? It was all part of your plan to lure me to your place," she teased, a hint of amusement in her voice.

Shen Cangye was quick to deny her accusation, flustered by the idea that he would go to such lengths to impress her. "No, no, that's not what happened at all!" he protested.

Platinum merely smirked and flicked his forehead playfully. "Your expression tells me otherwise," she remarked, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "But you know what? I'll let it slide this time."

With that, she clasped her hands behind her back and strode confidently ahead. "Alright then, lead the way to your place," she said, gesturing for Shen Cangye to follow her.

Shen Cangye quickly grabbed his work badge and ID, which had been thoroughly searched and confiscated by Platinum. "So, you agreed?" he asked, looking at her with a mix of curiosity and skepticism.

Platinum shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah, because you looked so silly," she said with a sly grin.

Shen Cangye caught up with her in just a few quick steps, his expression turning serious. "Don't you ever suspect that I might do something to you?" he asked, his voice low and cautious.

Platinum's eyes glinted with amusement as she met his gaze. "Have you forgotten?" she said, her tone cool and collected. "I'm an assassin. If you ever tried to harm me...I wouldn't hesitate to show you what it feels like to have a blade inside your throat."

Shen Cangye nervously patted his neck, feeling relieved that the little Pegasus had no intention of harming him. "No need, thank you," he stammered out.

The Pegasus looked at him with a grin, her eyes sparkling mischievously. "If someone really sent a fool like you to kill me," she said teasingly, "they must have either lost their mind or eaten too many walnuts that were thrown away in the dumpster."

Shen Cangye's face flushed with embarrassment at the Pegasus's word.

Sadly, it took him a whole minute to understand the underlined meaning behind her words.

"Wait, did you just insult me?" he asked, feeling a mixture of irritation and amusement.