Chapter 032: The New Intern

Lu Mou took a deep drag from his cigarette and motioned for Li Tianque to sit down.

Li Tianque paused for a moment, and as he came to his senses, he realized that the restraints on his body had been removed. Hastily, he glanced at his reflection in the mirror: the bindings were gone, but the pitch-black mass still hovered above his head, leaving him feeling both uncomfortable and unsettled.

Aside from the inexplicable black substance atop his head, Li Tianque was now more concerned about his hands. Though his twisted fingers didn’t cause any obvious pain, the strange sensation made it hard to adapt, preventing him from moving normally.

Having learned his lesson, Li Tianque dared not act rashly. Even before sitting down, he carefully inspected the chair, not wanting his backside to suffer any further mishap.

Lu Mou noticed his anxiety and spoke leisurely, “You don’t need to be so tense. I watched your videos—didn’t you say in one of them, ‘If you haven’t died before dying, what’s there to fear?’ If you’re not afraid of death, a little trouble with your body isn’t such a big deal.”

Li Tianque glared at him without replying. Lu Mou continued, “Oh, right. You seem much calmer now. Let's talk about business.”

“What business?” Li Tianque retorted irritably.

“Since I’ve saved you, I naturally hope you’ll live well. To do that, the best option right now is to join our company.”

“Join your company? Absolutely not!” Li Tianque refused at once.

“Don’t be hasty. Besides, it’s not as if anyone can just walk in and join us. If you come to our company, you’ll start as an intern. Of course, during the internship, your workload won’t be heavy—mostly errands and small tasks.

Even though it’s just minor work, the pay is generous, far better than other companies. More importantly, aside from the high salary, we’ll also reward you with this black iodine, which can help suppress the core insect in your body and sustain your life,” Lu Mou explained.

“Is it really that simple? Just running errands, doing small tasks?” Li Tianque was deeply suspicious.

“Of course. You can think of us as an ordinary pest control company. You’re just a new intern. Our daily operations are straightforward and easy to pick up…” Lu Mou assured him.

Li Tianque swallowed. He certainly didn’t intend to accept the offer so easily, nor was he interested in a menial job at World Peace Pest Control. Yet, reacting instinctively, he asked the question most job seekers cared about:

“What’s the pay, exactly?”

“The base salary is three thousand a month. If you take on temporary investigation tasks, you’ll earn bonuses ranging from ten thousand to a hundred thousand per mission, depending on difficulty. As for the black iodine reward, it’s not fixed, but I guarantee it’ll be enough to keep you alive.

If one day we find a way to deal with the thing in your head, we’ll do everything to help you destroy it. After all, it’s safer to eliminate it than let it linger,” Lu Mou said.

Hearing this, Li Tianque’s heart sank. He replied helplessly, “I’m not particularly concerned about the salary, but three thousand is a bit too little.”

“That’s just the base. Besides your salary, you can keep making food review videos as a side job. But you can’t use your old account anymore—you’ll post through our marketing account. For your whole food review team, you’ll get a ten percent share of the revenue.”

“Your marketing account? Which one?”

“Delicacies Beyond Words,” Lu Mou replied.

The name stunned Li Tianque.

He knew “Delicacies Beyond Words”—the female streamer there was the pinnacle of attractiveness among all food review hosts, the famous Chonchon beauty!

“No wonder Chonchon always promoted pest control in her streams and said you could DM her for recruitment. She really does work at a pest control company!” Li Tianque was dumbfounded.

“That’s right,” Lu Mou said, raising an eyebrow.

Ten percent profit share…

Li Tianque began calculating. The Superstream platform had been cracking down hard on fake followers, so its fan numbers were solid. Chonchon alone had six million followers on Superstream, equivalent to tens of millions on other platforms. On Weibo, she had over twenty million followers, and her total across all platforms exceeded fifty million.

By this estimate, her monthly revenue was at least seven hundred thousand. If he got ten percent, that would be seventy thousand a month—far more than he could earn on his own.

Thinking about it, he felt a bit excited.

But Li Tianque was no fresh graduate. Temptation aside, he remained rational. He knew his own worth and judged the enticing pay carefully, not about to fall for exaggerated bonuses.

He suspected that, like elsewhere, earning bonuses beyond the base salary would be extremely difficult. As for the profit share, if the contract had loopholes or the finances were manipulated, he might never get his rightful income.

Even if it all was true, the risks were surely high.

With this in mind, Li Tianque wanted to keep his freelance status, so he said, “Money is important, but…”

“No ‘but.’ Work hard and earn it,” Lu Mou cut him off, stuffing his pipe into a block of antenna gel on the desk.

The burning pipe was extinguished, sinking into the soft gel.

Lu Mou watched as the gel slowly replaced the tobacco leaves in the pipe, and continued nonchalantly, “Don’t worry. Our income is transparent, and when you sign the contract, you’ll get a guaranteed minimum of one hundred thousand a month. Even if the marketing account is banned, your base pay won’t change.

Also, we provide food and lodging, travel expenses reimbursed anytime, so you won’t have any daily costs. Most importantly, your pay starts during the internship. No more excuses.”

Li Tianque stared at Lu Mou in disbelief.

In Lan City, ten thousand a month was considered high, but such jobs rarely offered room and board, and internships were usually long, with an assessment upon completion.

But Lu Mou’s offer, even without insurance or benefits, was far more lucrative than what he earned on his own.

Most importantly, without that black iodine to suppress the core insect, he could face death again…

Getting a second chance at life was no small feat; who cared about traps? Fortune favors the bold!

Li Tianque hesitated, then remembered another issue.

“But that police ID I saw you with…”

“Oh, it’s real. I am a police officer,” Lu Mou said coolly.

Li Tianque swallowed and said directly, “Alright, I believe you. I agree to join!”

Lu Mou raised an eyebrow, stood up with a smile, and said, “Good. Now that you’ve agreed, come with me. I’ll show you around the company so you can get familiar with the environment.”

Li Tianque still felt a little dazed; everything had happened so quickly and unexpectedly. Although his heart was uneasy, his body instinctively followed Lu Mou out of the room.

Just as they were about to leave, Li Tianque suddenly remembered, quickly extending his hand, “Wait, change my hand back first.”

Lu Mou shrugged, replying offhandedly, “No rush, let’s take a tour first.”

With that, Lu Mou opened the general manager's office door and led him into the largest office in the company.

Entering the office, Li Tianque saw a massive solid wood table at the center, piled high with scattered books and documents, along with snacks and miscellaneous items.

What surprised him most was that the table held two weapons resembling P90 submachine guns, painted in vivid colors with unusually thick barrels—he couldn’t tell if they were real or just models.

One side of the office housed a long antique shelf, beside which stood two aquariums. Neither contained any living creatures; the liquid inside looked less like water and more like flowing golden sand.

Atop the stacked books on the table lay a beautiful young woman, sprawled on her back in an impossibly supple pose. She was so deeply asleep that a giant bubble of snot had formed from her nose.

Next to the wooden table, a curly-haired boy with thick glasses was intently dismantling a mechanical arm—it seemed to be part of a robot. Waves of scorched steel odor wafted from his work.

The boy didn’t react to people entering the room; he didn’t even look up.

Aside from these two, a burly man sat upright on the sofa in the corner. He had dark skin, a close-cropped haircut, sharp brows, and piercing eyes. A long scar ran across the top of his head, its raised flesh resembling stitched muscle fibers—a bit frightening.

Even more astonishing, the man could grip two 110-kilogram hand grippers in his hands, working out with a steady creak.

When he saw Lu Mou and Li Tianque emerge, he greeted them warmly, flashing a mouthful of gleaming gold teeth.

Lu Mou clapped his hands and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce our company’s newest intern—Li Tianque!”