Chapter 14: The First Special Employee
Early the next morning, Xiang Yu was jolted awake by a phone call.
Still half asleep, she held the phone to her ear as the person on the other end—a random customer she’d never met—chattered excitedly. The gist of it was simple: Open up already, I want to soak in the hot springs.
Where did this die-hard fan come from? It’s only seven in the morning and they’re already waiting for us to open…
With a helpless sigh, Xiang Yu dragged herself out of bed and replied groggily, “We open at eight. Eight o’clock. I’m on my way.”
The caller was a young woman, sounding about the same age as the two college students from yesterday. She chirped away like an excited little bird.
“Boss? Are you the boss? Your employee’s already here, so hurry up and get out of bed.”
What the hell? What kind of young person shows up for work an hour early? Did I accidentally recruit an overachiever?
Convinced she’d misheard, Xiang Yu asked, “What employee?”
“Your shop’s employee! He’s really… well…”
The girl spoke with genuine admiration, but after struggling for several seconds, she still couldn’t find the right word. Finally, she sighed dramatically.
“He’s just… really something! I can’t even describe it. I even asked if he’d get in the hot spring with me, and he said no.”
Xiang Yu mentally reviewed the “talented bunch” working at her shop. She’d never hired based on looks—Xiao Du, Xiao Shan, Xiao Tian, and even the accountant were all perfectly ordinary-looking people. Surely it couldn’t be Liu Bo, built like Schwarzenegger, who had caught this girl’s eye.
It didn’t take long to prove her wrong.
From the background over the phone came Liu Bo’s voice as he greeted the customer.
“Welcome, welcome. Here for the hot springs? That’s quite a big camera you’ve got there.”
“Yep! I saw an online review. It’s okay to film here, right?”
“Of course, no problem. Come on in.”
“The person opening the door is here. Thanks, Boss!”
After exchanging a few more words, the young woman hung up briskly. Evidently, in her eyes, Liu Bo had earned nothing more than the title of “the guy who opens the door.”
A customer first thing in the morning—and from the sound of it, someone visiting specifically to review the place.
That had to be a good omen.
Today’s schedule was still packed. She had to head into the city to sign a promotional contract. She had already hired professionals from a media agency to create a publicity campaign, determined to make the hot spring famous before her remaining lifespan ran out. At the very least, if she was going to die, she’d spend every last cent first.
The mornings and evenings in Hama Valley were chilly. At this hour, the valley was still draped in silken white mist.
After washing up, Xiang Yu threw on a jacket and was about to ask Liu Bo what this “new employee” business was all about…
Wait.
Don’t tell me the new employee is the special employee?!
The icy spring water she’d splashed on her face cleared her mind instantly.
She hurriedly opened the staff group chat. Right then, Liu Bo had just sent a couple of messages.
Liu Bo: Boss, you’re amazing. You actually managed to find someone like this.
Liu Bo: Is he a model you hired for the boating attraction? I invited him inside to sit down, but he said he’d just wait outside.
!!!
With a slice of bread clenched between her teeth, Xiang Yu bolted out the door.
The local family’s house wasn’t far from the hot spring. Just around the corner, the bathhouse came into view.
She spotted him from a distance.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, and long-legged, dressed in nothing more than an ordinary button-up shirt and slacks. Yet somehow, what should have looked like a standard office-worker outfit fit him with the sharp, tailored elegance of a custom-made suit.
The only unusual thing about him was his rather long hair, giving him the air of a handsome young man from a historical drama.
He didn’t have three heads or six arms, nor a fearsome face with protruding fangs. As far as she could tell, he wasn’t missing any body parts either. The anxiety Xiang Yu had been carrying eased a little.
Heaven knew that all through the previous night’s dreams, she’d imagined the hot spring welcoming some aloof immortal, an unruly divine beast, or an invincible god of war. It had been a thoroughly exhausting night’s sleep.
“Hello! Excuse me… are you the, um… employee with special qualifications for Hama Valley Hot Springs? My name is Xiang Yu. I’m the manager here.”
After binge-watching too many videos about small business owners the night before, and feeling a bit nervous, calling herself “the boss” had seemed too overbearing. She’d spent half the night wondering how to address a disabled employee without sounding insensitive, but the moment she opened her mouth, the trendy title “manager” slipped out instead.
Xiang Yu suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to bury her face in embarrassment.
“My name is Shen Jiu.”
“The specially assigned disabled employee from Hama Green.”
The man bent down slightly and extended his hand, lowering himself until they were looking each other directly in the eye.
His eyes were the dark color commonly seen among East Asians—deep, ink-black, and unfathomable.
Oh… no wonder they’d made special requests for him. He really is easy on the eyes.
He was simply, undeniably handsome.
His bone structure did most of the work: prominent brow ridges, deep-set eyes, a high nose bridge, and brows that cast a slight shadow over his eyes. His jawline was sharp and clean, tapering neatly without a trace of excess softness.
Although his hair was long, it didn’t look messy. Loose strands fell casually across his forehead and shoulders, adding a relaxed, lively charm. It wasn’t the cold, intimidating “straight black hair” often seen on aloof beauties, either. Instead, it looked soft, fluffy, and surprisingly touchable.
Even if one was accustomed to seeing men with short hair, there was nothing strange about it. It suited him so naturally that it felt as though he’d been born that way.
And somehow, he looked familiar.
That vague sense of déjà vu was similar to the feeling she’d had after eating those strange mushrooms and seeing things.
She couldn’t quite remember. After all, attractive people often shared the same textbook-perfect facial proportions. There wasn’t much novelty in that.
For a moment, Xiang Yu found herself staring blankly.
Shen Jiu patiently allowed her to look.
Only after several seconds did she snap back to reality and finally take his outstretched hand.
Wait.
What had he just said?
A specially assigned disabled employee?
As their hands met, Xiang Yu’s gaze naturally followed downward and noticed that Shen Jiu was holding a cane in his other hand.
The cane was made of heavy, dark ebony, striking enough to attract attention. Yet Shen Jiu stood so straight and carried himself with such calm composure that most people’s eyes never landed on the cane at first glance.
So he really did have difficulty walking.
Xiang Yu was still trying to figure out how to continue the conversation without sounding insensitive when her phone suddenly croaked.
Then it croaked again.
And again.
And again and again and again.
The sound was the notification tone of the Hama Green App, and it sounded unusually urgent.
The corners of Xiang Yu’s mouth twitched slightly. After apologizing, she pulled out her phone.
[Emergency Humanitarian Mission Issued]
[Location: 2.3 km ahead, North Hama Village
Target Vehicle: Silver-gray van (license plate ending in 8K9)
Mission Objective: Ensure that law enforcement intervenes in time, prevent the victim from being transported away, and guarantee the victim’s safety….
Note: This event is not related to business operations. Your highest priority is ensuring your own safety. No rewards will be granted upon completion.]
!!!
The notice claimed there would be “no completion rewards” and emphasized “your own safety comes first,” yet the entire screen was surrounded by a glaring, flashing crimson border. The mission text blinked in bright yellow, while the phone speaker croaked frantically without stopping.
None of the previous missions had ever looked like this.
A van… a victim… law enforcement…
And in a remote village like Hama Valley, dozens of kilometers from the city.
North Hama Village…
That was Pingping’s home.
Could this be… a kidnapping? Human trafficking?
Xiang Yu’s eyes slowly widened.
She sucked in a sharp breath.
2.3 kilometers ahead.
She quickly looked around.
Under the large banyan tree was the electric scooter Liu Bo rode to work. It hadn’t even been locked.
Without another thought, she swung herself onto it and shouted toward Liu Bo, who was peeking out from inside the hot spring building—far more interested in gawking at the handsome newcomer.
“Liu Bo! Go get everyone! Something’s happening in North Village! Call the police! Call the police!”
There was no time to worry about whether the newcomer was some aloof celestial immortal or rebellious divine beast from the heavens. Besides, the man had an injured leg—she couldn’t drag him into danger.
She twisted the throttle.
The scooter shot forward like an arrow released from its bow.
Xiang Yu nearly lost control.
She glanced at the speedometer.
Its starting speed was already 40 km/h, and as she kept accelerating, it climbed higher…
60 km/h.
Holy crap.
A factory electric scooter is supposed to be limited to 25!
Liu Bo, you sneaky bastard—you actually modified it!
You beautiful genius!
She silently awarded Liu Bo a mental chicken drumstick.
Meanwhile, the croaking notification from the phone in her pocket grew louder and more frantic, like a death knell urging her onward.
The system hadn’t explicitly said so, but she knew the window for rescuing the victim was incredibly short.
The criminals were only stopping here briefly after leaving the city—not making a delivery. Hama Valley might be an impoverished backwater, but it still had poverty-relief officials like Ji Kailang stationed there.
Anyone reckless enough to commit something this monstrously evil here would be skinned alive by Director Ji.
Even if they weren’t afraid of Ji Kailang—a young woman with yellow-dyed hair—she was still a legitimate government official. Did they really think they could conduct this kind of business right under the nose of a state employee in broad daylight?
Then that meant…
They weren’t here to deliver someone.
They were here to pick up new stock.
Against a single opponent, Xiang Yu wasn’t worried. Most men in southern China weren’t as tall or as strong as she was. Growing up poor had left her tough and resilient. She’d trained in Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) at a martial arts club, worked part-time in an orthopedic clinic, delivered takeout as a gig worker, hauled packages for courier companies, and she still had a skill card she could use as a trump card.
But if it was a whole van full of people, charging in alone wasn’t likely to work.
She’d have to stall for time.
If a fight broke out, she’d fight.
If she couldn’t win, she’d run.
And even in the absolute worst-case scenario…
With barely ten days of life left anyway, dying while saving someone was a far better end than getting run over by a truck because of bad luck.
Besides, with the endurance she’d built from running at least twenty kilometers a day around campus, even if the kidnappers could beat her, they definitely couldn’t outrun her.
When she was still over a hundred meters away, she spotted exactly what the app had described.
A silver-gray van.
A short, heavyset man was talking to Pingping, who was carrying a woven basket on her back.
Xiang Yu twisted the throttle all the way.
She saw the man reach for Pingping’s basket.
Pingping clung tightly to it, refusing to let go, but her tiny body was dragged toward the van along with it.
Holy fucking shit!
There was no time to brake.
Still traveling at 60 km/h, Xiang Yu aimed the electric scooter straight at the van—and the squat man standing beside it.
From a distance, Sun Qiangyou saw something barreling toward him.
He turned, his face instantly twisting with terror.
He tried to dodge sideways—
Too late.
A huge, unstoppable force slammed violently into his waist.
The rider didn’t show the slightest hint of guilt.
For a split second, as everything happened in a flash, Sun Qiangyou thought he saw a feral grin spread across the rider’s face.
The next instant, his body was airborne.
Using nothing but his body fat to absorb the full impact of a 60 km/h collision, he was sent flying. For a brief few seconds, he even experienced the surreal sensation of weightlessness…
Bang!
Xiang Yu didn’t come away unscathed either.
The moment she hit him, the scooter was flung away by the tremendous momentum, skidding a long distance across the ground.
But she’d prepared herself mentally.
As she fell, she rolled several times, using her arms to absorb the impact. After only a couple of rolls, she was already scrambling back to her feet—
Much faster than Sun Qiangyou.
The people inside the van heard the commotion.
Another tall man stuck his head out to look, while several male voices shouted from inside.
Pingping was still standing where she was.
She looked completely frozen in fear.
She wasn’t even trying to run.
Damn it.
Still stumbling and barely steady on her feet, Xiang Yu lashed out with a flying kick—straight into the basket on Pingping’s back.
The little girl was sent stumbling several meters away before tumbling to the ground. The basket burst open, scattering wild termite mushrooms all over the road.
Planting herself between Pingping and the van, Xiang Yu put her hands on her hips and exploded in anger.
“Get lost!”
“You little thief! Last time you stole my family’s radishes, and now you’ve stolen mushrooms from my mountain!”
She deliberately stood in front of Pingping, then gave the fallen basket another hard kick.
“You’re still crying? You’ve got the stolen goods right here, and you’re still trying to deny it?!”
She reached as though she were about to grab Pingping by her braids.
Only then did the little girl finally snap out of her shock.
Forgetting all about the basket, she burst into deafening sobs and ran as fast as she could back toward the village.
[Achievement Unlocked: Kicked a Child from Beihai Kindergarten]
[Reward: One Skill Card.]
It was an incredibly timely reward.
But at a moment like this…
System, please.
This is really not the time for jokes.
The moment Xiang Yu finished her furious tirade, that notification popped into her mind.
When she turned around, she met the cold, sinister gaze of the gaunt, dark-skinned man sitting in the van.
She gave him a stiff, awkward smile, nudged the scattered termite mushrooms with her foot, then bent down to help the fat man she’d just rammed flying.
The heavyset man lay on the ground groaning miserably, squealing like a hog waiting to be slaughtered.
“Brother—big brother, I’m so sorry!” Xiang Yu wiped her face and babbled nonstop as she helped Sun Qiangyou to his feet. “The moment I saw that damned little brat, I just couldn’t stop in time. I didn’t even see you standing there!”
“That little thief stole radishes from my field last time too. She’s a repeat offender! The second she gets caught, she runs! Those mushrooms in her basket are all from my mountain—I recognize them! See the dirt stuck to them? That’s my dirt!”
“Big brother, I’m really sorry. Please take these mushrooms. I’ll take you to the hospital right now. We’ll go to the hospital immediately…”
As she spoke, the people inside the van climbed out one after another.
Nine men.
One woman.
The men came in all shapes and sizes—tall, short, fat, thin. The middle-aged woman, meanwhile, was neatly dressed and wore the kind of warm, kindly smile that made her look like an ordinary, respectable auntie.
The gaunt, dark-skinned man appeared to be the leader of the group.
After watching Xiang Yu perform her little act for a while, he raised a hand to stop her.
“You’re from this village?”
He smiled faintly, spat on the ground, then reached behind his lower back and drew a knife.
“So young…”
“Why are you growing radishes in a village like this?”
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