3: Chapter 3 will make it impossible for you to continue in this line of work.

Woken up by the familiar phone alarm, Zhao Xiaoshuai spent five minutes washing up with half-opened eyes.

As soon as he stepped out, he discovered he had forgotten to charge his electric scooter, so he had to laboriously squeeze onto the Route 361 bus.

"Make way, make way, I need to get off!"

"If you want to get off, why didn't you move earlier! People in front, scooch up, someone needs to get off!"

The bus during the morning rush hour was basically the type where for every person who got on, someone else had to be squeezed off; it was packed so tight that moving even a little was difficult.

[Ding! Stranger Illustrated Handbook Unlocked: Li Xin]

[Friendly Reminder: Lighting up a stranger's entry for the first time greatly increases the chance of obtaining a card]

[Congratulations to the host for luckily obtaining a cash-back card (Permanent)]

Zhao Xiaoshuai, who was busy making room for the person behind him, was stunned. He hadn't yet had time to figure out what kind of behavior counted as interacting with other characters, but he hadn't expected that a simple dialogue between them would unexpectedly grant him a cash-back card.

He tried it with several more people on the way and found that as long as they formed a complete dialogue, he could light up a stranger's character card and had a high probability of obtaining a card.

By the time he got off the bus, he had obtained a total of 3 cash-back cards and 2 multiplier cards.

Earning a guaranteed two 648-yuan packs put him in a very good mood until he entered the company.

"Hey, Brother Zhao, haven't you checked the work group chat since yesterday?"

"I was busy yesterday and haven't looked at it."

[Ding! Illustrated Handbook Unlocked: Zhao Ji]

[Congratulations to the host for luckily obtaining a multiplier card (Permanent)]

[Favorability/Relationship Value: 103 (Acquaintance), you can claim the favorability treasure chest for the current level]

"Miss Ling lost her temper big time yesterday. I reckon you're in for it. If you can, go apologize quickly."

"Apologize for what? I finished all my work and 'requested leave' to get off work at the normal time. On what grounds does she refuse the leave? She's being completely unreasonable and spoiled."

Zhao Ji was about to offer more advice, but seeing the General Manager walking this way, he silently retreated to his workstation.

"Zhao Xiaoshuai, come with me for a moment."

The two of them walked into an empty meeting room, and the General Manager closed the door.

"Little Zhao, I've heard your work attitude has been very negative lately. You're an old employee, why are you being so immature? I originally planned to nominate you for this year's Outstanding Employee."

"Manager Liu, is this my problem? I didn't delay my work. After legal working hours, I requested leave to get off work normally. Is there still a problem with that?"

[Ding! Illustrated Handbook Unlocked: Liu Zhongcheng (Character Evaluation 6.18)]

[Congratulations to the host for luckily obtaining a multiplier copper card (Permanent)]

[Favorability/Relationship Value: 100 (Acquaintance), you can claim the favorability treasure chest for the current level]

"It seems you don't understand my meaning," Liu Zhongcheng shook his head. "Your group's work distribution might be unreasonable, leading to a situation where some are idle while others are overworked."

"Next, I will make some adjustments. You should be mentally prepared."

In the past, Zhao Xiaoshuai would have yielded long ago, but he was no longer the same man. He truly looked down on this exhausting, low-paying job now and retorted directly:

"Manager Liu, you understand the business too. My workload is already the largest and most difficult in the whole group, and you want to give me more?"

"Yes, some people work overtime late into the night every day, while others can finish their tasks before getting off work."

"Is there a possibility that the project schedule itself is unreasonable?"

"Excluding those who intentionally slack off, is there a possibility that there's a difference in everyone's abilities?"

Liu Zhongcheng lost his patience. "I'm just informing you, not bargaining with you. Go back to work. I'll send out the updated schedule to the group once I'm finished."

"I quit."

These words had rushed to his lips countless times before, only to be suppressed by the harsh realities of life.

Only now could Zhao Xiaoshuai finally say it with calm indifference.

Liu Zhongcheng was stunned, then smiled disdainfully. "Who are you trying to scare? If you don't do it, plenty of people are scrambling to do it. If you can do it, do it; if not, get lost."

Zhao Xiaoshuai didn't waste any words, pushing the door open and heading to his workstation to start packing his things.

"What's wrong, Brother Zhao? Don't be impulsive, jobs are hard to find nowadays."

"Brother Zhao, just bear with it."

Zhao Xiaoshuai had already endured for many years. When projects went well, it was always due to the leadership's guidance; when they failed, it was workers like them who took the fall. Over the years, he hadn't received a single project bonus, nor had he been given a chance for promotion.

The appearance of the system gave him enough confidence to finally stop putting up with this injustice.

"Let's be clear, you're resigning voluntarily for personal reasons, so there's no compensation," Liu Zhongcheng followed him, crossing his arms and watching with amusement.

Zhao Xiaoshuai didn't have many belongings and finished packing quickly. "Just process the resignation. That thousand-odd yuan of compensation you offer is laughable."

Some private companies were very sneaky; the actual salary would be the city's minimum wage standard, and then they would use other names to piece together various benefits to form the final salary.

It looked like several thousand or even ten thousand, but in reality, the base salary was only a little over a thousand.

In this way, when it came to social security, compensation, overtime pay (which often didn't exist anyway), and other matters, the company could pay at the lowest standard.

With the leadership giving the green light, the resignation procedures were surprisingly smooth. Ten minutes later, Zhao Xiaoshuai was unemployed.

In the hallway as he left, he unexpectedly ran into Ling Rui, who had just arrived for work.

Ling Rui was the group leader who had been parachuted into their team. Nominally, she managed a dozen people, but in reality, most of the task assignments were done by the General Manager, and the actual work was coordinated by Zhao Xiaoshuai.

She might have some personal ability, but when it came to management and coordination, she was completely clueless.

She was a "top student" who had just graduated from a foreign university and returned from studying abroad. She was likely a relative of some leader, and her spoiled attitude was very annoying.

But even though Zhao Xiaoshuai had a lot of grievances against her, he had to admit she was indeed very beautiful.

So, despite her foul temper, she still attracted a large number of sycophants.

Sometimes, men just like to fantasize about unrealistic things, thinking, "What if?"

In reality, that "what if" never happens.

"Oh, isn't this Deputy Group Leader Zhao? I heard you're so good at your job that you can handle it with ease while others can't even finish with overtime. Today, I'm going to thoroughly check your recent work. I don't believe I won't find any mistakes!"

"You won't have the chance."

[Ding! Illustrated Handbook Unlocked: Ling Rui (Character Evaluation 7.4)]

[Congratulations to the host for luckily obtaining a multiplier silver card (Permanent)]

'I didn't expect an extra harvest. It would be great if I could exchange words with all the big leaders. Unfortunately, with my status, I can't even knock on their doors without a valid reason.'

[multiplier copper card: After use, increases the cash-back rate by 100% and increases the cash-back limit by 100,000 yuan]

[multiplier silver card: After use, increases the cash-back rate by 100% and increases the cash-back limit by 10,000,000 yuan]

This meant that as long as he could get enough cash, he could use these two special cash-back cards to make a fortune!

"Although your work theoretically should be audited by the General Manager, it's just a matter of a word from me. If you're smart, you'll obediently apologize to me. In all my life, no one has ever dared to shout at me so loudly!"

"I've already resigned, Miss Ling."

Ling Rui was a bit surprised, but then she chased after him, unwilling to let it go. "You think resigning is enough? I'm telling you, if you don't apologize to me, believe it or not, I'll make sure you can't work in this industry in Chuncheng anymore!"

"Who do you think you are? Have you been reading too many novels and watching too many short dramas?"

"Hmph! Don't you regret it!"

Zhao Xiaoshuai didn't take it to heart. Even if it were true, so what? He definitely wouldn't be working a job again—not for the rest of his life.