If the work receives widespread recognition, the salary will gradually increase with no upper limit.
The job provides meals and accommodation, and the contract specifies the exact location of the cafeteria and meal standards. Everyone can freely enter the standard dining hall, while access to other dining areas requires unlocking.
During meals, you’re only allowed to eat as much as you want inside—no takeout is permitted.
As for accommodation, it’s a standard employee dormitory. Each person is assigned a numbered tag corresponding to a bed in the sleeping area. You’ll need to take your tag to the dormitory to find your assigned bunk and rest.
Qi Xu had a strong impression of the dormitory—a vast space filled entirely with triple-decker beds.
He glanced at his tag: Bunk 66, middle berth...
How disgusting. The top or bottom bunk would’ve been better than this.
These were considered perks, but they came with certain restrictions. For example, you couldn’t wander into unauthorized areas outside your work zone, and you had to diligently fulfill your job responsibilities. Otherwise, corresponding supplies would be deducted.
There was also one rule highlighted in bold red:
If you encounter a beautiful, kind, and lovely princess, you must praise her sincerely from the heart!
Once everyone confirmed they had no further questions, they signed their names on the contract.
Soon, they were each led to their respective work areas by a group of uniformed monkey employees.
As they parted ways, Qi Xu could clearly see the reluctance in Master Chef and Magical Boy’s eyes.
"Go on, don’t worry. As long as you work hard, everything will be fine."
"See you later, boss!"
"Good luck to all of us!"
The monkey leading Qi Xu seemed quite talkative. Along the way, it would stop and chatter animatedly with every other staff member it encountered.
Qi Xu couldn’t understand a word, but that didn’t matter—he just needed to find the right way to communicate.
Stealthily, he slipped the monkey two Survival Coins.
Immediately, the monkey’s interest was piqued. It pocketed the coins and greeted him properly.
"Hello, waste recycling worker."
"Hello. I’m new here—please take care of me."
The monkey nodded. "Alright. You know we provide lunch, right? But employee meals are tiered. Since you ‘paid tribute,’ I’ll take you to the best staff cafeteria after your shift!"
Though Qi Xu didn’t care much about food, he still smiled and replied, "That’s really kind of you. Thanks."
"No problem."
The two continued forward, eventually descending underground. The air here was noticeably worse.
But it was still bearable.
The monkey, however, seemed disgusted and quickened its pace. Upon arrival, it handed Qi Xu a large bag. "Inside is your work uniform."
"That big warehouse ahead is full of discarded trash and waste. Your job is to sort through it—items that need to be destroyed go straight into the shredder at the very back.
If you find anything worth recycling, put it in this Space Stone. I’ll assess and price it later. Oh, and your personal backpack is banned in this area—same with your own Space Stone. You can only use the one I gave you!
This is very important, so don’t forget!"
Only after Qi Xu nodded did the monkey continue. "You have five days to clean out this entire warehouse. After that, a supervisor will inspect your work. If it’s incomplete or poorly done, your salary will be docked."
Perhaps because Qi Xu had paid up, the monkey was quite patient and explained everything in detail.
Qi Xu thanked it. "Got it. Thanks."
Once the monkey finished its instructions, it bolted—the stench was too much.
Qi Xu opened the work uniform. It was surprisingly thorough: a hat, goggles, mask, gloves, and a full-body jumpsuit that covered him from head to toe...
Only after putting it on did he realize how advanced it was—it was odor-proof! I wonder if I can take this with me...
Next time I’m at Happy Hometown Landfill, I won’t have to suffer the stench as much.
In the last round, Qi Xu remembered that everyone was monitored by invisible robots while working. If you stood still or showed obvious signs of slacking, you’d get a warning...
On top of that, even bathroom breaks were strictly regulated—one trip every half-day, with a time limit of two minutes.
There had been piles of rules and requirements, and signing the agreements alone took forever. This time, things were much simpler, with far fewer restrictions. Most importantly, the overseer robots were gone!
Qi Xu changed quickly and, without hesitation, got straight to work. He pushed open the warehouse door and stepped inside.
Contrary to his expectations of filth and chaos, the space was neatly organized with half-height boxes stacked in rows. A transport robot stood nearby, ready to assist.
It could handle moving and disposing of the useless waste.
Qi Xu instantly felt better about the job. This was way more considerate than he’d imagined. He’d thought the hardest part would be hauling all these massive boxes to the shredder...
But now he realized he only had to sort them—pick out what could be recycled for payment and send the rest for disposal, with a dedicated robot to help.
Qi Xu felt like... the job had just leveled up. Is this the difference between being officially employed and not?
Back in the day, when he worked as a janitor, he was constantly bossed around, had his pay and supplies docked for no reason, and was worked to exhaustion without a moment’s rest. In the end, he’d been mocked and thrown out.
Compared to that, this was pure bliss.
Qi Xu quickly opened the first box—kitchen waste. Even with the special mask blocking the smell, he could imagine the stench was unbearable.
He lifted the box onto the robot. "Take this to the shredder."
"Order received! Beep boop, here I go!"
Qi Xu went through twenty boxes in a row—all useless kitchen waste, with nothing salvageable.
But he wasn’t worried. This warehouse had thousands of boxes. As long as there was even a single useful item inside, it’d be worth it—after all, this was a dungeon challenge.
Final rewards were based on performance rankings, and dungeon rewards were the real prize. Anything else was just a bonus. Stay calm, and the trash will come to you!
Time to get to work!
..........
