Working Records in a Weird World - 23

 

| WRIAWW | Being A Boss Has it's Benefits | 23

Zong Le has been very busy these past two days.

Ever since he adopted the "Ankang Community Prisonization" proposal from the weird child, he had been swamped, striving to turn the community into a containment facility for "evil weird and bad NPCs."

In this regard, Ankang Community had a unique advantage.

It was an aging, poorly maintained resettlement community with many vacant rooms. These empty rooms, with their water and electricity cut off and doors locked, made for the perfect makeshift prisons.

For this reason, Zong Le specifically went to Old Wang to obtain the resident registry and discovered that there were over fifty vacant units that could be converted into simple prisons. They wouldn’t have to worry about running out of space for a long time.

With the cells selected, the next step was choosing the guards.

After all, Ankang Prison had a distinguished resident, and Zong Le preferred to keep him under close watch. However, Zong Le was often busy and needed to dedicate his limited time to the endless task of saving Guiyi City, so he couldn’t always stay within the community.

Just then, three residents from Building 4 joined forces and volunteered for the role.

"Brother, you can leave the butler to Xiao Fu," said the weird child, glancing at the butler who was still unconscious and had already been thoroughly arranged.

He flashed a kind smile: "He’s just an ordinary person, Xiao Fu doesn’t need anyone else’s help. Xiao Fu can handle it alone."

Sister Liu and the Butcher remained silent, one filing her nails and the other brandishing his meat cleaver.

The three of them were good at reading the situation. They had been living cautiously under oppression, daring not to voice their grievances to Zong Le. But upon realizing that his power far exceeded their imagination, and seeing other residents of the community pledge their allegiance, they grew anxious.

Fearing that they, as early arrivals, might miss out on the benefits once Zong Le became the boss of the community, the three weirds, after some "friendly discussions," temporarily set aside their differences, formed a temporary alliance, and united against a common goal.

This volunteer initiative was also the weird child’s idea.

Though he was the weakest in power and the youngest, his mind was exceptionally sharp.

As expected, after their proactive move, the "Great Devil" quickly agreed to their request.

"Okay!" Zong Le exclaimed, both surprised and delighted.

He had always worked silently, never boasting or claiming credit. Because of this, Zong Le had never imagined that his efforts would be remembered by his neighbors. This sudden warmth touched him deeply.

Just then, the butler woke from his coma.

Rubbing his throbbing head, he muttered curses. But as soon as he opened his eyes, he found himself surrounded by three weirds—one sharpening a knife, one boiling water, and another holding a fork and drooling with anticipation.

"Ah—" The butler let out a terrified scream and fainted.

This time, it was from sheer fright.

Hearing the pig-like squeal, Zong Le, who had already left, turned back.

Standing at the stairwell entrance, he peeked inside: "While it’s true that prisoners need to be guarded, we’re not running an illegal black prison here. In the absence of the Guiyi City Police Department’s ability to fulfill its duties, we’re merely a temporary institution enforcing order through necessary means. No matter what, the basic safety of prisoners is a line we must never cross."

Seeing his neighbors nod like chickens pecking at rice, Zong Le smiled with satisfaction.

"You have to be a good weird who helps others and not a bad weird who eats people, otherwise I’ll beat you up, okay?"

It's threat! It’s definitely a threat!

With just a simple sentence, the three weirds were left trembling, their legs weak and cold sweat poured down their backs.

Before they could even catch their breath, Zong Le, who had already walked a few steps away, suddenly thought of something and turned back.

"By the way, don’t prisoners in jail have to participate in mandatory labor? Hmm... Since they’ve made mistakes, it’s not enough to just deprive them of their freedom; they should also be forced to work. We can’t just feed them for nothing. I think the task of cleaning up the trash in our neighborhood is a good idea. It serves as both punishment and creates social value. You can start arranging for him to take care of that."

After giving these final instructions, Zong Le finally left with peace of mind.

He trusted his neighbors and believed that with their help, the prison would soon be back on track.

Thinking this, Zong Le grabbed his house keys and decided to go buy some groceries.

He hadn’t been out for several days, and his fridge was nearly empty. Although he was past the age of growing taller, Zong Le’s appetite hadn’t diminished. With his high daily activity level and need for protein, he often had to replenish with high-energy foods.

But to his surprise, as soon as he reached the neighborhood entrance, he ran into Old Wang.

The old man was standing there, holding an iron rod in his hand, shouting as if he were trying to drive something away.

Zong Le walked over to take a closer look and found it somewhat familiar.

The black, dusty, and mud-covered dog on the ground—wasn’t that the same poodle that Madam Xue had been holding in her arms when he was on a mission at the Tianmen Mansion on the mountain just a few days ago?

Once a glamorous and elegant Maltese with neatly groomed fur, now looked utterly embarrassed and almost unrecognizable from its former self.

"Woof woof woof!"

Sensing the unfathomable aura, the dog, which had been baring its teeth just moments ago, immediately lay flat on the ground the moment it saw Zong Le.

It was just like when he saw the silver-haired bad guy and showed submission, Old Wang's flattering voice chimed in at the right moment: "Hey, boss, are you going out?"

Zong Le: "...."

He felt that the other party was still unwilling to call him 'Xiao Le' which sounded better than calling him 'boss.'

"That day when you came back from Tianmen Mansion, this dog secretly followed you all the way. I don't know where it came from, but it's a stray dog that just wouldn't leave no matter how much I tried to shoo it away. It just kept hanging around here."

Old Wang got angry just talking about it.

One day, seeing how tender and delicate the dog looked, he thought about catching it to stew. But the dog was surprisingly agile, with sharp teeth that easily tore through the sack, and it even bit him in return.

Another old man in the neighborhood who was watching the scene said the dog had some potential, and if it kept accumulating, it might become a weird. This made Old Wang feel even more unbalanced. 

He hadn't achieved anything, so how could a dog be step ahead of him?!

Meanwhile, Zong Le squatted down: "Why are you following me?"

The Maltese dog whimpered from its throat, looking at him with wet, pleading eyes.

Zong Le instantly understood. He scratched his head: "Oh... you want to follow me, huh."

"But I'm not like your previous owner who had money to feed you expensive dog food and treats. You'll have to eat whatever I eat, and I won't be able to take you for frequent grooming. Are you sure you still want to follow me?"

"Woof woof!" The Maltese barked excitedly, eagerly expressing its willingness.

"Alright then." Zong Le felt pretty good about unexpectedly gaining a pet on this trip.

His psychiatrist had suggested he establish more connections with the real world. A week later, not only did he have a job, but also harmonious neighbors, a pet that came to him on its own, and now all he needed was a friend.

"Let's go, I'm just heading out to buy groceries. I'll get you some meat. We'll give you a bath when we get back."

"Woof!"

"Oh, by the way, your original name was Ars, right? This name is a bit of a difficult to pronounce and doesn't sound great. Let me give you a new name, let me think... How about Lai Cai?"

"Woof woof woof!"

"Ha, you have good taste I think it's a great name too. Let's go, Lai Cai!"

Old Wang next door was left dumbfounded.

Watching the man and dog walk away, he scratched his head in confusion.

"No, Is this really a way to communicate?"

With the addition of a pet, Zong Le estimated his grocery expenses for the day would double.

He glanced at the balance in his system account and once again felt the urgency to earn more money.

"After the neighborhood was transformed into a prison, maintaining the normal lives of each prisoner also became a significant expense."

Calculating this, Zong Le somewhat understood why the Guiyi City Police Department only dealt with the dead and not the living. As long as people are alive, they keep spending money endlessly, but once they're dead, it's a one-time expense.

By the way, just a couple of days ago, Zong Le didn’t have any real sense of being the boss of Ankang Community.

But today, when he went to the neighboring market to buy groceries, he finally felt it in full force. The elderly folks who used to jostle and compete with him for discounted vegetables now kept their distance, eyeing him with a mix of wariness and curiosity.

The vegetable vendors, who used to try to pass off wilted or yellowed leaves, now filled his bag to the brim with fresh produce. Even the surly butcher, who used to cheat the scale, now voluntarily handed over a few packs of leftover meat scraps, claiming it was a treat for Lai Cai.

“No wonder everyone wants to be the boss. There really are perks to it.”

In the end, Zong Le left the market with his shopping bags full.

Along the way, residents of the community greeted him with waves, bows, or even excited questions like, “Boss, where are we hitting next?”

Zong Le would then correct them, “We’re law-abiding citizens who follow the rules. Don’t make it sound like we’re some gang fighting over territory.” He’d also take the opportunity to introduce his new pet, Lai Cai.

Old Wang stared at the dog, which had just strutted up to his security booth and boldly relieved itself. He was so angry.

They say dogs act tough when they have a powerful master, but this one even knew how to secure its meal ticket. Now that it was the boss’s pet, its status had risen accordingly, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Back home, Zong Le took out the meat from the bag and placed it in an unused bowl.

Lai Cai stayed crouched beside the bowl, not daring to cross the line. Only after the black-haired young man said, “You can eat now,” did it pounce on the food, devouring it ravenously.

“Poor thing, you must’ve been starving for days.”

Zong Le figured to give Lai Cai a bath after dinner, or else the grimy little guy would probably dirty up the floor.

After going through all that effort, Zong Le collapsed onto the sofa and pulled out his phone.

Lai Cai, now clean and fresh, curled up obediently at his feet.

“Let’s see, which task should I take on next?”

His eyes scanned the cluttered task list, stopping at one in particular.

【Guiyi Funeral Home Urgently Hiring Mortician Assistant】

【Task Level: C】

【Description: Guiyi Funeral Home is currently short-staffed and is recruiting temporary morticians and assistants to help complete tasks.】

【Main Task: Assist the mortician in completing the corpse embalming process.】

【Side Task: Achieve 100% satisfaction rate from the deceased.】

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