Chapter 324 - 245: The Advancing Youth (Part 2)

Chapter 324: Chapter 245: The Advancing Youth (Part 2)

In her eyes, her son had simply been dumped by a girl and was having trouble accepting it.

He should learn a trade here in Twin Tower City, take over his father’s business someday, and live a stable life. Why did he want to go to some poor place up north?

"I’m still young. I have to give it a shot."

"You’re still young, so you should listen to your mother. I’m your mom—would I ever do anything to hurt you?"

"Alright, alright," his father said, stopping his emotional wife. "It’s a good thing for a boy to have his own goals. I support him."

"How could you..."

"The family can spare eighty Silver Coins right now. If you really can’t make it out there, just come home. We can always set another place at the table."

Peter looked at his father’s serious expression and nodded.

「The next day, in the afternoon.」

Parker and Peter arrived at the recruitment fair.

Staring at the overwhelming sea of red before them, the two young men were a bit hesitant to go in. All these Tieflings had reddish skin.

"Is this really the recruitment fair for the Deepwater City construction project?" Peter asked nervously.

"Of course. The announcement said it was the ’Deepwater City Construction and Tiefling Recruitment Fair.’"

"Could you try saying the full name next time?" Peter remembered distinctly that when Parker mentioned it yesterday, he’d left out the "and Tiefling" part.

"Well, we’re already here," Parker said, using the universal excuse. He swallowed hard and started toward the plaza. "Besides, your future father-in-law is backing this event. What could possibly go wrong?"

"What do you mean, ’my future father-in-law’?"

Peter shot back, following him into the plaza.

Under the watchful, ’what’s-with-you-two’ gaze of a guide, they both filled out their registration forms.

"Please line up over here."

Since they had put "Mechanics" and "Construction" in the specializations field, they were led to different lines.

Peter got in line at the very back. Looking ahead, all he could see was a sea of sharp horns.

It seemed he was the only Human in the entire line.

The shadows stretched longer across the tiles as the line of applicants ahead grew shorter. Soon, there was only one person left.

Peter craned his neck, trying to peek through a gap in the interview tent. He wanted to see what the process was like so he could prepare.

Inside the tent, the interviewer, Old Mike, glanced over the registration form in his hand.

Behind him stood a Beastman Warrior who looked like someone you didn’t want to mess with. Across the table, the interviewee was wringing his hands nervously.

"It says here your specializations are... ’making small gadgets’ and... ’theft’?" Old Mike asked.

"Yes," the interviewee replied, looking rather proud. "To be precise, it’s making small gadgets *for* theft. I’m the number one pickpocket in the Panjiao Gang. My personal best is robbing 146 people in a single day."

Old Mike was "deeply impressed."

’Now that’s what I call a specialization.’

"How many times have you been caught?"

"I’ve never been caught."

Old Mike glanced at the Truth Rune in his desk drawer. He had his answer.

"I’ll ask again. How many times have you been caught?"

"Alright, maybe four or five times."

"Hmm?"

"Maybe I misremembered. Seven or eight times, tops."

"We don’t welcome Tieflings who are full of lies," Old Mike said, preparing to call the next applicant.

"Oh, come on, wait! Maybe it was a few more times than that."

"And you still haven’t changed your ways."

"I’m planning to change my ways now!"

"Then sign this vow Contract to never steal again." Old Mike produced a Scroll. Zog had long since prepared measures to deal with these duplicitous repeat offenders.

"No, no, no! I don’t need a Contract to change my ways. You have to believe me!"

"Next."

Hearing the call, Peter walked into the tent.

The previous applicant was still rambling. "You’re discriminating against Tieflings! The notice clearly said you wouldn’t discriminate..."

"Hold on," the Beastman Warrior suddenly spoke up. "Hand over the phone."

"What phone? I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Mr. Mike’s phone. Hand it over, or I’ll come and get it myself."

"Alright, alright! I just saw his phone fall on the ground and was helping him pick it up. It was an act of kindness! You people are insulting me! You should give me a job! You’ll regret this!"

The thief shot Old Mike a vicious threat before he left.

But it had little effect. In response to the threat, Old Mike just gave a bored yawn.

"I hope you enjoy making license plates."

The thief didn’t understand what he meant. He just scoffed and left.

"Did you get the Tracking Technique on him?" Old Mike asked the Beastman.

The Beastman nodded.

’He’d seen several Tieflings like this today, bent on doing wrong. They had no appreciation for the chance to live a normal life.’

’For stubborn cases who refused to change, the methods for dealing with them were naturally less... gentle.’

Old Mike scratched his forehead and looked at the next applicant.

"Little Peter?"

Peter was taken aback at hearing his name, and then he realized the Tiefling interviewer looked a little familiar.

"Uncle Mike?"

Peter recognized him. It was Mike, his father’s former colleague. He’d even come over for dinner once.

"What are you doing here, applying for a job?"

"This recruitment fair isn’t just for Tieflings, is it?"

"We’re hiring Humans, too."

"That’s a relief," Peter said, sighing. "I want to become an even better Mechanician than my father, and I figured Deepwater City would be a good place to gain some experience."

Old Mike glanced at the Truth Rune. The kid was actually telling the truth.

’He knew Peter’s work. The boy was only an apprentice, but his skills were solid. He just lacked experience. He could be very useful in Deepwater City.’

"Do your parents approve of this?"

"They do."

"I can give you the job, but I have to warn you, it’s going to be tough in Deepwater City. It will be full of hardship, and even danger."

Old Mike emphasized his words, giving Peter a strong hint. As an interviewer, he knew a few things that weren’t public knowledge.

In the future, Deepwater City would likely be dealing with Devils. That was why they were primarily recruiting Tieflings; the two races could blend together more easily.