novellaaa Chapter 69 Is this monkey the real deal?
Chapter 69 Is this monkey the real deal?
Li's holographic projection flickered wildly in mid-air, and data streams poured down like a waterfall.
"Boss, watch the door!"
Chu Jiang held the instant noodle bowl and slowly finished the last sip of soup.
He wiped his mouth and put the bowl aside.
"What's the panic?"
"There's a security camera at the entrance, Little V, switch the camera to this view."
As soon as the words were spoken, the glass door of the milk tea shop was pushed open by a hand, and the wind chimes on the door made a crisp sound.
A young man wearing a gold tracksuit walked in, with a black baseball cap pulled low over his head.
The store fell silent instantly.
Those who were queuing up to get their certificates or cramming for the civil service exam seemed to have been muted, shrinking their necks and even breathing softly.
The young man raised his head, his eyes, sharp as lightning, sweeping across the entire room from under his hat brim.
Finally, his gaze settled on Chu Jiang behind the bar, who looked somewhat idle after finishing his instant noodles.
He walked straight over.
"Who's in charge here?"
Chu Jiang pointed to himself with his chin.
"What's up?"
The young man had his hands in his sweatpants pockets and his chin slightly raised.
"What kind of 'civil service recruitment exam' are you guys running? Did you come up with that?"
Chu Jiang nodded and then pointed to the long queue outside the door.
"That's right. What, interested?"
"Go to the back and get a number. Don't cut in line."
The young man scoffed as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.
"queue?"
"I, Lao Sun... have never stood in line in my entire life."
A faint golden aura emanated from him, and the atmosphere immediately became heavy.
The little fox Hu Xiaoyao, who was crying sadly next to her, was startled by this aura and let out a "woof" before hiding under the table.
Chu Jiang seemed to feel no pressure at all. He took out his phone and tapped the screen.
"Are you the one with the account name 'Great Sage Equal to Heaven'?"
He looked the young man up and down, raising an eyebrow.
"Wait a minute, it doesn't look like the one in the poster."
"Wool? Golden wool? And your height...it doesn't seem quite right."
The young man's lips twitched slightly.
"That's artistic embellishment!"
"This is my 72 transformations, understand? Transform into a human, and keep a low profile."
Chu Jiang held up his phone, pointing the camera at the young man.
"V, activate facial recognition."
"Database comparison, including publicly available historical footage of the Heavenly Court, surveillance video of the South Heavenly Gate from 500 years ago, and all publicly available materials from the Buddhist teachings conference at Mount Ling in the Western Paradise."
V's emotionless, mechanical voice came from the phone.
"Scanning... Facial contour similarity 1.7%"
"The energy fluctuations match the records of the 'Victorious Fighting Buddha' by 0.3%."
"Based on the comprehensive assessment, the probability of identity information being falsified is 98%, and it is recommended that he/she be listed as a high-risk individual for telecommunications fraud."
Chu Jiang put down his phone and looked at the other person with an expression that said, "See, I told you so."
"The system already said you're an imposter."
"Tell me, what are you trying to do here? Are you trying to scam us out of our 'Demon Virtue Class' training fees?"
The young man's expression changed from arrogance to displeasure, and finally he completely collapsed.
He scratched his head in frustration and ripped off his baseball cap.
A striking head of short red hair, which exploded like flames.
"Tsk, how can your underworld's system be so inflexible!"
He shouted irritably.
"Alright, alright, I'm not pretending anymore!"
"I'm not him, okay!"
Chu Jiang crossed his arms and leaned against the bar.
"Oh? And who are you?"
"Judging from your tone, you're quite familiar with the person in question?"
A hint of unease flashed across the red-haired boy's face as he stiffened his neck and spoke.
"My name is Red Boy! The Holy Infant King, ever heard of me?"
Chu Jiang was stunned for a moment.
Immediately, an image of a naked kid, wielding a fire-tipped spear, running rampant in the Flaming Mountains flashed into his mind.
"The one who was taken in by Guanyin Bodhisattva to become Sudhana?"
The moment this was mentioned, Red Boy's face darkened instantly.
"Don't mention that!"
"That's a dark past! I'm a legitimate civil servant now, with a permanent position, a true benefactor!"
Chu Jiang drawled out an "Oh".
"So it was Sudhana who was in charge."
"Then what are you trying to do, impersonating your Monkey King and hacking our system?"
"Don't you know that honesty and integrity are highly valued here?"
Red Boy got even angrier when he heard this and started to pour out his grievances.
"Do you think I wanted this?!"
"It's that damned monkey again! He heard that your underworld is recruiting in the mortal realm, including government-affiliated positions, and his eyes are practically bloodshot!"
"He insists that his past as a '弼马温' (a low-ranking official in charge of stables) is a stain on his life, and this time he's determined to pass the exam and get a proper government job to redeem himself!"
Chu Jiang was stunned.
Can you do this?
Red Boy became more and more excited as he spoke, gesturing wildly with his hands and feet.
"But the Bodhisattva won't let him descend to the mortal realm, for fear he'll tear this place down."
"He keeps bothering me, asking me to come down and scout things out for him. He even insists I use his name, saying it's not prestigious enough and you don't value it!"
"If I don't hack your system, will you even bother with me?"
Chu Jiang finally understood.
It turns out the monkey wanted to switch jobs and even came up with a "roundabout way to achieve its goal".
He looked at Red Boy, who was filled with indignation, and stroked his chin.
"Okay, I understand the situation."
"The Great Sage's desire to find a job is commendable."
"Where's his resume? An electronic version is fine too, please send it to our official recruitment email address. Also, have you downloaded the 'Civil Service Exam Syllabus'? Have you looked at it?"
Chu Jiang casually pulled a flyer from under the bar counter.
"We happen to have a 'Hell Censor Exam Intensive Demon Virtue Class' here, with one-on-one tutoring from top teachers, an internal question bank, and a guarantee that you will learn it."
"For the sake of the Great Sage, I'll give you a 10% discount, which is worth 10,000 good deeds."
Red Boy's mouth gaped open as he stared blankly at Chu Jiang.
"A... resume? Civil service exam syllabus?"
"Are you kidding me? That's the Monkey King! He's only applying for the job out of respect for you!"
Chu Jiang slammed the flyer on the bar counter, looking completely at ease.
"Even close brothers should keep clear accounts; even the Emperor himself has to follow the proper procedures."
"The rules of the underworld are the rules."
He paused, then changed the subject, his gaze falling on Red Boy.
"Moreover, it's his business if the Great Sage wants to take the civil service exam."
"You illegally hacked into the official network system of the underworld, forged identity information, and attempted to disrupt the recruitment process."
Chu Jiang took out his phone.
"V, according to the relevant provisions of the 'Cybersecurity Law of the Underworld' and the 'Regulations on Integrity in the Recruitment of Civil Servants,' calculate how much he should be fined in total."
The mechanical sound of V rang out without the slightest delay.
"Upon calculation, the illegal intrusion will be punished with a fine of 100,000 Yin Virtue Points."
"Falsifying identity will result in a fine of 50,000 Yin Virtue Points."
"A total of 150,000 Yin Virtue Points."
"Given that this is a first offense, you can choose to pay in installments with an annual interest rate of 12%. Alternatively, you can choose to settle the debt with wages, as our Naiheqiao Milk Tea shop happens to be short of a delivery person."
Red Boy was completely petrified.
He looked at Chu Jiang's calm face, then at the cold, hard price quote on his phone.
Then look at those monsters and freaks outside the door, scrambling to get a government job.
He suddenly felt as if he wasn't there to cause trouble, but rather to fall into a trap.
This underworld seems quite different from the one he knew five hundred years ago.