There’s A Natural Resonance Between Corporate Slaves Working Overtime

Meng Shan, 28 years old. A former Special Operations soldier, currently working as a dispatcher at the City D branch of the Magical Girl Dispatch Center.

“So, would you like to evaluate your performance during this monster subjugation yourselves?”

Meng Shan stared with a face full of woe at the three troublesome Magical Girls before him. It was supposed to be a simple mission—a very simple mission—and yet these three had managed to cause a massive mess.

Standing on the far left, the rosy-cheeked Jiang Yunshu was the first to speak. She figured that since she was the one who delivered the finishing blow to the monster, Meng Shan wouldn’t give her too hard a time.

“Um, I think we did alright this time. At least we took care of the monster, right?”

Meng Shan’s brow furrowed instantly. “The problem is, this ‘monster’ was just an eel that shouted ‘Eel Rice!’ while throwing boxes of eel rice at people. You feel proud for beating that?”

“But that eel was over five meters long! And the lunchboxes were made of metal—they could actually kill someone!”

“And is that your excuse for blowing up the gas station next door while you were ‘finishing’ the eel?” Meng Shan slammed his hand on the desk. “It’s a stroke of luck that the monster’s path was easy to predict and the civilians were evacuated in advance. Otherwise, God knows how many casualties there would have been. I’ve said enough. 10,000-word reflection report. I want it on my desk by the day after tomorrow.”

Jiang Yunshu pouted. She wanted to talk back, but finding no logical ground to stand on, she could only lower her head in silence.

“What about you two? Anything to say?”

The relatively steady Bai He’an looked at her companion before stepping forward. “We truly performed poorly this time by failing to keep the collateral damage within a reasonable range. However, we will fight perfectly next time and strive to eliminate the monster before it can cause any destruction.”

Meng Shan covered his face with his hands in exasperation. “Have you ever considered that the one causing the destruction wasn’t the eel monster, but you?”

Bai He’an fell silent and lowered her head. When they first spotted the monster, she had estimated that due to its massive size, its speed and agility would be lacking. She had opted for the convenience of high-altitude long-range sniping.

“I… I just didn’t expect it to be that agile. I fired over a dozen shots and it dodged every single one.”

“And then you lost your cool, didn’t you?” Meng Shan’s voice was weary. “Half a street! Half a street! How am I supposed to explain this to the government? Tell them one of ours got heated and ‘accidentally’ leveled half a block? I don’t need to repeat myself—10,000 words for you, too.”

Finally, Yi Ziling stole a few glances at her two teammates, who were currently acting like ostriches. She knew her fate. “Big Brother Shan, I know. 10,000 words. I’ll go home and write it.”

Yi Ziling tried to make a break for the door, but Meng Shan called her back. “Wait a second, I’m not done with you! Your teammates may have caused a lot of trouble, but at least they showed up to fight. My question is: where were you?”

Caught red-handed, Yi Ziling stammered, “I… I… I had some important things to take care of.”

“What ‘important things’? Be specific. Don’t tell me you overslept at home during your break again and forgot your daily patrol?”

Meng Shan knew that because of school exams, Yi Ziling hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in a while.

His remark hit the nail on the head, and Yi Ziling lowered her head as well. Next to the first two ostriches, a third one appeared.

Knowing the situation, Meng Shan simply sighed. “You don’t have to write the report. Go home and get some proper sleep. Start your patrol on time tomorrow. And if you need help, tell us.”

“I’ve said my piece. Reflect on your mistakes and get those reports written. Hand them to me the day after tomorrow. It’s getting late, head home.”

Watching the three of them file out, Meng Shan opened his computer with a heavy heart. Half a street plus a gas station—that wasn’t the kind of destruction you could just explain away.

Whatever, I’ll just blame it all on the monster, he thought. I’ll fudge it as much as possible while keeping the core facts intact. In the six months he’d held this position, he might not have mastered much else, but his report-writing skills had reached a level of pure perfection. He had those three “treasures” who just left to thank for that.

Time flew by. By the time Meng Shan finished the preliminary draft, it was already 9:00 PM.

Driving home past a blur of neon billboards, he suddenly lost the motivation to cook for himself. He found a fast-food joint that was still open, intending to just make do with a quick meal.

A few side dishes and a bottle of beer—the “premium” dinner of a working man.

Just as Meng Shan poured his glass and began his meal, another person walked into the shop.

The newcomer appeared to be a young woman in her twenties. Her waist-length black hair, striking figure, and glamorous face caused Meng Shan to steal a few extra glances.

The woman noticed his gaze but didn’t seem to mind; she was likely used to the incidental stares of strangers. She ordered some food casually and began to eat.

To stave off boredom, the waiter had left the television on, which was currently broadcasting the day’s news.

“Today in the city, an eel-like monster attacked several blocks. Thanks to the valiant efforts of the city’s Magical Girl squad, the monster has been eliminated. Several buildings and streets were destroyed during the battle; citizens are advised to remain cautious…”

The news caught the woman’s attention. She ate while keeping her eyes glued to the footage of the Magical Girls fighting the eel.

“The Magical Girls in this city are kind of weak, aren’t they? They couldn’t even resolve a monster of this level instantly.”

The woman’s casual remark caught Meng Shan’s interest. He asked immediately, “Weak? How can you tell? Looks to me like the Magical Girls took care of it easily enough.”

The woman looked at him and replied, “Because the news didn’t report how strong the eel was, and there was hardly any actual combat footage. Based on typical government propaganda, if the eel were actually powerful, they would have brought out a panel of experts to analyze it by now.”

“The more dangerous they make the monster seem, the stronger the Magical Girls look for defeating it, and the more secure the public feels.”

“In other words, since the monster wasn’t that strong and yet the local Magical Girls still had to put in that much effort to finish it, it shows they aren’t actually that capable.”

Meng Shan nodded. As the local director in charge of Magical Girl operations, he knew she was 100% correct. Among “mob” monsters, the eel was the bottom of the barrel; aside from high survivability, it had nothing going for it.

To be able to analyze all that from a bland news clip… Meng Shan was suddenly intrigued by this woman. Though, it was more likely because she was exactly his type.

“That’s a very insightful analysis. I’m Meng Shan. May I ask your name?”

“That’s a bit of a stiff pick-up line,” she replied. “But you’re handsome enough, so I’ll tell you. I’m Ran Jiuyi.”

As she spoke, Jiuyi looked Meng Shan over carefully. “Looking at that suit of yours, you should be an office worker. But office workers don’t usually have calluses that thick on their hands. That means you likely started in some kind of manual labor or physical field before moving to a desk job.”

Meng Shan smiled and drained his glass. “Miss Ran, you hit the mark. I was a soldier. After a few years, I transferred to my current position. I thought it would be a nice job, but who knew I’d spend all my time dealing with a bunch of ‘honored ancestors’ and wiping their bums for them.”

“Look at me—busy until now without a moment’s rest, just to clean up the new mess they made today.”

Ran Jiuyi was amused by his self-deprecation, a slight curve appearing at the corner of her lips. “I think you actually care about them quite a bit. Even though you complain about how bad they are, there isn’t a hint of anger or resentment in your eyes.”

“You seem quite satisfied with your job and your subordinates. At the very least, you aren’t truly miserable.”

Meng Shan paused, then downed another glass in one go. “It’s just that I’m not in much of a position to blame them. Speaking of which, Miss Ran, you’re new to this city, aren’t you? It’s quite obvious in the way you speak.”

“I am indeed new here. Your observation skills aren’t bad either. I happen to have some free time recently, so I came here to relax, travel, and catch up with a few old friends. It’s been a while since I’ve seen them.”

“I get it, I get it.” As someone who was rarely home, Meng Shan understood perfectly. “Usually you’re so busy with work you crave a vacation. But when the break actually comes, you can’t get used to the idle time and always end up looking for something to do. You end up traveling or visiting old friends in other cities.”

Ran Jiuyi nodded. “Exactly. You work yourself to the bone all year round, and in the end, you might not even have any time for yourself. I’m one of the lucky ones—work is busy, but I still get a bit of vacation time.”

“It’s just a pity that my last holiday didn’t last long before I was called back to work by a single phone call. It’s a nightmare.”

“Truly,” Meng Shan glanced back at the news report on the Magical Girls and sighed. “Still, it’s easier than being a Magical Girl. That’s a job where you literally carry your head in your hands.”

Ran Jiuyi countered, “But the benefits and the fame are too good. And they look beautiful when they transform, plus they’re powerful. I see a huge number of kids these days who want to be Magical Girls.”

Meng Shan shook his head helplessly. “What’s so good about it? It looks glamorous on the surface, but in reality, they’re doing work that could get them killed at any moment. To reduce casualties and spending, the government chose to replace soldiers with Magical Girls to deal with monsters.”

“Sure, it reduces civilian casualties. A Magical Girl’s individual combat power is far more effective than an army in these sudden monster outbreaks. But is it really fair to these girls?”

“I joined the military because I was prepared. I knew what I was going to do, what I had to sacrifice, and what I would get in return. But look at these Magical Girls—most of them become one without even understanding why, forced to shoulder an unknown amount of responsibility.”

“I think it’s incredibly unfair. Yes, a Magical Girl’s power is great, but that shouldn’t be a justification for taking their labor for granted, especially when they don’t even know what they’re up against.”