Throughout the time Ren was in the car, he remained silent, not saying a word. That was because the woman named Exia did all the talking for him. She often initiated conversations and explained where they were heading—toward a city called Lungmen. She also asked him a little about himself, like where his home was, how his family was doing, and whether he had any contact information so they could help him once they got there.
Ren responded with an uneasy expression, saying he no longer had a home to return to and that his entire family had passed away. That answer seemed to make the woman pause awkwardly for a moment before she apologized shyly and quickly changed the subject.
You could say this woman was very quick at switching her mood.
Ren's answer wasn't a lie. His whole family had perished while they were on their way to celebrate his twelfth birthday at the hospital where he was being treated.
Ren had heard it was a major plane crash related to the war, and no one had survived the incident. Because of that, he received a large amount of compensation money from the government—enough for him to live comfortably for the rest of his life.
But due to the serious illness he had, most of that money ended up being spent on medical treatment instead. That's what allowed him to survive for this long.
Yet he didn't know if that was a blessing or a curse...
He was never close with any of his relatives on either side of the family. Although some had reached out to him before, once he realized they only wanted to take control of the family's inheritance, he cut ties with them immediately.
So after his death, all his remaining assets would likely be donated to an orphanage or go toward medical funding for others with the same condition, according to the documents he had signed in his will.
"So, Ren... Can I call you that? Once you arrive in Lungmen, what's the first thing you want to do?"
"What I want to do?" Ren murmured, repeating Exia's question softly. He honestly wondered that himself—what should he do next?
Of course, the idea of returning to his original world was out of the question. He should probably be happy that he had the chance to live a normal life again, free of the disease that had eaten away at him for so long. But when it came to having a goal or purpose in life... he didn't know how to answer.
Several times, nurses and doctors who were close to him had asked him the same thing—what would he like to do once he recovered?
If it had been when he was still a child, he would've answered without hesitation that he wanted to be a civil servant like his father. But after losing his family, that dream vanished from his heart completely.
Their deaths had changed him into someone else entirely. His mind became empty, and he fell into years of confusion and depression. Ren never thought about or spoke of his future again. He simply existed, watching TV day after day like a lifeless robot.
Even so, at the very end—when the illness had almost claimed his life, leaving him unable to breathe normally—Ren still felt a spark of hope. A desire to go on living.
Maybe that hope came from a fear of death deep within him. Or maybe it was just basic human survival instinct...
Regardless, once he got that hope and a second chance at life, he found himself confused again, unsure what he should do next.
"I don't know..." That was the only answer Ren could give at that moment.
He noticed that after he spoke, the two women—Texas and Exia—briefly exchanged glances. Then the red-haired woman gave him a bright smile and cheerfully said:
"Then how about joining our company?"
Exia didn't stop there. She leapt from the passenger seat to sit beside him and began excitedly pitching like a top salesperson without waiting for his response.
"We have the best employee benefits in all of Lungmen! High salary! Only eight working hours per day! Two days off per week! And if you do overtime, you get triple pay based on the list! You can even request up to six months of salary in advance! And if you ever get into trouble with the police—our boss can help you with anything!!"
"Trouble with the police? Um... what kind of job does your company do exactly?" Ren asked with concern, glancing at the many boxes stacked in the back of the vehicle. Given how they were just being chased by a group of intimidating people, he couldn't help but worry if they might be involved in illegal activities.
Seeing his cautious look, Exia seemed to understand immediately what he was thinking. She put on a serious face and explained:
"Don't get the wrong idea, Ren! We're Penguin Logistics, a highly reputable and trustworthy company! Those people earlier were trying to rob us! Texas and I just fought back in self-defense! Most of our jobs involve transporting high-value goods, so it's not uncommon to run into trouble from bad actors. The stuff in the back? It's expensive electronic equipment ordered by customers in Lungmen. We just need to pick it up and deliver it safely. Occasionally, we get escort missions—sometimes for valuable cargo, sometimes even for people. But our jobs are mostly legal!"
"Ambushes? Escorting hostages? Um... is that something normal companies do?"
Exia paused to think for a moment.
"Well... if you go by Lungmen's top industries, logistics companies are actually really popular. I've only been here for less than a year, so I might not be the best source, but from what I've seen, logistics companies rank among the most in-demand. Since Lungmen is booming in terms of trade and exports, it's no surprise our company grew fast and is always busy. Of course, that means we have a lot of competitors too. Some of them try to get rich quick by smuggling illegal goods into the city—often working with mafia gangs from Siracusa or Yakuza from Higashi. That's why we run into them a lot. Which is also why we're looking for new members!"
"You can call me greedy, but your power is seriously amazing! We've been lacking a magic user for ages, so I really want you to join our company!"
Seeing the excited woman lean in close, Ren instinctively shifted back slightly, feeling the space between them shrink too quickly.
But deep down, he couldn't help feeling relieved. Hearing the truth directly from her made him genuinely glad. At least he could sense sincerity in her eyes and words. Compared to the nurses who always tried to comfort him with pity in their eyes, Exia's honesty was something he much preferred.
"I..."
[Zhongli does not make decisions based on appearances alone.]
Just as Ren was about to agree, a system message popped up again, causing his previous confidence to waver once more.
'This damned system. If you're not going to help, could you at least not make things harder?'
"...Can I try it out first?" Ren asked, glancing at her nervously, worried that she might be disappointed after putting in such a passionate pitch while he still hesitated.
But it turned out to be the opposite. The girl's eyes sparkled, and she happily patted his shoulder.
"Of course you can! Texas, did you hear that? Ren agreed to work with us!"
"He said trial work, Exia."
"Same thing! We'll throw him a big welcome party tonight!!" Exia wrapped an arm around Ren's shoulders like they were old friends and laughed loudly.
Seeing such genuine cheerfulness from her warmed Ren's once-empty heart, and he let out a small smile.
Then he froze.
[Zhongli Imitation Rate 19% ⇢ 21%]
'When did I imitate Zhongli? What is this system even measuring?'
Before he could wonder further, Exia nudged him and pointed ahead.
"Ren, look! We're almost in Lungmen!"
Ren looked out the car window and his eyes widened in astonishment. He saw a massive, towering city surrounded by high walls. Beneath the city were huge, conveyor-like treads that allowed the entire metropolis to move slowly across the desert.
Its sheer size was unbelievable. Judging by rough estimation, the city could easily be as large as a small country on an island—capable of housing millions of people.
'What kind of sci-fi fantasy world have I ended up in?'