23: Onboarding procedures

The two walked along the main road of the base, and Li Ming's head spun like a radar, exclaiming every time he saw something new.

"Old Zhou! Is that a Titan mech?!" He pointed to a bipedal walker in the distance that was moving cargo.

"That's an SCV-100 Engineering Mech, responsible for all incoming and outgoing material transport within the base."

"What about that?!" He pointed to a rhomboid aircraft flying overhead.

"A drone, specific model unknown."

As they were talking, a sudden mechanical roar came from ahead. Li Ming looked up and saw a giant engineering mech, five stories tall, walking with heavy steps. The ground trembled slightly with each step.

"I'm familiar with this one, the CMC-6000, a mining operation type." Zhou Ping pointed, "It's mainly responsible for open-pit mining. This thing is usually disassembled, transported to the mine, and then reassembled. Only testing is done here."

The two continued forward, and just after turning a corner, Li Ming saw a three-story-tall giant mechanical arm pouring tons of ore into a massive smelting furnace. Soon after, an SCV-100 carried a metal block the size of a shipping container to the warehouse.

Li Ming stared at the huge smelting facility, his eyes wide.

"Old Zhou, that..." He pointed to the giant machinery in operation, "What's that for?"

Zhou Ping followed his gaze and shrugged: "A rare earth separation and purification furnace, one of the company's current main projects."

"Rare earth?" Li Ming frowned, "You're mining rare earth here?"

"Yes." Zhou Ping nodded, "The Emerald Principality's northern region is rich in rare earth deposits, and..." He lowered his voice, "Our refining efficiency is 30 times higher than the international top level."

"30 times?!" Li Ming almost shouted, "That's impossible! The Eastern Union's rare earth refining technology is already the world's best, how could you..."

His words stopped abruptly because he saw an SCV-100 transporting a metal ingot of astonishing purity to the warehouse. The ingot shimmered with a strange luster in the sunlight.

"This... was that from the last furnace?" Li Ming murmured.

Zhou Ping smiled: "How about it, do you believe it now?"

Li Ming swallowed: "Then... why haven't international rare earth prices crashed? With this output, the market should have already..."

"I don't know." Zhou Ping shook his head, "I asked Teacher Morrison, and he said this is handled by the Strategic Investment Department. Our Traditional Projects Department just handles mining and refining."

"Strategic Investment Department? What kind of department is that? Manages investments? Given the current rare earth market, they're not doing so well then."

Zhou Ping glanced left and right, then lowered his voice: "I'm not entirely sure, but I heard they're responsible for... special projects. I asked my superior before, but he was very secretive. Later, I learned from others' chatter that the people in the Strategic Investment Department have terrifyingly high authority, especially a few bigwigs with code names. It's said they can mobilize the company's armed forces at any time."

"My goodness! No, they also have military power? Then they..."

"Stop!" Zhou Ping clapped a hand over his mouth, "If you keep asking, neither of us will get into the main building today."

"Alright, let's go."

The two continued forward, but after only a few steps, Li Ming still couldn't suppress his curiosity.

"Where does the refined rare earth go?"

"The warehouse." Zhou Ping helplessly pointed to a silver building in the distance, "But it's strange, no one has ever seen a transport convoy. Every time the inventory reaches a certain scale, more than half of it is gone the next day."

Li Ming narrowed his eyes: "Quantum teleportation?"

"What are you thinking?" Zhou Ping laughed, "That stuff doesn't even have a reliable theoretical basis. I guess it might be stealthy spacecraft transporting it away at night."

The interior of the main building was even more stunning than its exterior. In the center of the nearly twenty-meter-high lobby, a giant holographic projection of the Blue Star floated, surrounded by real-time updated data streams. Employees hurried back and forth, some in lab coats, some in tactical gear, and some even in tight-fitting uniforms resembling spacesuits.

"Is this the command center?" Li Ming asked softly.

"No." Zhou Ping led him to the elevator, "It's just a reception hall. However, most department staff do work here, and even the cafeteria is in this building."

The elevator doors opened, and a man in a black trench coat stepped out. He wore sunglasses and a 'P16' badge on his chest, followed by a fully armed Warrior.

"Good day, Team Leader." Zhou Ping immediately stood at attention.

The man, Francisco Debis, scanned the two of them several times, then looked at Li Ming, "This is the friend you 'recruited'?"

"Yes, my friend, Li Ming. I've asked Teacher Morrison, and he can be onboarded today."

Debis nodded, then suddenly reached out and patted Li Ming's shoulder: "Welcome to Interstellar Peace Corporation."

After speaking, he strode away, the hem of his trench coat fluttering, revealing a thermos hanging from his waist, with the small characters 'Mocha Coffee' engraved on its body.

Li Ming stared blankly at Debis's retreating figure until the elevator doors closed before he came back to his senses: "He just said... Interstellar Peace Corporation?"

"Didn't you say it was called Titan?"

Zhou Ping sighed: "Well, I didn't expect your luck to be pretty good too. This is fine, it saves me from always having to worry about you getting this secret out of me later."

"What do you mean?"

"Titan is just our cover identity in the Emerald Principality." Zhou Ping pressed the elevator button, "Our company's full name is 'Interstellar Peace Corporation.' To use my teacher's words, we are a company, but not just a company. So, we just put 'Company' directly in the name."

...

The elevator doors slowly closed, and Li Ming leaned against the wall, feeling his brain still processing the information he had just received.

"So..." He swallowed, "Your company is really called Interstellar Peace Corporation?"

"Yes." Zhou Ping nodded, "But here in Myanmar, we still go by Titan Group externally."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Don't look at me, I really don't know. But I feel like my team leader knows why, but it's clearly not something a P3 level employee like me can know."

Li Ming opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the elevator had already reached the target floor. When the door opened, they were greeted by a spacious corridor with glass-partitioned offices on both sides.

"Human Resources Department." Zhou Ping led him to one of the rooms, "Just answer whatever HR asks later, don't hide anything, don't mess around."

"Got it." Li Ming pouted, "Like meeting a spy..."

The Human Resources Department office was much simpler than Li Ming had imagined. Aside from the huge holographic display on the wall, it was no different from HR offices in other companies.

Sitting behind the desk was a young man wearing glasses, with a name tag that read 'Wei Changming - P14 - Talent Incentive Department - HR Specialist'. He looked up at the two of them and smiled: "Li Ming, right? Please sit."

As soon as Li Ming sat down, Wei Changming pushed a tablet over: "First, fill out your basic information."

Li Ming took the tablet and saw that it displayed a standard onboarding application form, but the content was much more detailed than that of ordinary companies, even including questions like "Do you have claustrophobia?" and "Do you accept genetic enhancement?".

"Uh..." He pointed to one of the items, "'Are you willing to accept global work assignments' what does that mean?"

Wei Changming didn't even look up: "Literal meaning."

...

After filling out the form, Wei Changming took out a metal wristband: "This is your temporary employee badge and smart terminal. The official employee badge will only be issued after you pass your probation period."

Li Ming took the wristband and felt a slight prickling sensation as soon as he put it on his wrist.

"Don't be nervous." Wei Changming explained, "It's just collecting your biological information."

The wristband glowed blue, and a gentle female voice spoke: "New employee Li Ming, ID: XPG-114515 - 2019, Authority Level: P1 Intern. Welcome to Interstellar Peace Corporation."

"That's it... done?" Li Ming was somewhat incredulous, "No interview? No written test?"

Wei Changming pushed up his glasses: "Zhou Ping's recommendation is the best interview." He smiled meaningfully, "Besides, generally speaking, those who can make it here alive have already passed the hardest test."

Li Ming: "???"

After completing the formalities, Zhou Ping took Li Ming to the employee dormitory.

"Your dormitory is on the 3rd floor of Zone C." Zhou Ping explained as they walked, "P1 level is two people per room, and you can apply for a single room once you reach P7."

"Two people per room?" Li Ming frowned, "Who am I living with?"

"Me."

"Huh?"

Zhou Ping shrugged: "Teacher Morrison arranged it, saying it was convenient for him to keep an eye on you. But Teacher is always harsh with his words but kind at heart, so he probably meant it's convenient for us to catch up."

The dormitory was much more spacious than Li Ming had imagined, with two single beds, a private bathroom, and a small balcony. What surprised him most was the futuristic computer on the desk, with a transparent monitor and a keyboard projected directly onto the desktop.

"This..."

"Company standard issue, updated a while ago. Before, it was the common desktop computers you see outside." Zhou Ping was unfazed, "I haven't tested its performance, but so far, when I occasionally play large 3A games, the effects and frame rate are always maxed out."

Li Ming plopped down on the bed and found that the mattress automatically adjusted its firmness to suit his weight.

"Smart mattress?"

"Yes, and it can also monitor sleep quality." Zhou Ping pointed to the ceiling, "The AI in the room will record your routine, and if you stay up late continuously, or if your vital signs are abnormal, people from the Medical Department will come knocking."

Li Ming lay on his back on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. In just half a day, he had seen stealthy spacecraft, giant mechs, holographic projections, and now he was living in a smart dormitory...

"Old Zhou..." He murmured, "Your company's benefits are too outrageous, aren't they?"

Zhou Ping smiled: "This is just the beginning." He opened the wardrobe and took out two sets of uniforms: "Change into these, I'll take you to the cafeteria for dinner later."

Li Ming took the uniforms and found the fabric incredibly light, yet surprisingly soft to the touch.

"Nano-material, bulletproof, fireproof, anti-static, and can automatically regulate temperature." Zhou Ping explained, "If it gets dirty, just throw it in the washing machine, and any stain will come out."

Li Ming silently changed into the uniform, then suddenly thought of a question: "Old Zhou, you said... why is the company so good to me?"

Zhou Ping paused while tying his shoelaces: "What do you mean?"

"I mean..." Li Ming chose his words carefully, "All these high-tech equipment, and such good treatment, just because I know you?"

"What? A modern-day Warrior?"

"I don't know," Zhou Ping shook his head.

A big question mark appeared above Li Ming's head, "Huh?"

Zhou Ping was silent for a moment before speaking: "Perhaps, these are just the company's basic provisions. At least, that's what I think."

"Huh???"