196: Chapter 196 Young people these days have no manners.

A person sat behind the desk.

The moment Lin Shiyao saw him, her breath hitched for a split second.

She had never seen such a massive person before.

His shoulders were as broad as a wall, and the muscles on his body stretched his dark gray shirt until it was bulging; the buttons on his cuffs looked as if they would pop off at any moment.

His arms were thicker than Lin Shiyao's thighs, and the veins on his neck coiled like tree roots. Sitting there, he resembled an immovable mountain.

Was this Zeng Aniu? The owner of the The Slaughterhouse? Could he be one of the Twelve Zodiacs—Ox?

When Zeng Aniu saw Wang Lin, a huge smile bloomed on his face.

"Kid, you're here?"

"Uncle Niu. I brought someone along, she wants to find work here."

Zeng Aniu's gaze shifted from Wang Lin and landed on Lin Shiyao. His look wasn't sharp or scrutinizing; it was just a casual glance.

"A girl?"

Wang Lin nodded. "A girl."

Zeng Aniu frowned slightly. "This place is full of grown men, a place for roughnecks."

"Slaughtering pigs and butchering cattle, rivers of blood—this isn't suitable for a young lady like you."

"Besides, one look and I can tell you're malnourished; your face is pale, like you haven't had enough to eat."

"This kind of manual labor isn't for you."

As he spoke, Zeng Aniu pulled a form out of his drawer and pushed it over.

"Reception. Five thousand a month, with room and board, plus social insurance and housing fund."

"The work is easy, just answering phones and registering things. No manual labor required."

Five thousand? That was higher than any job Lin Shiyao had had before.

Room and board, social insurance, housing fund, and a dormitory to live in.

In the past, she would have agreed to this job without hesitation.

But now, she didn't reach out.

Lin Shiyao looked into Zeng Aniu's eyes. "I want to enter the Inner Zone. Not the Outer Zone."

Zeng Aniu was stunned for a moment, then laughed, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

"Little girl, you even know about the Inner Zone?"

Lin Shiyao didn't speak.

Zeng Aniu's smile slowly faded as he looked into her eyes. "You might not know this, but the minimum standard for the Inner Zone is LV5. You're only LV4; you don't qualify."

Zeng Aniu's tone was very flat; he wasn't mocking her, just stating a fact.

"We aren't a charity here. Not everyone can handle the work in the Inner Zone."

"Killing Mist Beasts isn't like killing chickens or ducks. Entering at LV4 is just asking to die."

Lin Shiyao frowned. She hadn't known about this rule for the Inner Zone—that LV5 was the minimum standard.

Lin Shiyao bit her lip and didn't speak; her fingernails dug into her palms.

Her Gravity Domain had already reached the peak of LV4, but breaking through to LV5 required time, accumulation, and an opportunity.

But if she lost this job today, there wouldn't be a second chance.

At this moment, Wang Lin spoke up. "Uncle Niu, is there really no other way?"

Zeng Aniu looked at him, was silent for a moment, and then nodded. "There is."

Zeng Aniu stood up, walked to the bookshelf, pulled out a document, and tossed it onto the table.

The document wasn't thick, only a few pages, and the cover was stamped with a red seal—the totem of the Twelve Zodiacs.

"Defeat a LV5 exotic beast. Prove that you have LV5 strength."

"This is the rule of the Twelve Zodiacs. It's not to make things difficult for you; it's to be responsible for you."

"Work in the Inner Zone isn't a game. If you go in without strength, you'll die."

"If you can defeat a LV5 exotic beast, it means you have the ability to survive in the Inner Zone."

Lin Shiyao looked at the document on the table, her heartbeat accelerating.

Defeat a LV5 exotic beast? She had never fought an exotic beast before.

She didn't know how an exotic beast's attack methods differed from a human's, nor did she know where their weaknesses and vital points were.

But she had no retreat. She needed this job, she needed to enter the Inner Zone, and she needed the high salary to treat her mother's illness.

"I accept." Lin Shiyao's voice was firm, without a hint of hesitation.

Zeng Aniu looked at her; his eyes held not admiration, but a form of confirmation.

Confirmation that this girl wasn't the type to be scared off by difficulties.

Subsequently, Zeng Aniu picked up the phone on the desk and dialed a number.

The other end was answered quickly, and Zeng Aniu only said two words:

"Come over."

Then he hung up.

Less than a minute later, there was a knock on the office door.

"Come in."

The door was pushed open, and a person walked in.

He was in his early thirties, not tall, but very sturdy, with broad shoulders and thick arms.

There was a scar on his face, extending from his left eyebrow down to his cheekbone, like a centipede crawling on his face.

But the scar didn't make him look ferocious; instead, it added a temperament of someone who had experienced life and death.

He was wearing a dark blue uniform, with the words "Aniu The Slaughterhouse" printed on the chest.

He walked to Zeng Aniu, stood still, and straightened his back. "Boss Niu, you called for me?"

Zeng Aniu pointed at Lin Shiyao. "Old Zhao, take this young lady to do a test and see if she has the qualifications to enter the Inner Zone."

Old Zhao's gaze shifted to Lin Shiyao, looking her up and down, and then he nodded. "Follow me."

Lin Shiyao looked at Wang Lin, and Wang Lin just nodded slightly.

Lin Shiyao took a deep breath and followed Old Zhao out.

Wang Lin thought about it and followed them out as well.

The three of them left the office, walked through the corridor, and went all the way to the deepest part of the factory area.

Old Zhao stopped in front of an iron door, pulled a bunch of keys from his waist, picked the largest one, and inserted it into the keyhole.

The iron door made a dull sound and was pushed open.

Behind the door was a huge space, a bit like a Roman coliseum, only without spectator stands.

It was a circular arena, with an open space in the center, the ground made of cement,

but it had already been soaked through with blood, turning into a dull, dark red color, making it impossible to distinguish between human blood and beast blood.

Lin Shiyao stood at the entrance, her heart beating a little faster.

She had seen blood, but never this much—so much that it had dyed the entire ground black.

Sitting in the office, Zeng Aniu looked at the open office door and muttered:

"Young people these days, really impolite."

Then he blew a breath toward the door.

But that heavy wooden door seemed to be pushed by an invisible hand, slowly closing, and the lock clicked shut.

Subsequently, Zeng Aniu picked up the remote control on the table and pressed a button.

On the wall in front of the office, a huge display screen lit up.

The screen was divided into a dozen small grids, each showing surveillance footage of different areas.

The yard, the workshop, the cold storage, the corridor, the stairs, and the deepest part—the testing arena that looked like a coliseum.

Zeng Aniu switched the view to the testing arena and zoomed in.

Old Zhao walked in, stood in the center of the arena, and turned to look at Lin Shiyao.

"The rules of the test are simple: you choose one Mist Beast and kill it. If you survive, you pass."

Old Zhao took a square iron box down from the shelf next to him, which had a circular hole on top.

"Luck is also a part of strength. The Mist Beasts are random; you choose for yourself."

Lin Shiyao walked to the iron box, reached her hand in, took out a slip of paper, and brought it out.