257: Civil Service Examination (Part Two)

"What about the current Underworld messengers?"

You Yu stared at Ma Sanqiang's sorrowful pixelated avatar on the screen, his eye twitching.

"Are we letting these old-timers take the exam with the newcomers?"

"I'm afraid they'll be bullied by the human candidates so hard they won't even know how to cry."

"Internal job transfer training, of course."

Ling Qi waved her hand, bringing up a job transfer flowchart.

"Those with high combat power will transfer to the Legion's Underworld Soldiers; those with a silver tongue will transfer to the Hall of Rebirth as masters of ceremonies; those with skillful hands, like Underworld Marshal Horse-Face..."

She looked at the crooked woolen scarf in the picture, unable to continue.

"They can go to the Yellow Springs Textile Factory as knitting consultants and develop the 'Yellow Springs Thermal Series'."

You Yu suppressed his rising smile and joked, "What if Her Excellency Olexia resigns from her celebrity career and suddenly gets the urge to try out for a civil service position for fun?"

"Her merit points..."

Ling Qi drawled and shrugged. "After deducting the negative points for abusing Charm Techniques, she'll probably only be able to hang a temporary worker's badge at the Matchmaker's Temple, responsible for handing out red strings to single messengers."

"Provided she doesn't knit someone's marriage thread into a ball of wool." She tapped four large characters on the screen: "Competitive Recruitment."

"There are only so many positions; from now on, ability will do the talking."

"Although human candidates are starting late, once they pass the civil service exam and receive the blessing of the Underworld's incense offerings, their cultivation skyrocketing won't be just a dream."

You Yu looked at the flashing job transfer icons on the screen, feeling the burden on his shoulders lighten slightly.

Perhaps, just as the Secretary-General before him said, when the slacking messengers have a proper path and when the do-nothing jobs become opportunities worth fighting for...

This annoying "overtime crisis" might instead give birth to an unprecedented transformation.

It would turn the little paper boats floating on the Wangchuan River from "overtime protest letters" into "exam note drifting bottles."

Carrying new expectations, they would float toward the dawn on the other side of the Naihe Bridge.

"Oh, right!"

Ling Qi adjusted her glasses, her eyes lighting up.

She typed out a line of small orange text at the bottom of the Underworld Examination registration form.

Note: Applicants must be proficient in modern Chinese and possess exceptional stress resistance."

"After all, the printers in the Underworld always have a mind of their own."

After finishing her proposal, Ling Qi looked at You Yu with a beaming smile.

You Yu's eyebrows twitched, and his heart trembled.

This cold-faced Secretary-General was smiling like a fox that had secretly drunk meng pos soup, making any 'ghost' feel a chill down their neck.

"Since the concept has taken shape, it's time to put it into practice."

Ling Qi clasped her hands together, her knuckles tapping a brisk rhythm on her palm. "We'll recruit fifty thousand for the first Underworld Examination as a trial. It's like boiling a frog in lukewarm water; messengers with a sense of crisis will naturally keep up."

"As for those who can't..." She shrugged with an apologetic look. "The Underworld's resources must ultimately lean toward those with ability."

"So, I'll have to trouble Minister You and the Vice Mi~nister of Logistics to take the lead on this."

Her eyes curved upward, and her gaze at You Yu suddenly became triumphant.

"The Xia Country headquarters will dispatch a task force to assist with creating the questions..." She brought up a collection of real civil service exam questions from the mortal world. "We'll copy their homework first and then improve it. No point in wasting a ready-made template."

You Yu subconsciously gripped his suit cuffs.

He should have known that the Secretary-General's friendliness today was a trap.

He clearly remembered that the last time she smilingly entrusted him with a heavy responsibility, he ended up so exhausted he was bedridden for three days!!!

"You can hide today, but you can't hide forever." He sighed inwardly while maintaining his cold and aloof persona.

The clerical work in the Netherworld was complex and tedious; it truly needed an infusion of fresh blood.

He thought about having to partner with that stingy Ming Xuan to implement the institutional reforms.

His temples began to throb again.

Since getting a wife, the newly appointed Vice Minister of Logistics, Ming Xuan...

...wished she could split a single unit of incense offerings in half. She might even count the Underworld Examination registration fees as performance bonuses.

"Don't worry, there's no need to worry about the publicity."

"I'll have Yin Shu make a promotional video for you as the 'Pioneer of Reform'." Ling Qi added another blow, her hand resting on her knee as she lightly pinched the fabric of her clothes.

"I've already thought of the title: 'The Cold Minister's Path of Transformation: From Soul-Hooking Chains to Recruitment Ledgers'."

You Yu's expression turned cold, and he forced a professional fake smile.

"If the Secretary-General doesn't mind, I suggest making Marshal Niu the publicity ambassador as well."

"Her newly developed 'Gu-worm flavored milk tea' can refresh and alert the messengers; it's a perfect study aid for the exam."

"Good idea."

Ling Qi's eyes lit up, and she immediately noted it down in her memo.

"While we're at it, let Horse-Face design some merchandise—woolen hats printed with 'Success in the Underworld Examination'."

"Oh, and add a slogan: 'If you can keep studying while being chased by a dog, what excuse do you have for slacking off?'"

You Yu thought about Ling Qi's eccentric ideas.

He had a feeling that he was about to become the Underworld's version of "Shang Yang."

Except whether the reform would succeed was hard to say, but the probability of getting hit by a brick was extremely high.

"In any case, I'll leave it to you, Minister You." Ling Qi waved her hand, signaling that You Yu could leave.

She buried her head back into the pile of documents, working away busily.

Her muffled voice drifted out, "Once the reform is successful, I'll treat you to hot pot in the mortal world."

"Provided you don't get smashed into the bottom of the pot by a messenger's brick!"

Seeing this, You Yu felt like a frost-bitten eggplant and could only turn and leave with a cold face.

Only to hear a "rip" sound.

As if the sound of a breaking heart, the fabric of his cuff actually tore.

He had gripped it too hard earlier; the suit cuff had been crumpled into two layers, and he had even pinched out some small folds.

He stared blankly at the end of the hallway outside the door.

Perhaps from today on, he should keep a first-aid kit in his office—that broken heart indeed needed to be properly bandaged... One week later, the Netherworld Logistics Department.

You Yu, having overdrawn his spiritual power and sporting dark circles under his eyes, cornered Ming Xuan in the Logistics Department's warehouse.

The other was directing logistics personnel to stuff boxes with "Must-Memorize Knowledge Points for the Underworld Examination: 30,000 Real Questions from the Mortal World to the Yellow Springs."

This newly appointed Vice Minister was wearing an apron printed with the words "Saving Money is Earning incense offerings."

There was even gold dust on her nose, clearly she was doing a "consecration promotion" for the new books.

"Minister You, are you here to help with the packing?"

Ming Xuan blinked and immediately stuffed a stack of flyers into You Yu's arms.

"Perfect, this is a collaboration called 'The Cold Minister Teaches You to Speed-Pass the Administrative Aptitude Test.' If you sign them, we can sell them as limited editions."

"..."

You Yu looked at the emoji on the flyer where he had been Photoshopped into a crying cat-head; his brow throbbed.

"I'm here to check the registration data with you."

He brought up his tablet screen, which displayed flashing, glaring red numbers.

"The original recruitment plan was for fifty thousand people, but the number of applicants has already surpassed 1.3 million, with twenty thousand being candidates from the Demon Race..."

Ming Xuan adjusted her diamond-encrusted glasses, the reflection in the lenses revealing a merchant's characteristic cunning.

"Isn't that perfect? I've already had human civil service exam experts who died from overwork open 'Underworld Exam Cram Schools' on Yin Street."