Jiang Yuexuan and Ye Xu had the same idea.
Ye Xu nodded in agreement: "The rest of the people were probably brought in by him. Although I don't know how he did it, he's been around longer than us, so he must have some other methods. He must have a very good relationship with the leader, or he paid a huge amount of points as a price, otherwise why would the leader tolerate me so much?"
Putting everything else aside, Ye Xu was confident that he was the director's favorite son. At the time, he was the youngest of all the children. They were all adopted by the director in the same batch, and it took several years before new children came in.
Because of his young age and mild autism, the director took extra care of him. At that time, people didn't understand mental illness very well, and they all thought he was just withdrawn and introverted. They believed that if it weren't for the director's care and concern, he wouldn't have gradually recovered.
Even after his autism was cured, he retained his withdrawn nature, only befriending one or two other children. It wasn't until Ye Wen's death that he frantically took on odd jobs and interacted with all sorts of people, managing to overcome this last remaining trait. Later, when he returned to the orphanage, he was willing to actively play with the other children.
Jiang Yuexuan was very curious about how Dean Ye managed to bring the children from the academy in. At least based on the shop managers she had met, none of them had the authority to increase the number of cards in the card pool, nor could they send invitations to acquaintances.
It's true that Han Yingchen got in through self-recommendation, but Ye Xu's previous idea of actively hinting to those he liked to apply for jobs was actually not feasible. Han Yingchen was a UR card, which allowed him to successfully recommend himself; top-tier SSRs couldn't do that. Dean Ye could at most hint to UR-level students to apply for jobs, but beyond that, he was at a loss.
"So his authority far exceeds ours, he should be close to the system. Could it be that after being a store manager for a long time, he has the opportunity to be promoted to the system of the exploiting class? Then, is this system daddy a data intelligence from the beginning, or was he also a human before?" Ye Xu drew inferences from one instance to another.
System: "..." The more I listen, the more outrageous it becomes.
If this continues, he'll be completely smeared with rumors. The system couldn't help but pop up a big "Heh" to remind Ye Xu to tone it down and stop talking nonsense.
Ye Xu blinked, concealing a sly glint in his eyes. He had indeed forced the system to reveal itself. Now that it was out, there was no time to let it go. Ye Xu and Jiang Yuexuan exchanged a quick glance and began interrogating the system.
Jiang Yuexuan couldn't find Dean Ye's information in the store manager list, leading her to suspect that the dean had indeed upgraded to a system. If possible, who wouldn't want to be a system? Free store managers are indeed very free, but their control panels are a bit limited; they can't compare to the comfortable life of a system.
The system was in a real bind, feeling that it wouldn't be spared if it didn't reveal some valuable information this time. It could indeed play dead, but when Ye Xu met his dean again, that guy would still tell it the truth. So why bother hiding it? It might as well just tell the truth and save itself the trouble.
Before providing the answer, the system repeatedly stated: "You two can keep this to yourselves, but you are not allowed to spread it outside."
Ye Xu nodded without hesitation. Anyway, once he found his father, the dean, he could ask him again. If his father said it was okay to spread the word, he would then decide whether or not to keep his promise.
At worst, he'd only tell Ye Wen and the few employees in the store. He couldn't keep it all to himself, could he? If there's a way to become part of the system, of course he should share it.
System: "Take back your daydream. The store manager cannot be promoted to a system."
Having been seen through, Ye Xu regretfully abandoned the idea. Since he couldn't be promoted, there was no need to tell anyone else, especially since no one else knew the dean. Ye Xu just wanted to know the specifics of the situation on the dean's side; he would only tell Ye Wen about it to avoid worrying him.
After negotiating with the system, permission was successfully obtained to inform Ye Wen, and only then did the system reluctantly reveal the truth.
"Ye Shi was originally one of the systems, and his authority is even greater than mine." The system said this with great displeasure. "At first, there were only ten systems. Then, not wanting to bother dealing with the store managers themselves, they each created a few secondary systems and handed over the task of contacting the store managers to us. They just sit back and collect the profits."
Ye Xu chuckled: "Why do you guys act like a pyramid scheme, with each level squeezing the next?"
Jiang Yuexuan, however, grasped the key point, after all, she knew more inside information than Ye Xu: "Ten? Does it correspond to elemental attributes?"
"Elemental attributes?" Ye Xu turned to look at her. "You mean things like spacetime or purgatory attributes?"
Jiang Yuexuan nodded: "According to the information I've gathered, there are ten attributes in total, which should be correct."
Having already said it all, the system didn't intend to hide anything and simply admitted, "Yes, it's a one-to-one correspondence. Ye Shi is in charge of the spacetime system. You previously said that he favored you because you were young and had autism, but that's not actually the case. That reason accounts for at most 10%, and the remaining 90% is because only you have spacetime talent."
Ye Shi saw Ye Xu as a martial arts master had seen a martial arts successor with extraordinary talent and aptitude. He was eager to learn and carefully nurtured him, hoping that the other party would inherit his mantle.
Therefore, even though Ye Xu didn't get sick or die, he was still brought in. It wasn't a direct pull; rather, the system was pressured to do a lot of preliminary preparations before they could bring their chosen protégé in for further study.
Ye Xu understood: "So my backing is really that strong, but Dad must have given you a lot of benefits too, otherwise you wouldn't have gone to such lengths and even brought Sister Xuan along as my tool."
"Hmph." So what if it is? He openly accepts money and uses connections without hesitation; he's never hidden it from anyone!
Jiang Yuexuan, who was treated like a tool: "..." Should she ask for some compensation for emotional distress?
While she might not have been approached by the system and given her current opportunity if it weren't for this connection, she would at most be grateful to Ye Xu, since he was the originator. As for thanking the system, forget it. The system used her, and she used the opportunity to change her fate; it was a fair trade, nothing more.
Of course, fair trade doesn't prevent her from taking the opportunity to extort money and then figuring out how to take advantage of the situation.
Ye Xu's doubts have been mostly answered, with only one last question remaining: "So why is it you who bound me? Are you one of my father's secondary systems?"
"Of course not, I'm from the Life System, how could I be a subordinate of the Space-Time System?" The system thought Ye Xu was a bit silly, no wonder Ye Shi was so worried.
Ye Xu looked innocent: "Then why are you the one who came? Doesn't my dad have anyone else under him?"
Hearing him call Ye Shi "Dad" repeatedly, the system realized it would never be able to go back to being called "Dad" again, given the generational difference. If he called Ye Shi "Dad," they would be of the same generation, unless they treated each other differently, but Ye Shi was very protective of his own, making him difficult to deal with.
"Ye Shi has three systems under him, I don't know what they've been up to lately. They haven't recruited any new people recently, they're probably on vacation," the system said numbly. "You guys in the Time-Space System don't like to work, you're always making excuses to be lazy."
It's easy for the level 2 system to slack off: simply don't sign up new store managers. With all your store managers free, you'll be free to do nothing. However, without store managers, the system won't generate energy, essentially meaning you're paying for a vacation.
Unlike them, other systems prefer paid vacations, often handling contract store manager duties while enjoying their time off. This provides the pay, but it affects their vacation mood, as they sometimes have to work overtime.
Ye Xu and Jiang Yuexuan were especially troublesome. Of all the store managers the system had brought along, none of them bothered the most, whether they had time or not. Moreover, while other people's harassment could be dealt with by automated customer service programs, these two couldn't be ignored. Since they had been paid, they had to be handled properly, after all, one is bound by obligations.
If it had known Ye Xu would be so troublesome, it wouldn't have accepted the job; it's exhausting.
Fortunately, Ye Xu will be going to operate independently in the next plane, giving it freedom. If it encounters problems then, it won't be responsible for them; it will have to find Ye Xu itself.
Having obtained all the information he wanted, Ye Xu immediately used it and discarded it, indicating that "Daddy, you can go and rest now." Then, without caring whether the system had left or not, he started whispering to Jiang Yuexuan.
"I feel that there is still room for maneuver in this matter," he said cryptically.
“Indeed, you could try starting with the dean.” Jiang Yuexuan nodded in agreement.
"Although the system is unreliable, there is still room for experimentation on its side."
"Then I'll focus my efforts on this breakthrough point and tell you about the progress later."
System: "What are you talking about?"
Ye Xu smiled and turned around: "Actually, it doesn't matter if I tell you now."
The system became alert.
“The first-generation system reaps the benefits without doing any work and gets a share because they developed their own downlines,” Jiang Yuexuan coaxed. “Then why don’t you, as a second-generation system, develop a third generation?”
system:"……"
system:"!!"
The system was stunned. "Yeah, why not? The laws of the planes don't say it's forbidden. If a first-generation system can do this, so can this one."
However, it lacks the authority to create a third-generation system, so it cannot produce a real system. But, with so many store managers under its command, it can have them act as de facto "third-generation systems."
But isn't this the same as pyramid schemes? The system felt that doing this was wrong.
Ye Xu also had this concern, so he thought about the logic behind it and later found that the two were different.
The system operates on a company-like model. The first-generation system holds the shares and power, while the second-generation system acts as managers to oversee the lower-level staff. If the system then recruits subordinates to help manage affairs, it's equivalent to the manager appointing supervisors.
Furthermore, the system doesn't actually take away the employees' work results directly; they earn the difference by selling items. The system could easily continue to exclusively control this money-making channel and then use points to hire others to help deal with the store managers' inquiries.
Simply put, the system pays to hire a few customer service representatives. If they feel that the workload of just being customer service representatives is too light and want to delegate more tasks, they can pay more. Alternatively, they can hire more people, with some as customer service representatives and others as prop makers, dividing the work among themselves.
The system thought it made sense, but it also noticed something was off: "You guys want to be the system? If you're operating like this, you can't really be considered the system, you're just my handymen at best?"
Ye Xu didn't care: "It has nothing to do with me. I'm from the Time and Space faction, so I should be able to convince my dad to get a system job. As for what Sister Xuan is thinking, I do have some clues."
With more people doing odd jobs, the work has indeed been assigned, but that doesn't mean the system can be as carefree as Ye Shi and his team.
The first-generation system only had three to five subordinates. Even when subordinates came to report on their work, it only needed to receive three to five people. If the system had so many miscellaneous workers, and if these workers came to it with problems at work, the number would be much larger.
In this way, to maintain order, the system will eventually add a few more management layers. Wouldn't these management layers then constitute a third-generation system in another sense?
What's even better is that, because of their previous suggestion, the work has already been assigned to odd jobs, so the management doesn't need to do any work; they only need to manage people. Unlike the current second-generation system, where people have to do both work and manage others.
Having persuaded the system to go back and consider its feasibility, Ye Xu and Jiang Yuexuan, both from the heart, exchanged glances and praised their perfect teamwork.
"It's a pleasure to work with you."
Jiang Yuexuan thought to herself with admiration, Xiao Xu's growth rate is quite impressive; she's already able to set up schemes and exploit the system's resources so quickly. She was about to say something more when a new commotion suddenly came from outside.
Han Yingchen ran fast and was ordered to come and knock on the door: "Manager, assistant manager, two more new employees have come to apply."
Chapter 54 Complete
Let's rewind to about ten minutes earlier.
The interstellar world is home to many strange and unusual races, among which the Eldar, the most mysterious race, perhaps best fits the description of the gods. The Eldar resemble humans in appearance and physique, and are born with supernatural abilities. Though they may seem gentle and easily bullied, they are an indispensable fighting force in the interstellar world.
Each generation of the Elven race produces a priest, a figure of extraordinary status, who is the strongest in light-elemental abilities among that generation. Fang Yu is the priest of this generation. However, the interstellar war has ended, and the strength of one's abilities is no longer as important to the race as it used to be. The priest has gradually become a figurehead.
In fact, Fang Yu felt that there was nothing wrong with things as they were now. As a priest, he could receive support from the Spirit Clan. Apart from having to appear at various official occasions, he could spend the rest of his time having money and leisure to do whatever he wanted.
However, the next generation of the Eldar has grown up.
The strongest among the next generation is no weaker than him. In general, in such cases, whether the priesthood should be passed on requires a meeting and discussion, with the outcome usually being a 50/50 split. However, the problem lies in the fact that his rival is currently the most popular celebrity among the Spirit Clan. With the support of his fans and his own considerable strength, Fang Yu felt that the outcome was likely to be a victory for his opponent.
At the time, he was pondering how to maintain his decadent lifestyle as a wealthy idler after losing his priesthood when the system came knocking. Even though he would indeed have to work hard for a while after signing the contract with the system, once he became a freelance shopkeeper, none of that would matter anymore.
What a great thing! What are you waiting for?
Fang Yu thought about it day and night, and looked forward to it day and night. Now, the priests' change of leadership meeting is only two days away, and the store manager still hasn't appeared. He is very anxious.
At this moment, he, who had been playing single-player games for ages and never going online, suddenly realized that he hadn't gone out for a stroll in a long time and needed to get some fresh air and catch up with the outside world. So he stepped out of his holographic little apartment and learned about two important things from the conversations of passersby.
First, a shop called "Dimensional Food Shop" has recently become very popular. The food it sells is indeed very delicious and leaves a lasting impression.
Secondly, the interstellar goddess Chu Jifeng announced her retirement from acting, and paparazzi revealed that she has now joined a dimensional gourmet restaurant, and is suspected to have become one of the branch managers.
The second piece of information actually mentions becoming a store employee, but fans and casual observers find it absurd. Even the best food isn't unavailable; it's unlikely someone would become a restaurant server just to eat good food. Meanwhile, rumors circulate that Chu Jifeng knows the store manager, leading the public to believe she retired from the entertainment industry to become a branch manager.
The fans were quite receptive to the store manager's words. It sounded sophisticated, and the thought that the food they were eating was from a shop owned by their goddess made them feel incredibly honored.
Fang Yu quickly opened the trending topics list and stared blankly at the two inquiries.
This dimensional gourmet restaurant couldn't possibly be unrelated to the dimensional gourmet system, could it? It seems he arrived a while ago, but he was just too much of a homebody and missed the news. But didn't the system say the owner would come looking for him? He only stayed home because he heard the owner would come to him.
Never mind, none of that matters. What matters is that Chu Jifeng has already been hired, clearly someone the system had already contacted, just like him. He needs to hurry. Who knows how many prospective shop assistants like him there are in this world? What if there are too many people and the shop manager doesn't need that many? If he's late, he'll miss the opportunity.
Fortunately, the holographic world had a teleportation function, so it wouldn't take more than a few minutes to get there. Fang Yu thought of his good brother Shen Zhu and decided to bring him along.
The day he was found by the system, he told his only friend, Shen Zhu, about it, saying that if he ever made a name for himself, he would try to bring Shen Zhu along. Unexpectedly, Shen Zhu said that he had also been contacted by the system and was hesitating whether to agree.
What are you waiting for? Just say yes!
At his urging, Shen Zhu joined the reserve force. But unlike Fang Yu, he was an interstellar warrior and could not leave easily. His unexplained disappearance would definitely be tracked down by the Federation authorities, which would be very troublesome. Therefore, he had to be fully prepared.
The large-scale wars of the interstellar era have ended, but small-scale unrest still exists on the borders. Shen Zhu graduated from military academy after the war ended. He had no connections and worked his way up to the rank of major general, which is quite remarkable.
The biggest advantage of not having family connections is that you don't have to worry about passing on your influence in the military, and it's easier to leave if you want to, with fewer ties. The border unrest is nearing its end and will soon be completely quelled, so there probably won't be any more wars afterward.
The system seemed to have deliberately chosen the right moment to contact him, not too early, not too late, just as the battle was about to end. Shen Zhu's idea was to fake his death, but how to do so without being exposed required the system's help.
When Fang Yu came over, Shen Zhu was resting. Post-war work was no easier than fighting. He had been so busy that he barely had time to go online.
"You've come at just the right time." Shen Zhu was a little surprised. "I just logged on."
Fang Yu didn't have time for pleasantries and grabbed him, saying, "Quickly, the interdimensional shop has appeared, let's go apply for a job right away."