Chapter 198 - 198 198 Interrogation

Words : 1110 Updated : Sep 23rd, 2025

Chapter 198: Chapter 198: Interrogation Chapter 198: Chapter 198: Interrogation Her mind flew back to the day everything started. “Okay,” Yuan Xin said, his voice all business, “we’ve got a lot of new applications today. Your job is to ask them about their cleanliness habits and income stability. You know the drill: make sure they aren’t messy, and they can pay the rent.” Huo Ning nodded quickly, feeling the weight of responsibility on her small shoulders. It seemed easy enough—how hard could it be to ask a few questions? “Right!” she said, mostly to herself, determined not to mess this up again. Her eyes darted toward the first tenant standing nervously in front of the desk. He was an older man, a bit scruffy but otherwise harmless-looking. She cleared her throat and attempted to smile, though it came off more as a grimace. Yuan Xin elbowed her lightly, whispering, “Relax, just ask the questions.” Huo Ning nodded again, swallowing the lump in her throat, and looked at the tenant. “Uh, do you… um… how many crystals do you… collect per month?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. The man blinked, clearly struggling to hear her. “Pardon me?” Huo Ning leaned forward, suddenly shouting as if the volume would solve her nerves. “HOW MANY CRYSTALS DO YOU EARN IN A MONTH?!” The man flinched, startled by her sudden outburst. Yuan Xin winced, but before he could intervene, the man answered. “Uh, about fifty to sixty on average?” Huo Ning quickly scribbled down the number, though her shaky handwriting was nearly illegible. “And, um, how often do you, uh… clean? Like… your room? And… do you litter?” The man scratched his head, unsure how to answer such a vague question. “Well, I guess I clean when it needs cleaning… and I don’t litter if that’s what you mean.” “How often is ‘when it needs cleaning’?” Huo Ning pressed, suddenly feeling like an interrogator in a courtroom. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, which only made the man more uncomfortable. “Um… every few days?” he replied nervously, clearly second-guessing his own habits under her intense scrutiny. Huo Ning, unsatisfied with the vague answer, tried to come up with a more specific question but struggled. “Define ‘a few days.’ Is that… two? Or three? Or five? Or… never?” Her voice grew more accusatory with each word. The man’s eyes widened, and he quickly backpedaled. “Three! Definitely three!” Yuan Xin facepalmed silently, mouthing, “Too aggressive.” The interview dragged on awkwardly, with Huo Ning fumbling through the remaining questions. By the end, the poor tenant was sweating under the pressure of her unexpected interrogation techniques. After what felt like an eternity, she finally handed him the approval form with shaky hands. “Y-you can go,” she said, her face red with embarrassment. As the man hurried out, Yuan Xin turned to Huo Ning, a faint smile on his lips. “Not bad for your first try. You didn’t scare him off completely.” Huo Ning sighed in relief. “That was hard,” she admitted. Yuan Xin patted her arm. “It’s okay. We’ve got plenty more to go.” The next tenant, a woman with bright red hair, approached the desk. Huo Ning tried to compose herself again, feeling the pressure to do better this time. “Okay, let’s try again,” she muttered to herself. “Good afternoon!” Yuan Xin said brightly, giving Huo Ning a gentle nudge. “You’ve got this.” Huo Ning cleared her throat and looked up at the woman. “How often do you clean?” she asked bluntly, skipping any pleasantries this time. Maybe being direct was the way to go. The woman blinked, clearly taken aback by the abruptness of the question. “Uh, I’m pretty tidy, I clean every day.” Huo Ning narrowed her eyes again, as if suspicious of the woman’s claim. “Every day? That seems… excessive.” She tilted her head as if trying to read something deeper into the answer, which only made the woman more uncomfortable. “Well, I have to! I like things neat, you know?” the woman said, laughing nervously. Huo Ning stared at her for a long moment, then nodded slowly, as though she had unraveled some grand mystery. “Alright. How many crystals do you earn?” she asked, trying to keep her tone casual, but instead coming off as a detective grilling a suspect. The woman hesitated. “I usually earn around seventy to eighty crystals a month.” This time, Huo Ning didn’t even look at Yuan Xin for help. She leaned forward, her eyes boring into the woman’s. “How do you earn them? Be specific.” The woman gulped, suddenly feeling like she was in trouble. “I-I hunt zombies and collect crystals, like most people…” “How many Level 2 zombies do you kill on average?” Huo Ning asked with unnerving intensity. “Uh… I don’t really count?” Huo Ning frowned as though she had caught the woman in a lie. “You should keep track. It’s important.” Huo Ning leaned near Yuan Xin’s ears and whispered, “She is suspicious.” The woman looked to Yuan Xin for help, who was trying his hardest not to burst into laughter. Huo Ning, in her attempt to do well, had somehow turned a simple interview into an interrogation straight out of a crime novel. The woman left, looking more confused than before, and Yuan Xin couldn’t hold back his giggles any longer. “Huo Ning, you’re terrifying!” Huo Ning blushed, her ears flattening in embarrassment. “I didn’t mean to be…” “You sounded like you were interrogating a criminal!” Yuan Xin teased, still chuckling. “You’ve got to relax a little. These people aren’t trying to hide anything.” Huo Ning let out a sigh, sinking into her seat. “I’m not good at this. Maybe I should stick to helping with paperwork.” “Nonsense!” Yuan Xin said, waving a hand. “You just need more practice. Watch how I do it next time.” The next tenant came up to the desk, and Yuan Xin smoothly took over the questioning, his voice warm and friendly as he asked about their cleaning habits and income. Huo Ning watched in awe as the conversation flowed easily, without any awkward pauses or interrogations. She tried to mimic Yuan Xin yet, all she received was horror horror-filled gaze, at last, she gave up. The instruction of Boss Su echoed in her mind, “Don’t think too much and enjoy your vacation.” So she became a salted fish. Who knew things would truly change?

Chapter 198 - 198 198 Interrogation

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